Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 220 Genius_1

Chapter 220: Chapter 220 Genius_1

Zhulan inquired about the Zheng family solely because of Lady Zheng. It was through their frequent interactions that Zhulan discovered Lady Zheng was a hidden master. Astounded after receiving pointers from Lady Zheng on her painting, Zhulan had never imagined the homebound Lady Zheng to be an expert in painting - one’s expertise was clear from the moment they started.

Lady Zheng must have been trained from a young age. Zhulan had never really paid much attention to Lady Zheng, mainly because she kept to herself, and before Zhou Shuxi moved over, Zhulan barely got to see Lady Zheng.

Lady Zheng’s maiden home was in Li Family Village. When Zhulan mentioned this to Zhou Shuren, he took note of it and thus began his inquiries.

Zhulan did want Lady Li to go back to her maiden home to ask around, but she feared Lady Li couldn’t keep a secret. It wasn’t that Zhulan was curious about Lady Zheng; she was just used to thoroughly understanding the unknown to avoid unnecessary troubles.

Zhou Shuren went to Pingzhou, marking the first separation between Zhulan and Zhou Shuren after they had exchanged their feelings for each other. Being together previously hadn’t seemed like much, but during this separation, Zhulan felt an intense longing. Zhou Shuren had been away for seven days, and she dreamt of him every night.

After seven days, as Zhulan was peeling pine nuts with her daughter-in-law in the courtyard, Zhou Shuren returned by carriage. Sitting on a chair, Zhulan watched him dismount, and, overcome by excitement, she quickly stood up and walked towards him, taking hold of his arm, "Why do I feel like you’ve lost weight?"

Zhou Shuren’s heart skipped rapidly for a few beats, realizing more profoundly with this separation than the last how much he missed her, "I think you are the one who has lost weight. You must not have eaten well without me."

Completely ignored, Zhou’s eldest and second sons finally understood why their father had urged the carriage to make haste; it was all because of his yearning for their mother. Despite having not eaten at noon due to the bumpy ride and being extremely hungry, they strangely felt full just by watching their parents, unable to eat anything else.

Zhulan was the first to snap out of it, realizing they were still in the courtyard. She looked at her two sons, who were either gazing at the sky or looking down at the ground, "We’re back."

Zhou’s eldest son, "....."

Zhou’s second son, "....."

The mother seemed uncaring and sounded so indifferent. Clearly, in her heart, father was the most important!

Zhou Shuren had too many irritations to count, but as the head of the family, he had to restrain himself. Not wanting to let go of Zhulan’s hand, he instructed his eldest son, "Bring down the food and materials we bought from the carriage."

Zhou’s eldest son sensed his father’s impatience. Being the eldest was tough – always the first to deal with his father’s demands. He really didn’t want to be the eldest and wondered when he would be able to take over his responsibilities as the eldest grandson!

Zhou Shuren walked towards the house, and Zhulan saw Lady Li’s eyes glued to the items brought back from Pingzhou. She told Lady Li to tidy up the courtyard, but Lady Li also did so absentmindedly.

Looking at Lady Zhao, her eyes were all on Chang Yi, filled with tenderness!

Zhou Shuren coughed, and Zhulan quickly followed him inside. Once in the house, Zhou Shuren embraced Zhulan, "Did you miss me?"

Zhulan looked down on Zhou Shuren’s knowingly redundant question, "What do you think?"

This man, always wanting her to say she missed him!

Holding Zhulan in his arms, Zhou Shuren felt extraordinarily content, missing the sense of belonging he lacked at his home in Pingzhou without Zhulan. Smiling, he said, "I missed you."

Zhulan’s heart raced, "I did too."

As Zhou Shuren leaned down to kiss her, Zhulan closed her eyes, but quickly pushed him away, "What have you got hidden in your embrace?"

Zhou Shuren then remembered the gift he brought for Zhulan from his chest, producing a cloth-wrapped package, "I attended a poetry competition in Pingzhou and won ten taels of silver for my verses. I added thirty more and at the antique shop, I found this jade bracelet. Tell me if you like it?"

