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

Chapter 822: Chapter 822 Major Incident

Ming Rui looked at the two people head-to-head, not knowing what they were saying, ”Mm.”

Ning Zhao felt somewhat envious; he had no friends. As the eldest grandson and due to the unique situation of the Duke Residence, everyone he knew was a relative. Yet, he was not close to his cousins, who were overly eager to please him.

For Ming Rui, Ning Zhao was an ambitious and good child. He pulled Ning Zhao to the side, ”You better not get involved, those two together are nothing but trouble.”

Ning Zhao uttered an ”Oh,” and sat down sulkily, staring at the book and silently reciting in his mind that he was the eldest grandson and he had responsibilities. The envy in his eyes disappeared as he opened the book to review his lessons.

In Jingnan’s estate, Zhulan got off the carriage and, looking at the distant fields and orchards, felt relaxed, ”Shall we take a walk around?”

Zhou Shuren, with his hands clasped behind his back, replied cheerfully, ”Sure.”

Zhulan signaled the maids not to follow; this rare moment alone with him was enough, with just Jingyan accompanying them.

In front of the estate flowed a creek. The rainwater had been plentiful in the past few days, swelling the creek. Listening to the stream’s flow, Zhulan remarked, ”The scenery here is truly nice. Look at the mountain, the maple trees there; the maple leaves have turned red.”

Zhou Shuren’s smile was light and joyful. In the capital, his heart was never at ease, afraid that one wrong step could lead to disaster. Now, in the estate gazing at the beautiful scenery, he felt quite relaxed, ”Tomorrow morning, how about we go hiking?”

Zhulan responded, ”Sure.”

Zhou Shuren thought about barbecue, ”An afternoon outdoor barbecue and an evening in the hot springs, now that’s living.”

Zhulan laughed, ”Rest is really nice. I wish you could retire earlier so we could spend our days like this every day.”

Jingyan heard this and thought to herself that her mistress’s wish was unlikely to be fulfilled, given the Crown Prince’s high regard for the master; retirement seemed difficult.

Zhou Shuren took Zhulan’s hand, not responding directly to his wife’s words because he knew it wasn’t feasible, ”Let’s walk ahead.”

Zhulan looked at the rice paddy in front of them, ”Okay.”

Inside the estate, Lady Li observed the yard where the main house was located, ”The estate is really big, and it’s quite elegantly built.”

Lady Li understood that this was a Zhou family estate, not a dowry property for their daughter. She inspected everything with particular care.

Yu Lu’s eyes were full of smiles, ”Mother, you’ve also come to appreciate elegance?”

Lady Li replied, ”Your mother has been an eldest lady for many years; I do understand a bit of it.”

Yu Lu took her mother’s hand, ”Mother, let’s go for a stroll in the garden. I hear the lotus pond is quite lovely.”

Lady Li, looking at the maids and old women packing up, couldn’t help but feel nostalgic; she rarely did any work herself anymore, ”Good, let’s go have a look.”

In the second wife’s part of the residence, Zhao’s family, with her two daughters, were also strolling in the garden, soon running into their elder sister-in-law.

In the fourth residence, Su Xuan felt the chair, ”It’s no surprise it belonged to the Crown Prince, even the timber is hard to find.”

Chang Zhi remarked, ”I don’t have my father’s skills, but I will work hard in the future to earn an estate for the fourth residence.”

”I’ll hold you to that.”

”Mm.”

At noon, after a simple lunch, Zhulan asked the kitchen maid to prepare the meat for the barbecue, along with some vegetables.

In the afternoon, Zhou Shuren took Chang Zhi to fish, while Zhulan was choosing a spot with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

Just as the charcoal fire was getting started, Steward Ding arrived at the estate. Zhulan had just mentioned him to Shuren that day, ”You had a hard journey.”

Steward Ding, feeling that his efforts were appreciated after hearing the mistress’s words, took out a box from his embrace, ”Here is the Silver from the sale of the shops.”

Zhulan took the box, opened it, and found it was filled with silver notes, each with detailed breakdowns.

