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

Chapter 1112: Chapter 1112: There’s Still More to Learn Zhulan chuckled softly. Rongchuan still held the ancient belief that if a couple was healthy, they should continue the family line and bear many children for blessings. ”Having children later is better; do not have them in quick succession, as it’s bad for the health.”

Xue Han spoke quietly, ”Grandma has been feeling better these past few days, now able to sit up by herself. If the child weren’t so young, Grandma would want to hold her every day. My sister-in-law said that Grandma believes my daughter to be very fortunate, and even she and Yu’s family think so.”

Zhulan frowned. ”It’s good that the old lady’s health is improving. It means she’s no longer suffering due to the weather.”

Xue Han agreed, ”Yes, that’s what I said too, but it was to no avail. I claimed it was all based on evidence; even the Imperial Physician said so, but Grandma believed what she wanted to believe. Later on, Grandpa said that Grandma found solace in the child; having something to love made her health improve.”

Zhulan understood, then followed up with the matter of the eldest son selling vegetables to the Xu family. ”When it’s settled, send a steward over.”

Xue Han burst into laughter. ”Mother, there are so many merchants, and my elder brother is just shearing a sheep for its wool!”

Zhulan replied, ”It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. The Xu family would love to take over this opportunity. We haven’t wronged the Xu family, and your sister-in-law’s recipes really are excellent.”

That was why there were now female householders of deep residences. Although there were female chefs in ancient times, culinary traditions were usually passed on to men, rarely to women, and those who did acquire the skill were often older ladies. Thus, Lady Li’s culinary skills could only benefit her own family.

At the Hou Residence, Yao Wenqi had people follow Prince Liang, learning that he had visited Zhou village. However, due to the investigation team, they didn’t dare to follow into Zhou village, for fear of being discovered by Prince Liang.

Now Prince Liang had brought Zhou Shuren’s son to the capital, even directly entering the palace. Yao Wenqi’s ominous premonitions grew stronger until, with a sudden burst of mental clarity, he muttered to himself, ”Impossible, impossible.”

Yao Wenqi outright denied his thoughts; how could such coincidences exist in the world? He didn’t believe them.

Though he verbally expressed disbelief, the thought lingered in his mind, ”Send someone to investigate Zhou Shuren. I want to know about his ancestors for several generations.”

After the messenger left, Yao Wenqi pursed his lips. He still had to deal with the Zhang family. The Zhangs knew he was behind certain actions but did not dare to confront him openly. This could be used to his advantage, operating on the principle that it was better to wrongly execute than to let one slip through.

Two days later, Chang Zhi left the capital, reluctant to depart because the Emperor had ordered him to accompany Chang Zhi for safety. Therefore Chang Zhi had stayed one extra day at home.

Once Chang Zhi left, the fraternal twins burst into tears, now recognizing their parents, feeling upset that their father had returned only to leave again. If not for the Emperor’s men waiting outside, Chang Zhi might have wished to stay a few more days.

The nanny held the children as Ming Jia squirmed to get down and chase after his father, almost slipping from the nanny’s grasp, which nearly gave her a heart attack.

Zhulan felt a deep pang of sympathy. The children, who seldom cried from infancy to now, especially Yu Wen, were now sobbing deeply. Seeing the two child-like figures crying and hugging each other on the kang bed, realizing they couldn’t catch up, they ended up crying in each other’s arms.

Zhulan held back her tears but eventually couldn’t restrain herself. Although she was initially heartbroken, the children now seemed particularly comical. Their distress had faded, and a smile appeared on her lips. ”Enough, enough, no more crying. You still have Grandma!”

She silently cursed Chang Zhi in her heart for spoiling the children too much since his return, holding them while eating, and carrying them everywhere, never letting them out of his arms. It was no surprise that the children were so attached to their father, always thinking of him as the best one to get into mischief with.

Zhulan thought back to how the twins had ruined the painting she had finally finished, and how Chang Zhi had taken the blame, vowing in her heart that the children would definitely not be left for Chang Zhi to teach in the future.

