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

Chapter 344: Chapter 344 Easy Heart Disease_1

Zhou Shuren felt unbearably hot, ”Water.”

Zhulan hurried to pour water for Zhou Shuren, ”Hey, don’t rush, drink slowly.”

Zhou Shuren snatched it and downed it in one gulp, ”More.”

Zhulan poured two more cups, and Zhou Shuren finally felt much better, but his head was still dizzy. He grasped Zhulan’s hand, ”I have something to tell you.”

”You say.”

Zhulan’s voice was somewhat light; she thought of the gold list and her naming ceremony, then coughed coughed, her face heating up.

Zhou Shuren belched, ”I got schemed by the Emperor and lost the house in Pinggang, all three houses are gone.”

Zhulan, ”.....”

She felt like hitting someone!

Zhou Shuren chuckled, ”However, the Emperor also said he’d reward us with a house, a three-entry courtyard, in an especially good location, complete with a small garden and a pond, and beautiful sceneries all four seasons.”

Zhulan’s budding thoughts vanished, and she excitedly said, ”Really?”

Were her daytime dreams coming true?

Zhou Shuren nodded, ”Really, but, I have to resolve the situation in Lizhou City before I can secure it for us.”

Zhulan, ”.....”

She still felt like hitting someone!

Zhulan watched Zhou Shuren as he lay on the table, already asleep, feeling a pain in her chest. The Emperor’s tactics were truly cunning—her three houses, just now she was counting how much the house in Pinggang had appreciated!

Wait, why would Zhou Shuren, the second-place scholar, need to resolve anything in Lizhou? It seemed her speculation was correct!

Unbeknownst to Zhulan, luckily Zhou Shuren had fallen asleep, for she was still unaware of the imperial edict from the court. Otherwise, she would have spent a sleepless night.

Zhulan wiped Zhou Shuren’s face and helped him out of his clothes. Zhou Shuren snored as he slept. Zhulan pinched his face and suddenly smiled. This man who never suffered a loss had been tricked today; he must be feeling so frustrated!

Zhulan reached out to massage Zhou Shuren’s knees. He must have knelt quite a bit today, seeing that his knees were slightly bruised. In ancient times, one needed good knees to be an official. She really worried that Zhou Shuren would have sore knees when he got old from all the kneeling.

The dynasty sure had some pits; why kneel at all? No, why did the dynasty have to continue the customs of the previous dynasty?

The next morning, Zhou Shuren woke up with a headache. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Zhulan’s head resting on his arm. Zhou Shuren’s every breath smelled of alcohol; he quickly shut his mouth, feeling sorry that Zhulan didn’t mind him. He tenderly embraced Zhulan with a gaze filled with warmth, only his movements were a bit too vigorous, waking her up.

Zhulan rubbed her eyes, ”You’re awake too.”

”Yes, you had a hard time last night.”

Zhulan said pensively, ”It wasn’t too hard, but it was quite taxing on the heart.”

Zhou Shuren recalled carefully; his mind hadn’t blacked out when he got back, and he quickly remembered what he had said. It was indeed taxing on the heart; he was lucky Zhulan hadn’t scolded him.

Once Zhulan’s mind cleared up a bit, she asked, ”What did you mean by ’Lizhou City’? Were you assigned, as I guessed?”

Zhou Shuren smiled, ”How did you guess?”

Zhulan repeated the public march that she had witnessed to Zhou Shuren, ”It was obvious that something big had happened; I just figured it out.”

Zhou Shuren kissed Zhulan’s forehead, ”Smart, I’ve been assigned as the prefect of Lizhou City, starting as a Five-rank Official.”

Zhulan, ”.....”

The official position was high, but the task was not easy to manage, with an extremely high risk factor and a great possibility of losing one’s head!

Zhou Shuren coughed, ”There were four imperial edicts yesterday.....”

After listening, Zhulan covered her heart, ”Don’t talk, let me catch my breath.”

With the imperial edict delivered, the houses in Pinggang were set to double in value. She had long sold the land and wasn’t hung up about it. What bothered her were the houses. Although an Emperor’s word was gold, Zhulan had little faith in the current ruler. She only believed what she saw—and what she saw was that her houses were gone, and she hadn’t received a single coin!

She realized her investments were significant, but in an age ruled by imperial power, they were nothing!

Zhou Shuren said, ”Think of it differently; the houses the Emperor rewards can’t be bought with silver.”

Zhulan scoffed, ”Do you have confidence in the Emperor’s words? Well, I sure don’t.”

Zhou Shuren, ”.....”

Little did the Emperor know what Zhou Shuren and his wife thought of him. Although he had done quite a few shameless things, he would fulfill his splendid promises, but they always came with conditions!

At breakfast, Chang Lian finally saw his father, but his father’s complexion wasn’t great, so he dared not approach.

Zhou Shuren’s face was red from drinking; the good liquor was indeed strong and left him with a lingering headache.

Wu Ming drank the least, almost no one approached him to offer a toast; he was the most unpopular Top scorer in the recent history of the dynasty.

After the meal, Zhou Shuren called Wu Ming to the study, leaving Chang Lian somewhat dumbfounded, standing aside all this while, as his father seemed to have not noticed him at all!

Zhou Lao Da patted his youngest brother on the shoulder, ”Father and Wu Ming must be discussing important matters.”

He had seen the public march the day before; it must have been a major event!

Chang Lian looked at his eldest brother; he realized that in just a few months without seeing him, his brother had changed a lot. Not just in dress, but in demeanor. He could now understand the matters concerning their father. Inside, Chang Lian felt a pang of anxiety; the more his brother conformed to their father’s wishes, the more likely it was that the other sons would eventually have to leave.

This couldn’t be, and Chang Lian stepped toward the study.

Zhou Lao Da, whose mouth had opened, closed it again. He could see what his youngest brother was thinking; he was filled with emotion. Everything had changed; they, the brothers, increasingly looked out for themselves. He himself wanted to vie for their father’s attention for his son, also wondering when Mingyun would come to the capital.

Zhou Lao Da chuckled internally; who could have imagined their father would become so formidable? Now that their father’s status had changed, so had his own thoughts. Previously, he felt burdened as the eldest brother, always being set up by his younger siblings. But now, being the eldest was great; after all, the eldest was to live with their parents, and living with them in the capital for a few months had proven to be a treat.

Indeed, as his mother had said, people’s hearts change with their environment. As his status changed, so had he, and he could never go back.

Er Yue came running in, ”Eldest Master, there’s a government officer and a eunuch at the gate.”