Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 328 Ending_1

Chapter 328: Chapter 328 Ending_1

During the primary phase of the imperial exam, the most bustling place in the capital was the temples, with an exceptional number of people leaving the city to pay their respects to Buddha every day.

Yang Zhumu, watching his sister write calmly, said, "Everyone is going to burn incense and worship Buddha, and since we have a carriage, should we also go and pay our respects?"

Zhulan, "....Brother, sincerity is what truly matters. Rushing to seek Buddha’s aid at the last minute is not the way."

Yang Zhumu thought indeed it was true; one cannot fool Buddha. Their family seldom burned incense or worshipped Buddha, and to start begging now might be seen as insincere, "We won’t go, we won’t."

Zhulan had completely forgotten that she herself had sought Buddha’s aid at the last minute before.

After the first phase ended, Zhulan, with their eldest brother personally accompanying Zhou Shuren, realized that even with all the thorough preparations, the weather in February was too harsh. After three days, even Zhou Shuren, who was usually strong, was struggling to endure.

Zhulan helped Zhou Shuren onto the carriage and quickly stuffed the hand warmer into his hands, "Warm yourself first."

Zhulan reached out and touched Zhou Shuren’s forehead, "Good, no fever."

Zhou Shuren, hugging the hand warmer, asked, "Is Wu Ming’s carriage prepared?"

Zhulan draped another cloak over Zhou Shuren, "I’ve prepared everything. Don’t worry about these small matters."

Done speaking, Zhulan handed over the ginger tea she had ready to Zhou Shuren, "This was made by Lady Li."

Zhou Shuren chuckled lightly, "I wouldn’t have minded even if you had made it."

Zhulan raised an eyebrow, "Then shall I make it next time?"

Zhou Shuren, ".....Sure."

Zhulan pursed her lips, well aware of the hesitation in his pause.

After drinking the ginger tea and feeling warmer, Zhou Shuren said, "There are two more sessions, to persist is to succeed."

Zhulan said, "I’ve asked a doctor to come home. He will take a look at you and Wu Ming once we get back. I promised Lady Wu I would take good care of Wu Ming, and honestly, given Wu Ming’s frailty, I am genuinely concerned."

Zhou Shuren was surprised, "Doctors are in high demand at this time. How did you manage to secure one?"

Zhulan patted her purse, "There’s nothing silver can’t solve; if you pay enough, of course, you can secure a doctor. The consultation fee alone cost me twenty taels."

Zhou Shuren spoke somberly, "It seems the doctors’ purses will be full this February."

Upon returning home, the doctor was growing impatient, "What took you so long?"

Zhulan knew the doctor was eager to move on to the next house, "The roads are crowded with carriages; it’s hard to get through."

The doctor urged hastily, "Those who need a consultation, sit down quickly."

Zhou Shuren held down Wu Ming, who was frail and lacked the strength to resist Zhou Shuren, and could only sit down embarrassingly to be examined first.

The doctor felt his pulse, "You’ve caught a bit of cold, but nothing serious. I’ll write a prescription; take the medicine, rest for the night, and you’ll be fine."

Wu Ming’s tension eased; he feared falling ill again. It was February, after all, and he truly worried he wouldn’t be able to withstand it, "Thank you, doctor."

Zhou Shuren took a seat, and the doctor checked his pulse, "Oh, this Old Graduate is in great health and doesn’t need medication."

Zhulan was relieved; as long as Zhou Shuren was fine, that was what mattered. In her heart, she felt even more grateful for the medical skills of old Master Lu, who had cared for both her and Zhou Shuren’s health.

Old Master Zhou went to send the doctor off and to fetch the medicine on the way back.

Wu Ming expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Aunt, for thinking so thoroughly on my behalf."

Zhulan smiled, "Beyond the promise I made to your grandmother to take care of you, I have always regarded you as my own nephew, and I will make sure you are well taken care of."

Wu Ming was even more touched. Ever since before he became a Scholar, Zhou’s Uncle and Aunt had been caring for him. This was true affection.

Zhulan, having boosted her favorability several times over, saw the grateful look in Wu Ming’s eyes and felt she was close to filling his goodwill towards her to the brim. All her thorough preparations had not been in vain.

The medical skills of the doctors in the capital are still reliable. There’s no way around it; there are many nobles in the capital, and no doctor dares to open a clinic there without real skills—at the risk of losing their lives if they’re not careful.

