Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 984: Birthday

Chapter 984: Chapter 984: Birthday

Zhou Shuren was satisfied, "Let’s eat, these are the noodles I cooked."

Zhulan handed the flowers in her hand to Grandma Song, asking her to put them all in a vase so they wouldn’t wilt later.

In the past two years, the longevity noodles she ate on her birthday had always been personally cooked by Zhou Shuren. The noodle was a single strand, not very large in quantity, as it was the symbolism that mattered.

They had breakfast separately; Zhou Shuren did not take time off to celebrate her birthday with her. There were too many people during the day, so they celebrated by themselves in the morning.

After Zhou Shuren left, the members of each household came over. The gifts from each household didn’t have any particular novelty to them, prepared according to the previous years’ gifts. This year there was the addition of Xue Mei, making it the most united birthday celebration of these recent years.

Then came the children’s gifts, which this year had all been prepared together and were shrouded in secrecy.

When Zhulan opened the box, there was an embroidered picture of the character for longevity.

Chang Zhong couldn’t wait to speak, "Mother, the characters on it were written by us, and then it was embroidered by nieces Yushuang and Yu Lu."

Touching the picture, Zhulan said, "You’ve all put thought into this."

The long picture must have taken a lot of time. Looking at the characters, Zhulan smiled. She could tell who wrote each one.

After the family had paid their respects, guests began to arrive one after another, with those close to the Zhou family being the first.

Lady Tao was the first to arrive, holding a box that she personally handed to Zhulan, "Knowing you enjoy painting, I’ve been waiting all year to give this to you today. Open it and see if you like it."

Zhulan took the box, "As long as it’s from you, I will like it."

Upon taking the painting out of the box, Zhulan immediately fell in love with it. It was a landscape painting, and upon closer inspection, she remarked, "So it was you who bought this painting."

She had gone specifically for this painting last time, only to learn it had been sold at the painting shop, and now it had come back into her possession.

Lady Tao blinked, "I knew you liked it, so I beat you to it. It was the perfect choice for your birthday gift, and it also saved you some Silver Coin—two birds with one stone."

Zhulan carefully rolled up the painting. "Next time I like a painting, I’ll definitely tell you in advance."

Lady Tao, "I won’t buy it if it’s too expensive."

Zhulan laughed too. After a while, Lady Gao arrived, followed by Lady Song from the Duke Residence. Lady Song came with a pregnant belly.

Lady Song was a bit embarrassed; it should have been her mother-in-law who came, but her mother-in-law complained of a headache from catching a cold the day before, so she, as the eldest daughter-in-law, had to come in her place, "I wish Auntie a long life of a hundred years, health, and safety."

Xue Han reached out to support Lady Song, and Zhulan said, "Sit down quickly, no need for formalities."

Lady Song’s pregnancy had not been going well; trouble had started as soon as she got pregnant, and she hadn’t been well-rested after that. She had heard quite a bit from her daughter about the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts between Lady Song and Lady Du.

Because of Lady Song’s pregnancy, Lady Du was punished by the Duchess. Lady Du had been holding a grudge ever since. She had never liked her eldest daughter-in-law and had caused quite some trouble for Lady Song within the household.

Lady Song didn’t insist on formalities and sat down carefully, but her thoughts were on her mother-in-law. Initially, when she got pregnant, if not for her grandmother’s intervention, her mother-in-law would have even considered giving her husband a concubine, which had angered her so much that she had to take fetus-preserving medicine for several days.

Today was not just because her mother-in-law didn’t like the Zhou family but also because she wanted to make things difficult for her, all because she had put effort into preparing a birthday gift for Auntie Zhou.

As more and more people arrived, Lady Gao lowered her voice, "This year there are not as many people attending your birthday as there were last year."

Zhulan didn’t mind; she preferred fewer people. "You know the reason for that."

Lady Gao knew that Princess Chu’s maternal family had targeted the Yang family several times. Every banquet where they encountered each other would lead to confrontation, and later on, Princess Liang’s maternal family also entered the scene, along with the Phang family clan. There weren’t a few fair-weather friends, and those who had ingratiated themselves last year didn’t dare to come this year.

