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

Chapter 1202: Chapter 1202: Never Too Old to Learn

The Emperor’s eyes brightened as he listened. First, it didn’t cost the imperial court a single coin of silver, yet it could enhance the prestige of the Host Department. Second, he saw the benefits.

The Minister of Rites was dumbfounded, already sitting in the position of Chief of Staff; none there were fools. Following Zhou Shuren’s train of thought, his heart thumped wildly. Now looking at Zhou Shuren, he saw a golden baby—Zhou Shuren was destined to be a man of the Ministry of Revenue!

Zhou Shuren swallowed back what he was about to say about trademarks. At this time, it was all about family crests, which already represented trademarks. He stroked his beard, considering that since there was soliciting of trade and sponsors, these were methods that could bring in silver.

Zhou Shuren coughed and continued, ”Emperor, both food and utilities could be solicited for trade. Emperor, let the highest bid win, of course, they must also be of good quality. We cannot be sloppy when representing the nation. Lastly, the silver from the soliciting of trade must definitely be allocated to the Ministry of Revenue.”

The Minister of Rites, ”....”

He was deeply upset, the money should have rightfully been for the Ministry of Rites, a rare chance for surplus!

The Emperor too saw the underlying benefits and naturally couldn’t let the Ministry of Rites monopolize them, ”Hmm, We approve. As for the matter of soliciting trade, the Ministry of Rites should draft a set of regulations for Our review.”

Zhou Shuren was delighted, more silver would be incoming. As for the drafting of regulations being left to the Ministry of Rites itself, Zhou understood this was the Emperor’s way of compensating the Ministry. There were plenty of underhanded tricks involved, which amounted to sharing some sweet returns with the Ministry of Rites.

The Minister of Rites beamed with joy, ”Then, Your Servant shall take his leave.”

The Emperor acknowledged with a sound, retaining Zhou Shuren alone, ”Take a look at this Zhezi.”

Zhou Shuren took it with confusion and after reading, said, ”Foreigners want to serve in the court as officials?”

He carefully recalled his history lessons—indeed, there had been quite a few.

The Emperor asked, ”What do you think?”

Zhou Shuren clapped his hands, ”It’s a good thing, Your Majesty. I have always said to embrace strengths and compensate for weaknesses. However, the language barrier is a major obstacle. I think we could recruit foreigners to serve in court as officials, Emperor. How about the idea of translators?”

Translating every day, while avoiding secrets, translating foreign texts, and then even more domestic books... Going through the languages of various countries multiple times means this task would never end!

The Emperor smiled, ”We think it a very good idea. The translators shall be officials of the Ministry of Rites, with a specific duty to translate foreign books—a Chief Translator of the Sixth Rank, and the rest of Seventh Rank.”

”Blood is thicker than water,” the Emperor had never considered stopping foreigners from coming, but it was possible to make the most of them through controlled utilization.

Zhou Shuren was also quite pleased, as this would spare his wife from having to learn various foreign languages. With her hot temper, his days would not be easy.

Zhou Shuren thought it over and decided to take some proper channels, ”Emperor, I have a favor to ask.”

The Emperor smiled warmly, ”Speak. As long as it is within my power, I will certainly help you.”

Zhou Shuren chuckled inwardly, still setting a condition, ”My second son is very interested in the mathematical books of the foreigners and has some talent. Yesterday, my wife also found them intriguing. I would like to request the Emperor to gift me some foreign books.”

The Emperor pointed at Zhou Shuren’s face, ”That injury on your face must have come about in the same way, hadn’t it? I don’t know what to say to you. Since you put so much emphasis on pleasing your wife, I will gift you some foreign books.”

Zhou Shuren, ”??”

He felt the Emperor had made quite a few assumptions!

Indeed, the Emperor had made assumptions, thinking that Lady Yang wanted to learn and Zhou Shuren was reluctant, so she bit him!

Regardless, Zhulan received the delivered books, and there were quite a few varieties. She picked out the English books—the largest proportion—and as for the others, she was truly sorry, but she did not understand or recognize them!

