Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 751: The Xu Family’s Envy_1

Chapter 751: Chapter 751: The Xu Family’s Envy_1

The Third Prince sat down, "Eldest Brother mustn’t wrongly accuse others, as it happens I was just about to go to the Ministry of Revenue, and since I ran into Brother I came up to greet you."

Zhang Jingyang snorted, "Now that you’ve said hello, you can go."

The Third Prince continued to eat fruit. "No need, I’m not in a hurry, and Brother is more important."

Zhang Jingyang chuckled twice, "Only now do I see how much Little Brother cares about his Eldest Brother, I’m truly moved!"

"As long as Brother remembers the kindness Little Brother has for Eldest Brother, that’s good enough."

Having said that, Zhang Jingshi glanced around the carriage, then at Zhang Jingyang who was resting with his eyes closed. The Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Revenue was an old fox, and with Zhou Shuren involved, Eldest Brother was likely stepping back. He wouldn’t bother hitting a wall then.

Zhang Jingshi began to speak, "This Zhou Shuren really has the ability, not only did his two methods resolve the Ministry of Revenue’s difficulties, but they also appealed directly to the Emperor’s wishes. It’s just a pity, alas, that Zhou Shuren can’t be won over."

Zhang Jingyang opened his eyes, "We brothers haven’t come together to discuss things, and I am completely devoted to Father Emperor. Third Brother, your thoughts are dangerous!"

Zhang Jingshi felt disgusted, "Eldest Brother, with all the scheming in your heart, stop wearing a mask in front of your Little Brother."

Zhang Jingyang, "Today, as a brother, I will pretend I didn’t hear the madness from Third Brother. For the sake of our brotherhood, it’s better not to voice such thoughts in the future."

Zhang Jingshi felt he had lost, "Stop the carriage."

At the Yao Residence, Yao Wenqi had been regretting not killing Zhou Shuren ever since he returned from the court meeting. Every time he thought about Zhou Shuren, his head buzzed noisily. If he had killed Zhou Shuren earlier, it wouldn’t have come to this point where nothing was going smoothly.

With his eyes closed, Yao Wenqi knew the situation in the Ministry of Revenue and the state treasury better than anyone. The arrangements for the floods in the south were almost complete. With Zhou Shuren in office, he felt pain in his chest and now didn’t dare make any big moves. How hateful!

Time passed quickly and in the blink of an eye two days had gone by. The Ministry of Revenue had already seen several seafaring merchants, who all offered prices for buying the jewelry without any insincere probing.

Xiao Qing wasn’t going to consider which masters stood behind these seafarers; he remembered the Emperor said to choose whoever offered the most silver.

When Zhou Shuren saw the silver, it was the day to issue salaries. With the salaries paid, the Ministry of Revenue also had some silver, and the officials could finally breathe a sigh of relief and go home to rest.

At the Zhou family, when resting at night, Zhulan asked curiously in a soft voice, "How much silver did the seafarers offer?"

Zhou Shuren stretched out two fingers, "Two hundred thousand taels."

Zhulan gasped, "I thought the limit would be one hundred thousand taels."

Zhou Shuren, in a lowered voice, said, "Two hundred thousand taels isn’t much for these merchants. The Grand Master of Writing even thinks it’s too little. It’s just that no one offered a higher price."

Zhulan fell silent, "What about the bookstore?"

Zhou Shuren, "The bookstore just finished tidying up, no one has made a move, but there’s no rush."

Zhulan smiled, "Indeed, there’s no rush. They won’t delay until the army returns to the capital."

Zhou Shuren also laughed, "Yes, who would have thought the Emperor gave such clear signals to several princes!"

He truly admired the Emperor’s maneuver, those clear signals really trapped several princes!

Zhulan couldn’t help but laugh out loud, "Now the princes must be cursing you to death."

Zhou Shuren didn’t care at all, "Anyway, they’ve never been short of curses for me. Hmm, maybe they’ll curse me even more in the future."

Zhulan stopped laughing and brought up serious matters, "Today, the Xu family came again, and while chatting idly with Xu Zhao, Madam Xu mentioned Shi Qing several times. Her tone was full of envy, constantly saying what a pity!"

Zhou Shuren said, "It is indeed a pity; the Xu family’s status limits them."

Zhulan, with a twinkle in her eye, smiled, "So, I have an idea that could further ease the treasury’s burden. After all, soldiers protect our country, allowing civilians to live in peace and happiness, don’t you think?"

Zhou Shuren immediately grasped what Zhulan was suggesting, "Not a bad idea at all."

Zhulan, smiling with her eyes curved, "I also think it’s pretty good. The first person to suggest it will reap the benefits, right?"

Zhou Shuren whispered, "Let me think about it, think it over well."

The next day was Hanlin Academy’s day off, but Zhou Shuren went to the Ministry of Revenue anyway. His day off from the Ministry was different from that of the Hanlin Academy, so after breakfast, he headed off to work.

Seeing Rongchuan hadn’t left after breakfast, Zhulan said, "You finally have a day off; you don’t need to keep me company, go and rest!"

Rongchuan felt ashamed; he wasn’t there just to keep her company. Now that he no longer had to live apart from Xue Han, he didn’t dare visit her quarters on his day off, so he came up with an idea to ask his aunt to go enjoy paintings.

Upon seeing Rongchuan blushing, Zhulan, who had raised the child for many years, understood him. She was being presumptuous, "You have something to ask of me?"

Rongchuan had honed his abilities well in the Hanlin Academy and quickly returned to normal, "Auntie, I know of a fine painting shop, and I would like to take you there to have a look."

Zhulan was genuinely interested, "Great, are you inviting just me?"

Rongchuan blushed, his intentions laid bare, "And also Miss Xue Han."

Zhulan, not wanting to be a third wheel, thought of bringing more people, "It’s been some time since I had an outing in the capital, and today’s weather is indeed good. It’ll be too few with just Xue Han, let’s also bring Yushuang and Yu Lu. Both girls like paintings, and, of course, your third sister-in-law."

After she spoke, Zhulan couldn’t help but laugh; among the daughters-in-law at home, one could not understand paintings, another did not like them, and the other was too lazy to even look. Only Lady Dong would be willing to go along.

Rongchuan counted the number and reassured himself, to ignore is to ignore. Having a few more people didn’t matter; just ignore them all.

In the capital’s painting shop, there were not just scholars, but also many women.

Rongchuan explained, "The female guests are all on the second floor, the gentlemen on the ground floor won’t go up there."

Rongchuan knew this place because Marquis Ning brought him. Marquis Ning didn’t like paintings; it was all for his sake. His calligraphy and paintings were quite good.

Just when Rongchuan thought of Marquis Ning, he saw the Ning Duke Residence’s carriage arriving. The carriage stopped, and Rongchuan felt joy as it had been long since he had seen Marquis Ning, "Greetings, Mr. Hou."