Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 1157: Hereditary Unchangeable

At night, Zhou Shuren returned home and found both his fourth uncle and Shi Qing present, Shi Qing could now visit openly. Zhou Shuren said, "I’ll go change my clothes first."

After changing, Zhou Shuren returned, and Shi Qing stood up holding tea, "Uncle, please have some tea."

Zhou Shuren accepted it, "Thank you."

Shi Qing felt at ease in Zhou’s residence, not expecting that he and Minister Zhou would share such a connection.

Yu Dang opened his mouth, "The Emperor issued another decree, Shi Qing’s hereditary Marquis title is confirmed."

Tea sprayed from Zhou Shuren’s mouth as he coughed, "What?"

Shi Qing didn’t know if Minister Zhou was aware of the treasury matter and so he spoke of it, "I couldn’t guard it, it was clear the Emperor took me there with an intention. I just went with it and presented it, the Silver for the road construction will come from the gold. The world will remember the Rong family’s kindness."

Zhou Shuren took his wife’s handkerchief to wipe his mouth, "Are you saying the Emperor used the treasury’s gold for the roads?"

Shi Qing nodded, "The Emperor said so himself."

Zhou Shuren, elated, clapped his hands, "Good, this is great, I finally—"

Everyone looked at him; Zhou Shuren gave a dry laugh, relieved that the money wasn’t coming from the national treasury, which naturally pleased him. God knows how much hair he’s lost over various expenditures.

Yu Dang, deeply pained, struggled to breathe, breathing was painful. The treasury, worthy of being called a treasury, how much accumulation must the Rong family generations have had for it to be lessened?

Yesterday Yu Dang still harbored illusions that the Emperor wasn’t aware of the secret, but today his swollen face told a different story; the Emperor knew everything, his eyes intently focused on Zhou Shuren, "Did you know about the treasury?"

Zhou Shuren, acting excellently, replied, "I had no idea. How could I know? I am not a Rong by surname."

He could not admit it; if he did, it would appear as though he and the Emperor conspired against the Rong family’s treasury, which was actually entirely unrelated to him!

Yu Dang diverted his gaze, also feeling the Emperor would not inform Zhou Shuren, as the Emperor probably wouldn’t trust him that much.

Little did anyone know that not only was Zhou Shuren aware, but he had also personally visited and been astounded by it!

Shi Qing continued, "The Emperor asked me to consult with Great-Uncle about setting a date for changing my surname back and for the ancestral worship, so Great-Uncle brought me here to discuss with you."

Zhou Shuren looked at his fourth uncle with mixed feelings, "Fourth Uncle, my surname is Zhou!"

Yu Dang knew as well, "I have no one else here; as my nephew, whom else would I turn to? You have many sons and grandsons, lend me a few."

Zhou Shuren looked intently at his fourth uncle; discussing was a pretense, borrowing people was the true intention, "Whom does Fourth Uncle wish to borrow?"

Yu Dang smiled, "I don’t need your sons. I like the young lad Ming Teng, Ming Teng, yes, and Ming Rui too. Their temperaments complement each other well."

Zhou Shuren was greatly troubled; he had a premonition that after the ancestral rites, Fourth Uncle would not hold back anymore, "Has Fourth Uncle thought this through?"

Yu Dang’s eyes burned with intensity, "Yes, I have. You’ve always been reticent, and I felt awkward to speak up, but today you initiated the conversation."

Zhou Shuren had no objections to the adoption. Ming Teng was not good at studies; being adopted out, taking the Rong surname, and gaining a title, even his biological mother, were she alive, would have agreed. It was her maternal family after all, and she wouldn’t want this branch to lose its lineage.

Zhou Shuren moved his lips and finally said, "The eldest and his wife have returned to their hometown for ancestral worship, we will wait for their return."

Yu Dang beamed with joy, repeating, "Good, good."

Then he turned melancholic. "My body can’t endure much more, otherwise I’d truly like to visit your mother. When we were young, I was closest to your mother, you don’t know, your mother was very naughty as a child, bold, and particularly decisive. Lucky that she was decisive, otherwise, we wouldn’t have retained such an excellent lineage as yours."

Lucky indeed, their branch still had a lineage left.

As his uncle became sentimental again, Zhou Shuren added, "Mother is also smiling peacefully now."

Yu Dang smiled, "Right, as long as the great vengeance is avenged, all the spirits of the Rong family will rest in peace."

Shi Qing, initially just listening, felt the heat reaching him now, his hair standing on end. He pursed his lips and spoke, "The death of my wife Yao Yao’s mother was the doing of Marquis Yao."

Zhou Shuren had suspected as much, as the old illness was already very suspicious.

Yu Dang truly didn’t know and raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

Shi Qing nodded, "Yes, my wife believes it was something her mother heard that she shouldn’t have."

Zhou Shuren interjected, "The death of Yao Wenqi’s first wife and the concubine were similar."

Yu Dang gave a non-committal sound, saying no more.

After sharing dinner and some wine, Chang Yi escorted Yu Dang back.

Gu Ren had seen off the family members and contemplated the drama of the past few days; he was stunned when he first heard about it. There were still living members of the Rong family, whom he had met and even shared tea and watched a play with, oh, and the Rong family’s main branch had been doing business with them for years.

Gu Ren was relieved, thankful that the old man who knew the truth had not recognized him. He rushed to send a message back home, now receiving a response; the corner of his mouth hooked in a grin, who would have thought the Zhang family would be connected with the Rong family’s main branch.

Thinking of his recent contact with Shi Qing, Gu Ren couldn’t help but laugh heartily, thinking they could eliminate them once and they could do it a second time. And his family, despite being in trouble, had now a new opportunity because of the descendants of the Rong family. Gu Ren planned to prepare a generous gift.

The hereditary title of Shi Qing went unchallenged, together with the offerings from the Rong family’s treasury, the gold used for road repairs, and the Ministry of Works came out with the materials needed for road construction.

Rumors of the Rong family’s immense wealth were somewhat known to all families, evident even from the Emperor’s rebellious use of Silver Coin. Never did they imagine the Rong family also had a treasury!

All families, officials, civil and military, in the capital had the same reaction; the Rong family was indeed wealthy, but in the end, they couldn’t hold on to it!

The Emperor had moved gold from the Rong family, doing so openly. Zhou Shuren, a man trusted by the Emperor, had gone to account for it, lifting them out box by box, the effort of the soldiers indicating how heavy each box was.

Zhou Shuren felt numb tallying the accounts, Zhang Jinghong also came along, seeming dazed, "Sir, how many generations had the Rong family saved up!"

Was it all being scooped up now?

Yet Zhou Shuren thought of the case the Emperor held; he didn’t know how many generations the Rong family had saved up, but he knew, perhaps the Rong family really had a gold mine!

Prince Qi also joined the excitement, already publicizing it, most of it being used for road construction, there was no need to avoid any suspicions.

Prince Qi and Prince Chu were numbed too, Prince Qi clutching his chest; he had spent the most time at Rong Garden, how had he never discovered such a massive treasury underneath?

Prince Liang was the last to arrive, seeing box by box of gold, his eyes a bit red. If he had so much silver, why worry about big things not being accomplished!

By the end, Zhou Shuren was utterly exhausted. Even though he didn’t have to tally himself, just watching was tiring. Handing over the thick account book to the eunuch, Zhou Shuren returned to the Ministry of Revenue.