Steward Ding said, ”The shops were sold with the help of Official Wu, and the price was higher than the market rate, totaling seventeen thousand three hundred taels.”

Zhulan’s eyebrows shot up in delight. The shops she had bought for ten thousand taels were mostly sold now, and she had made a profit of seven thousand taels. She still had some shops left and, by her calculation, she had made a considerable profit this time.

Zhulan remembered that the main branch of the family had also sold some shops. ”How much silver did the eldest branch sell theirs for?”

Steward Ding took out another box and said, ”Seven thousand five hundred taels.”

Zhulan did the math and realized that the main branch had also made a tidy sum of silver. ”You have worked hard on this journey, and even rushed to the manor. You should go down and rest first.”

After handing the silver notes to the lady of the house, Steward Ding finally felt relieved. Heaven knows, he was so frightened bringing back these silver notes. Even with a young servant who was skilled in martial arts accompanying him, he was not at ease. Throughout the journey, he could hardly eat or sleep well, surviving solely on his willpower.

Zhulan called for Lady Li and handed her the box containing the silver notes from the main branch. ”Steward Ding has returned. This is the silver from the sale of the shops. Keep it safe.”

Lady Li received the silver notes, her hands trembling slightly—it was her first time handling so many notes. ”Mother, I must give Steward Ding a generous red envelope.”

Zhulan smiled, ”Make sure to keep these silver notes safe.”

”I will keep them safe, mother. Then if you’ll excuse me, I will go back now.”

She wanted to go back and count the silver notes—counting so many would surely be satisfying.

Zhulan couldn’t help but smile, ”Go ahead.”

After securing the silver notes, Zhulan felt particularly good and returned to the pavilion. She loved autumn, the season of harvest, and thought of the three manors in the capital, the grains from the manors, and that in a few days there would be another income.

Now that they owned land and manors in the capital, the Zhou family no longer needed the food supplies from their old home. From now on, the Li family would only have to send silver each year.

Zhulan thought of the Li family and her grandson, Jiang Zhu. By her calculations, he should be on his way to the capital by now, though she didn’t know his current whereabouts.

The Li family’s caravan had already embarked on their journey, and Jiang Zhu, unaware of his grandmother’s thoughts, was attentively studying his books.

”You’ve been reading the whole journey,” said Lady Li’s elder brother, ”Take a break for a while.”

Jiang Zhu looked up, ”Uncle, I have a plan. Reading for a while is no problem.”

Lady Li’s eldest brother thought to himself, the boy’s dedication was truly enviable. The Li family lacked talent in studies, always getting sleepy when reading, and he himself would get a headache. Yet here was the child, wishing he could read while eating and sleeping.

Jiang Zhu appeared calm, but internally he was anxious. He had always admired his grandfather, and after hearing many stories about him from his fourth uncle, he feared not being good enough and disappointing his grandfather. That’s why he seized every minute to study, hoping to please his grandfather during the examination.

In the capital, at the manor, Zhou Shuren was personally grilling skewers. His skills were a bit rusty at first, burning many, but he slowly got the hang of it. The well-grilled ones were placed in front of his wife, ”Try them and see how they taste.”

Zhulan picked up a skewer, and it smelled delicious. After taking a bite, she commented, ”Mmm, delicious, not bad at all, Zhou Shuren.”

Zhou Shuren saw his wife enjoying the food and felt exceptionally satisfied, ”If you like it, eat more.”

Zhulan dared not overindulge, fearing it might upset her stomach later, ”You’re still recovering from your illness, eat less.”

Zhou Shuren replied, ”I feel so happy that I’ve forgotten all about my illness.”

Zhulan’s thoughts turned to her son, ”I wonder if Chang Xhong is behaving.”

”He’ll be here in a few days,” Zhou Shuren assured her.

Zhulan thought that seemed reasonable and stopped worrying. She watched Zhou Shuren, making sure he didn’t eat too much.

After a good rest, Steward Ding came over, ”Master, the Third Master sent someone with a letter; this is the letter from the Third Master.”

Zhou Shuren wiped his hands. If it wasn’t something important, Chang Lian wouldn’t have sent a letter.