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

Chapter 451: Chapter 451 A Chain of Schemes_1

Zhou Shuren pressed his eyebrows, ”I’ve hastened to straighten out the officials at all levels in Jinzhou Province, just so I could lessen the trouble and spare more time to be with you for the delivery.”

Speaking of which, Zhou Shuren became even more depressed. Zhulan’s belly had been over nine months already, and she was about to give birth any moment; he was not at ease for a second.

These past few days he had actually felt relieved; the officials in Jinzhou Province did not dare to make a move easily, but today he was feeling anxious again.

Seeing Zhou Shuren so distressed, Zhulan knew it could only be about the Emperor, who was now very close. From Jinzhou Province to the capital was less than a day’s journey away, half a day by carriage, less than four hours by fast horse.

Now Granny Song wasn’t in the main courtyard; she was supposed to return after a month, but Zhulan didn’t trust Zhao’s attitude towards the child, so she had asked her to stay a few more days.

With Granny Song absent from her side, Zhulan softly asked, ”So what decree was issued?”

Zhou Shuren ground his teeth, ”Before, the Pinggang Maritime Bureau was in charge of all the maritime tax revenue, bypassing the local government office and going directly to the Imperial court. Now it’s been placed under the government office’s purview, to verify the accounts before they’re sent to the capital.”

Zhulan, ”....”

Should she say that the Emperor is formidable? He drops a bomb from time to time, and a single decree can truly turn everything upside down.

In two years, maritime trade has been frequent, and tax revenue has been considerable. This can no longer be considered just a slice of fat; these two years, who knows how many forces have been fattened, and now the noose is tightened around Maritime Affairs, how splendid.

Zhulan lamented profoundly, ”This is the real reason you were tossed here. If I remember correctly, didn’t you receive a warning when you first arrived in Pinggang?”

It’s barely been over a month in total.

Actually, being close to the capital is not good; some of the Eighth-rank officials are from noble families, either my dad is formidable, or it’s grandfather, uncle, or some such relation, and these officials are particularly arrogant, none respecting the others.

What does it matter if Zhou Shuren is a confidant of the Emperor? Their families are also to be employed importantly, and they are all in the capital. With exact control over annoyance, they aren’t afraid at all of the Emperor knowing; on the contrary, they wish for the Emperor to know, and show Zhou Shuren is not so capable.

In these past two months, Zhulan had been spared from trouble due to carrying a child, along with the Zhou family having had a difficult delivery, so no one really bothered her.

For Zhou Shuren, it was different; to subdue these arrogant people with scheming and tactics was not easy. The officials in Jinzhou Province had just been pacified, and now the Emperor had thrown an even bigger problem onto him.

Zhou Shuren said gloomily, ”So surely, the officials in Pinggang must be regretting now.”

Zhulan, ”..... They must be green with regret.”

Palace, the Emperor just finished having his evening meal, a dinner he had with his five sons. After the meal was over,

The Emperor glanced at his sons, then asked Eunuch Liu, ”Has the herald returned with the decree?”

Eunuch Liu felt sympathy for the Princes; the Emperor had kept them all afternoon, and though they were happy now, soon they wouldn’t be, ”Yes, he has returned.”

All four Princes, other than the Crown Prince, tensed up. Their father retaining them for dinner was unusual, indicating the decree was also extraordinary.

The Emperor said with a smile, ”All right, we’ll stop here for today. You may all return.”

The Crown Prince led his brothers out of the great hall, and after walking a bit, the Second Prince approached, ”Big brother, no, Your Highness, you stay with Father Emperor every day, do you know what the decree is about?”

The Crown Prince did know indeed. It began when Father Emperor enjoyed pitting Mr. Li and the sons of various families against each other; watching it as if it were a play, he also had the chance to see it. He had thought it would take Mr. Li at least three to four months to take over the Jinzhou Residence; unexpectedly, the matter was resolved in less than two months.

The reason being, Mr. Li wanted to be with his expectant wife, speeding up the process.

So, as Mr. Li sped up, Father Emperor did too. The decree originally prepared for summer was now being issued early.

The Crown Prince couldn’t deal with the frustrating brothers, so he chuckled and walked away; after all, they would all find out soon enough, no need to rush this moment.

The Second Prince stared at the Crown Prince’s retreating figure, barely concealing his frustrated expression. It was infuriating; the Crown Prince clearly knew, yet how come he had won Father Emperor’s favor so completely, jealousy.

After returning to their respective residences, they all understood the decree; some exploded with wrath. They had just been given a warning, and now there was this decree, how splendid, splendid indeed.

In the Crown Prince’s residence, the Crown Prince stood in the courtyard looking at the moon, which was big and round tonight; the cold breeze in the chilly courtyard cooled his heated heart. Father Emperor’s move had not only kept him informed but had also hinted at the underlying intent for him to be mindful, not to get agitated, and to stay true to himself.

The Crown Prince felt contemplative; Mr. Li was a live chess piece, and Father Emperor was using him to continuously improve the net he wished to close. Tomorrow morning, it was the turn of the deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

The next day, in Jinzhou Residence, Zhou Shuren had just left for the front when Deputy Magistrate Wong mockingly said, ”Mr. Zhou, today, the deputy minister’s household has been raided. Did you know that?”

Zhou Shuren fought to contain his twitching lips. Mr. Wong, I know your father is a high-ranking official, so there’s no need to show off how well-informed you are.

Zhou Shuren couldn’t say that aloud, ”Mr. Wong is well-informed, however, although Jinzhou is close to the capital, even a fast horse would take a while to deliver the news. Mr. Wong, I admire you.”

Wong Ju dryly chuckled, flustered by his own pettiness these days, naively showing off; fortunately, his father was unaware, or else he did not want to face the punishment of kneeling, ”Mr. Zhou jests; look at my memory, I have matters to attend to, how could I have forgotten.”

Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes internally, not bothering with the hastily retreating Mr. Wong, and sat down to drink tea. He might not have been well-informed, but he could calculate; from yesterday’s decree, he had known that the Emperor would cut off the spies within the Ministry of Revenue, though he hadn’t expected it would be the deputy minister.

Zhou Shuren felt speechless. The Ministry of Revenue, without the Minister’s tacit consent, how could the deputy minister have concealed anything? Wasn’t it that the Minister had received the Emperor’s decree, and how did they think they could hide it? After all, everyone’s actions were in the Emperor’s view. Zhou Shuren felt deeply depressed, having thought through the night and counter-analyzed the Emperor, only to realize he had trapped himself. Had he known, he would have taken his time so that at least he could have been with Zhulan for the birth.

Now it was too late; today the Emperor dealt with the deputy minister; just wait, soon there will be a decree to audit the accounts. Once the Maritime Affairs ledger arrives, ha, he does not dream of resting. He truly admired the Emperor, one move meticulously leading to the next, each one precise.

In the evening, Zhou Shuren returned to the residence and saw an invitation on the table, ”Whose is this?”