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

Chapter 926: Chapter 926: Many a Little Makes a Mickle

Zhulan bid farewell to the bewildered parents-in-law of Xue Mei, and she also discussed the events of the past few days with Xue Mei to completely reassure her daughter.

The old nanny Song returned very quickly, and Zhulan knew who had been blocking the older couple of the Jiang family. It was people from the Tao family, Zhulan thought to herself. After the death of old Master Tao, the Tao clan had declined without a savvy leader at the helm. Tao Shi often spoke of her elder brother with disappointment.

Since it was the Tao family, Zhulan had even fewer concerns, and sent someone to the Jiang family to say a word.

After Zhou Shuren woke up, Zhulan talked about the Tao family’s actions, ”At the moment, it’s either that Old Master Wang cannot suppress the ambitions of the Tao family, or Old Master Wang doesn’t want to deal with the Tao family.”

Zhou Shuren had just woken up and was very thirsty. While drinking water, he said, ”It must be that the old master doesn’t want to deal with the Tao family. The old master has managed them for so long out of respect for the deceased old Master Tao and Tao Shi. The old master is an outsider; it’s not good for him to interfere too much, and it’s also not good to keep blocking them.”

Zhulan curled her lips, ”Old Master Wang must have been scolded for meddling in others’ affairs!”

Zhou Shuren set down his water cup, ”However, this time while gathering information, the Tao family was used by someone else as a pawn—sure enough, as long as I have not really been demoted or convicted, neither old foxes nor slick operators will make any move.”

”Don’t mention the slick operators, even Lau Jing and others wouldn’t be fooled. Until the last moment, no one can assure there won’t be a reversal.”

In the capital, there are too many reversals, which is why people like to remove threats root and branch, to avoid leaving behind troubles.

Zhou Shuren chuckled lightly, ”Not everyone in the officialdom is an old fox; there are plenty of fools too. I have still deceived some people, but, those who have shown activity may not necessarily believe it; more are testing the waters. I have blocked too many people’s paths, and our family’s foundation in the capital is shallow. If I came from one of the noble families, there would be none of these real or feigned probes.”

Zhulan was well aware that it was not Zhou Shuren’s acting skills this time; it was because the Zhou family had no reliance on a clan. If Zhou Shuren, the tree, fell, the Zhou family’s reliance would be gone too.

Everyone in the capital could see clearly, and precisely because they could see clearly, there were more minor movements. The old foxes and slick operators understand the situation, but there are also those who are willing to take the opportunity to act from behind, fan the flames and add fuel, on the off chance that someone might undermine the Zhou family’s roots. Accumulating little by little, as long as no evidence is left behind, it’s a cost-free deal.

As for what Zhang Jinghong mentioned about the opportunists in the Ministry of Revenue, there is no shortage of such people anywhere. However, Zhou Shuren’s prestige is still very high. Some officials who leaned toward Qiu Yan were not even taken seriously by Zhou Shuren. These officials were also on Zhou Shuren’s list, preparing to find an opportunity to clean them out in the future.

There are people in The Six Ministries who just scrape by day after day with little ability but plenty of scheming, relying on the grace of their ancestors and relying on their families. That’s why they dare to switch allegiances openly, and of course, among them are also probing pawns.

In the Ministry of Revenue, Qiu Yan was extremely annoyed by Prince Ming Teng. He did not want to listen to Prince Ming Teng speak because it made him feel stupid. Every time he recalled Prince Ming Teng’s words, it angered him. Did he appear very foolish and brainless in Prince Ming Teng’s eyes?

Prince Ming Teng actually dared to suggest such things, like seizing the opportunity to pull Zhou Shuren down and supporting him in the Ministry of Revenue in the future. Heaven! It was the first time he realized Prince Ming Teng had such grand ambitions.

As for Zhou Shuren, ha, after nearly a year of interaction, he didn’t know what Zhou Shuren was thinking, but he was clear that Zhou Shuren wouldn’t have any problems. Seeing that the Grand Master of Writing casually approved a leave knew it. As for what Zhou Shuren was thinking, he truly didn’t want to know. He just hoped not to be involved in the future; he just wanted to live a stable life.

