After Zhou Donglin returned home, he locked himself in his room for several days without coming out. Prime Minister Zhou and his wife felt heart - ache for him. When they asked what had happened, he refused to say.
Meanwhile, there were significant developments in the palace. The political situation in the court was extremely complicated. Especially after Noble Consort Yu was promoted to Imperial Consort Yu, her father, riding on his daughter's coattails, became a favorite of the emperor and enjoyed great glory.
The Li family and the prime minister's family, once the pillars of the court, were gradually being pushed out of the center of power.
It wasn't just Prime Minister Zhou who felt this; General Li also did. As a result, the relationship between the two families became tense. Occasionally, when Zhou Donglin wanted to visit the Li family, Prime Minister Zhou would stop him. It wasn't that there was a rift between the two families. On the contrary, because the current situation was unpredictable, Prime Minister Zhou and General Li, for the sake of their families, had to pretend to fall out to protect themselves. In this way, if something happened to either family, the other could remain intact and not be implicated.
Hearing the elders' discussion, Zhou Donglin sneered.
"Father, this is like running away at the critical moment. It's not what a gentleman should do."
Prime Minister Zhou blushed with anger at his son's words.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"I'm not talking nonsense. The Li family is now at the forefront of the storm. If anyone is going to be in trouble first, it must be the Li family, which holds military power. Father, by cutting off relations with the Li family now, aren't you just like a coward who runs away?"
Prime Minister Zhou now felt that his son was just here to cause him trouble.
"Are you uncomfortable if you don't give your father a hard time and don't almost kill him in a day!" Prime Minister Zhou pretended to hit Zhou Donglin, but unlike before when he would have shrunk his neck and dodged, Zhou Donglin just stood there stupidly like a fool.
In the end, Prime Minister Zhou's hand didn't fall. The hand that was originally going to beat his son instead gently patted his shoulder.
"Donglin, our family has had a long - standing friendship with the Li family. You know better than me what kind of people the Li family are. Do you think your Uncle Li doesn't know what you've said? Who is he doing this for when he proposed to cut off relations? Of course, if one wants to be a gentleman, one should share life and death with friends. But then what? Can an arm twist a thigh? If we follow the Li family to death and something really happens to the Li family, we can only watch helplessly and won't be able to help at all."
Prime Minister Zhou felt that he had always hoped that his son would not enter officialdom and would keep a pure and innocent heart. Instead, he had taught him to be a bit stupid. He did have an innocent heart, but it was a bit over the top. Such a temper would lead to trouble.
In the end, Zhou Donglin couldn't oppose his father. Most importantly, the Li family refused to let him in, so he couldn't be so thick - skinned as to force his way in.
As the climate had become increasingly abnormal in recent years, the cold days were getting longer and the warm days shorter. The court had also entered a complete winter.
And the Li family's fortune had come to an end.
At this time, Song Jiaye kept his promise and made Zhou Donglin an official in the capital. However, he was only a county magistrate in the capital, not a high - ranking official, let alone having the opportunity to enter the palace and attend court.
Zhou Donglin had been an ordinary official in his post. Due to his good temper, he made many friends in the officialdom.
Among them, the supervisor of the Palace of Rites, who was in charge of observing the celestial phenomena, was a frequent visitor to him.
Zhou Donglin and the supervisor became friends when Zhou Donglin often climbed the Star - Picking Tower after being punished. The supervisor of the Palace of Rites was also a eunuch, so most of the time he stayed in the palace and could often bring out some news from the palace for Zhou Donglin. Therefore, Zhou Donglin liked to chat with him very much.
One day, the two were talking about the Star - Picking Tower. The supervisor had drunk a jar of wine and was a bit tipsy. He said mysteriously, "I tell you, there's a secret about the Star - Picking Tower."
"What secret?" Zhou Donglin replied absent - mindedly. Except for the matter of Li Qiyu, he was not interested in anything in the palace.
The supervisor was so drunk that he could hardly hold up his head. He lay on the table and said, "The Star - Picking Tower is very miraculous."
"Miraculous?"
"Yes. Before, a palace maid jumped off the Star - Picking Tower to commit suicide. Before she died, she made a wish that her younger brother would achieve great success and become a high - ranking official. Finally, her younger brother really became a high - ranking official."
Zhou Donglin didn't believe it. He smiled bitterly and said, "The emperor also prays every day for the country to be prosperous and the people to be at peace, and for the world to be peaceful. Why didn't the Star - Picking Tower work at all this time?"
The supervisor waved his hand and burped, saying, "The Star - Picking Tower requires a life in exchange. Only the wishes made before death will work."
"How do you know all these things so clearly?"
The supervisor's expression became extremely sad.
"Because... I'm that younger brother." Taking advantage of the alcohol, he told his sad past. "Our family was poor before. My mother first sold my sister into the palace as a palace maid, but the family still couldn't make ends meet. Moreover, my gambling father owed a huge debt. My mother had no choice but to send me into the palace too. The first thing I did when I entered the palace was to look for my sister, but all I found was her ashes."
There were too many people who died in the palace. It was not easy to have a complete body. Most of them were burned, and their ashes were given to their families.
"Later, my sister's wish really came true. I became a high - ranking official!"
"But you've become a eunuch." As they were both in the same sad situation, Zhou Donglin raised his glass. "What's the use of being a high - ranking official like this? The Star - Picking Tower is really evil."
The supervisor also shook his head and said, "Who says it isn't?"
Just as the two were drinking happily, the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open forcefully from the outside. The imperial guards appeared at the door.
"Zhou Donglin?"
Zhou Donglin of course recognized the imperial guards. Fortunately, he hadn't drunk much, so his mind was still clear.
"It's me."
"By the emperor's order, you, come with us."
Zhou Donglin had no room to refuse. He stood up and followed. At this time, the supervisor, with a red face from drinking, stared blankly at the imperial guards who were taking Zhou Donglin away, and most of his drunkenness instantly disappeared.
He quickly slapped his face to wake himself up, then staggered out of the room.
At this time, Zhou Donglin had already got on the imperial guards' carriage. The carriage drove towards the imperial city all the way. Soon, Zhou Donglin was in front of Song Jiaye.
At this time, Song Jiaye seemed quite diligent. He was bending over his desk, writing quickly. He ignored Zhou Donglin for a while, then pretended to just notice him.
"Oh, why didn't you tell me in advance when you came?"
Song Jiaye's smile made Zhou Donglin shudder. The last time he showed this smile, he castrated him.