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

Chapter 396: 396 Chapter What was taken away_1

Lady Zhao tried her best to paint her mother’s thoughts in a positive light, imploringly looking at her mother-in-law, hoping that her mother-in-law would allow her to save some face.

Zhulan looked at Lady Zhao, then turned to Zhou Lao’er. Zhou Lao’er did not refute Lady Zhao’s words. Zhou Lao’er’s thoughts were the same as Lady Zhao’s; they both knew why Lady Fang had come.

Lady Fang wanted to break free from the Qian family and had gained confidence from Lady Zhao’s support, which is why she dared to leave with Qian Keqi. She might have even bullied others by exploiting the reputation of others. Lady Fang’s act of kneeling and playing pitiful upon her arrival was just to lay the groundwork for her to stay.

Zhulan looked at Lady Zhao and Zhou Lao’er. The two of them must have had quite a sum of silver coins to buy shops and land, all of which was provided by the Qian family. Zhulan asked Zhou Lao’er, ”Is there anything else?”

Zhou Lao’er breathed a sigh of relief; mother was still on his side. As long as she didn’t harp on it, ”Mother, that’s all.”

Zhulan, ”...Lady Zhao, what about you?”

Lady Zhao was taken aback for a moment, then carefully shook her head after remembering, ”Mother, I have nothing else.”

Zhulan smiled, but her smile was somewhat cold. Although she and Zhou Shuren were wary of the Qian family, so far, the Qian family hadn’t done anything excessive. On the contrary, they had been quite good to the second wife. However, when the Qian family steward passed away, these two had not considered visiting or sending condolences themselves.

Zhulan closed her eyes. This family, which she and Zhou Shuren had worked hard for so long, seemed to have changed a lot for Zhou Lao’er. But in fact, no. It was just that Zhou Lao’er had become the best at hiding it.

With her eyes closed, Zhulan waved her hand. Regarding Zhou Lao’er, she decided to leave him to Zhou Shuren. Her knife was not sharp enough for Zhou Lao’er. As for Lady Zhao, Zhulan was somewhat saddened; she had been good to Lady Zhao, who had been granted a formal status with the family genealogy, marriage documents, and witnesses.

Zhou Lao’er may not have been the one who understood his parents the best, but his understanding was profound. He wasn’t afraid of his parents’ rebukes since he always tried to do his best, but he feared his mother would have nothing left to say to him, ”Mother.”

Zhulan pointed towards the door, ”I’m tired, please leave.”

Zhou Lao’er opened his mouth, then with a nervous Lady Zhao, walked outside. When Zhulan heard the sound of the door about to be closed, she spoke, ”Lao’er, these past few years, mother hasn’t personally taught you much because you’ve always done well. Today, mother has something to say that I hope you will remember: the most important thing between people is to treat each other with sincerity. No matter how clever you are, others are not fools. If you only want to take without giving, you will eventually drive everyone away.”

After Zhulan finished speaking, she didn’t utter another word. She knew Zhou Lao’er stood outside the door for a long time.

At night, there was nothing in the way Zhulan handled things that one could pick apart; the dinner was lavish.

Zhou Shuren came back and barely exchanged a few words with Zhulan, but he understood Zhulan very well. Zhulan’s smile was too fake. Grasping his chopsticks, Zhou Shuren’s gaze sharply fell upon Zhou Lao’er.

Zhou Lao’er lowered his head, constantly reflecting on his mother’s words. It wasn’t until he returned to his courtyard and saw his mother-in-law that he realized why his mother was disappointed with him. Mother’s last question about whether he had anything else was her hope that he would visit the Qian family.

Zhou Lao’er was extremely anxious; his mother had seen through his selfishness and heartlessness, which is why she had left him with those final words.

Zhou Lao’er ate his meal in silence. He didn’t know what Lao’er had done, only that Lady Li had gone to see their mother, who mentioned the death of the Qian family steward. He had asked who his mother had sent to give condolences. No matter what, the Qian family was still considered relatives by marriage. Over the years, the Zhou family had received quite a bit from the Qian family, and this year’s New Year’s gifts from the Qian family were plentiful!

Then his mother laughed very happily, mentioning that there would be dishes he liked for dinner that night.

