Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 1109 Belief

Chapter 1109: Chapter 1109 Belief

At the gate of the capital, Prince Liang snorted coldly at Zhou Changzhi, who was also on horseback, "Do you still think this prince is deceiving you?"

Zhou Changzhi did not think so. In fact, after a few days of rapid travel, he had believed; the letter was real. Accustomed to Prince Liang’s harsh words, he responded indifferently, "Your Highness, should we go directly to the Palace, or should I go home first?"

Prince Liang choked for a moment and said coldly, "To the Palace."

Chang Zhi bowed his head and sniffed his clothes; he would have preferred to go home first since he had been wearing the same clothes for two days. When Prince Liang said it would be a rapid journey, he meant it; they had ridden horses the whole way. Fortunately, his riding skills were decent, but he still suffered quite a bit. Initially unaccustomed to fast riding, his thighs had chafed. If it hadn’t been for Shen Xing’s ointment, he couldn’t have endured it. Now, the insides of his thighs had calloused.

Once inside the capital, there was less urgency, and they made their way to the Palace.

At the city gate, there were guards who, upon seeing Prince Liang, quickly returned inside to report. In recent days, the Emperor had shifted his concerns from the drought to when Prince Liang would arrive in the capital.

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren also received the message. The guard invited Zhou Shuren to the Palace, and he knew what that meant. Prince Liang had returned to the capital, and he had brought the box back with him.

Zhou Shuren was the last to arrive; Prince Liang had already gone to a side hall to change his clothes, and even Chang Zhi’s clothes had been changed.

The Emperor had already taken tools and opened the sealed box, signaling Zhou Shuren to come closer. "One layer is already open; there’s another layer left."

Zhou Shuren internally noted that he saw it, as he saw the lock on the second layer. Seeing the Emperor looking at him, Zhou Shuren pulled a wry smile, "My mother did not explain clearly."

So don’t ask him where the key is.

The Emperor hummed in acknowledgment, took the tools from Eunuch Liu’s hands, and quickly picked the lock. If he hadn’t been waiting for Zhou Shuren, he would have opened it much sooner.

Zhou Shuren’s eyes widened, "Your Majesty, you possess this skill too?"

Such a remarkable technique.

Prince Liang nearly spit out his tea. Zhou Shuren spoke so casually, and what’s worse, the Emperor wasn’t even irritated, but instead replied proudly, "Indeed, in my youth, I often secretly picked locks to sneak into the kitchen and pilfer snacks. This lock is trivial; I can pick many locks."

Zhou Shuren remarked, "Your Majesty personally proves the importance of having a skill. It seems I should also learn one."

The Emperor said, "I’ll teach you how to pick locks."

Zhou Shuren was intrigued, "Really?"

"Of course. In the future, if you want to steal the silver from your own house, I guarantee your wife won’t find out."

Zhou Shuren, "...."

That tone sounded quite experienced!

This time, Prince Liang was utterly choked up!

The Crown Prince coughed; he seriously suspected that the silver his mother lost was taken by the Emperor himself. Otherwise, where did the Emperor get such experience?

The Emperor had already taken out a string of keys from the box, several letters, and a few pieces of the Jade Pendant, which were the Rong family’s direct descendent’s Jade Pendants. There wasn’t much inside the box because it had been well sealed, keeping everything intact.

The Emperor stared at a string of keys; these keys were not of ordinary shape, and afterward, his attention was all on the letter. As for several pieces of Jade Pendant, the Emperor pursed his lips, knowing they should never be separated from their owner, those Jade Pendants were amiss.

The Emperor picked up the top letter, pulling out several pages from inside. They weren’t letters, but a family genealogy that not only listed names but also had annotations.

Zhou Shuren stood by the Emperor’s side and saw the names and the annotations behind them. He was amazed that the Rong family still harbored such secrets. Impressive.

