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

Chapter 582: Chapter 582 Unpleasant_1

Zhulan ignored Zhou Shuren’s glare, approvingly saying, ”My son is right, you should let your beard grow back, it really does look quite bad now.”

Zhou Shuren was rather fond of his beard, he had grown accustomed to stroking it, and after feeling it again, he indeed needed to let it grow back, as it didn’t feel as good as it had before.

The very next morning, the letters Zhulan had been waiting for arrived, all three at once—one of which was for the Dong family. Zhulan first read Rongchuan’s letter and after skimming through, she exclaimed, ”A government granary student, good, good.”

Madame Song was also happy, only if the younger members of the Zhou family succeeded would the Zhou family not be a fleeting presence, ”Congratulations to the lady of the house.”

Zhulan handed the letter to Madame Song, ”Take this for the young miss to see.”

Madame Song took the letter, ”Yes.”

Zhulan shook her head with a chuckle, Rongchuan was very proper, even though he was betrothed to Xue Han since childhood, Rongchuan would never write to Xue Han alone; he would only include a few lines asking about her in the family letter.

Zhulan then read another letter, this one from the Dong family. After reading it, she put it down. The Dong family patriarch’s decisiveness showed that there truly was no promising offspring left in the Dong family.

Otherwise, for the sake of his children and grandchildren, the patriarch would have sought other solutions instead of stepping back directly, severing the ambitions of the Dong family’s descendants.

In the end, the patriarch’s decisiveness was best for the Zhou family. As Zhulan looked at the final few sentences of the letter, which stated they wouldn’t trouble the Zhou family, she thought it a call for a favor—an old fox indeed!

In the third branch of the family, Lady Dong felt a wave of sadness upon reading the letter. Back in her hometown, she thought the Dong family was formidable, but outside, they were nothing, and now her feelings were complicated. Her father could only step back to protect the family.

Chang Lian was relieved. After the New Year, he had received several invitations from his brother-in-law. He wasn’t worried about himself, with his father’s support, his brother-in-law wouldn’t dare go too far—who didn’t know that Master Zhou protected his family?

He was worried about his wife’s family, but fortunately, his father-in-law was a sensible man, ”Don’t be too sad.”

Lady Dong hugged her husband’s waist tightly, feeling miserable. If only her brother and nephews had been promising, her father wouldn’t have had to support the Dong family all by himself. Her heart felt heavy, without her father’s support, what would become of the Dong family in the future?

Her current brother-in-law was playing with fire, and who knew what the future would hold. Would the Dong family have to rely on her?

Reflecting on this, Lady Dong felt even more despondent. It would be fine if the family had some good people, ”If the Dong family comes knocking in the future, you don’t need to save face for me.”

She paused and added, ”Of course, we can help the decent ones, but forget about the others.”

Chang Lian burst into laughter, Lady Dong was after all not heartless, ”As your husband, I’ll heed my wife’s advice.”

Lady Dong’s mood brightened considerably, but her hand remained tightly clasped around her husband’s waist. She didn’t want to let go, as now her husband was the only one she could rely on.

In the main courtyard, Zhulan faced her second son, ”You’ve just returned from your travels, have you come to see me for something?”

Zhou Shuren’s second son had been back for several days, ”Mother, Yushuang is not getting any younger.”

Zhulan knew the purpose of his visit, ”I’m aware. So, have you found someone suitable?”

Zhou Shuren’s second son hurriedly waved his hands, ”Mother, how would I dare? The children’s marriages are for you and father to decide.”

Zhulan didn’t miss the subtlety in Zhou Shuren’s second son’s response, he wasn’t lying, ”No one has approached you about it?”

Zhou Shuren’s second son answered honestly, ”Quite a few people have approached me.”

Zhulan nodded, ”What brings you here today?”

Zhou Shuren’s second son smiled, ”I heard from Steward Ding that mother bought Wu Ning a house and shops, so I was thinking since Yushuang is of age, I plan to buy a house and shops in the capital as her dowry.”

