If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"It was precisely because Lord Lu and Yu stopped me that we missed our chance and allowed all the thieves who robbed the Lu residence to escape. However, Lord Shi, rest assured, I have already protected the entire Lu residence and prevented any outsiders from approaching, ensuring that the crime scene is not disturbed. We can investigate slowly based on the clues at the scene and give the Lu residence justice."

"Fairness my ass!" Shi Kelang and Lu Heyu were cursing in their hearts. They had never seen such a shameless person in their lives.

After Shi Kelang was defeated, no one dared to step forward again. One had rolled over, another had been carried away, and now this Lord Shi was breathing heavily, probably even his heartbeat was irregular.

"Gentlemen, what happened last night was just as Zhou Wu said. Do you have any further questions?"

Seeing that the time was right, Li Tiancheng stepped forward to give a concluding speech. Since the emperor had already set the tone for the matter, what else could anyone say?

They thought there would be a major crisis, but Zhou Wu's silver tongue resolved it so easily.

"Alright, since everyone has no further questions, then Zhou Wu, step forward to receive your appointment."

"The minister is here."

"Zhou Wu quelled the rebellion and ensured the stability of the capital. He is hereby granted the titles of Crown Prince's Tutor, General of the Cavalry, Baron, and the fief of Niujia Town."

When Li Tiancheng announced the rewards, the ministers were in an uproar. Some were upset because the rewards were too high, while others felt that the rewards directly exposed Zhou Wu as the Crown Prince's man.

"Your Majesty, I believe this reward is too generous. Zhou Wu's merits are not worthy of such a reward."

"Your Majesty, I agree."

"We hereby reconsider."

Among them were loyal ministers who indeed felt the rewards were excessive, and most of them objected because of the Lu family's affairs.

"evergreen."

"The slave is here."

"read."

"promise,"

Li Tiancheng seemed to have anticipated this situation, so he calmly instructed Eunuch Changqing to take out a memorial and begin reading out Zhou Wu's achievements over the years.

"In the twelfth year of Tiancheng, there was a disaster in the southwest. Zhou Wu invented a fishing net to save the local people from the fire and water. At that time, the magistrate of Qingyang County, An, wanted to present it to the court, but due to the dereliction of duty of the Vice Minister of Works, Lü Fu, it was postponed and forgotten. The emperor ordered that Vice Minister Lü Fu be investigated and punished."

No sooner had he finished speaking than one of the officials fainted. It was presumably Lü Fu. The two guards outside the hall didn't care about anything else and carried him out.

Good heavens, not only did this not stump Zhou Wu, but it also resulted in the loss of one of their own men. Everyone was shocked by Zhou Wu's luck and strength.

"In the thirteenth year of Tiancheng, Zhou Wu built the city wall for Dalong Niujia Town at his own expense. His loyalty to the emperor and his love for the country are evident to heaven and earth and he deserves to be rewarded."

Chang Qing read a long and detailed account, and everyone finally realized that Zhou Wu, a seemingly insignificant man, had quietly made so many contributions. No one could find any reason to object anymore, and they even felt that the reward was a bit too little.

However, Li Tiancheng also had his own considerations. Zhou Wu was still young, yet he had already risen to the sixth rank and held real power. To prevent him from going too far and causing a backlash, it was necessary to control him appropriately. After all, many talented young people, or those who could be called geniuses, had lost their way in the pursuit of power or money. Li Tiancheng was also trying to protect Zhou Wu.

"Do any of you have any objections now?"

"We have no objection..."

Who would dare to object? Don't get yourself into trouble later.

. . . . .

Zhou Wu was promoted and granted a title, which should have made him happy, but he was not happy at all.

"Zhou Wu, you should be happy about being promoted and given a title, why are you looking so gloomy?"

Zhou Wu was promoted to the position of tutor to the crown prince, which naturally made him one of the crown prince's men. Li Junren was overjoyed and held small banquets every three days and large banquets every five days, finding excuses to invite Zhou Wu to drink every day.

"Your Highness, I am certainly pleased with the promotion, but I still wish to return to Niujia Town."

Zhou Wu's words really baffled Li Junren. Everyone, whether commoners or high-ranking officials, envied the prosperity of the capital. This was the first person Li Junren had ever heard who didn't want to stay in the capital.

"Isn't the capital city prosperous?"

"If the capital is not prosperous, then there is no other prosperous place in the world."

"Then why don't you want to stay in the capital?"

"Although the capital is prosperous, it is also too complicated. I am too naive."

Li Junren would have cursed Zhou Wu long ago if he weren't one of his own. Just two days ago, he had nearly driven the entire court of officials to despair. How could you be so naive?

"Since you're here, make the best of it. I've already sent someone to find you a house. Bring your family here and stay in the capital in peace."

The Crown Prince went to great lengths to win over Zhou Wu. Despite being the Crown Prince, he still had to pay for his own house. Moreover, housing prices in the capital were not cheap. Officials in the capital could not afford to buy a house unless they had a side business or some shady income. This shows the extent of the problem.

Seeing that the Crown Prince had said so, Zhou Wu had no choice but to compromise. To be honest, Li Tiancheng's reward was a mixed blessing for Zhou Wu. The position of Crown Prince's tutor seemed like a promotion, but Zhou Wu didn't really care for it because it meant that he would have to stay in the capital. However, he still needed the title of baron and the fief of Niujia Town. Although Li Tiancheng had previously granted Niujia Town to Zhou Wu as a fief, a fief and a title and a fief were two completely different things.

The first type of fiefdom meant that Zhou Wu could obtain a portion of the agricultural harvest from the people of Niujia Town, and there was nothing particularly special about it. However, the fiefdom was different. The fiefdom was equivalent to Zhou Wu becoming the local emperor of Niujia Town. Apart from the emperor, Niujia Town only listened to Zhou Wu. The fiefdom no longer needed to pay taxes to the imperial court; the taxes that should have gone to the imperial court were now all handed over to Zhou Wu. Moreover, it had a certain degree of autonomy.

So Zhou Wu's primary goal now is to find a way to transfer back to Niujia Town. However, he has just been promoted, so it's probably not something that can be done in a short time. He can only take it one step at a time for now.

Li Junren went to great lengths to retain Zhou Wu. The next day, he found a house in a prime location and gifted it to Zhou Wu. Zhou Wu could have easily bought it with his own money, but since he was now the Crown Prince's tutor, he didn't refuse to avoid any misunderstandings.

This house is not only in an excellent location, but its size is also on a completely different level from Zhou Wu's house in Niujia Town.

Zhou Wu roughly counted, and there were eight bedrooms alone, not to mention the storerooms, storage rooms, and servants' rooms, which were too many to count.

The house was fully equipped with maids, gatekeepers, and other servants. According to Li Junren, the house originally belonged to a wealthy merchant from the capital. However, the merchant went bankrupt and had no choice but to sell the house and return to his hometown in hopes of making a comeback.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Let's not be so polite."