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

Chapter 1307: Chapter 1307: Not Taking the Blame for This

In the blink of an eye, Mingyun and Ran Wan set off to leave the capital, and Chang Zhong, who had gone to see off his elder nephew, came back and told his mother, ”Mom, Eldest Sister took a lot of stuff back to her hometown, as many as five horse-drawn carriages.”

Zhulan did some calculations and said, ”Fabrics and some larger display items take up more space, so it seems like a lot. The truly valuable things aren’t that many; just a few boxes would be enough to hold them.”

Chang Zhong, eating grapes, agreed. He thought the grapes from his own family tasted better than those sold outside. After swallowing the grape skins, he said, ”These days, Sister’s husband has sold quite a few paintings. Sister’s husband’s family slowly started their business relying on Sister’s dowry, but now Sister’s husband has made a name for himself. Mom, the highest price for one of Sister’s husband’s paintings went over a hundred silver taels.”

He had personally seen the visitors coming to buy paintings at his brother-in-law’s house. His brother-in-law’s hand wasn’t just a hand; he almost wished he could bring all of his brother-in-law’s paintings back home.

Zhulan tapped her youngest son’s forehead, ”You must not say outside that your brother-in-law started his business relying on your sister’s dowry.”

Chang Zhong covered his forehead with both hands, ”Mom, do you think I don’t have any sense?”

Zhulan looked at her mischievous youngest son, ”If it weren’t for this trip back to finalize the marriage engagement, your brother-in-law wouldn’t have sold all his stored paintings. Do you think it’s easy to paint good paintings?”

Chang Zhong replied, ”Your son understands.”

Zhulan stared at her impish son, ”Tell me the truth; how many paintings did you get from your brother-in-law?”

Chang Zhong’s gaze drifted a bit. Ah, he really liked visiting his sister’s place recently, and he never came back empty-handed. His brother-in-law was really obliging. ”Not much, just three paintings.”

Zhulan didn’t believe it and extended two fingers, ”I’ll cut one in half the next time I see you.”

Chang Zhong widened his eyes, ”Mom, is this cutting in half? Your son only has three.”

Zhulan looked at her son with a half-smile, ”You are my child; how could I not understand you?”

Chang Zhong choked up, then forced a laugh, ”Ah, your son still has things to do.”

Zhulan hummed, ”The monk can run, but the temple can’t run away.”

In Zhou family’s village, right after Ming Qing arrived at the clan school, Jiang Ming approached him, ”I was just about to look for you. Are you really not planning to participate in the imperial examination next spring?”

Ming Qing was already a Graduate. ”I have participated before and know the difference. I don’t plan to participate this year; I’d like to consolidate my knowledge further.”

Jiang Ming received a definite answer and said no more, ”As long as you have a plan, that’s good.”

Instead, Ming Qing said, ”This time with Aunt Xue Mei’s return, the marriage arrangements between the two families were settled, and some of the rumors have died down.”

Because there was no formal marriage engagement, only the exchange of engagement tokens, there had been many rumors and inquires over the past year.

Jiang Ming smiled with a bit more ease, ”Indeed.”

He paused, then added, ”This year, not many from our Clan are taking the exam. I asked around, and they’re not preparing for this session.”

Ming Qing spoke in a lowered voice, ”Everyone has their own schemes. You know that this year, Mingyun is taking the examination!”

Jiang Ming replied, ”Mingyun attracts too much attention.”

Being young and already so outstanding, being the eldest grandson of the Count Residence was a sin. They weren’t afraid of the edge but of mediocrity. The descendants of the Zhou Clan did not want to be hurt by that sharpness, so it was right to avoid it.

In the Jiang family, Dong Yiyi saw off her sister-in-law and looked visibly exhausted.

Mu Lan said, ”Mother, have some tea to moisten your throat.”

After Dong Yiyi drank the tea, her throat felt much better. ”Lately, several aunts have come one after another; their intentions are too obvious.”

Mu Lan also felt tired, ”They know that my Aunt really isn’t managing the Dong family anymore and are afraid to anger my uncle, so they can only push hard on Mother’s side, hoping to gain the Jiang family’s favor.”

