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

Chapter 641: Chapter 641: Lord Wang, So Furious_1

The second round of examinations began, with Lady Dong and Zhulan escorting together, this time without bringing Chang Zhong; Zhulan did not dismount from the carriage, and Lady Dong, undeterred by the cold, planned to stay with her.

Every entry into the examination hall required a check, and today’s queue was somewhat long.

Chang Lian’s heart ached for his wife, ”You should also go back to the carriage and wait.”

Lady Dong looked at the long queue and then around her surroundings, noticing that there were indeed few people accompanying candidates; she stood out conspicuously, swallowing back her refusal, ”All right.”

Seeing his wife return to the carriage, Chang Lian withdrew his gaze.

Rongchuan spoke up, ”After the first round, some people already fell sick.”

Chang Lian continued, ”Most people are simply too weak.”

Fortunately, he had always paid attention to physical training; though he and Rongchuan were exhausted, after a day’s rest, they were full of energy again!

Shen Yang, standing several people away, felt especially dejected. Now he could see clearly that the Third Son Zhou’s countenance was very good; his wish was not going to come true, and, to tell the truth, he was increasingly losing confidence in himself.

Inside the carriage, Lady Dong saw her husband enter the examination hall and retracted her gaze, ”Mother, let’s go back.”

Zhulan opened her eyes, ”All right.”

In Jinzhou Province, within the Zhou Residence, Chang Zhi held a book but was having trouble concentrating, ”Today is the second examination, and I wonder how third brother and Rongchuan are doing.”

Su Xuan was now uncomfortable whether sitting or lying down; if not for her robust health due to martial arts practice, she would have succumbed long ago. Leaning to the side to adjust her position and finding a bit more comfort, she then said, ”It should be smooth sailing. If there were any issues, news would have arrived from the capital by fast horse yesterday.”

Chang Zhi put down the book in his hands, ”I somewhat regret not taking the exam with them this year.”

Su Xuan internally rolled her eyes, ”I think you’ve had enough of teaching your older brothers.”

Chang Zhi’s true feelings were hit on the nose, but he wasn’t the least bit embarrassed, covering his head with the book, ”These last few days have been good; father has completely handed older brother and second brother over to me. Second brother is somewhat better, even though he also dislikes studying, but he has a nimble mind. Older brother, on the other hand, is hopeless and hasn’t exasperated me to death.”

Su Xuan’s mouth curled into a smile. In recent days, her husband hadn’t stopped mumbling irritably; his eldest brother was now avoiding him, no longer wanting to cross his path—they were outright dodging each other, ”Don’t be too hard on eldest brother, our sister-in-law has not stopped coming around here these past days.”

Grinding his back teeth, Chang Zhi replied, ”If father hadn’t reviewed older and second brother’s studies and then expressed his dissatisfaction with me, I would have given up on eldest brother long ago. I am truly the one who suffers,” ”When did mother return?”

Su Xuan chuckled, the entire Zhou Residence was indeed looking forward to their mother-in-law’s return!

The next day, at the Zhou Residence in the capital, Mrs. Xu Zhao Shi, along with her daughter-in-law, came for a visit. Seated, Zhulan and others inquired, ”How did you know I was in the capital?”

Mrs. Xu Zhao explained, ”The Qi Clan has been in correspondence with your eldest daughter-in-law; we only just found out. Had we known earlier, we would have visited sooner.”

After all, the Xu family owed much to the Zhou family.

Zhulan understood, ”You’re free to come as you please, but you always bring such lavish gifts.”

Just look at the array of gift boxes in front of her; they were stacked up, and these were all Silver Coins.

Mrs. Xu Zhao smiled, ”These gifts aren’t very expensive; they are simply Xu family’s token of goodwill, and also in advance to wish for Third Son Zhou to succeed in the examinations spectacularly.”

Hearing this, Zhulan could only offer her thanks, ”I’ve also heard some news about you in the capital; it seems everything is going well with the Xu Residence.”

Mrs. Xu Zhao was now quite content, ”Having a reliance, we are no longer adrift; the Xu Residence owes its wellbeing today to Mr. Zhou’s good fortune.”

