“Come in.”

Boss Zhou opened the door and handed the note to his father, “Dad, the servants in the Marquis’ Mansion are particularly arrogant. They asked you to take the note and go over, saying that the Marquis wants to see you.”

It really pissed him off, as if he were summoning a servant.

Zhou Shuren flipped open the note, “It’s from the Marquis.”

He was quite surprised that it was from the Marquis. He had heard some rumors about what kind of person the Marquis was. He was mediocre in terms of ability. He rarely went to the Ministry of War for his post. Most of the time, he was either watching operas or hunting, and never participated in any government affairs.

But he didn’t see it that way. The Marquis was able to inherit the title from the old Marquis. How could he be a simple heir? Mediocrity means self-preservation. He should have kept a low profile. Why would he want to see him?

Zhulan took the invitation. It was so perfunctory, without even a word of courtesy, that it made her want to curse. “Are you going?”

Zhou Shuren stood up. “Of course, why not? I’m also curious about what kind of person the Marquis is who can make Yao Zheyu change so much.”

Zhulan pursed her lips. The servants in the Marquis’ Mansion were so arrogant. She didn’t believe that he was not instructed to do so. The servants were best at guessing what their masters meant. “You’ll be in trouble.”

Zhou Shuren sneered. “The Marquis’ Mansion doesn’t dare to go too far. They are just keeping a low profile. I am the Bangyan in the imperial examination that the Emperor values. The Marquis’ Mansion doesn’t dare to offend the Emperor. I guess the Marquis really wants to see me, but I don’t know why.”

Zhulan thought so too. The Emperor had always wanted to get rid of the Marquis’ Mansion, and the Marquis’ Mansion didn’t dare to do anything. His arrogance just now was just a show of power. “Be careful.”

Zhou Shuren patted Zhulan’s hand. “Don’t worry.”

He had been to the palace before, and a Marquis’ Mansion was really nothing.

Boss Zhou’s uneasy heart was also soothed by his father’s words, mainly because his father looked too calm. He used to think that the eldest son of the Marquis’ Mansion was not bad, but now he didn’t think so anymore. He hated the Marquis’ Mansion.

Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to leave and became absent-minded. She cursed Yao Zheyu in her heart. If it weren’t for Yao Zheyu, they would not have anything to do with the Marquis’ Mansion. Zhulan thought of the Emperor. The Emperor disliked the Marquis’ Mansion so much. Now that Zhou Shuren had gone to the Marquis’ Mansion, she didn’t know what the Emperor would think!

There was a knock on the door. Chang Lian was standing outside. “Dad.”

Zhulan opened the door. “Your dad is out. Do you have something to talk to your dad about?”

Chang Lian said, “Dad said I would adjust my mentality and then come to him.”

Today had dealt him quite a blow. His jiěfu was zhèng wǔ pǐnMain Fifth Rank: Higher in status; considered a full, formal fifth-rank official, while his father had only just started as cóng wǔ pǐnSubordinate Fifth Rank: Lower in status; considered an assistant or auxiliary fifth-rank official. On top of that, Mèng jǔrén was his jiěfu’s teacher. He had gone in full of confidence—yet as it turned out, if not for his jiěfu, the teacher wouldn’t have accepted him at all.

He felt a bit dazed—first it was Xǔ jìnshì, then Mèng jǔrén. Was he really that bad?

Zhulan motioned for Chang Lian to come in and talk. She knew why Zhou Shuren wanted to talk to Chang Lian, and it happened that she also wanted to do something to distract herself.

Chang Lian felt a little aggrieved. He was obviously a good person. “Mom.”

Zhulan looked at Chang Lian. She and Zhou Shuren were busy. When Chang Lian came, Zhulan didn’t look at Chang Lian carefully, except when asking about the family situation. Well, she was better than Zhou Shuren. Zhou Shuren didn’t notice it at all.

Now she looked at Chang Lian carefully. The boy had grown taller. He was seventeen this year. Time flies. She had celebrated three New Years in ancient times. In the blink of an eye, the children had grown up.

The child suffered a big blow today. She didn’t feel distressed. Instead, she felt good. She pointed to the chair next to her and motioned for Chang Lian to sit down. “Have you seen Wu Ming feel aggrieved these days?”

Chang Lian sat down and recalled carefully, shaking his head and saying, “No.”

Now the entire capital was abuzz with the news that this year’s Zhuangyuan was not favored by the Emperor. He couldn’t help but think—if he were Wu Ming, he wouldn’t be able to endure it. Clearly the Zhuangyuan, yet he had been assigned to serve as a zhīxiànCounty Magistrate in the borderlands.

