Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 712: Homecoming_1

Chapter 712: Chapter 712: Homecoming_1

An hour later, the carriage heading back to Jinzhou Province encountered Chang Zhi, who had come out of the city to meet them. Zhou Shuren was seated by the window, while Chang Zhi’s carriage traveled alongside on the way back.

Zhou Shuren asked, "You met Jingyan, why did you not wait there?"

Chang Zhi, seeing that his parents had journeyed safely, cheerfully responded, "Son was worried not having seen you and mother with his own eyes; rather than waiting, it’s more reassuring to come and meet you."

Zhou Shuren’s fingertips twitched gently. Now even Chang Zhi was concerned about them, a change that truly brought joy, "Is everything all right at home?"

Feeling his father’s good mood, Chang Zhi smiled and said, "All is well, yes, Ming Teng’s grades have improved as well. He made quite some progress on this little test."

Zhou Shuren snorted, "If that boy doesn’t improve, I’ll post his grades on the main house courtyard’s gate."

Chang Zhi chuckled out loud, if the grades were really posted for all to see, Ming Teng would be too miserable.

Chang Zhong woke up to the sound of voices, rubbing his eyes with chubby hands, and, following the sound, noticed his fourth brother, "Mom, I think I see fourth brother."

Zhulan took a handkerchief to wipe the corner of her son’s mouth, the little fellow was drooling, "Yes, that’s your fourth brother."

Chang Zhong let out an ’Ah’ and quickly climbed to the window. He had spent a lot of time with his fourth brother and missed him dearly, "Fourth brother, fourth brother, I brought a gift for you."

Chang Zhi looked at his little brother, who had grown even plumper, "Is that so? Brother thanks you for the gift in advance."

Zhulan covered her mouth with the handkerchief, suppressing a laugh; don’t thank him just yet, you won’t be able to laugh when you see what it is.

After another hour, Zhulan finally arrived home. Lady Li and others had already been waiting at the doorstep. As soon as Zhulan got off the carriage, she was embraced tightly by Lady Li, Zhulan, "..."

It had been a long time since she had seen Lady Li so excited.

Lady Li hugged her fiercely; indeed, it was her mother-in-law, "Mom, you’re finally back."

Having not arrived home at the scheduled time, she had been so worried, concocting all sorts of terrifying scenarios in her head and scaring herself silly.

Zhou Shuren spoke coolly, "Lady Li, are you not aware of your own strength when hugging?"

Lady Li promptly let go as she felt her father-in-law’s glare, "Dad."

Zhulan chuckled softly, signaling Zhou Shuren not to frighten Lady Li, "Let’s go."

Lady Li carefully supported her mother-in-law, "Mom, you’ve had a tough journey."

Zhulan smiled, "It was all right. Has everything been fine here with you all?"

Lady Li replied with some excitement, "Good, all is well. Mom, I’ve made new pastries again. They look even more beautiful this time, like flowers. Mom, you must try them."

"Of course, I’ve quite missed the pastries you make while I was in the capital."

Lady Li was delighted upon hearing this, "Mom, didn’t you miss me at all?"

Zhulan patted Lady Li’s hand, "I missed you; I missed all of you."

Zhao’s voice followed from behind, "Mom, dinner is ready. Would you like to freshen up first, or eat?"

Zhulan was already feeling quite hungry. As she’d gotten older, she didn’t eat much each meal, and hunger came quickly, "Let’s eat first."

Zhao knew with her sister-in-law present, she couldn’t compete with her expressiveness. Since she couldn’t join the conversation, she would attend to other matters, "Mom, I’ll set the table."

Zhulan looked at Zhao, "Ah, thank you for the trouble."

Zhao’s lips curved into a smile, "It’s the duty of a daughter-in-law."

At noon, after finishing lunch, Zhulan distributed the gemstones among the different branches of the family and also handed over the ones intended for her granddaughters to her daughters-in-law, meant for their future wedding dowries.

Zhulan had always been fair with her granddaughters; she showed no favoritism, keeping things equal in both the gifts they received and the education they were given.

