Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 1358: Good Memory

Chapter 1358: Chapter 1358: Good Memory

Even though it’s much safer now, we still need to be cautious.

The Crown Prince nodded. He valued his life the most and proceeded to lead his entourage outside.

Zhou Shuren massaged his legs, seemingly resting yet his eyes never left the city gate. The gate was half-closed; disaster victims were not allowed into the city because the grain storehouse was off-limits and no one dared to touch it. Only then could the disaster victims have enough food, otherwise the ones outside would have caused trouble already.

Now with the disaster relief providing food, it saves lives; unlike before when food was limited. With this comparison, the victims remained quite calm.

Zhou Shuren rested for a quarter of an hour, finally feeling some relief in his legs, "I’m really getting old; recovery is slow."

Jin Yan whispered, "Sir, exercising more each day would greatly help."

Zhou Shuren, "We’ll talk about it when I get back."

Shen Xing looked up at the sky, speechless. He had heard this remark from the Grand Master too many times before, and it always ended unresolved.

After leaving the city, the guards at the city gate gave Zhou Shuren the exit plaque and took a few extra looks at him. Zhou Shuren touched his beard; their group had been under surveillance the entire time.

It was easy to find where the Crown Prince was. He was standing in front of a stall serving medicinal broth. Zhou Shuren had watched the Crown Prince grow up bit by bit; although he had become better at putting on a facade, Zhou Shuren could still tell that the Crown Prince was angry.

Zhou Shuren didn’t approach the Crown Prince and stood at an open space in front of the medicinal stall, "The taste is really bland!"

The flavor of traditional Chinese medicine is usually very rich; anyone who has tasted it knows it well. So many people were waiting for this medicinal broth, it shouldn’t be this weak even if the wind blows.

Having read medical books, thanks to his wife, and learned a lot about the properties of medicinal materials during his spare time, Zhou Shuren took another sniff and wrapped his cloak tighter around him as he found a spot sheltered from the wind to stand.

Jing Yan in a hushed tone, "Sir, the Zhangzhou Province’s government official is suspicious of us."

Although disguised, trained guards from the palace are unmatched by regular escort guards.

Zhou Shuren, "I didn’t think we could keep it hidden for long. Shen Xing, go check out the porridge shop."

Shen Xing acknowledged silently and left without a sound. A true master knows how to evade detection easily.

The Crown Prince’s expression remained unchanged as he lined up, but he was struggling to suppress his inner frustration. Every year, after all the medical houses in the country are registered, each province is allocated a sum of silver for purchasing medical supplies to prevent disasters. There are also supplies of silver for medical materials.

But what did he see? Medicine dregs that had been boiled countless times; could this really be medicinal? And where have the ointments for chilblains gone?

The guard’s face also looked troubled; why? Because there were many sick people here. He wanted the Crown Prince to leave, but the Crown Prince insisted he knew what he was doing, driving him mad. Why wasn’t the Grand Master here yet?

The Crown Prince wasn’t being willful. He covered his face with a scarf, maintaining a distance from those critically ill. He didn’t stand in line with those with severe conditions. People here were mainly getting broth for warmth, few were seriously ill.

The Crown Prince’s eyes darkened. He had gathered information: though the disaster relief was slow, the people were not lacking food or medical supplies. He thought it was still acceptable; after all, this place was not the capital, not under the Emperor’s direct supervision.

Now his face hurt. After getting the medicinal broth, the Crown Prince’s face hurt even more, suppressing his anger, "Can this watery broth really provide warmth?"

The man serving the broth, because of the young master’s attire and tone, lowered his voice, "This is a newly formulated broth for warmth."

The Crown Prince almost laughed in anger, "Would you drink such broth?"

The man pointed to his cotton-padded clothes, "I don’t need warmth, so I don’t drink it."

Yuguang glanced towards the distant Zhou Shuren, then put down his bowl and left the line with his entourage. The soup-serving man furrowed his brows, but then let it go; after all, he was just a commoner paid to distribute broth.

