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

Chapter 219: Chapter 219 Exploring the Bottom_1

Noon, Zhulan stood at the doorway and watched Wang Ru’s last commotion before leaving. Wang Laosi and his wife, holding their child, blocked Scholar Sun’s carriage, refusing to let it depart for Pingzhou, while Wang Ru did not even get down from the carriage.

In the end, the grim-faced Clan Leader Zhou had to pull the Wang family away. Clan Leader Zhou had been counting the days for this scourge to leave; how could he allow Wang Laosi to cause a scene? He feared any complication would prevent their departure.

Eventually, Wang Laosi could only watch helplessly as the carriage rolled away. Mrs. Sun covered her face, wailing until the carriage disappeared. Only then did the couple break free from those holding them back and walked home with their child.

Lady Li had always looked down on Mrs. Sun and sneered, ”The money tree is gone now; Mrs. Sun’s wailing is a bit late.”

Zhao Bo was brutally frank, ”It’s all an act. Mrs. Sun’s handkerchief must have been rubbed with chili water or ginger juice. Her tears were too unnatural. She didn’t even cry this much when her own mother died. Now who is she trying to fool with her reluctance?”

Lady Li focused on the wrong detail, ”Sister-in-law, you seem to know a lot about rubbing chili on a handkerchief!”

Had her sister-in-law used the same trick when she cried before and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief?

Zhao Bo,”.....”

Back when they were fleeing famine, who could just cry on command? Even if one pretended well, tears had to flow, or else it would be obvious there were none. That’s why she first started using this method. Later, she got into the habit and actually developed the ability to cry whenever she wanted. Look at elder sister-in-law’s eyes—what is she implying? Ever since she married into the Zhou family, she had always cried for real!

Zhulan turned around and went back into the courtyard. She didn’t want to see Lady Li’s self-congratulatory expression, acting as if she had uncovered some grand truth—it was too painful for the eyes.

Zhao Bo hurriedly followed her mother back.

But Lady Li thought her sister-in-law was escaping some guilt. Recalling how her sister-in-law used to burst into tears easily, and how she herself seemed like the evil elder sister-in-law, she couldn’t accept it. She decided to talk with her sister-in-law, ”Sister-in-law, wait a moment.”

Zhulan slipped away quickly, leaving Zhao Bo to fill the hole she had dug for herself!

Zhao Bo wished she could slap her own mouth. Look at you, running your mouth—now staring as mother walks away and you don’t even dare to follow, with father inside the house!

Lady Li was stubborn and couldn’t rest until she got to the bottom of things. Zhao Bo’s vision darkened, and she wanted to slap herself again!

The next day, the Zhou Clan members moved in next door. The man who bought the house was Zhou Shuren’s peer and also from a branch of the Zhou family that earned the title of Scholar early. The family owned forty acres of land, with twenty acres tax-exempt. Over the years, they had saved quite a bit of Silver Coin; they were indeed quite well-off.

The head of the next-door household was Zhou Shuxi, with his wife being Mrs. Zheng. They didn’t have many sons, only two, because Mrs. Zheng was frail. After bearing two sons, she didn’t have any more children. In the village, their family was known for having few children. The Scholar title belonged to Zhou Shuxi’s eldest son.

Among his peers, Zhou Shuren was the youngest. Zhou Shuxi’s eldest son was already thirty-five. After attending the provincial examination once, he didn’t consider taking it again. Now he was teaching at the clan school along with another Scholar in his fifties, earning two hundred wen money per month, plus a share of grains and other staples.

This was only possible because, in recent years, the clan school had more students and some Silver Coin to spare. In earlier years when many farming households were struggling, the clan school had little to distribute, and teachers were paid mostly in grain donated by families.

Typically, Scholars would run their own private schools, but this was the advantage of having a Clan. Even if they didn’t make much money in a year, they would still stay in the clan school for the benefit of their Clan’s younger generation. Of course, if they were to truly teach someone successful, the whole Clan benefited, and with the reputation for their teaching, the rewards they received were the greatest.

The day after Zhou Shuxi’s family moved in, they came to Zhulan’s house for a visit.

Zhulan took the basket, and Mrs. Zheng said, ”These are sticky rice and bean cakes I made myself. I brought some for you to try.”

Zhulan offered her thanks and said, ”Just yesterday, I was pondering whether Sister-in-Law had gotten accustomed to the move.”

