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

Chapter 637: Chapter 637: A Letter for Help, Got Spanked

Zhulan saw that Scholar Deng was waiting for her to reply, and closed the report, ”You’ve been working hard these days, the remaining people still need you to continue the investigation.”

Scholar Deng’s mind steadied, he feared that Lady Zhou, the Family Head’s mother, would be unsatisfied with his ability to handle affairs. Everything he now had was by relying on Zhou Shuren, and as he came to know Zhou Shuren better, he understood more and more how much Zhou Shuren cared about Lady Zhou. He would never underestimate the power of influence from one’s bedside companion!

After waiting for Scholar Deng to take his leave, Zhulan took the deed to the small mountain. She wanted to build a manor on the mountain and plant fruit trees all around it; surely it would be beautiful.

Chang Lian had already finished reading the investigative report. His mother had asked him to look at it, and he organized his thoughts before he finally spoke, ”Mother, could there be problems with the Ma family and the Qian family?”

Zhulan inwardly praised him, ”Correct, how did you figure it out?”

Chang Lian pointed out the issue, ”These two families seem unrelated, with not a hint of connection, yet they share the same interests and often visit the same shops. That’s the problem. Now it seems that the shops these two families often visit are also troublesome.”

Zhulan put down the deed in her hand, ”Indeed, so you must learn from your father’s focus when investigating matters. The direction of Scholar Deng’s investigation is as your father directed. You should learn well. Let me add one more thing, people can create many illusions, but habits are subconscious.”

Chang Lian’s eyes widened slightly. He didn’t think these were words his father had told his mother, especially the last part. So his mother was formidable, ”Mother, I will remember that.”

Zhulan estimated the time of day, resigned to it being overcast. Every overcast day left her feeling stifled, unable to judge the time without a sundial, missing the modern clocks and watches, ”You should go back to your studies. Now that I have come to the capital, I will handle all the problems. Don’t worry, focus on your studies.”

Chang Lian’s brow relaxed. Before his mother came, he was always scheming, carrying so many concerns that he found it difficult to multitask. It was hard for him to focus on studying, and it made him anxious, causing more harm than good. But now things were better, ”Mother, I’ll return to the study room.”

After Chang Lian left, Zhulan inquired of Granny Song, ”Where is Chang Zhong?”

Granny Song respectfully replied, ”The young master has gone to see Miss Yu Yi.”

Zhulan was not worried anymore. Lady Dong was quite good at amusing children. Speaking of which, the eldest daughter-in-law in the family was either physically aggressive or loud with the children, and the second daughter-in-law was overly cautious around them. But Dong Chuchu, from a different background and having honed her temperament since marrying into the family early, turned out to be the most easy-going, adept at entertaining children. Ming Hui certainly liked his third aunt a lot!

Zhulan, glancing at the deed for the mountainside land, saw that it was about thirty acres or so – quite sizable actually. Feeling an itch to create, she pulled out ink and brush. Her drawings, which once focused solely on flora and fauna, had evolved; when idle in the Zhou residence, she often sketched its scenic and architectural features, fascinated by the ancient wisdom manifest in numerous details of the estate.

Granny Song helped prepare the paper, watching as a simple architectural framework began to take shape, ”Lady, are you going to design the manor yourself?”

Zhulan smiled, ”Yes, but this is just a rough idea. I will still need to see the terrain to finalize the design.”

Zhulan felt proud of herself for having learned so much over the years from being completely inexperienced, that she now dared to undertake her own design. She wanted to use what she had seen to build a manor she would love.

Granny Song no longer spoke, because the lady had returned to her drawing. The rapid progress the lady made was due to her focus and serious attitude.

In the afternoon, Zhulan received letters from Jinzhou Province. She opened several letters in one go, feeling warmth in her heart, ”Did everyone write to me?”

Granny Song counted the letters, six in total, ”It seems so.”

Zhulan first picked up Zhou Shuren’s letter, which informed her that all was well at home and not to worry. It inquired about her and her son’s wellbeing, but the largest part of the letter was about how Chang Zhi had put one over on him. Zhulan’s mouth kept curving into a smile as she read, relieved that Zhou Shuren was not alone.

Then came the letter from Lady Li. Zhulan still found her handwriting hard on the eyes. Despite not loving to copy calligraphy herself, her own writing had become quite passable over the years. However, Lady Li’s writing showed little improvement. It was fortunate that the words with many strokes were definitely written by Mingyun. Seeing a character with strength amidst a sprawl of soft strokes, Zhulan found it quite delightful.

Lady Li’s letter was filled with trifles, and only at the end did she ask when Zhulan would come home.

Zhulan’s heart softened greatly. What Lady Li wanted to express was that it was only in the Zhou family that her home was complete.

Then came a letter from Xue Han, who sent greetings to her and Chang Zhong, asked about Chang Lian and others, and finally talked about some matters in the residence.

There was a letter from Su Xuan, all about how well the child was doing, telling her not to worry too much, and also mentioned that Chang Zhi had been studying very hard recently.

Zhulan was relieved to see that everything was fine; her greatest concerns were for Su Xuan and the child in her womb.

Of the remaining two letters, one was from Ming Teng, mostly asking when grandmother would come back, and he even rambled on about how scary his fourth uncle was.

The last letter was from Ming Rui. After reading it, Zhulan’s face darkened, and much of her cheerful mood was lost.

Lady Dong noticed the change in her mother-in-law’s expression, ”Mother, is there something wrong at home?”

Zhulan couldn’t discuss Ming Rui’s matter with Lady Dong, ”Nothing. It’s about time for Yu Yi to wake up, and you don’t need to stay with me. You can go back first.”

Standing up, Lady Dong said, ”Mother, I’ll take my leave first.”

”Mhm.”

After Lady Dong left, Zhulan looked over the letter again and sighed deeply. Now in the Zhou family, apart from Mingyun, who was studying together, it was in front of the eldest and second child that comparisons were being made. Since he was young, Ming Rui had been quirky, somewhat unlike a child from the second wife; he was very lively.

Now the second child would find time every day to specifically supervise Ming Rui’s studies, and the child had even been spanked with a paddle once. Ming Rui was bright, but his heart wasn’t entirely set on studying, or else he would not have gotten along with Ming Teng as if they were one person. Zhulan massaged her temples, thinking that the second child’s expectation for his son to succeed was also right.

It was just that imposing such strict demands on Ming Rui from the start, the little fellow was now seeking her help.

Zhulan took up her pen to write a reply. She had quite a few letters to respond to, first to each family, then to her daughter, and finally to Zhou Shuren. Zhulan didn’t think Zhou Shuren was unaware of Ming Rui’s spanking; Zhou Shuren didn’t mention it, which meant he was cognizant of it. It was just how to reply to Ming Rui’s letter?

She had no doubt that if she replied, the little rascal would certainly use her letter to press down on his own father!

In the end, she decided not to reply to the grandsons’ letters. However, in her letter to Zhou Shuren, she mentioned that Ming Rui had written a letter.

These letters were not urgent. It would be fine to send them out tomorrow.

The next day, the letters arrived at the residence in the afternoon. In the evening, Zhou Shuren read them all. Seeing that Zhulan and his son were doing well put him at ease. After dinner, when he went to the study, Zhou Shuren saw the dejected Ming Teng and Ming Rui.

He knew these two little fellows had written letters, and now they were disappointed not to have received any replies!

Zhou Shuren sat down, ”Ming Rui.”