Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 756 Suspicion_1

Chapter 756: Chapter 756 Suspicion_1

The Emperor’s mental calculations were astute; Xiao Qing had more to say but hadn’t spoken yet. His gaze fell upon the ministers in the imperial court, and then he thought of the merchants in the capital. The Xu family’s donation of silver was commendable and timely. When the grand army returned to the city, and he saw all the ministers looking at him, he said, "Indeed, they should be rewarded. The Xu family has established merit last year, and this year they have donated silver to relieve the shortage in the state treasury. The Xu family’s loyalty is evident. Issue a decree granting the Xu grandchildren permission to participate in the imperial examination."

The full assembly of ministers fell silent; ah, there was a precedent, and now the person is in the Hanlin Academy. This was an immense grace for the Xu family, being merchants.

Zhou Shuren knew that this would be the reward. As for bestowing gold and silver, the Xu family had already taken five hundred thousand taels and truly didn’t lack for gold and silver. As for a piece of calligraphy by the Emperor, His Majesty would certainly not be willing to write, for the Emperor’s writing can sometimes be too influential. Thus, it could only be an opportunity to change the family’s status.

The rest was up to the Xu grandchildren, who had been given this opportunity. Whether the great-grandchildren could change their destiny was still up to the Xu family themselves.

This award involved no loss to the Emperor and even earned him a neat five hundred thousand taels; no, not just five hundred thousand, but the opportunity for Scholars, Farmers, Artisans, and Merchants—too many were eager to change their standing. Hm, his subtle maneuvering was commendable; the Ministry of Revenue now had silver, and he needn’t worry about the silver needed for subsequent affairs in Jiangnan.

Xiao Qing said, "The Emperor is wise."

Afterward, they all called out the Emperor’s wisdom.

Xiao Qing took a step forward and said, "Although this old minister realized it late, I am willing to donate silver. I will donate one thousand taels to contribute to the imperial court."

The assembly of ministers fell silent, "..."

That’s why you can’t let the Minister of Revenue take the initiative to speak out; once he does, it leads to significant matters.

The first-rank ministers kept quiet. The Minister of Revenue was of the Second Rank, and they needed to donate more than a thousand taels.

The other five ministers of The Six Ministries scowled, one thousand taels was no small amount. Despite their usual indifference when purchasing antiques and rare books, as if they were never short of silver, forced and unrewarding donations still distressed them and made them wish to devour Xiao Qing.

Zhou Shuren calculated his own standing, a third-rank official, no, he had to consider himself as Third Rank, since he was temporarily filling a Third Rank position. He remained silent. There wasn’t much silver left in his household!

The princes were truly spitting blood now, just having been defrauded by the Ministry of Revenue, and now they got duped again. Princes, they might be, yet not ennobled with a title, but they also had information that the Father Emperor intended to bestow titles upon them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so desperately displaying filial piety. Donating silver was truly difficult: donating too much made them uncomfortable, donating too little, they feared the Father Emperor’s displeasure.

The Second Prince fixed his gaze on the Crown Prince, then stealthily glanced at the Father Emperor. The Father Emperor’s smile was as usual, but the Second Prince could feel that the Father Emperor was genuinely pleased. If he were the Father Emperor, he would be happy today too.

But the problem was, he wasn’t the Father Emperor; he was the Second Prince, with a Crown Prince above him. He looked back at the third brother; hmm, in comparison with the third, he felt somewhat more at ease.

Zhang Jingshi glared at his second brother. Stop looking, he knew he was the most miserable, having spent two hundred thousand and also parting with his collection. To put a brave face on it, he considered it an act of filial piety toward the Father Emperor, who could see his filial devotion.

But today the Crown Prince’s move had stolen the show.

The Fourth Prince, Zhang Jingxi, remained silent. While they were all making a fuss, it was the Crown Prince who was the real winner.

The Emperor noticed everyone’s expressions and then spoke, "Your loyalty to the imperial court moves me deeply. However, not all officials have substantial family wealth. For those who do, I’ll say no more. For those without, donate silver according to your capacity. Everyone must consider their own circumstances. Xiao, my dear minister, make sure you verify everything carefully."

Xiao Qing earnestly replied, "This old minister will definitely check everything carefully."