The feelings inside the Emperor were very complex as he saw several men’s names. No wonder, he thought, no wonder no twins had ever been born in the Rong family. Back then, his own close uncle had been one of the twins. The Rong family would only keep one of the twins; the other wasn’t lost but hidden in the shadows.

There had been three pairs of twins born into the Rong family in total, and that uncle was the sole pair in nearly a century. The one who had died that year wasn’t the uncle but another uncle, who the Rong family had concealed.

Zhou Shuren saw his mother’s name, Rong Ying, sixth in order, so she was referred to as the Sixth Lady. His mother wasn’t from the original primary line; her father belonged to the same clan as the Hidden Guards of the Rong family, with no blood relation to the primary line. His mother was granted the primary lineage only because she saved the Rong family’s primary line, who had died back then.

Zhou Shuren felt very conflicted. So that’s why he couldn’t ’ascend to heaven’.

After finishing the list, the Emperor realized that not only the little uncle who was sent away but also other individuals who were granted primary lineage existed.

The Emperor picked up another letter, written by Zhou Shuren’s mother to Zhou Shuren, which disclosed her own origins and instructed Zhou Shuren to bring the Jade Pendant to the capital once the Imperial court stabilized. The last and most crucial point was about the first coffin brought into the capital—it belonged to the little uncle and his wife.

Back then, Zhou Shuren’s mother had traveled alone, catching up with the little uncle and his wife, but they met with ill fate. By the time she arrived, their village had been raided by bandits, and both the little uncle and his wife were dead. His wife was pregnant, moving in the belly; Zhou Shuren’s mother cut open her stomach, and the child was alive.

The Emperor, clenching the letter, realized this matched the story. The extra coffins were to confuse others, adding one more grave to conceal some traces.

Zhou Shuren stood shocked, impressed by how incredibly tough his mother was.

The Emperor flipped to the next page; this was the crucial part. Someone had traced them, and with a child, it was inconvenient. Therefore, in the county, they found a family that had just had a baby to help nurse the child. She hid herself to divert their attention. When she returned, the county town had caught fire, and the family and child had vanished. They guarded for many days, but no one returned.

Zhou Shuren’s eyes drifted. When his father found his mother, she was in bad shape because she had lost the child; indeed, how could she be well? If it weren’t for searching for the child and the responsibilities she bore, she would have considered dying long ago.

The Emperor continued reading. Zhou Shuren’s mother searched for a while but didn’t dare leave far, ultimately marrying Zhou Shuren’s father. Her marriage had a reason too; it wasn’t out of affection but because the Zhou family had a simple population, and she could obtain the greatest authority.

Moreover, Zhou Shuren’s mother also entrusted Zhou Shuren’s in-laws to search for someone, a task made even harder when wars broke out.

Zhou Shuren’s mother constantly brooded over this, the longer it went, the less hope remained. As the wars neared an end, she wrote a letter inside the chest.

Due to the guilt of not finding the child, years of pent-up frustration erupted, and illness struck swiftly; she passed away without clear explanations.

Zhou Shuren now thoroughly understood. No wonder she died with her eyes open. Such a grand secret could be explained in a few words; in the end, her hand even pointed towards the direction of the ancestral grave.

Then Zhou Shuren broke out in a cold sweat; his mother had lost the child of the Emperor’s close uncle. This twist was a bit much for him to accept. Dreaming of ascending to heaven? He shouldn’t even think about it.

The Emperor didn’t express anger. Given the circumstances back then, if Zhou Shuren’s mother hadn’t pursued them, that child would have suffocated too. Besides, the letter left a description of a birthmark on the child, which was indeed commendable!

This was also the fate of the Rong family. The grandfather hoped to preserve the bloodline of the primary line, so the little uncle and his pregnant wife were sent away, but humans plan, and heaven decides.

Back then, it was Zhou Shuren’s mother who carried the vital message of the Rong family. The other Jade Pendants carried important messages too, along with the keys, but the little uncle’s responsibility was merely to pass on the lineage.

The Emperor then picked up the last letter.