Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 303 Arrangement _1

Chapter 303: Chapter 303 Arrangement _1

Lady Jiangdong had no issue with her sister-in-law’s mother-in-law, setting aside the lack of deep affection between her and her sister, what she continually did in inviting her sister over was also to cooperate with her husband. Of course, it was also for her sister’s good, without breaking her sister’s pride, there would be many difficult days ahead for her, so it’s better to set her straight while she is still young.

Now, it seemed to have had a good effect, she had thought that her younger sister would come to her to complain, but surprisingly, not once did she visit. Her sister-in-law’s mother-in-law was indeed as formidable as their mother had said!

Lady Jiangdong said with a smile, "Graduate’s wife, please rise, we’re practically family. There’s no need for formalities between us."

Asking her to call her "Auntie" was something she couldn’t bring herself to do, so "Graduate’s wife" was just right.

Zhulan sat down with a smile, "This is my first visit, and not knowing what Yiren likes, I’ve brought a few pelts as a modest gift."

Recently, there were somewhat more pelts at home, and Zhulan’s means had become considerably more generous, a few nice pelts satisfied a lady’s taste and were also presentable – these mink furs were the finest of them.

Lady Jiangdong indeed liked them very much. Knowing the Zhou family had recently come into some wealth, she accepted them with a smile, "Thank you, Graduate’s wife. I don’t have anything particularly nice, but I heard from Chu Chu that the Graduate’s wife has a daughter. I just made two sets of jewelry for my own little girl, thinking that the Graduate’s wife would bring her daughter along, I didn’t expect that the Graduate’s wife would come alone. This set of jewelry can only be taken back home by the Graduate’s wife."

Zhulan stood up and expressed her thanks, but didn’t explain why she had come alone. Lady Dong actually suggested bringing Xue Han along, but Zhulan did not agree. There was a great difference between the families of someone with a Fifth Rank and someone with a Seventh Rank. Lady Dong was already cautious around her own nephews and nieces, let alone Xue Han.

Lady Jiangdong, having married Jiang Ming and borne two more children, and their young age made them naturally wilful, and she didn’t want Xue Han to come over and be mistreated.

Zhulan truly had nothing much to chat about with Lady Jiangdong, their conversation pattern of one question, one answer – when the questions ran out, so did the conversation.

Zhulan didn’t try to find a topic to discuss because Lady Jiangdong was very careful with her words. Zhulan understood that Lady Jiangdong’s status as a second-time bride made her prone to overthinking, and feared that saying too much might lead Lady Jiangdong to worry unnecessarily. Better not to speak at all.

Fortunately, Mr. Jiang didn’t intend to keep Zhou Shuren for a meal and not long after, allowed Zhou Shuren to leave. Zhulan followed suit.

On the way back, with no outsiders present, Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief, "Lady Jiangdong and Lady Dong, two people with two different characters; although they didn’t say much, the atmosphere felt too oppressive."

Zhou Shuren held Zhulan’s hand, "We are also leaving soon, and we won’t visit again in the future."

Zhulan indeed did not wish to visit the Jiang family again, "Yes."

Zhou Shuren asked with concern, "Lady Jiangdong didn’t make things difficult for you, did she?"

Zhulan shook her head, "No, she was quite kind to me."

Zhou Shuren asked no further, satisfied as long as Zhulan wasn’t aggrieved.

When they got back home, Zhulan gave the jewelry she’d brought back to Xue Han, "It’s a gift from Lady Jiang Yiren, keep it for yourself."

Xue Han joyfully accepted it. While the jewelry wasn’t expensive, it was exquisite, and the addition of small gemstones made it especially appealing to a young girl.

Seeing her mother-in-law’s smiling face, Lady Dong’s anxious heart settled down; as long as her sister hadn’t embarrassed their mother-in-law, that was good because otherwise, her sister would have truly caused her harm!

The next day, Zhou Shuren went to meet with Zhao Bo. Zhao Bo was also a Runner-up, ranked eighth, while Zhou Shuren was a Graduate. After Zhao Bo had sent gifts to Zhou Shuren for placing as a Graduate, Zhou Shuren also sent Zhao Bo a congratulatory gift.

This was the first time they had met since becoming Graduates.

Zhou Shuren didn’t return until the afternoon, and Zhulan knew he had been inquiring about when Zhao Bo would journey to the capital, "What did Zhao Bo say?"

