Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 172 True Love_1

Chapter 172: Chapter 172 True Love_1

Zhou Shuren nodded, "I only found out today too."

It was truly too unexpected for him—he was so shocked that it took him a good while to regain his composure!

Zhulan was very puzzled, "A Deputy Magistrate of the Fifth Rank must be of no young age, Mrs. Lin is forty-eight, her eldest daughter is thirty, you understand Pingzhou’s officials, how old is the Deputy Magistrate?"

She was very curious indeed; the Dong family was of scholarly farmers, always nestled in their hometown, how had they produced a Deputy Magistrate son-in-law?

Zhou Shuren, while in Pingzhou, kept track of prominent officials and had indeed heard some things about Mr. Jiang’s family, "The Pingzhou Deputy Magistrate is Jiang Ming, forty-two years old. His wife is a concubine. Jiang Ming’s main family is in the capital, and he himself is from a side branch. Part of the first batch of scholars to emerge after the dynasty was established, he was once a second-place scholar. I heard from Zhao Bo that the main family couldn’t tolerate the side branches, they hindered Jiang Ming and tampered with his status. Jiang Ming didn’t stay in the capital; instead, he was directly assigned to Pingzhou. It is said, before Jiang Ming entered the examination system, he lived a difficult life. His wife, oppressed by the main family, died, leaving him with only a daughter. It was only after several years in Pingzhou and meeting his present wife, the concubine, that he remarried."

Zhulan counted the years, "That’s not right, Mrs. Lin’s daughter is thirty, the new dynasty is only twelve years old, and the examinations were held in the second year. It would have been years later when Jiang Ming remarried. Would not Mrs. Lin’s daughter have been well into her twenties before she married? Wouldn’t people in ancient times marry off young?"

Zhou Shuren did not keep her in suspense, "Because Jiang Ming married a widow, and when he remarried, it was as a Five-rank Official. He chose not to marry a maiden but instead a widow, which was quite sensational in Pingzhou at the time. I heard about it and inquired further. Never would I have thought it was a Dong family daughter."

He was truly too weak; he didn’t even have people to gather information for him. A Scholar’s rank was too low, one must at least be a Graduate to afford to keep informants.

Zhulan was astounded, "This is definitely true love!"

Widows in ancient times were usually remarried into lower ranks, and here, a County Minister’s daughter had married a Five-rank official—she couldn’t think of any reason other than true love!

Zhou Shuren laughed in agreement, "To be honest, I’ve always had a good impression of Jiang Ming. During the years he was assigned to Pingzhou, starting from scratch, he diligently did practical work. Although he was suppressed and didn’t rise in rank, his reputation was always good. Later, his rapid promotion was also because the capital’s main family lost its power and faced difficulties. They could only give the remaining resources to Jiang Ming, and that’s how he rose."

Zhulan reasoned based on Zhou Shuren’s explanation—a second-place scholar who started at a Seventh Rank and now at a Fifth Rank, without major achievements, indeed rose quickly. That’s the benefit of connections; not only does it save one from detours, but also from others encroaching on your credit.

Zhulan felt even more for the cautiously advancing Zhou Shuren and couldn’t help but reach out and take his hand, only to realize a moment later, "How come you know so much about Jiang Ming?"

"Zhao Bo told me some, and I inquired a bit more myself. The rest, I guessed, and it turned out to be pretty much the truth."

Zhulan analyzed the situation, "Jiang Ming is far from the capital’s power struggle; our dealings with the Dong family don’t need to be too cautious."

She was genuinely afraid of getting involved in the struggle for the throne, embroiling the entire clan—which would be a disaster. Given the Emperor’s advancing age and his sons all grown up, even with the Crown Prince established, nothing would quell the other princes’ desire for the throne. The transition of power is the most chaotic time, also when there is the greatest fall of scapegoats. She and Zhou Shuren needed to be extremely careful.

Zhou Shuren was also morose. The timing of the examination was not ideal; he feared climbing up the ranks, only to find himself in the midst of a transition of power that could be treacherous, "The Emperor is fifty-two years old, no small age indeed, and the Crown Prince is already twenty-two."

Zhulan sincerely thought the Emperor was a ruthless person, before thirty pretending to be a foolish and clumsy public prince, even being stripped of his Princely Heir title, and sent back to his place of residence. Who would have thought that such a simpleton could control the army of non-royal lords, awaiting the moment to rebel? And he only married after his rebellion, taking the daughter of an ally as his wife before subsequently marrying several more—a man of great ambition, the Founding Emperor was ruthless in his first year, executing many. He was especially concerned about the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate offspring because the Emperor had been mistreated as a legitimate child, hence the current legitimate Crown Prince.

Although at the moment, the legitimate son was secure, who could tell what would happen in a few years with five princes present, the other four passing their coming-of-age.

Upon considering this, Zhulan said, "I remember you mentioned, since the establishment of the new dynasty, no children have been born in the Palace? Could there be a problem there?"

Zhou Shuren also suspected there was an issue, but unfortunately, as people at the bottom, they mostly knew public information, "Anyway, the Emperor already has five sons, whether he has more or not doesn’t really matter."

He actually felt it was better not to have any, at least to avoid a conflict for succession among many sons, which would make the capital even more perilous.

Zhulan suddenly laughed, "Talk about worrying too far ahead—we haven’t even gone through the provincial examinations yet, and we’re already thinking about the future."

Zhou Shuren embraced Zhulan, "It’s good to think ahead and know whom to befriend in advance, so as not to get caught up later when I enter the circle of power."

Zhulan couldn’t help but wish they could time travel after the transition of power. Alas, if that were the case, the Zhou family would have long been ruined by Wang Ru, and their time travel would be out of the question, "Never mind, good and bad come hand in hand. We should just take care of ourselves and let nature take its course. Let’s not add burdens to ourselves now, it’s too tiring."

Zhou Shuren thought so too, "My son-in-law didn’t go to the government office today. Tonight, I’ll have Xue Mei and her husband come over for dinner. I have something to discuss with Jiang Sheng."

Zhulan turned her head, "Good news?"

"Good news."

Seeing Zhou Shuren’s lips sealed, Zhulan snorted, "Never mind if you won’t tell. I’ll find out sooner or later anyway."