The bracelet was green and of good quality. Zhulan put it on, and it looked beautiful on her, "This is an antique too?"

Zhou Shuren nodded, "Yes, it’s quite old. Because its quality doesn’t resemble ancient artifacts, those with less discerning eyes think it’s a fake. The price wasn’t cheap either; it had been at the antique shop for a long time until I luckily came across it."

He went with Zhao Bo, and took a fancy to it at first sight. Unfortunately, he only had a little over thirty taels of silver left, and the shopkeeper stubbornly held out for forty taels. He was ready to borrow more, but then he came across the poetry competition aiming for the top prize, and indeed he won the silver.

The more Zhulan looked at the bracelet, the more she liked it, "This pair of jade bracelets can be kept and passed down through the family."

Zhou Shuren saw Zhulan’s joy and felt satisfied, "As long as you like it, when we have more silver in the future, I’ll collect some more."

Zhulan looked up, "You competed in poetry; I really didn’t expect you to be so talented."

As for borrowing existing poems, Zhou Shuren would never do that, especially with Wang Ru around.

Zhou Shuren flicked Zhulan on the forehead, "You don’t trust your husband? This is an insult to my profession. Too bad we can’t go back to modern times. I wrote quite a few poems back then and had them in a special notebook. I was even planning to compile them into a book for my own collection!"

Zhulan had never seen Zhou Shuren compose poetry. Watching his proud manner at home while he taught their sons, she couldn’t help but laugh, "Alright, alright, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have doubted my own husband."

Zhou Shuren pointed at his face, "Your punishment is to kiss me."

Zhulan quickly pecked him on the cheek, "Happy now?"

"That’s more like it."

Zhulan asked, "How is the Wu family doing in Pingzhou?"

Zhou Shuren had traveled for a whole day and not only was his behind sore from the bouncing, his body ached too. Without changing his clothes, he kicked off his shoes, grabbed a pillow and lay down, sighing comfortably as he stretched out, "The Wu family is doing quite well. It’s only been half a year, but you have no idea how capable Wu Ming is. They have bought a house and moved close to ours."

Zhulan blinked, "The houses near ours aren’t cheap, how did he manage that?"

Zhou Shuren admired Wu Ming greatly. Wu Ming was indeed young, and every time Zhou Shuren discussed scholarly matters with him, he felt rather disheartened. Wu Ming was a genius among geniuses, which made Zhou Shuren even less confident about being first, "The house he bought has a single courtyard which cost a hundred taels. This young man improved farming tools and was rewarded two hundred taels by the Magistrate himself. Guess, where did he get the inspiration to make the improvements from?"

Zhulan knew Zhou Shuren well, and since he asked, it meant she had seen it before. After thinking for a moment, she caught the hint of brilliance, "He got the inspiration from furniture, from the furniture Wang Ru made."

Admiration filled Zhou Shuren’s eyes; his wife was indeed smart, "Yes, he found his inspiration from the furniture Wang Ru made."

He too had seen a lot of furniture, but never got any inspiration; perhaps it was because he had seen so much in modern times that his mind had nothing new to offer. Any innovation he could come up with would also be borrowing from modern times, and with Wang Ru’s presence, he wouldn’t think of changing anything.

Zhulan noticed it was getting late, "You rest for a bit, I’ll go prepare some dishes you love."

Zhou Shuren nodded, "Alright."

Zhulan stepped out of the room and saw the items bought back from Pingzhou in the main hall. She didn’t see Lady Li or Zhao Shi as both were likely in their respective rooms, probably catching up after being apart for some days.

First, Zhulan checked the food and the fabrics. There wasn’t much fabric, mostly food, with medicinal wine bought for her father. She sorted the food and fabrics, estimated the time was about right, and then went out to call for Lady Li and Zhao Shi.

Both women emerged, Lady Li with a face full of joy and a hint of shyness, looking at the hairpin her eldest son bought for her.

Zhao Shi’s face lacked joy, and she even looked a bit pale; something was wrong. Considering how much Zhou Shuren’s younger brother doted on Zhao Shi, it would be strange if he hadn’t bought her a gift.

Zhulan asked, "Zhao Shi, what’s wrong with you?"