Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 317: Time to Return_1

Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Time to Return_1

Zhou Shuren held Zhulan’s hand, "Don’t worry yourself."

"I don’t want to worry, but I can’t help thinking about it!"

She had completely accepted herself as the original body, missing all the children, and even though Chang Zhi was taken care of and she needed not worry, sometimes she would wonder if Chang Zhi was staying up late reading again.

Zhou Shuren never worried like that. Even though he cared about the children quite a bit, he still didn’t fret. Three sons were settled, and one had a master to look after him, so he truly didn’t worry!

Zhulan worried about home, and Chang Yi and the others also worried about Zhulan and Zhou Shuren.

Li Family Village also experienced frequent rain, but fortunately, the autumn harvest in Li Family Village was early, and most of it was already gathered. Xue Mei was also about to finish her confinement.

Lady Zhao and Xue Mei chatted, "I don’t know if father and mother have reached the capital yet."

Xue Mei, patting her youngest son in her arms, said, "There were a few heavy rains recently, and the roads are probably hard to travel on, so I guess they haven’t arrived yet."

Ever since Lady Zhao started managing her own daily life, she had been constantly worried. Now she no longer had free time to let her thoughts wander. Every day she had to take good care of her elder sister during confinement and worry about her husband’s autumn harvest. What troubled her the most was thinking about what to cook for the three meals every day.

In the past, all these things were worried about by her elder sister-in-law, and she only had to assist. Plus, with her mother managing the household, she really did not need to worry.

Now everything was a cause for concern. Less than a month in, and she felt mentally exhausted. Everyone said that managing one’s own household was a good thing, but she did not care for it. After just a few days of worry, she was already done worrying.

Lady Zhao looked at the children, who had grown larger on the kang, took a deep breath, and realized she had more to worry about, "Seeing as your confinement is about to end, have you thought about where to hold the full moon celebration for the child?"

No matter where it was held, it would be her who had to worry.

Xue Mei felt somewhat uneasy as well; when her mother was home, she felt justified in having her confinement, but after her mother left, even though her second sister-in-law treated her well, she still felt uncomfortable. "I’ve already troubled my second sister-in-law so much; we should hold it at our old residence."

Lady Zhao mentally calculated how many tables needed to be arranged and missed the days when she did not have to worry and could let her mind wander.

In Pingzhou City, Chang Lian returned from the Jiang Residence, and Lady Dong greeted him, "You’re back; what did your brother-in-law ask you to do?"

Chang Lian’s face was all smiles, "Brother-in-law said he’s going back to the capital next year, and he has already begun sorting out the luggage."

Lady Dong asked, "Does that mean we can also go to the capital to meet up with father and mother?"

Chang Lian fell silent, "Brother-in-law plans to leave around April next year, and the first to go will be sister and the children."

Upon hearing it would still take a long time, Lady Dong thought that once her brother-in-law returned to the capital, father would also have his results.

Chang Lian, having washed his hands, said, "I will write a letter to father and tell him about it."

Lady Dong said, "Father and mother should be arriving in the capital soon, right?"

Chang Lian nodded, "They should be arriving soon."

Father left him in Pingzhou City, and now he had become the son of a Graduate’s family, and with his brother-in-law’s status, ever since father left, all eyes had been on him. He found it extremely strenuous to cope, and nearly encountered danger several times. It was then that he truly understood, in the eyes of the old foxes, he wasn’t even a little fox; in their eyes, he was like a chicken ready to be trapped at any moment.

Now, he missed the days under his father’s wings; with father’s guidance, he didn’t need to be so cautious all the time. He longed for his father and mother.

Time flew by, and Zhulan and Zhou Shuren finally arrived at the capital.

Zhao Bo reached the capital, left his address, and departed from the caravan first. This time, Zhulan’s residence was a two-entry courtyard, delicate, befitting a merchant’s family, fully furnished with furniture left for them—it was move-in ready.

As for the other two courtyards, Zhulan really hadn’t considered living in them nor even thought about refurbishing them. When the time came to sell them, what was sold would be the location.

In South City, there were many merchants, and there were officials who lived there as well, although their ranks weren’t high. Generally, when officials were promoted, they would move away, even if the residences in South City were beautifully spacious. Officials were reluctant to stay, as the boundaries between social classes were very distinctly drawn.

Six horse-drawn carriages stopped in front of the residence. The main gate of the residence was still locked. Zhulan unlocked the gate, and the courtyard, uninhabited for several months, had grown a lot of weeds.

Zhou eldest brother directed the moving of the luggage into the residence.

Zhulan, with key in hand, went from room to room, opening doors. Fortunately, there wasn’t much dust accumulated in the rooms.

Xue Han, holding her niece Yu Lu, said, "Mother, the courtyard houses in the capital are truly exquisite."

Compared with Pingzhou, the residence in the capital made the Pingzhou residence seem like a rural old house in an instant. Xue Han looked at the gallery, then at the rockery in the courtyard, and felt the capital was splendid indeed, with even the houses being different.

Zhulan laughed lightly, her experience still limited, still a child at heart, "That’s because you haven’t seen the other two courtyards of our family. Not all the courtyards are this exquisite."

Ever since Xue Han entered the capital, she had been peering through the gaps in the carriage curtains, captivated by the hustle and bustle. The capital was so prosperous, and even the restaurants seemed more grand than those in Pingzhou. However, she noticed the emphasis in her mother’s words, "Mother, does our family have two other courtyards?"

Zhulan smiled, "Yes, we have two other courtyards. Your third brother also knows, but he dared not speak of it. However, your mother intends to sell them," she explained.

Xue Han held her little niece closer. Their family actually had this much silver! Courtyard houses in the capital!

Zhulan instructed Xue Han, "Put down Yu Lu, and take Jing Zhe to tidy up your room."

Xue Han put down Yu Lu, "Mother, I’m heading out."

"Alright."

A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Shuren finished arranging the front courtyard and came back, saying, "It’s getting dark now. Tonight, we’ll make do with a simple meal."

Zhulan said, "It’s fortunate I remembered that the house had no firewood, so we picked up some on the way; otherwise, we wouldn’t even have firewood to cook with."

Zhou Shuren said, "Tomorrow we’ll buy more firewood to bring back. With winter approaching, it’s best to stock up."

Zhulan said, "There are quite a few things we need to buy. Let’s eat and then write a list together."

Zhou Shuren sighed, "The capital is not like Pingzhou, where we had acquaintances to look after us. If we leave again in the future, we’ll need to have someone watch over the houses in the capital."

Zhulan nodded, "Right."

That night, they ate grain brought from Pingzhou, with no meat or vegetables, just a few wild vegetable dishes to make do with.

There wasn’t much firewood either, so bathing was out of the question. They packed up and went to bed early.

Early the next day, there were benefits to living in South City, with its abundance of shops. Come morning, the area was bustling. Lady Li didn’t have to cook breakfast—they could just go out and buy steamed buns with silver.

Zhou eldest brother went out with Lady Li. Zhulan waited and waited but saw no sign of them, and she began to worry, "These two couldn’t have gotten lost, could they?"

"When have they ever gotten lost?"

Zhulan frowned, estimating the time, "They should have been back by now!"