Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 386 Clever Now_1

Chapter 386: Chapter 386 Clever Now_1

Zhou Laoda was relieved to see his mother was alright, and then noticed that she kept looking at the port as if searching for someone, "Mother, are you looking for Second Brother?"

Zhulan blinked, "I thought I just saw Wang Ru."

Zhou Laoda had a very deep impression of Wang Ru, hmm, he just couldn’t forget about her no matter how hard he tried, and many of the things they now used and ate were related to Wang Ru, "Mother, wasn’t she abducted by someone?"

He had always thought that Wang Ru was already dead, he wasn’t stupid, Wang Ru had too many secrets, and people with too many secrets usually die quickly.

Zhulan naturally remembered, "I just saw her, and it looked like her face was disfigured."

There was a long scar on her face, had Zhulan not been paying so much attention to Wang Ru, she almost didn’t recognize her, just unsure where the scar had come from.

Zhou Laoda glanced at the distance between the deck and the port market, "Mother, could you have seen wrong?"

Don’t they say that people’s eyes get blurry as they get older? Mother must have seen wrong.

Zhulan withdrew her searching gaze, "Perhaps."

Zhou Laoda believed that his mother had indeed seen wrong, he didn’t believe they would stumble upon her by such a coincidence, and having not seen Wang Ru for so long, how could Mother recognize her?

Yet, Zhulan’s intuition told her it was indeed Wang Ru, she didn’t know what Wang Ru had been through, nor how Wang Ru had escaped, but from what she had seen, she knew that Wang Ru had truly become smart. Wang Ru was accompanied by a boy who looked four or five years older than her, and the two of them, carrying bamboo baskets, were laughing and selecting homespun cloth together. She could see that the boy’s basket was filled with heavier items while Wang Ru’s basket was filled with fabrics.

The smile on Wang Ru’s face was one she had never seen before, a smile that was genuine and unguarded from deep within.

Zhulan thought to herself that if she had not mistaken the person, this was also good. As long as Wang Ru was content with an ordinary life, and could live smartly in the future, there would be no more entanglements between the Zhou family and Wang Ru.

The docking time for the ship had ended, and Zhou Laoda bought up a good amount of fruit, "Mother, I tried the bananas and they are quite sweet, I bought some back, have a taste."

Zhulan looked at the well-ripened bananas, which were all dealt with by the fruit sellers on the ship, and she broke off one, "You eat some too."

Two days later, Zhulan got off the ship, after having been on board for seven days, she finally set foot on the ground again.

Zhulan bought a lot of things; on the way there, she had used four horse-drawn carriages, and for the return journey, she hired two more.

As they traveled further north, the colder the weather became, and Zhulan put on a padded coat and cape again. Many of the pears and other fruits she brought back were frostbitten. Zhulan had classmates from the north, and in the north there were frozen pears that were still edible even if the frost thaws slowly.

Because many of the green vegetables were ruined by the frost, they could only hurry back to the city.

While Zhulan continued on her journey, within the imperial palace in the capital, the Emperor was sipping medicinal soup while listening to the Crown Prince reading the reports that had come in from various places, something that needed to be reviewed at the end of every year, containing information about all the officials, big and small, in each province.

It was the Crown Prince’s first encounter with such matters, and he suppressed his excitement. This was the kind of secret that only the Emperor knew. The summary of information contained all the illegal and undisciplined activities of officials from various places. He dared not guess or think why his father let him have access to it.

But he couldn’t help but feel stirred. Wasn’t the Emperor afraid that, knowing the weaknesses of officials everywhere, he would court the ministers behind the Emperor’s back?

The Emperor leisurely drank his medicinal soup, seemingly indifferent, but he kept a close watch on the Crown Prince, hiding the depth in his eyes. When the Crown Prince got to Zhou Shuren from Lizhou Province, the Emperor almost choked on his mouthwash.

The Crown Prince looked over it once more, he indeed had not read it wrong.

The Emperor extended his hand, "Give it to me to see."

The Crown Prince handed it to his father and thought to himself that he was truly impressed by Minister Zhou’s ability.

After skimming through the document, the Emperor said, "Why do I feel that Minister Zhou is being wasted in Lizhou Province? With just a few words, he managed to get twenty thousand taels of silver, what a talent!"

