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

Chapter 640: Chapter 640: The Seven-Year-Old Child_1

The following morning, as the temperature warmed up, Zhulan felt much better. Since the temperature had risen somewhat, her son and Rongchuan would suffer a bit less.

Lady Dong wore a smile on her face, which had become brighter. Unfortunately, that afternoon, upon receiving a letter from the Zhou residence, not only did her smile fade, but her expression grew very gloomy.

Even Zhulan came to understand the reason, as not only did her daughter send a letter to Lady Dong, but she also wrote one to her.

Zhulan truly didn’t expect that the Dong family would send a child over. The child was quite young, only seven years old, the youngest son of Lady Dong’s oldest brother. No adults accompanied him; only a nanny and a young servant were with him, which showed a remarkable amount of negligence.

No wonder Lady Dong looked so dismal; she was not only angry that the Dong family had dumped the child on her but also upset that they’d allow a child to travel alone. It was not only unsafe but also disgraceful.

Inside her own bedroom, Lady Dong was almost furious to death. She had anticipated this drama; she just didn’t expect it to be this humiliating. Was every adult dead that they sent a child instead?

After getting angry for a while, Lady Dong sat down, feeling dizzy from the frustration. This truly was a trap for her, and the humiliation was severe. How would this look to her husband’s family?

In the Jinzhou Residence, Xue Han said, ”By now, mother and sister-in-law should have received the letters.”

Lady Li had already gotten over her shock, ”I really didn’t expect that the Dong family would do worse than my parents.”

Rubbing her forehead, Xue Han agreed, ”We can only wait for my sister-in-law to come back and make arrangements.”

After all, she could not simply send the child back directly. The child was family, after all, and there was also the matter of her sister-in-law’s face to consider. For now, they could only take good care of him, offering the best food and drink.

In her heart, Lady Li thought that the daughters of the Dong family were fine, but the sons were too cunning, never content with being steady but always looking to jump around. Her parents also mentioned in their letters that the Dong family’s children were admitted to the Zhou family’s clan school. Ah, the Li family had one too, only their children went there to study and read, and their performance was also at the bottom!

In the Zhou village, Xue Mei was teaching her daughter to sew clothes when she heard Dong Yiyi announce herself. Noticing the basket in Dong Yiyi’s hand, Xue Mei said, ”You haven’t been well for long, why didn’t you rest at home? Why come today?”

Dong Yiyi felt a bit guilty facing Xue Mei, even though what the Dong family had done had nothing to do with her, but who let her surname be Dong, ”I steamed some buns today, so I brought some over.”

Xue Mei smiled as she accepted them. She really liked the buns made by Dong Yiyi. Who would have thought that after Dong Yiyi’s downfall, she would develop such excellent culinary skills, ”Thank you, please have a seat.”

Dong Yiyi looked at Jiang Zhu, and couldn’t help but think of her own daughter. Her daughter had also changed a lot, quietly helping her, yet still not getting along with the village girls. She hoped her daughter could become friends with Jiang Zhu, but unfortunately, it was only a superficial relationship.

However, not to mention her daughter, she was in the same position, longing to integrate into the village life but remaining distant. The only person she could really talk to was Zhou Xuemei.

Seeing Dong Yiyi silent, Xue Mei asked, ”Is something the matter?”

Dong Yiyi shook her head, ”It’s nothing. I was just bored at home. Are you preparing spring clothes?”

Xue Mei smiled and nodded, ”These are for Jiang Zhu. The boy is growing so quickly, his clothes become too small in no time.”

When she heard this, Dong Yiyi thought of her own son. Even though she had some silver left after selling her dowry to buy a house and farmland, she dared not spend it recklessly. Her son needed to be educated, and her daughter, who was not so young, would eventually need a dowry prepared too. All of it required money.

Now that her son’s clothes were getting small, she should buy some fabric. She felt envious of Zhou Xuemei; the Zhou family was really good to their daughter.

In Jinzhou at night, Xue Han bid farewell to the doctor, feeling very worn out. She said to the nanny, ”I’m going to trouble you to take special care of the child tonight.”

