Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

The next day, when Zou Tai was out of town for inspection, he was surprised to find some unfamiliar faces among the disaster victims. He could recognize these unfamiliar faces at a glance because they exuded a unique aura that was completely different from that of the disaster victims.

These people always hunched their backs, and even the men wore ragged, coarse clothes, yet each one had a fair, delicate complexion. Someone who didn't often visit the palace might not notice the clues, but Zou Tai saw through it at a glance: they were all eunuchs.

The emperor must have taken his words to heart, hence his dispatch of his men. He wasn't afraid of the emperor's men's inquiries. After all, since he'd been distributing food to the victims and patrolling frequently, the people were naturally familiar with him. Furthermore, he would do his utmost to help anyone in need, earning him an excellent reputation among the victims.

The man who had threatened to erect a longevity tablet for him was right, but it wasn't because he'd used the money Zhao Liangchen had given him to distribute food to the disaster victims. Rather, it was because the man's only son was seriously ill and on the verge of death. He had invited a doctor from the city to treat the child, paying for it out of his own pocket. Naturally, the family was deeply grateful to him for saving his life.

The emperor did not care why the victims praised Zou Tai, but whenever someone praised Zou Tai, the emperor would conclude that the food provided by Zhao Liangchen was effective.

Word spread that someone had found the relief silver and that Prince Liang would lead an army to escort the victims and the silver back to Chanzhou. Soon, the victims expressed gratitude to Prince Liang, and rumors spread that he was exceptionally capable and loved the people like his own children. After the late emperor's death, the young emperor offered him the opportunity to ascend the throne, but he righteously declined, personally helping the emperor ascend the throne and meticulously mentoring and assisting him for many years. He was truly a minister of the greatest merit and a capable ruler of both virtue and talent.

This news soon reached the palace. Zou Tai didn't know whether the emperor was happy or not, but he knew that his special purpose had been achieved.

He told Zhao Liangchen about this, his excitement barely concealed in his words: "Liangchen, what do you think we should do next?"

Zhao Liangchen shook his head and said, "You don't need to take any further action. Compared to those officials, our foundation is still shallow and our strength is also weak. If we are targeted, we will be easily suppressed. Therefore, we must not get too involved and can only serve the emperor in secret."

Zou Tai still had doubts: "However, Prince Liang is a man of deep scheming. If we don't make more plans, won't the emperor fall prey to his schemes?"

Zhao Liangchen said gravely, "Although the Emperor is still young, he is by no means incompetent or foolish. He didn't know this before because no one told him. Now that he knows, he won't let anyone manipulate him and will definitely fight back."

Moreover, he wasn't fighting alone. The Emperor was the legitimate heir, and the majority of the court officials supported him. Previously, however, the government was controlled by the four regents, making it difficult to demonstrate the Emperor's abilities, and therefore, no ministers openly supported him. Now that the Emperor was old enough to rule, if he could demonstrate some talent, those officials who supported the orthodoxy would naturally gravitate towards him.

Zou Tai nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll do whatever you say."

After five days of recuperation, Zhao Liangchen no longer felt dizzy, so he planned to go out of town to take a look.

First, he had to cooperate with Zou Tai to change his "reputation" among the disaster victims, and at the same time help the emperor improve his reputation;

Secondly, he wanted to go see Su Qin. Although he knew that she should be doing well, he still felt uneasy without seeing her with his own eyes.

When he went out, he changed into a coarse cloth gown that matched the belt and purse Su Qin had given him. After thinking for a while, he picked out some supplements and cloth from the pile of things Zhao Jian and Madam Zhao had given him and packed them into a bundle.

When he walked to the front yard, Zhao Jian saw him and planned to go out of the city to take a look. Zhao Liangchen saluted naturally: "Father."

Zhao Jian saw the bundle in his hand and asked, "Are you going to leave the house?"

Zhao Liangchen nodded: "Yes, in previous years my son would accompany his teacher to celebrate the festival. This year, something delayed him during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so he planned to go and see his teacher today."

When Zhao Jian saw the bundle in his hand, he knew that Zhao Liangchen was giving the good things he had given him to Zeng Xian. He was dissatisfied, but he couldn't get angry.

After all, it was he who encouraged Zhao Liangchen to become Zeng Xian's disciple and to be filial to him.