Xue Han flipped through them one by one, ”Mother, are these the books Father found for Second Brother?”

Today, her sister-in-law said that Second Brother had moved quite a few foreign books back yesterday and cherished them greatly.

Zhulan deadpanned, ”No, these are what your father sought out for me.”

She couldn’t just inexplicably have the knowledge, so she had no choice but to put the responsibility on Zhou Shuren’s shoulders, saying that Zhou Shuren taught her, and then with her extraordinary talent, she learned on her own. Zhou Shuren was busy, and if Chang Yi had any questions, he could ask her!

Zhulan felt helpless, but who told her that she couldn’t just inexplicably know these things? Casually, Zhou Shuren’s reputation as an all-capable father reached new heights of perfection!

Xue Han was dumbfounded, ”Mom, did Dad find these for you?”

Zhulan lied with a smile, ”Yes, I thought it was quite interesting, so I asked your dad to find some for me to read as well. They always say you’re never too old to learn, and I also want to learn more.”

Xue Han, ”....”

The current situation was somewhat beyond her comprehension. Her mother was actually interested in these symbols?

Lady Li dropped the handkerchief she was holding. She had felt sleepy just glancing through these foreign texts, and now her mother-in-law actually wanted to learn, ”Mother, you are truly amazing.”

She had never seen such a hardworking elderly lady.

Zhulan smiled, ”Yes, I also think I am incredible.”

There were so many people who did not want to recall their high school years, including her.

On the journey to Fuzhou Province, Prince Qi had not only learned of Rongchuan’s safety, but had also discovered the islands where the Zhang family resided. Prince Qi felt acomplex mix of emotions; Rongchuan’s luck was too good.

However, Prince Qi clenched his fan tighter. He had to settle accounts for these days of worry and fear. As long as it did not cause significant damage, the Emperor and the Crown Prince wouldn’t mind.

The guard on horseback came alongside the carriage from outside, ”Your highness, the people in the carriage behind us can’t hold on much longer.”

Prince Qi, ”Has he confessed yet?”

”No, he’s still clenching his jaw and refusing to speak.”

Prince Qi chuckled, ”I want to see how tough his bones are. If he still won’t talk today, use the harmful ointment on him. They know the dangers of that stuff. Go ahead.”

This ointment could make a person neither human nor ghost. Clenching his fist, Prince Qi knew that after he settled the score, he must widely publicize the harms.

At night, after the Zhou family finished their meal, Zhulan wanted to read. She picked up a pen to calculate, and based on the memories she hadn’t forgotten, she tried to organize anything useful. As a science student, she didn’t know which laws came from which periods; she only felt that the formulas were useful.

As for Zhou Shuren, he indeed studied history, but he was unclear about these things as well.

This resulted in Zhulan looking eagerly, ”Has this formula appeared yet?”

Zhou Shuren, ”....Yes, we need to ask the ambassador.”

Zhulan, ”....That’s the only way.”

Yu Dang walked around after dinner and upon entering saw his nephew and niece-in-law staring at a book, frowning as if they were researching some significant matter, and he asked, ”What’s going on here?”

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan looked up, and Zhulan organized the books and papers with calculations quietly, making sure that too much on these sheets wasn’t seen by others.

Zhou Shuren inquired, ”Uncle, what brings you here?”

Yu Dang lowered his eyelids, seeing that the couple was being secretive and unwilling to share; he asked no further, ”I came to ask, the Zhezi you sent to request Feng Changli’s promotion has been submitted for quite a few days now, is there a result?”

Because of Ming Teng, he was especially worried about the main household. These days, he couldn’t enter the palace and was rather anxious.

Zhou Shuren said, ”The ones from the Duke Ning Residence, and some from other Hou Residences, haven’t been approved either.”

Aside from the unexpected case of Ming Teng, some had been submitted for six months without approval. It seemed the Emperor was planning to approve them all at once once everything had settled.

Seeing his niece-in-law leave with a book, Yu Dang lowered his voice, ”How long does the Emperor plan to keep Yao Wenqi confined in the Hou Residence?”