Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 332: Good Son-in-Law_1

Chapter 332: Chapter 332: Good Son-in-Law_1

Zhulan was now irritated every time she looked at Lady Li.

Lady Li couldn’t figure out what her mother-in-law meant and asked the head of the family, "What’s wrong with mother?"

Zhou Shuren wanted to clutch at his heart. The two of them still had the mindset of common folk, and that very day when they went to buy deer meat, the price had gone up again, one tael of silver per jin. Deer meat from the capital was especially popular. They had only bought a jin to take back, and now it seemed everyone thought it was what their mother had wanted!

Zhou Shuren pulled on Lady Li, "Stop talking, let’s get out of here quickly!"

Lady Li still didn’t understand until the head of the family whispered to her, then she said, "I’ll go explain."

This time Zhou Shuren got wise, "Absolutely not, the more you try to explain, the murkier it becomes. They’ll start to think it’s mother who branded you with the reputation of being stingy!"

Lady Li’s heart thumped wildly, "Then what do we do? Wuu wuu, mother has finally taken a shine to me, she won’t drive us out, will she!"

Zhou Shuren was annoyed, he realized that, to his wife, his mother was much more important than he was, and he didn’t feel like dealing with his wife anymore.

Early the next day, the Zhou family received numerous greeting cards, all with ulterior motives that weren’t explicitly stated. They verbally congratulated on their visit, but in plain terms, everyone was hoping to settle things with Wu Ming.

Zhao Bo’s greeting card also arrived.

Zhulan had thought Zhao Bo would also be waiting at home to be seen. Zhao Bo had also performed well in the exams, placing fifth. Zhao Bo was indeed an excellent husband candidate!

The Zhou household was exceptionally busy for one day, and then no one came to visit. It wasn’t that they had given up on Wu Ming; rather, everyone was busy preparing for the final imperial examination.

With the Zhou family now of a different status, Lady Li found the Qi Clan being more generous with her. As the Xu family moved away, the Qi Clan gifted Lady Li a pair of vases and a screen for the kang bed.

Lady Li brought back the items, "Mother, the screen is even better than the one sister-in-law embroidered!"

Zhulan evaluated the wood of the screen. Its true value was in the material. Now wealthy, she said to Xue Han, "When you get married, mother will also prepare a few screens for you."

The screen Lady Li received was worth at least fifty taels, plus a pair of vases worth several tens of taels. Merchant families really did have silver.

Although she hadn’t gone out to see the neighbors move, she also learned from Lady Li’s mouth just how much silver the neighbors had.

Zhulan to Lady Li, "Make sure all things are put away."

Lady Li cherished them greatly, "Mother, when the Qi Clan left, I only gave them some of the cured meat I made myself; was that too stingy?"

Zhulan said softly, "She won’t think you are stingy; rather, she’ll be glad that you gave her cured meat."

Lady Li didn’t understand; her cured meat was only worth a few silvers, "Mother, the Qi Clan isn’t foolish!"

Zhulan smiled, "Only you in the household are carefree enough not to have noticed the changes. Among Scholar, Farmer, Artisan, Merchant, the Merchant ranks lowest. Your father is now a Graduate, and the Qi Clan is afraid you might look down on her. You are still sincere to her, and even if the gifts are light, she is happy."

Besides, the Xu family was just a small merchant family, overlooked by greater powers, and it was tough for them to survive. As a daughter-in-law in the Qi Clan, being able to make ties with Lady Li – although Lady Li was just a daughter-in-law in the Zhou family – meant establishing a valuable relationship for the future. The Qi Clan treasured her contact with Lady Li.

Zhulan didn’t object to Lady Li associating with the Qi Clan. She herself wanted to keep a line open. Knowing that the Xu family ended their capital business and moved to Pinggang so decisively showed that Xu’s patriarch was a shrewd and decisive man.

Zhulan liked smart and decisive people. In due course, with the opening of maritime trade, all the eyes of the powerful would be on this fat target. She wanted to see if the Xu family could carve out a fresh financial path and just how capable they were.

Xue Han said, "Mother, when will you let the second and third brothers come to the capital?"

As for the fourth brother, hmm, she didn’t worry about him at all. The fourth brother had Scholar Deng to be concerned about!

