Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 300: Big Face_1

Chapter 300: Chapter 300: Big Face_1

Zhulan had drunk a bellyful of tea and felt uncomfortable sitting for so long, so she stood up, indeed needing some exercise, "I’ll go have a look."

Lady Li hurriedly followed, her heart brimming with excitement, thinking about the many, many gifts, "Mother, there are really a lot of gifts, they must be worth quite a bit of silver!"

Lady Dong looked at her elder sister-in-law, the only one in the family who dared to be so close to the mother-in-law. People with thick skin really have it good, she felt a tinge of envy towards her sister-in-law’s ability to speak her mind!

The gifts were all piled up in a room in the front yard, and Ming Teng, who had not gone to the tavern, was guarding the door!

Zhulan, "...."

She didn’t need to guess to know it was Lady Li who had ordered him to guard, this mindless one! With the front door locked, who are you guarding against!

When Ming Teng saw his grandma, he hopped down the steps cheerfully, "Grandma."

Zhulan touched Ming Teng’s forehead, "Go play!"

Ming Teng also wanted to look at the gifts, but when he saw his mother glare at him, he shrank his neck. Ever since his mother stopped arguing with him and started using her hands instead, preferring to smack him over saying a word, he was quite afraid of his mother’s heavy slaps, which really hurt, "I’m going to play now."

Zhulan reminded him to be safe and then entered the room, which was previously empty but now filled with gifts on the floor.

The gifts from the neighbors were easily recognizable as various cloths and pastries, while the more luxurious, and obviously more valuable gifts had come from merchants. Zhulan liked gifts whose value could be clearly seen.

Zhulan saw the gift list written by Chang Lian and told Lady Zhao, "Bring it here for me to see."

Lady Zhao picked up the gift list and handed it to her mother-in-law, who quickly scanned it. Their family had struck it rich on the first day of becoming eunuchs. No wonder they say that a Graduate is rich while a Scholar is poor; how much silver this must be worth!

Zhulan, looking at the valuable items on the gift list, appreciated the merchants’ practicality: they gave fine ink, calligraphy and paintings, and even directly offered gold and copper coins. There were also quite a few bottles displayed, but what Zhulan loved most were the furs that had been sent: a fox fur, several mink furs, and even a wolf pelt.

This was Dongbei, where it was common to send furs, and the fur quality of these skins was quite good.

Zhulan, stroking the fiery red fox fur, was very fond of it, thinking that she would keep it aside as a dowry for her daughter, as it was a rare good fur.

Lady Li was also very fond of it, touching it again and again, her mind full of longing, "Mother, the fox fur is really beautiful."

Zhulan, "Mhm."

It wasn’t that she was stingy, but there was just one piece of the fiery red fox fur, and it would be inappropriate to give it to any one of the three daughters-in-law. Better to save it for her own daughter. It was just a pity, for she was the mother-in-law and couldn’t use the fiery red fox fur for herself, oh how she loved it!

This time, Lady Li was hugging the fox fur in both arms, "Mother, you always say I have a pale face, do you think I’d suit red?"

Zhulan thought to herself with a chuckle, "No, your face isn’t pale."

Lady Li was puzzled, "Mother, then what is it?"

Zhulan pulled away the fox fur, "Your face is too big."

Madam Zhao had been genuinely worried that her mother-in-law would give the fox fur to her elder sister-in-law. These past few days, her experiences had deepened her understanding of how biased her mother-in-law was towards the elder sister-in-law. While she and Lady Dong were in deep trouble, the elder sister-in-law was carefree and plump, always smiling cheerfully. After such a striking contrast, she knew that the elder sister-in-law was not someone to offend, as the mother-in-law favored her the most.

Seeing the elder sister-in-law finally realize what their mother had insinuated, Madam Zhao couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth. The mother-in-law’s partiality did have its limits, which was a relief as long as there were boundaries she wouldn’t cross, fearing that her mother-in-law would be biased in everything towards the elder sister-in-law!

Lady Dong also liked the fox fur; she wanted it too and had not had such good-quality fur before. Thinking to herself, she felt that the elder sister-in-law indeed had a lot of nerve!