Lady Zheng, supported by her daughter-in-law as she sat down, replied, ”I’m settling in well. The house that Wang Ru’s girl diligently restored doesn’t fall short of the ones in the county at all.”

Zhulan gestured for Lady Li to go make some honey water. Lady Zheng’s constitution was quite frail, and tea was not suitable for her. When Lady Li left, Zhulan said, ”Sister-in-Law, had you come any later, I was planning to visit myself. After all, it would be proper for us to pay a visit since Chang An is the tutor of our younger boys.”

With the honey water handed to her, Lady Zheng thought to herself, Zhou Shuren’s family must indeed be well-off. Although her own family lived quite comfortably within the Clan, they would never serve guests with honey water, ”I’m idle at home anyway, and it’s rather dull with just the two of us. I’m afraid we might overstay our welcome in the future.”

Zhulan smiled, ”Our home is always lively, and you are welcome anytime.”

Zhou Shuxi’s family had two sons but no granddaughters and not many grandsons either—just a total of five. With the recent purchase of a house, the family had divided its property. The old residence went to the younger son, and the difference in silver coins between the two properties was made up. Zhou Shuren was invited to witness the division!

This was Zhulan and Lady Zheng’s first interaction, primarily due to Lady Zheng’s genuinely poor health. It was said that her condition worsened after she insisted on having her second child. Although some in the village envied Lady Zheng for not having to work, compared to the perfectly healthy Zhulan, there were not many who envied her.

Lady Zheng’s eldest daughter-in-law was the wife of a Scholar. Since Lady Zheng herself was of a gentle demeanor, it was natural that her daughter-in-law would not be very assertive either and was also a tender-hearted wife.

The return gift Zhulan had prepared for the visit was placed in a basket filled with pastries. Since it was for a Scholar, the gift was somewhat more significant.

After Lady Zheng and her daughter-in-law had left, Lady Li gasped, ”Mother, Auntie Zheng and the eldest sister-in-law speak in voices barely louder than mosquitoes; I didn’t even dare to talk loudly.”

It was suffocating for her; she feared that speaking loudly might startle them. The one thing that delighted her was that the Scholar’s wife didn’t look down on her and listened to her talk with tender attentiveness.

Zhulan had an epiphany; it seemed she had found a way to deal with Lady Li—her eldest grandson’s future wife must certainly be a gentle one!

Time flew by, and with Wang Ru gone, which removed an eyesore, and the advent of good neighbors, Zhulan’s life was incredibly smooth. Before she knew it, a month had passed, and it was time for the annual autumn harvest.

Zhulan’s family hired help for the harvest, and this year they didn’t wait for the Zhou family to set traps for pheasants as they had the previous year before the grains were collected. Those who had tasted success the year before had set traps early in the fields, catching plenty. Surprisingly, it spooked the animals, and they dared not make their nests in the fields anymore.

Throughout the entire harvest, Zhulan’s family didn’t catch a single pheasant.

The Zhou family’s twenty acres of land were tax-exempt. They hauled back enough grain to feed the family, and the surplus was well-packed. Zhou Shuren had arranged for a caravan to transport it to Pingzhou, taking both his eldest and second sons with him this time.

Zhulan stayed at home in charge. It was another bountiful year, with favorable weather for the crops, and from the twenty acres, they loaded slightly fewer carts than usual.

The caravan’s departure from the village didn’t go unnoticed—the sight of carts pulling grains out from the Zhou residence spread the word that the Zhou family would move to Pingzhou next year.

Since Shu Mo and others hadn’t publicized it and Lady Li, aware of the family’s wealth, hadn’t broadcast it either, the villagers were genuinely ignorant of the Zhou family’s residence in Pingzhou.

Some who noticed that Zhou Shuren was no longer visiting the county and had heard rumors about it were completely silenced now.

Zhou Shuren wasn’t in a hurry to return from Pingzhou. He intended to meet with Zhao Bo, who had come back from the capital, and also to meet with Wu Ming to gauge where he stood in comparison to Wu Ming, who had been instructed by a renowned teacher. He wanted to identify Zhou Shuren’s shortcomings so that he could make up for them. He would be back in at least a week.

Zhou Shuren had just started to inquire about Lady Zheng’s family home a few days ago, but the investigation had to be postponed. They would have to wait for Zhou Shuren’s return to continue the probe.