Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 362 Envy Ah_1

Chapter 362: Chapter 362 Envy Ah_1

After arriving in Lizhou Province, this was the first time Zhulan had received a letter from home. "Is it just a letter?" she asked.

Steward Ding replied, "This letter was brought by swift horse, it’s only the letter."

Zhulan signaled that Steward Ding could leave, and not until she was alone in the room did she begin to open the letter—while opening it, she thought that not only had she been busy this month, but the Yang family had been too.

After seeing her purchase mountain land and build an ice cellar, her father also bought a hundred acres of mountain land to plant fruit trees, yet the Yang family did not have the financial depth of Zhulan’s family; they bought three-year-old fruit trees. The rest of Yang family’s silver was spent on ninety acres of dry land and ten acres of paddy fields, virtually depleting the family savings accumulated over a lifetime.

Zhulan had offered to lend her father money, but he declined, asking only that she help her natal family more when selling the apples.

Because of Zhulan’s actions, some officials from Lizhou City followed suit and bought plenty of mountain land to plant apples, which later triggered a chain reaction; the nearby mountains sold out, many people were hired, and the local populace earned a sizable additional income.

Zhulan’s letter was open now, and she counted nine pages—clearly a lot had happened!

The letter was written by the second brother, who started with how several elders in the clan were overjoyed to fainting when the gold list was announced. Fortunately, there were no serious consequences. The house was bustling with visitors, the local squires came one after another to present gifts, and Magistrate Dong’s attitude was very modest, treating Zhou Shuren with great courtesy.

Zhulan continued to the next page, where Zhou Shuren wrote, "After Chang Lian returned home, the son was both happy that his father became the prefect and regretful that he could not be by his parents’ side to fulfill his filial duties. The son misses his parents terribly. After inquiring and learning from Chang Lian that his parents were well, the son felt somewhat relieved."

The letter went on to describe how they conducted ancestral worship and mentioned the sale of the house in Pingzhou for one thousand three hundred taels of silver, saying he would bring it to Lizhou City in the autumn.

Zhulan was delighted; the sale fetched more than she had expected—she thought it would go for one thousand taels at most, and it turned out to be three hundred more.

As Zhulan read on, Zhou Shuren wrote, "Everything is fine at home, Yushuang is like a grown girl now, she just misses her grandparents very much. Ming Rui has grown up too, small in stature but with an excellent memory, often asking his son where grandma and grandpa went."

Zhulan narrowed her eyes; if she weren’t the foster mother, she really wouldn’t read the letter objectively. Zhou Shuren had realized the crisis and was vigorously painting a picture of filial piety!

After reading two more pages, the smile vanished from Zhulan’s face. Zhou Shuren said that the Zhao family knew the Zhou family since they had exchanged food for Lady Zhao; now that the list of second-place scholars was known throughout the prefectures, someone from the Zhao family had shown up. Lady Zhao’s uncle and cousin had come personally, and he had shooed them away.

Zhou Shuren wrote, "I’ve sent someone to investigate the Zhao family; I’m sending this letter first for fear that you would worry about us. Rest assured, I will handle the Zhao family well and take care of our younger siblings."

Zhulan trusted that Zhou Shuren could handle it. Zhou Shuren also mentioned Xue Mei and the children, with the twins being very obedient, and Jiang Sheng had even bought three acres of land. The final two pages talked about Chang Zhi, Chang Lian, the studying Mingyun and Rongchuan, starting with how the two students were doing well in their studies, and had grown taller.

Then he mentioned Chang Lian; upon returning home, Chang Lian had settled down to study. The Dong family had invited him out, but he refused to go. As for Chang Zhi, he would also come to Lizhou in the autumn, and after participating in the ancestral worship, would travel to study with Candidate Xu.

Putting down the letter, Zhulan was filled with emotion; separation indeed diluted affections, especially since she and Zhou Shuren had only been in ancient times for three years. It was with great difficulty that she had started to feel like a parent again, and then they were separated. During their time apart, her only concern was the children; as for adults, she rarely thought of them when busy.