Zhou Shuren said with a smile, "He knows I plan to go to the capital earlier, and he wants to travel with us."

Zhulan, "That’s surely good news, the more people we have, the safer the journey will be."

Zhou Shuren paused, then said, "Tomorrow you should go to the Wu family and ask Lady Wu if Wu Ming would like to join us."

Zhulan smiled, "Sure thing."

Zhou Shuren didn’t need to mention it; she would have visited the Wu family to ask herself, seizing any opportunity to earn favors—how could she let such a chance slip by?

Early the next day, Zhulan went to the Wu family, "Auntie, we plan to set off for the capital in a few days. My husband asked me to inquire if your family’s Wu Ming would like to go to the capital ahead of time."

Lady Wu exclaimed in surprise, "You plan to go to the capital ahead of time?"

"Yes, we want to take advantage of the season before winter to head to the capital, so as not to worry about the difficulties of traveling after the New Year, not to mention that cold weather can easily lead to illness. It wasn’t easy for us to pass the examinations, and we cannot afford to fall ill upon arriving in the capital. Fortunately, we have a house there, and arriving early would also allow us to rest up and be in good spirits for the spring examinations."

Lady Wu was truly frightened by her eldest grandson falling ill during the local examinations; she thought his hopes were dashed, but then her grandson impressively became the First Place Candidate. These days, she had been so preoccupied with accepting gifts and celebrating that she hadn’t given much thought to traveling to the capital for the examinations. Clasping Lady Yang’s hands, she said, "Auntie, thank you so much, it’s hard on you all to keep Wu Ming in mind. This old woman doesn’t know much, but it’s good to have you all looking out. Auntie, I’m really scared of Wu Ming getting sick again."

Zhulan comforted her, "Wu Ming has a strong destiny indeed, look, Wu Ming became the First Place Candidate even after falling ill—that shows he has a deep well of good fortune."

Lady Wu was genuinely worried about her grandson getting sick, especially in February when it was easiest to contract typhus—a potentially lethal disease. "Auntie, I am genuinely scared. If Wu Ming goes to the capital with you early, I must shamelessly ask you, please look out for him on account of his being an orphan."

Zhulan held Lady Wu’s hand, "Auntie, rest assured, I’ve always treated Wu Ming as if he were my own nephew. With us in the capital to look after him, we will certainly take good care of him."

Lady Wu believed Lady Yang’s words; after all, Wu Ming was Chang Zhi’s senior classmate, and the relationship between the two families had grown even closer than before!

Zhulan had accomplished her mission and was ready to take her leave, "Auntie, I’m heading back to my hometown tomorrow, and I still need to go to the shop to buy some things for my eldest daughter to take back. I shall take my leave now."

Lady Wu stood up, "Let me walk you out."

"Auntie, please, there’s no need."

Still, Lady Wu insisted on seeing Zhulan to the door. She waited until Zhulan was a good distance away before returning to her home.

Zhulan went home and took Xue Han to buy cloth and cotton. The cloth she bought was fine cotton fabric meant for a baby’s use, and the cotton was for making quilts for the unborn child.

Zhulan could not attend to Xue Mei’s confinement, so she could only bring back more items.

This time, when Zhulan and Zhou Shuren went back home, they brought many things with them, most of which were for Xue Mei.

During this trip back home, the entire Zhou family went back together. Zhou Shuren and Zhulan planned to take their eldest son and his wife to the capital, and arrangements had to be made for the three sons who would remain.

Zhou Er’s family would live back home in the village, and with Zhulan and Zhou Shuren away, Zhou Er would be in charge of overseeing the Li Family Village lands. As for Jiang Sheng, who managed the twenty acres of the Zhou family’s village, he too would be able to better look after Xue Mei.

After hearing the arrangements, Zhou Er and his wife Zhao Bo were more eager to follow to the capital but dared not object to Zhulan and Zhou Shuren’s decision.

Chang Lian and Lady Dong were left to watch over the house in Pingzhou and to take good care of the children who were studying.

This time, Chang Lian was given the opportunity to be the head of the household, which scared him and Lady Dong so much they almost kneeled. It was only after Zhulan explained the reasons that they were reassured.

As for Chang Zhi, it was even easier; he was sent directly to the home of Degree Zhou, who would look after him; with someone like Zhou taking care of things, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had nothing to worry about.