Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 1400 Shangguan Liu

Chapter 1400: Chapter 1400 Shangguan Liu

After returning from the government office, Zhou Shuren didn’t find his daughter-in-law in the main courtyard. Only after asking did he learn that she was in Mingyun’s courtyard, visiting her great-grandson. After changing his clothes and reviewing two articles, his daughter-in-law finally returned.

Zhulan entered with a smile on her face, "Zhixuan, the child is so spirited, it’s like he recognizes me. He started cooing as soon as he saw me."

Zhou Shuren said, "He’s a child who hasn’t even reached his first month yet, how could he possibly recognize anyone? You’re just imagining it."

"Can’t you just let me be happy?"

"Of course, I do. I actually have some good news to tell you, the news you care about the most."

Zhulan eagerly asked, "Is there news about the twins?"

Zhou Shuren nodded, "Hmm, I not only have news of them but also a letter of safety they’ve written back."

"Where’s the letter?"

"The letter the twins wrote to their parents, I’ve had Shen Xing deliver it to Jiang Sheng."

Zhulan chanted Amitabha in relief, "As long as they are safe, with news of them, everyone can be at ease."

Zhou Shuren put down his book and stared at his daughter-in-law’s clasped hands, "I’ve noticed you’ve taken to reciting Amitabha more and more."

"When one gets older, it becomes a habit to recite a phrase for solace, for peace of mind."

Zhou Shuren pulled his daughter-in-law to sit down, "The Emperor didn’t explain clearly to me, only told me that the twins are now very safe, but he also hinted that they won’t be able to return for a year or two."

"These two troublesome kids, I’ll definitely give them a good scolding when they return."

Zhou Shuren smiled, "Hmm, I’ve already thought of how to deal with them."

"How will you do that?"

"Have them recite articles backwards. For every word they get wrong, they’ll receive a spanking."

Zhulan, "...Alright."

Should she now be worried about how many spankings the twins will receive?

The next day, a Female Officer from the palace came to the residence, "My lady, the palace currently has only princesses and Commandery Princesses, and the Empress Dowager feels it’s too quiet. Therefore, a few ladies have been selected to stay in the palace for a few days, one lady from each family. A Female Officer will come to fetch Miss Zhou tomorrow."

Zhulan, "Hmm, we will wait for the Female Officer to arrive tomorrow."

The Female Officer had other houses to notify as well and didn’t stay long before leaving.

Zhulan called over several of her daughters-in-law and explained the purpose of the Female Officer’s visit, "What do you think?"

The main branch no longer had a daughter, and Lady Li didn’t voice an opinion, instead looking towards the wives of the second and fourth sons.

Lady Zhao didn’t want her daughter to enter the palace; knowing her own daughter, after some thought, she said, "I’ll follow Mother’s decision."

Su Xuan was more straightforward, "Mother, Yu Wen is very lazy, she’s not suitable to enter the palace."

Zhulan already understood the intentions of both daughter-in-laws. She also felt that Yu Die and Yu Wen were not suitable for the palace; these two granddaughters were too individualistic for what the palace was like, but she was the mother-in-law and needed to be fair, which is why she had asked.

Zhulan said, "Yu Yi’s temperament is the most suitable, but she is almost of age to be betrothed, so Yu Yi is not suitable. Yu Jiao, however, is similar in age and gets along well with Lin Xi. Her advantage is her youth, and if there are any issues, we can use her age as an excuse. Yu Jiao is both naive and shrewd, so let’s choose Yu Jiao to stay in the palace for a few days."

In her heart, she also pondered; the Empress Dowager didn’t choose earlier or later, so why suddenly select girls to stay in the palace for a short period? What’s the consideration behind this? Regardless, the Zhou family ladies would be safe. The Zhou family’s decision not to form marriage alliances with the royal family again was a wise move, but they still needed to be wary of being used by others.

Lady Li said, "Mother has analyzed it well, Yu Jiao is indeed the most suitable."

Lady Zhao responded, "The day after tomorrow, we’ll be entering the palace. What should we prepare for Yu Jiao?"

Su Xuan said, "Bring more silver. There are many little devils inside the palace, and nobody will dare to look down on us if we’re generous with silver."

Zhulan called for Qing Xue and instructed her to exchange some silver ingots for broken silver since the house only had large denomination silver ingots, which were inconvenient to carry in a purse.

