Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 511: Accompanying Burial_1

Chapter 511: Chapter 511: Accompanying Burial_1

Xue Han, looking listless, didn’t feel like responding. Rongchuan’s eyes were full of indulgence as he answered for her, "They don’t have any that catch her eye in the other music shops."

Today, they had visited several music shops throughout Jinzhou City.

Xue Han agreed eagerly, nodding continuously, "Mother, you have no idea, I took a liking to it at first sight."

Zhulan spread out her hands, "Well, there’s nothing we can do about it then. We can just say it’s not meant to be and look for the right one later."

Xue Han pouted, feeling unhappy, and thought resentfully, she better not find out who made the reservation, as she took out the still warm silver note from her purse, "Mother, this is the silver note for buying the zither."

Zhulan didn’t take it, "Keep the silver. That way, when we find the right zither, we won’t need to ask for silver again."

Xue Han neatly put the silver note away again; she was poor, after all. With her third sister Ran getting married and her needing to add to her dowry, the Magistrate’s daughter was so good to her, she had to add to her dowry too. To augment her dowry, she had even advanced a whole year’s allowance!

Laughter filled Rongchuan’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but touch his own purse, finally having enough to buy a shop. His small goal was achieved, and now he intended to work even harder to buy more shops.

Zhulan sat watching the two interact. Ah, the beauty of youth.

Xue Han felt somewhat uncomfortable under her mother’s gaze, "Mother, I’ll head back first."

Zhulan replied, "Alright."

Rongchuan’s ears also reddened slightly as he bowed and followed Xue Han out.

In the Yao residence, Yao Zheyu sat in a chair, staring straight at the zither on the table and pressed his forehead hard. He must have been crazy today. The zither shop was his, and he was just in the room next to the shop when he heard Miss Zhou’s voice. He looked through a crack in the door and saw Miss Zhou with a man, behaving intimately. He had actually summoned the shopkeeper to not sell the zither to Miss Zhou and instead brought it back himself.

The young servant beside Yao Zheyu stood still, but his mind was churning tumultuously. He didn’t know whether to commend the Princely Heir for his good taste or to pity his troubled fate.

Yao Zheyu flicked the zither strings with his fingertips, "Put it away."

The young servant bowed his head, "Yes."

That evening, the Zhou household was still enjoying dinner together. Su Xuan sat at Zhulan’s left, and as Su Xuan had only one bowl of rice, Zhulan looked at her with smiling eyes, "We’re all family here, no need to hold back and starve yourself."

Lady Li was amazed at her younger sister-in-law’s appetite. She had attended several banquets where the ladies ate very little, far from finishing even one bowl of rice—just the bottom of a bowl each time. She felt that her sister-in-law was particularly to her liking as she too was a good eater, "Here, let me serve you some rice."

Lady Li was genuine, she grabbed the bowl and served another bowl, packing it down tightly, "Eat up, there’s plenty more in the pot, definitely enough for you."

Su Xuan maintained her smile, frantically tallying Zhou Changzhi’s account in her mind. She usually could only eat so much because she had been fasting for a month for her parents’ death anniversaries, plus she practiced martial arts. It was only natural to eat more once the fast was over, and Zhou Changzhi had made a note of it. But facing her sister-in-law’s sincere eyes, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

That bowl was packed tight, almost like two bowls’ worth. Well, it was still edible.

Lady Dong lowered her head to hide her amusement, while Zhao’s shoulders shook slightly.

Xue Han looked at her beaming mother; she had thought as much, her mother wouldn’t arrange a joint meal for no reason—the root of it was here. Shaking herself a bit, she resolved that one could provoke anyone but her mother, and she looked at her fourth sister-in-law sympathetically. The poor girl hadn’t even entered the door properly and was already on her mother’s radar.

At the next table, Chang Zhi saw Su Xuan eating her meal and nodded with satisfaction. She should eat more, it’s not good to starve.

