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

Chapter 540: Chapter 540 Sympathy for the Li Family’s Child_1

After Old Zhou left, Zhulan examined the account books closely. The Li family was indeed trustworthy, with every single amount of silver clearly recorded in the thick volumes. Since Magistrate Dong was a relative by marriage of the Zhou family and Zhou Shuren was the Prefect of Jinzhou, their estates had never been troubled.

This year, back in Dongbei, the old heavens had not troubled the farmers, and while the harvest of Zhulan’s two estates could not be considered a bumper crop, it was still pretty good. After deducting taxes and the Li family’s share, as well as transportation costs, the sale of the grain yielded eight hundred taels of silver.

Because plenty of grain was left behind to be transported, otherwise the income would have been greater.

With that sum of silver coin entered into the accounts, although it was not the largest, it did give Zhulan a lot of peace of mind. At least the silver for the New Year’s gifts was assured.

In the evening, Zhou Shuren came back early; his family was hosting a dinner to welcome Li Cong, giving them an opportunity to all dine together.

Zhou Shuren, a sly old fox, dressed himself in more casual attire to meet Li Cong. At first, his in-law was very tense and restrained, but Zhou Shuren quickly set the tone, and the in-law loosened up; by the time the dishes were on the table, he was already joking and laughing with Zhou Shuren.

Lady Li sat next to her mother-in-law, her eyes constantly on her father. Hearing him laugh, she also grinned; ever since her father had entered the courtyard and seen her, he had been tense, and while her heart ached, she worried for him, but now she could rest easy.

Zhulan gave Lady Li a helping of dish with her chopsticks, ”You haven’t touched your chopsticks in a while. This is your favorite braised pork, eat some more.”

Lady Li, looking at the braised pork in her bowl, felt deeply moved. It was her mother-in-law who cared for her the most, ”Thank you, Mother.”

Now that Lady Li was no longer worried about her father, she spoke more freely and relaxed, ”Mother, my mom said she would have come too if our home could spare her.”

After saying this, Lady Li still felt a twinge of sadness. Life back home had improved, the family businesses had expanded, and the elders were needed more than ever. Her mother needed to take charge at home.

Zhulan understood all too well that in the future, it would not be easy to see Lady Li’s mother again. As the Li family rose in status, Lady Lixu had even more gates to keep. With all the men of the Li family being simple-minded, ”Next year when Ming Hui is a bit older, you and your husband should go back for a visit.”

Lady Li’s spirits, which had been low, lifted. She hadn’t visited her maternal home in years, and even though her mother always updated her through letters, she still longed to see it with her own eyes. A hint of smug anticipation crossed her mind as she imagined the reception she would receive upon her return, grinning foolishly to herself.

Zhulan, ”....”

She couldn’t bear to look; surely Lady Li wanted to go back and show off!

Lady Zhao envied those with a family home to return to. When she thought of her own mother, her heart felt heavy. Compared to her sister-in-law and the younger sister-in-law, who received monthly letters from home, she had only received two since coming to Jinzhou. One was written to her after receiving news of her difficult childbirth, and the other was for asking the Zhou family to provide books for her brother.

Lady Dong caressed her belly; she did not envy them at all. After the birth of her child, her husband had said he would return home early to prepare for the rural examinations and would accompany her for a stay with her family.

Su Xuan’s eyes held envy for having parents, something she lacked herself, with no maternal home to go back to.

Zhulan and the other ladies finished their meal first, while the men continued to drink. The Li family’s men all had a good capacity for alcohol, and Zhou Shuren, unusually happy, also drank quite a bit.

At night, after Zhulan had put her son to bed, Zhou Shuren returned, slightly inebriated. She handed him a freshly washed handkerchief, ”You had a good time today?”

Zhou Shuren accepted the handkerchief to wipe his face, his mouth curling into a smile, ”Yeah, I did enjoy myself today, it’s been a long time since I’ve had such a relaxed chat. It lifted a weight off my heart.”

Zhulan felt a twinge of sorrow. Zhou Shuren had to review everything he said out in public, screening them through his mind and heart. At home, he had to maintain the dignity of being head of the household. Only with these simple-minded members of the Li family could he talk without having to conceal or guard his words.

Zhou Shuren slipped out of his clothes and into bed, ”The day after tomorrow, your father will return. Prepare a generous amount for the New Year’s gifts. All of his grandsons have been sent to learn to read and write, have plenty of stationery supplies ready.”

After he finished, Zhou Shuren paused, ”Oh, and prepare extra paper.”

Zhulan couldn’t help but laugh out loud; the Li family had no talent for writing, indeed needing lots of paper.

