Just before the salt tax inspection team was about to set off, Zhou Chen found Sheng Changbai.
"This trip to inspect salt taxes in eight provinces is a very dangerous thing. Keeping your own safety must be the first priority in everything. I know your character, but don't forget that you still have a wife, children, and a big family.
We are waiting for you to come back safely."
Zhou Chen knew that Sheng Changbai was an honest and upright person, so if he took over this task, he would definitely do his best to complete it.
However, he knew that this inspection was very dangerous. Considering that Sheng Changbai was his brother-in-law, he still took the initiative to mention it to Sheng Changbai.
Sheng Changbai said respectfully: "Brother-in-law, don't worry, I know what to do."
"As long as you understand."
Zhou Chen nodded, and then whispered: "If you go with King Huan this time, he will definitely try his best to win over you. You must be mentally prepared and don't take sides easily. You should understand what I mean."
Sheng Changbai's face changed slightly, and he replied in a low voice: "Understood, our Sheng family is only a pure minister and will not take sides easily."
Nowadays, the official world is not yet stable. Although King Huan is the eldest son, he is not the prince after all.
Now the Sheng family is no longer a small family. There are two officials in scarlet robes and two in-laws from the Duke's Palace. He is the eldest son of the Sheng family. If he takes sides, his influence will still be huge.
of.
As the team inspecting the salt tax left, the situation in the DPRK became more and more serious. Now the officials have gradually begun to take power, and the Queen Mother is also deliberately retreating. This has gradually amplified the conflicts between the officials and officials.
.
In the minds of officials, they hope that officials can be like the late emperor, not so forceful, more lenient and kind, and not to offend their interests.
But of course today's officials are not willing to do this. He wants to concentrate power in his own hands, control the world, and truly rule the world. Anyone who dares to stand in his way is his enemy.
All parties represent their own interests, and it is normal to have conflicts. Among the hundreds of officials, there are really only a few officials who truly care about the world and all the people in the world. Most of them are for themselves and their families.
Regarding Mo Lan's affair with her foreign boyfriend, Sheng Hong pondered for several days and finally made up his mind and made a decision.
He was cruel at first and asked Dong Rong to beat Lin Sushuang hard. After Lin Sushuang was half dead, he threw her back to Zhuangzi outside the city and left her to fend for herself.
As for Mo Lan, he also chose the method mentioned by Zhou Chen. In the end, he couldn't be cruel and was unwilling to kill his biological daughter, so he forcibly made her a sister-in-law.
Facing Mo Lan's pleading, he almost relented, but when he thought of the Sheng family's face and his own face, he still endured the reluctance and completed the matter.
Lin Sushuang did not live long in Zhuangzi outside the city. Within a few days, she died due to excessive injuries. But even when she died, her eyes were wide open and she could not rest in peace.
Because before Lin Sushuang died, Ming Lan deliberately found an opportunity to visit Lin Sushuang and gave Lin Sushuang the most fatal blow, which made Lin Sushuang unable to rest in peace even to death.
As for Mo Lan, there was no news after she was forced to become a nun. The rumors about Mo Lan and Ling Guogong's legitimate son spread for a period of time, then quickly dissipated and no one cared about it.
This incident may have some impact on Sheng Mansion for a while, but in fact, it did not cause any substantial harm.
After Lin Sushuang and her daughter were gone, the Sheng Mansion returned to peace, and everyone returned to their previous lives.
If anyone in the Sheng Mansion is the most unhappy, it must be Wang Ruofu. She feels very aggrieved. She is being held by her mother-in-law above and the housekeeper's daughter-in-law below. She, the mother-in-law, is not able to do anything in front of her daughter-in-law.
There is no prestige.
In a blink of an eye, Prince Huan Zhao Ceying and others who were inspecting the salt tax had been away for several months. The inspection of the salt tax in eight provinces could not be solved in a short time. It was normal for it to drag on for a year and a half. This was a protracted battle.
The battle for the Imperial Examination also slowly came to an end. It was considered that the official family had won the victory, and Empress Dowager Cao also withdrew the curtain and returned to power.
But Zhou Chen knew clearly that the Queen Mother seemed to be withdrawing the curtain and returning power, but in fact she only gave up openly, and secretly started other plans.
The Queen Mother and the official family were not mother and son, let alone family ties. Since the official family did not take her seriously, she naturally would not recognize the official family, so she already had the idea of ​​​​changing her life, but she did not go there.
In front of the stage, he used another person, Liu Guifei, who was next to the official.
Concubine Liu is the only concubine in the official harem who has a son besides the queen.
The Queen Mother chose her, on the one hand because of her young son, and on the other hand because Liu Guifei was easy to control.
Zhou Chen knew all this clearly, but he had no intention of intervening. He was also very curious. The Guan family's situation was slightly different from that in the plot. Without the help of the protagonist Gu Tingye, he didn't know whether he could survive the fight.
Queen Mother.
In fact, being a courtier in the Song Dynasty, especially being a noble, was very easy in the past dynasties. No matter who won in the end, basically the nobles would not be touched unless you stood in line in advance and stood still.
