Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 399 Moving Away_1

Chapter 399: Chapter 399 Moving Away_1

Three days later, Zhou La’er returned from Chuanzhou. He didn’t purchase a residence in Chuanzhou City but near the orchard — a two-compound house.

Now that the house had been bought, Zhao couldn’t move in alone. She had to wait until Zhou La’er returned from Pingzhou.

The very next morning, Zhou La’er and Chang Zhi set off back to Pingzhou.

Zhou Shuren had sorted out books for the scholar Xu, while Zhulan added some fabrics for Scholar Xu’s wife to express their gratitude for the couple’s hard work on behalf of Chang Zhi.

As for Xue Mei, this time Zhulan did not bring her any gifts, instead, she wrote her a letter.

After Zhou La’er left, Lady Fang came to find Zhulan with Zhao accompanying her.

Zhulan asked, "Do you have matters to discuss, mother-in-law?"

Zhou La’er was not at home, and Lady Fang, who would not venture out under ordinary circumstances, suddenly appearing in front of Zhulan, directly feigning illness to hide in the yard; Zhulan knew that Lady Fang was embarrassed, so she did not confront nor did she call for a doctor.

Clutching her handkerchief tightly, Lady Fang felt a stinging pain in her heart. The Qian family had liquidated some antiques, and on paper, they had a total of thirty-five thousand taels of silver. She had managed to swallow thirty thousand taels of it, and now she had to return twenty-two thousand taels. With only eight thousand left, and an additional two thousand she had saved from selling her own jewelry and antiques, she felt somewhat resentful, her smile stiff, "I’ve troubled you all for some days. Today, I have come to take my leave."

Zhulan asked calmly, "Where are you planning to go, mother-in-law?"

Lady Fang chuckled dryly, "I will stay at an inn for now, and then buy a house to settle down."

She didn’t want to live in the Zhou family any longer. Her daughter had been very critical of her lately, and the son-in-law even more so. Now that the son-in-law was gone, she thought it was best to leave sooner rather than later.

Zhulan frowned, Lady Fang moving to an inn would make it seem as though the Zhou family could not accommodate their bereaved relatives. "Steward Ding is familiar with the brokers. You don’t have to hurry, mother-in-law. You can wait until you have bought a house before leaving."

Lady Fang wanted to argue, but meeting the somewhat displeased face of her in-law, she did not dare to speak out and meekly thanked her, "Thank you, mother-in-law."

Zhao wished she could find a hole to crawl into. After meeting her mother this time, she realized how narrow-minded she truly was. She saw her own reflection in her mother’s behavior, just as the Zhou family must have seen in hers. Minute in her thoughts and lacking in magnanimity, she felt her face burning the more she thought about it.

Unable to bear staying any longer with her frustration swelling, Lady Fang thought even if she was wrong, she shouldn’t have to return twenty-two thousand taels, "Mother-in-law, I will take my leave now."

Zhulan regarded her indifferently, "Hmm."

Lady Fang turned and left swiftly. Zhao’s face flushed red; she felt too strange towards her mother now. In the past couple of days, her mother had constantly belittled her for being useless and criticized her husband. Her mother had even contemplated giving them ten thousand taels to pretend they were returning the money to the Qian family, leaving her shocked.

Yushuang, seeing her mother standing there, at a loss, discreetly tugged at her grandmother’s clothes.

Zhulan patted Yushuang’s hand and instructed Zhao, "Steward Ding is efficient at his duties. Tell him to get it done by the afternoon. You should also prepare some grain, vegetables, and other household necessities as a filial gesture for your mother."

Zhao looked at her mother-in-law, dazed. Her mother-in-law was guiding her. Regardless of her mother’s many faults, outsiders would only judge by the Zhou family’s actions. "Mother, I’ll go at once."

After Zhao left, Zhulan turned to Yushuang, "Remember to be magnanimous as a person. Even if you’re reluctant deep inside, think of the bigger picture and maintain your family’s reputation."

Yushuang nodded, understanding. Though her grandmother did not like her maternal grandmother, she still advised her mother out of concern for the Zhou family’s reputation. She knew even more that the maternal grandmother was the weak party, the Zhou family were officials, and people often sympathized with the weak, particularly when her grandfather’s power was at its peak. Many sought to find fault with the Zhou family, but what her grandmother did allowed no room for criticism.

