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

Chapter 265: Chapter 265: Is It Too Much Trust?_1

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren exchanged a glance; they had been discussing in private and thought that the Qian family would have come yesterday. Unexpectedly, they did not come, but upon further thought, the Qian family likely needed some days to investigate the Zhou family. Today, however, they have already arrived at the doorstep.

Their visit today must mean that they have finished their investigation. It seems that this Qian steward has his own skills in gathering information, managing to find out everything in just one day!

The steward of a merchant’s family mingles with all sorts of people, much more diverse than a steward from an official’s family would!

Elder Zhou came back from the front yard first to report the news, while Second Zhou was welcoming the guests in.

The Zhou family’s residence was not large; it was only a few steps from the front to the back yard. As soon as Elder Zhou finished speaking, Zhulan heard the sound of conversation, indicating that the guests had already reached the back yard.

Elder Zhou hurriedly turned to open the curtains. Although it was not yet March, it was still very cold, so the Zhou family’s curtains were always left hanging.

As the curtains were opened, the person walking in front of Second Zhou turned out to be the Qian steward, who appeared to be in his fifties. Next to him, the woman with white hair in her hair, despite being around the same age as Zhulan, looked much older. That must be Lady Fang.

Following at the end were two gift-bearing individuals; the one in his thirties was probably the Qian steward’s eldest son, and the ten-year-old boy must be his grandson.

Zhulan thought to herself that the boy brought along must be a scholar, otherwise, it would have made more sense to bring the eldest grandson.

Zhou Shuren stood up and said, ”Mr. Qian, please take a seat.”

Mr. Qian wasn’t surprised not to hear the term ”in-law” since he had done his research. He knew that the Zhou family was a family of scholars. Both of Zhou’s sons had passed the county examination, and they even provided for a boy raised by his maternal grandparents, not to mention their grandson. Altogether, they had quite a few scholars in the family. If Scholar Zhou were to succeed in the provincial examinations, the Zhou family would become a distinguished scholarly family.

Every scholar carries a sense of pride. Despite not engaging in commerce and having once been a servant, even for merchant families, he was still looked down upon as a farmer by others. Scholar Zhou was being courteous, at the very least not showing any disdain on his face.

Moreover, the Zhou family was related by marriage to officials, and Scholar Zhou had dealings with the Zhao family. The pride was well-deserved. After thoroughly investigating the Qian family and allowing his son to take Lady Zhao to acknowledge their kinship, complete with substantial gifts of kinship, the Zhou family proved to be generous and wise.

However, taking a look at Scholar Zhou seated at the head of the table, a man in his fifties who had encountered all sorts of people from high-ranking officials to ruffians, it was immediately clear that the Zhou family wouldn’t be easy to fool. Their generosity did not equate to being easy to take advantage of.

Looking back on his time with the Qian family, where Hanhan, the seemingly foolish son-in-law, always acted foolish with a smile, he now realized that everything was calculated. The man followed his prompting without revealing anything, a strategy to intimidate the Qian family.

Seeing the purpose of today’s visit likely failing, he felt all his calculations had come to naught. Well, it made sense; after all, if one were merely honest without any ability, how could he have formed ties with the Zhao family or even manage to send his future son-in-law and grandson to the Academy!

Zhulan led Lady Fang into the inner room. Compared to the quietness of the main hall, she was much warmer to Lady Fang, personally assisting her to a seat, ”Mother-in-law, I’ve long wanted to meet you, but there was never an opportunity. Finally, the day has come.”

Seeing the sincere look in her daughter-in-law’s mother-in-law’s eyes, which did not seem fake, Lady Fang felt reassured. Her daughter wasn’t lying; her mother-in-law was indeed good to her, ”I wanted to come by yesterday, but something came up. Today, my visit is not only to familiarize myself with the place but also to personally thank you for your kindness towards Lady Zhao over these years. You’ve been a great help to her.”

As she finished speaking, Lady Fang moved to show her gratitude, but Zhulan quickly stopped her, guiding her to sit down, ”Once Lady Zhao entered our Zhou household, she became one of us. It’s only right for me to look after her; there’s no need for thanks.”

Lady Fang felt truly grateful. Initially, upon seeing her daughter disfigured, she was glad her daughter had preserved her life but saddened by the thought of a woman’s love for her appearance. Fortunately, her daughter privately revealed it was just makeup, and she also learned from her daughter that everyone in her in-law’s family was benevolent, especially her mother-in-law. Every act of kindness deeply touched her.

Her daughter was leading a better life than she had, a more blessed one, which made Lady Fang happy; she just wanted to see for herself in person, for peace of mind.