Although Zeng Xian did not hold an official position, he taught and educated people throughout his life, and had countless students who traveled around. He was also very accomplished in poetry and songs, so he had a very high status among students and civil servants. Establishing a good relationship with him would definitely be beneficial to their future uprising.

Therefore, he could only smile and nod: "Something happened at home this year, so I didn't send any festival gifts to your teacher. Please wait a moment, I will ask someone to notify your mother to prepare some festival gifts for your teacher. If you are feeling better, I will send the carriage from the mansion to take you there."

Adhering to the principle of not taking advantage of others, Zhao Liangchen nodded obediently: "Thank you, father."

Zhao Jian ordered his servant to find Madam Zhao, and the two stood in the front yard waiting. Zhao Jian frowned when he saw the coarse cloth Zhao Liangchen was wearing. "Didn't your mother send you a lot of fine fabric? Why are you still dressed so shabbily? If you go out dressed like this, won't outsiders laugh at our Zhao family's poverty?"

Zhao Liangchen sneered in his heart. He had been wearing this kind of clothes before. Later, he secretly earned money to make himself some decent clothes. Why didn't he feel ashamed of his shabby clothes and the loss of face for the Zhao family before, but now he is afraid of losing face for the Zhao family?

He thought so in his heart, but replied respectfully on the surface: "Father, I did this intentionally. There are so many disaster victims outside the city who have not been resettled yet. The ministers in the court have donated money, and I believe you have donated a lot as well. If I were to go out and show off in fancy clothes at this time, I am afraid that the people would think that you are just sitting there doing nothing and corrupt. It is not appropriate for our family to be too high-profile now."

After hearing this, Zhao Jian actually felt that what he said was quite right. It was true that he was under house arrest now, and it was indeed not appropriate for him to be too high-profile. It would be best to let everyone think that after he donated the silver, the daily expenses of the mansion were greatly affected. The poorer he was, the better his reputation would be.

He nodded and praised, "You are very thoughtful. I will go to your mother later to tell her that the expenses of the mansion will be reduced in the future. We should also be more frugal."

Zhao Liangchen praised Zhao Jian again for his understanding of the greater good. Whether the government's expenses were reduced or not had little to do with him. Whatever was in the government house was not his in the past, and it would not be his in the future.

However, this decision affected other children, especially the legitimate sons and daughters born to Mrs. Zhao.

Zhao Liangsi studied at the Imperial College, which was populated by children of high-ranking officials and meritorious servicemen. His family background did not allow him to rank among them, so he used to use money to make friends with children of upper-class noble families. However, once his expenses were cut, he could not afford to support those people, and his status in the Imperial College plummeted. For this reason, he went home and made a fuss several times, but compared with his situation, Zhao Jian was more concerned about his own career, and Zhao Liangsi did not give in despite his several complaints.

Especially later, Zhao Jian secretly found the censor to praise him for donating most of his wealth to the victims and living a frugal life, saying that he was a model for all officials. For this, the emperor also showed his commendation. From then on, he would not increase Zhao Liangsi's spending, and Zhao Liangsi completely bid farewell to the upper class circle.

Mrs. Zhao's daughter, Zhao Qingning, was also greatly affected. Without money to buy new jewelry and clothes, she would be laughed at when she went out. As a result, she gradually became a little withdrawn and didn't like to go out.

Zhao Gupan's situation was even worse. Her monthly salary was originally small, and the money she had secretly saved was taken away by Zhao Liangchen. She could ask Zhao Liangchen for more money before, but since the Mid-Autumn Festival, whenever she cried poor to Zhao Liangchen, Zhao Liangchen would cry poor with her, saying that all his money had been sent to the Ministry of Justice and given to the victims, and he had nothing left. This directly led to her life in the mansion being worse than that of a servant.

Zhao Liangchen didn't know what kind of life his proposal would bring to the other people in the mansion. He just wanted to wear the belt and purse that Su Qin gave him with a clear conscience. He had been wearing this belt and purse for a long time, so much so that when Su Qin later made him new ones with better material and more exquisite ones, he was unwilling to change them because that was the first time Su Qin gave them to him, and she still thought of giving them to him under such difficult conditions. This friendship was precious to him.

In fact, he was overthinking it. When Su Qin made it, she didn't think of Zhao Liangchen at all. She made it for herself. It was just that day Zeng Lao sent her the mooncakes he brought from the palace. She couldn't refuse the gift, so she just picked two of them.