Zhulan observed the girl beside Mrs. Xu Zhao: about ten years old, even as a merchant’s daughter, she exuded confidence and grace, ”Is this your granddaughter?”

Smiling, Mrs. Xu Zhao nodded, ”Yes, I brought her out today to gain some experience. She’s ten years old this year, Xu Li.”

The young girl quickly paid her respects, ”Greetings, Madam.”

Zhulan signaled to Madame Song, who understood immediately and quickly brought out some jewelry. With a smile, Zhulan said, ”I came in a hurry and don’t have much of worth to offer. This pair of dangling hairpins are quite nice, though.”

Lady Xu Zhao replied, ”Thank you, Madam.”

Afterward, Zhulan learned the news of the capital through Lady Xu Zhao. The merchants she was in contact with spread news particularly fast. Coupled with their social status, the circle of merchant families was actually even more gossip-prone.

Zhulan saw Lady Xu Zhao out and digested the news she had heard. The first piece of news was that Marquis Ning, having had his status restored, had no plans to marry. This topic had been hot for a while and had not cooled down - a single Marquis, no matter his age, was still considered a catch.

The second piece of news was that policies related to merchants had been relaxed somewhat.

In the imperial harem in the capital, the Empress held portraits in her hand, handing them to the third brother, ”These are all the candidates I’ve investigated. You said last time that they were too young; these are a bit older, good-looking, and from respectable families.”

Ning Xu didn’t look at the portraits and said, ”At my age, I’d only be wasting these young ladies’ time.”

After speaking, he despised himself. If it weren’t for his own issues, cough, he would still marry for the sake of heirs, but right now, he truly didn’t want to waste these young ladies’ time.

The Empress felt pained, ”You’re not old, third brother. If you still find these ladies too young, I can look further for you.”

As long as the third brother was willing to marry, she was willing to take a step back, even though she was already married.

Ning Xu looked at his sister, who was intent on compensating him and he felt a headache develop, ”You don’t have to take it all upon yourself; the Ning Residence is also for the purpose of seeking wealth and a better life.”

He knew that after the death of the eldest brother, it was the sister who felt most guilty. With him being in this condition, it made her feel even worse.

The Empress sat down on a chair. The third brother spoke nicely, but if it weren’t for her, the Ning Residence would have not given everything. The life of the eldest brother, the injury of the second brother, the third brother had been walking on the knife’s edge for years, ”Brother.”

This was the brother closest to her in age; they were only a year and a half apart, and had the closest bond, growing up together since they were young!

Ning Xu felt that he could not keep his sister in the dark any longer. Even though they hadn’t seen each other for many years, once she set her mind on something, she wouldn’t change it. It was better to have short-term pain than long-term pain, to avoid the frustration of wasted efforts that could be avoided by telling her about his inability to have children.

The Empress was stunned, her heart burning like fire with anger, sadness, guilt, and finally, she closed her eyes, ”I understand. I’ll leave it be.”

What right did she have to interfere, and what qualification did she have to manage the third brother’s affairs?

Ning Xu opened his mouth but in the end, it turned into a sigh, ”We all hope you can be well.”

You’re well, the Crown Prince is well, then the Ning family can be well.

Time passed quickly, and the second examination had also come to an end. After resting for a day, the final and most crucial examination would take place.

Even Zhulan was exceptionally careful and nervous at this time. This was the most vital step.

In Jinzhou Residence, Master Wang inquired, ”Mr. Zhou, how is the third son’s health?”

Zhou Shuren didn’t even look up as he replied, ”Still okay.”

Master Wang had expected to hear that Zhou’s third son had fallen ill; however, with two rounds over and no such news, he had been quite concerned. He had even specially asked his father to pay attention. Now, looking at Mr. Zhou, he felt deceived by him.

Zhou Shuren, blocked by the light, raised his head, ”Why haven’t you left?”

Master Wang said, ”Mr. Zhou, the third son wasn’t sick at all, was he!”

Zhou Shuren smiled slightly, ”I thought you would have guessed that already.”

After all, the second round was over. If his constitution really had issues, it would have been tough to endure it!

Master Wang said nothing.

He admitted it. He admitted it! So frustrating!