Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 1012: The Plan

Chapter 1012: Chapter 1012: The Plan

Zhou Shuren signaled Gu Zhuomin to sit down. "Don’t be formal."

Gu Zhuomin was nervous, visiting the Zhou residence for the first time since he had arrived in the capital. "Yes."

Zhou Shuren could tell and sighed; Gu Zhuomin was still very tense, even though he had spoken very amiably, not putting on airs at all. "I heard from Liufeng that you’re planning to return home for the ancestral worship?"

Gu Zhuomin hastily replied, "Liufeng was adopted into our family and has not yet participated in ancestral worship, so I’m taking him back to do so."

He also wanted to let Liufeng understand more about the character of his original family, to prevent him from being deceived in the future.

Zhou Shuren hummed in acknowledgement. If it weren’t for Liufeng, he would not have easily met with Gu Zhuomin. Gu Zhuomin, having just taken leave, was eager to pay a visit; partly to get closer to the Zhou family and partly because of Wong Ju. Having gone to the Ministry of Rites, Wong Ju would know everything there was to know, and Gu Zhuomin also hoped he could put in a good word with Wong Ju on his behalf.

Gu Zhuomin carefully sipped his tea, much was said in the capital about Master Zhou. Precisely because of this, he was all the more cautious, fearing that he might displease Master Zhou.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhulan saw Zhou Shuren return and exclaimed in surprise, "How come you’re back so soon?"

Zhou Shuren, warming his hands by the fire, said, "Gu Zhuomin is very cautious with his words. He didn’t dare say much, and there wasn’t much to talk about, so he left."

Zhulan commented, "His caution is etched into his bones."

Zhou Shuren nodded. Gu Zhuomin had suffered many losses and learned many lessons; he had to turn every sentence over in his mind before speaking. "I mentioned some of Wong Ju’s preferences to him, and he was quite happy, left in good spirits."

Zhulan smiled, "Yeah, it hasn’t been easy for him."

Once Zhou Shuren’s hands were no longer cold, he began searching the house for the puppies—no, he shouldn’t call them puppies anymore; they had grown quickly and were no longer small. "Did Yu Die and Yu Yi take the dog away again?"

"Yes, I’ve hardly ever got to touch the gift you gave; every time your granddaughters secretly whisk it away."

The two little girls worked in tandem—one distracting her while the other stealthily carried the dog away.

Zhou Shuren chuckled, "They’re your granddaughters too. Would they manage to take the dog every time if you didn’t indulge them?"

"Zhao’s and Lady Dong’s families mentioned they might get one too, but I didn’t allow it. It’s enough to have one dog in the house. More of them, and the girls would cherish them less."

She was becoming more and more knowledgeable about raising children.

This year, the Zhou family saw many changes compared to the previous one. The children had grown a year older and understood more. Xue Han was married, and the Zhou family’s life was improving.

On New Year’s Eve, the whole family gathered. The Zhou family, being large, still celebrated the occasion with the same lively festivity. The children were happy, and the adults looked forward to the future with even greater hope.

On the second day of the New Year, Xue Han and Rongchuan came back.

Zhou Shuren glanced at Rongchuan’s purse, which was now controlled by his daughter. Without silver, he had no chance of winning, so he turned his attention to his sons. "Come on, let’s play cards."

Zhou’s eldest son and the others forced a smile. They had been playing cards since New Year’s Eve and all through the first day of New Year; their pockets were empty, yet they couldn’t refuse to play with their father.

Chang Yi, wealthy and robust, was faring better. After trading the gemstone, he had much silver in his pocket. He had been away for a year and now just wanted his parents to be happy. He smiled and said, "Alright."

Chang Lian touched his purse, knowing it would be empty again today; he could not compete with his second brother.

Chang Zhi was the most miserable; he had already taken half a year’s salary in advance from his mother.

