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

Chapter 1116: Chapter 1116: The Child Fell Down

The capital, some days had passed since the local examination results had been announced, and Zhulan had been eagerly waiting for the scores of her fourth son. Every day when Zhou Shuren came home, she would ask him once, as the examination results would be delivered to the capital, where official dispatches were faster than the urgent letters from her son.

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren did not attend the early morning court this month. As soon as he arrived, Zhang Jinghong was already waiting at the entrance of the Ministry. Upon seeing Zhou Shuren, he stepped forward to congratulate him, ”Congratulations, Mr. Zhou, your fourth son placed second in the local examination.”

Zhou Shuren felt that his son could have been the first, so he had always been quite confident. He had not expected this blow to his pride, but he reacted quickly, ”Thank you.”

Zhang Jinghong smiled, ”The results arrived in the capital early this morning. Mr. Qiu came back and said the news has already spread throughout the Ministry of Revenue.”

Zhang Jinghong truly admired Mr. Zhou, not only for his own scholarly achievements but also for raising such an impressive son.

Zhou Shuren was congratulated all the way to his office, where Qiu Yan was already waiting for him, ”Congratulations, Brother Zhou. Today, the Crown Prince read out the top three names from each state in the court, and His Highness also specifically mentioned that you have raised your son well.”

Now the entire court was convinced that the Crown Prince would succeed to the throne smoothly, and these days everyone was eagerly making their presence felt before the Crown Prince. Being remembered by His Highness was something Qiu Yan greatly admired. Even with the transfer of imperial power, Zhou Shuren was bound to be heavily relied upon by the Crown Prince.

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan also said, ”With the Crown Prince valuing Mr. Zhou so highly, I hope you will support me more in the future.”

Zhou Shuren inwardly scoffed, as he truly did not want to be remembered by the Crown Prince. The Zhezi he had just submitted was clearly addressed to Prince Liang, yet the Crown Prince had kept him back several times, nearly desperate to fill out the framework he had offered. Bah, this was ancient times; providing a general framework was one thing, but filling in was another—there were too many intertwined interests. Don’t think that merchants could be easily bullied; noble families also controlled many merchants. If pushed too hard, those with bold enough courage would not hesitate. He would not be foolish enough to get involved.

In a world where walls had ears, he could offer frameworks, but once he meddled in everything, it would eventually get out. Drawing animosity was not wise; it could lead to his destruction. Moreover, he did not dare to truly meddle, especially during a transfer of imperial power. It was better to give advice and stay honest.

Back at the Zhou household, Xue Han was also concerned about her fourth brother’s scores. When her father received the news and told her, she rushed back to her maternal home, ”Mother, second brother placed second in the local exam.”

Zhulan was surprised, ”He didn’t get first?”

Indeed, like husband like wife, both were concerned, yet confident in Chang Zhi’s abilities.

Xue Han was speechless for a moment. When her father had received the news, he was very happy, praising her father for his ability to teach his son. She weakly said, ”Is second place that bad?”

Zhulan cleared her throat and explained, ”It’s not bad, it’s actually quite good. You know your fourth brother has been a Scholar for many years and has never slacked off. Your fourth brother was aiming for first place, so I was surprised when he didn’t achieve it.”

Xue Han, thinking of her fourth brother’s studious vigor, felt that second place was indeed a blow to him, ”Mother, won’t fourth brother feel pressured? I remember him saying he wanted to return as the Top Scorer.”

Zhulan clearly remembered, ”This year’s imperial examination was very competitive. Your fourth brother confidently returned to Pingzhou for the test, and the result was second place. Next year, Graduates from all the states will gather in the capital, all aiming for the Top Scorer.”

Xue Han was unaware that her fourth brother aspired to achieve a grand slam in the examinations, and now the first hurdle had been failed.

Zhulan asked, ”Is Lin Xi still in the palace?”

Xue Han nodded, despondently, ”She has been living inside the palace for a while now. I wanted to bring her back, but Rongchuan asked me to wait a few more days. Mother, do you think the Empress wouldn’t want to adopt my daughter? My heart keeps pounding uneasily!”

She had already argued with Rongchuan yesterday. Her own daughter should be raised by herself; just thinking about it frustrated her. From birth until now, if it wasn’t her grandmother looking after her, then it was the Empress. Xue Han, as the biological mother, was pushed to the side.