Chang Lian sat next to Chang Zhi, unable to resist shifting his chair, wanting to be a bit farther away from Chang Zhi.

Zhou Shuren smiled and asked, "Third brother, why are you sitting so far from your younger brother?"

Chang Lian looked up, Dad, you can’t do this to your son, he saw Chang Zhi looking at him, he laughed awkwardly, "I just felt that sitting too close together was too cramped."

Chang Zhi said gloomily, "Third brother, do you think I’m a fool?"

Chang Lian, "...."

No, you’re not foolish, I actually wish you were a bit more foolish, at least then you wouldn’t be so damaging.

Zhou Changzhi quietly ate his meal, really not wanting to talk to Chang Zhi anymore. Today he was considering that his brother had just gotten married, and he should return the debt notes to his brother so as not to burden him with debt after marriage. But this kid misunderstood and took it as a call for honesty. Holding the silver note he had paid back, he was speechless for a while. He had returned the debt note and did not want the silver back.

Mingyun, being the eldest grandson of the Zhou family and the only one who learned directly from his grandfather, thoroughly understood his grandfather’s essence. Seeing his father eating with his head down, he couldn’t help but smile. He was utterly convinced by his fourth uncle, who could openly discuss their debts with the fourth aunt.

Zhou Changzhi’s older brother held his rice bowl, feeling relieved in his heart, thankful there was only one member like this in the Zhou family. If there were another, it would be stomach-churning.

At night, Zhulan went to bed with a smile, "It’s only been one day, and there’s already so much comedic material."

Zhou Shuren also wanted to laugh, "Indeed."

Things had been too oppressive recently, but now the humour provided by the fourth couple was good and served to relieve some of the tension.

Ever since he had disciplined his sons, the Zhou family had become very cautious. Zhou Changzhi’s older brother dared not even make friends, and it was even more unnecessary for Zhou Changzhi to leave the house, fearing that too much pressure might lead to a backlash. Now, things had improved.

Zhulan spoke in a lowered voice, "It’s been so long since that incident, have you found anything?"

Now that his daughter-in-law was married into the family and she had nothing to be busy with, she couldn’t help but ask.

Zhou Shuren replied in a low voice, "These people are very cunning. Ever since Lady Li and the second eldest didn’t fall for their tricks, they’ve been on alert. I sent people to watch them, but there’s been no activity. They’re truly patient. It wasn’t until recently that the Xu family finally bought a fishing boat. I’ve already had someone board it, and they’ve been at sea for quite a while without returning."

Zhou Shuren paused, "As for the other people, I haven’t discovered anything yet. However, I think the Emperor must have found something."

The Emperor must have sent even more people to investigate. With lesser resources and slower information, Zhou Shuren thought the Emperor, who controlled the entire country, must have uncovered quite a bit by now. It was time for him to step up his own pace.

Zhulan thought to herself that if the entire line was dug up this time, many would perish. The Xu family would be a pity. She felt repressed inside. Even if they weren’t executed, they would still face confiscation of property.

Zhulan felt heavy-hearted. She trusted her judgment of people, and even if she were wrong, there was still Zhou Shuren. The chances of both of them being wrong were very slim, so the Xu family was truly not at fault. But in the ancient hierarchy of Scholar, Farmer, Artisan, Merchant, it didn’t matter how much silver the Xu family had. They were still without any power to resist and were forced to become pawns—pawns with no rights at all.

Inside the Palace, the Emperor’s face was grim. What an unexpected surprise, indeed. For so many years, he had never caught a tail, and he had thought that he had everything under control. Yet he couldn’t find anything, which could only mean that someone was covering it up, a force hidden in the shadows. He was not in a hurry; he had patience. A good hunter must have enough patience.

He had already planned that if he failed to catch them before his death, he would make sure to take all the suspects with him to the grave, even if it meant becoming a tyrant who killed indiscriminately, even if it left behind a legacy of infamy. He was prepared to eliminate all dangers for his son.