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

Chapter 1055: Chapter 1055 Similar

In the capital, five days have passed in the blink of an eye. Many things have happened within those days, centering attention on the Chen family clan and overshadowing the tragedy of the Yao family. The Chen family has withdrawn cleanly and swiftly, with Mr. Chen himself directly moving to a rural estate outside the capital, attracting many onlookers during the move.

Zhou Shuren did not care for these events; he had brought Yang Wen to visit Li Zhao, hoping for a favor on this visit unlike last time, which ended up being a setback.

Li Zhao sized up Yang Wen, ”This lad is quite robust.”

Zhou Shuren explained, ”My in-laws are military generals; all their kids are solidly built.”

Li Zhao was familiar with Zhou Shuren’s in-laws, and the young man’s father had earned his merits in the past, ”Let’s go outside. I’ll have someone test the boy’s martial skills.”

Zhou Shuren had confidence in Yang Wen, who had not neglected his training since arriving in the capital, practicing daily with Jin Yan, ”Alright.”

Yang Wen felt a bit nervous, fearing he might embarrass his uncle by marriage and held his sword cautiously, sizing up the opposing guard.

Zhou Shuren sat with Li Zhao, sipping tea, but his eyes never left the two sparring.

Before a cup of tea’s time had passed, Li Zhao laughed, ”This child’s martial arts are indeed good; with these skills, you can be a little more at ease when he is in the army.”

Zhou Shuren raised his teacup, ”Thank you.”

Li Zhao returned the gesture with a cup of tea and commented quietly, ”Do you have any thoughts about it?”

Zhou Shuren concealed the emotion in his eyes, feigning ignorance, ”Thoughts about what?”

Li Zhao smiled, not believing Zhou Shuren didn’t understand. What he wanted to discuss was the Yao family matter, ”Playing dumb is no fun.”

Zhou Shuren sipped his tea, ”Then what are Mr. Li’s thoughts?”

Li Zhao chuckled, ”I didn’t have many thoughts before, but now I have some.”

Zhou Shuren, ”Oh?”

Li Zhao, with a hint of a smirk, ”The Yao family is heading toward destruction.”

Zhou Shuren internally rolled his eyes; he knew that already. He just kept sipping his tea with a smile.

Li Zhao felt the conversation lacked interest. He’d finally wanted to chat, but felt rather stifled, since the position of Minister of War inevitably meant being a lonely official; he had to keep everything in his heart.

At Zhou’s house, Zhulan was surprised by her daughter’s words, ”Your father-in-law said this?”

Xue Han nodded, ”My father-in-law spoke about it with Rongchuan.”

Zhulan had thought that the Emperor was simply coercing and venting his anger by making a move against the Yao family, but she had never imagined, ”The situation with the Rong family back then was similar to that of the Yao family?”

Xue Han was also astonished, ”Rongchuan said it wasn’t exactly the same. The casualties in the Rong family were not as numerous as those in the Yao family, but the situations were similar. They were both devoured bit by bit until nothing was left.”

She too was particularly shocked when she heard this, feeling that the tragedy of the Yao family was no simple matter, and her father-in-law would not talk about such things without reason.

Zhulan’s heart raced a bit faster as she boldly conjectured that the Yao family must have been involved in the annihilation of the Rong family all those years ago. If that were the case, things would start to make sense. The Emperor was not just coercing, but was also applying the principle of ’an eye for an eye’, a tack very much in line with His Majesty’s temperament.

Xue Han tugged at her mother’s sleeve, ”Mother, what are you thinking about?”

Zhulan came back to her senses, ”Nothing really, I’m just a bit surprised.”

Xue Han didn’t think much of it, ”I heard from Rongchuan that when he was in the palace, sometimes the Emperor would mention the Rong family. The jade pendant that the Emperor is carving now belongs to the Rong family. Unfortunately, carving is difficult and Rongchuan hasn’t seen the completed jade pendant yet.”

Zhulan thought about the connection between the Rong family and the Yao family, and listened to her daughter’s words without much attention, ”Just from the construction of the Rong Garden, you can see how much the Emperor values the Rong family.”

Xue Han nodded, ”Now Prince Qi is holed up in the Rong Garden and refuses to come out.”