Yushuang understood but felt constrained, especially for her grandmother, who as the matriarch, "Grandmother."

Zhulan smiled; her own taught child was a comfort indeed, showing concern for her. But the child didn’t know that she had never taken Lady Fang seriously to heart.

That afternoon, Steward Ding assisted Lady Fang in purchasing both a residence and a shop. Zhulan was not curious about how much silver Lady Fang had, nor did she wish to calculate. Zhulan instructed Steward Ding to prepare some fabrics and fur to send to Lady Fang, as a gesture of goodwill from the Zhou family.

The next morning, Lady Fang, with her son and Zhao following, moved to the house they had bought. They took with them both the well-intentioned gifts from the Zhou family and Zhao’s filial offerings.

The next day, Mrs. Sun brought Zhulan’s eldest sister-in-law to Zhou Shuren’s family.

Zhulan asked, "Mother, is there something happening at home?"

Mrs. Sun smiled cheerfully, "Isn’t it spring, the weather is getting warmer, I just couldn’t stay put at home, so I came to see you."

Zhulan smiled, "Mother, there must be something else, right?"

Mrs. Sun looked puzzled, "How did you figure that out?"

Zhulan couldn’t help but laugh, "If you really couldn’t stay put, dad would certainly take you for a walk outside the city, why would he let you come to see me alone?"

Mrs. Sun smiled, "To tell you the truth, you know about the girl from Zheng Hong’s family, don’t you?"

Zhulan nodded, "I know, the Zheng family’s eldest daughter, a girl who is both steady and capable."

Mrs. Sun said beamingly, "I’m glad you think so, I also find the girl quite agreeable. What do you think about her and Chang Zhi?"

Zhulan, "...."

She really hadn’t expected the old lady to come for Chang Zhi’s sake.

Seeing her daughter’s lack of enthusiasm, Mrs. Sun asked, "Is it not suitable?"

She thought they were quite suitable, as she truly liked the Zheng family’s girl.

Zhulan explained, "Mother, let me tell you, even if Shuren gets transferred elsewhere in the future, our family will not form a marital tie with the Zheng family."

Mrs. Sun asked, "Why so?"

Zhulan thought about how to simplify the explanation, "Now everyone knows that Shuren is a favored confidant of the Emperor, and if Shuren wants to advance further, he cannot enter into a marriage with the Zheng family."

Mrs. Sun, an unsophisticated old lady, widened her eyes, "If it could affect Shuren, then never mind, let’s pretend I never mentioned it."

Zhulan thought to herself, she only didn’t want to frighten her mother; to put it more simply, if Zhou Shuren wanted to retreat peacefully, the Zhou family could not enter into a marital alliance with a military general’s family.

Especially with Zheng Hong from the Zheng family — it was clear he was also a favored confidant of the Emperor. Oh, the Emperor would certainly not be pleased to see a union between their families, not to mention adding the Yang family to the mix.

Old Master Zheng actually had a favorable opinion of Mingyun, but unfortunately, he didn’t anticipate that Zhou Shuren would be so cherished by the Emperor. Since the Zhou family received the blessing ’Fu’ character from the Emperor, Old Master Zheng never mentioned Mingyun’s name in letters to Zhou Shuren again.

Mrs. Sun didn’t dare to make such introductions anymore and switched the topic with her daughter, "Time really flies quickly, it’s already been a year in the blink of an eye. A few days ago, your father and I went outside the city, and we saw many farmers buying seeds, preparing for the spring plowing."

The smile on Zhulan’s face deepened. Zhou Shuren had finished digging the ice cellar, and to accelerate the work, he hired many locals, paying each person twenty coins a day and providing a meal at noon. After ten continuous days of work, each person earned two hundred wen money.

Each household had no shortage of able-bodied labor; the least had two people participating, while many had four or five, so every household had some income.

Having earned Silver Coin before the spring plowing was perfect for buying grain seeds; all of this was planned by Zhou Shuren.

There was still some Silver left over from digging the ice cellar, which Zhou Shuren didn’t keep on the accounts, but continued to hire locals to repair the embankment. Zhou Shuren had considered both drought and floods.

The only regret for Zhou Shuren was that no one was donating Silver anymore; if he had Silver, he would have liked to build a canal ten li to the west of West City!