The graduates this year were unlucky; the second exam coincided with a heavy snow day, adding difficulty to the metropolitan examination.

More people fell ill during the second exam, and even though Zhulan had found a doctor in advance, the doctor didn’t come. The only relief was that Wu Ming’s condition was not serious.

Someone missed the third exam. The weather after the snow was the coldest, and the last exam was the hardest to endure.

After the final exam, Zhou Shuren also developed a fever, and Wu Ming felt so light-headed that he passed out as soon as he boarded the carriage.

Having learned from the second incident, Zhulan offered twice as much silver to get a doctor this time.

After examining them back at home, thankfully neither of them was very serious. The doctor prescribed medicine. Well, the metropolitan examination was over; it was time to recuperate at home.

Eldest Brother Zhou brought back the medicine. "Mother, there weren’t few who fell ill in this examination. It’s good that you spent extra silver to hire a doctor in advance. Had we been late, it would have been hard to find one. I just saw the doctor off, and someone immediately grabbed him onto a carriage."

Eldest Brother Zhou was still shaken. The doctor had dared to show a stern face in front of their family, but when he was commandeered, he even had to force a smile. In the capital, there are indeed many nobles; a graduate really isn’t much in comparison.

Zhulan took the medicine. "Alright, no one leave the house for the next few days."

Eldest Brother Zhou didn’t dare to go out either. "Alright."

Yang Zhumu followed behind his sister, opening and closing his mouth several times. Zhulan looked back, "Big Brother, do you need something from me?"

Yang Zhumu, "Did brother-in-law say how he did on the exam when he came back?"

Zhulan shook her head. "He didn’t say."

Yang Zhumu’s heart sank a little, thinking the results must not be good. "You go on; I’m off to teach Ming Teng how to use the staff."

Zhulan chuckled lightly; she hadn’t expected Ming Teng to take a liking to weapons. After all, Yang Zhumu had shown him a few staff moves, and he’d taken to them, insisting on learning.

Yang Zhumu thought that Zhou Shuren didn’t like the children at home learning martial arts, so he purposely asked her!

It’s just a pity that Ming Teng’s talent followed that of the eldest, both lacking in that regard. Martial arts too require innate talent, and for Ming Teng, who was so fond of it, it could only serve to strengthen his body.

Zhulan prepared the medicine. Wu Ming had his own young servant to care for him; Zhulan only needed to look after Zhou Shuren.

Zhou Shuren had been lying down for a while and had broken into a sweat. Zhulan touched his forehead, "It seems the temperature has gone down a bit."

Zhou Shuren leaned on the pillow, "I do feel somewhat better."

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had drunk a lot of herbal decoctions. A bowl of herbal medicine was trivial, but today, Zhou Shuren played coy, "Kiss me, and I’ll drink it."

Zhulan, "Aren’t you afraid of passing the cold to me?"

Zhou Shuren, "We sleep together every day, and haven’t separated in a long time; there were plenty of chances for me to transmit it to you, this one time won’t make a difference."

Zhulan’s heart raced. After the examination, Zhou Shuren had been decidedly different, and she remembered the phrase "the day of the golden list for wedding candles." Her face burned fiercely—well, though she and Zhou Shuren had been sleeping together for a long time, they had never crossed that line!

Zhou Shuren smiled knowingly, feeling his head was no longer hot and his headache was gone. "Kiss me, and I’ll take the medicine."

Zhulan glared at Zhou Shuren, quickly pecked him, set down the medicine bowl, and turned to leave. No, she needed to cool down!

Zhou Shuren chuckled softly to himself. With the three exams over, his confidence was returning. Alas, he couldn’t aim for the first rank; he had set his baseline so high because of Zhulan. If he had harbored ill intentions towards Wu Ming, then Wu Ming’s first place would have been in jeopardy!

Zhulan ran to the kitchen, where Lady Li saw her flushed face, "Mother, why is your face so red?"

Then Lady Li covered her mouth, understanding that the redness on her mother’s face was due to embarrassment.

Zhulan, "...."

If Lady Li hadn’t covered her mouth, nobody would have thought much of it. But by doing so, it seemed as if Zhulan had done something improper. Grinding her teeth, Zhulan thought, what a simpleton!