Zhulan lapsed into silence. The Chen family clan had been gradually withdrawing from the court, and Prince Qi remained aloof, moving into the Rong Garden these past few days to block quite a lot of scrutiny.

Xue Han just mentioned it in passing, not daring to say more, ”Mother, the little nephew looks too much like Big Sister, they could have been carved from the same mold.”

Zhulan smiled too, yes, he truly resembled Lady Li, and these past few days as the child had grown, he looked even more like her, with his eyes, nose - not a single feature that wasn’t similar. And the eldest was particularly fond of him, which made Lady Li somewhat disdainful.

The children at home were mostly like her and Zhou Shuren - they weren’t chubby, and the boys were even a bit on the thin side. Now that they had one who looked like Lady Li, it was just a matter of seeing if his build would be like Lady Li’s too.

In the afternoon, Yang Wen came back by himself, and Zhulan asked, ”Where is your Uncle?”

Grinning from ear to ear after having behaved well today, Yang Wen couldn’t calm down, ”On our way back, we ran into Princely Heir Yao, and Uncle decided to have tea with Princely Heir Yao, telling me to go home first.”

Zhulan hummed in response, for Zhou Shuren had always wanted to have a chance encounter with Yao Zheyu, and today he had gotten his wish.

At the entrance of Zhou family’s village, the carriage slowed down, and Su Xuan, unable to wait, pulled back the curtains of the carriage, ”Is this the ancestral home of my husband?”

Chang Zhi watched the familiar scenery, nodding, ”Yes, this is where I grew up. The village isn’t really a village anymore, it wasn’t this big before and didn’t have so many grand residences.”

Su Xuan’s hometown was a renowned place, with generations of accumulated heritage. The Zhou family would need a few more generations to build something similar, she thought as she let the curtain fall.

Chang Zhi arrived at the old residence, where Steward Ding was already waiting, along with the Clan Leader. Chang Zhi hurriedly got out of the carriage, ”Clan Leader, my apologies for making you wait.”

Clan Leader Zhou smiled, ”I haven’t been waiting long, and you, Chang Zhi, you’re looking more and more spirited.”

Chang Zhi explained, ”We should have arrived a few days earlier, but the rain made the roads challenging, so we were delayed.”

Clan Leader Zhou replied, ”As long as you’ve arrived home safely, that’s what matters. You must be tired from your journey. I just came to see you, and we can talk more tomorrow. I’ll be going back now.”

Chang Zhi indeed felt a bit tired. It had been a rough journey, bumpy enough to shake one’s bones apart, ”I’ll see you out, Clan Leader.”

Clan Leader Zhou waved him off, ”No need, Ming Qing will accompany me. You should rest early too.”

Chang Zhi still insisted on seeing the Clan Leader out of the courtyard. Once the Clan Leader was far enough away, he was about to turn back when a carriage rushed by almost splattering mud on him. Frowning, he watched the carriage come to a stop and then redirected his gaze.

Back inside the courtyard with Steward Ding there, everything was arranged, and he decided to take a bath and rest.

At the doorstep of Wang Laosi’s house, the carriage came to a stop. Wang Rong had come to bring his mother and younger brother home. After getting out of the carriage and noticing the commotion around the old Zhou residence, he inquired with the waiting father, ”Which member of the Zhou family has returned?”

Wang Laosi didn’t look kindly upon his second daughter, feeling quite displeased. His son had only left for a few days when she hurriedly brought him back. Although he showed his dissatisfaction, he dared not speak disrespectfully - his son’s future still depended on her. ”Young Master Zhou, the fourth son of the Zhou family, has returned - that’s Zhou Changzhi. These past few days the whole village has been talking about it. I heard he brought the Magistrate with him. It’s only been a few years, and the Zhou family...”

He stopped talking then, not wishing to say more, the more he spoke, the more regretful he felt. Why hadn’t he treated the Zhou family better in the past? If they had gotten along, would his son’s future still be a worry?

Facing his parents, Wang Rong felt no ripples in his heart. She wouldn’t get angry, it wasn’t worth it, ”I’ve brought mother and younger brother back. I need to hurry back, so I will leave first.”