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

Chapter 1158: Chapter 1158: When too many things get mixed into a marriage, the feelings change

These days, numerous big news stories had been emerging in the capital. The common people might not know the story of the Rong family, but they knew the vastness of Rong Garden, which clearly indicated the prosperity of the Rong clan. The Rong clan had descendants now, including a well-known and respected official among the populace—indeed, Zhou Shuren was seen as the very embodiment of a good official who got things done, especially since the Emperor had detailed Zhou Shuren’s achievements in court, which had already spread among the common folk.

Now, the treasury of the Rong clan had the citizens of the capital all stirred up—those boxes filled with gold would easily drive people out of their minds if not for their lids.

Today, public notices were posted—the construction of roads starting from the capital would be funded with gold from the Rong clan’s treasury.

Originally, Zhou Shuren was worried that, abundant though the Rong family’s gold reserve was, it would still not be enough to reconstruct every road in the country. However, after reading the Crown Prince’s zhezi, Zhou Shuren felt reassured. The gold from the Rong clan’s treasury was just a catalyst for the road construction. The Crown Prince’s zhezi had outlined the method: each Prefecture City would manage its own region, with detailed specifications on road tolls and maintenance.

Zhou Shuren, stroking his beard, stood silently in front of the court’s backdrop wall. In the past, there had also been tolls for road usage, but those were merely well-trodden paths that turned muddy when it rained, so many tried to evade the tolls.

But now it was different—the roads were made of concrete, impervious to rain and smoother than dirt paths, meaning less wear and tear on carriages and goods transported. Merchants would not miss out on this for the sake of penny-pinching.

Zhou Shuren found himself lost in memories. He recalled that during the Ming dynasty, there were also tolls collected, and he had once amusedly watched the many ways people skirted the tolls.

Zhou Shuren snapped back to the present. The Prince’s zhezi had been approved; it only awaited drafting and dissemination.

Zhou Shuren was still pleased because the tolls collected would go to the Ministry of Revenue. They would first be gathered, and then the Ministry would allocate funds for road repairs and maintenance.

Zhou Shuren could almost see the Silver growing wings and flying into the national treasury. He felt more collection points should be established at each port.

In the following days, the capital’s main streets were half under construction and half open to traffic, to the dismay of officials commuting to and from the government office. Zhou Shuren would certainly be stuck in traffic if he didn’t leave early for home.

Zhulan frowned, ”Can’t we take our time with this?”

Zhou Shuren replied, ”The Emperor isn’t planning on taking it slowly; he is in a hurry.”

Zhulan paused, then realizing that the Emperor might be contemplating abdication, she understood that he wanted to have the capital’s roads fixed before he stepped down. ”If the construction isn’t fast enough, will we have to wait?”

Zhou Shuren, smiling, said, ”No one would complain about having too many achievements. Not everyone is a sage.”

Zhulan muttered softly, ”Would the Crown Prince feel rushed?”

Zhou Shuren thought the Crown Prince would indeed feel rushed—and probably feared that the Emperor had more in mind than just repairing the roads of the capital.

Over at the Crown Prince’s residence, the Crown Prince was indeed feeling anxious, but the more anxious he was, the more he had to remain seeming calm. At such a time, he dared not show the slightest irritation and had to execute his father’s orders impeccably.

The Crown Prince did not covet accomplishments. He had his pride and could carve out his own brilliant achievements for history, rather than long for his father’s. Besides, it was indeed his father who had initiated the road construction while in power.

Head aching, the Crown Princess Consort made some soup and sent it to the study.

Surprised by the soup from the Crown Princess Consort, the Crown Prince thought she must have something on her mind and only returned to the inner court after having the soup, ”Is Consort in need of something?”

Handing over a cup of tea, the Crown Princess Consort said, ”It’s about my cousin. You know that he has limited abilities, so my family is searching for a minor position for him.”

The Crown Prince knew the Crown Princess Consort’s family better than she did herself. Her brothers were indeed not bad, but the others didn’t catch his interest. ”So he doesn’t want to leave the capital?”

The Crown Princess Consort nodded.

The Crown Prince stood up, ”I understand.”

Such a matter was still manageable, but, ”Only this once.”

This was also in consideration of the Crown Princess Consort’s feelings. Moreover, he feared causing trouble outside the capital, so staying within it was fine—let him hold a minor post and muddle through.

As the Crown Prince was about to leave, the Crown Princess Consort had words on the tip of her tongue but did not stop him. In the end, she sighed. With the Crown Prince becoming more adept at court politics, the couple had less time together. He was too busy and increasingly hid his emotions.

After years of marriage and knowing each other since the Crown Prince was young, they had once understood each other well, but now her grasp on his feelings had become uncertain.

Today, it was under the pretext of family matters, but wasn’t it also for seeing her husband, to talk a little more, to ease the unease in her heart?

The Female Officer whispered, ”Your Highness, it’s getting late.”

The Crown Princess Consort stood up and said to the Female Officer, ”Marriage needs cultivation, but, never mind, let’s rest.”

The Crown Prince was gradually transforming into an Emperor. An Emperor’s heart is difficult to fathom, even for those near his pillow. She too had changed; the Crown Prince was once her husband, but now she had to be much more careful. Both had changed within their marriage.

Before long, an urgent message from the capital arrived in Xuzhou Province. Lady Dong’s mouth gaped open as she read it, then, snapping back to reality, she called for the steward, ”Quickly, go send this message to the Master. Our house has become a Count Residence, and we’ve been granted a large house as a reward! Yes, our family is of the Rong clan’s bloodline.”

The steward, who had been brought up from the capital as a young servant and promoted by the family, jumped with joyful surprise, ”Yes!”

After Lady Dong sent the steward away, she clapped her hands—she hadn’t explained everything properly. Oh well, she said to the young servant, ”Send this message to the Master.”

The young servant quickly ran off.

Lady Dong then doubled the monthly allowances with glee and got off the bed, ”Right, look at me—I need to send a reply.”

The old maidservant asked, ”Should this joyous news be kept secret?”

Lady Dong spoke with profound meaning, ”Why keep it secret? Let it be known far and wide.”

At the Maritime Affairs Administration, the steward was caught up by the young servant and received the letter, handing it to the Master. The steward said, ”Congratulations, my Lord.”

Chang Lian read the letter swiftly and laughed heartily, ”Good, very good, it’s a cause for celebration—double the monthly allowances this month!”

The steward didn’t care much about the doubled Silver. To the Servants, what truly mattered was the well-being of their masters—the better off the household, the more respectable they felt. After all, ”At the Prime Minister’s gate, even a Seventh-rank Official stands tall.”

Chang Lian now basically avoided speaking with Zhao Ji, though others were curious about the good news.

Generously, Chang Lian announced, ”Who could have imagined that my grandmother was actually the sixth lady of the main branch of the Rong clan? Now that the other main branches of the Rong clan have been found, the Emperor has bestowed a reward. My father has been given a title and we’ve become Earls.”

The government office suddenly went quiet as their minds raced. The focus wasn’t the title of Earl itself, but the fact that the Rong family was related to the Emperor’s maternal family; even distant relations to the Emperor were precious since the royal family had few relatives alive.

At this moment, Zhao Ji was filled with regret, turning green with envy. If only he hadn’t let his mother cause such an irreparable rift. But alas, there were no ifs.

The officials at the government office sincerely came forward to congratulate Chang Lian, who in his good mood accepted all well-wishes, even not minding Zhao Ji whom he usually disliked. Nevertheless, he still ignored Zhao Ji’s attempts to ingratiate himself!