Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 224 Entering the Trap_1

Chapter 224: Chapter 224 Entering the Trap_1

Zhou Shuren opened the chest, and inside it were neatly arranged silver ingots. Pointing at the chest, he said, "There are a total of one hundred and twenty taels of silver in this chest, the quality of the stored bracelets wasn’t good, so the price was heavily discounted."

Zhulan covered the chest, tallying the accounts, "For Chang Lian’s engagement, the family provided three hundred taels as a betrothal gift, leaving four hundred and over sixty taels. The groom sent gifts twice afterwards, and Wang Ru and Shi Qing also sent gifts once. Not counting the silver from selling gold, I just calculated our family assets and we have four hundred and ninety taels left. Now adding the one hundred and twenty from selling the gold, the family has a total of six hundred and ten taels of silver."

With more than six hundred taels of silver, Zhulan felt she now had a solid foundation—at least after purchasing the Zheng family’s property, there would be money left over. She would also be able to afford the wedding banquet and support the household expenses. The family had many scholars, and the paper alone used every month was costly!

Zhou Shuren felt that the family’s silver was really too little—now, just by acquiring the land, which was not even a full estate, the family’s silver reserves were nearly depleted. He calculated all the family’s assets and realized that it wasn’t enough to buy a property in the capital—he was still poor!

When Zhou Shuren heard Lady Li calling them to eat, he covered the chest and pushed it into a corner, "Don’t worry about the silver anymore; let’s go eat."

"Alright."

The next day, when they went to see the land, Big Brother Zhou drove the cart while Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went together. Zhou Shuren went to look at the land, while Zhulan was in charge of inspecting the house. For her first visit, Zhulan brought pastries, as presenting fabric would be embarrassing—the Zheng family surely wouldn’t lack for cloth later on, so it was better to bring some nice snacks.

The maternal home of the Zheng family had become quite prosperous; Zheng Shi was the youngest at home, and her brothers were all advanced in age, having grandchildren of their own. After over forty years of development, it had become a large family. The house was not built like a typical farmhouse, but rather was surrounded by high walls on the outside, with several courtyard houses inside that were interconnected yet did not interfere with one another.

Upon entering, if no one led Zhulan, she would truly get dizzy from the layout—it was evident how much thought had gone into its construction. Reaching the main courtyard, Zheng Shi’s parents were still healthy, probably thanks to a military general’s influence, still robust in their physicality.

Old Master Zheng laughed heartily, "I was estimating that our guest should be arriving about now, and just as I finished speaking, here you are."

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan greeted them, as they were the juniors. Zhou Shuren said, "It’s our first visit, and we didn’t have anything special to bring, just some pastries for the children."

Old Master Zheng was not just a simple military general. Back in the day, when his father stubbornly refused to flee in order to prove his innocence, it was he who knocked his own father unconscious. Later, even the heavens seemed to assist the Zheng family—the great snow disaster helped cover up his identity, and once they were settled, the old patriarch no longer felt angry, acknowledging that the complete and safe escape of the family was thanks to his efforts.

Old Master Zheng, with a friendly smile, said, "There’s no need for formality, my dear nephew. Please, everyone, don’t just stand there; have a seat."

Zhulan looked at Old Master Zheng, having initially thought that Zheng Shi took after her mother in appearance, but now realized she resembled her father instead. Old Master Zheng looked frail, not at all like a military man but more like a scholar.

The Zheng family was not in a rush to talk about the land and the house, and Zhulan realized why Zheng Shi’s eldest sister-in-law had approached her about selling the land; why the Zheng family told only Zheng Shi about the sale and did not promote it elsewhere—it turned out the buyer that the Zheng family had in mind was their own family.

It was uncertain whether they knew from the clan leader’s family that their family was looking to buy land, or if it had been calculated all along, and whether Zheng Shi knew of her maternal family’s intentions.

Zhou Shuren was not in a hurry to discuss the matter of the land anymore. He leisurely sipped his tea, laughing inwardly—who had said that a military general’s mind was always straightforward? He would get annoyed with anyone who said it. Then he thought again that if the Zheng family really were that straightforward, they would have long since perished, not managed to settle in Li Family Village.

Zhulan was pulled aside by Old Lady Zheng to talk. After spending over forty years in the rural countryside, she still exhibited good breeding, with every move displaying grace. It was probably she who had taught Zheng Shi how to read and paint.

Old Lady Zheng said with a smile, "Try the pastries brought from the Northwest. They have their own unique flavor. I just don’t know if you’ll be used to them."

