Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 985: The Emperor Gets Jealous, Demands a Gift

Chapter 985: Chapter 985: The Emperor Gets Jealous, Demands a Gift

Ning Zhixiang furrowed his brows, "Big sister-in-law has had a difficult pregnancy this time, and it’s normal for Grandmother to be worried. Yet you feel slighted by this."

Yu Shi was furiously indignant, "Am I feeling slighted? No, I am resentful. Just because Song Shi is the eldest grandson’s wife, she is treated differently everywhere. Now everything revolves around her, and there’s no place for our second wife’s branch."

Ning Zhixiang had had enough, "Shut up. If you find staying at the Duke Residence uncomfortable, you can go back to your parents’ home. No one is stopping you."

Yu Shi was stunned, staring blankly as her husband stormed out and then covered her face to cry softly. Even though the Duke Residence was strict with servants, the servants still knew to treat people differently based on their status.

Yu Shi could feel the attitude of the servants toward her, and she was fuming. It was only a few extra words she had said, all for the sake of the second wife’s branch, yet her husband had the audacity to chase her away!

The guests from the Zhou family had already left one after another, and after the courtyard was tidied up, both Yu Die and Yu Yi cried.

Zhulan, hearing the two little girls speak about their lost ’hua hua,’ couldn’t help but laugh, earning reproachful glances from them.

Zhulan pointed to the vase inside the room, "Look, aren’t your ’hua hua’s’ still there?"

Yu Yi blinked her eyes and pointed at the vase, "Third sister, ’hua hua.’"

Yu Die stopped crying and became indignant, "Mom said we can’t pick flowers, they will die."

Yu Yi, upon hearing this, started crying again, "’Hua hua’ is dead."

Zhulan laughed heartily, finding both little girls too amusing, while Lady Li and the others couldn’t help but join in the laughter.

With great sadness, Yu Die said that every time she wanted to pick them, mom would not allow it, "My flowers, wuu wuu."

Having had her fill of laughter, Zhulan said, "Alright, alright, Grandmother will buy you new ones, lots and lots of them."

Yu Die’s eyes widened, "I also want to pick flowers."

Zhao Shi glared, "You must not."

Yu Die began to sniffle again, "Grandmother can pick flowers, and she picked so many that there are none left in the garden."

Zhulan countered, "That wasn’t Grandmother who picked them; your Grandfather picked them to give to Grandmother."

The little girl stopped crying—picked by Grandfather?

Yu Yi tugged on her sister’s sleeve. Yu Die was conflicted; Mom always said Grandfather was the head of the household, and being the head means he’s the most important. Mom also said Grandfather worked very hard and told her to behave well, "If Grandfather picked them, then it’s alright. Mom said the whole house belongs to Grandfather and he works hard to provide for us."

Yu Yi raised her small hand, "Dad also told me, Dad said Grandfather can be very fierce and would spank Dad if I misbehave."

Zhao Shi’s face turned red, thinking to herself that in the future she mustn’t say everything in front of Yu Die; this child was particularly good at mimicking.

Lady Dong couldn’t help but giggle to herself. Yu Yi and Yu Die, when put together, were getting naughtier. Her husband had privately remarked that Yu Yi was almost as mischievous as a little boy. She had even dared to use Grandfather’s writing brush to draw everywhere; her husband had only been scaring the girls, but now it had all come out through them.

Hearing this, Yu Die wanted to continue, but Ming Rui quickly covered his little sister’s mouth.

Zhulan, unable to contain her laughter, turned to Yu Yi and said, "Tell your father, if he doesn’t behave, everything he says will come true."

Yu Yi nodded vigorously, "Yu Yi will tell Daddy."

The whole room burst into laughter, and even Lady Dong laughed until she was near tears.

The next day, at the Palace, Rongchuan felt somewhat bewildered—had the Emperor actually asked him for a gift?

If Rongchuan remembers correctly, "Emperor, your birthday is in two more months."

The Emperor was pleased to hear this, "Indeed, you still remember my birthday."