When Ming Jia let go of his sister, he looked up, feeling aggrieved, only to see Grandma laughing, and he burst into tears again, ”Without Dad, Grandma is still laughing.”

Yu Wen, however, stopped crying, clutching her gold bean and silently moved back a little, feeling that her brother crying loudly was rather embarrassing.

Lady Zhao and Lady Li had not yet entered when they heard the wailing of Ming Jia, and Lady Li paused, ”I just realized this boy can cry so much.”

Lady Zhao felt heartache, as while she wasn’t home, her sister-in-law had to take care of Ming Jung, and with the fraternal twins living in her courtyard, she quickly went in and scooped up Ming Jia, ”There now, stop crying, look, crying has made you less pretty.”

Ming Jia’s cries caught in his throat, he choked and coughed several times, wiping his face haphazardly, ”Second Auntie, how about now?”

Zhulan couldn’t help but chuckle, taking an extra moment to observe Lady Zhao, amazed at how quickly she had come to understand the twins’ temperaments—Lady Zhao was truly meticulous.

Lady Zhao smiled, ”Now you look handsome again.”

Ming Jia stopped crying; he wanted to always be pretty, pretty children were loved, his sister was the prettiest, always given treats and toys, his sister did nothing and was still the favorite of all his brothers and sisters.

At sea, this voyage was unlike the last, where Chang Yi fished and admired the scenery; it was leisurely. This time, he was gripping a book, memorizing rigidly, even when his head buzzed continuously, he still did not let go.

The Seventh-rank Official from the Ministry of Rites accompanying him, Mr. Qian, watched him admiringly, ”Ever since you boarded the ship, I’ve only seen you with your nose in a book, you don’t take a break.”

Chang Yi grew more and more anxious as he read, realizing how much he lacked in knowledge. He set the book down, ”Books become precious when it’s time to use them, and I regret not reading when I was a boy. My father beat me with a stick to make me study, and I wouldn’t do it. When I grew up, my father became an official and still urged me to read more, and I didn’t take it to heart, thinking what I knew was enough. Now I regret it deeply; my guts are turning blue from it.”

Mr. Qian, envious beyond description, ”Your regret won’t find a cure, but having a good father is something to be grateful for. You’re still young, it’s not too late to learn slowly.”

Chang Yi detected the sourness in his tone; it was crystal clear. This time, as he led the team, many were jealous, greeting him with officialese, quoting line after line to mock how little he knew. Each time, he wanted to return to his childhood and definitely read more.

Chang Yi smiled slightly, picking up the book. Reading was better than speaking; why not memorize a few more sentences instead of listening to sour words? The book had been marked by his son, indeed, his son was diligent—the explanations were spot-on.

Mr. Qian pursed his lips and turned to leave.

At night in the Rong Garden of the capital, the Emperor and the Crown Prince stood where the main residence of the Rong family used to be. The entire main house had been dug out, forming a very deep pit, with iron and stone already exposed, though the entrance had not yet been unearthed.

The Crown Prince, looking at the depth, was astounded, ”Father, did the Rong family never consider moving this wealth, burying it so deep?”

The Emperor was also shocked, truly there was a second layer, right in the main courtyard, ”The Rong family didn’t rebel; this Silver Coin was merely a contingency plan.”

The Crown Prince circled the pit, ”There should be an entrance to go down.”

”Now it’s already sealed tight, we’ll have to dig it all out and search slowly.”

The Crown Prince squinted his eyes, somewhat skeptical, wondering if the Rong family had constructed it like a tomb—it was quite deep. However, being able to find it and looking towards his father, ”If we find the descendants of Uncle, what becomes of this Silver Coin?”

The Emperor, ”That’s why I want to dig it out in advance. I won’t touch it, I will wait for the legitimate descendants to be found. The clever ones will know what to do.”

The Crown Prince, ”...”

Indeed, he still had much to learn.