Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 254 Regretful_1

Chapter 254: Chapter 254 Regretful_1

Zhulan said with puzzlement, "Auntie, just say what you need to directly."

Lady Li said to Wu Ning by her side, "You haven’t seen Xue Han in a long time, go out and play for a bit."

Zhulan heard this and knew Lady Li didn’t want the children to overhear, so after the two little girls left, she said, "Auntie, you can speak now."

Lady Li felt a bit embarrassed to bring it up, but then she thought of her grandson Wu Ming, who had become quite substantial, and said, "Xue Han is also nine years old this year, what do you think of my Wu Ming?"

Zhulan, "...."

Remembering carefully, she had never mentioned Xue Han’s engagement. Xue Han and Wu Ning, being young girls, wouldn’t bring up such matters either. The Wu family was unaware of the engagement, but to Zhulan’s surprise, Lady Li took a liking to Xue Han and asked her so directly!

Zhulan felt a little proud in her heart. Apart from her status, Xue Han was in no way inferior to the young ladies. Seeing that Lady Li was waiting for a response, she gave a dry laugh, "Xue Han has been engaged since the winter before last."

Lady Li calculated the years and said with surprise, "The engagement was settled quite early."

She truly appreciated the girl Xue Han. The young girl was more sensible than her own granddaughter, not to mention looking prosperous and acting generously. With Yang as her mother, the girl must have had quite some calculations in her heart. She truly fancied Xue Han, which is why she asked so directly despite Xue Han’s young age. It was just unfortunate that Xue Han was already engaged early. She thought that even if she had brought it up last year, Xue Han would have been spoken for. She could only sigh inwardly at the lack of fate.

Zhulan explained, "The engagement was also a matter of fate."

Seeing that Zhulan had no intention of introducing the son-in-law, Lady Li was very curious about who it was but didn’t think it proper to pry since Yang didn’t mention it.

Zhulan thought to herself that even if there hadn’t been an engagement, she would not have agreed to Wu Ming. The reason was that Wu Ming had a promising future, and strong abilities meant potential for bringing in concubines. What if he mistreated her daughter in the future?

Rongchuan was better, even though his background was currently unknown. She had raised him, and he owed her gratitude. Rongchuan was also the type to repay kindness; he wouldn’t wrong Xue Han in the future.

Even educated women in ancient times hoped for monogamous husbands. If they were all open-minded, there would be no power struggles within the household. Internal conflicts were not only for the sake of children’s interests but also stemmed from jealousy and dissatisfaction.

Except for those who truly didn’t care, how many women were willing to share their husbands!

Because of Xue Han’s engagement, there was some awkwardness, and they didn’t feel much like chatting. Thus, Zhulan took her leave early.

On the way home, Lady Li looked all around. Zhulan couldn’t help but laugh, "Didn’t you look enough on the way here?"

Lady Li said excitedly, "Mother, Prefecture City really is different. There are so many shops along the way, and look at the houses on both sides – they have more presence than those in the county town."

Zhulan rolled her eyes internally. She really didn’t see any extra presence; the houses in Beicheng were basically similar in architecture, the main difference being the size of the house. It was just new to Lady Li, who would probably not notice any difference in a few days.

Zhulan didn’t rush home but took Lady Li to the market to get familiar with the surroundings, since she would be buying vegetables in the future. The Zhou family had a good sense of direction and no one was directionally challenged.

After circling the market, they bought fish and tofu.

Lady Li was distressed, "Mother, the city’s market isn’t much different, selling the same things as the county market, so why is it more expensive? The fish is one coin more expensive per catty, and tofu is half a coin more expensive, isn’t it all the same stuff?"

Lady Li quickly did the math in her mind. Having moved to Pingzhou, and without their own vegetable garden, wouldn’t they have to spend silver coins to buy everything? The monthly expenses would be several times what they were at home.

Zhulan saw that Lady Li was down and asked, "What are you thinking about now?"

Lady Li felt pained, "Mother, Pingzhou isn’t that great after all."

Everyone says the city is good, and she had looked forward to it, but now that she had calculated the expenses, her heart bled. In her eyes, Pingzhou City was a place that devoured silver coins, and she couldn’t help but clutch her purse tightly.

Zhulan, "...."

She really couldn’t keep up with Lady Li’s thought process, not understanding why she held her purse as if afraid of losing it!

Upon returning home, Lady Li hurriedly had Zhou, the eldest, make a box and bring back soil as she wanted to plant vegetables.

Now Zhulan understood why Lady Li had clutched her purse–she felt the city was too expensive.

For lunch, they had the leftover meat from yesterday, cut some pickles, and had a meal.

After Zhulan woke up from her afternoon nap, she saw Chang Lian and Lady Dong had returned from a visit and noticed the gift boxes on the table in the hall, which were Lady Dong’s return gifts.