After the daughters-in-law and granddaughters had left, Zhulan got ready to wash up, as she wanted to go and see the fraternal twins with her own eyes later on.

Lady Li returned to her courtyard. She had only caught a quick glimpse of the gemstone in her mother-in-law’s presence; now back at her courtyard, she opened the box and carefully took out the gemstone, "So beautiful."

Yu Lu picked up one and said, "You can hardly find these in a jewelry store; no wonder it came from the Palace."

Lady Li carefully put it away, afraid of dropping and damaging it, and also took the ones in her daughter’s hand to store them safely, "Mother will keep these for you. With these gems, your dowry will look even more impressive."

Yu Lu objected, "Mother, you don’t need to give me what Grandma gave you."

She felt sorry for her mother because of the pressure her parents were under due to her and her older brother’s betrothals; her mother hadn’t updated her own jewelry in a long time.

Lady Li stroked her daughter’s face, hoping to give her more self-assurance. She was getting on in years, whether she wore jewelry or not was inconsequential to her, "As long as you’re happy, so is Mother."

In the second wife’s quarters, Zhao stopped to store her gemstone, "Your father has also disappeared without a trace."

Yushuang replied, "He should be back soon; didn’t we just receive a letter a couple of days ago?"

Touching the copied scriptures, Zhao thought about the ones she copied daily, and those that her daughter and son had done as well; she hoped to take them to Lizhou Province soon. She wished not for great wealth or nobility for her mother in the next life but simply a smooth life, "When your father comes back, Mother will go to the temple to hold a religious ceremony for your grandmother."

Yushuang comforted her, "Mother, don’t think too much about it; you’ve lost quite a lot of weight these days."

Zhao was no longer sad, she just wanted to do more for her deceased mother, "Mmhmm."

After washing up, Zhulan took her son to the fourth wife’s courtyard; Chang Zhong carried gifts in his hand, typical things for nephews and nieces, like pellet drums, but the one for Chang Zhi was more childlike.

Chang Zhi looked at the kite in his hand with a wooden expression, "Is this really a gift for me?"

Chang Zhong nodded, "Ah, Fourth Brother, don’t you like it?"

Chang Zhi didn’t like it; wasn’t the kite something little girls and children enjoyed? He was already a married man with children. Yet faced with his younger brother’s expectant look, this being the first gift his brother had ever given him, he appreciated the rare sentiment and had to lie against his will, "I like it."

Su Xuan was already chuckling, which made Chang Zhi even more helpless; his wife wasn’t helping but instead was laughing at him.

Zhulan’s gaze shifted away from the twins, "It’s been over ten days since I’ve seen them; the little ones have grown quite a bit."

Speaking of her son and daughter, Su Xuan had endless topics, "Mother, these two kids were born together; now, they cry together and even their sleep follows one after the other, it’s so interesting."

Zhulan smiled, "It’s normal for fraternal twins to have some connection."

Su Xuan found it particularly amazing, being a first-time mother she didn’t miss an opportunity to observe, "Mother, have you made any plans for the children’s full moon celebration?"

Zhulan said, "Your father and I don’t intend to make a big fuss over it. On one hand, the two kids are still too young; on the other hand, your father has already attracted a lot of attention during his trip to the capital, so it’s better to keep a low profile for now."

Su Xuan immediately realized what her mother meant, "Mother, you’re saying that father is going to the capital soon, right?"

So there can’t be any slip-ups!

Zhulan smiled and nodded slightly, yet in her mind, she recognized the differences that come with social status and perspective; Lady Li and Zhao had chatted with her for a while, and she had revealed quite a bit, but they were more focused on novel things. She only mentioned a bit to Su Xuan, and Su Xuan had guessed the rest immediately.

Su Xuan was not at all disappointed that her son and daughter wouldn’t have a lavish celebration; she preferred to keep things low-key. The birth of fraternal twins was a great blessing, and she was afraid that too much fanfare might damage the children’s luck!

Now that her father-in-law was heading to the capital, this was good for the entire Zhou family, and even better for her daughter and son’s future!