The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

When Shen Qing learned that Zhou Chu had become the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was completely stunned.

She still vividly remembers the first time she met Zhou Chu.

At that time, Zhou Chu was still very young, and his eyes were filled with confusion about the future, but he had to go out and work for the Lu family.

Shen Qing was very fortunate that she had been decisive enough back then, and it was because of her decisiveness that she became who she is today.

Although Shen Qing is over twenty years old, he is still unmarried.

The matchmakers who came to propose marriage, as well as relatives who had lost contact for many years, almost wore down the threshold of Shen Qing's house.

However, Shen Qing knew exactly what these people were up to.

She simply sees that the Shen family is now entirely dependent on her, and if she marries him, she can live off the Shen family's dwindling fortune.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. But after years of doing business, Shen Qing is no longer the naive young girl she once was. She has gained a full understanding of the darker side of human nature.

What I fear most is that after I get married, the family that married me won't be able to wait and will kill me, and then my family property will be theirs.

In this era, if a woman died in her private quarters, it could be dismissed with a few words, and the government wouldn't even bother to investigate.

Of course, this is only one aspect of why Shen Qing is still unmarried.

On the other hand, it was because of Zhou and Chu.

For her, Zhou Chu was both a teacher and a friend. Over the years, her admiration for Zhou Chu had grown increasingly intense, to the point that other men rarely caught her eye.

The gap is too big.

If she hadn't met Zhou Chu, Shen Qing might have just married into a decent family.

But now Shen Qing can't live with herself at all.

Shen Qing knew that many people around her had started gossiping about her. After all, it was inevitable that she would be criticized for not being married at such an advanced age.

However, Shen Qing didn't care. The current Shen Qing is not the same as she was back then, and she wouldn't be easily influenced by a few words from others.

Shen Qing had long known that Zhou Chu was no ordinary person; he had realized this when Zhou Chu bought the Feng family's shop.

She secretly hoped that Zhou Chu would slow down his pace, and at the same time, she was working hard to improve herself, as she didn't want the gap between her and Zhou Chu to widen.

But the harder she tried, the more she realized that Zhou Chu was ridiculously strong in every aspect.

Many of the things Zhou Chu said, she would only suddenly understand when she reached a certain stage, and it would be like a sudden enlightenment.

At that moment, Shen Qing would look upon Zhou Chu with awe and realize that Zhou Chu was far more powerful than she had imagined.

Shen Qing never expected that Zhou Chu would one day rise to such heights.

It truly lives up to the saying, "A roc rises with the wind, soaring ninety thousand miles high."

Shen Qing was happy for Zhou Chu, but at the same time felt extremely disappointed. She was disappointed that the gap between herself and Zhou Chu was widening, and that it would probably not be as easy for her to see Zhou Chu as before.

Perhaps I should find someone to marry.

Shen Qing had actually thought about this issue long ago. She couldn't stay unmarried forever. What she was thinking was to find someone with poor health, even someone who was paralyzed in bed, and have him marry into the Shen family. In this way, no one would gossip about her anymore, and she wouldn't have to worry about this person harming her because they coveted her family property.

As for matters between men and women? Shen Qing stopped thinking about it. With Zhou Chu around, Shen Qing knew she wouldn't have feelings for any other man.

Then I'll adopt another child to inherit the Shen family's mantle. That way, I'll have done right by the Shen family.

As for Shen Ming and Shen Qing's other younger brothers, she never even considered them.

These are just preliminary ideas, and Shen Qing still needs to keep looking for suitable candidates.

"Father, what do you think the Emperor's intentions are in suddenly appointing Zhou Hengqi as the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"