Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 199 Yao Zheyu_1

Chapter 199: Chapter 199 Yao Zheyu_1

Zhou Shuren didn’t expect Zhulan to guess so quickly, "That’s right, it’s the male protagonist you’ve been talking about, Yao Zheyu, fourteen years old this year, the legitimate son of the Hou Residence."

Zhulan was surprised that her guess was actually correct. However, something didn’t seem right. In her limited memories, it would be at least two years before the young lady would meet the male protagonist, and now it was nearly two years earlier than that. As for how they met, well, she couldn’t remember. The already scarce impressions were becoming blurrier as time passed.

If it weren’t for the recent knowledge of transmigration which stimulated her memory, she would likely remember even less.

Zhulan was quite curious about the male protagonist. To be qualified as the male lead, his intelligence was definitely assured, and especially his scheming nature couldn’t be lacking. Even though she had transmigrated into a book, Zhulan knew this was the real world, where every person had independent thoughts, not something that could be fully described with just a few lines of text, "You met and interacted with him today, what impression did you get?"

Zhou Shuren changed into his clothes and climbed onto the heated brick bed, casually picking up Zhulan’s fan to fan her, "In terms of appearance, Yao Zheyu is on par with Shi Qing, though he’s a bit more masculine, probably because he’s been practicing martial arts from a young age. Even though he’s only fourteen, he’s not short, standing at about 1.7 meters tall. As for his learning, oh right, the Yao family’s ancestral home is in Pingzhou. Even if the Yao family isn’t one of the top families there, with the support of the Hou Residence, they’re a family no one in Pingzhou dares to provoke. Yao Zheyu came back early this time to prepare for next year’s child imperial examination, so he returned half a year in advance to avoid any delays."

Feeling tired from sitting, Zhulan casually lay down on Zhou Shuren’s legs, and said in a faint voice, "The plot has completely gone off track. I seem to remember that Yao Zhe is supposed to take the imperial examination two years from now. Speaking of which, the Hou Residence started from military exploits, which is to avoid jealously from others; they shifted to civilian statuses for their descendants. Yao Zhe, the protagonist. the family would surely provide good education. He would be stable in the imperial examinations. How did he get pried away by Wang Ru? The brains of such a large family surely wouldn’t be lacking!"

She certainly didn’t believe that nobles under a pure monarchical reign would be so love-stricken.

Zhou Shuren leaned down and kissed Zhulan’s forehead. Seeing Zhulan glaring at him, he then seriously said, "After sending off Young Master Yao with the County Magistrate, the County Magistrate told me about what he knows of the Hou Residence. It’s a marquisate that has lasted through two dynasties. The Old Marquis is a capable man, who maintained the Hou Residence’s wealth and status even in the new dynasty and secured three generations without a degradation of their noble rank. The protagonist was raised by the Old Marquis because the protagonist’s mother passed away early, and Mr. Hou took a concubine, resulting in the previous legitimate son falling out of favor. The Hou Residence is really a nest of intrigue; the protagonist, who grew up amidst calculations and schemes, is definitely not a good sort."

Zhulan propped herself up, narrowing her eyes, "If we don’t look at it from the perspective of the plot, but from a realistic standpoint, is it possible to consider that Yao Zheyu, just like Shi Qing, saw the value in Wang Ru? For the male lead to strengthen his claim to the Marquis position, this could be the reason why he returned early, because of Wang Ru."

Zhulan paused and then continued, "Because of our two unexpected occurrences, Wang Ru had no choice but to rely on Shi Qing. Shi Qing kept milking Wang Ru dry, look at what Wang Ru has come up with in this half-year. It’s not just about food; furniture has been introduced, as well as a significant amount of fruit wine. These novel items must be popular in the capital, which is why Yao Zheyu paid attention to them and came back to Pingzhou two years earlier."

Zhou Shuren nodded with the fan, continuing the conversation, "Because of our two unexpected events, Wang Ru lost her autonomy. She couldn’t slowly release her ideas to hang on to Shi Qing, giving Wang Ru two years to grow. Everything was advanced."

Zhulan nodded, "Exactly right, it seems that indeed, reality is not a novel. This explains what I couldn’t make sense of. This demonstrates the gap in why they could come together; it’s all about interests. If it really is as we suspect, Wang Ru’s scheming is all for naught. Yao Zheyu won’t marry her. The ’true love’ aspect has too much water in it."