Lady Tao pursed her lips, "As long as the Zhou family remains safe, once this period is over, they will still flock to us."

Zhulan smiled, "Alright, today is my birthday, let’s not talk about unhappy things. Let’s go; it’s getting late. Let’s begin the feast and have some wine."

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren was in a great mood, and seeing Zhang Jinghong also beaming with joy, he asked, "Are you picking up silver?"

Zhang Jinghong grinned, "Sir, your subordinate is going to be a father."

Zhou Shuren was stunned for a moment, "Well, that really is great news. Congratulations, congratulations."

He had thought that Zhang Jinghong’s child wouldn’t come so soon; it was truly unexpected.

Zhang Jinghong was also surprised; he had always been cautious, never expecting the child to come just like that. Now that it had come, what else was there to do but to keep it? In fact, he had known about his wife’s pregnancy for several days now. He hadn’t shown any signs because he was waiting, waiting for the Emperor’s reaction, as he didn’t believe there were no eyes on him.

A few days later, with no reaction from the Emperor and the child still safely in his wife’s belly, his heart settled down.

Zhou Shuren thought for a moment and reminded, "It’s still better to keep a low profile."

Zhang Jinghong didn’t catch on at first, but after seeing the lord extend a palm, he understood. He was only thinking about the Emperor’s reaction, forgetting Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang had a difficult time with his heir due to poisoning, and even though the poison was allegedly cured, Zhang Jinghong didn’t think it was simple. Now, it was Zhang Yang who needed a child the most.

For the past few months, Zhang Yang had been so preoccupied with his own struggles that he had ignored Zhang Jinghong. He really should keep a low profile to avoid provoking Zhang Yang’s nerves, "Your subordinate thanks the lord."

Zhou Shuren waved his hand, signaling that Zhang Jinghong could leave. It hadn’t been easy for Zhang Jinghong, who was now a responsible fixture in the Ministry of Revenue. He completed the assignments given to him, no matter how complicated, with diligence, and Zhou Shuren quite admired the present Zhang Jinghong.

At the Duke Ning Residence, the Duchess heard from the old maid that Lady Song had returned, "Go and check on Lady Song."

The old maid replied, "Yes."

The Duchess waited for a while and the old maid quickly returned, "She is just a bit tired, both the lord and child are fine."

The Duchess gestured for the other maids to leave, then slapped her thigh in anger and said to her husband, "Lady Du really is getting worse and worse. She used to pretend to like Lady Song, but now she doesn’t even bother to pretend; it’s obvious."

The Duke was also displeased, "Indeed, it’s inappropriate."

The Duchess was worried, "If we were to die, she’d be the biggest authority in the inner house. It’s not good for anyone to meddle in the dispute between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law."

The Duke looked at his wife, "All these years, our second son has worked hard without much recognition."

The Duchess sighed, "That’s why I am so angry. These past few days, I have been having dreams. Our Ning Hui is not healthy; if he dies before Lady Du, there will be no one to control her. The older people get, the bigger their temper; they do as they please. Don’t look at me; I know my temper has grown compared to before. I can’t control it, that’s why I’m more worried."

The Duke thought to himself that at least his wife knew she had a temper and purposely pretended to be oblivious, "If we bypass our second son and give the title to our eldest grandson, Lady Du is still the mother of the eldest grandson. With filial piety being paramount, once we’re gone, still nobody would be able to manage Lady Du."

The Duchess regretfully said, "It’s a lesson learned. When marrying into a lower family, one must still consider three generations of parents. We should never have yielded to Ning Hui’s heart in the first place."

"It’s too late to say anything now."

The Duchess, frustrated, threw grapes at her husband, huffing and refusing to talk to anyone.

The Duke was peeling grapes, deep in thought.

Ning Zhixiang’s wife, Lady Yu, was sulking, "Is being pregnant such a big deal? Who hasn’t been pregnant before? To think they make such a fuss. Just going out for a while and granny has to send a personal maid to check on me."