Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 182: Be a Little More Daring_1

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Be a Little More Daring_1

Lady Li paid extra attention to the morning’s events, pacing intermittently to the doorway. Once she saw Zhang Datie and his wife enter Wang Ru’s courtyard, she began to crouch by the wall of her own home, eavesdropping.

Zhulan was basking in the sun, with a sidelong glance at Lady Li, who was sticking her bottom out while eavesdropping, looking even rounder from behind. It was quite an eyesore.

Xue Han saw her mother alternating between a look of disgust and a restrained laugh. She found that the sister-in-law she used to hate was becoming cuter by the day, wasn’t she?

With a smile playing on her lips, Zhao Shi lowered her head and continued with her embroidery. Even though the family wealth had increased, it was still her parents’ money and had not yet been distributed among the households. While her mother would occasionally give her and her sister-in-law some spending money, she still couldn’t compare to her sister-in-law who had silver in hand. Therefore, she embroidered handkerchiefs in her spare time, referencing patterns brought back by the eunuch from Jiangnan, now a single handkerchief of hers was worth twenty coins!

Even if childcare took up her time, she could embroider five handkerchiefs a month, bringing in a hundred coins—a considerable amount of silver.

As Zhao Shi threaded her needle, she looked up at her sister-in-law tiptoeing to eavesdrop and felt a tinge of envy. Just look at how carefree she lived, clutching her own invented recipes. Just wait until the eunuch became a Graduate, and those recipes could be exchanged for silver. She never thought she would one day envy her sister-in-law!

Zhulan, reclining in a specially-made chair with a fan overhead, felt the strong sunshine. It was just after lunch, and she felt extremely sleepy. She no longer envied those who were transmigrated into ladies; rather, it was best to be at the top of the food chain and enjoy such a comfortable life!

"Mother, Mother!"

Zhulan, "...."

Just when she thought things were going well, that was no longer the case—Lady Li’s habit of outbursts was acting up again.

Seeing her mother’s face fall, Xue Han couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and even Zhao Shi was giggling with her mouth covered. Lady Li was confused, "What are you laughing at?"

Zhulan held her chest, annoyed with the sometimes clueless Lady Li, and with herself, "What is it?"

Lady Li was about to speak but then remembered she had been eavesdropping and realized she couldn’t speak loudly for fear of being heard by the neighbors, "Mother, I overheard the neighbors talking."

Zhulan leaned forward, her face dark, "Speak up, I didn’t hear you clearly."

If it weren’t for seeing that her daughter and daughter-in-law also hadn’t heard clearly, she would have thought she had a hearing problem!

Lady Li’s voice grew louder, "Mother, I’m afraid the neighbors will know I was eavesdropping if I speak loudly."

Zhulan’s face was expressionless, "Who was it that just yelled the loudest?"

Lady Li realized and her face turned red. The neighbors already knew she had been eavesdropping. She laughed nervously, holding onto a sliver of hope, "Maybe the neighbors thought I was calling you for something else. They didn’t see me by the wall."

Xue Han wanted to cover her face. Could her sister-in-law be any slower to react, "Sister-in-law, you were shouting right under the wall just now, very loudly!"

Even a fool would know you’ve been at the wall the whole time.

Lady Li, "....."

Oh, she should have just kept quiet!

Zhulan fanned herself, trying to cool down her irritation, "Alright, what did you hear?"

Lady Li’s voice was still quiet, "Mother, Wang Ru is completely foolish. She actually gave Zhang Datie twenty taels of silver for Zhang Sanni, and she told Zhang Sanni that there’s no need for a deed, just an employment contract. From now on, Zhang Sanni will live next door as a maid. Mother, is Wang Ru stupid? Without an official deed, who would acknowledge a mere contract? Zhang Datie could still sell Sanni in the future. Mother, what is a contract?"

Zhulan was at a loss for words and vaguely said, "I don’t know either; I only know about the deeds for buying a maid, whether for life or term."

Lady Li liked to chat with the young wives in the village to prevent herself from showing off and thought it was safer to act as if she knew nothing.

Lady Li was slightly disappointed, "It turns out Mother doesn’t know everything!"

Zhulan chuckled, "Sorry to disappoint you, there’s a lot I don’t know."