Afterward, Zhulan took out some leftover gilded melon seeds and silver-coated peanuts from New Year’s and packed them into two small boxes.

Lady Li and the others, because Lady Dong was not present, prepared some silver notes as the eldest maternal aunt. Lady Zhao had prepared some exquisitely crafted jewelry suitable for rewards, and other fine purses, while Su Xuan had prepared some precious jewelry that would not be looked down upon.

Zhulan also made other preparations. Just as a person relies on clothes and a horse relies on its saddle, the palace was full of attendants looking down on others, and there were too many who judged based on dress and accessories.

She also sent someone to inquire about which other young ladies would be entering the palace. There were quite a number, including girls from the Ning Duke Residence and the Wen family, totaling eight families.

In Xixian County, Prince Qi had no intention of starting his journey. He said to the Crown Prince, "This journey is primarily for sightseeing; our schedule is not urgent, Your Highness the Crown Prince may take your time to look around."

The Crown Prince rolled his eyes internally; he didn’t believe Prince Qi’s reason for staying at Xixian County was that simple. He looked out the window—the county town was wealthy and bustling, with the constant stream of people entering the city and the hawkers’ cries adding to the lively atmosphere of the streets.

This journey was not a big spectacle, and they had disguised themselves as a merchant caravan. There were many caravans across the nation, and they didn’t stand out too much.

The Crown Prince stood up, "Then I shall take a look around."

Prince Qi narrowed his eyes, the Crown Prince really had trust in him, and he wasn’t worried that Prince Qi would have ulterior motives. After that, Prince Qi finished his cup of wine. He came out to accompany the Crown Prince on this journey, and the whole Qi Prince Residence was in the capital. If he really dared to conspire, he wouldn’t need the Emperor to act—his own father would annihilate him.

The Crown Prince was about to go out, and the young lords who had come with him had been paying attention to the Crown Prince’s movements. Ming Rui was flipping through a book and had no intention of competing to go out.

Don’t think that only women engage in strife. On this journey, Ming Rui had his eyes opened. The mutual trampling among the noble families was spectacular.

While Ming Rui was reading, the Crown Prince’s personal guard knocked on the door, "Master Ming Rui, our master requests your presence."

Ming Rui, "..."

It was as if his fears had materialized; although he could hold his own, this was the first time the Crown Prince sought him out since leaving the capital.

When Ming Rui arrived, there were already two young lords standing by the Crown Prince’s side—one from the Wen family and another from the Shangguan family, both related to the Crown Prince. The Wen family was the maternal side, Shangguan was the prospective in-law’s family, and with him as a relative of the Imperial family, it seemed the remaining young lords had no chance to compete.

Ming Rui didn’t perform the rituals of courtesy, as they were dispensing with formalities to conceal their identities while outside.

The Crown Prince smiled, "Cousin, we’ve been waiting just for you."

Ming Rui felt a jolt of surprise. Alright, in terms of kinship, he was indeed the cousin; he attempted a smile, "I’m late."

He could not bring himself to address him as ’little cousin.’

Wen Xu’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly. He was the Crown Prince’s genuine cousin in every respect. The Crown Prince had not greeted him that warmly when calling him ’cousin.’ His gaze towards Zhou Mingrui turned decidedly deeper.

With a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, Shangguan Liu glimpsed at the second Wen son. This eldest legitimate son of Wen’s second wife had been advised by his father to avoid too much contact with the Wen family. Judging by the Crown Prince’s attitude, indeed, distance was advisable.

The Crown Prince seemed oblivious to the mutual sizing up amongst the young lords, opening his fan, "The weather is lovely today; let’s go for a walk."

Ming Rui, being the youngest, Wen Xu took the lead in following the Crown Prince. Shangguan Liu did not hurry; instead, he walked beside Ming Rui.

Shangguan Liu said, "Zhou young master has been in the carriage all this while. I wanted to visit several times without an opportunity; let me formally introduce myself today, I am Shangguan Liu, the third in my family. My two older brothers have already entered official positions in the court."

He did not want to come, but had no choice, since both his elder brothers had become officials and it was his turn.

Ming Rui responded, "Nice to meet you. I’m also the third in my family. One brother serves as an official in the court, and the other already handles separate official duties."