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

Chapter 532: Chapter 532 Crown Prince, Can You Please Shut Up_1

Zhou Shuren indeed had his suspicions, but he didn’t expect the Emperor to disgust the Fifth Prince so much. Look at what the imperial edict says, implying he should provide round-the-clock care. The news he heard was that the fake Fifth Prince was bedridden, and such close daily contact hardly kept one’s reputation clean.

Moreover, the true Fifth Prince wouldn’t just sit and wait for death; he would surely find a way to return to the capital and reclaim his identity as soon as possible. The Emperor was forcing the Fifth Prince to reveal himself, and why did Zhou Shuren feel that the Fifth Prince would find some green upon his head when he appeared? And it would be public knowledge!

Zhou Shuren’s gaze grew heavy; the Emperor truly showed no mercy to the Fifth Prince, and his and Zhulan’s speculations were very likely true.

Official Wang silently returned to his chair. He was going to have a son again, so he’d better just stay honest and out of trouble. He couldn’t get involved in this anymore.

At the Lin Residence, the Fifth Prince, Zhang Jinghong, furiously threw his face into a scowl. It wasn’t that he had a particular fondness for Miss Lin, but he had treated her as if she were his, and even though they hadn’t conducted the formal ceremony, they had kissed and embraced. Now Miss Lin was taking care of the impostor, and Zhang Jinghong smashed another vase in anger.

The fact that Miss Lin had gone to the capital wasn’t what infuriated him the most; it was the damned Lin family taking the position of the Fifth Prince’s Consort. A Five-rank Official’s daughter, he had intended for Miss Lin to be a concubine at best. Thinking back, he had set his eyes on Magistrate Shen of the Shen family, Shen Yile—that was his ideal for the Fifth Prince’s Consort. She was a rare beauty, loved by the Empress Dowager, a staunch daughter of the Emperor, and most importantly, the Shen family held high authority and power.

The Fifth Prince hadn’t calmed his anger after destroying his study; that damn Yao Yao, she actually didn’t help him! And Yao Zheyu, yes, it was all Yao Zheyu’s fault that his plans were ruined. Otherwise, he would have already returned to the capital by now and that damn Yao Zheyu even stole his marital match!

The Fifth Prince was mad with rage, while the Lin Residence was overjoyed. Even though Miss Lin had left for the capital, it all seemed like more of a pleasant surprise than anything else. That pie from the sky was quite large.

In the afternoon, Zhulan listened to Granny Song’s report. The Lin family now had a legitimate Prince’s Consort, bestowed in marriage by the Emperor himself. In just the span of a noon, quite a number of people had come to curry favor.

Granny Song asked in a low voice, ”Madam, should our residence send a congratulatory gift?”

Zhulan, playing with her son while holding a bowl of apple puree, replied, ”No need.”

Granny Song smiled and stopped the little master from tumbling to the ground, then fell silent.

Zhulan’s eyes curved, ”Son, call me ’mom’, call ’mom’, otherwise there’s no eating, okay?”

These days, Zhulan often coaxed her son to speak, and it was somewhat fruitful. Although he couldn’t talk, the boy would mimic her movements with his mouth. Zhulan truly looked forward to the first time her son called her ’mom’.

The little guy fussed for a while but still couldn’t get any food, so he sat down in frustration, his big eyes fixed on the spoon, and he couldn’t help but smack his lips, ”Ah ah.”

Zhulan shook her head, ”Say ’mom’.”

The little one’s eyes quickly filled with tears. Seeing he was genuinely upset, Zhulan hurriedly spoon-fed him, then pinched her son’s ear, ”In our house, you’re the quickest to change your face. One minute smiling, the next crying.”

By then, the child had forgotten all about crying, clutching the spoon with both little chubby hands, happily babbling ”oh oh.”

Zhulan stopped playing with her son when she saw Liu Ya bring in a letter, ”Whose letter is it?”

Liu Ya replied, ”A letter from the Yang Residence.”

Zhulan quickly took it over. She and her natal family exchanged letters frequently, maintaining a correspondence every half month. Although she knew her parents were well through the letters, she still missed them after almost a year. It wasn’t the time to receive a letter, so she read through it quickly and breathed a sigh of relief—her parents were in good health, and the letter was sent by a fast horse. Her older brother’s second son, Yang Wuqiu, had set out from Lizhou Prefecture City to Jinzhou Province to deliver the money from the sale of fruit and the New Year’s gifts.