Zhou Shuren lowered his head slightly, reflecting on the matter. He hadn’t expected the Emperor to be so considerate and thought it would be a blanket decree. His recognition of the Emperor deepened.

The Emperor continued, "With one heart between ruler and ministers, I too will donate one hundred thousand taels of silver, which will subsequently be delivered to the Ministry of Revenue."

He had prepared that hundred thousand taels early on, it was meant to support the Ministry of Revenue just in case; now the Ministry of Revenue was not short of silver, but now there was a better reason to give silver, which would win hearts more than doing so secretly!

At this moment, there was no need for Xiao Qing to lead the chorus, as everyone began shouting "Long live the Emperor."

After court was dismissed, Zhou Shuren walked with Minister Xiao. Those who had surrounded Minister Xiao yesterday asking for silver now passed by with a humph.

Xiao Qing, blowing his beard, said, "Look at their attitudes; they have the nerve to humph at me, as if I personally demanded silver from them. It’s donated silver! It’s infuriating, once I get back I’m going to close the Main gate of the Ministry of Revenue, and no one will think about getting any silver."

Zhou Shuren, "Minister, let’s also hurry back. The ones coming to deliver silver will be arriving soon."

A smile returned to Xiao Qing’s face, "Right, let’s go back and wait. There’s no rush to close the Main gate of the Ministry of Revenue after we’ve collected all the silver."

Unfortunately, Zhou Shuren couldn’t return, as a young eunuch stopped him, "Mr. Zhou, the Crown Prince requests your presence."

Zhou Shuren was full of question marks, "The Crown Prince?"

"Yes, the Crown Prince is in the pavilion ahead. Please come this way, Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Shuren did not recognize the young eunuch, but Xiao Qing did, and said "Go on then!"

With Minister Xiao watching over him, Zhou Shuren felt assured that there should be no problem, "Minister, I will go to see the Crown Prince. You go back first!"

Xiao Qing laughed, "Alright."

As for why the Crown Prince was looking for Zhou Shuren, he wasn’t curious. To them, seasoned ministers close to the Emperor’s heart, so long as the Crown Prince continued to be stable and not self-destruct, he would definitely be the next Emperor.

Upon reaching the pavilion, the Crown Prince was indeed there, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince."

Zhang Jingchen stood at the pavilion’s edge, looking over the lake, "Mr. Zhou, yesterday the principal wife of the Xu family visited the Zhou Residence. I heard that your home received two quite admirable paintings. I too enjoy paintings; might I have the opportunity to admire them?"

Zhou Shuren felt relieved; the Crown Prince was questioning his behind-the-scenes maneuvers. It would have been strange if the Crown Prince were not suspicious. He just had to adamantly deny any wrongdoing, smiling, he said, "These paintings should be familiar to you, Your Highness. One was a gift from the Duke Ning’s Residence and the other was purchased from the Painting shop. It was Marquis Ning who took Chang Lian and Rongchuan to the Painting shop when Hanlin Academy had a day off. My wife went to the Painting shop without buying anything; my filial son thus dedicated the painting from his room to my wife."

Indeed, the paintings had come from one of his three quarters, and it seemed they would not be returning this time. When he went back, he decided he would select an ancient tome from his own collection to give to Chang Lian.

The Crown Prince listened, and this matched up with the information he had gathered. Mr. Zhou’s wife indeed went to the Painting shop without purchasing anything, seeming like their home was short on silver; at the beginning of the year, the Zhou family had invested a large sum of silver in Dongbei.

The Crown Prince didn’t fully believe the story, but Zhou Shuren was indeed quite skilled at navigating intricacies. It didn’t take long for the Ministry of Revenue to be significantly more flush with silver under his watch, "I see, the wind is picking up. It looks like rain is on the way. I shall take my leave."

Zhou Shuren bowed his head, "I respectfully see off Your Highness."

Zhang Jingchen paused after a couple of steps, "Mr. Zhou, do take good care of your health."

With that, he briskly walked away.

Zhou Shuren waited until the footsteps faded before lifting his head. A cool breeze blew by, chilling to the core. He had always felt the Crown Prince was keeping an eye on him, and this time his feeling was confirmed —take good care of your health; indeed, keep serving the royal family until his bones dried out. No, no, he was waiting for his son to rise; he most certainly planned to retire. Pfft, as if he would let his life’s blood dry up for this.