That wasn’t quite right, though—she did miss Xue Mei a lot. Every time she bought something for Xue Han, she would think of Xue Mei, and with Xue Han by her side, she had bought quite a few things for Xue Mei as well.

Zhulan didn’t wait for Zhou Shuren to read the letter and directly replied to it, because even if Zhou Shuren read it, he wouldn’t reply in person. Now that the welfare of the common people filled Zhou Shuren’s heart, there was even less room for his unfavored son.

In the Li Family Village residence, Zhou Er sat opposite Chang Lian. When Zhou Er went out now, he was addressed as Second Master Zhou, dressed in new clothes made from fabrics from the capital, and even with an honest face, no one dared to look down on him. Recently, there had been quite a few banquets, and Zhou Er had put on weight.

While sipping tea, Zhou Er said, "I don’t even know if the letter reached Lizhou Province, let alone what the situation there is like."

He was worried whether his father could handle the matters in Lizhou City properly.

Chang Lian worshipped their father completely, "The Emperor values our father; he will definitely find a way to deal with the problems in Lizhou City. We will know once the reply arrives."

Zhou Er put down his teacup, truly wishing he could go to Lizhou City immediately. He now envied his elder brother, who he used to think had a tough life, but now he wished he were the eldest, "I wonder if Big Brother can be of any help to Father and Mother."

Chang Lian fell silent, "Big Brother is no longer the same as before."

Seeing Big Brother again, he and Zhou Er would find it hard to trick him. After more than a year of independent trials and parents’ one-to-one teaching, he was quite envious in his heart.

Zhou Er also fell silent, realizing that their parents had always favored the simpleton, and indeed, once they met again, the simpleton would no longer be the simpleton.

Zhou Er thought about Wang Si, who used to infuriate him, but now, Wang Si ingratiatingly smiled and addressed him as Master Zhou Er, never again boasting about the advantages of being independent.

In the room, Zhao Shi and Lady Dong were embroidering handkerchiefs. Zhao Shi felt at ease, as Lady Dong no longer had any advantage to speak of. Her father-in-law’s rank was higher than Magistrate Dong’s, and moreover, he had gained the Emperor’s favor.

The head of the family had said that many officials in the prefecture city would never see the Emperor in their lifetimes, yet, not only had father-in-law met him, he had also been put to important use. Look how Lady Dong was now assiduously caring for Chang Lian, treating her, his second wife, with extra respect.

Zhao Shi felt happy for a while but then became despondent again. In the past, by her mother-in-law’s side, she could compete with her sister-in-law for their mother-in-law’s attention. Now, in front of their mother-in-law, there was only her sister-in-law. Could it be that fools really enjoy blind luck? Does Heaven cherish the simple-minded?

Lady Dong had already experienced a setback. Since her father-in-law became a candidate, her parents told her that she was now a daughter-in-law of the Zhou family and nothing else; any presentable status she had in the future would rely on the Zhou family.

Her father-in-law didn’t just become the second-place scholar; upon assuming office, he was made a prefect and even of a direct-ruled territory at that. Father said, as long as father-in-law could stabilize Lizhou City, his future would be immeasurable.

Now when she returned to her parents’ home, her brothers and sisters-in-law all called her Third Lady Zhou, instead of ’little sister’. Thinking about the faces of her sisters-in-law, thinking about the relatives who had made things difficult for Chang Lian, they not only personally came to make amends but also sent half of the money they had earned from forcing a sale, a total of one thousand taels!

It was just a pity that her husband said all this money belonged to her sister-in-law. The money from the original sale had all been given to her, and both father-in-law and mother-in-law had warned against scheming against family members. The one thousand taels were to be given to her sister-in-law in Lizhou City.

As for why Uncle Er didn’t write to tell them, the reason was simple: both her husband and Uncle Er were jealous of Big Brother and his wife, naturally unwilling to share the good news.

Not to mention her husband, even she was envious of her sister-in-law. Fortunately, in just a few months, she would be able to go to Lizhou City!