Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 338 He’s Very Well-Read_1

Chapter 338: Chapter 338 He’s Very Well-Read_1

Wu Ming offered tea again, "Godmother, please have some tea."

Zhulan smiled as she took it, "I don’t have much to give you, but I know you’re short of silver. There is some silver coin in this purse, take it."

Wu Ming, "...."

He swore that he would definitely manage his family’s property well in the future!

Right now, he indeed was in need of money!

Zhou Shuren felt the purse on his body, which contained only two taels of silver. This was after he had arrived in the capital—thanks to knowing more people and to save face for the Zhou family—that Lady Li gave him this amount. Otherwise, he would have had only a few dozens of coins in his purse, which made it somewhat embarrassing for him, the nominal elder brother, to give.

Zhou Shuren pursed his lips, "Mother, can you lend me ten taels of silver?"

Zhulan knew what Zhou Shuren was up to and couldn’t help finding joy in seeing Wu Ming’s changing expression. She let Wu Ming get carried away and readily agreed, "Sure."

Zhulan got up, went inside, and returned with ten taels of silver for Zhou Shuren.

Zhou Shuren gleefully accepted them, eagerly expecting Wu Ming to call him ’big brother’!

Wu Ming took a deep breath. He would definitely ensure he was never short of silver in the future, "Big brother."

Zhou Shuren felt incredibly satisfied inside. To have the younger brother of the Top scorer call him ’big brother’ was something he could wake up laughing about in his dreams. He reminded himself not to get too excited, as his father had only obtained the title of second-place scholar, and he didn’t want to stab a knife into his father’s heart, "I don’t have much silver, but take this for now. It might not help much, but it should suffice for some petty expenses."

Wu Ming held the ten taels of silver, which were lent to him by his elder brother, "Thank you, big brother."

He truly wished his brother hadn’t given him anything—really!

Afterward, Zhulan called for Lady Li and Xue Han to bring Ming Teng and Yu Lu inside.

As the younger sister, Xue Han was to receive a gift from Wu Ming. Wu Ming couldn’t bring himself to give silver as a gift, so he had the young servant fetch the ink and brushes he had saved and handed them out as presents.

Zhou Shuren felt his face flush with embarrassment, but there was nothing he could do—after all, his was the poorest branch of the family.

Lady Li pursed her lips, her hard-saved extra money was about to be returned to her mother-in-law. Sniffling, she realized that simply saving her monthly allowance was not enough—her branch was just too poor!

Once everyone had paid their respects, Zhou Shuren waved them off, "Alright everyone, you can go now!"

Zhulan coughed, and Zhou Shuren fell silent. She then told Zhou Shuren, "You wait a moment, I’m going to write a letter back home."

She then turned to Wu Ming, "You should also write a letter home. We can take advantage of the daylight and send them out together."

Wu Ming stood up, "I’ll go write the letter right now and will trouble my big brother to send it later."

Zhou Shuren’s heart was floating on air, the older brother of the Top scorer could hardly contain his joy, "No trouble at all."

Within a quarter of an hour, Zhulan had finished writing her letters—one to Chang Lian and one to Chang Yi. In the letter to Chang Yi, she mentioned Wu Ning’s matter, stating it was Zhou Shuren’s idea.

Zhulan handed the letters to Zhou Shuren, then went to her room to find that Zhou Shuren had already fallen asleep.

Zhulan felt that today was indeed a miraculous day, although her previous plans had fallen through now that Wu Ming had become her godson. Even if the second wife recognized Wu Ning as her goddaughter, as long as she and Zhou Shuren were alive, Wu Ming would not favor anyone.

The second wife’s branch remained in the weakest position!

That night, their family celebrated on their own. Yang Zhumu had had quite a few drinks at noon and drank even more in the evening; he did not return to his residence in West City that night.

After a night of rest, the carriage to pick them up arrived before dawn. Zhulan personally dressed Zhou Shuren in his court outfit. Once Zhou Shuren was fully dressed, Zhulan carefully looked him over and felt that even his average face seemed somewhat more handsome!

After breakfast, Scholar Deng and the broker arrived to extend their congratulations, then the broker got straight to the point, "Madam, someone is offering six thousand taels of silver for this house. What do you think of this price?"

Zhulan blinked, the price was higher than her estimate. Indeed, the combination of Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming was greater than the sum of its parts. However, she didn’t want to seem too greedy and gain a reputation for hoarding wealth. Although the higher price was tempting, she decided for the sake of their reputation to accept the current offer, albeit with a hint of regret, "The price is quite good, but we will need some time to move out."

The broker hadn’t expected to close the deal so quickly and thought he had misheard. He glanced at Scholar Deng and, seeing him nod, confirmed that he had heard correctly, "The price could actually go higher."

He hoped to seal a better deal, as the news of the Top scorer recognizing the second-place scholar as his godfather had already spread throughout the streets and alleys—the Zhou family’s future was promising!

Scholar Deng felt conflicted inside, having never expected that Scholar Zhou would become the second-place scholar while his favored Brother Zhao nearly missed the top three rankings!

Zhulan smiled, "This price will do."

It took the broker a moment to gather his thoughts before realizing that he shouldn’t underestimate the wife of the second-place scholar. During such a momentous joyous occasion, she still had the clarity of thought to consider her reputation—a rare quality indeed, "Then I’ll send a reply right away."

"Thank you for your trouble," Zhulan said.

The broker smiled obsequiously, "It’s all part of my duty."

Since Zhou Shuren was not at home, Scholar Deng and the broker left shortly after. Once they were gone, Zhulan looked over the gifts they had brought. The broker had brought tea, and Scholar Deng an inkstone.

She had always been the one giving Scholar Deng and the broker gratuities; this was the first time she had received gifts from them. Last time he passed as a candidate, neither of them had sent gifts.

Scholar Deng had the advantage of being the in-law to a Third-rank official, and the broker’s backing was also significant!

They had received quite a few gifts yesterday, half of which were given to Wu Ming, and the Zhou family kept the other half. Now, it was difficult to handle the gifts—as everyone had their eyes on their family!

Zhulan looked at the presents, among which were some exceptionally valuable items she was reluctant to part with.

She was particularly interested in the fabrics. Now that the Zhou family had an official status, and she was an official’s wife, she could wear fabrics and jewelry she hadn’t been able to before.

In the court, Zhou Shuren was stunned after hearing the imperial edict. That wasn’t right; he had studied his dynasty and the previous ones extensively, and he clearly remembered that the top three candidates were supposed to stay in the Hanlin Academy, weren’t they?

What had he just heard!

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