Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 993: Blueprint

Chapter 993: Chapter 993: Blueprint

The Palace, Zhou Shuren had been there for a while, the Emperor still absent-minded, he hadn’t seen the Emperor for some days, and the Emperor had lost a lot of weight, he didn’t dare to look too much at the Emperor’s hair.

Zhou Shuren didn’t dare disturb the absent-minded Emperor and could only entertain himself out of boredom. It was then that he noticed scriptures placed on the kang table in front of the Emperor, with several passages already written. He was surprised, having never seen the Emperor write these before.

It was very quiet in the main hall when the Emperor suddenly spoke, "My birthday is approaching."

Zhou Shuren had been paying attention to the Emperor and quickly responded, "Yes, Emperor, you said not to make a big fuss."

"Hmm, I want to have a meal with my family, but it seems hard to achieve. Actually, I do not look forward to my birthday, every year."

The Emperor paused, and although Zhou Shuren had lost much of his interest in watching plays, he still cared deeply about what came out of the Emperor’s mouth.

The Emperor fell silent. Ever since his mother passed away, he had loathed his own birthday. He wasn’t the anticipated child at birth, and these days he often dreamt of his childhood, of people he had forgotten—no, not forgotten, rather people he didn’t want to remember, those deeply buried in his heart.

He began to miss, long for the face of his mother, blurred in memory, his uncles who disapproved of him, even though they were venting their anger, yet still protected him.

Zhou Shuren didn’t understand why the Emperor had summoned him today; after all, he was quite busy, "Emperor?"

The Emperor came back to his senses, "I hear you generously gifted Li Zhao a rare original book? And an authentic one at that? You’ve even copied a few fake ones for your own bookshelf; you are really generous."

Zhou Shuren’s heart skipped a beat, "Your servant felt compelled, Mr. Li insisted. I don’t know what gave Mr. Li the impression that I liked him, my heart aches, offering my flesh as a gift, and still, Mr. Li bullies your servant."

The Emperor laughed a little. The ones truly bullying Zhou Shuren were his sons, who carried themselves with much arrogance. After putting up with the wily old fox for so long, the third and fourth sons could no longer bear it, "Every year I do not make a big fuss, nor do I accept gifts from ministers."

Zhou Shuren didn’t utter a sound. Based on his understanding of the Emperor, the Emperor’s words were never that simple. And, as expected, the Emperor continued, "So, for my birthday gift, if I am pleased with what you present, your third son shall leave the capital ahead of schedule, next year the Maritime Affairs General Administration will be established in the capital, with Pinggang as a branch office. Next year I plan to build a new port, one will be set up in Xuzhou. What do you think, should your son take up a position as a Six-rank official at the Maritime Affairs Administration, or as a sixth-rank Assistant Prefectural Magistrate in Sanzhou?"

Zhou Shuren looked up at the Emperor, who had his eyes closed, guessing the Emperor’s thoughts. The Emperor also saw through him; he had indeed considered this but had always been hesitant, "Only Chang Lian by himself?"

"No, there will also be two others from the Hanlin Academy."

In these past few years, purging some people had led to even more being implicated. Pulling one thread led to an unraveling string, and suddenly there were quite a few less pre-recorded officials, resulting in a number of vacancies.

Maritime Affairs were developing rapidly, and Pinggang alone was not sufficient, so a new location was chosen. At this time, there was a need for people.

Zhou Shuren no longer felt the sting of loss at this time, a sixth-rank Assistant Prefectural Magistrate and a Sixth Rank official each had their benefits, one with more power, the other more challenging. The Emperor spoke of wanting a gift, but in reality, he was jealous of the gifts Zhou Shuren received from Rongchuan, ah, and they were not a few.

Regarding Chang Lian, the Emperor had already instructed him on how to proceed; now the choice was handed to him, "Your servant thinks a position as an official in the Maritime Affairs Administration is more challenging."