Rongchuan leisurely sipped his tea. He did not have any silver, the New Year’s money had gone straight to his wife. Thinking back, it was always he who lost, but this time, "Father, I’ll play too."

Jiang Sheng could not afford to gamble and sat silently on the side.

Zhou Shuren smiled, "Fine."

Zhou Laoda and the others had a bad premonition.

Over here, with Lady Li pregnant, Zhulan let Lady Li go back to rest first. Then, Zhao’s group also left, as Zhao’s was looking for Xue Mei on some matter, and Xue Mei went to the second wife’s room too.

Only Xue Han remained in the room, and Xue Han then said, "Mother, on the first day of the New Year, my husband and I entered the palace, and we even stayed to eat there."

Zhulan wasn’t surprised, "Were you with several princes?"

Xue Han shook her head, "No, only the Crown Prince’s family was there for the meal; the other princes left the palace after giving their New Year’s greetings."

This puzzled her. Rongchuan was only the Empress’s nephew, and yet, he had dined with the Emperor and the Empress. If it had been just a New Year’s greeting, it wouldn’t have struck her as odd, but with only the Crown Prince’s family, she didn’t understand.

Zhulan thought to herself, thankfully Rongchuan looked nothing like the Emperor or the Empress, "The Empress has always been very fond of Rongchuan."

Xue Han wasn’t very concerned. Upon reflection, it made sense; since Rongchuan often entered the palace, staying for a meal wasn’t a big deal. "Mother, none of the princes nor the Emperor stayed for a meal, only us. Won’t that be too conspicuous?"

"You all were conspicuous enough as is."

Xue Han laughed; that was true—it didn’t make much difference this time. On second thought, this was beneficial for both the Ning Duke Residence and Rongchuan.

In the evening, Zhou Shuren sat at a table counting his silver. There was a lot of broken silver, and copper coins as well. After counting, he regretted, "Now that Rongchuan is married, the large silver notes are gone. There’s a total of a hundred and twenty taels and ninety copper coins here. Exchange a hundred taels for me into silver notes."

Zhulan put away a hundred taels of broken silver, "That should suffice. If you keep this up, the elder brothers will cry."

Zhou Shuren laughed, "They’re already crying. The eldest has lost this year’s pocket money, and the fourth brother is even worse off. I’m actually doing this for their own good, to teach them to value money."

Zhulan didn’t feel like arguing with Zhou Shuren, whose skin was getting thicker by the year.

Zhulan asked, "When do you plan to discuss things with Chang Yi?"

Zhou Shuren stored the silver note in his pouch, " No rush, let’s wait for the Ministry of Rites to make their move after the New Year."

"As long as you’re sure."

Time flew by; Zhou Shuren’s leave ended, and he returned to the Ministry of Revenue, where he had to confront several voracious money-guzzlers again.

This year, there wasn’t much snow in the winter—just dry and cold weather. After the New Year, the sky was constantly overcast, and in just a few days, there had been two snowfalls, both quite heavy.

Zhou Shuren was anxious, fearing the start of the year might bring a snow disaster—that would be a bad omen when everyone was waiting to spend money!

At the Zhou household, Zhulan looked at her little daughter. It was good to be close to home, for Xue Han had brought news, "Mother, Lady Song has given birth; she had another son. However, the child isn’t well-nourished and was born frail."

Zhulan asked, "Won’t you go to the Duke Residence to see?"

"I’ve already been. Lady Song was upset because of the child, so I didn’t stay long. Grandmother was also angry about the child, so I took a detour back to spend some time here and to bring you the news."

Zhulan had a good relationship with Lady Song, "I’ll go see her tomorrow."

Xue Han nodded, "I’ll come with you tomorrow."

After a pause, Xue Han continued in a lowered voice, "On my visit to the Duke Residence, grandmother repeatedly expressed her dissatisfaction with Lady Du, worried that when she’s gone, there’d be no one to keep Lady Du in check. I don’t know if it’s just my overthinking, but it seems like grandmother might have some plans?"