Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 288: Off to the Heavens_1

Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Off to the Heavens_1

Zhulan peered through the gap opened in the carriage curtain and saw quite a few people blocking the entrance to the village.

The coachman looked back, "I don’t know what happened up ahead; I’ll go check it out."

Soon the coachman returned, "A girl fainted at the entrance to the village. The villagers were just looking on without lending a hand. I told everyone to step aside first."

Zhulan opened the carriage window curtain, and as the crowd parted, the girl lying on the ground became visible. Her clothes looked familiar, and upon closer inspection, wasn’t this Wang Xin?

No wonder no one in the village helped her; they were afraid of being implicated. Looking at Wang Xin’s condition, she must have walked back to the village on her own.

As the carriage left the village entrance, Zhulan heard crying. Curiously looking back, she saw Sun’s wife and Wang Laosi arriving, followed by Wang Rong. Wang Rong didn’t look at Wang Xin, but instead glanced at the carriage Zhulan was in. When Zhulan looked again, Wang Rong had already squatted down to check on Wang Xin.

On the road back to Pingzhou, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren weren’t in a hurry. The carriage moved slowly. Both were a bit weary from the journey, and it felt more comfortable to take it easy.

By the time they reached Pingzhou, it was almost dark and the city gates were about to close. The carriage swayed to their doorstep just as the sun completely set. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren alighted from the carriage to find the Zhou family’s main gate was closed.

Zhou Shuren went to knock on the door while Zhulan gave the two coachmen an extra tael of silver each, "You’ve worked hard all the way. Have some drinks tonight with this money."

The coachmen, pleased with the extra silver, said, "Thank you, madam, we’ll be taking our leave now."

"Take care."

No sooner had the two coachmen left than Rongchuan called out from the courtyard, "Who is it?"

Zhou Shuren replied, "It’s me."

Rongchuan shouted, "Uncle!"

Saying so, he flung the gate open. Rongchuan, excited, said, "Uncle, you and auntie have returned."

Rongchuan felt relieved seeing his uncle and aunt; he had been worried about their safety throughout their journey. Fearing something might have happened, he now felt he could rest easy. Moreover, with his uncle and aunt away, he felt more like an outsider in the Zhou household and was uneasy. Now that they were back, his mainstay had returned as well.

Zhou Shuren said, "Go call your elder brothers to help move the things."

As for the carriage, it had to be parked outside for now since there was no place to keep horses at home. In the city, there were specific places where horses could be boarded. You’d pay monthly, and someone would take care of your horse for you. These caretakers were often veterans from the front lines who were excellent at horse care.

They could simply be sent over tomorrow, and the carriage could be stored there too. Many families in the city preferred this service as it was convenient and cost-effective.

Many policies of the current dynasty were quite good, especially those providing for the old soldiers and their families who had no land after retiring from service. Although the Emperor had executed many, he was indeed a benevolent ruler who cared for his people.

While Rongchuan went to call for the eldest and second brothers, Zhulan had already taken the most important things off the carriage and followed Zhou Shuren into the courtyard.

Before reaching the back courtyard, Zhou Laoda and Zhou Laoda led the way, followed by Lady Li and Lady Zhao.

This time it wasn’t Lady Zhao shedding tears, but Lady Li, with tears in her eyes, "Mother, you are finally back."

Upon seeing them, Lady Zhao appeared relieved while Lady Li cried sorrowfully. In the moonlight, Zhulan took a closer look, "Lady Li, how did you lose so much weight?"

She seemed to have lost at least twenty pounds!

Lady Li burst into even louder cries and threw herself into her mother-in-law’s arms, "Mother, I’ve missed you so much."

Zhulan, "....."

She truly didn’t believe it, she must have suffered a lot of grievances. Sigh, at home, she could still pamper Lady Li a bit. Lady Li would be all smiles while cooking. Once she left, Lady Li was mostly tended to by the elder sister-in-law. Not to mention the worries, she also had to deal with the schemes of the two younger sisters-in-law. How could she not cry!