Zhulan sat beside Lady Fang, picked up the teapot from the kang table, ”The tea hasn’t been brewing for long and must be thirsty from your journey, Mother-in-law. Have a cup of hot tea and warm up a bit.”

Lady Fang took the teacup with both hands, feeling even more at peace. She appreciated that her mother-in-law did not despise her for having sold herself into servitude and remarriage, responding with gratitude in her tone, ”Thank you.”

Zhulan knew that this thank you contained too much, thanking her for a lot, for her care for Lady Zhao, for acknowledging that she had personally poured the tea.

Now, she had guessed why Lady Fang had not come yesterday. The Qian family’s inquiries were one aspect, and another was that Lady Fang did not have suitable clothes to go out in. Looking at the clothes, which were not custom-made, it meant they must have been bought ready-made from a shop in the city.

Looking again at Lady Fang’s jewelry, understated yet valuable, Zhulan thought to herself that the Qian family was indeed wealthy. Not to mention the actual silver, just selling the jewelry, antiques, and paintings would result in a large sum of Silver Coin. The Yun family really had fattened up steward Qian, this big rat of theirs. Hmm, it seems like stewards of major households always have Silver Coin.

Lady Fang felt a bit uncomfortable under the scrutiny, ”Mother-in-law, do you find something inappropriate about me?”

That couldn’t be. She knew what she could wear and carry. She could not have made a mistake.

Zhulan smiled, ”I was just thinking that Lady Zhao doesn’t resemble you too much.”

The corners of Lady Fang’s mouth turned dry, ”She takes after her father more, that girl knows how to grow well, picking all the good traits.”

She herself was already quite attractive, and coupled with a husband who was known in the region as a handsome young man, the girl had selected the best traits to inherit, resulting in a beauty that could cause troubles. Fortunately, the girl was blessed with good fortune.

Zhulan saw that Lady Fang had not moved past her old memories and felt a twinge of empathy. Women are especially prone to reminiscing, whether the memories bring pain or sweetness, they are never forgotten. Just then, Lady Zhao entered the room.

Lady Zhao’s arrival was so delayed because she had taken the time to apply makeup to her wound. Upon entering and seeing her mother, Lady Zhao excitedly said, ”Mother.”

Lady Fang’s eyes turned red, she truly had not expected to have the chance to see her daughter again. Her gaze fell on the child in Lady Zhao’s arms, ”Is this Ming Rui?”

Lady Zhao handed her son over to her mother, ”He’s three years old by nominal age now, look how sturdy he is.”

The son’s birthday came late; it was somewhat disadvantageous in terms of age.

Zhulan had not seen Yushuang, which implied that Lady Zhao did not intend to let others see Yushuang, at least not until Zhou Shuren succeeded in his examinations. The Qian family’s inquiries would only concern the Zhou family’s men. Women would not attract much attention. It was an ancient common failing among men, subconsciously to overlook women.

Lady Zhao introducing Ming Rui as the eldest son was not wrong; he indeed was the eldest son of the second wife.

Lady Fang hugged the child tightly, ”Good, good.”

It was only upon seeing the child that Lady Fang remembered she had brought gifts for him. She took out a golden lock and a pair of gold bracelets from her purse, ”Since you said not to bring up Yushuang, I just brought one set over. The golden lock for Ming Rui, and the bracelets for Yushuang.”

Now, she was not merely the Qian family’s mistress in name alone. After her daughter recognized the relationship, the old lord had told her why not help her and her child. He hadn’t lied to her, it was simply because she had no value. She knew that in her heart, though it was soft, precisely because the old lord had spoken the truth. She was clear that he would genuinely treat her well in the future, and even gave her Silver Notes to spend. Thinking of this,

Lady Fang quickly took out two Silver Notes from her purse, ”This is the dowry I’ve made up for you.”

Lady Zhao was a bit stunned, two one hundred taels of silver notes, ”Mother, where did you get the Silver Coin?”

Lady Fang pushed the notes to her daughter, ”Rest assured and take it. Qian Shengbao gave it to me and even told me to use it myself. He gave me Three hundred taels in one go, which is to support me in giving it to you secretly. Take it quickly; this amount truly means nothing to the Qian family. On the surface, it doesn’t look like the Qian family has much, but they are actually very well-off.”

Lady Fang paused, then continued, ”Although mother does not know the exact amount, I have been married to your uncle for several years now. I have a good sense of the ostensible and the real: aside from the antiques and paintings, the silver notes are definitely more than ten thousand taels. Your uncle is good at hiding things; he must have hidden quite a lot. This is also why the several sons and daughters-in-law of the Qian family have been bullying me and your brother, isn’t it because they fear your brother, as the eldest son, will inherit a large portion of the family wealth?”

Zhulan, ”....”

Is Lady Fang trusting her too much, to speak of such things right in front of her!