Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 101: Arrogance at Home_1

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Arrogance at Home_1

Jiang Yong’s face burned with shame. The calm tone of his in-laws made him feel even more out of place. He indeed resented his youngest son for being a disappointment, for causing the family to lose their unity.

He had watched his sons exploit the youngest; he saw it all but said little. The youngest had spent much on his studies, so it was only fair he worked harder. He thought his youngest son would understand and wouldn’t complain about the unfair treatment. But not only did he speak up, he went to the in-laws. They didn’t just come to visit; the most humiliating was they witnessed the maltreatment of the two children. Now exposed by his in-laws, he couldn’t bear to face them.

Zhulan snorted as she entered the hall where Jiang Yong’s sons were all present. She glanced coldly around, "Where is the mother-in-law?"

Jiang Yong shivered inside. His mother-in-law was known for her strong hand. Was she going to take action?

No one spoke. Zhulan knew they had hidden in the bedroom. Let Zhou Shuren deal with the men; she strode directly toward the bedroom. Jiang Yong’s eldest son panicked, fearing his mother would get hit, "Aunt, Auntie."

Zhulan snorted and sidestepped to push the door open into the bedroom. Not only was Lady Jiangwang present, but several daughters-in-law were there too—a full house. Spotting the melon seeds on the floor, she couldn’t hold back her anger, "Wow, the mother-in-law really has leisure, eating seeds and chatting!"

Lady Jiangwang felt guilty. "The mother-in-law is here; please take a seat."

Zhulan’s tone was laced with sarcasm, "I don’t have the luxury to sit. I’m worried about the two kids. In such cold weather, you don’t even light a fire in their room, and no one cares when the kids cry. It breaks my heart as a grandmother. They say seeing is believing; I didn’t use to, but now I do. During the marriage talks, the matchmaker praised you as one in ten thousand good mother-in-law. But today, mother-in-law, you really opened my eyes to what an unkind elder is."

Bluntly insulted, Lady Jiangwang couldn’t save face, yet she had no reason to argue. She had to consider her grandchildren, but she couldn’t help trying to justify herself, "I just wasn’t paying attention for a moment."

Zhulan scoffed, looking disdainfully at each woman of the Jiang family, "Not paying attention? You didn’t hear the children crying? It’s understandable if the mother-in-law is getting old and hard of hearing, but are all these young women deaf too?"

The eldest daughter-in-law of the Jiang family would dare to clash with her parents-in-law because they were kind, but she wouldn’t dare confront outsiders, especially not the mother of her sister-in-law, a woman known to be formidable in the neighboring villages. She initially dared to mock her sister-in-law, but as the couple stayed silent, she grew bolder, forgetting that her sister-in-law’s family was not to be trifled with. Now that she sobered up, even if she was scolded, she didn’t dare make a sound.

Zhulan wasn’t there to get physical today. She scorned the Jiang women for being tyrants only within their nest and declared her purpose, "The mother-in-law doesn’t care for her son and grandchildren, but I do. The kids’ clothes are all packed. This year, Jiang Sheng and his family will celebrate the New Year at the Zhou household, to avoid any further discomfort and abuse by staying here."

Lady Jiangwang felt as if she was slapped again. Having her son’s family spend the New Year at their mother-in-law’s home was a disgrace to the Jiang family, "Mother-in-law, this isn’t proper!"

Zhulan’s smile held a mocking edge, "You wouldn’t think that after mistreating Jiang Sheng’s family for half a year, the Jiang family still has any face to save in the village. It’s better to tear off that shameful veil of deceit."

Lady Jiangwang was at a loss for words. Her youngest son, looking terribly thin, did most of the housework, and villagers had already been talking. The old couple knew, but what could they do? It was their youngest son’s fault for being a disappointment, and hearing the gossip had only increased their resentment toward him. Now that the mother-in-law had come to their home, it was because of their youngest son’s family, and any momentary guilt or shame vanished—after all, she was a mother herself.

Zhulan observed Lady Jiangwang’s reaction without a care. Hearing noises from outside, she turned and left the bedroom. Zhou Shuren was already standing up. Zhulan asked, "Shall we go?"

Zhou Shuren nodded, "Yes, the in-laws have agreed to a separation after the New Year. Once the seventh day passes, we’ll separate and come back over."