Lady Li closed her mouth; she felt that if she spoke again, she would definitely lose her mother’s affection and no longer be able to have her mother pinch her face!

Zhulan didn’t care how much commotion was happening next door; after all, it was Wang Ru’s own doing. However, Wang Ru must have borrowed the silver from her older sisters to come up with the twenty taels. After thinking it through, Zhulan realized Wang Ru wasn’t just trying to spite the Zhou family and highlight their coldness but was also looking for a way to concede to Shi Qing by borrowing the money.

Zhulan was feeling sleepy from basking in the sun; the warm summer sunlight was just too perfect for sleeping. She got up and went back to her room to sleep.

In the afternoon, after school at the clan study hall, Zhulan told Rongchuan about Zhang Sanni’s situation, "Your aunt has her own standards and bottom lines. Even if you pleaded at home today, she would not have helped. Rongchuan, I hope you can have your own bottom lines and standards too."

Zhulan wanted to make her stance clear to Rongchuan. She wanted to tell him which type of person she would not associate with. Sometimes, it’s better to be clear about some things early on, for everyone’s sake.

Rongchuan hadn’t left the Zhang family; he had given up hope for them entirely. He had never told anyone that he was precocious, his memories from as young as two or three years old had never faded. After his younger brother was born, his third sister had often tormented him deliberately: lifting his covers at night and making him wear wet clothes. Later on, his parents cared even less about him, and his third sister treated him worse and worse. She had several times refused to feed him, and though his parents clearly knew, they did nothing. He had utterly lost hope in his family; everyone in the Zhang family was just coldly waiting for his death!

Rongchuan bowed his head, "Aunt, even if I had been at home today, I wouldn’t have pleaded for her, not just because Sanni would bring endless trouble to the family, but also because I don’t want to plead. I can’t falsely claim that I have any affection left for the Zhangs. Since I’ve separated from the Zhang family, I have nothing to do with them. That house is no longer my home; they are not my relatives."

Even if his aunt would think of him as heartless, he had to say it. He hoped his aunt wouldn’t be concerned about him and he didn’t want to hide his true self. He had learned from his uncle that pretense would always be just that—pretense!

Zhulan felt sorry for the boy and touched the top of Rongchuan’s head, "Auntie doesn’t think Rongchuan is heartless. On the contrary, I think it’s good that you have your own standards in your heart."

Rongchuan’s uneasiness vanished. He liked the Zhou family; the uncle and aunt had not only saved his life but also given him the warmth of a family. They were the parents he had dreamt of, strict father and kind mother. Only in this house did he feel like it was home. The Zhou family was the warmest place in his heart.

After Zhou Shuren came back from dinner, he called Chang Zhi and Chang Lian, and a few others who were studying, to test their reading progress. Then he instructed Rongchuan, "Tomorrow Chang Lian and Chang Zhi won’t go to the clan school. Take a leave for them, say I’m taking them out to visit."

Rongchuan said, "Okay."

Chang Lian’s heart leapt up; his father had been going to the county government office these days, and he asked excitedly, "Father, are you taking us to the county government office tomorrow?"

Chang Zhi was more concerned about another matter, "Father, the County Magistrate is a Graduate. Will he test our literary skills?"

Zhou Shuren listened and decided there was no need to be mysterious. He had thought of telling them tomorrow and see how they would react on the spot, testing the boys’ adaptability. He stroked his beard, realizing the kids were too smart for their own good—impossible to outsmart. His hand hesitated, and he found he was growing more and more accustomed to stroking his beard!

Chang Lian yesterday didn’t dare to think about why the County Magistrate’s wife suddenly came to their home, but his father’s words today emboldened him. With newfound courage, his blood warmed, and his eyes widened with excitement, only to see his father’s detached expression. He cooled down immediately, guessing it was probably because they knew he and Chang Zhi were taking the imperial examination for young scholars next year, and due to his father’s connections, they were simply being evaluated.

Zhou Shuren kept observing Chang Lian and was somewhat pleased. Chang Lian had changed quite a bit since his arrival; initially, the boy’s cunning was all too evident on his face, and he was somewhat impulsive. Now able to calm down quickly, his efforts to guide had not been in vain. Suddenly, he realized he was quite suited to teaching