Zhulan was a food connoisseur, particularly fond of Northwestern pastries and noodles. She had always liked those even in modern times. Picking up a piece, she bit into it and said, "It’s very tasty."

Upon seeing Zhulan’s genuine enjoyment, Old Madam Zheng’s smile grew more authentic. "If you like it, take some back with you. It’s hard to find Northwestern pastries in the Northeast."

Zhulan genuinely loved to eat; the unpolluted food here was much tastier than in modern times. "Then I won’t be polite," she replied.

Old Madam Zheng casually asked, "I’ve heard that you are learning to paint?"

Thinking to herself, Zhulan realized that not only had they been observing the Zheng family, but the Zheng family was also keeping an eye on them, even inquiring about her painting lessons. "Well, since we have become related to the County magistrate’s family, the wife of the County magistrate has invited me several times. If it’s not about tea arts, it’s about painting, so I decided that I couldn’t let the head of the family and the son lose face, and have been learning by force. I have always been groping my way around on my own, and any recent improvement is all thanks to my sister-in-law’s guidance," she said.

"You’ve said it right there. I heard from Xinyi that you have a talent for painting. That said, your sister-in-law’s painting lessons were taught by me. I planned to guide you when I had the time, but we didn’t anticipate the change in plans. We are heading to the Northwest now and, I’m afraid, there won’t be any chance of meeting again," replied Old Madam Zheng with heartfelt sentiment.

At that moment, Old Madam Zheng felt profound grief. Her daughter’s health was poor, and she might pass before her mother, eliminating any future chances of a reunion.

Noting Old Madam Zheng’s melancholic mood, Zhulan hurriedly said, "Fate is unpredictable. Who knows, we might meet again someday."

Old Madam Zheng liked hearing this. "I’ve taken a great liking to you from our first meeting, and indeed, it seems we are fated. I’ll speak honestly with you. We feel uneasy selling our home to just anyone, but we would have peace of mind selling it to you. Xinyi is from the Zhou family, and you are clansmen. By a roundabout way, we are relatives."

If it weren’t for Xinyi’s frail health, and her son-in-law growing older, with her eldest grandson not excelling in his studies, thus having little hope of becoming a Graduate, they might have considered halting their plans and leaving the house under her son-in-law’s care. But they feared being too far away in case her daughter were to pass prematurely, and her grandson, lacking the capability to hold his ground, might fail to defend the property and invite disaster. While pondering how to handle the house, which served as a hidden fallback for the Zheng family, they had come to know about Zhou Shuren’s family and found more suitable successors after some investigation.

Zhulan thought to herself that there seemed to be something special in the design of the house; how could she not feel that the Zheng family approached them precisely to keep an eye on the property through their hands?

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren exchanged glances. They had been attempting to gather information on others, but it turned out they had fallen into someone else’s scheme, and it was they who had willingly walked right into it. The feeling was not particularly pleasant.

Zhulan could only maintain her smile. "Indeed, that makes us relatives," she said.

Old Madam Zheng was even more pleased. She thought as her daughter had said, they were all astute people. Some things didn’t need to be spelled out for them to understand. Yet, they had indeed been a bit unscrupulous, baiting others into their plan, a strategy not even her daughter knew about. After pulling even her daughter into the scheme, Old Madam Zheng felt steadier. She stroked the bracelet on her wrist and said, "I have worn this bracelet for some years, a top-quality Jade Bracelet. I’ve heard from Xinyi that you also had a serious illness and have been recuperating. It is said that jade that has been worn long possesses a spiritual essence. This jade nourishes the body; I’ll give it to you as a gift."

Zhulan wanted to pull her hand back but hesitated. Old Madam Zheng’s grip was unexpectedly firm, and the bracelet was already on her wrist. Old Madam Zheng, satisfied, remarked, "See, it suits you very well."

Old Madam Zheng did not regret parting with it. When they had to flee in the past, the head of the family and her older brother had led their sons to raid the house of a city defender plotting against them in the middle of the night. They didn’t cause any casualties and managed to get away with a considerable amount of gold, silver, and jewels. So, the Zheng family was not short of money.

Now, the Jade Bracelet that was given away was just one of the pieces she particularly liked; there were still many more kept at home, none of which she wore for the sake of keeping a low profile.

Zhulan lowered her head to look at the Jade Bracelet, wordlessly acknowledging that it was quite valuable. Indeed, her intuition had been correct; her family had been approached to watch over the house!