Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 246 Dowry_1

Chapter 246: Chapter 246 Dowry_1

Zhulan said, "This boy is getting married in three days, and his room has already been set up as the bridal chamber. Just now, I thought to remind him to stay in Chang Zhi’s yard for a few days."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and spoke of his plan, "Chang Lian is getting married to the daughter of the County Magistrate. In the future, when he goes to the county, he cannot have no coins in his hands. I’m thinking in the future when we distribute the monthly allowance, the daughter-in-law will get one hundred coins, the son two hundred coins, and the grandchildren ten coins each."

Zhulan was clear-headed. Chang Lian’s wife was Mr. Guan’s daughter. Without any coins, Chang Lian would not hold his head high or find it convenient to go out. "I have no objections to giving a monthly allowance. How much will Rongchuan and Xue Han get each month?"

Zhou Shuren, "Rongchuan will also get two hundred coins each month, Xue Han one hundred coins."

Zhulan paused and said, "The Zhou family has six children. Xue Mei married early. The dowry was provided by the original owners of the estate. We have been here a little over a year, and Xue Mei has been filial to us. Although she married early and the other siblings are becoming more like sons and daughters of nobility, she never complained. I truly consider her my daughter. I want to discuss with you, when Xue Han gets married, we should prepare an extra dowry for Xue Mei. What do you think?"

The current family fortune was all earned by Zhou Shuren. Once he became a Graduate, she would be able to apply her expertise to manage the family fortune and save more Silver. Starting next year, they would begin to save for Xue Han’s dowry, and she also wanted to prepare one for Xue Mei.

Zhulan touched her clothes. These garments were made by Xue Mei. This girl did not come back often but remembered all of her preferences. A year and more was enough to truly understand a person. True heart for true heart, she also regarded Xue Mei as her own daughter.

Zhou Shuren actually didn’t expect Zhulan to have this thought. After all, he was a man and not as meticulous as a woman. "A supplementary dowry for Xue Mei? I have no objections."

According to Jiang Sheng’s ability to accumulate family fortune, making Xue Mei live the life of a lady was indeed very troublesome. Xue Mei, the adopted daughter, was truly not bad. Of all the Zhou children, Xue Mei was the most perceptive, a rare good child indeed.

Zhulan gave Zhou Shuren a kiss, "You’re becoming more and more like a father now."

She could feel that Zhou Shuren was using some true heart for the Zhou children, no longer as purposeful as before. Although he taught the Zhou children, they never entered Zhou Shuren’s heart before. She hoped Zhou Shuren would feel more warmth of home and wished that he could be more happy.

That evening, Chang Lian and Chang Zhi had passed the county exams, with Chang Zhi securing first place—a cause for celebration. Taking advantage of the good news, they mentioned starting the monthly allowances next month, and everyone reacted differently.

Zhou the Eldest felt nothing much, as the family’s Silver Money was all in Lady Li’s hands. Having it in his own hands was just a formality; he had no concept of how much it really was.

Lady Li was excited. As the daughter-in-law best at calculation, she quickly figured out how much Silver they could save in a year. Hmm, she felt three children were too few. Yu Lu could walk and run now, and she felt they could have a few more.

Zhou the Eldest felt a chill down his spine, "....."

What was with Lady Li? Why was she incessantly blinking her small eyes? What was that hinting at? Why did he have a bad feeling?

Zhou the Second and his wife were in agreement. With the extra monthly money, they could save a fair amount every month. The couple was single-minded about saving money.

Chang Lian was the happiest. He had been worried about not having any Silver after getting married, but his parents had thought ahead for him. Wuu wuu, he had indeed been unfilial before. He was sorry to his parents and vowed to be the most filial son in the future.

Chang Zhi didn’t care. If he had a monthly allowance, he would spend it; without Silver, he wouldn’t worry.

Rongchuan hurriedly said, "Uncle and Aunt have already spent quite a bit of Silver raising me. I cannot accept more monthly money."

Zhou Shuren said, "You are also like a son to me, the monthly allowance won’t exclude you."

Rongchuan knew that once his uncle made a decision, it would not easily change. He tried to negotiate, "Being half a son, I’d be fine with just one hundred coins."

Zhou Shuren didn’t refuse, "All right."

Rongchuan exhaled a sigh of relief, truly afraid his uncle would disagree.

