Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 122 Voluntary Testimony Part 1

Chapter 122: Chapter 122 Voluntary Testimony Part 1

Zhulan was certain there was a basis for her assertion, such an ornate carriage was rarely seen in the county, and besides, Wang Ru’s home was on this street, it was clearly the Shi family’s carriage.

The carriage was faster than Zhulan and the other person, before Zhulan reached the Wang’s residence, the carriage had already stopped. By the time Zhulan almost reached Old Wang’s house, the gifts from the carriage were moved into the yard, and Wang Ru was warmly seeing the steward out.

The carriage was blocking the road, so Zhulan and Zhou Shuren stopped, waiting for the carriage to turn around before they continued forward.

Wang Ru didn’t enter the courtyard either, she just stood quietly at the doorway. Ignored, she couldn’t help but clench her palm until her less favored sister Wang Xin ran out calling for her. Only then did Wang Ru turn to ask, "Is there anything important happening in the village today?"

Wang Xin, unlike Wang Ru, was willing to mingle with the village girls. Now that her family’s circumstances had improved, she had a few friends, "This year, the Zhou Clan Academy’s enrollment ceremony."

Wang Ru’s gaze grew heavy. She hadn’t paid much attention to the Zhou family since Zhou Xuehan’s engagement, and with her stepmother’s trickeries and the New Year’s affairs, it had been a while since she’d thought of the Zhou family, almost forgetting Zhou Changzhi altogether.

Seeing her sister’s expression sour, Wang Xin did not know what had offended her and quickly clammed up, following step by step.

Even if Wang Ru was reassured about Zhou Xuehan, she still didn’t want Zhou Xuehan to leave Zhou’s village. Only if Zhou Changzhi was not an official could it ensure that one man’s ascension didn’t elevate his entire entourage, not only eliminating any possibility between Zhou Xuehan and the male protagonist, but also ensuring she could completely trample on Zhou Xuehan and thus avenge the third-born daughter.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren returned home, with Zhou Shuren reading and Zhulan copying characters. Zhulan didn’t like traditional characters, but to avoid disdain from her grandson and to maintain the dignity of a once top student, she still practiced writing two pages of large characters each day, being a person of culture from ancient times.

With the daily routine settled, the noisiest Elder Grandson enrolled in school, and the second grandson, Mingteng, not having anyone to lead his mischief, became much less rowdy, quieting the household considerably.

Winter days in ancient times were colder and longer than in modern times. With the children now in school, Zhou Shuren moved his daily exercise from indoors to outdoors, and Zhulan, who feared the cold, also accompanied him daily in outdoor exercises, mainly to become accustomed to the outdoor temperature in preparation for the Scholar exams.

Every day, Zhulan accompanied Zhou Shuren on their rounds around the village, morning and evening, two laps each. The result was significant, even Zhulan, who was cold-sensitive, had become much more resistant to the cold after a week, not to mention Zhou Shuren.

Actually, Zhulan was also thinking of making some warm covers for Zhou Shuren so that he wouldn’t get too cold during the exams, but Zhou Shuren rejected the idea outright. Instead, he suggested making the cotton clothes thicker. Covers and cotton bags were not allowed, and since there were regulations regarding what one could bring, it was better to follow the majority to avoid trouble.

Only a few of the elders in the Clan knew that Zhou Shuren was going for the Scholar exam, considering his advanced age, in case he failed and lost face in front of the younger ones, so no one mentioned it, and there was not even a whisper heard in the village.

Every time they saw Zhulan and Zhou Shuren strolling, the village could only praise Zhou Shuren for being so good to Zhulan, keeping her company during her exercise. Indeed, Zhulan took the blame, because everyone knew of her poor health from the previous year; even though she had recovered, she wasn’t completely better in the eyes of the villagers.

Whenever she heard the sour comments, Zhulan maintained a smile, thinking to herself, wait until Zhou Shuren comes back and scares you nagging old ladies.

According to the regulations of the fictional dynasty, the title of Tongsheng obtained during the previous dynasty did not count; with the new dynasty, one had to start from scratch. The county yamen had a list of Tongsheng title recipients since the establishment of the new dynasty, leaving no room for falsification. So Zhou Shuren’s title of Tongsheng was not officially recognized by the new government, and it was only out of respect that the villagers addressed him as such; Zhou Shuren still needed to pass three examinations.

The Tongsheng exam was divided into three parts: county, prefecture, and institute. The county exam was held in February, supervised by the Magistrate and other officials in April. After passing these two exams, one could participate in the institute exam conducted by the education administrators of each province, held at the end of April.

The procedures for registering for the institute exam were similar to those for the county exam. For the county exam registration, the candidate had to complete applications for personal supply, mutual guarantee, and detailed guarantee.

A month before the county exam, the date was announced in January. Zhou Shuren registered, and for the personal supply part, Zhulan watched him write. It was then that she learned that although there were no photographs in ancient times, they didn’t slack on details: name, age, place of origin, physique, and physical features had to be clearly detailed. They even required details of the parents and grandparents of the last three generations, both living and deceased, including those who were adopted, who had to provide information on their birth parents and grandparents of the last three generations - the strictness was unrelenting.

Mutual guarantee meant a joint guarantee form for five candidates taking the exam together – if one cheated, all five were held accountable. Zhou Shuren’s mutual guarantees were all with members of the Clan, who, being from the same family, had a higher level of trust in each other.