Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 411 Shi Qing_1

Chapter 411: Chapter 411 Shi Qing_1

Zhulan peeled open the letter, recalling as she did. She thought of Yao Zheyu, could it truly be from Yao Zheyu?

As Zhulan opened the letter, she fell silent—it wasn’t from Yao Zheyu, but someone she could never have imagined, Shi Qing? When was the last time she thought of Shi Qing? Well, she forgot.

But why would Shi Qing write to her? Zhulan quickly looked through the silent letter. Shi Qing paying a visit made sense—this letter indeed needed to be sent to her, because if written directly to Zhou Shuren, he would pretend he never saw it.

The steward said that once she saw the letter, she would understand; it was actually to pique her curiosity to read it. Having seen it, and with her experiences in Zhou family’s village, once she invited Shi Qing inside, it would be difficult for Zhou Shuren to deny knowing Shi Qing. She was certain that Shi Qing’s visit wasn’t for a simple reason. Shi Qing assumed she was just an ordinary woman who would invite him in, but unfortunately for him, she wasn’t the original.

Seeing the mistress’s face turning sour, Steward Ding asked, "Mistress, the young master from the capital is still standing outside the door. What do you think we should do?"

Zhulan, "....."

True to the person who changed his own fate, the longer Shi Qing stood outside, the more people knew a young master had arrived at the Zhou family.

Zhulan could be sure that Shi Qing certainly must have alighted from his carriage and was standing at the main gate. Indeed, a clever move.

Zhulan couldn’t help thinking; Shi Qing was scheming, and he certainly wouldn’t just write to her. It wouldn’t be surprising if Zhou Shuren also received a letter, and the two letters were surely different.

Indeed, Zhulan guessed right; Zhou Shuren had received a letter from Shi Qing. The letter stated that he would first visit Zhou’s residence and wait there for Zhou Shuren to return in the evening. The letter consisted of two pages. It wasn’t until the second page that Shi Qing mentioned he was ordered to come to be an apprentice.

Zhou Shuren felt like cursing. He had considered who the Emperor would choose if he lost Wu Ming, his "knife," and his first thought had been of Shi Qing. But he hadn’t expected the Emperor to send Shi Qing to Lizhou Prefecture City to become his apprentice. Pah, he really should thank the Emperor for esteeming him so highly. This was the Emperor’s way of sharpening the blade!

Zhou Shuren took a few deep breaths. Did they really think he was so easily fooled? If the Emperor had directly commanded it, Shi Qing wouldn’t have gone to Lizhou and straight to the Zhou residence; he should have come directly to see him. It was clear that the Emperor gave Shi Qing a challenge while simultaneously testing him.

Soon, Zhou Shuren folded the letter; he wasn’t angry anymore. Did they really think Zhulan understood nothing? It wouldn’t be so easy for Shi Qing to enter their home.

At the gate of the Zhou residence, Steward Ding replied, "The mistress said the household is full of women; it’s really not convenient to entertain guests. If the young master wishes to visit, it might be better to wait until the lord has his days off. However, if the young master has urgent business, he could go to the Government Office to find the lord."

Shi Qing, who thought he had a surefire plan, found it thwarted. Keeping his smile, Shi Qing said, "Alright, then I shall come on another day."

Having said this, Shi Qing’s young servant handed Steward Ding a bulging purse.

Feeling the purse, Steward Ding found it contained silver ingots. This young master was truly generous.

Shi Qing wouldn’t stick around at the doorway; that would only show his incompetence. There definitely were people from the Emperor following him. If he wanted to keep living well and be the Emperor’s efficient "knife," he needed to prove his capabilities.

Upon returning to the carriage, Shi Qing clenched his fan tightly. Over these years, he had been given the opportunity to take the imperial examinations, but the Emperor had not seen him since. At first, when the Shi family betrayed their previous noble house and leaned on the Emperor, nobody in the capital troubled them. But as the Emperor seemed to forget about the Shi family, their previous lords began to harass them now and then, albeit cautiously because of the Emperor’s presence.

