Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 249 Good Eye_1

Chapter 249: Chapter 249 Good Eye_1

Zhulan put down her needle and went out, Lady Dong holding a box in her hands. Zhulan gestured for Lady Dong to sit down, "What brings you to me?"

Lady Dong placed the box on the table and opened it, taking out a land deed from inside, "Mother, this is the land my father gave as part of my dowry in Li Family Village, fifty acres in total. I heard my husband say that our family has divided the land for the villagers of Li Family Village to help cultivate for grain. I would like to ask Mother to help me find out if there is anyone still willing to help till the land?"

Zhulan glanced at the land, which was registered under Lady Dong’s name. Lady Dong had to pay taxes on these lands herself, and taxes on fifty acres was not a trivial amount; she and Zhou Shuren dared to do this because Zhou Shuren was confident about passing the imperial examination.

Lady Dong’s dowry was purely for her to manage on her own, and whatever she earned from it would be her own silver coin. Zhulan needed to make this clear, "After paying taxes and for help with the crops, if it’s not a good year, there won’t be much left over, and even in a good year, the surplus isn’t much. You could be missing out on a fair amount of silver each year, you should think it over carefully."

Lady Dong had done the calculations, but she was too young, and her husband wasn’t even a Scholar yet. According to the current dynasty’s rules, she couldn’t employ servants, and she didn’t have a steward either. Her husband also needed to study, and though it meant earning less, with her parents’ backing, no one dared to covet her grain, and she preferred to avoid trouble, "Mother, I have thought it through. My husband and I are young, and earning a little less doesn’t matter much to us, we prefer the peace of mind."

Zhulan thought to herself that out of her three daughters-in-law, aside from Lady Li, the other two were people with great ideas, "Since you’ve thought it through, I will have your father inquire about it, and we can talk more when you come back tomorrow for the return visit."

Lady Dong expressed her thanks, "Thank you, Mother."

"We’re all family, no need for formalities."

Lady Dong picked up the box, "Mother, I’ll head back to my courtyard then."

"Go ahead."

Lady Dong left holding the box, trusting her husband’s suggestion to try not to be around her mother-in-law too much, as the eunuch disliked it. She had thought the eunuch would be reading in the study when she arrived, but unexpectedly, he was in the house. Although she hadn’t seen him, she knew that if the eunuch wasn’t in the house reading, her mother-in-law would have let her in earlier.

As for Zhulan’s family study, it was nothing more than decoration for Zhou Shuren. Zhou Shuren, not being a person from ancient times, preferred to read more casually, since reading was already mentally exhausting, why confine himself to a study when lying down was more comfortable.

When Zhulan returned to her room, she told Zhou Shuren about the situation, and Zhou Shuren responded, indicating he understood and would leave it to their eldest son to handle. This matter was beneficial for Li Family Village—they wouldn’t have to pay taxes, only help farm the land to get grain. Last time, many people were inquiring about when Zhulan’s family would acquire more land, hoping to have the chance to help work the fields.

It was just unfortunate that Lady Dong’s land was near Li Family Village; if it were near Zhou Family Village, it would also benefit the poorer relatives of the Zhou family.

Lady Dong went back to her room, where her husband had gone off to study. She started organizing her dowry. She was no longer a young lady and had to get hands-on with the arrangement, which was fine as she was psychologically prepared. After comforting herself, she began to sort things out.

The cloth she received was portioned according to her dowry and was carefully placed according to type; the basins and racks included in her dowry had already been taken out and arranged in the bridal chamber by the old servant during the dowry procession.

The main task was to select the jewelry she could currently wear and properly store the rest. Some hair ornaments weren’t suitable for her as an unmarried lady; her mother had prepared them in advance for the future.

After everything was neatly organized, she felt quite a sense of accomplishment.

Finally, there were the silver coins at the bottom of the trunk, two boxes of silver ingots, each containing two hundred taels, making a total of four hundred taels, and a small chest of gold ingots weighing fifty taels. Among these, two hundred taels of silver were originally the betrothal gifts, and while seven hundred taels were openly given as dowry, an additional one thousand taels in Silver Notes were secretly passed on.