Zhulan, “You have to know that a person is truly strong only when he is strong inside. Wu Ming is a person with a strong heart. No matter whether he is treated coldly or valued, he knows what he wants, and he can bear it. Such people will soar to the sky as long as they get the opportunity. You have to remember that a short-term setback is not a lifetime. A lifetime is very long. There will be many opportunities in a long life. Don’t just look at the present.”

Chang Lian realized it. To put it bluntly, his heart was not strong enough. He was too impetuous, especially after his father became an official. He seemed to be walking on clouds all the time. His heart would still be affected by external things. “Mom, you are so good.”

Zhulan looked at her son lying on his lap. It felt like she was really the mother who gave birth to Chang Lian. She felt Chang Lian’s admiration for her. In fact, Chang Lian did something okay. At least he did not learn bad things from various temptations. Although she did not ask, she could imagine Chang Lian’s life in Pingzhou City. For three years, the child has been trying hard to change himself.

If she and Zhou Shuren had come a few years earlier, the child wouldn’t have been so mentally unstable. When they came, Chang Lian was fourteen years old, and his character had already been formed. She felt a sense of accomplishment that he could change into this. If jade were not carved correctly, it would not become a useful object. It still needed hard work.

Zhulan looked at the back of Chang Lian’s head with curved eyes, “Son, it’s time for you to train your mind. What your father wants to tell you is that you are going to prepare to set off for your hometown. After the autumn harvest this year, you will come to Lizhou City with your second brother. For more than half a year, you should study hard and calm down in the house in Lijia Village!”

Chang Lian.”

Mother was really good at ruining the atmosphere. His premonition turned out to be right. He suddenly glared, as if it was after his mother called him that his father wrote a note to the Jiang Mansion, and that’s when the following things happened. He was not stupid. Thinking about it carefully, his mother had already seen that he was impetuous, so his mother not only gave him a hint, but also had planned to let him go back to his hometown!

Chang Lian trembled in his heart when he thought of what his master said, asking him to study quietly for a year. Mother was the person in the family who should not be offended the most!

Chang Lian straightened up, feeling very complicated. He had just felt his mother’s love and care, but then he was hit on the head with a stick, “Mom.”

Zhulan squinted her eyes, quite smart, he reacted so quickly, “Come with me to buy some things to take back home.”

Chang Lian, “. Okay.”

Zhulan took Chang Lian to the street to buy things, and Zhou Shuren also wandered to the Marquis’ Mansion. Zhou Shuren was not in a hurry to come; he was not a servant of the Marquis’ Mansion.

Zhou Shuren got off the carriage. The gate of the Marquis’ Mansion was magnificent, and the mansion alone made him jealous. The mansion awarded by the Emperor was, of course, poorer than this Marquis’s Mansion. Zhou Shuren thought that the Emperor must be jealous too. How much silver was the mansion worth!

The servant who had been waiting at the side door for a long time was contemptuous in his heart. So what if the Emperor valued him? He was just a worldly-wise person. He felt proud of himself when he thought so, “Zhōu dàrén, the Marquis has been waiting for a long time.”

Zhou Shuren didn’t care about the servant’s tone at all. He would not get angry with insignificant people. It was not worth losing too much money. “Let’s go!”

The servant frowned. This Zhōu dàrén was too indifferent. Looking at Zhōu dàrén’s clothes carefully, the servant put away some of his contempt. “Zhōu dàrén, please come in.”

Zhou Shuren followed slowly, glancing around. The Marquis’s Mansion was so big, with so many servants, and so rich. Zhou Shuren walked for a while before he arrived at the main hall of the Marquis’s Mansion, where guests were met.

The Marquis was already waiting. Zhou Shuren looked at the Marquis. He looked 40% like Yao Zheyu. The most similar part was the nose. Yao Zheyu was good-looking, and the Marquis was also good-looking. He had a good figure because of years of hunting. Zhou Shuren wanted to touch his belly. After coming to the capital, he studied hard and didn’t have time to exercise. He was fat and had a belly.

Zhou Shuren looked at the Marquis, and the Marquis also looked at Zhou Shuren, thinking to himself, was this the Zhōu dàrén that the Emperor valued? He had an ordinary appearance, an ordinary height, an unattractive beard, a bad figure, and nothing was outstanding about his appearance!

(end of this chapter)

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