Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 185: Trapped Miserably_1

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Trapped Miserably_1

Zhulan pursed her lips. The original body wasn’t afraid of snakes at all and had eaten quite a few, but she was terrified and couldn’t let others know, "...I really don’t have time, the little grandson is too young, so here’s what we’ll do, tomorrow let Xue Mei bring the two children over, I’ll help look after them, and you and Xue Mei can go together!"

Lady Jiangwang inexplicably felt a rejecting aura emanating from her in-law, both inside and out. She gave a dry laugh, and not asking further, she sat for a while longer, "It’s getting late, I should head back too."

Xue Han had gone out and already prepared the return gifts. The baskets were covered with cloth. Zhulan took them and pushed them into Lady Jiangwang’s hands, "There’s nothing much of worth, don’t look down on it."

She smelled the scent of pastries. Her daughter must have prepared pastries, covered with cloth to keep them clean.

Lady Jiangwang’s eyes lit up with a smile, "Then I won’t be polite."

She, too, could smell the fragrance of cake.

Lady Jiangwang hadn’t been gone long when the people from the hill returned. Lady Li had a basket strapped to her back, "Mother, mother, we were lucky today and caught something good for nourishing your body."

Zhulan shuddered with a premonition of dread, "I’ve had too much nourishment lately, I don’t wish to have any today."

Lady Li had already taken a large headless snake out of the basket, a foot and a half long and coiled several times over, "Mother, it’s a snake. You used to love eating them. This year, it’s the first time I’ve caught one."

Zhulan felt her blood running in reverse, her body completely rigid, "....."

The original body had set her up! She, who was someone who couldn’t even bear to eat eels, was trapped. Fortunately, she had been trained from a young age to keep her composure, her face still showing no expression, and no one could tell that she was falling apart inside, screaming internally.

Lady Li still held the snake as she sought praise, "Mother, I chopped off its head with a single cut. Mother, I’ll stew the snake for you at noon."

Zhulan suppressed the scream rising inside her, her pupils shrinking as she maintained a smile on her face. She was truly grateful for the lessons learned in her youth. She remained cool as she watched Lady Li continuing her path towards disaster. Zhulan took in a deep breath to steady herself, to stay calm, but ultimately she couldn’t hold back, "Take it aside, all bloody. Look at your clothes, they’re covered in blood. Go change your clothes immediately."

Lady Li’s animal instincts told her that her mother was in a very bad mood, an extremely bad one. She quickly grabbed the snake and ran off.

Zhou Laoda, "...."

He always felt that his mother was holding back her anger, so he slipped away. If his wife was courting death, let her handle it herself; as for him, he’d made a quick exit!

Once Zhulan could no longer see the snake, her blood began to circulate properly again, and she was finally able to move her feet. She turned with a cold face to return to the room, quickly shutting the door behind her. Confirming that no one would disturb her now, she couldn’t keep it together any longer. Her hands wildly grabbed at the air, shuddering, snakes—all she could think of was snakes, their brightly-colored bodies. She clutched her chest, determined never to let Lady Li go out again!

At lunch, Lady Li indeed cooked the snake. Zhulan, however, didn’t have the courage to join them at the table and claimed her stomach was upset and that she didn’t want to eat. She went to her room to lie down. She felt like she had been scared out of her wits, and she was so drowsy that she wanted to sleep.

Lady Li grew anxious, "Head of the family, what’s wrong with mother?"

She never thought it would be because of the snake; after all, her mother-in-law used to love eating them and had often caught snakes to eat!

Zhou Laoda was equally clueless and even asked Zhou Laoer, who pondered for a moment, "Could it be the weather’s too hot?"

Zhulan was too good at controlling her expressions, always mindful to maintain the habits of her original self, that even through her fear, she held on. The astute Zhou Laoer never realized that his mother had become afraid of snakes!

Zhulan was awakened by Zhou Shuren, who had learned what happened. This wasn’t something you could blame Lady Li for. Who could have known he and Zhulan had transmigrated? Zhulan was very afraid of snakes!

Seeing Zhou Shuren gave Zhulan a sense of security. She clutched his clothes tightly, "I was scared to death today. The snake’s body was wriggling right in front of my eyes. Even in my dreams, there were snakes. You must call out to me tonight; I must have been frightened, with my palms thumping nervously."

Zhou Shuren smoothly picked up Zhulan, whose body was still trembling. She had been quite terrified, "Don’t worry, don’t worry. Tomorrow I’ll think of a way to tell them to stop catching snakes."

Zhulan hurriedly said, "No, I’ve finally managed to maintain my persona. It’s better not to change my habits. We’ve become cleverer. That’s because the original couple didn’t want to talk much, which can be explained as laziness due to having young children. Besides, most of the kids are clever, and sons follow their fathers. Making some unnoticed changes is fine, but altering my daily habits too much would be excessive. Anyway, we’ll be going to Pingzhou soon, and as long as we don’t buy snakes there, we won’t see any either."

Zhou Shuren looked at Zhulan’s pale little face with heartache, "You’ve had a tough time."

Zhulan smiled, "The little endurance I’ve shown is nothing compared to your sacrifices. But, fear of snakes is indeed a weakness. I have to overcome it, just like the original self would."

Zhou Shuren frowned, "You don’t have to overcome it. Just avoid any future contact with snakes."

Zhulan thought a lot about it. She still wanted to overcome it; she wouldn’t have been afraid if it weren’t for Wang Ru, but she disliked having an obvious vulnerability. Knowing Zhou Shuren felt sorry for her, yet she was also resolved in her decision, she changed the topic, "Stop worrying about me. Weren’t you going to the county office today? Has the county magistrate taken a liking to that young man?"