Zhou Shuren’s face showed impatience, the crying was giving him a headache, "Eldest, second, our family’s carriage is outside. Go move the things on the carriage back inside. This evening, you should also stay in the front courtyard, keeping an eye on unloading the carriage and listening to this commotion. Tomorrow morning, send them to the Horse Care Department for storage."

Lady Li picked up on the eunuch’s impatience from his tone and came out from her mother-in-law’s embrace, "Mom, see how I only cared about crying happily. You and dad must be tired and hungry, I’ll go cook for you."

Zhulan felt a complicated emotion inside. During the days she was away, Lady Li had truly grown a lot. She had become more observant and a better listener, "You all have eaten, right?"

Lady Zhao knew the elder sister-in-law had a belly full of grievances. She didn’t rush to show off. Now that mom asked, if she didn’t speak up, it would seem like she didn’t care, "We’ve eaten, mom. I clean up the main room every day, and take the quilts out to sun on good weather days, eagerly awaiting for your and dad’s return home every day, mom. Let me help you back to your room!"

Zhulan thought, look at Lady Zhao. Lady Li still wasn’t clever enough. To Lady Li, she said, "Mom wants to eat your noodles. Just make two bowls of noodles."

Lady Li was just anxious from her sisters-in-law’s words, fearing mom would think she hadn’t done anything. After hearing mom’s words, her heart settled back down. Mom indeed favored her, "Alright, I’ll go roll out the noodles."

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren returned to the main room and indeed, as Lady Zhao said, she cleaned every day. There wasn’t a speck of dust, and Lady Zhao was holding a teapot, "Mom, I’m going to make a pot of tea."

"Go ahead."

After leaving the main room, Lady Zhao regretted showing off too much, too deliberately. She sighed in her heart, mom indeed liked the elder sister-in-law the most.

Zhulan put down the bundle in her hand, "We’re finally home."

Zhou Shuren, "Yes, we’re home."

A gilded nest, a silver nest, but there’s no place like one’s own cozy nest, no matter how one looks at it.

Xue Han stood up, "Mom, I’ll get some hot water for you and dad to wash your faces."

Zhulan stroked the cheek of her little girl, who had also lost weight. She felt a great sense of achievement. The whole family missed her and Zhou Shuren, "Good, Mom will enjoy being looked after by her daughter."

Xue Han’s heart ached for the tiredness on mom’s face, as their parents were getting older, "Okay."

As soon as Xue Han left, only Yushuang, Yu Lu, and Ming Rui remained in the room, three obedient children. After calling their grandparents, Zhulan kissed each of them. Little kids are just adorable.

Upon returning, Lady Zhao saw her son sitting in mom’s lap and felt joyful. Her elder son, the little grandson, were the darlings of the older generation. The parents liked Ming Rui, and the second wife wouldn’t be too weak. This trip, she and her husband truly recognized the disparities between the different wives.

Lady Dong, Mr. Guan’s daughter, always wanted to excel and with mom not around, kept visiting the Jiang Residence, seeing more officials’ families, and her presence changed quite a bit, with less and less respect for her and her elder sister-in-law.

Her mother visited their home several times, and even if Lady Dong didn’t speak, her eyes couldn’t lie. Lady Dong looked down on mom, who had once been a slave, and absolutely despised the Qian family. Helping her elder sister-in-law host guests, she often spoke over her, causing her elder sister-in-law to stand there awkwardly as if she was a steward!

Lady Dong had long forgotten the instructions mom gave before leaving!

Zhulan felt Lady Zhao’s enthusiasm. Without her and Zhou Shuren at home, Lady Zhao certainly endured many grievances. But Lady Zhao was clever, she didn’t speak of the grievances she had suffered, waiting instead for Lady Li to come to her to complain!

Unfortunately for Lady Zhao, she would be disappointed, as Zhulan felt that Lady Li had matured a lot and wouldn’t speak to her about her grievances.

All the things that Zhulan and Zhou Shuren brought back had been moved into the room. The bedding needed washing, and Zhulan decided to assign these chores to the daughters-in-law. It was a good opportunity to temper their characters, like the haughty Lady Dong, who might as well have been flying to the heavens, not having come back even at this hour!