Zhou Shuren pulled the pillow over and lay down. “The Zhao family is still doing what they should do. Zhao Bo secretly told me that things will calm down in a few days, so I don’t need to worry.”

Zhulan sighed, “A big family is a big family, they are really well-informed.”

Zhou Shuren nodded, “I guess the war started in the Northwest. There were only two battles on the Northeastern border.”

Zhulan got the confirmation and had nothing to worry about. She lay beside Zhou Shuren with her eyes closed. “Several states in the north let the people who were heading south come here, but when they arrived at Pingzhou City, they were very tough and wouldn’t let them enter the city or pass through. It seems like they are taking the opportunity to purge the officials from the states who let the people come here!”

Zhou Shuren hummed, “I guess they had been wanting to clean it up for a long time, and this is a good opportunity to do it all at once.”

Zhulan thought that this Emperor would probably not only settle accounts in a few states but would definitely settle all that needed to be settled at once. “Our Emperor has calculated people’s hearts to the core.”

“True.”

It was also extremely bloody, and a lot of people most probably will die in this reckoning.

In the evening, Rong Chuan and Mingyun came back. Rong Chuan said that none of the officials’ children asked for leave, as they all went to the academy to study.

For Zhulan, it seemed that the officials of Pingzhou City were deeply trusted by the Emperor. This was really a good thing. At least Pingzhou City was safe!

Time passed quickly, and seven days went by in the blink of an eye. A lot of things happened in Pingzhou City. On the third day after the city was closed, someone wanted to take the opportunity to make a fortune, but unfortunately, he was caught. As soon as he was arrested, he was beheaded in the street without any ambiguity. This completely frightened those who wanted to make a fortune. Afterward, there were more patrolling soldiers in Pingzhou City.

The shops in the city were still open, especially the grain stores. It was probably because the merchants were afraid of being suppressed since the establishment of the dynasty, and having seen the bloody tactics, no one dared to take the opportunity to make a fortune. The price of grain returned to normal, and the state capital was not in chaos at all.

Apart from the difficulty of eating meat, people in the city still did what they should do.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. The army passed by Pingzhou City and sent the people who came to the south, back. The next day, Pingzhou City opened its gates.

Although the city gates were opened, no one dared to leave the city at will, because the army passed through the North city gate and killed many people who resisted. The corpses outside the city gates were cleared, but the mud was still stained red with blood.

To put it nicely, it meant sending the people home but to put it bluntly, it is more appropriate to say they were escorted back.

Zhulan didn’t know how many people had died. She learned the news from Wu Li Shi. Zhulan didn’t sleep that night. It was the first time in two years that she had personally experienced a bloody suppression. Although her original body had memories of it, the personal experience still had a great impact on her. Human life was worthless in ancient times, and even less so during war.

Three days later, it rained heavily in Pingzhou City. After the heavy rain, the bloodstains outside the North City gate were no longer obvious due to the mud. The people in the city dared to go out of the city gate.

Pingzhou City recovered completely as if what happened a few days ago had never happened.

Qian Shengbao came to Zhou’s house. This time, Qian Shengbao was the only one who came. “My dear relatives, the landlord Zhang from Qianjia Village moved his family south.”

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan understood Qian Shengbao’s intention. Zhou Shuren lowered his eyes and said, “Do you want to buy it?”

Qian Shengbao didn’t believe that Zhou Xiucai didn’t understand what he meant. Zhou Xiucai did it on purpose. He wanted to buy it but didn’t dare. If he bought it, wouldn’t it tell everyone that he had a lot of silver? But it
was different for the in-laws. He knew that Lord Jiang looked after the third son of the in-laws, and Dean Xu was the master of the fourth son of the in-laws. These were all connections.

Especially Xu Jinshi’s network of contacts. Xu Jinshi’s academy had produced many scholars and juren over the years, and many of them had become officials. Moreover, many of these students were children of officials, so Xu Jinshi was always given some face when he asked for something from them. Although Xu Jinshi did not accept many apprentices, those he accepted were either officials or had a good reputation.

