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

Chapter 888: Chapter 888 There Is No Way

Inside the two small boxes, one contained six books, and the other held three paintings, that was all!

Zhou Shuren glanced at the remaining space in the boxes, feeling that there was still room for two more books and one painting!

In the Palace, the Emperor carefully questioned the expressions of the young eunuch Zhou Shuren, even asking twice before finally letting the young eunuch go with satisfaction.

The Crown Prince wanted to laugh, but in the end, he restrained himself. His father claimed that he didn’t mind Rongchuan buttering up Zhou Shuren, yet he clearly took note of it, and now he had reclaimed the gifts.

The Emperor was in a very good mood, indeed, he was. A large amount of Silver Coin had come into the accounts, and the antiques and calligraphy from the confiscated family could be traded for more Silver. The national treasury was finally no longer pitiable. ”The fourth son has truly made a great contribution this time.”

The Crown Prince didn’t care much, ”This time, the fourth brother indeed suffered quite a bit.”

Don’t think that being a Prince means no one dares to touch you. During his time in Jianghuai, the fourth brother nearly got poisoned, and it was a strong poison at that, even surviving a few assassination attempts. If it weren’t for the people sent by the Emperor, the fourth brother might really have met his end in Jianghuai.

The Emperor shifted the topic away from the fourth son, ”The second son has seemed quite idle these past few days.”

The Crown Prince replied, ”He just wants to know the exact news about his ennoblement as king.”

The Emperor hummed in response, then continued to examine the Zhezi.

The Crown Prince’s eyes followed the Zhezi, but he stil felt the pressure inside. He kept telling himself not to panic. The ennoblement of his brothers as kings was just a matter of time, and he was the one destined to ascend the throne.

That evening, after the Zhou family had dinner, Chang Lian and Chang Zhi stayed in their parents’ room and wouldn’t leave, both fixated on the already opened box.

Zhou Shuren leisurely picked up a book and began to skim through it, quickly getting absorbed; thankfully, the Emperor had picked out treasures and hadn’t tried to fool him with inferior items.

Chang Lian wanted to reach out and take one, but he didn’t dare; he nudged his younger brother, motioning him to go ahead.

Chang Zhi also felt the itch to touch them but was somewhat speechless. If his third brother didn’t dare, he dared even less. Luckily, he thought fast, seeing his mother come out, he called, ”Mother.”

Zhulan was hearing her fourth son call her so sweetly for the first time, and seeing Chang Zhi eagerly looking at the books, she chuckled softly, ”Take whichever one you like to read.”

Chang Lian quickly reached out, his mother’s words were effective, she had agreed, so surely father would not object. But father was too bad, he was deliberately tempting them just a moment ago, ”Thank you, Mother.”

Zhou Shuren looked somewhat reproachfully at his wife; he hadn’t had enough fun yet!

Zhulan glared at Zhou Shuren, it was already so late.

Zhou Shuren touched his nose and put the book down, then said to his two sons, ”Once you’ve chosen, take them back to read, and I will put the rest in the study.”

Chang Lian and Chang Zhi exclaimed in unison, ”Thank you, Father.”

Zhou Shuren waved them off, ”Hurry up and go.”

The two brothers quickly left with their books, as if afraid that staying any longer would make their father change his mind.

After his two sons had run off, and he could still hear their playful noises in the courtyard, Zhou Shuren said with slight disdain, ”They’re fathers themselves, and yet they act just like children.”

Zhulan was quite pleased, ”That shows how close they are. They never used to play like this before.”

Zhou Shuren considered it and felt quite proud of himself, ”My educational methods are not bad.”

Zhulan gave a small cough, ”Do all the merits belong to you?”

Zhou Shuren felt like a sycophant, ”No, they all belong to my wife, all to my wife.”

Zhulan twirled around, ”I feel like I’ve slimmed down a little, don’t you think?”

Zhou Shuren didn’t dare to tell the truth that his wife hadn’t lost weight, ”Ah, yes, you’ve slimmed down.”

”Your tone seems hesitant.”

”Not at all, you’ve definitely slimmed down.”

Zhulan felt deflated, ”Why is it so hard to lose weight these days!”

Zhou Shuren spoke softly, ”Why is it so hard for me to gain weight?”

