Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 269: Taking a Shortcut_1

Chapter 269: Chapter 269: Taking a Shortcut_1

Zhou Shuren and Jiang Ming arrived together, and everyone present took notice, naturally linking them together. When Zhou Shuren descended the stairs, many eyes followed him.

Zhou Shuren had registered for the competition early that day, and thankfully, Jiang Ming hadn’t broken his promise. Otherwise, withdrawing would have meant forfeiting an antique. Zhou Shuren felt lucky, at least his participation had gone smoothly.

As he inspected the antiques, Zhou Shuren’s eyebrows lifted—luck was unstoppable. His weakest point was calligraphy and paintings, yet among the ten antiques, he ended up with one. How about that!

Jiang Ming had a clear view from upstairs. Zhou Shuren was the first to start writing, and also the quickest to appraise. He overheard the occasional commentary—some said Zhou Shuren was just guessing, but Jiang Ming thought differently. It seemed Zhou Shuren had substantial skills after all. His smile grew—if it turned out that Zhou Shuren was correct on all counts, that would prove his great skill, and in the future, he wouldn’t need others for appraisals. How excellent indeed!

Zhou Shuren was the first to finish looking at all the antiques and put down his pen. The ten antiques had all been previously appraised by masters. As soon as Zhou Shuren entered, he handed over the antique for evaluation, and the results were in the hands of several appraisal masters. To be cautious, Zhou Shuren reviewed the other nine pieces carefully once more—he wasn’t arrogant enough to assume he had gotten all of them right on the first try.

Fortunately, his second careful inspection matched his initial findings, and Zhou Shuren was the first to submit his answers.

A quarter of an hour later, the rest had submitted their answers in succession.

Out of the ten participants, Zhou Shuren wasn’t the oldest. The eldest was a Graduate in his fifties, while the youngest was not even twenty—a son of a noble house, clearly participating for experience and fun.

The results were quickly announced, starting with the person who had made the most mistakes.

Zhou Shuren’s ears perked up, and as expected, the names of the five with the most wrong answers were called out—each had the calligraphy and paintings he had brought. As they announced the third-to-last place, Zhou Shuren felt nervous too.

The third-to-last was the youngest son who had made two mistakes, including one in the calligraphy and paintings.

Zhou Shuren, although a calm person, felt uneasy inside. If his name was called now, he would be defeated. He couldn’t help but pray for a last-minute blessing.

The Graduate across from him was also sweating profusely.

Thankfully, the calligraphy piece Zhou Shuren had picked was a real trap. Few scholars studied Mr. Xi Heng’s work, and without prior study, it was natural they couldn’t discern its authenticity. The Graduate’s mistake was exactly in the calligraphy and paintings.

The crowd erupted, surprised that nine out of ten had been wrong about the calligraphy.

Zhou Shuren suppressed a smile—victory was his, and so was the money.

Jiang Ming laughed heartily, pleased. Zhou Shuren was capable and had not disappointed him.

The masters inside the building explained why the calligraphy was a forgery, and the nine competitors that Zhou Shuren had bested were convinced.

Zhou Shuren was internally ecstatic. Although there were no highly valuable antiques this time, the nine pieces were still quite good. He thought to himself that apart from the idiots, the old foxes wouldn’t bring high-value antiques to the competition—no one was foolish!

Even though there were no antiques worth purchasing by the organizer, the organizer showed greater interest in the fake calligraphy in Zhou Shuren’s hands. Additionally, since Jiang Ming was present, Zhou Shuren benefited from his influence. The organizer collected the other nine antiques without bargaining and even offered a fair price for the fake calligraphy. Zhou Shuren happily made the sale, knowing that even if it was due to Jiang Ming’s influence, there was no shortage of interest in the calligraphy that day. To avoid trouble, it was simpler just to sell it.

Jiang Ming waited for Zhou Shuren to receive the Silver Coin before they both got into the carriage. Jiang Ming said, "I’ll take you home."

Zhou Shuren expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Mr. Jiang."

Although the ten antiques weren’t all high-value treasures, they were still worth a considerable sum of silver. It was natural for ruffians to be tempted, and someone might take a risk. That was another reason Zhou Shuren had sought Jiang Ming’s strength—not expecting Jiang Ming to be so accommodating as to personally ensure his safe return. It seemed Zhou Shuren had caught Jiang Ming’s eye.