After the two sons of the Zhou family became xiucai, they were no longer the Zhou family of the past. The Zhou family could keep the property they bought.

Qian Shengbao took a deep breath. His in-laws were more foxy than he was. He could not bear the title of an old fox. His in-laws were the real old fox. He laughed dryly and said, “I can’t keep it even if I buy it. I thought that my in-laws should not miss this good thing, so I came to tell them specially.”

Zhou Shuren spread his hands, “No money!”

Even if he had the money, he would not buy it. There were so many people eyeing the properties of the landlords near the provincial capital. The status of the Zhou family was indeed different, but they were not so crazy as to compete with the government for property.

Qian Shengbao was anxious. “Landlord Zhang’s land is the best in the surrounding area. Many people are eyeing it. If we miss this opportunity, we will never have it again.”

Zhulan interrupted, “We don’t have money.”

Qian Shengbao pursed his brows. Why did the woman interrupt? Oh, his qīnjiā mǔ didn’t leave today. Seeing that Zhou Xiucai didn’t feel shy at all, he quickly relaxed his frown. It seemed that the qīnjiā mǔ had a very high status in her qīnjiā gōng’s heart. She could even interfere in the outside world. Qian Shengbao rolled his eyes and said, “If my qīnjiā is short of money, I can lend it to him.”

Zhulan sneered in her heart, “It’s not a matter of money. Even if we have money, we won’t buy it. The Zhou family still knows how much money we have. We all know what the qīnjiā is thinking. I advise the qīnjiā not to put your minds to it.”

Bah, Qian Shengbao hoped that the Zhou family would buy the land, but he knew how much money the Zhou family had. The Zhou family didn’t have that much money to buy the land, so the Qian family could lend money, but how could the Zhou family pay back the money? They could only pay back the land. The Qian family naturally got the protection of the Zhou family and got the land. This was a very clever calculation.

Qian Shengbao was stunned and looked at Zhou Xiucai. Zhou Xiucai didn’t say anything. Qian Shengbao was shocked. He had heard Fang Shi say that his qīnjiā mǔ was not an ordinary person, but he really didn’t care about her. She was just a woman. But today he believed it. Although his qīnjiā mǔ didn’t explain his thoughts, she guessed what he was thinking.

Moreover, the qīnjiā mǔ not only had a high status in the hearts of the qīnjiā gōng but was obviously able to make decisions!

Qian Shengbao felt that he could struggle a little longer, “I do want to gain some benefits, but the opportunity is really rare. Do you really want to miss it?”

Zhulan said quietly, “Favours are gone once used. You must understand this. Besides, it is better to be a quiet person to be liked by others. Don’t you think I am right?”

Qian Shengbao understood that his qīnjiā mǔ told him that the Zhou family would not use the connections gained by their sons for the sake of land, and if they did, they would use them where it counts. She also told him that the Zhou family liked relatives who were content with what they did!

Zhou Shuren looked at Qian Shengbao’s expression and thought, hey, the best way to deal with this old fox, was to crush him. Zhulan was the most suitable one. Who let the old fox look down on women? He had wanted to do this for a long time. “It’s getting late. I have something else to do, so I won’t keep my qīnjiā here any longer.”

This was the first time Qian Shengbao was sent away. He knew that the Zhou family didn’t like him anymore, so he stood up awkwardly and said, “Then I’ll go back first.”

Zhou Shuren, “Yes.”

Boss Zhou, who had been standing in the background, moved at this moment, “Shū, I’ll take you there.”

Qian Shengbao smiled and said, “Thank you for troubling my Eldest zhí.”

Boss Zhou really admired Old Man Qian. Even after being skinned alive by his parents, Old Man Qian could still smile. This thickness of skin was not something that ordinary people could achieve.

Qian Shengbao twitched his lips. Zhou Xiucai’s eldest son was really understanding. It was because he understood that he felt upset. He really thought that no one would be willing to be thick-skinned. It was because he was a slave. Why did he feel that Zhou Xiucai’s son was the one who made him angry the most?

(End of this chapter)

---