Dong Yiyi sighed, ”They’re even eyeing your father’s assets now.”

Previously they could scarcely bear to acknowledge her as their daughter, but now that there’s profit to be had, they’re all watching her like hawks.

In the capital, within the Palace, Zhou Shuren and others were in the Emperor’s study. Prince Chu had returned to the capital yesterday, and there was no movement this early morning; instead, Zhou Shuren and others were asked to stay.

All the people in the hall now were those loyal to the Emperor.

The Emperor instructed several ministers in the study to look over a list of names; some showed shock and anger after reading it, while others turned pale. When it was Zhou Shuren’s turn, the Zhou Clan had just started gaining influence, plus this was a list of Jiangnan Clans which had nothing to do with Zhou Shuren, so he paid more attention to the ministers whose faces had turned white.

The Emperor took back the list, his voice neither pleased nor angry, ”I’m very disappointed, having seen this list.”

Then there was a kneeling sea of people; even Zhou Shuren, implicated only by association, had to kneel.

Rongchuan and Prince Chu knelt at the very front, both acutely aware that the Emperor was angered.

Especially Prince Chu, who knew most, understood that the Emperor had been slapped in the face by his own people. Thinking of the rage, Prince Chu’s head hung even lower.

The Emperor paced back and forth inside the study, his footsteps not particularly heavy, yet they exerted tremendous psychological pressure on everyone, the ministers with crimes in their families were sweating profusely; the season had already turned to fall.

Zhou Shuren’s eyes were fixed on the patterns of the floor, but his mind was elsewhere. He thought, the Emperor refrained from making trouble at the morning court firstly because he did not want to lose face in public, which would look bad for the Emperor and could also stir some unrest, and secondly, with the current situation in court being stable and no replacements for the ministers at hand, the Emperor still needed these men.

Sure enough, the Emperor spoke, ”Those of you whose names are on this list, I’m giving you a chance to deal with it yourselves. After three days, I want results.”

Zhou Shuren had merely been an onlooker today, which is an advantage of being close to the Emperor; he always had access to the most up-to-date information. From today’s events, he knew whom to distance himself from in the future and whom to socialize with.

The Emperor said, ”Alright, you may all rise.”

Zhou Shuren stood up and stretched his legs; surely, with age, it became very uncomfortable to kneel for long periods.

The Emperor kept Prince Qin and Prince Chu, while Zhou Shuren and the others left the study.

Upon leaving, Zhou Shuren saw several Princes, with the Crown Prince leading. By the Crown Prince’s side stood the Fourth Prince, the Crown Prince’s full-blooded younger brother. As full siblings differ from half-siblings, even those ranked behind were of noble status.

”This subordinate greets the Crown Prince.”

After hesitating, he greeted the other Princes.

Because the Retired Emperor wasn’t often in the capital, the Crown Prince had slimmed down quite a bit, and increasingly carried the dignity of his title.

The Crown Prince greeted them warmly, ”The ministers are busy people, please go ahead.”

Zhou Shuren saw the Crown Prince wink at him and looked skyward, speechless. He wasn’t sure if the Crown Prince was still too young, or if he had miseducated him, for the Crown Prince was just pretending; his disposition was nothing like the Emperor’s. Despite being the legitimate eldest son and the Crown Prince, he was unfortunately far too lively.

Zhou Shuren’s stomach ached terribly. The Emperor had already spoken with him several times, saying that the Crown Prince should be composed—bah, he was not even the Crown Prince’s tutor, and he truly didn’t feel that he was responsible for leading the Crown Prince astray.

Zhou Shuren thought back to the events of the past few days and felt even more uncomfortable in his stomach—the Crown Prince’s character being off was definitely not his fault!

Not long after Zhou Shuren returned to the Ministry of Revenue, the Retired Emperor arrived, commenting, ”Why do I feel that, since I have returned this time, the Crown Prince has grown even bolder?”

Zhou Shuren kept a straight face, ”It has nothing to do with me.”

He had said so much to the Crown Prince, how could he remember saying anything that would have influenced him?

The Retired Emperor’s gaze was profound, ”Actually, the Crown Prince is doing very well now.”

Zhou Shuren, ”Hmm?”