The Crown Prince also felt that Zhou was a talent. He, as the Crown Prince, was short of money. Despite wearing fine clothes, which were all prepared by the palace, the antiques in his household were indeed valuable, but sadly, they were all gifts and couldn’t be sold. He couldn’t possibly use the Crown Princess Consort’s dowry, as it would be too shameful. He barely had some income that was just enough to cover expenses!

Right now, the Silver Coin he held in his hands was obtained through the efforts of Yao Zheyu. The Emperor was not soft on Yao Zheyu, so he didn’t need to be courteous either. The Yao family was like a mountain of gold, and if he didn’t cut some off, his hands would be too itchy. However, compared to Minister Zhou, Yao Zheyu seemed less capable. He felt that Minister Zhou was even better at amassing silver!

Upon seeing the jade stone he had given turned into jewelry by Zhou Shuren, the Emperor muttered to himself that it was a waste but then felt that such people were good. According to his investigations, Zhou Shuren indeed loved his wife greatly. Having a weakness meant that Zhou would be easier to control.

In Zhulan’s home village, the annual gifts that she had sent to her maiden home had also arrived. Instead of going to the Li family’s village house to see her parents first, Ma Eryue went directly to the old house to see the eldest young miss.

After reading the instructions in her mother’s letter, Xue Mei hurriedly asked, "Is everything well with father and mother?"

Er Yue respectfully said, "The master and madam are both well."

Xue Mei trusted that Er Yue wouldn’t deceive her. She didn’t even look at the clothes and jewelry her mother sent her, considering that it was getting late, "Are you going to stay for a rest, or are you going back to the Li family’s village house?"

Ma Eryue said, "This humble one will return to the Li family’s village house to see my parents and will come over early tomorrow morning."

Xue Mei said, "Then I won’t keep you."

"Yes."

After Ma Eryue left, Xue Mei told her daughter to look after her two younger brothers while she sorted out the annual gifts prepared by their mother. Each family’s gifts were packed separately, and her family’s were all moved into the room by Ma Eryue.

Xue Mei caressed the Silver in the chest, intending to build a house on the family ground after the new year. Now her mother had sent Silver Coin, so she thought if it wasn’t enough, she might sell one or two pieces of jewelry.

Xue Mei missed her mother even more, who, although not in her maiden home, always kept them in her thoughts. What was said to be New Year’s money was actually a subsidy of Silver Coin.

Xue Mei took out some apples, some of which were frostbitten. She planned to thaw them for consumption in the evening; even the damaged ones were still edible. She took out the good apples and placed them in the room to warm up. Once they had no chill, she would give them to the children.

By the time Xue Mei had finished organizing the things, Jiang Sheng returned home with his son.

Upon seeing the carriage in the courtyard, Jiang Sheng asked, "Is this the New Year’s gift sent by mother?"

Xue Mei smiled and nodded, "Yes, Er Yue escorted them here. I’ve already sorted out our family’s portion. The remainder is for the Clan Leader’s family, my eldest and second sister-in-law’s maiden homes, my third sister-in-law’s maiden home, and your family’s."

Jiang Sheng was momentarily stunned, but he quickly regained his composure and grasped his wife’s hand. His mother-in-law was always considering his wife’s needs. This year, the Jiang family received a New Year’s gift, which was also in consideration of his wife’s face.

Now that her father was an official, the meaning behind the New Year’s gift changed. The Jiang family receiving the gift not only acknowledged the marriage into the Jiang family but also provided certain protection for them. The villages around them wouldn’t dare to bully the Jiang family out of respect for the wife’s maiden family.

As for whether the Jiang family would misuse the reputation of Xue Mei’s official father to do bad things, Jiang Sheng knew he didn’t have to worry after hearing about the gifts given to the Jiang family. His mother-in-law had thought of everything.

Jiang Sheng felt that his parents treated him best by allowing him to marry Xue Mei. "Thank you."

Xue Mei’s eyes were filled with laughter, "My parents are your parents as well, there’s no need for thanks."

Time flew by quickly. Zhulan had already passed through Chuanzhou Province and entered the boundaries of Lizhou Province. She sent someone ahead to notify the manor of her arrival.