Chang Lian looked left and right, thinking to himself, the sharpest of the lot, Zhou Shuren’s second brother, had capsized his boat. The one who put on the best show was Zhou Shuren’s second brother. Just think about the past few years, in front of their parents, Zhou Shuren’s second brother had always been the capable one to the point of completely overshadowing the elder brother. If it weren’t for their father constantly taking the elder brother along, the family would have known only of Second Master Zhou and not the First.

Chang Zhi didn’t care about these things; he was pondering his return to Pingzhou. ”Father, I heard elder brother saying that he plans to send someone to Pingzhou to pay respects to the Qian family. As it happens, I need to return to my master’s home in Pingzhou. Father, let me make the trip on the way!”

Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes and put down his chopsticks. His son’s words gave him an inkling as to why Zhulan was unhappy. Zhou Shuren’s second brother had already disappointed her and Zhulan in Prefecture City. Since then, their behavior towards the second wife had changed, and now it had let down Zhulan again.

Zhou Shuren said, ”Alright, set off in a few days. I will prepare the books for your master, and once I have sorted them out, you can take them to him.”

These books, ahem, were all hand-copied editions of rare books that Zhou Shuren had swindled from Mr. Chen. He had not missed the chance to copy plenty, and feeling somewhat embarrassed for the favoritism he and Zhulan showed, he wanted to share these treasures with the scholar. There was no scholar who didn’t cherish rare books; he wasn’t stingy. Whatever he had acquired, he planned to give a part to the degree holder.

Chang Zhi was overjoyed; he thought his father was truly generous. He knew well how many excellent books his father had acquired. ”Father, I’ll thank you on behalf of my master.”

At the women’s table, seeing that Zhou Shuren resumed eating, Zhulan called out to Lady Fang, ”Mother-in-law, don’t just focus on the rice, eat more of the dishes.”

Lady Fang replied, ”Alright.”

Lady Fang, hearing her daughter repeat the words ’mother-in-law,’ always felt those words were directed not just at her son-in-law but also at herself. She was panicked inside; how she left the Qian family, she knew all too well. She was aware of how much she had taken with her, and it was clearer to her than anyone else. If it weren’t for relying on her son-in-law’s family’s name, she wouldn’t have been able to take as much.

What to do now, what to do for the best.

Zhulan looked at Lady Fang, then lowered her gaze to Yushuang. Lifting her head with a smile, she said, ”The second wife’s chambers are few. Starting tomorrow, Yushuang will move to the main courtyard to live.”

Having said that, Zhulan turned to Liu Ya, ”You, take some people and clean out a side room.”

Zhulan genuinely did not trust Yushuang being raised by Lady Zhao. In the past, she was not worried because Yushuang had always been with Xue Han, and during every visit, she would guide her. She wasn’t afraid of Lady Zhao saying anything upon returning. But now things were different; by Lady Zhao’s side was Lady Fang, and she was truly afraid this good girl would be led astray.

Lady Zhao was startled. Now her son was not around during the day, and her daughter was either by her mother-in-law’s side or with her younger aunt. Now she wouldn’t even see her in the evenings?

Yushuang looked at her mother and then at her grandmother. Not that she looked down on her grandmother, but she didn’t like her grandmother’s mannerisms, especially how her grandmother kept pulling her today to ask if her grandmother treated her well, and if there was any difference between her and Yu Lu!

She knew her grandmother favored her great-aunt, but regarding the grandchildren, her grandmother was always fair and never biased toward Yu Lu.

After dinner, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren returned to their courtyard, followed by Zhou Shuren’s second brother who came in and said, ”Father, Mother, the Qian family’s steward has been good to both Lady Zhao and myself. After all, he is my father-in-law. I will go back with Chang Zhi. With me looking out for Chang Zhi, Father and Mother can be more at ease. It’s also a good opportunity to visit my sister.”

Zhou Shuren’s gaze grew cold, ”By rights, you should go back, there’s no need to curry favor by invoking your sister’s name. They are old enough to take care of themselves.”

Zhou Shuren’s second brother was taken aback and lowered his head, ”Yes.”

Zhou Shuren spoke somberly, ”Just make sure before you go back to ask your mother-in-law what exactly she took from the Qian family. You wouldn’t want to be kicked out before you even enter. Of course, you could also continue to swagger around under my name. After all, it’s far from here, and I wouldn’t know, would I?”