Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 260 Not Good_1

Chapter 260: Chapter 260 Not Good_1

Zhulan digested the news and asked, "Do the found Servants from Yun family know where the steward went?"

Lady Li, still lost in a daze upon hearing her mother-in-law’s question, snapped back to reality from the news that her mother had remarried. She clutched the handkerchief tightly, waiting for the eunuch to reply.

Zhou Shuren said, "Steward Wang is a local from Pingzhou. After the Yun family left, Steward Wang took his family back to their ancestral home, Qian Family Village, which is roughly a two-hour carriage ride from Pingzhou."

Zhulan was surprised; she thought it would take a lot of effort to locate someone, and she never expected that, with Zhao Bo’s help in making inquiries, they would find the person so easily in just two days. Zhulan couldn’t help but think that it must be because the person wasn’t the main character, and so there wasn’t as much drama to contend with.

Seeing Lady Li still in a daze, Zhulan turned to Chang Yi and asked, "I didn’t expect to find the person so quickly. When do you plan to go to Qian Family Village?"

Zhou Shuren had considered all kinds of possibilities, but he never thought his mother-in-law would remarry. This somewhat disrupted his plan. Originally, he and his wife had discussed saving money to buy her freedom, then renting a small courtyard for his mother-in-law to live in. Now they had an additional stepfather, oh, no, that was not correct—according to his father, the stepfather came with a whole family. His mother-in-law was to become a stepmother!

Zhou Shuren looked at his wife and thought to himself, well, the wife hasn’t even digested the news yet, standing there in a daze for quite a while now, probably still needing some time to accept it.

Zhou Shuren helped his wife and said, "Dad, Mom, we’ll go back and discuss this for a bit, and then come over later."

Zhulan responded, "Go back."

Lady Li was a person of deep thoughts and needed some time on her own to reflect.

As Zhou Shuren and his wife left, Zhulan said, "There must be more to the news. Now that they’re gone, you can tell me."

Zhou Shuren knew he couldn’t keep it from Zhulan. "Indeed, there’s more. Cough, Lady Li’s mother was pregnant when she entered the estate and gave birth to a boy who is three years old now. Moreover, Steward Wang’s family is not small; he has three sons. Being a stepmother is not easy, especially when the stepsons are grown, and Lady Li’s mother doesn’t have her own family support. Life must be hard for her."

Zhulan calculated the age of Lady Li’s mother; Lady Li was twenty-two this year, so her mother should be about thirty-seven or thirty-eight. Having had a child three years ago, she was of advanced maternal age in ancient times. "Lady Li’s mother had a child again, how is her health?"

Zhou Shuren replied, "Zhao Bo didn’t mention anything, so she should be fine."

Zhulan sighed, "Lady Li’s mother really has had a hard life; her first husband sold her, and now she’s with a man with an entire family to care for, and her son is still young. Her life has been truly bitter."

"It’s still better than being a slave with your fate in someone else’s hands."

Zhulan thought about it and agreed, before worrying again, "Lady Li’s mother married Steward Wang, probably because he took a liking to her at first sight, so she wasn’t brought back to the estate. Lady Li’s mother, sold in her thirties, still has her charm, which suggests that, as her daughter, Lady Li would be no less attractive. The Qian family is chaotic, and those capable of being a steward are shrewd. Recognizing kinship might not necessarily be a good thing."

Zhou Shuren naturally thought of this, "Let’s see what Chang Yi has to say in a bit."

He also wanted to test his second son to see if he would consider this aspect.

Zhulan’s eyes shifted as the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, "I actually have a plan."

Zhou Shuren raised an eyebrow and asked, "What plan?"

He really didn’t have any good ideas; as a Scholar, if he were a Graduate, he might be able to command some respect from the step-in-laws. Relying on others was not a permanent solution. It was better to have one’s own abilities.

Zhulan spoke mysteriously, "It’s a secret."

Before long, Zhou Shuren’s second son came by himself. Zhou Shuren’s second son said, "Dad, I’ve discussed it with Lady Li. I’ll go to Qian Family Village first to see how my mother-in-law is doing. If she’s living well, we’ll wait until Dad passes the Graduate examination before recognizing our kinship."