Speaking of which, the Li family’s caravan should also have arrived, but because they were transporting grain, they couldn’t travel fast. She should send someone to meet them.

Zhulan, setting down the letter, couldn’t help but laugh. The Li family wouldn’t mention it in a letter if they had already reached Jinzhou, ”Liu Ya, go tell Steward Ding to send someone to check where the caravan from our old home has reached.”

Liu Ya, ”Yes.”

Zhulan put away the letter; she should start preparing for the New Year’s gifts early. When preparations were made early, some of the goods for the New Year’s gifts would not be scarce, and the prices would relatively be cheaper. She then said to Granny Song, ”Go call the young miss over, and have her bring all the account books.”

She needed to calculate how much silver the household had left. Purchasing New Year’s gifts would require quite a lot of Silver Coins, and they had continually been dipping into their savings.

Xue Han arrived promptly, with Liu Li carrying two account books behind her. Xue Han handed them over, ”Mother, here are the account books you asked for.”

Zhulan signaled Xue Han to sit down and eat some fruit while she herself flipped through the account books. She saw that there was less than One Thousand Taels of Silver left on the books—the household expenses had been truly high recently, with the largest going to Zhou Shuren’s share.

Seeing her mother frowning and carefully recalling the account books, Xue Han, who had an excellent memory, quickly recalled everything. There would be no errors in the accounts. ”Mother, what’s wrong?”

Zhulan closed the account book. ”I’d like to purchase New Year goods in advance, but there is not much Silver Coin on the books.”

She did the math in her head. There was no need to buy the ginseng for her parents—there was still some from Wu Ming’s gift. However, there were too many New Year’s gifts to exchange, and the household also had to reserve funds for daily expenses. The silver they had wouldn’t be enough.

Xue Han put down the fruit in her hand. ”Mother, isn’t Uncle Li going to send Silver and grain to us?”

Zhulan said, ”It looks like we can only wait for your Uncle Li to arrive.”

In the capital, at The Prince Residence of the Fifth Prince—all from the Crown Prince to the Fourth Prince were gathered. The Crown Prince was playing with his finger ring. His presence here was entirely because of the Emperor who, in the past, couldn’t wait to squeeze more out of him, but now, for the excitement of the spectacle, had him sit in at the Fifth Prince’s residence.

The Crown Prince was looking down. The Emperor’s edict couldn’t mask his disdain. The Crown Prince had harbored doubts for a long time, and along with the Emperor’s unabashed behavior in front of him and the Empress’s indifference, the Crown Prince’s finger stopped playing with the ring. He looked up at his three troublesome younger brothers. ”Why have you all stopped talking, just staring at me?”

The Second Prince stroked his chin. ”Because Big Brother is good looking.”

It had to be said, the Crown Prince had inherited the best traits from both the Emperor and the Empress. No, he was feeling jealous again.

The Crown Prince laughed softly. ”Second Brother, the coquettish manner doesn’t suit you.”

The Second Prince accidentally spewed out the tea from his mouth as the Third and Fourth Princes laughed heartily. The Second Prince felt annoyed—he should not have been the first to speak.

The Crown Prince was surprised. ”I actually guessed right? Second Brother, don’t get agitated; I won’t blatantly tattle.”

The Second Prince was so angered he wanted to devour the Crown Prince. Whether he spoke or not, it was all wrong; the Crown Prince’s scheming was too deep—right or wrong, it was always his fault.

The Crown Prince was quite pleased that the Second Prince had shut up. That was better, sitting quietly together was nice. His gaze then shifted to the Third and Fourth Brothers.

The Third Prince coughed. ”Fourth Brother, it’s been a long time since we played chess together. How about a game today?”

The Fourth Prince smiled, ”...”

To hell with playing chess—who didn’t know he was the worst at it? Hadn’t he just duped the Third Brother? This was surely the Third Brother’s revenge!

With the corner of his mouth hooked, the Crown Prince said, ”Fourth Brother, your chess skills still haven’t improved? That won’t do. How about this, I’ll talk to our father and get you a master with commendable chess skills.”

The Fourth Prince, ”....”

Crown Prince, just shut up, will you!

At the Government Office of Jinzhou Residence, Zhou Shuren truly choked on his tea this time. After a bout of violent coughing, he finally caught his breath. ”Who did you say is looking for me?”