Zhou Shuren, "Did you find anything?"

The Crown Prince hummed, "Someone has embezzled the silver allocated for buying medical materials."

Zhou Shuren remained silent, looking at the Crown Prince, waiting for him to continue.

The Crown Prince said, "The grain supply is not a problem; I sent someone to check the warehouse, and no one dares to touch the grain."

This is consistent with Shen Xing’s investigation, no one dares to touch the food supplies.

Crown Prince pursed his lips, "I just went to see the distributed blankets, and found a lot of donated used clothes, and the blankets were all old."

He wanted to proceed but was stopped by someone, but he knew that those blankets had been used for many years and were no longer warm.

Therefore, the disaster prevention silver reserved in each province has been tampered with.

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, "Do you already have a rough idea?"

Crown Prince nodded, "Yes, I can almost estimate it when I return."

Zhou Shuren smiled, it was not for nothing that the Crown Prince often visited the Ministry of Revenue, ever since he demanded that the Ministry of Revenue should have price knowledge whether it be food or building materials, the Ministry of Revenue then employed people specifically for price statistics.

He would check from time to time, thus it would be placed in a conspicuous position, the Crown Prince not only observed but also took care to remember, and a Crown Prince who understands prices is quite formidable.

Soon, an inconspicuous guard came back, lowering his voice, "The dregs of the medicine have been obtained."

Zhou Shuren estimated the time, "Let’s go back too."

In the evening, the Crown Prince handed over his compilation to Zhou Shuren, and Zhu Shuren, looking at the part about medicinal herbs, remarked, "The quality of the medicinal properties also determines the price."

Crown Prince nodded and took note, "Imperial Physician Wang has already differentiated the medicine dregs, it’s not any special anti-cold remedy, just a common medicinal recipe."

Zhou Shuren, "What action does the Crown Prince plan to take?"

Crown Prince, "Wait until the grain delivery team arrives in Zhangzhou Province."

He wanted to continue his investigation and also consider his own safety, just in case someone were to take the risk; it was safer to proceed cautiously and steadily.

Zhou Shuren did not say much, he only needed to watch the Crown Prince’s actions and provide guidance when appropriate, which was good practice for the Crown Prince.

The environment here was not too complex, perfect for the Crown Prince to practice.

Grand Master Yan felt a bit bittersweet; he taught the Crown Prince, yet the Crown Prince did not trust him.

The next day, in the capital, Zhulan was teaching her granddaughters to count, when suddenly it became lively outside, on closer listening, it was Chang Zhong with Ming Hui and others.

Zhulan, "It’s lively today, why have you all come?"

Ming Hui rushed over, "Grandma, you have to stand up for your grandson."

Zhulan looked at her own Ming Hui and her voice softened, "Alright, alright, grandma will stand up for Ming Hui."

Ming Hui hummed, "Grandma, little uncle made a bet and now wants to renege on it."

Zhulan looked at her son, hmm, something her son would do.

Chang Zhong glared at a grinning Ming Jung, "Mother, Ming Hui and Ming Jung teamed up to trick your son."

Zhulan became curious, only Chang Zhong schemed against others in the house, this is the first time his face turned red from being tricked, she looked at the simple Ming Jung, he didn’t seem capable of tricking others.

Ming Jung scratched his head, "Grandma, I didn’t trick little uncle, little uncle said one correct answer per two silver taels, I didn’t expect I would get them all right."

Ming Jung thought for a moment and added, "Actually, they weren’t difficult."

Chang Zhong, "...Mother, Ming Hui must have told him the answers in advance."

Ming Hui felt wronged, "I didn’t, I didn’t say anything."

Ming Jung blinked his innocent eyes, "Hmm, my third brother didn’t tell me the answers."

But he had seen his third brother’s answers, the questions little uncle asked had all been done by his third brother in the previous days, good memory made it seem effortless, his little chubby hand clenched into a fist, he never told anyone that he had a good memory, he doesn’t want to study more, now his daily volume is so relaxed.