Zhulan knew that Zhou Shuren was formidable in conflict, but she didn’t expect that when she pushed people to their limits, this one would directly agree to separate the family, "I’m going to pick up the child."

"Yes."

Today, the Jiang family had their face torn off, and not a single person came out to see us off; they couldn’t even care about the proper rites anymore. Zhulan snorted with laughter, settled the children, locked the doors of the house, got into the carriage, and signaled the second brother to drive off.

Only after leaving Wang family village did Zhulan ask, "How could Jiang Yong have agreed to the separation?"

Zhou Shuren hugged her grandson tighter, "At first he did not agree, but when Jiang Yong saw us arrive, he held hope that we would come up with the money for Jiang Sheng to take the Scholar exam. He also thought that if Jiang Sheng passed, he could bring benefits to the family. I bluntly made it clear that we would not sponsor him and that he shouldn’t think about taking advantage. I also brought up the grievances and discontent amongst the different branches of the Jiang family outright. If we don’t separate, the brothers will end up as enemies. It is better to split up sooner rather than later."

Zhulan patted her granddaughter, "It can’t be that simple just to separate, right?"

Zhou Shuren laughed, "I said that Jiang Sheng’s education had after all spent the family’s silver, and in the future when he leaves the family, he won’t take any land. I will still introduce him to copying books, and the money he earns from copying half should be given to his in-laws, the rest he can save for himself to take the Scholar exam. The Qin family hesitated, but Jiang Sheng’s brothers, who had long given up hope on the difficult imperial examinations, agreed to my proposal. With so many considerations on the in-laws’ part, they could only agree."

Zhulan saw the children were asleep and, mindful of the second brother driving the carriage outside, whispered, "You’re not going to have Jiang Sheng copy the books you brought back, then give him the money for the introduced job, are you?"

Zhou Shuren said, "I’m not the one paying. Today, during the betrothal agreement, the Clan Leader saw the books I brought back and felt ashamed to take them for nothing. After discussing with me, we decided that the clan school would use its own funds for ink, paper, and buy the handwritten copies, paying five taels of silver for each one. We need four copies in total, enough for Jiang Sheng to copy for a year. I’ll also introduce him to letter writing jobs. Earning from letter writing will support the family, while half of what he earns from copying books—ten taels—he can save for his Scholar exam."

Zhou Shuren did not lower her voice either. The copying job couldn’t be kept secret, and she did not intend to hide it. Originally, she had intended to give the copying job to Rongchuan, but unfortunately, plans could not keep up with changes.

Zhulan understood the value of the books that had been bought, "Hand-copied books are too cheap almost like being given away for free."

Zhou Shuren laughed, "The clan school can at most come up with twenty taels. I was actually planning to give away the hand-copied books for free, but now we’ve taken the money and bestowed a favor. Not to mention fostering good will among the children of the clan school, the clan itself now owes us a significant favor, one that will need to be repaid someday."

Zhulan continued to pat her granddaughter, "You have also addressed Jiang Sheng’s problem. By earning silver himself, he feels more confident and less burdened psychologically. He won’t push himself too hard, and with a better state of mind, he is likely to do better in his exams. You’ve truly killed several birds with one stone."

Zhou Shuren shifted his position, "Yes, this time with the separation, Jiang Sheng took no land, which is equivalent to him repaying a part of the silver spent on his education. Copying books paid off another sum. The silver the Jiang family provided for his education is mostly compensated. In the future, none of Jiang Sheng’s brothers would be able to hold the favor of his education over his head. Xue Mei and her husband will face much less trouble."

Zhulan calculated that the Jiang family had sixteen acres of land, ten of which were paddy fields. Divided among the Jiang family’s four sons and the old couple into five parts, each person would get two acres of paddy field. With paddy fields worth ten taels per acre, that’s twenty taels. Dry fields were worth five taels an acre, divided evenly gives one acre per family. Jiang Sheng not taking any land is equivalent to repaying twenty-five taels, plus the ten taels for copying, that’s thirty-five taels. Jiang Sheng wasn’t just studying; he never stopped working, so adding and subtracting, he really has mostly paid it back."

Zhulan’s eyes curved into a smile; she had said Zhou Shuren was shrewd, how could she give the Jiang family such a big advantage, "You have considered everything thoroughly."