He had considered the possibility that both Chang Lian and Chang Zhi could become Scholars, creating a family with three Scholars; with Chang Lian and Chang Zhi being young, it could indeed be very imposing. However, he did not have much confidence in his younger brothers’ ability to pass the exams, whereas he had more faith in father becoming a Graduate.

Zhou Shuren was very satisfied with the thorough consideration of Second Brother Zhou. "What if it doesn’t go well?"

Second Brother Zhou paid his respects. "We have considered this. The Zhao family wanted to slash her face, but my son didn’t agree. My son didn’t disapprove of Zhao’s facial injury, but if my son couldn’t protect his wife, he would feel incompetent. Therefore, my son thought of a plan. Originally, the daughter of Old Wang’s family became more beautiful each day, and my son observed that a few maids were very skilled in makeup. So, he thought of disguising Zhao’s disfigured face."

Zhulan looked at Second Brother Zhou, surprised. She had not expected that Second Brother Zhou would observe the changes in Wang Ru’s maids and come up with a solution that was consistent with her own idea.

Seeing Zhulan’s reaction, Zhou Shuren knew that Zhulan was thinking of the same solution and asked Second Brother Zhou, "Since you have a plan, why wait until after the Graduate exam to recognize each other?"

Second Brother Zhou explained, "My son believes that the steward of a merchant family would be very cunning, and only a Graduate stature could truly command respect."

Zhou Shuren was satisfied. It was good that Second Brother Zhou could think of these aspects. Previously limited by the confines of his old home, now in the city, Second Brother Zhou would gain better experiences. "Since you have a plan, proceed as you wish. If you need anything, come to find me."

Second Brother Zhou heard his father’s satisfaction and felt a relief wash over him, worried that his father might still remember the incident where he had spoken out of turn. "Father, then I will go to Qian Family Village to scout tomorrow."

"Mm."

Although the Zhou family did not know about Lady Zhao’s search for her mother, they could tell from Lady Zhao’s distracted demeanor that something was troubling the second wife, though they were not aware of what it was.

The next day, Second Brother Zhou left before breakfast. He had rented a carriage the afternoon before. When leaving, Lady Zhao stuffed some pastries into his bag, fearing that Second Brother Zhou might get hungry.

At breakfast, Lady Zhao ate absentmindedly, and Lady Li wanted to ask. However, Lady Dong stopped her.

Zhulan gave Lady Dong an extra look. These past few days, Lady Dong got along very well with Lady Li and often gave her advice in private. The advice from Lady Dong, also a daughter-in-law, sometimes proved more useful than her own, because they had different perspectives, and Lady Li understood things differently.

The results were significant; Lady Li became much more stable at home, now knowing what to ask and what not to ask.

After breakfast, Zhou Shuren went to take his place. Today was Jiang Ming’s day off.

At home, Wu Ning, escorted by Lady Wu, came for a visit, bringing with her many gifts, including two large fish and some meat in a basket.

Zhulan saw the heavy gifts and knew this meant something. "Auntie, if there’s something you need to say, just say it. Why bring so many gifts?"

Lady Wu was not surprised that Lady Yang saw through her. She had wanted to come earlier, but felt awkward after the last abrupt visit, leading her to wait a few days for things to cool down before coming over. She pulled her granddaughter over and said, "Auntie, I indeed have a favor to ask. As you know, all I can do is cook, and that’s the only skill I can teach the girl. As for needlework, I can only sew clothes, I can’t embroider. It was only after seeing the purse Xue Han gave to Ning Ning that I realized your household has a skilled embroiderer. So I came, hoping she could teach my girl, which is why I had the audacity to visit."

Zhulan smiled. "And here I thought it was something serious. Just for some tutoring? That’s hardly an issue. However, our household is a bit busy lately. Auntie, how about letting Wu Ning start with the basics under Xue Han’s guidance, and after the provincial exams are over, come back to learn more?"

Zhulan agreed, but only after she saw Lady Zhao’s almost imperceptible nod of approval. Otherwise, she would not have consented so readily and would have asked Lady Zhao first.

Lady Wu was delighted. "That would be wonderful, auntie. My thanks to you."

Lady Wu stayed a little longer before getting up to leave. Now that she no longer had outside work, there was still plenty to do at home.

After sending Lady Wu off, Zhulan returned to the main house and called Lady Zhao, who was about to go to her room. "Hold on, mother, I have something to tell you."