If you are on the wrong team, the consequences will be self-evident.
Moreover, for the vast majority of civil servants in the Song Dynasty, they did not care much about who became the emperor. As long as the emperor listened to them, they were willing to support him.
These civil servants of the Song Dynasty were still very capable when it came to being the CPU emperor.
That day, as soon as Zhou Chen came down from the morning court, Li Naiguan, who was next to the Queen Mother, came to see him.
Li Neiguan was the internal eunuch beside the late emperor, and he was very familiar with Zhou Chen.
"Dong Jingguo, the Queen Mother please come over."
"Okay, then please ask Li Neiguan to lead the way."
As soon as Zhou Chen went to see the Queen Mother with Li Neiguan, the official family received the news.
"Duke Jingguo? He is a smart man. I believe he will not make the wrong choice."
The officials had always wanted to win over Zhou Chen, a top figure among the powerful, but Zhou Chen, like many other officials, was very tactful and did not clearly become his person, but he also did not get too close to the Queen Mother.
Therefore, although he also win over Zhou Chen, he is not too close, as long as Zhou Chen does not go to the Queen Mother.
And Zhou Chen did not disappoint him. He always worked seriously and did not turn to the Queen Mother. He felt that Zhou Chen was a smart man and knew how to choose.
After a long time, Zhou Chen left the Queen Mother's palace. The Queen Mother warmly invited him to have a meal with him.
During this period, the Queen Mother deliberately tested him and wanted to gain his support, but Zhou Chen handled it calmly, making it clear in secret that he would never do anything detrimental to the Queen Mother, but he would also not do anything treasonous.
The Queen Mother was not satisfied with his answer, but she didn't say anything else. Even if Zhou Chen didn't fully support her, it would be enough for her as long as she didn't take refuge in the official family.
The reason why she values ​​and respects Zhou Chen so much is because she has seen how powerful Zhou Chen is. During the palace coup that year, only Zhou Chen in the world has such ability to attack the capital so quickly.
Enter the palace and protect her and the late emperor.
She may not have the ambition to expand the territory, but she naturally wants to take such a powerful general under her command.
From the communication with the Queen Mother, Zhou Chen has also determined that the Queen Mother has already started to take action. Not only the Queen Mother, but also the officials have also taken action. After all, he is the commander of the palace, and guarding the palace is also one of his functions.
As long as he thought about it, there weren't many things that the palace could hide from him.
In the following period, the officials and the Queen Mother summoned him alone several times, which made him understand that the officials and the Queen Mother could no longer bear it.
The officials wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to eradicate the Queen Mother's party, and the Queen Mother also wanted to regain power. The prerequisite was to get rid of the officials.
Zhou Chen understands that at this moment, his current position as the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Chief is very embarrassing, because whether it is forcing the palace to change or other treasonous situations, he, the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Chief, cannot be circumvented.
Envoy, because now most of the imperial troops in the palace are controlled by him.
He is now caught in the middle. Whoever he favors will have a greater winning rate.
"We must find a way to escape as soon as possible."
Zhou Chen didn't want to get involved in this fight between the emperor and the queen mother, so the best way was to temporarily give up control of the stage so that they could act as they pleased without any scruples.
…………
There was no morning service today, so Zhou Chen had breakfast with Hua Lan at home. Just after breakfast, someone came to look for him. When he saw him, his expression suddenly changed slightly.
This man was the spy he sent out to keep an eye on him. If he came to him at this time, he must have discovered something.
After a while, Zhou Chen went back to the house and said to Hua Lan: "Madam, the weather has gotten colder. I have free time today. Let's go visit the old lady together?"
"Going to see grandma? Okay, I'll go find some good brocade horses to bring."
Since she dealt with Lin Sushuang and her daughter, she has not returned to the Sheng Mansion for a while. Since Zhou Chen brought it up, she would naturally not object.
"By the way, call Shulan. Last time, my grandmother said she wanted to come to the house to see Shulan, but she never came. This time we will take Shulan with us."
"Okay, let me call you, but you don't need to take the two children with you. You can send them to my mother's courtyard to play with Brother Xu."
"good."
So the two of them cleaned up, and soon Shulan came over, and then they took a carriage out together and headed to Sheng Mansion.
The Sheng Mansion is also prospering now. Sheng Hong was promoted to the fourth rank not long ago. Sheng Changbai has only been in office for more than three years, but now he is also wearing a scarlet robe. This time he will inspect the salt tax of eight provinces with King Huan. If he comes back safely, he will definitely return the favor.
Can go one step further.
Therefore, the current Sheng Mansion, even if we put aside the in-laws, can be regarded as a middle-class wealthy family in the capital. The main reason is not Sheng Hong, but Sheng Changbai. He has a bright future at a young age, and many people are optimistic about Sheng Changbai's future.
Zhou Chen and the others came earlier, but the old lady had already gotten up and had breakfast. At this time, she was looking at the plate of dessert on the table, ready to pick it up and put it in her mouth.
But at this moment, Fang's mother suddenly walked in from outside.
To be continued...