Zhulan narrowed her eyes, Zhou Shuren’s second son was choosing to buy property in the capital, clearly aiming to marry Yushuang into the capital. Does he believe Zhou Shuren could make it into the capital? No wonder he was unshakable despite people in Jinzhou Province approaching him—the boy had big plans!

Zhou La’er didn’t wait for Mother’s response. ”Mother.”

Zhulan sighed, ”The shops and residences in the capital are not cheap. The price of housing there has been steadily increasing over the past two years.”

Zhou La’er straightened his back; he might not be good at studying, but he was as adept at handling silver as Mother. ”Mother, your son has silver.”

Zhulan took a look and saw that Zhou La’er had a substantial amount of silver. It seemed that every household was quite adept at managing their property now. ”As long as you know what you’re doing, that’s good. However, once you enter the capital and buy the residence and shop, hurry back. It’s best not to associate with people you shouldn’t.”

Zhou La’er turned his mother’s words over in his mind. ”Son has noted it.”

In the capital, inside the government hall, the Emperor looked at his five sons, excluding the Crown Prince, all of whom had come for political assignments. The Zhezi written by Zhou Shuren lay by his hand; he had always been aware of the activity in Jinzhou Province. Zhou Shuren’s methods might be troublesome, but they were effective.

Especially now that he knew about the hidden forces, he needed to maintain control over the capital even more. Zhou Shuren was indeed a blessing.

The Crown Prince had also read the Zhezi and admired Zhou Shuren’s attention to detail. He even thought that if Zhou Shuren were in the capital, he would be more effective than in Jinzhou Province. Unfortunately, Zhou Shuren couldn’t come to the capital for the time being.

The Crown Prince looked at his younger brothers. They were well-informed, aware of the benefits of these assignments.

The Second Prince thought to himself that he must secure this assignment. Once he had it, he would be aware of everyone coming in and out of the capital. It would then be easy to keep tabs on suspicious individuals and catch the Third Prince and his lot off guard.

The Second Prince spoke up, ”Father, the Crown Prince is already burdened with many state affairs. Your son wishes to alleviate some of your worries.”

The Third Prince cursed the Second Prince internally but responded quickly, ”Father, this job requires meticulousness, and Second Brother is not cut out for meticulous work. Your son is careful by nature and thus more suitable.”

The Second Prince, ”....”

Typical of the Third Prince, not stepping on him would feel wrong.

The Fourth Prince butted in, ”If we are speaking of meticulousness, I am the most careful of all. Thank you, Third Brother.”

The Third Prince, ”....”

Wow, the Fourth is so shameless.

Zhang Jinghong was the most anxious of all. His brothers all had assignments while he had none. He desperately needed an assignment; only by completing one could he start to build his power. In fact, he was in quite a pinch now, his silver much diminished, with many of his supporters having defected. With this in mind, he spoke up, ”Father, assignments require undivided attention. My brothers all have other responsibilities; I am the most suitable candidate.”

The Emperor turned his head, ”Crown Prince, what do you think?”

The Crown Prince, ”Your son thinks.”

Seeing his younger brothers all looking at him, anxious for the assignment, he wasn’t about to compete for it. He was going to be the Emperor in the future and had no need to handle such matters.

He paused before continuing, ”Your son thinks the Fifth is suitable.”

The Princes wanted to curse. The Crown Prince was consistently disagreeable!

The Emperor smirked, ”Then it shall be the Fifth.”

The Second to the Fourth Princes went silent. If they had known the Crown Prince’s recommendation was so effective, they would have made sure to send gifts earlier.

The Crown Prince thought ruefully that he was only voicing what the Emperor had already decided; the Emperor had chosen the Fifth long ago.

The next day, Zhou Shuren took a day off. Scholar Deng arrived in Jinzhou Province, and Zhou Shuren signaled for Scholar Deng to follow him to the study, ”What’s the matter in the capital that requires your personal attention?”