Zhulan went home, changed her clothes and looked at the invitations that had been sent to her. The top one was from Minister Feng's family, celebrating the birthday of Minister Feng's wife. The rest of the invitations were not too important, so she could go or not.
Take out the invitation from Minister Feng's family separately. The Feng family must be visited, as King Liang's greatest reliance is the Feng family.
Mrs. Song counted the days and said, "The mistress's birthday is coming soon."
Zhulan, "We celebrate birthdays every year, but it's boring. But we still have to prepare. Now the birthday represents the Zhou family."
She prefers a simple birthday.
Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren was happy that he had wiped out the pirates. Although he paid the price of a ship, at least he won. It also taught the navy a lesson. The gap between the ships of this dynasty and those of some maritime countries is still very large. If it hadn't been for multiple ships blocking them, they would have almost escaped. The technology of the ships also needs to be improved.
After being happy, Zhou Shuren sighed. Improving technology requires money, and money is needed everywhere. Moreover, although they won, the losses were also heavy.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren went home and Zhulan mentioned her birthday. Zhou Shuren was thinking about a gift for his wife. This time he wanted to give her a surprise, so he said, "Li Zhao's birthday is tomorrow."
Zhulan raised her eyebrows, "You've already picked out the gift, why are you still feeling bad?"
Zhou Shuren rubbed his chest, "How can I not feel pain? The treasures in our family are all saved up by me bit by bit, but he is not polite at all. He asked for a rare copy or an ancient book as soon as he asked."
Zhulan comforted him, "Next year you can also ask for gifts."
Zhou Shuren curled his lips, "If I don't upgrade, Li Zhao won't give me a gift of equal value in return."
"We won the fight against the pirates this time. Lord Li's birthday will be a big one. There will be a banquet tomorrow night. Will you go and give the gift in person?"
Zhou Shuren nodded, "I'll go, but I won't be back for dinner tomorrow night."
Although he expressed his dislike, he still wanted to go in person. He thought his brother-in-law's plan was feasible, but the risk was high. Many people died in the suppression of pirates this time, and some of the bodies that fell into the sea were never salvaged. No trace of their bodies was left.
Having said that, no matter how high the risk is, if the Yang family really wants to go this route, his friendship with Li Zhao can still play a significant role. He doesn't even need Li Zhao to ask, it is enough for him to just go to the Li Mansion, and he doesn't even need to ask for favors.
After the meal, Chang Lian stayed behind while Zhulan took Mrs. Song and the maids out to digest the food. With the people gone, the father and son could talk more freely.
Chang Lian whispered what he saw, "Dad, I went to the palace these few days, and the emperor punished the King of Qi. Today, the King of Qi was punished to kneel outside."
Zhou Shuren, "There have been many memorials to the court these days criticizing the King of Qi, which have implicated many ministers, and several officials have been dismissed."
Chang Lian was trembling with fear when he entered the palace these days. The emperor had already recognized him. Since he returned to the Hanlin Academy, he has been the center of attention. "The Fifth Prince has been entering the palace very frequently these days. I don't know what happened, but I have heard a few things. The Fifth Prince never comes empty-handed every time he enters the palace."
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "The Emperor is angry with the King of Qi. He is forcing the Chen family!"
Chang Lian's face changed. He had been to the palace many times, and it was hard for him to cover his ears and not hear anything. Knowing more was not necessarily a good thing. Now, after hearing what his father said, it was a bit beyond his tolerance. "Dad, do I know too much?"
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows, "Why, are you scared now?"
Chang Lian made a bitter face, "My son thinks it's better for me to leave the capital as soon as possible. Now the Fifth Prince is obviously trying to stir up trouble, and the Emperor is still indulging him. My son is worried."
Zhou Shuren also wanted to send Chang Lian away from the capital as soon as possible, but unfortunately it was not possible because the time for the assessment had not yet arrived, and the emperor repeatedly summoned Chang Lian to the palace, which showed that he thought highly of Chang Lian and the Zhou family, and of course it was also a kind of compensation.
Zhou Shuren was worried about his son, so he told him, "When you enter the palace, cover your ears and keep your mouth shut. Don't say a word to anyone trying to get you to say something. Learn how to act dumb."
Chang Lian remembered it in his heart, "Dad, I'm going back first."
"Um."
At the next morning court session, Zhou Shuren was in high spirits. There was no quarrel today. Lord Qi spoke a lot in a very eloquent manner, the main point of which was that the fifth prince should get married.
This must not have been arranged by Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang is currently stirring up trouble, and this is not the right time to marry a princess.
Zhou Shuren looked at the King of Qi who was standing at the front. The King of Qi had suffered a lot in the past few days. Zhang Yang's ability was not as good as the King of Qi's, but the King of Qi suffered because the forces behind Zhang Yang had too many hidden chess pieces, and the King of Qi was a little unprepared.
The emperor looked at Zhang Yang expressionlessly. Zhang Yang was also panicked. How could this matter be brought to the court? Besides, he really didn't want to get married. He hadn't found a way to solve the problem of offspring.
Zhang Yang stepped out of the group, "Father, I am your son."
The emperor raised his hand and turned his gaze to Qi Heng, "I am also worried about the marriage of the fifth son. Since Qi Aiqing mentioned it, I remember that you have a legitimate daughter, who is just the right one."
Qi Heng was dumbfounded, but then he was delighted. He was worried about finding a husband for his daughter. Now she is the imperial concubine. Although the fifth prince has not been crowned a king, he will definitely be a king in the future. "I accept your order and thank you."
This happened so quickly that before Zhou Shuren could react, the marriage was settled.
Zhang Yang's face turned green. Even if he wanted to marry, he would not marry the daughter of Lord Qi from the Censorate. Not to mention that the Qi family did not have much influence in the capital, he also did not want Lord Qi as his father-in-law with a bad mouth.
The King of Chu almost laughed out loud. This was a great turn of events!
After the court session, Zhang Yang wanted to leave but was stopped by the King of Qi, "Congratulations, fifth brother."
Zhang Yang was very afraid of his second brother. He had exposed many of his second brother's secret affairs and even caught him in a house where he kept a master. However, the emperor only punished him. It was possible that Lord Qi was arranged by the second brother today. With a stiff expression, "All of us brothers combined are not as important as the second brother in the emperor's heart. The younger brother should congratulate the second brother."
The smile on the King of Chu's face disappeared. Although the palace had been cleaned up by the Queen, there were still some things that had not been cleaned up. There was a lot of news about the King of Qi, and his father's punishment of making him kneel was proof of that.
None of them are clean, but their behavior has not been exposed. Just like this assassination, although it was known that the fourth brother did it, there were many scapegoats. However, Zhang Yang exposed many things about the King of Qi, but his father did not punish the second brother, so Zhang Yang's words had to be taken seriously.
King Liang's eyes fell on Zhang Yang. "Old Five is the one who opened the eyes of the brothers. If you don't make a name for yourself, you will be a big hit. You really surprised the brothers."
He was scared. In just a few days, Zhang Yang got so many things.
Zhang Yang pretended to be stupid, "Fourth brother, you don't know my ability. How can I have so many abilities? Fourth brother, think about it carefully."
Lord Xiao did not come today, and no one pulled Zhou Shuren away. Even though the princes were far away, they heard something intermittently. Zhou Shuren looked at Zhang Yang with admiration. This was an allusion to the prince's work, but I don't know how much the princes believed it.
The corners of Old Master Wang Wang's mouth twitched. He had walked to the entrance of the palace, but when he saw Zhou Shuren, he turned back and said in a low voice, "Almost everyone has left!"