Xiao Qing naturally knew about the movements in the Ministry of Revenue, she pursed her lips. Some of the reforms Zhou Shuren made in the Ministry of Revenue had left some officials’ families bearing a grudge.

In the evening, when Mingyun and a few others returned, Ming Teng, who couldn’t keep his mouth shut, mentioned the situations at the Academy.

Zhulan didn’t take it seriously. The children at the Academy were young and easily swayed by rumors; their obvious reactions were normal. She actually considered it a good test.

What Zhulan was concerned about was, ”How about the Hanlin Academy?”

Chang Lian said with a smile, ”Mother, except for one or two, everyone else is as usual.”

What is the Hanlin Academy? It is a place that answers directly to the Emperor. Even if there were any fence-sitters, they would only be swayed by a strong wind, and now all is quiet.

In the following two days, there were petitions every day against Zhou Shuren, who was cautious, and those who clung to Zhou Shuren without letting go were his private associates. Those who caught Zhou Shuren’s attention were capable people. Since they had capability, naturally their official positions were not shabby, subtly implying that Zhou Shuren was forming cliques for personal gain.

Looking at the petitions from the past two days, the Emperor was speechless, ”It’s the same message over and over. Haven’t they found anything else?”

The Crown Prince thought to himself that Zhou Shuren was as cunning as an old fox; how could there be any leverage against him, ”We can only blame Grand Master Zhou for being too cautious, making it impossible to find any leverage to frame him.”

The Emperor flipped through another petition, finally finding something different, ”This one accuses Zhou Shuren of disrespecting the imperial power and being ungrateful for the Emperor’s grace.”

The Crown Prince leaned over to look, and the petition pinpoints Zhou Shuren’s deep love from the people in Lizhou Province and the fact that he had turned the Emperor’s rewards into jewelry.

The Emperor tossed aside the petition, ”These people do not believe that I want to punish Zhou Shuren. By accusing him, they are pricking at my heart, stirring up discord between Zhou Shuren and me as sovereign and subject.”

The Crown Prince carefully watched his father to confirm the Emperor did not take the content of the petition to heart, then he finally felt relieved, ”Grand Master Zhou is a pillar of talent and has blocked too many people’s paths.”

The Emperor patted the Crown Prince’s shoulder, ”A pillar of talent should be used properly, but in the future, you cannot rely on him too much, either. When there are suitable people to take over, let him stand firm to stabilize the court politics.”

This was the Emperor’s gradually formed opinion after getting to know Zhou Shuren. He was confident in controlling Zhou Shuren, but he felt uncertain about the time when the Crown Prince would ascend to the throne.

The Crown Prince’s heart raced. Could his father’s words be a clear indication that he would ascend to the throne? He squeezed his palm hard, ”Father, your son...”

The Emperor raised his hand, not wanting to hear what the Crown Prince had to say.

At the Zhou residence that evening, Zhou Shuren flipped through the petitions against him and said to his wife, ”Luckily, we returned the Qian family’s silver. Otherwise, it indeed would have been a handle against me.”

Zhulan was speechless, ”The Emperor actually let Rongchuan bring the petitions to you. This shows he trusts you and wants you to feel grateful and indebted!”

She never expected the Emperor to play it this way!

Zhou Shuren tossed aside the petitions, ”This also shows that the Emperor has become somewhat wary of me. Indeed, being too talented is not good; it not only draws resentment but also fear.”

Zhulan pointed at the petitions, ”Your aim to test was achieved; the Emperor trusts you.”

Zhou Shuren, ”Testing the Emperor was incidental, but the outcome is favorable.”

Zhulan held her husband’s hand. Zhou Shuren could also overthink and be absent-minded, especially within the power field of the capital.

Zhou Shuren changed the subject, ”Since these people cannot find any other leverage and in order not to overplay my hand, to prevent them from having the chance to frame me, I will return to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow. The testing this time has yielded the results I wanted.”

Zhulan, ”Mhm.”