Zhulan called out to Lady Dong, who opened the door and came over with a smile, "Mother, you’re awake."

Zhulan moistened her throat with some tea, "Hmm."

Lady Dong knew why her mother-in-law had summoned her and had been waiting for her to wake up. She began to speak, "These are your sister and brother-in-law’s return gifts, especially for father and mother."

"This is really too much."

She had just counted six boxes.

Lady Dong said, "These are for father and mother. I have already accepted the ones for Chang Lian and me. Mother, brother-in-law really loved the wolf fur and kept saying how much effort father and mother went through. These are all sister and brother-in-law’s heartfelt sentiments. Please accept them, mother!"

Zhulan expected there would be return gifts, but not this many, and this didn’t even include those for Chang Lian and Lady Dong—after all, she was a close sister. These gifts also served to bolster Lady Dong’s standing!

Zhulan said, "Thank your sister for me, then. I will accept the gifts."

Without an invitation, she certainly wouldn’t go knocking on their door to express thanks, as if she were imposing on the Jiang family, which would be annoying to others.

"I have already thanked sister and brother-in-law. Sister said there will be a tea party in the future and she wants both of us to attend!"

Zhulan maintained her smile. Look at that message, signaling that there’s no need to pay a visit to express thanks, and that there will be an invitation to meet in the future. Zhulan said, "Mother isn’t very knowledgeable about tea. It will be fine if just you go."

As a Scholar’s wife, attending a Mrs. Guan’s tea party would only make her feel inadequate. As for her own daughter-in-law, naturally the family would look after her. She certainly didn’t want to expose herself to disdain.

Lady Dong had long expected that her mother-in-law would say this. Her in-laws were not the kind of people who lacked propriety. She also sighed about her sister’s difficulties with a second marriage—up to now, the Mrs. Guans in Pingzhou City still gossiped about her sister. Her sister didn’t want her in-laws to visit, partly to avoid adding to the gossip.

However, today she was very happy. Her in-laws had prepared gifts for her to bring on her visit, especially the two fine wolf pelts that her brother-in-law particularly liked. This was also a way to honor her sister. Her visit was clearly not just to take advantage but to pay a proper visit, which made her brother-in-law regard her husband and in-laws more highly!

Because she hadn’t disgraced her sister, her sister was happy too, and naturally, the return gifts were generous. Of course, they also served to support and strengthen her position.

Zhulan felt awkward opening the gifts in front of her daughter-in-law, but fortunately, Lady Dong was very tactful. "Mother, I’m going back to organize the return gifts from my sister. I’ll head to my room first."

"Alright, go ahead."

Zhulan waited until Lady Dong had left before she began to open the boxes. The largest box among the six housed an ornamental piece. Zhulan didn’t know much about decor, but anything given by a Deputy Magistrate couldn’t be cheap. In two other boxes, one contained two hairpins inlaid with jade, and the other held a set of quite nice jade bracelets. The remaining three boxes included a piece of high-quality ink along with two expensive-looking brushes.

All six boxes were indeed intended for her and Zhou Shuren.

As for other members of the household, given the differences in social status and identity, Lady Dong’s sister had no obligation to be so considerate for everyone.

Zhulan placed the jewelry from the boxes into her jewelry box. Her collection of jewelry continued to grow, and as someone who appreciated such things, the sight of them brought her joy.

At dinner time, Zhou Shuren hadn’t returned home to eat, and Zhulan’s mind was full of concern. The ancient times were just terrible—without mobile phones, she was anxious to inquire and seek him out but had no idea where to start. As the outdoor sky grew darker, she could only continue to worry.

Zhulan struggled to control her steps, going to the front of the house several times.

Zhou eldest son followed behind his mother, also worried about his father, "Mother, shall I go out and search for him?"

Zhulan, "Where would you go to search? It’s alright, don’t worry about it. Your father will be back in a while."

Zhou eldest son, "...."

Mother, when you say that, why not return to the back of the house? You stay here worrying but don’t go back; he wasn’t just concerned about his father but also about his mother.

He and Lady Li had different views. Lady Li felt that spending too much in Pingzhou was worse than staying in their old home, but he had broader understanding. People should strive for higher places. Staying in the old home was comfortable, but it cut off the chance to move upward. Now, with his father not home and unable to assist him, he felt guilty.

Zhulan’s ears perked up, and she quickly walked towards the main gate. She had a feeling that Zhou Shuren was coming back.

When she opened the gate, she saw neither carriage nor person. Zhou eldest son looked carefully and said, "Mother, father hasn’t returned."

Zhulan felt sure that Zhou Shuren was on his way back, "Wait a little longer; I’m certain your father has returned."