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

Chapter 351: Chapter 351 The Burden Pressing on Oneself is Heavy_1

Eunuch Liu, one of the Emperor’s attendants, didn’t keep his departure from the palace a secret, and in the capital, news traveled fast – it didn’t take long for those who should know to become aware of the situation. Mr. Hou knew that the Emperor was reprimanding him, and he also understood that the Emperor indeed valued Zhou Shuren. Considering the mess in Lizhou Province, it was right that the Emperor should pay attention.

The other officials speculated what it was about Zhou Shuren that caught the Emperor’s eye. If he was indeed favored by the Emperor, why was he sent to Lizhou Province? Did he actually have some real ability?

The transmission of news in the capital was not inferior to that of modern times.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren didn’t care at all; after all, they were about to leave.

The next day, Wu Ming set off early, which conveniently meant that Chang Lian didn’t have to look for a caravan and could simply join him for the journey. Chang Lian went back on his own. Zhulan did not allow Yu Shui to accompany him, as there were few servants at home and many hands would be needed upon arriving in Lizhou Province.

After Wu Ming left, the Yang family’s carts and horses arrived, and Zhulan’s side had also packed up properly. The Yang family rested for one night and set out with the Zhou family the following day.

The number of government officers escorting them was not small, and combined with the team transporting the Silver Taels, the long caravan was quite a spectacle.

Zhulan sat in the carriage, pondering over the fifty thousand taels of silver. This silver was given by the Imperial court for the farmers in Lizhou Province to buy seeds and alleviate the famine. The sum of silver was not much, but considering the court had just been through a war, it was in genuine financial trouble. The fifty thousand taels had been scraped together by the Emperor selling off a residence intended for rewards.

Every time she thought about this, Zhulan’s mouth twitched involuntarily. It was her first time seeing the Emperor publicly sell a residence, and it was one that had been set aside for rewards. He truly was formidable, having sold two residences and gathered a considerable amount of Silver Coin. However, there were so many places in need of funds that only fifty thousand taels could be allocated.

The day before leaving, Zhou Shuren was summoned to the palace, and upon his return, he received even more detailed information about Lizhou Province. Zhulan, after looking at it, felt a heavy weight in her heart. Even with the arrival of spring and wild vegetables, Lizhou Province still suffered many deaths from starvation.

When Zhou Shuren heard Zhulan sighing, he embraced her, ”Take a rest, don’t think about it anymore.”

How could Zhulan not think about it? They only had fifty thousand taels of silver, and the Emperor really held Zhou Shuren in high regard. But how many villages were there around the entire prefecture city? Moreover, Lizhou Province used to be a higher-level jurisdiction, one of the six with the highest populations.

Even after some depopulation, there were still a significant number of people. Zhulan rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. She decided to stop thinking about it for the day and get some sleep.

The caravan moved quickly since there were no waterways to Lizhou Province, and the only mode of transport was by carriage. In the evening, they arrived at the nearest post station where Zhulan disembarked to check on her parents.

Yang Dayong and Lady Sun had only had good rest in the capital for one night, showing signs of weariness after continuous travel.

Zhulan, helping her mother to the room, said, ”Mother, I’m sorry to have made you suffer with us.”

Lady Sun waved her hand, ”What are you saying? I was originally worried about the danger of going to Lizhou Province, but now I’m accompanying you thanks to your influence. I haven’t suffered at all.”

Zhulan, seeing Lady Sun’s head full of white hair, felt an ache in her heart. In the span of half a year since their last meeting, her mother looked more than five years older, ”Mother, you and father rest first, I’ll fetch you some hot water.”

Lady Sun didn’t try to stop her, knowing her daughter’s discomfort and willingness to show filial piety, ”Mm.”

As there were so many people, there was a wait for dinner, so Zhulan first helped her parents wash up. By the time they were finished, the food was ready. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren, along with Xue Han, joined her parents for dinner.

For dinner, there was ginseng chicken soup, which Zhulan had bought in the capital especially to nourish her parents.

After dinner, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren returned to their room.

Zhou Shuren put his hands on Zhulan’s shoulders, ”Let me rub your shoulders.”

Zhulan was indeed tired. At home, she was either being looked after by Zhou Shuren, or she had Lady Li and Xing Hua. Except for the times Zhou Shuren drank too much, she had never really taken care of anyone else.

Zhulan, going back and forth carrying hot water and washing clothes for her parents, felt sore in her shoulders, ”I’ve lived up to the original’s duties.”

Zhou Shuren thought to himself that he wasn’t biased towards Zhulan, but he felt that what she had done far surpassed the original.

Once her shoulders felt more comfortable, Zhulan gestured for Zhou Shuren to sit down. He hadn’t been idle on the carriage either, perusing documents or studying maps obtained from the Emperor, and he was quite tired as well, ”Let me massage you.”

Zhou Shuren didn’t decline since he had been writing a lot lately and his shoulders were really sore, ”Mm.”

After Zhulan and Zhou Shuren took a short rest, they didn’t go to sleep. Zhou Shuren wished he could split the silver into eight pieces to calculate its usage, while Zhulan helped with the numbers.

By the time they lay down, it was already late, and they had to rise early the next day.

After breakfast, they continued on their journey. The situation in Lizhou Province couldn’t wait. Five days later, they reached Qizhou City, and as soon as the caravan stopped, Zhou Shuren took his eldest brother out with him.

When the meal was ready, Zhou Shuren came back. After eating and returning to the room, he said, ”I’ve made the rounds of the grain stores in the prefecture city. Staple foods like sweet potatoes and potatoes are scarce, and most stores mainly sell cornmeal and other grains. Moreover, the prices are not cheap. If we want to buy in bulk, we’ll have to go to the villages.”

Zhulan had expected this, ”We can’t collect much on the way.”

Zhou Shuren knew this as well, ”Having some is better than none. What good is it to bring silver to Lizhou Province if we can’t buy any grain with it?”

Zhulan added, ”And the further west we go, the more expensive the grain will be.”

Zhou Shuren paced back and forth in the room for a few rounds, then said, ”We’ll have to entrust this to my elder brothers. They and the government officers will split into different routes to collect what they can, the more the better.”

Zhulan, ”Mm.”

Zhou Shuren continued, ”I’ll go to allocate the silver first. Fortunately, the Emperor agreed to my request to manage the silver during the journey, otherwise it would have been even more difficult.”