Zhulan gathered all the furs together, leaving only one fox fur for the younger daughter and three mink furs, one of which was for the elder daughter. Of the remaining two, she and Zhou Shuren would each take one. She would make a wolf fur mat for Zhou Shuren, and no one else would get any.

Zhulan, with her daughters-in-law, sorted all the gifts. This time, Zhulan didn’t distribute anything to each household. People shouldn’t be spoiled all the time; if spoiled, they wouldn’t recognize their own boundaries. Zhulan only brought out two pounds of pastries for the children, sealing and storing the rest.

Lady Li was somewhat stunned; why hadn’t her mother distributed anything this time? But since her mother had already reprimanded her earlier, she didn’t dare to ask.

Zhulan locked the room, keeping the key with her, "From now on, this room will be a storeroom. Alright, we are all quite tired today. The feast from the restaurant should be arriving soon. Everyone, go change your clothes; it’s almost time to eat."

Moving gifts had covered their clothes in dust.

Having said that, Zhulan headed towards the back courtyard. Although she was tired today, it was a rewarding fatigue; she had just calculated the value of the gifts, which was no less than three hundred taels. The merchants’ gifts were the most valuable, and Zhulan once again realized that merchants were truly wealthy.

After changing her clothes and waiting a while, the feast from the restaurant arrived. Zhulan had ordered a table with twelve dishes, of which only one was vegetarian; the rest were all meat dishes.

Only Zhulan and the other women with their children were eating. Without Zhou Shuren there, Lady Li became livelier, "Mother, should we also have a drink to celebrate?"

Zhulan, "Have you forgotten how much you can drink? Shall I remind you?"

Lady Li immediately closed her mouth; she didn’t need any reminders. Last time, after getting drunk and speaking the truth, she had avoided going near her mother-in-law for many days.

Lady Dong said with a smile, "Mother, here are the goose wings you like to eat."

Zhulan counted the days; it had been a long time since she had last eaten goose. She genuinely wanted to raise the big goose sent by Lady Fang for a longer time and enjoy it slowly. Unfortunately, not only was she longing for it, but Ming Teng was too, frequently nagging about it. Unable to resist, she had eaten one and couldn’t stop herself; it was gone in less than a week.

Zhulan, for once, looked kindly upon Lady Dong, "You all should eat too."

Lady Li panicked. These past days, her mother-in-law had shown discontent with both Madam Zhao and Lady Dong, so she had forgotten about feeling threatened. Now, not only was her mother the matriarch, but also the graduate’s wife. Lady Dong had even taken to flattering her mother-in-law. Lady Dong was smarter than her, better at reading situations; she even noticed her mother smiling at Lady Dong. No, this would not do; she was the daughter-in-law her mother-in-law favored the most. If she lost her mother-in-law’s favor, Lady Dong and Madam Zhao would bully her to death!

Lady Li hastily placed another wing into her mother-in-law’s bowl, "Mother, you like to eat this, so both wings are for you."

Zhulan had to hold in her laughter. Lady Li’s expression completely betrayed her thoughts. If she could see it clearly, even Ming Teng knew what was on his mother’s mind!

Lady Dong, holding her chopsticks, felt frustrated. Her mother-in-law might have smiled at her, but it wasn’t from the heart. Her mother-in-law’s smile for the elder sister-in-law was always heartfelt. Alas, she sorrowfully realized that she had to not only win over her mother-in-law but also be nicer to the elder sister-in-law, who had a special place in her mother-in-law’s heart!

Madam Zhao observed the elder sister-in-law’s awakening. Although not particularly astute, the elder sister-in-law always showcased herself and fought for her own interests, making her thoughts transparent to her mother-in-law. The elder sister-in-law’s forthrightness was also an expression of trust in the mother-in-law. Compared to her, Madam Zhao felt far inferior. She had to fight for herself too, just as her father-in-law and her husband had said, "If you don’t fight for attention, who will notice you?"

Madam Zhao lifted her head and said with a smile, "Mother, try this fish; it’s really tasty and should suit your palate very well!"

Zhulan was somewhat dazzled. A beautiful woman’s smile could indeed be a delightful sight. She enjoyed this meal, and regarding her daughters-in-law’s attempts to ingratiate themselves, she acted as if she hadn’t seen it; she was eating quite well, after all.