Lady Li’s heart caught in her throat; she didn’t want her sisters-in-law to come. In the capital, with no one compete with her, she lived comfortably. If her sisters-in-law were to come, they’d surely vie for mother’s attention, and she wasn’t as cunning as they were.

Zhulan, "If you didn’t mention it, I would have almost forgotten; your third brother said Mr. Jiang would be returning to the capital in the spring!"

Zhulan considered whether to dispose of the house in Pingzhou City. Originally, with Zhou Shuren becoming a Graduate, the value of the house had risen, and it was likely to increase further once the results of the palace examination were announced in various Prefecture Cities. Holding on to the relatively small property in Pingzhou City seemed somewhat redundant.

However, she didn’t know whether Zhou Shuren would stay in the capital after the palace examination or be assigned elsewhere. Nonetheless, it was indeed necessary to start looking for a house in the capital in advance.

Lady Li was anxious, "Mother."

She least liked Lady Dong, who was the most cunning, and of course, status played a role as well. Lady Li always felt inadequate in front of Lady Dong and worried that in the future, as her mother mingled more with the wives of officials, she would certainly prefer Lady Dong, the daughter-in-law who had prestige on her side.

Zhulan came back to her senses and said to Xue Han, "After the results of the palace examination are announced, we’ll decide whether your father and they will come to the capital or not."

Lady Li breathed a sigh of relief, "Mother, I’m going back to my room."

"Alright."

After Lady Li left, Zhulan had Jing Zhe go find Er Yue. Jing Zhe was a young maid of Xue Han, slightly more clever than her parents, and although she couldn’t become the head maid in charge of affairs, it was good to keep her around.

Zhulan waited for Er Yue to come in and instructed, "I’ll give you a note in a bit. Take it and go find Scholar Deng to ask if there are any houses for sale near West City, a courtyard with a second or third entry would suffice."

Er Yue understood that the family wanted to buy a house, "Yes."

After Er Yue left, Xue Han asked, "Mother, are you going to sell the house we’re living in now?"

"Yes, everyone thinks our house has good Feng Shui. Selling it now and earning some silver would be just right for exchanging it for a house near West City."

Xue Han was quite reluctant; she really liked the house they were living in now, especially her exquisitely decorated boudoir. However, she also understood that South City was never meant for long-term residence.

Two hours later, Er Yue didn’t come back alone; Scholar Deng and a broker came to visit with her.

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan welcomed them. The broker was in high spirits, "Does Master Zhou plan to sell the house, or is the current one up for sale?"

Zhou Shuren asked, "Has someone inquired with you?"

The broker, smiling, held out a palm, "They’re offering five thousand taels."

Upon hearing this, Zhulan thought it was about what she had in mind, with the current housing prices nearly doubling.

Instead of agreeing to sell, Zhou Shuren inquired, "Are there any good houses for sale?"

The broker felt confident that there was an intention to sell and became even more eager. If he could help sell the Zhou family’s house, he would earn a commission of a hundred taels. "There are some, near West City an official who is being stationed away from the capital is selling their house. It’s not a large two-entry courtyard, and there is another one at the northwest border. The house is not small but needs extensive repairs due to disrepair; buying it would require complete reconstruction. It is a two-entry courtyard, but the plot is sizable. If rebuilt, it could be made into a three-entry residence. It’s just that the cost of rebuilding is so high that no one has bought it."

Zhou Shuren asked, "No more?"

The broker apologetically said, "There really are no better-located ones left. Having lived in the capital for so long, you know how competitive West City houses are. Many officials are eyeing them. The small West City two-entry courtyard I just mentioned would have been sold already if not for its small size."

Zhulan inquired, "What are the prices for both?"

The broker replied, "The smaller house in West City is not large, but the location is good, going for three thousand taels. The larger one in the northwest has significant land, but the house is in poor condition, selling for two thousand four hundred taels."

Zhulan was intrigued, as the housing prices in the capital were the most stable. In the future, with increasingly lenient policies towards merchants, the commoners’ lives would improve, and the capital’s house prices would only rise. "Take us to have a look!"

Having their carriage and a coachman made this property viewing convenient. They first visited the West City property, which was indeed very small, even smaller than their two-entry house in Pingzhou. After Zhulan and Zhou Shuren looked it over, they did not say a word and left the property.

Just as they stepped out of the gate, a carriage passed by. Zhulan silently wished that it wouldn’t stop, but alas, that wish was dashed.