Zhou Shuren thought even more deeply, squinting his eyes, "The Old Marquis was able to maintain the Hou Residence’s wealth and rank in the new dynasty; how could he be a simple man? The one he personally educated couldn’t be lacking either. This is getting interesting. If there were no us, no Wang Ru, with Chang Zhi, a person who doesn’t understand the affairs of the common folk, no matter how good his studies are, he wouldn’t get far. How could he serve as the young lady’s support and marry into the Hou Residence? Even with the good karma from Wu Ming, without blood relations, how much help could that be? As for true love, I don’t believe in it."

Zhulan pondered for a moment, "Maybe the Hou Residence, afraid of being envied, had to lie low intentionally and made a lowly match?"

Zhou Shuren couldn’t figure it out for the moment, "What you’ve said also makes some sense. Oh right, I’m not going to the county tomorrow."

"Not going?"

It wasn’t just for studying that Zhou Shuren went to the county. Ever since he revealed his exceptional talent for calculation, he had been grabbed by the County Magistrate to help with his side. With the levee still unfinished, how could he afford to leave Zhou Shuren idle?

Zhou Shuren explained, "Young Master Yao took a liking to me and wants to take me around to see various places. I will accompany Young Master Yao on his visits."

Zhulan hooked the corners of her mouth, "He must be interested in you because you’re from Zhou’s village, which would make it easier for Yao Zheyu to look into Wang Ru."

After saying this, Zhulan picked up a fan and started fanning Zhou Shuren, noticing that he was sweating profusely.

Zhou Shuren lay down with his hands as a pillow, "I need to think this through, how to get some silver coins from this Mr. Yao. Spending my savings is making me uneasy."

In modern times, he had a habit of checking his bank balance periodically—the more money he had, the more secure he felt. He was terrified of poverty. These days, his expenses had been too high, and they would only get bigger once he got to Pingzhou. He had been hoping to get more silver coins to avoid going to the capital—after all, ’Without coins, even heroes stumble.’ Now that the opportunity had arisen, he would be letting himself down if he didn’t take the time to do some thorough planning, especially when the male protagonist practically presented himself at his doorstep.

Zhulan, "...."

That’s a truly formidable person, plotting even against the male protagonist. She might as well go and take a bath!

Zhulan said, "You keep planning, I’m going to take a bath."

Zhou Shuren’s hard-earned relief from sweating was short-lived. He suffered terribly, fearing the possibility of getting sick. He could only continue to endure. Zhulan was flustered and moved by Zhou Shuren’s earnest gaze and his tolerance for her sake.

They had broken through their initial reserve a long time ago and had the status of husband and wife. Zhulan was emotionally prepared for a more intimate gesture, but Zhou Shuren was considerate of her health. He truly cared for her. She had her fears—her parents’ love had failed despite being deeply in love, and they had separated in the end. She feared the same might happen with Zhou Shuren, but she was not one to shrink back from fear. She wanted to wholeheartedly nurture their relationship.

Zhulan was the first to bathe, followed by Zhou Shuren. The bathing shed they’d built outside made things convenient for the whole family.

The only downside was that the lighting from the ancient oil lamps and candles was too dim. The low visibility frightened her—it was like setting the scene for a ghost story unless several oil lamps or candles were lit.

Zhulan had gone to great lengths to make sure Zhou Shuren didn’t harm his eyes while reading at night. She had initially wanted to paste white paper on the walls, but paper was too expensive in ancient times, and the best quality rice paper wasn’t pure white. Such extravagance was abandoned. She also considered white lime but had no idea how to use it. She hadn’t come across a novel where the female protagonist, upon traveling to ancient times, became a science prodigy.

Eventually, she used white cloth. Her excuse for hanging the white cloth, which was taboo, was to prevent dust from the earthen walls. She made it decorative. Her efforts paid off—at least the room was a bit brighter with candles at night.

The next morning, Lady Li wanted to accompany them to the county as the weather was unusually cool with overcast skies and winds. Zhulan, too, fancied the idea of going to the county.

Zhulan felt pity as she looked at her little girl’s longing expression. The child had hardly any friends left in the village. It wasn’t that Xue Han looked down on the village girls, but rather that her friends had unilaterally ended their friendships with her, resulting in less frequent interactions.

As Xue Han learned more, she stopped engaging in wild play and instead took to reading. The widening gap left them with nothing in common, and gradually the village girls stopped coming around. Those who befriended Xue Han were of good conduct, while those with ulterior motives received no courtesy from her.

As a result, in less than a year, Xue Han no longer had a single close friend in the village.