Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 189 Teasing My Son_1

Chapter 189: Chapter 189 Teasing My Son_1

The next day, the matchmaker from the officials arrived at the Zhou household with a reply, and her visit was witnessed by more than one person. Once the matchmaker had left, the news spread throughout the Zhou village, and Lady Wang hurried over as soon as she heard.

Lady Wang said enviously, "Yesterday, I heard from the head of our house about Chang Lian’s marriage arrangement with Miss Dong, and I was excited the whole night. I couldn’t sleep a wink, and kept thinking about the matchmaker’s response. I rushed over as quickly as I could but missed her. What did the matchmaker say?"

Although it was almost certain to happen, without the matchmaker’s official words, Lady Wang still felt uneasy. This was a big deal for the Zhou clan. The better Zhou Shuren’s prospects were, the more support the Zhou clan could get. Moreover, the Dong family was deeply rooted in the local area. If the two families were connected by marriage, other families would give the Zhou clan more respect out of consideration for the Dong family. This was a boon that would benefit the entire clan.

Lady Wang, who was not jealous of others, felt envious. How wonderful it would be if such good fortune fell upon her own family, but unfortunately, there was no capable person in her home. She couldn’t help but admire Zhou Shuren’s abilities.

For Zhulan, it wasn’t about arranging marriages for her son as the former body had done, but rather her first time arranging a marriage for her son, and she was quite excited, "A reply did come. We’ve just taken Chang Lian’s birthday to check the compatibility."

Lady Wang, "Shouldn’t they meet each other first?"

Zhulan smiled, "Have you forgotten? They’ve already met, haven’t they?"

Only then did Lady Wang remember the unofficial meeting, and indeed, they had met. "Well, I’ll wait for the date to be set. When the time comes, don’t hesitate to ask for my help, don’t be polite to me."

Zhulan replied, "I definitely won’t be polite with you."

Lady Wang was satisfied. The more she could help, the closer the two families would be, and Zhou Shuren would remember her generosity and support her grandson in the future.

It was impossible for Zhulan’s household to hide the visit from the matchmaker, not that Zhulan intended to. Chang Lian’s marriage to Dong Chuchu was a cause for celebration, and hiding it would seem like there was something shameful about it, leading to unfounded suspicions about Dong Chuchu. So Zhulan cheerfully shared the news with anyone who asked, and soon everyone in Zhou village knew that Chang Lian was about to become the County Magistrate’s son-in-law.

Chang Lian received congratulations at school and was pleased, but as soon as he returned home, he behaved himself. Ever since he learned of his family’s true financial situation, he was deeply aware that what he could see was only what his father allowed him to see, and given past experience, it would not be surprising if his father had hidden a few more cards up his sleeve. It was better for him to stay on the straight and narrow.

As for revealing their father’s plan to offer two hundred taels of silver as a betrothal gift, Chang Lian never even considered it. His father often reminded them that the Zhou family was a collective; if one person behaved badly, it affected the entire family. As members of the Zhou family, they all had to protect the family’s interests, and Chang Lian kept these words in mind. His father was right, if the Zhou family did not fare well, neither would he, for his survival depended on the Zhou family.

During dinner, Zhou Shuren looked at Chang Lian who was obediently eating his meal and felt regretful. He had sharpened his big knife only to put it to use once. He still had follow-up moves ready, but now Chang Lian was no longer making mistakes. Zhou Shuren occasionally glanced at Chang Lian, his regret undisguised.

This frightened the Zhou sons quite a bit, well, all except for Chang Zhi.

The eldest Zhou son wished he could bury his head in his rice bowl, continuously telling himself in his mind, "Father can’t see me, he can’t see me."

The second Zhou son silently ate his meal, reminding himself not to be too clever in front of his father. His father’s thoughts were too profound; he was no match!

Chang Lian started to lose his appetite, sweating nervously from fear. His hunch had been correct; his father was just waiting for him to slip up. His scalp tingled slightly as he repeatedly admonished himself to always follow his father’s lead in the future and never fall behind!

Zhulan glanced at Zhou Shuren from the corner of her eye and was speechless. While he clearly felt regret, his obvious display was deliberate, amusing himself by teasing his sons!

Zhulan looked at her two daughters-in-law. Ever since learning about the family’s true financial situation, Lady Zhao had changed quite a bit. No matter how well she had concealed it before, she had always seemed troubled. But now, she became more relaxed and smiled more often, as if she had gained confidence.

As for Lady Li, Zhulan silently observed her foolishly grinning. Starting from yesterday, she had been smiling non-stop, and upon closer examination, Zhulan noticed that Lady Li seemed to have gained weight again—truly, a relaxed mind leads to a robust body. Zhulan withdrew her gaze, worried that seeing Lady Li’s smile would make her crave steamed buns!

The matchmaker was efficient, and the result of the compatibility check came out the next day. While not a match made in heaven, it was still pretty good. Zhulan based the arrangements on the memories of the original body, which she had directly handled for the eldest Zhou son and Lady Li.

This time, the process was watched by Lady Donglin herself. There was no helping it; after all, they were officials. Even though they looked favorably upon Zhou Shuren, the gap between the two families was still too great. Zhulan saw it clearly and actually preferred the peace of mind!

However, betrothal in ancient times was truly troublesome. The matchmaker had to make several trips, and that was under the circumstance that the two families had already agreed in secret!

On the day of delivering the betrothal gifts, Zhou Shuren invited the Clan Leader to accompany them and also asked the clan’s educated young men to carry the betrothal gifts. Zhulan got to meet Lady Donglin’s four sons and daughters-in-law.

The Dong family was flourishing with numerous grandchildren. Fortunately, with Lady Donglin present, even if the Dong family’s daughters-in-law looked down on Zhulan, everyone was all smiles on the joyful occasion. Only their eyes betrayed them, and Zhulan could see clearly that Lady Donglin’s daughters-in-law were no easy opponents.

Lady Li came along with Zhulan. Actually, Zhulan would have preferred to bring Lady Zhao, but her facial expression wasn’t suitable. Lady Li, however, knew what to do—smiling was just right. With her foolishly simple demeanor, the Dong family’s daughters-in-law twitched at the corners of their mouths and soon became reluctant to speak with Lady Li, much to her relief.

The delivery of the betrothal gifts and the confirmation of the betrothal went smoothly. Since Zhulan’s family was planning to move to Pingzhou next year, the wedding date was also set—after the county examination, the twelfth day of the second month was chosen as auspicious.

That afternoon, around 4 pm by modern reckoning, the Zhou party finally returned to Zhou village.

Zhulan was truly exhausted. There were too many people at the Dong family’s home, and she had to respond appropriately to each of them, which was quite draining. Once back in her room, she didn’t want to move.

Zhou Shuren had drunk quite a bit, but he had a good tolerance for alcohol. Watching Zhou Shuren change his clothes, Zhulan remarked, "Truly evil ancient times, Dong Chuchu will be how old next year? And she’s already getting married."