Life was not easy for him; he couldn’t secure a teacher or find a good mentor. No amount of silver could buy one, and even when he wanted to purchase books, nobody would sell to him.

Being able to pass the examination for Scholar this time was all thanks to his past accumulation of knowledge, but he knew going all the way would be difficult, given his insufficient preparation.

Many things had happened in these three years, his father had sacrificed the family property because of him and worried that the Shi family would be cut off as a consequence of revenge, falling ill and never recovering. His stepmother, having gained complete control over the Shi family, attempted to poison him—in fact, she tried to poison the whole family. Eventually, the rapid decline left her paralyzed while he, as if by some stroke of fate, remained unscathed.

It wasn’t a stroke of fate, but rather timely treatment had saved him. At that moment, he was aware that the Emperor was observing him, but why even his stepmother was saved? It’s just that the Emperor didn’t want him to miss the young students’ examination.

So he endured all the difficulties waiting for an opportunity, and two months ago the opportunity arrived unexpectedly—it was for him to travel to Lizhou City to find a teacher. Eunuch Liu said the Emperor had chosen an excellent master for him, and whether he could become a disciple would depend on his own abilities.

Zhou Shuren, Mr. Zhou, he knew him all too well. Initially, Zhou’s village was just a family of farming scholars, one he had never deemed worthy of attention, even if Wang Ru took special interest in it. He never found anything noteworthy—now it seemed he was indeed too young to understand.

In these two years, Mr. Zhou had become a name known to all; many scholars held him in high regard, and the scholars of Pingzhou took pride in having produced a figure like him.

Shi Qing closed his eyes. He had betrayed his former house, made too many of his own decisions, and being born the son of a merchant, he wouldn’t have had the chance to take the imperial examination had the Emperor not showed him grace. With such a status, trying to find a master in the capital would be impossible as the noble families would not accept him.

Therefore, he must succeed in becoming a disciple. This master was selected by the Emperor himself, not only as a test but he truly did need a master to guide him.

At the government office, Zhou Shuren knew Shi Qing had left without entering the building; he curled the corners of his mouth—this was the consequence of underestimating women, his wife was formidable indeed!

In the evening, after dinner, Zhou Shuren returned home to find Zhulan had already changed clothes and was sewing a small embroidered pouch, which she was making for Zhou Shuren. Ever since Zhou Shuren wanted everything to match with Zhulan, his pouch, belt, everything had to be the same as hers.

After Zhou Shuren came back and finished washing up, an hour had passed, and Zhulan had put down her needlework, yawning and getting ready to rest.

Zhou Shuren sat on the kang bed and gently massaged Zhulan’s head. "Have you been very busy lately?"

Zhou Shuren’s hands were freshly washed, and now that autumn had arrived, the night air had gotten colder. His hands felt chilly, jolting Zhulan awake, "Not very busy. The eldest son has come back, I gave him the autumn harvest and the orchard to manage. Since the family was entrusted to the daughter, I haven’t had to worry much. Lately, I seem to have a lot of free time."

So much free time that she had resorted to needlework to pass the time.

Zhou Shuren found an excuse for her,"It seems you’re experiencing the lethargy of spring and autumn."

Zhulan laughed, "You’re right, I have been feeling sleepier since the start of autumn. By the way, you didn’t come back for dinner today just to avoid Shi Qing, did you?"

Zhou Shuren hummed dismissively, "Shi Qing is not important enough for me to avoid. The dike has been repaired, and Mr. Chen thought we should celebrate, so we ate together."

Zhulan thought of Mr. He and couldn’t help but laugh, "You checking the dike from time to time means Mr. Chen and Mr. He can’t just stay in the government office. I haven’t seen Mr. He in a while; he must have gotten much darker."

Mr. He’s wife, Lady Miao, still loved bright silks, and just the thought made Zhulan want to laugh.

Zhou Shuren joined in the laughter; Mr. He was so tanned, it was getting hard to tell whether his face was dirty or naturally dark, "He indeed has become much darker."