Jiang Ming said with a playful tone, "You took a little shortcut today."

Zhou Shuren replied openly, "Indeed, I did take a shortcut. I had researched and found that few offspring of officials participate in these competitions, mostly scholars or merchants. Mr. Xi Heng’s work is more cherished by the wealthy; commoners don’t study it even if they see it—I certainly took advantage today."

After appraising various antiques in many shops, Zhou Shuren’s conviction in choosing the calligraphy piece for the competition had only grown stronger—he harbored no small amount of cunning.

Jiang Ming thought to himself that his father-in-law’s favor for Zhou Shuren wasn’t just familial—Zhou Shuren had real talent, which alone was enough to impress him. Yet, from what he had learned, Zhou Shuren was ambitious. Employing him looked unlikely; it would be a waiting game, urgency could wait until after the Imperial Examination.

Seeing that Jiang Ming had no intention of continuing the conversation, Zhou Shuren didn’t want to be a nuisance. Holding the box, his spirits soared—all that was silver. Zhulan would be delighted. Thinking of Zhulan, his mood lightened, and his eyes smiled.

The carriage jostled its way to the Zhou residence, and Zhou Shuren got off, bowing and expressing his gratitude, "I thank Mr. Jiang for his help not once but twice today."

Jiang Ming smiled, "We are all family. It’s getting late, so I’ll be heading back as well."

Jiang Ming did not plan to stay any longer. He suddenly realized something he had overlooked: Zhou Shuren was not only his brother-in-law’s father but also his own brother-in-law’s father. In terms of seniority, he was actually junior to Zhou Shuren. How awkward indeed!

Once the carriage had departed, Zhou Shuren happily went back to the yard holding the box.

Zhulan just happened to come out to check the time and saw Zhou Shuren returning with the box, she laughed, "Did you win?"

Zhou Shuren patted the box, striding into the room with pompous pride, "Who do you think I am?"

Zhulan chuckled softly, as the man was showing off, "You are the master of our house."

Zhou Shuren found this comment pleasing to the ear, "Guess how much silver we made."

Zhulan guessed it was a substantial amount, or else it wouldn’t be packed in a box, "Three thousand taels?"

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "Less. Although there weren’t any highly valuable treasures today, it was still not bad, one item was worth Six Hundred Taels."

Zhulan’s heart soared, and she kissed Zhou Shuren excitedly, then suddenly stiffened.

Eldest son Zhou was standing at the doorway of the room, he really hadn’t expected that the door would be open, and as he entered, to see his mother and father, oh dear, he felt he was in trouble. Without even thinking, he turned tail and ran, muttering to himself, "I didn’t see anything."

Zhulan had the urge to sew eldest son Zhou’s mouth shut, the damn boy, that was loud enough for the whole small yard to hear. Her eyes flared with irritation, "I support you in dealing with him."

Zhou Shuren laughed out loud, it was the first time he had seen Zhulan so angry with Eldest son Zhou. Seeing Zhulan’s hand moving to twist him again, he quickly pleaded for his life, "Alright, alright, I’ll deal with Eldest son Zhou."

Eldest son Zhou hurried back to his room and slapped his head, berating himself for being such an idiot. What had he shouted just now? Isn’t that equivalent to the proverbial ’three hundred taels of silver not hidden here’? Now, not only was his father going to reprimand him, but his mother was upset with him too. He was about to become the most pitiful person in the family.

Lady Li frowned, "Head of the house, what did you do?"

And what did his shouts mean? Wasn’t he going to talk to father about something?

Eldest son Zhou, with a look of utter dejection, "Don’t ask, I just want to die."

Lady Li, "....."

This meant that he had angered father.

Eldest son Zhou didn’t wait for his wife to comfort him but saw her continuing to fuss with the sprouting vegetable seedlings, "You’re not going to comfort me?"

Lady Li, "....Would comforting help?"

"No."

"Well, there you have it."

Lady Li had an expression that seemed to say everything he had asked was pointless.

Eldest son Zhou, "....."

In the main room, Zhulan was counting the Silver Notes, her anger dissipating as she counted each note worth one hundred taels.

Zhou Shuren, "....You’ve counted them twice already."