The total value of her dowry was three thousand taels.

The dowry included a trousseau from her elder sister, mainly jewelry, and her brother and sister-in-law didn’t give much because they knew that as a late-born daughter, the parents would surely not give her less for her dowry.

Actually, her dowry could have been even more, but when her sister remarried into her brother-in-law’s family, to avoid being looked down upon, the father, in one go, gave away almost half of the family’s entire wealth to his daughter. From a young age, her mother taught her how to manage the household, and although the Dong family had substantial wealth, the brothers were all watching, and with the large annual expenditures, they really couldn’t save much silver.

Lady Dong was unaware that the study window was slightly ajar, and Chang Lian had been standing by the window all along, observing his wife’s temperament. Seeing Lady Dong busy herself without throwing a tantrum or complaining, Chang Lian felt joy in his heart. Appreciating her ability to endure hardship without being delicate, his fondness for his wife grew. He got up, added water to the kettle, and took out some tea leaves to make tea, ensuring that when Lady Dong returned, she would have tea to quench her thirst and hot water to wash her face and hands.

Zhulan was unaware that the newlyweds were testing each other; she was preparing the gifts for Lady Dong’s visit back home tomorrow.

Zhou Shuren contributed his handwritten books, brought back from Jiangnan, which were not to be found on the County magistrate’s bookshelf. Zhulan moved out the screen that her second sister-in-law had given her, a gift Zheng Shuren secured in exchange for an opportunity, expressing their gratitude to the eldest and second brothers. The eldest brother gave ginseng he had found, and because Zhulan liked the screen, the second sister-in-law took it upon herself to embroider the screen, a task so arduous that it was only given as a present during the New Year.

With these two items, the gifts were nearly perfect. Zhulan then added some of the leftover mutton from the wedding banquet, among other things, to make up six items in total. This would sufficiently honor Lady Dong’s family and also show Zhulan’s approval of her daughter-in-law.

At lunch, Lady Zhao’s eyes were slightly red and swollen, and Zhou Er had red bloodshot eyes. It was evident that not only had Zhulan moved Lady Zhao, but she had also touched Zhou Er. As a man, he naturally wanted to give his wife the very best, but since his wife had originally been acquired in exchange for grain, and since his mother initially did not like Lady Zhao, he did not dare to bring it up. Later on, his mother didn’t pester Lady Zhao either, and he thought it best to keep a low profile until the children grew older.

Now that his mother had brought it up herself, he felt warmth in his heart. Just like his father, his mother did not speak words of care, but she always showed her concern with her actions. This was why she must live longer than his father— not out of disrespect for his father, but because he increasingly felt that if his mother passed away first, there was no need to worry about his father being an unfamiliar presence; he feared his father might not last without her.

His father valued his mother’s spirit and seemed capable of a joint burial, which he had dreamt about several times, frightening him so much that he had been scared to sleep for several nights. So this wonderful mother of his must live a long and healthy life.

Zhulan sensed Zhou Er’s admiration, and Lady Zhao also seemed to treat her like her own mother. Ah, she felt her efforts and concern had not been in vain.

The next day, as Lady Dong returned to her parental home, she was moved once again by the gifts Zhulan had prepared.

As they took the carriage sent by the Dong family to leave, Lady Dong lowered her voice to her husband, "I will definitely be as good to mother as I am to my own."

The gifts that mother provided not only gave her face, but also honored her own mother. Today’s return home would surely be attended by many people: those who wished her well and those who came specifically to gawk. Every family had its own troublesome relatives, and hers had more than a few.

Chang Lian chuckled softly, looking down at her as she earnestly made her promises, looking so adorable. He couldn’t help but pinch his wife’s cheek, "I believe you."

Lady Dong’s face flushed. Apart from being held through the wedding night, they had not had any other intimate contact, but somehow, she found her husband’s smile fetching. Her father lacked discernment in choosing a husband for her eldest sister, who in the end found her own suitor. Unexpectedly, her father had quite the eye in picking a husband for her!