Zhou Shuren laughed too, recalling that today, when he heard Li Gui was learning to write and Chang Lian brought out the ink and paper to offer some guidance—it was after looking at the writing that he’d fallen silent for a long while. Finally, with a deep sense of pathos, Chang Lian had managed to say, ”True to the Li family indeed.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the time, thinking of his eldest daughter-in-law’s writing.

The next day, the Zhou family only gathered for a meal when they had guests over. After breakfast, Zhulan had the eldest couple take their father-in-law to stroll around the city; venturing beyond the city was out of the question.

As long as Zhou Shuren’s investigation was not over, the Zhou family was still at risk. Going out required the accompaniment of martially skilled servants.

Completely astonished, Li Cong sat in the carriage with his son, mouth agape, and said to his son-in-law, ”We’re just going for a walk around the streets, do we need this many people?”

Eldest Brother Zhou didn’t want to scare his father-in-law and said with a smile, ”Dad, this is how we usually do things. You’ll get used to it.”

As he spoke, he squeezed his wife’s wrist.

Lady Li glared. Why was he squeezing her? She wasn’t stupid; such a gesture made it seem like she was lacking brains. Annoyed, she surreptitiously twisted her husband’s back.

Eldest Brother Zhou hissed in pain. He had put on weight, indeed, and his skin had lightened considerably, slowly turning into a bun-like shape. His wife’s pinch really hurt.

Luckily, Li Cong didn’t notice; he kept muttering, ”My dear, my daughter, you are truly blessed. No wonder your grandmother used to say you were the luckiest.”

Lady Li beamed with joy, feeling she was indeed the most fortunate daughter in the Li family!

In the meantime, Zhulan had asked Steward Ding to go buy New Year goods, making it convenient for the Li family to bring back their New Year gifts on their way home.

The gift list was kept from last year. It was enough to buy according to the list, but this year Zhulan had added seafood. Now that it was winter, frozen shrimp, sea fish, and seaweed could be preserved. Zhulan’s favorite was sea bass, and she also loved knife fish.

These were all delicacies, and since Su Xuan owned fishing boats, Zhulan had placed her order directly with her.

At noon, the eldest son and daughter-in-law took the Li family out to a restaurant for lunch, and they didn’t return until the evening.

The wives in the Zhou family, except for the fourth son who married a Magistrate, came from humble origins. The entire Jinzhou Province knew when the rural Li family relatives visited, and soon after, they recognized the Zhou family’s generous attitude towards in-laws. They had to admit that the Zhou family’s character was truly admirable; they did not forget their poor relatives amidst their wealth and treated them with great respect.

The Li family hadn’t even departed yet, and the Zhou grandchildren, both grandsons and granddaughters, became even more sought after, just waiting for the Zhou family to entertain guests at their mansion.

With the in-laws eager to return home, Zhulan had prepared and packed the New Year gifts. Zhou Shuren had even specially taken leave to see them off.

Eldest Brother Zhou and his wife had prepared quite a lot of things, and the second brother and his wife had some practical items ready, while Chang Lian and his wife didn’t give anything too extraordinary.

Then it was Chang Zhi and his wife’s turn. They arrived last, with Chang Zhi taking a bundle from Qi Mo’s hands and handing it to Li Gui, ”This is a collection of calligraphy I’ve copied. If you practice by copying it a hundred times, you will definitely improve. I’m giving all these to you. If it’s not enough, write to me and I’ll send more. I don’t have much, but I do have plenty of copied calligraphy. Take good care of it.”

Su Xuan’s expression stiffened. That bundle was clearly meant to be hidden. She felt an urge to cover her face. How had Chang Zhi found it? And where had her prepared gift gone?

Li Gui stared intently at the bundle, weighing it in his hands. At least ten volumes, and a hundred times each? That could kill a person!

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren, ”.....”

The two exchanged glances, thankful that the Li family were down-to-earth people; otherwise, someone might have wanted to punch Chang Zhi.

Lady Li tried to speak up several times but closed her mouth each time. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help her nephew; she truly didn’t dare.

Eldest Brother Zhou looked sympathetically at his dumbfounded father-in-law, pitying the Li household’s children who disliked studying!

Second Brother Zhou and Chang Lian not only stepped back, but they also pulled their wives back with them.

Only Chang Zhi stood there, looking quite pleased with himself, even casting a proud glance at his wife. He knew every nook and cranny of the yard, as it was where he hid his books, so finding the bundle was too easy. Fearing his wife would object to giving it as a gift, he had deliberately hidden her intended gift and arrived late on purpose!