Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 873: Indulging Him

Chapter 873: Chapter 873: Indulging Him

At noon, Zhulan invited Lady Li and Ran Wan to stay for lunch, and Xue Han took Ran Wan on a tour around the residence. Accompanied by Yushuang and Yu Lu, along with the younger Yu Die and Yu Yi, the laughter of the young ladies never ceased throughout the residence.

Zhulan was chatting with Lady Li, effectively exchanging information. Zhulan spoke of the taboos within the official circles of the capital and shared some matters concerning the capital.

Lady Li also talked about the happenings in Jinzhou Province, relaying some messages entrusted by the Ran family.

In the afternoon, Lady Li took Ran Wan and left.

After seeing off the guests, Xue Han said, "Mother, the Jianghuai case involves the Qi family clan, so is that why you told Lady Li to keep a low profile and avoid it?"

Zhulan nodded, "Yes, even if Mr. Ran’s wife has a falling out with her natal family, it’s still better to be low-key. Lady Li had just arrived at the capital yesterday and sent over visiting cards primarily to get accurate information."

Xue Han fiddled with the new cushion her mother had made, "Why not ask Consort Ran directly?"

Zhulan tapped her daughter’s nose, "The Ran family can inquire for information from anyone, but they must not ask Consort Ran."

Xue Han, rather unladylike, leaned against the cushion, "I understand, Consort Ran has a difficult time in the Crown Prince’s harem, and even though the title of ’Concubine’ sounds nice, she is still a concubine. Since the Qi family is already involved, the Ran family will not drag Consort Ran down."

"Smart girl. Now, you should leave; I’m feeling a bit tired and need to rest for a while."

Xue Han sat up, "Mother, you rest then. I’ll be going."

"Good."

On the Ran family’s carriage, Lady Li was delighted, "The Zhou family values you greatly, and that makes me happy, but it’s a pity that today isn’t a day off at the Academy, so we didn’t see Mingyun. However, you should visit the Zhou Residence more often in the future. Let me tell you, affection needs to be accumulated, so don’t act too standoffish with Mingyun."

She and her husband couldn’t be more satisfied with the Zhou family’s eldest grandson. The news from the capital reached them quickly in Jinzhou, and now everyone is saying Zhou Mingyun is the true heir to Zhou Shuren’s legacy.

Ran Wan’s face turned red with shyness. Even though she was mature for her age, she couldn’t be indifferent towards her fiancé, "Mother, stop it."

Lady Li laughed softly, "You’re shy now, but there will be many more times to be shy in the future!"

Clutching the box, Ran Wan fell silent. Her thoughts were filled with Zhou Mingyun, and like any girl, she had her dreams. Hearing her grandfather and father mention Zhou Mingyun numerous times, she remembered every word by heart. Thinking about the Academy’s days off, the corners of her mouth curled upward.

News of the fifth Prince’s illness didn’t cause any stir in the capital; most attention was on Jianghuai, and a small part on Zhang Jinghong’s own issues.

Time flew by, and the Zhou family had also chosen an auspicious date, inviting Lady Gao and the official matchmaker for a visit. They proceeded discreetly with the engagement process. Both families were eager to speed things up, which naturally went smoothly, and the matching of the birthday characters turned out quite well.

The engagement day arrived in the blink of an eye.

For Ming Teng’s engagement, Zhou Shuren took special leave, and his uncle Chang Lian also asked for leave from the Hanlin Academy.

The entire Zhou family went to the Li residence. The Zhou family didn’t have clan relatives in the capital, only their immediate family, but they could still be considered a prosperous household with many family members. The procession, including the betrothal gifts, was quite lengthy.

Lau Jing waited at the entrance of the residence. Seeing the carriages stop, he stepped forward, "Sir Zhou, lady."

Zhou Shuren was the first to alight from the carriage, and then personally helped his wife down. Zhou Shuren returned the greeting, "Sir Lau."

Zhulan and Mrs. Ma walked together, followed by several other branches of the Zhou family alighting from the carriages.

The group entered the Li residence. The Li residence was not large, consisting of only two courtyards without gardens, and as they made their way to the inner courtyard, they took in all its aspects.

