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

Chapter 515: Chapter 515: The Coming of Fortune_1

Zhou Shuren did not return to the study with the two handkerchiefs but went to Mr. Meng’s courtyard instead. Having Meng Jie as his apprentice for ten years had paid off; Mr. Meng had made up for many of his deficiencies. After all, he was not purely a person from ancient times—many of his ideas were still not suited for this era. Mr. Meng had been a great help to him.

Graduate Meng took the two handkerchiefs and inhaled sharply. What concerned him was not the map, but the other handkerchief, ”They really are bold, abducting serious criminals from the Imperial court’s custody. It looks like they’ve been doing this for more than a year or two. Indeed, people dying in exile is too common to notice.”

Zhou Shuren leaned back in his chair, ”It seems they’ve been fishing in secret for a long time. They probably thought catching a large number of skillful fishermen would draw too much attention, so they turned their attention to serious offenders. It is certainly easier to keep things hidden.”

Graduate Meng put down the handkerchief, ”The official pearl divers employed by our dynasty are indeed serious or capital offenders. Is this a hint from an official source?”

Zhou Shuren sipped his tea, ”Who knows? I’m just afraid that not all of the criminals they are taking away are meant for diving.”

Graduate Meng fell silent. That was indeed the case—they only saw what the message revealed, and a handkerchief could only carry so much information. It was good enough to contain important clues, but who could know the specific details?

Since the dynasty’s establishment, countless noble families had been purged, untold numbers of people killed—no one kept track anymore. How many prisoners there were in custody and how many were watched over—all uncertain.

Zhou Shuren massaged his temples, anxious to ferret out who was plotting against his family. The tail he was after now seemed too thick, making him restless, ”Help me sort this out. I need to draft a Zhezi.”

Graduate Meng replied, ”Alright.”

That night, as she was about to sleep, Zhulan couldn’t wait for Zhou Shuren to return. Lacking any desire to sleep and gently patting her son, her thoughts wandered to the Xu family; they had managed to find so much, which showed that Lord Xu was no simple man. Then, the last scheme against the Zhou family seemed far too clumsy.

Now coming to think of it, the Xu family did it on purpose, aiming to sever relations with the Zhou family and then switch to covert operations!

Zhulan was genuinely impressed and felt a sense of urgency, reminding herself that there were too many clever people out there.

In the middle of the night, Zhulan sensed someone at her side and opened her eyes abruptly, only to see Zhou Shuren just lying down. Thankfully the moon was full tonight; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to see Zhou Shuren clearly.

Zhou Shuren paused, then patted Zhulan’s back, ”Sorry, I scared you.”

Zhulan’s heart slowly calmed from its rapid beating, and she exhaled lengthily, ”Ah, I was a bit startled, mainly because what I learned today is life-threatening. I didn’t dare sleep too deeply.”

She had just been dreaming groggily—a dream filled with assassination attempts and poison!

Zhou Shuren expressed his understanding. Zhulan’s psychological resilience was quite good, as even he had gasped in shock today, ”The message has already been sent. This isn’t something I can handle alone.”

Zhulan asked, ”Have the handkerchiefs all been sent away too?”

Zhou Shuren nodded, ”Yes.”

Zhulan finally relaxed. After the scare had passed and her state of heightened alertness subsided, she clung tightly to Zhou Shuren, feeling gradually reassured—being together was what mattered. Soon, she fell asleep again.

Zhou Shuren, however, could not sleep. He held Zhulan tightly, contemplating whether the message had made it to the Palace. The person he sent was left to him by the Emperor for emergencies, a one-use means, expendable upon discovery.

Zhou Shuren thought hard for several hours; mental exhaustion finally making his thoughts fuzzy, he too drifted into sleep.

In the Palace, the Emperor, who had just retired, was roused. He didn’t look at the kneeling figure but hastily read the content of the Zhezi, anger flashing in his eyes. He glanced at the map on the handkerchief, took it with a stern expression, and said to the person on the floor, ”Don’t bother returning.”