Zhulan replied, ”...I think it’s better if we sleep in separate rooms tonight. What do you think?”

Zhou Shuren dashed back to the bedroom, stripped off his outer garment, and dove into bed, tightly closing his eyes. He would rather die than sleep in separate rooms.

Zhulan huffed, ”Don’t you have anything to say?”

Zhou Shuren sneaked a peek, ”I hope all the flesh on your body moves to mine; I want to share the burden for my wife.”

Zhulan was quite pleased with this answer, ”Alright, I’ll allow you to sleep in the room.”

”Thank you for your generous mercy, my lady.”

The next day, Xiao Qing and Zhou Shuren both attended the morning court session with the Emperor, who retained them afterwards.

The Emperor began, ”There’s a large quantity of antique paintings and calligraphy this time. Do you both have any better ways to handle them?”

Zhou Shuren thought to himself, isn’t it just because the volume is large, and you don’t want to deal with it cheaply!

Xiao Qing was a bit troubled. They had just dealt with a batch not long ago, and this time the volume was indeed large. The Ministry of Revenue’s storage space outside had been insufficient, and only after hastily arranging another place did they barely manage to fit everything.

Xiao Qing, ”After the New Year, transport them to Jiangnan and deal with them in batches.”

The Emperor was dissatisfied with this suggestion, ”What about sending some of the lower-grade antiques overseas for disposal?”

Zhou Shuren replied, ”Overseas markets are fond of jewelry, fabrics, spices, face powder, and such!”

Antiques, well, they are not currently popular overseas. You’d think it was the modern era. Besides, many overseas nations have never been stable, so who has that much Silver Coin to spend on a mere decoration? They would rather buy more food!

The Emperor regretted, ”Then do you have any other methods?”

Zhou Shuren indeed had an idea but didn’t want to reveal it, especially since the Emperor had been stingy. Just yesterday, he was being petty, ”Dealing with antique paintings and calligraphy is Mr. Qiu’s responsibility. This official has not been involved in such matters and thus has no suggestions.”

The Emperor was uncertain. He only believed half of what Zhou Shuren said, but Zhou Shuren’s expression was so sincere. ”Xiao, my dear official, you two go back and think it over. See if you can come up with any good methods.”

Xiao Qing, ”Understood.”

After leaving the government hall, Zhou Shuren’s thoughts began to drift. In recent years, the Emperor really did dispose of too many antique paintings and calligraphy. Within the capital circuit, the officials had bought a few times but dared not buy more. Even if the Ministry of Revenue offered prices lower than the market rate, it would still require a great deal of Silver, and frequent purchases would signal to everyone that his household had money.

So the question arose, where did all that money come from?

Merchants had money, for sure, but they wouldn’t keep buying antiques and paintings relentlessly either.

Having left the Palace, Xiao Qing mentioned, ”The jewelry and fabrics from this raid could be sent overseas.”

Zhou Shuren nodded, ”Overseas markets have always esteemed our domestic jewelry, and even though the prices have dropped a bit from the beginning, they are still much higher than domestic prices. Accounting for expenses, the profit from selling them overseas far exceeds what we earn from domestic depreciation deals.”

Xiao Qing added, ”Some books that are not old texts should be cataloged and placed in the library upon return.”

Zhou Shuren took note, ”I will have someone inventory them once we return.”

Xiao Qing looked at Zhou Shuren, ”Do you really have no good solutions?”

Zhou Shuren couldn’t confess. He hadn’t even admitted it in front of the Emperor. If he were to acknowledge it to Xiao now, the Emperor would hold it against him. ”This official has not dealt with such matters before and cannot think of any good solutions at the moment.”

Xiao Qing could no longer read Zhou Shuren’s intentions, and simply nodded, ”Qiu Yan is recuperating these days; you’ll have to take on more responsibility. Sorry for the trouble.”

Zhou Shuren bowed his head, ”You are the one working hard. This is what I should be doing.”

In Xiao Qing’s heart, Zhou Shuren was the most slippery of all. You could only catch his tail if he let you; otherwise, you could only watch helplessly!

When Zhou Shuren returned to the Ministry of Revenue, he summoned Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang inquired, ”My lord, do you have any instructions for me?”