In the following days, there was no chance for Lady Li to get excited about the monthly money. Chang Lian was getting married, and the house was extremely busy. Lady Li was in charge of the meat and vegetables for the banquet. It was inconvenient for Zhao Shi to go out, and everything outside depended on Lady Li’s arrangements. Zhulan had taught her well; Lady Li was quite capable in the village.

This was Zhulan’s first time managing a wedding. Although she had experience from her previous life, she was still afraid of making mistakes and double-checked the procedure several times.

On the wedding day, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren got up early and had breakfast. Looking at Chang Lian, dressed in his wedding attire with his still youthful face, Zhulan wondered, was he really ready to set up his own household? On a day that should have been moving, she couldn’t help but criticize the ancient times in her mind.

Zhou Shuren coughed, "The hour is getting late; let’s not miss the auspicious time."

Chang Lian was not at peace inside; he was married and about to have his own little family.

Today, Chang Lian rode a horse to the bride’s home for the wedding procession. The horse was borrowed from Zhou Shuren. Mentioning the horse made Zhulan emotional, Chang Lian indeed had guts, and he managed to ride quite proficiently after just one day.

The wedding procession returned after one and a half hours, making a lively entrance to the house with music and fanfare.

The dowry of the bride had already been delivered a day earlier. Lady Donglin hadn’t given her daughter much monthly allowance, but she was especially generous with the dowry—thirty-six cases in total, a record in the county. Fabrics and such didn’t attract much attention, but what did were the clods of earth representing land, as well as shops and houses.

As part of Dong Chuchu’s dowry, there were fifty mu of land, a double-entry house in the county, and two shops, all in good locations. There was also no shortage of jewelry, including both gold and silver, evidencing the substantial wealth of the Dong family.

The betrothal gifts Zhulan had given were all sent back with the dowry by the Dong family.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren sat in the seats of honor, watching the ancient marriage ceremony with their own eyes. After the formal bowing ceremony, the couple was sent to the bridal chamber, only it was a pity that from then on, Chang Lian and Dong Chuchu would have to live apart.

Hosting the wedding ceremony was exhausting. After the guests left and the courtyard was tidied up, it was already dark.

The next morning, just as Zhulan woke up, she heard noises outside. She thought it was Lady Li getting up early to cook, so she dressed and went out, only to find Dong Chuchu rolling up her sleeves, kindling the fire to cook.

Zhulan truly hadn’t expected to eat breakfast prepared by Dong Chuchu. Surprisingly, the fire was well-lit, and the chopping looked skilled. Afraid of startling Dong Chuchu and causing her an injury, Zhulan stood motionless at the doorway.

"Mother, why are you standing in the doorway?"

"Ah!"

Zhulan, "...."

Indeed, she had forgotten about Lady Li.

In the end, Dong Chuchu injured her hand, and Lady Li ended up making breakfast. During breakfast, Zhulan saw Chang Lian glance several times at Chu Chu’s hand, looking at Dong Chuchu with a face that seemed to say, weren’t you supposed to make the food?

Dong Chuchu’s face turned red with embarrassment, having boasted that she could make breakfast, only to have her efforts spoiled by her sister-in-law!

Lady Li felt the gaze of Chang Lian’s wife and kept her head down as if she wished she could burrow a hole through the table.

Zhulan coughed deliberately, feeling somewhat biased inside, truly not blaming Lady Li, "Let’s not just stand around looking; let’s eat!"

After Zhulan spoke, she waited for Zhou Shuren to pick up his chopsticks, and then everyone began eating.

Lady Li quickly raised her head, grateful for her mother-in-law intervening on her behalf, "Mother, this is a steamed egg custard I specially made for you."

Zhulan, "...."

Just after intervening for her, Lady Li had attracted enmity. Zhulan had seen everything from the doorway—Dong Chuchu had taken an egg, probably also with the intention of making egg custard.

Mrs. Zhao couldn’t help kicking her sister-in-law’s foot, knowing that her sister-in-law meant no harm, but others might think she was stirring up trouble. The bride was the daughter of a county magistrate, with high self-esteem, and who knew if she would hold a grudge against her sister-in-law.

Lady Li frowned, "Younger sister-in-law, why are you kicking me?"

And she kicked hard, causing her leg to ache!

Zhulan, "...."

Mrs. Zhao, "....."

She made a mistake, shouldn’t have reminded her sister-in-law, now she’s dragged herself into this mess!