The Crown Prince took over the conversation, "These days have been hard on Minister Zhou. You should head back early."
Zhang Jingshi was reluctant to let Zhou Shuren leave, for a simple reason, he wanted to gauge whether Zhou Shuren truly stood behind the Crown Prince. Zhou Shuren had always been on his mind, especially since his previous attempt to strike at Zhou had failed, he had never ceased to keep an eye on him.
The more attention he paid, the higher his regard for Zhou Shuren grew, the less he wanted Zhou to pick sides.
Especially with this return to the Palace, his father the Emperor was very satisfied with the work he had done, but he also mentioned Zhou Shuren. The site selection for the expansion of Pinggang had been brought up by Zhou before he even came to the capital. The Emperor mentioning Zhou three times in a row—what did that imply? It meant the Emperor had taken note of this minister.