Zhulan heard the resentment in her daughter’s voice and patted her hand, ”Rongchuan said he will certainly make it happen.”

Xue Han trusted her mother, ”Mhm.”

At noon, Zhou Shuren generously hosted a meal, as it was only proper to celebrate his youngest brother’s excellent results. He reserved an entire restaurant near the Ministry of Revenue and invited officials from there.

Zhou Shuren asked Mr. Xiao and Qiu Yan to head over first. Just as all the guests had arrived at the restaurant and the food was about to be served, Prince Qi and Prince Chu arrived.

Prince Qi said with a smile, ”Congratulations to Mr. Zhou. I heard the news and couldn’t resist coming to share in your joy.”

Prince Chu chimed in, ”I happened to run into Prince Qi and decided to come along.”

Immediately, two officials from the Ministry of Revenue vacated their seats, and Prince Qi and Prince Chu took their places. Zhou Shuren smiled, ”Having Prince Qi and Prince Chu here is an honor for me.”

Prince Qi was genuinely interested in befriending Zhou Shuren. The last time Prince Liang returned to the capital, he brought along young master Zhou, who then stayed in the capital. Though the task intended for the Rong family was taken over by the Crown Prince, there were problems and they could all see it. Picking up his cup, Prince Qi toasted, ”This prince toasts to Mr. Zhou.”

Zhou Shuren took a small sip, as he still had duties to attend to. In fact, what was in his wine cup was just tea.

Prince Chu laughed, picking up his wine cup to toast as well, and once Zhou Shuren set down his cup, he seemed to speak casually, ”Ever since Prince Liang returned to the capital, he’s been very courteous to Mr. Zhou. I saw him on the street the other day, and he even made way for Mr. Zhou. I thought my eyes were deceiving me!”

It was quite the juicy story, and the normally quiet Ministry of Revenue officials all pricked up their ears, including Mr. Xiao and Qiu Yan.

What could Zhou Shuren say? Could he admit that Prince Liang hadn’t seen the letter because the Emperor referred to him as a cousin, leading Prince Liang to treat him as an elder? Prince Liang had been avoiding him ever since, repulsed by the idea. Zhou Shuren was pleased; the less Prince Liang enjoyed himself, the happier Zhou Shuren was.

Zhou Shuren said, ”Prince Liang has a noble character. He only made way for me as I had urgent matters to attend to, and I didn’t expect Prince Chu to have witnessed it.”

Prince Chu didn’t believe it for a second. He knew very well what his brother, whom he had grown up with, was like. The younger brother had been very harsh toward the Zhou family. How could he have changed so suddenly? Yet Zhou Shuren was crafty, ”Is that so? It seems that Mr. Zhou holds a high opinion of the younger prince’s character.”

Zhou Shuren smiled, ”In my eyes, all the princes have fine character, and I have always taken note.”

Prince Qi, observing Zhou Shuren’s composed demeanor, laughed, ”Since Mr. Zhou holds me in such high esteem, I would like to converse more with you. I will come to visit another day.”

Zhou Shuren wasn’t flustered. He had already taken all his leave for the next month, so he graciously replied, ”That would be wonderful.”

As the meal reached its halfway point, the guards for Princes Qi and Chu hurried in, whispering into the ears of both princes.

Zhou Shuren’s ears were sharp, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. Well, well, Zhang Yang certainly knows how to stir trouble. A child, born not so long before, had been accidentally dropped today!

Prince Qi was momentarily stunned but then quickly stood up. Zhang Yang was a pawn found by his imperial father from the Zhang clan. Annoyed, and cursing Zhang Yang for his ineptitude and tendency to cause more harm than good, he said, ”Mr. Zhou, I must leave due to urgent matters.”

Prince Chu also wished to see what had happened. Ever since he started behaving, he had been following in Prince Qi’s footsteps, becoming more aware of certain secrets the latter knew which he did not.

Zhou Shuren wanted to see as well, expressing great regret in his eyes. He hoped the child was all right; after all, this child was an important pawn for the Emperor.

Xiao Qing coughed, ”They’ve all left, stop watching.”

Zhou Shuren, ”...I didn’t mean to watch the spectacle.”

Xiao Qing, ”Heh.”

Sure, I believe you. Not.