Zhou Shuren followed the young eunuch, heaving a sigh of relief. These past few days had been particularly taxing as the Ministry of Revenue was a place that wore people out. In just a few short days, he felt as if he had shaved a year off his life.
Inside the main hall, the Emperor leisurely examined the Zhezi, his mood uplifted. Not only had 500,000 taels of silver been accrued as revenue, but in a couple of days, even more would come in. Following the southern floods, the silver allocated for resettling the affected and repairing the dikes was accounted for, and even the previously tedious Zhezi headers seemed intriguing today.
Upon hearing footsteps, the Emperor spoke without lifting his head, "Did you find anything out?"
The Crown Prince, who had excused himself to his father to meet with Zhou Shuren inside the Palace, couldn’t hide such an encounter from anyone, so it was better to be upfront about it, "No, Zhou Shuren’s responses seemed meticulous yet he left some ambiguity, leaving me with doubts still."
The Emperor had never intended to sweat the small stuff. Whether Zhou Shuren had something up his sleeve didn’t matter as long as the outcome was favorable, so there was no need for him to investigate, "Sometimes it’s better to be a bit oblivious; you’re still too young."
It simply wasn’t worth the considerable effort expended on this matter.
The Crown Prince bowed his head to acknowledge the advice, "I understand, father."
The Emperor continued, "Be it Zhou Shuren or any other official, as long as they don’t cross the line, there’s no hurry to correct them. However, if they repeatedly challenge authority, do not be soft on them. Son, you must develop your own standards for measuring an official’s conduct."
His own standards weren’t suitable for the Crown Prince, who needed to forge and understand his own criteria and boundaries. Once the Crown Prince became adept at wielding and controlling these, the Emperor would be at ease.
That evening, Zhou Shuren returned home, to the surprise of his family.
Zhulan inquired, "Why have you come back today?"
Zhou Shuren rolled his shoulders, "The silver is all accounted for. Now that the Xu family’s donations have provided a base, the Ministry of Revenue isn’t under pressure anymore, so everyone went home to rest."
Zhulan handed him some clean clothes, and while taking advantage of old Mrs. Song’s absence, she asked, "How much did the Xu family ?"
"Ten thousand taels of silver."
Zhulan’s eyes widened, "My heavens, to directly come up with 500,000 taels of silver like that, the Xu family sure kept their wealth hidden deep."
And they did it all in one day’s time; it was only yesterday that they received the hint. This wasn’t money raised; it was the silver the Xu family had readily available.
Zhou Shuren reflected, "I never thought it would be so much. When we first got to know the Xu family, they were just minor merchants. Over the years working as sea traders and with the support of the Crown Prince, they’ve increased their fortunes who knows how many times over."
Zhulan caught the main point, "So, sea trade really does bring in the silver. But Mr. Xu must be quite the character. The minor merchant we saw back then might have also been a front for the Xu family!"
Zhou Shuren, having changed his clothes, said, "Who knows, this time the Xu family got what they wanted."
Seeing that the room was empty, Zhou Shuren went on to quietly share with his wife the details of his meeting with the Crown Prince, "Later, go to the study. I’ll speak with Chang Lian, and you could talk with the wife of the third son as well."
Zhulan nodded, "I got it."
At the dinner table, once his father had taken his seat, Chang Lian broached the topic, "Father, the Hanlin Academy has completed its tally and will deliver the donations to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow."
Zhou Shuren had a couple of bites to stave off hunger before answering: "You are a Scholar; how much have you d?"
Chang Lian replied, "Among the Hanlin Academy, our family is relatively well-off, so I d ten taels. Others who aren’t as well-off d one or two taels, and a few who could afford to give more did so. However, the most given in our chamber was ten taels."
Rongchuan joined in, "We don’t have many people in our chamber, and the most anyone d was also ten taels."
Zhou Shuren acknowledged this, "That’s fine; just give what you can. Better to deliver it early tomorrow and avoid queuing up."
In the past, queuing at the Ministry of Revenue meant waiting to hand over silver; now, it was about queuing to receive silver.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Chang Lian asked, "Father, what about you? How much silver will you ?"
It was only then that Zhou Shuren remembered he had not discussed this with his wife, "Five hundred taels. The Zhou family has just moved to the capital, and despite distributing it over several relocations, it’s not subjected to scrutiny."
Ah, there goes another five hundred taels. Spending so much silver at once was worrying for Zhulan; several months remained until the silver was due, and their calculated expenses were already tight, leaving their hands somewhat tied!