The Crown Prince rolled his eyes internally; who could forget the Emperor’s birthday? Look at how the younger son remembered and made the Emperor happy. Why does the Emperor want gifts anyway? It’s all because of the fuss made on the birthdays of that couple from the Zhou family. The younger brother first carefully prepared a gift for Zhou Shuren, and then for Zhou Shuren’s wife as well.

The Emperor was jealous—this didn’t even account for the gifts for the third uncle.

The Crown Prince was very regretful. His birthday had just passed; otherwise, he could have asked for gifts too.

The younger brother was truly generous, and the third uncle indulged him, only giving out fine things, which he coveted!

Having spent a long time in the palace, Rongchuan naturally asked, "Emperor, are you planning a grand celebration this year?"

The Emperor shook his head, "We’re not planning anything lavish this year. Everywhere needs silver right now, and I must set an example by being economical. I plan to just have a meal with the family."

Rongchuan was briefly stunned. The Emperor hadn’t celebrated grandly last year either. He thought to himself that even though the Emperor possessed vast territories, he couldn’t act recklessly. The current Emperor was very popular with the people. Uncle Zhou said the Emperor was a wise ruler. "You truly have worked hard, Your Majesty."

The Emperor laughed heartily. He liked the way his youngest son spoke—this child genuinely cared for him. Indeed, he was his son.

In fact, the Emperor knew that someone was targeting the youngest son. He had been waiting for the son to come and complain so he could step in and take action, savoring the joy of being a father.

Yet, the youngest son never complained when he came to the palace. If something was within his power to resolve, he did, and if not, he confided his grievances to Ning Xu. Ning Xu felt very paternal. The Emperor watched enviously; even though he handled matters discreetly, he never received his son’s admiring glances.

In the Hanlin Academy, Chang Lian heard the sound of a teacup shattering. Turning around, he saw Shi Qing picking up the pieces with his head down, "What’s wrong with you? You’ve been distracted lately."

He hadn’t heard about Shi Qing’s son Anan being sick.

Shi Qing exerted too much force and cut his hand. Chang Lian hurriedly took Shi Qing’s hand, "You need to be more careful."

Shi Qing snapped back to reality, "I’m fine."

Chang Lian didn’t buy it. It was clear Shi Qing was preoccupied, "Even though we’ve grown apart, I still know you. You’re obviously troubled about something."

Indeed, Shi Qing was troubled, but he couldn’t speak of it. He had indeed been poisoned—although lightly, it nonetheless affected his ability to have more children. Who wouldn’t want more offspring? Yet he had to follow Zhang Yang’s lead, continue pretending ignorance, and he didn’t want to worry his wife, so he had kept it to himself.

Furthermore, he had been dealing with too many concerns lately, which affected his mood.

Chang Lian quietly cleaned up the broken teacup. He didn’t know what exactly Shi Qing wanted to do, and all he could do when no one was paying attention was chat with Shi Qing for a bit. Unable to understand Shi Qing’s difficult situation, he wasn’t in a position to comment, only able to offer some comfort through conversation.

Chang Lian felt that Shi Qing’s state was very wrong, "My mother says breaking things is a way to vent frustration. Many people like to smash teaware. She strongly disapproves of it because teaware can be expensive. She told me if I’m feeling down or uncomfortable, to pick something cheap to break."

The corners of Shi Qing’s mouth turned up slightly. That was indeed something Aunt Yang would say, "Teaware is indeed expensive, especially the sets at your residence."

Teaware represented a family’s face—used for entertaining guests and personal use, always the finest. Smashing a set was indeed painful.

Chang Lian heard someone coming, closed his mouth, and left with his teacup.

At the Zhou residence, Xue Han returned from going out, "Mother, I saw such a spectacle today."

"What sort of spectacle could you have seen at the Zhong family’s place today?"

Xue Han sat next to her mother, "In the past few days, isn’t it that the fifth prince’s residence has taken in several more concubines? Today, Ms. Qie and the young Miss Liu had a quarrel. Then Miss Liu got so incensed, saying that there isn’t even a wedding date set and Ms. Qie could very well step in and take charge right after entering. Ms. Qie got so angry she wanted to hit someone, but she ended up falling over herself."