Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 1207: Into the Dungeon

It was already five days, and the result of the Ministry of Rites’ merchant bidding had come out. To expand the benefits, the Ministry of Rites did not entrust all the supplies to one merchant but instead divided the bidding among different merchants.

On this day, Zhou Shuren had already sent the Silver Coin from the bidding into the Ministry of Revenue’s accounts and he walked home briskly that evening.

However, his good mood faded a bit when he saw Chang Yi waiting at the front door.

Chang Yi had finally waited for his father to return, "Father, you’re back."

Zhou Shuren glanced at the notebook in Chang Yi’s hand and frowned. He had thought that Chang Yi, following Mr. Sun in the bidding, would be busier. Unexpectedly, Chang Yi had taken the task too lightly; while Mr. Sun and others were extremely busy, Chang Yi even found time to study on his own.

Zhou Shuren took over the notebook, "Encountered any difficult problems again?"

In Chang Yi’s eyes, there was a glow of eagerness to learn, "Father, you explain things more thoroughly than the Westerners. I’ve been studying quickly these past two days, so I have compiled quite a few difficult questions."

After speaking, Chang Yi felt a bit embarrassed. He thought he was still too slow. The Westerners exaggerated too much, even calling him a rare talent!

Zhou Shuren, holding the notebook, and his wife had decided, his wife would teach herself and then instruct Chang Yi. But the idea that his wife could become proficient in just a few days to teach his son seemed far-fetched, so he would start teaching, "Hmm, I’ll take it back and look it over, and teach you after dinner."

Chang Yi, "Thank you, father."

Zhou Shuren, holding the notebook, walked back to the courtyard and, upon entering the house, saw his wife reading. He placed the notebook in front of her, "Take a look at this first."

Zhulan put down the book and flipped through it, "Quite a few today."

Zhou Shuren, "Yes, Chang Yi is really diving into his studies."

Zhulan picked up a pen, "Come here, I’ll teach you first."

Zhou Shuren, "..."

He held back; as long as his wife could openly teach the son, he would not need to learn.

Zhulan explained one of the problems and, even though he had handed the task over to a teacher, Zhou Shuren still had some basics. Zhulan smiled, "I think with this way of explaining, you could actually teach our son yourself."

Zhou Shuren, "I’m very busy."

Zhulan just teased Zhou Shuren; she had recently taken an interest in the subject and found it quite fascinating.

Out at sea, the soldiers who had been watching the island reported, "A boat has come out from the island."

General Hou, "Send someone to follow it, but don’t get noticed."

Soldier, "Yes."

Rongchuan asked, "General, when can we attack the island?"

General Hou, "We wait for the imperial decree."

Rongchuan had grown tired of staying at sea, missing his wife and daughter. He hoped this mission would end soon.

Since ships were large and noticeable, they were all stationed on an island a distance away from the Zhang family’s island, which made them less likely to be discovered.

As Rongchuan enjoyed the sea breeze, he spotted Yang Wen standing guard and was quite surprised, "How did you end up standing guard on the main ship?"

Seeing his cousin by marriage, Yang Wen excitedly said, "Thanks to your blessing, cousin uncle, I was transferred to the main ship."

If it was up to him alone, he didn’t know when he would have gained General Hou’s favor. This time, following his cousin uncle, he had caught General Hou’s eye. As long as he survived this attack on the island, he could be promoted.

Rongchuan patted Yang Wen, "That’s your own capability."

Without real capability, even using his connection wouldn’t have caught General Hou’s eye.

Zhulan had recently engaged with General Hou and had come to understand him better, finding him to be a man who valued talent.

In the capital, at Zhang Jinghong’s home, Zhang Jinghong was holding a letter that had just been dropped into the bedroom.

Yao Xin was startled, hastening to her feet before Zhang Jinghong could react; Yao Xin had already run to her son’s bedroom. Under the puzzled gazes of the maids and servants, Yao Xin picked up her sleeping son along with the blanket and quickly returned to the room.

Upon receiving his son from her, Zhang Jinghong saw that the little guy was sleeping soundly, still asleep when placed on the bed. Zhang Jinghong patted his wife’s shoulder in consolation. freewёbnoνel.com

It was then that Yao Xin felt her legs weaken, sitting down heavily on the edge of the bed, "Silently delivering a letter, are they threatening us?"

Zhang Jinghong murmured, "Mm."

He didn’t want to deceive his wife, preferring to tell her the worst outcome rather than cling to illusions, only to be oblivious to his demise.

Yao Xin’s lips trembled uncontrollably, "We’ve been living so low-key, we just want to live properly, why, why won’t they leave us alone."

Zhang Jinghong pursed his lips, "My background is the original sin."

He thought that by keeping a low profile for a few years, with his life becoming increasingly smooth, and having secured his position in the Ministry of Revenue, and with his son growing up, their peaceful days should have followed suit.

But the Zhang family would not let go of him, this chess piece from the beginning, always on their minds.

Yao Xin truly broke into tears, "What do they want you to do?"

It was a matter of life and death. If he agreed, there would be no intact corpse; if he didn’t, they could be silenced at any moment. His family just wanted to live their lives discreetly; why was it so hard!

Zhang Jinghong had already read the letter, now embracing his crying wife, "Stop crying, I will arrange everything properly."

Yao Xin clutched tightly the inner garment of her husband, truly frightened, wishing only for her family to be safe and sound.

The next day, at the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren had just arrived when he saw Zhang Jinghong standing outside his office, "You came early today."

Zhang Jinghong, holding a ledger, said, "I found a record error, so I dared not delay."

Zhou Shuren took the ledger and walked into the office, commenting as he went, "That shouldn’t be, nowadays, they tally everything three times, how could there be an error."

Zhang Jinghong knew that his every move was under scrutiny, which was why he hadn’t planned to say anything to the senior official today. He opened the ledger, "Here."

Zhou Shuren saw it and truly found an error, frowning, "Who was responsible for this?"

Zhang Jinghong replied, "Li Qing was responsible, probably accounted numerous times recently and overlooked the details, thus recording it incorrectly."

Zhou Shuren was silent, nearsighted indeed, those who read under lamp light for examinations often developed myopia, especially those who took many exams consecutively, Li Qing was severely nearsighted.

Zhou Shuren asked, "Hasn’t he bought glasses?"

Recently, glasses had become very popular, initially sold by foreign merchants, but unfortunately, since the local glass technology improved, within a few days, foreign glasses were no longer a sensation, replaced directly by domestic ones, much to the foreigners’ chagrin.

Zhang Jinghong replied, "As you know, Li Qing supports a large family, living tightly, glasses are still not cheap."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, "Living in the capital is not easy."

Then Zhou Shuren acknowledged, at the Ministry of Revenue, he needed to advocate for some benefits for his subordinates; Li Qing’s capabilities were still commendable, competent people needed to be retained, "You go back and tell Li Qing."

Zhang Jinghong responded, "Yes."

After Zhang Jinghong left, Zhou Shuren waited for the Chief of Staff, as the benefits had to be advocated for by the Chief of Staff. Indeed, the cost price of glasses wasn’t much, just sold at a higher price, cost-price benefits were still feasible.

Xiao Qing naturally agreed and wrote a memorandum.

The memorandum was approved quickly, only needing to count how many people in the Ministry of Revenue needed glasses. Although they could not measure the precise prescription as modern times, it was considered quite an achievement for ancient times.

In the afternoon, the glasses arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, and the news that Rong Enqing was imprisoned spread.