The nanny knew that the young mistress didn’t trust the nanny who came from the Dong family, ”Yes.”

As Xue Han headed back to her quarters, she thought to herself that the nanny from the Dong family was no good. She remembered the doctor’s words: the child had been fatigued by the journey and was scared, which led to the fever. It was clear that she hadn’t taken good care of her own charge, and she had only caused more trouble upon arrival.

The servants and nannies of the Zhou residence were all well-trained, and it was much more comforting to rely on her own people.

Xue Han had no intention of disturbing her father, as there was no need. If she couldn’t handle such a trivial matter, she might as well give up stewardship rights.

Upon returning to the courtyard, Xue Han asked Liu Li about the health of her fourth sister-in-law, ”How is Fourth Sister-in-law doing now?”

Liu Li replied, ”The Magistrate and the child are both doing well. The Magistrate ate an extra bowl of egg custard last night.”

Xue Han took up the pen and jotted down the information. Her mother had always said, ”A good memory is no match for a written record.” So she formed the habit, and after reviewing the past few days’ records of her fourth sister-in-law’s condition, she finally felt some joy—both her sister-in-law and the child were fine.

Liu Jin passed over a plate of fruit. ”Miss, have some fruit.”

Xue Han shared some with Liu Li and Liu Jin, then continued to eat as she thought. Her mother would not return any time soon, and her third brother and Rongchuan had to get through smoothly, with the palace examinations yet to come. Counting the days made Xue Han feel listless—she missed her mother.

Time passed quickly, and the first exam session was over. Zhulan didn’t go to meet the candidates; Lady Dong did.

When Zhulan finally saw them, both Chang Lian and Rongchuan, who were normally solid in physique, looked exhausted. The main reason was the tremendous mental strain. ”The first session is finished; you both wash up, and then come back to eat.”

Chang Lian and Rongchuan swallowed hard, feeling hungry, and hurried back to their courtyard to freshen up.

Chang Zhong blinked, ”Mother, wasn’t Third Brother going to take an exam? Why does he look so worn out?”

”You wouldn’t understand now; you’ll know when you’re older.”

Suddenly, Chang Zhong didn’t want to grow up anymore. He felt great as things were, with his parents doting on him and plenty of delicious food and fun to enjoy!

At mealtime, Zhulan didn’t ask about the exam but it was Chang Lian who spoke up, ”Mother, I think I did quite well in the examination. The first session wasn’t difficult.”

Zhulan smiled, ”It’s good that you are confident.”

However, Rongchuan was somewhat concerned. If the first session was easy, the following ones might not be. The level of this session’s candidates was high; to create a gap, the questions would have to be harder.

Chang Lian also understood this, but he wanted to give his mother peace of mind with his presence, thinking that it was better when his mother was by his side; he felt especially secure once home.

In the Palace, within the Empress’s chambers, the Crown Prince had come with his father, the Emperor. He was missing his daughter somewhat; after all, he had gained another son, but not even a son weighed as heavily as a daughter in his arms. It wasn’t because the Queen Mother had personally raised her, but simply because he only had one daughter!

The Crown Prince noticed his mother’s good color, ”Has Mother had any delightful events recently?”

The Empress was in a rather pleasant mood, ”Caught a long-hidden rat, surprisingly fat.”

The Crown Prince understood that someone had been caught, ”Mother should also take good care of her health.”

The Empress acknowledged with an indication she understood, then asked the Emperor, ”Did the torture reveal anything?”

The Emperor’s eyes held a severe coldness, the kind that comes from hiding for too long, ”Very tight-lipped indeed.”

The Empress put down her teacup, ”It looks like nothing will come out of her. Since that’s the case, we cannot grant her a quick end.”

The Emperor hummed in agreement.

This was the first time the Crown Prince saw a murderous intent in his mother’s eyes. This was different from how she dealt with palace attendants who made mistakes. Now he truly believed what his father, the Emperor, had said: an angry Empress indeed was fearsome!