Chapter 368: Minister Shen’s Thoughts

Chapter 368: Minister Shen's Thoughts

"Furthermore, we need a place to arrange for people in advance."

"That way, we won't have to go out and buy people every time we need them." After all, even the recruitment offices in the capital don’t always have suitable candidates available.

"Yes," Liu Ling responded.

Qin Xiaoyao glanced at Liu Ling, remembering what her disciple had mentioned earlier.

"Do you know Song Rui?" she asked suddenly.

She hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now that she thought about it, Liu Ling did look quite similar to her husband.

Liu Ling’s expression faltered for a moment.

Noticing Qin Xiaoyao’s gaze sharpen with suspicion, Liu Ling quickly composed himself.

"Are you referring to the young master Song from the Prime Minister’s residence?" he asked Qin Xiaoyao.

Qin Xiaoyao then suppressed her doubts.

"Yes," she replied.

"He’s been gaining quite a reputation lately, so I’ve heard about him." A smile appeared on Liu Ling’s face.

"I’ve heard that Song Rui is not only incredibly talented but also quite handsome. Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to meet him."

Qin Xiaoyao looked at Liu Ling again, then withdrew her gaze.

"You’ll have the chance to meet him eventually."

Without acknowledging Liu Ling’s surprise, Qin Xiaoyao shifted the topic.

"These few days, continue to keep an eye on the workshop and put in some extra effort."

"Once the manor is set up and the workshop is moved there, arrange for guards to secure the property. Then, you can focus on expanding the porridge shop business."

"Yes," Liu Ling responded again.

Qin Xiaoyao nodded.

After discussing some more business matters with Liu Ling, she finally let him leave.

At that time, in the study of the Prime Minister’s residence.

As soon as Minister Shen returned to the residence, he summoned Song Rui to the study for a meeting.

When Song Rui arrived, he respectfully bowed to Minister Shen.

However, this time, Minister Shen was not as warm as usual and did not ask Song Rui to rise.

The atmosphere in the study was heavy. Minister Shen's displeasure was particularly evident at that moment.

Song Rui, however, remained calm and maintained his bowing posture, his expression unchanged.

It was only after what felt like an eternity, with Song Rui’s legs and back aching, that Minister Shen finally broke the silence.

"Rise."

Song Rui's eyes shifted, and he finally lowered his hand and straightened his body.

"Thank you, Minister Shen!" he replied calmly.

Minister Shen glanced at Song Rui, and seeing that his expression remained unchanged, a sense of appreciation welled up in his heart.

Yet, the more this happened, the harder it became for him to suppress his anger.

"Today, the Emperor and Empress summoned you. Do you understand the Empress's intentions?" Minister Shen asked promptly.

The person he valued had caught the eye of the Empress as well.

And now, she wanted to take this person and match him with Princess Xiangyang.

If it were just any ordinary person he valued, and the Empress wanted him, he wouldn't stand in the way. He would even offer him up with both hands.

But Song Rui was someone he genuinely liked.

With only Rong'er as his daughter, bringing Song Rui into the Shen family through marriage was his plan to nurture him like a son, to inherit everything of the Prime Minister’s residence and bear the honor of the Shen family.

He was prepared to entrust the future of the Shen family to Song Rui.

How could he let go of such a person so easily?

But this matter involved the Empress.

If Song Rui himself was tempted, he would have no choice but to let go.

What infuriated him was that with the Empress's interference today, his authority over Song Rui had undoubtedly diminished.

Before, he had the upper hand. For Song Rui to rise, he could only rely on him.

And his willingness to bring Song Rui into the Shen family was a tremendous favor, the best path for him to climb the ranks quickly in the court.

But now, the Empress had also extended an olive branch to Song Rui.

With Song Rui's growing reputation and the Empress's favor, if he were to truly switch allegiance to the Empress, there would be nothing the Shen family could do.

Not only would there be nothing they could do, but if Song Rui truly became the Empress's son-in-law, he would even have to show him respect.

Thinking of this possibility, Minister Shen grew increasingly agitated and even felt a little sick.

When had he, Shen Ming, ever been a stepping stone for others?

Song Rui's eyes shifted, and he promptly bowed to Minister Shen again.

"I have a few suspicions. However, I dared not think too much about it," he replied without hesitation.

Minister Shen's gaze grew stern.

"What would you do if I let you think more?" As Minister Shen asked this, his eyes narrowed.

Song Rui paused.

He glanced up at Minister Shen, before lowering his head again.

He bowed and said, "I have already expressed my true feelings to the Empress. My heart already belongs to someone else," thus rejecting the possibility.

He’s clearly got his heart set on someone.

His heart and mind are entirely focused on his wife.

However, when this reached Minister Shen, he directly assumed it was his own daughter.

The reason he valued Song Rui, apart from his outstanding abilities, was another important factor—his daughter had different feelings for Song Rui compared to others.

His daughter was famous for her talents. Though she was once engaged to the Meng family, he later annulled the engagement.

Yet, with the power and influence of the Prime Minister’s residence, there were still many families who wished to marry his daughter.

However, he dismissed all those families and had no plans to marry her off.

When it came to finding a son-in-law for the family, he and his wife had already discussed it with their daughter, but she had always been thinking about that Meng Xuan.

His wife had arranged many noble young masters for her, but she didn’t care for any of them. Instead, she wholeheartedly begged them to allow her to be with Meng Xuan.

Of course, he refused.

It was under these circumstances that Song Rui appeared by his daughter’s side.

Although this man came from a humble background, he was very talented and quite capable in handling matters.

Most importantly, his daughter did not reject this man and even treated him differently from others.

Although he was not a woman, he believed that a man like Song Rui, if he set his mind to it, could easily win a woman’s heart.

He had always planned to find a husband for his daughter.

The Prime Minister’s residence was wealthy and powerful, and there was no need for the groom to have a strong background.

In fact, it was better if the groom’s family background was lower, making it easier to control him.

With him watching over, there was no way the groom could overturn the situation.

Upon meeting Song Rui, he actually had such thoughts.

After testing Song Rui’s abilities a few times, he became even more convinced.

So later, when his wife came to him about this matter, he immediately agreed.

He even allowed his wife to subtly bring up the matter of marriage into the family as a son-in-law with Song Rui.

Upon receiving a positive response, he began grooming Song Rui as a potential son-in-law.

However, he didn’t expect that although Song Rui had grown as he had expected, even surpassing his expectations, the Empress suddenly interfered.

Fortunately, though, Song Rui still had feelings for his Rong'er and gracefully turned down the Empress.

Thinking of this, Minister Shen’s expression improved significantly.

“Princess Xiangyang is just a child, and the Empress was merely struck by a whim when she had such thoughts. Don’t take it too seriously,” Minister Shen said.

“Yes,” Song Rui respectfully replied.

Minister Shen was pleased with Song Rui’s response.

“Rong'er truly cares for you, and I consider you part of the family,” he said.