Zhulan had already inquired about the Lau family in detail. The entire Lau family relied solely on Sir Lau. Coming from a scholarly farmer background, they had no means of amassing wealth, and their family fortune had been slowly accumulated. Servant stipends couldn’t amount to much, and the current situation of the Lau family was the result of many years of saving.

The Zhou family head had truly many children, and along with the maids and servants they brought, that was it, the Lau family’s courtyard seemed somewhat crowded.

Sir Lau looked at the five sons and grandsons of Zhou family head, "Sir, you have such a flourishing progeny."

Such a burden was also significant, and they were all legitimate sons, too. Thinking about how the young lady of the Zhou family was betrothed to the Hou Residence, truly, the Zhou family was affluent!

Zhou Shuren gazed at Sir Lau’s two sons, "When your sons are married, you will no longer need to envy my many grandsons."

He paused and then continued, "Don’t call me sir anymore, call me uncle."

Sir Lau was startled for a second. That’s right, today his daughter was betrothed to the grandson of the Zhou family, and naturally, his generational rank had decreased by one," Uncle."

Zhou Shuren acknowledged him with a response and then called Chang Li and a few others over.

Over at Zhulan’s side, the Lau family only had one daughter, and she was the youngest one. This time there was no pretending; she was graciously entertaining Yu Lu and the others.

Zhulan said to Lady Ma, "No matter how I look at it, I like Lau Jia. My eldest daughter-in-law is even more affectionate. In the future, she will surely cherish Lau Jia as if she were her own daughter."

Lady Li quickly expressed her position. She wasn’t a wicked mother-in-law; she didn’t want to meddle in her son’s domestic affairs, for she was already overwhelmed with her own, "Yes, I will definitely cherish her as if she were my own daughter."

Lady Ma believed Lady Li’s words, for a very simple reason: her temperament was similar to Lady Li’s, "My girl is filial. Don’t be fooled by her young age; she always takes care of me when we go out."

Zhulan, watching Lady Ma’s naive laughter, felt the urge to cover her face. The pretense was completely gone, simultaneously revealing that the Lau family’s young lady was quite calculating and shrewd.

Yu Lu whispered to her elder sister, "I told you so, this girl is incredibly sly. Just you wait, Ming Teng is going to have hard days ahead."

Yushuang, with a handkerchief covering her mouth, blinked her eyes, hinting that her sister was somewhat taking pleasure in others’ misfortunes.

Yu Lu indeed took pleasure in the misfortune; she had long hoped that Ming Teng would find a wife who could get the better of him, to see him being twisted around her finger every day.

Lau Jia, holding Yu Die’s hand, wondered whether all the young ladies of the Zhou family were so crafty. Despite her young age, she was already covering for the two behind her; did she really think that Lau Jia hadn’t noticed the conversation going on behind her back?

Inside the hall, Ming Teng was being scrutinized by his future father-in-law, feeling nervous, very nervous indeed. His future father-in-law was from the Ministry of Justice, and Ming Teng was quite frightened when he saw his stern expression.

Sir Lau stroked his beard, the information he had gathered indicated that this second grandson of the Zhou family was overly lively, but his studies were still acceptable. It was just that he was easily distracted. If he could really settle down, his future would not be bad.

Ming Teng didn’t dare to move; the looks from his two future brothers-in-law were like daggers!

Zhou Shuren pretended not to see Lau family’s scrutiny of Ming Teng, sipping his tea with his head bowed. Of course, he was thinking inside that if Ming Teng dared disgrace him, he’d be disciplined back home.

Chang Xhong, however, didn’t think this way. He was an uncle. With a stern face, he stood in front of his nephew, glaring at the Lau family’s young master across from him, "You are older than my second nephew. Are you trying to bully him?"

Zhou Shuren nearly spat out his tea, "Chang Xhong, come here to dad."

Chang Xhong, frowning, "Dad, their gaze was very fierce just now, I can’t go over there. I am the uncle and should protect my nephew."

Zhou Shuren, "...."

The one causing trouble was his youngest son. He couldn’t hit him, couldn’t scold him; instead, he had the itch to embrace him. My son is really adorable, knowing to protect his own at such a young age, let him be!