The Emperor wasn’t surprised by Zhou Shuren’s choice. The former slowly toiling away, as long as Zhou Shuren remained stable in the capital, nobody would dare to provoke Zhou Changlian in the provinces, yet it lacked real challenges. Meanwhile, the Maritime Affairs Administration would certainly be a new battleground, an excellent place for honing one’s skills. Having Zhou Shuren, his father, to provide advice, Zhou Changlian... at this thought, the Emperor glanced at Zhou Shuren, this man still had tricks up his sleeve, yet lived too knowingly, feigning ignorance whenever the Emperor tried to dig deeper.

The Crown Prince came in at that moment, "Father, the Ministry of Works has completed the drawings."

The Emperor sat up, extending his hand to receive the drawings, while Zhou Shuren hastily paid respects to the Crown Prince. This time he didn’t dare to sit, standing upright instead.

As the drawing unfurled, the Emperor signaled Zhou Shuren to hold a corner. Zhou Shuren looked on openly; was this a garden’s drawing? The artificial hills, the inner lake, they were all not small.

Zhou Shuren’s heart trembled at the sight, overwhelmed by the scale. Were they going to build a garden? There were already several gold-eating beasts waiting to be fed every day, and now another was to be added?

The Crown Prince accidentally saw Zhou Shuren’s trembling lips, "Mr. Zhou? Are you feeling unwell?"

Zhou Shuren, seeing that both the Crown Prince and the Emperor were looking at him, already found it hard to breathe with the pain in his heart, "Emperor, your subject is guilty."

The Emperor didn’t understand, "Hmm?"

Zhou Shuren steeled his heart, "The Ministry of Revenue is out of silver."

Both the Crown Prince and the Emperor were stunned, then the Emperor laughed heartily, and the Crown Prince couldn’t help but join in. Zhou Shuren immediately knew he had misunderstood.

After laughing for a while, the Emperor said, "I will pay for the silver myself."

Zhou Shuren forced a laugh, "Your subject, your subject doesn’t serve in the Ministry of Revenue, never considers the silver, and now every time your subject sees the national treasury’s silver diminishing, it grieves him greatly, especially so."

The Emperor was in a good mood, and Zhou Shuren’s report could show just how much pain he felt, driven to the point where he said that although there are priorities in applying technique, splashing out silver indiscriminately would not really be effective, targeted spending of silver was needed.

The Emperor rolled up the blueprint and handed it to the Crown Prince, "I am tired, your may also return."

Zhou Shuren withdrew, and the Crown Prince came out with him. Zhou Shuren asked, "Is the Crown Prince leaving the Palace?"

The Crown Prince nodded, "Yes, I want to check on the site for the new garden. If Mr. Zhou isn’t busy, would you accompany me to take a look?"

Zhou Shuren wanted to say he was very busy, but the Crown Prince didn’t give him a chance to speak and was already walking ahead, reminding himself to endure, because despite his young age, that was his next boss, and moreover, one who had control over his life and fortune.

Inside the Palace, the Crown Prince had not wanted to engage in much conversation with Zhou Shuren, but once they left the Palace and boarded the carriage, the Crown Prince said, "Mr. Zhou’s fourth son is going to take the provincial examinations next year?"

"Yes."

The Crown Prince continued, "And your son-in-law as well."

Zhou Shuren thought, You’re rather well-informed, "My son-in-law is a man without great ambition."

The Crown Prince smiled, "You’ve done well teaching your children, they’ve turned out well. I am also a father, and I pay close attention to my child’s learning. As parents, we all hope for the best for our children."

Zhou Shuren blinked, "What the Crown Prince said is true."

The Crown Prince then said, "Mr. Zhou, have you taken only one disciple?"

"Yes, your subject has just one disciple, who will also take part in the provincial examinations next year."

The Crown Prince went on, "It’s better to be cautious in taking on disciples."

Zhou Shuren understood, the Crown Prince was not just making small talk with him, and indeed, he was not thinking of taking any further disciples, "Your subject thinks the same, and moreover, I can hardly manage to teach my own children, my heart is willing, but my abilities are lacking."

The Crown Prince fell silent, indeed, Zhou Shuren did have more than a few children.

The carriage slowly made its way and soon stopped. Zhou Shuren was startled; they were not far from the Palace, "We’ve arrived already?"