”Yes.”

After the man left, the Emperor’s hand gripping the Zhezi turned white with tension. He ordered Eunuch Liu, ”Summon Mr. Di.”

Eunuch Liu, ”Yes.”

Emperor, ”Wait, never mind, you may leave.”

Eunuch Liu couldn’t wait to slip away, knowing the more about the Emperor, the more aware he was that it was precisely now when the Emperor was most angered, ”Yes.”

After having everyone leave, when the room was empty, the Emperor finally spoke, ”You will go to the place of exile to check all the detentions and list of materials. I will give you only three days.”

A response came from the empty hall, ”Yes.”

The Emperor sat on his chair, the candlelight illuminating his gloomy face. With eyes closed, it seemed that the previous dynasty’s influence had not been completely eradicated. The question was who had taken them in. The Emperor opened his eyes, picked up the vermilion pen, wrote the character Yao, struck a line through it, and put down the pen. Quietly he said, ”No, the timing isn’t right, he is patient, very patient.”

The Emperor took up the brush again and pulled over a piece of paper to write a not-so-long letter. After folding it neatly, he called someone over, ”Deliver this to Minister Zhou, and henceforth, you will stay by Minister Zhou’s side.”

”Yes.”

The Emperor stood up feeling much better. He thought of Zhou Shuren as his lucky general. The chess piece that was Zhou Shuren had helped him a great deal. Many issues that would have required forceful methods were resolved smoothly thanks to Zhou Shuren. Truly a lucky general. It was just unfortunate that Zhou Shuren was not young anymore. However, that was also good; the Emperor only hoped that Zhou Shuren would always know when to advance or retreat!

The next morning, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren got up. Jin Yan, who was close to Zhou Shuren, came over and whispered, ”Sir, someone from the capital has arrived.”

Zhou Shuren, ”Let’s go.”

In the study, a nondescript man stood. The man in his thirties seemed so easy to overlook even there in the study. Zhou Shuren marveled at how many treasures the Emperor had at his disposal; just look at how inconspicuous this one was.

The man bowed his head and said, ”Sir, the Emperor has decreed that from now on I will take Bing San’s place at your side.”

Zhou Shuren had long since figured out the hierarchy of these spies: A, B, C, D; Jin Yan and the like were of the D class, ”You are?”

The man respectfully said, ”Yi Shi.”

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, noting how quickly the ranks had grown around him. He had now reached the Yi class.

Yi Shi’s face remained expressionless, but his heart was anything but calm. It was known that the Yi class was assigned to watch over first-rank officers or nobility; this was the first time he had been placed with a Fourth-rank Prefect. That’s right—placed with, not watching over.

The other people being watched over—ministers and nobles—were unaware of it.

Zhou Shuren was unaware of what Yi Shi was thinking, and even if he had known, he would have praised himself, reflecting on his strong abilities.

Zhou Shuren received the letter from the Emperor, instructing him to take good care of Jinzhou Province. This time there was no need for covert cooperation; it was open cooperation. The Emperor gave him the name of a minister and directed him to take over the investigation in Jinzhou. The Emperor truly trusted his abilities. This letter was to be destroyed, which he did by lighting a candle to burn it.

As for Yi Shi, Zhou Shuren didn’t need to make arrangements; this person remained as the Emperor’s emergency resource for him.

During breakfast, Zhulan observed Zhou Shuren. Seeing him with a spring in his step, she let go of the worries she had been carrying and found herself with some appetite.

Zhou Shuren went to the government office. Mr. Wang, upon seeing Zhou Shuren, remarked, ”Today, Minister Zhou’s lips curl up more than they did in the past few days.”

Zhou Shuren, ”....Mr. Wang, you seem to be increasingly unrestrained.”

Ever since this man realized he couldn’t keep up appearances anymore, he took particular pleasure in agitating him, testing his mood from time to time. Nevertheless, one had to admire Mr. Wang’s keenness; half the time, his probes were accurate.