Eunuch Liu, the emperor’s close attendant, had left the palace openly; he did not conceal it. The capital was an interesting place—such matters were soon known by everyone who needed to know. The Marquis knew that the Emperor had reprimanded him and was also aware that the Emperor indeed valued Zhou Shuren. Thinking of the mess in Lizhou City, the Emperor really should have valued him.

Other officials wondered what had caught the Emperor’s eye about Zhou Shuren, and if so, why had he been sent to Lizhou City? Could he really be capable?

Information traveled in the capital in ancient times as fast as it does in modern times.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren didn’t care; they were leaving anyway.

The next day, Wu Ming left early, and Chang Lian didn’t need a motorcade to accompany him. He went on his own, and Zhulan didn’t ask him to take Yushui with him. The family didn’t have many servants, and in Lizhou City, there were more people needed.

After Wu Ming left, the Yang family’s carriages arrived. Zhulan had packed everything. The Yang family rested for the night, and the next day, they set off with the Zhou family.

The long convoy, accompanied by numerous officials and the silver convoy, was a magnificent sight.

Zhulan sat in the carriage, calculating the fifty thousand taels of silver the court was giving to farmers in Lizhou City to buy seeds and alleviate famine. It wasn’t much, but the court, having just fought a war, was broke. The Emperor had sold his mansion to raise the fifty thousand taels.

The thought of this made Zhulan’s mouth twitch. It was the first time she’d seen the Emperor publicly sell a mansion, one he’d reserved for a reward. It was truly remarkable. He’d sold two mansions, making a considerable sum, but he had so many expenses that he could only spare fifty thousand taels.

The day before leaving, Zhou Shuren was summoned to the palace. He returned with more detailed information about Lizhou City, which weighed heavily on Zhulan’s heart. Even with the arrival of spring and the availability of wild vegetables, many people in Lizhou City were still starved to death.

Zhou Shuren heard Zhulan sighing and hugged Zhulan, “Take a rest and don’t think about it.”

How could Zhulan not think about it? It was only fifty thousand taels of silver. The Emperor really thought highly of Zhou Shuren. How many villages and towns were there around the entire state city? Moreover, Lizhou City was originally an upper state, one of the six most populous upper states.

Even if some people were lost, the population was still not small. Zhulan felt a headache just thinking about it. Forget it, she didn’t want to think about it today. She wanted to sleep for a while.

The caravan was moving very fast. There was no waterway to Lizhou City, and the only means of transportation was a horse carriage. At night, when they arrived at the nearest post station, Zhulan got off the carriage to visit her parents.

Yang Dayong and Sun Shi only had a good rest in the capital for one night. They were tired after traveling continuously.

Zhulan helped her mother to the room, “Mom, I’m sorry to have made you suffer.”

Sun Shi waved her hands, “What are you talking about? I was worried about the dangers of going to Lizhou City, but now I am going with you because of you. Mom didn’t suffer.”

Zhulan looked at Sun Shi’s white hair and felt very uncomfortable. She hadn’t seen her mother for more than half a year, and her mother looked more than five years older. “Mom, you and Dad should rest first. I’ll go get you some hot water.”

Sun Shi didn’t stop her. She knew her daughter was feeling bad and wanted to be filial to them, “Okay.”

Because there were too many people, they had to wait for dinner. Zhulan helped her parents wash up first. After everything was cleaned up and the food was ready, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren took Xuehan to have dinner together.

Dinner was ginseng chicken soup. Zhulan bought the ginseng for her parents in the capital, especially for her parents to nourish their bodies.

After dinner, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren returned to their room.

Zhou Shuren pressed Zhulan’s shoulders, “Let me massage your shoulders.”

Zhulan was indeed tired. At home, she was either taken care of by Zhou Shuren or by Li Shi and Xinghua. She had never served anyone except Zhou Shuren when he was drunk.

Zhulan ran back and forth to fetch hot water and washed clothes for her parents. Her shoulders were indeed aching. “I have done my best for the original self.”

Zhou Shuren, without being partial to Zhulan, felt that Zhulan did a much better job than the original self.

Zhulan’s shoulders felt much better, and she gestured for Zhou Shuren to sit down. Zhou Shuren had been busy in the carriage, either reading documents or looking at maps he had obtained from the Emperor. He was also very tired. “Let me massage you.”

Zhou Shuren was not polite. He had been writing a lot recently, and his shoulders were indeed sore. “Yeah.”

After Zhulan and Zhou Shuren rested for a while, they did not sleep either. Zhou Shuren wanted to break the silver into eight pieces and count them, while Zhulan helped with the calculations.

By the time they went to bed, it was already late, and they had to get up early the next day.

After breakfast, they continued on their journey. The situation in Lizhou City did not wait for anyone. Five days later, they arrived in Qizhou City. As soon as the convoy stopped, Zhou Shuren took Boss Zhou out.

Zhou Shuren didn’t come back until the meal was ready. After dinner, he returned to the room and said, “I’ve been to the grain stores in the state capital. There are very few sweet potatoes and potatoes. Every grain store mainly sells cornmeal and other things, and the prices are not cheap. If we want to buy in bulk, we still have to go to the village to buy them.”

Zhulan knew this would happen. “We can’t collect much along the way.”

Zhou Shuren also knew, “Something is better than nothing. What’s the point of going to Lizhou City with silver if we can’t buy food?”

Zhulan added, “And the price of food will get higher the further west you go.”

Zhou Shuren walked back and forth in the house. After a few turns, he said, “I have to entrust this matter to your eldest and second brothers. They and the officials will split up to collect the money. The more they can, the better.”

Zhulan said, “Okay.”

Zhou Shuren said, “I’ll go and withdraw the silver first. Fortunately, the Emperor agreed to my request to use the silver on the way; otherwise, it would be even more difficult for us.”

(End of this chapter)

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