Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 353 New Home_1

Chapter 353: Chapter 353 New Home_1

Zhou Shuren couldn’t help but feel admiration inside; the Emperor was truly a master strategist. Even if his essay during the palace examination wasn’t enough for the second-place scholarship, the Emperor would still promote him based on his situation and value. The Emperor really didn’t leave any room in his calculations, and thinking about how the Emperor was in good health, it wasn’t just Zhulan feeling pity for the Princes, he felt it too.

Zhou Shuren took Wu Chun and returned to the queue. Wu Chun went to see the Yang family, and Zhou Shuren said to Zhulan, who was sitting inside the carriage, "I was originally planning to enter the city to notify Wu Chun to come and fetch you back to the residence we have acquired. Now that Wu Chun has arrived, you and Wu Chun go back to the residence first. I have to take the government officer and the grain to the government office to complete the handover, and I estimate I’ll be able to return by evening."

Zhulan heaved a sigh of relief at last, "Okay, you do what you need to. I’ll arrange everything at home; you don’t have to worry about us."

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "With you here, I don’t have anything to worry about."

He gestured for Zhulan to take out his account books and official documents, and he handed them to the government officer following him and took another carriage to enter the city first.

There was no need to leave a guard behind for Zhulan’s side since Wu Chun had brought quite a few guards with him.

Seeing his grandparents were still in good health and also seeing his mother and his wife and children, Wu Chun’s eyes grew red. It wasn’t the right place outside to talk. Knowing his father and uncle had helped his uncle-in-law with the harvest, he felt the hardship of his uncle-in-law.

Wu Chun calmed his emotions before he greeted his aunt, "Aunt, you must have had a hard journey."

Wu Chun felt admiration, indeed. No wonder his mother always said that his aunt was the most fortunate one. It truly was good fortune; now she even had an imperial command added to her status.

Zhulan said, "It’s great that you could come so soon. We don’t need to wait to enter the city anymore. Take us to the residence that your uncle asked you to buy."

Thinking about his uncle’s requirements—a residence with at least three sections, a well, a garden, and preferably as big as the Zheng family’s residence in Li Family Village—Wu Chun had really put a lot of effort into finding it. Hmm, he even borrowed a thousand taels of silver.

Wu Chun said, "Aunt, I’ll lead the way up front, and you just follow."

Zhulan replied, "Alright."

Even without the grain escort team, the procession was still substantial. The Zhou and Yang families had quite a few household belongings, not to mention they had also bought a good deal of seed grains and food.

The grand procession entered the city, heading for West City. Lizhou City had, little by little, seen the return of many people; the number of people in the city had increased somewhat.

Zhulan opened the carriage curtain and kept watching outside. There were quite a few beggars on the streets of Lizhou, and not many shops were open. Looking at the residences inside the city, many were dilapidated due to years of neglect.

The carriage quickly arrived in front of the residence Wu Chun had purchased for the Zhou family. Zhulan stepped out of the carriage and admired the grandeur of the main gate.

Wu Chun helped his grandparents off the carriage and then came to his aunt’s side, "Aunt, I only had the residence simply refurbished after buying it. If there’s anything you do not like, we can slowly make changes after you settle in."

Zhulan looked at the residence, "It has been refurbished very well already. Let’s go in."

Wu Chun left some people to watch the residence and soon knocked on the door, which quickly opened. While walking, Wu Chun introduced, "The residences in Lizhou City are different from those in the capital. Each residence is divided into smaller courtyards. Coming through the entrance, there’s a long corridor with independent courtyard doors on both sides. This residence is large and has a garden as my uncle requested. There are six courtyards for the masters and another two for servants and stables. I originally wanted to buy an even larger residence, but there was none for sale. Although Lizhou City is still depressed, those with foresight are keeping their properties."

Zhulan had expected this; they had already entered the long corridor. "With such a nice residence, why did they sell?"

Wu Chun replied, "The family who owned this place had only a daughter, and her husband was tricked and lost a lot of silver, so they had no choice but to sell the residence. With the silver from the sale of the residence, the whole family has already moved to Jiangnan."

To herself, Zhulan thought gambling truly ruins lives, "How much silver did this cost?"

"This mansion was more expensive than when I bought it, and considering its significant size, it cost six hundred taels. The overhaul of the large property cost an additional one hundred and fifty taels, and then there were new furnishings and household necessities to purchase. In total, I spent nearly one thousand taels."

Zhulan followed Wu Chun through the long corridor, then turned towards the courtyard on the east side. Wu Chun explained, "This courtyard is for the head of the family, a modest two-section compound. Adjacent to the back of the property is a door that leads to the garden, with the main entrance to the garden being inside the corridor we just passed through."

Zhulan asked, "I remember you purchased a three-section compound."

Wu Chun, smiling, said, "The original owner of the mansion I bought was from the capital; he constructed it in the style of the capital’s layout, which is why it’s a three-section compound. There are quite a few buildings constructed in the capital’s style here in Lizhou City, it’s just that none met my uncle’s requirements."

As they talked, they arrived at the main residence’s central room, which featured a kang bed-stove and was quite spacious.

Zhulan also visited several smaller courtyards. The smaller ones weren’t as grand as the main courtyard and had fewer rooms, but having independent courtyards was already quite impressive.

Zhulan counted and saw that there were indeed many rooms in the entire estate. She was very satisfied; the silver had been well spent.

Having completed their tour, Zhulan and Wu Chun returned, quite tired. By the time they made it back to the main courtyard, the Zhou family’s luggage and provisions had all been moved out of the carriages. With their return to Lizhou City, the Zhou family had also purchased another carriage, bringing their total to five.

Wu Chun stayed to oversee the mansion, assisting Zhou Shuren’s eldest brother with familiarizing himself with the courtyard and the storeroom for provisions, none of which required Zhulan’s involvement.

Back in the main courtyard, Zhulan took out 10,000 pieces of silver and handed them to Wu Chun, "This is the silver you spent."

Wu Chun accepted it, acknowledging that he had borrowed the amount, "Auntie, I will first take our luggage back to the mansion. Once I have everything settled, I will come back."

Zhulan replied, "Alright, everyone should just stay here and rest for today. Tomorrow, I will personally accompany you and your grandparents back."

Wu Chun grinned, "Hey, Auntie, make something delicious tonight, won’t you?"

Zhulan smiled, "Sure, I’ll make something delicious tonight."

After Wu Chun departed, Zhulan led her father, mother, and sisters-in-law to a separate courtyard next to the main one to rest. Wu Chun was a meticulous boy, and each courtyard had a good supply of firewood stocked. Having received advanced notice, all courtyards had fires going and their kang beds were warm.

Addressing her parents, Zhulan said, "Father, Mother, you should rest first."

Finally arriving in Lizhou City, Yang Dayong felt a sense of relief, "Go and attend to your matters. Your mother and I are going to rest. Don’t worry about us. We’ll have a look around after we’ve rested."

Zhulan smiled, "Alright."

After ensuring her family was settled in to rest and politely declining her sisters-in-law’s offers to help, Zhulan returned to the main courtyard.

Inside the main courtyard, Xue Han was already waiting, "Mother, I’ve checked all the luggage we brought back; nothing from our luggage is missing."

Zhulan smiled, "My daughter is really impressive, such a big help to mother."

Xue Han was a little excited, as she could now assist her mother, "Mother, do you have any other tasks for me?"