Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 606 Yao Yao_1

Jinyan reported back, "Apart from Mr. He, there were two Scholars involved in yesterday’s incident; and both of them were also hot candidates for the top spot in the provincial examination."

Zhou Shuren hadn’t instructed Jinyan to investigate He Shu’s case; too much time had passed, and making a big fuss looking for He Shu now would be pointless. Any traces the culprit behind it wished to erase, had long been removed. Of course, he had never intended to pursue it.

So he simply had someone check to see if a few people had met with accidents, to more accurately confirm his own suspicions.

Seeing his superior deep in thought, Jinyan asked, "Sir, shall we continue the investigation?"

Zhou Shuren waved his hand, "No need, you may go now."

"Yes, sir."

Zhou Shuren rubbed his brow, earnestly hoping that the provincial examination would end soon, and to send Shen Yang to the capital as quickly as possible. He preferred not to have him lingering under his jurisdiction.

The trouble with He Shu had not caused much of a commotion; in every examination session, there were students who were plotted against, and it was quite normal for a few to get injured. It would have been surprising if no one had been harmed.

The next day, He Shu insisted on taking part in the examination. He Shu was left-handed, but he could write with his right hand too. To avoid standing out, he usually wrote with his right hand, but now that he had to use his left, whoever had plotted against him had their efforts sabotaged.

The results would be out in two days, and that time quickly passed by.

Before the results were released, Zhulan already knew them; Zhou Shuren had brought the news back to the estate, "He Shu scored fourth. I personally saw his papers; the lad has been hiding his abilities."

Zhulan quickly responded, "So are you saying, Mr. He has not been truthful?"

Otherwise, he would not have hidden his abilities.

Zhou Shuren was quite pleased, "This is a sign of growth. What sort of place is Jinzhou City? Noble families abound, close to the capital. For a young talent without a strong background, it’s better to stay under the radar."

Even if no one had plotted against him, one couldn’t avoid it in the capital. The powerful in the capital would not take Magistrate Wang seriously, and Jinzhou City wouldn’t pay much attention to Magistrate Wang either. As for him, Wu Ning was not, after all, a young mistress of his Zhou household. If there were real trouble, he could lend a hand, but he wouldn’t make a big fuss over Wu Ning, especially since she wasn’t married yet!

However, this time He Shu could be considered to have gained a blessing in disguise; at least the majority of the attention would no longer be focused on him.

Zhulan thought of Zhou Shuren. He too had lacked any backing originally, but as Zhou Shuren had been older, and rather ordinary-looking, not many had paid him attention back then. His words had come true after all—he had enjoyed the right circumstances, location, and support.

Three days later, Zhou’s eldest son and Chang Zhi returned from Lizhou Province. Zhulan was pleasantly surprised, "Why didn’t you send a letter ahead to let me know you were coming?"

The eldest Zhou son and Chang Zhi exchanged a glance. They had dared not to write home about the death of their maternal grandparents, fearing their mother couldn’t handle the news. They hurried back as fast as they could to tell her in person, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to cope with the message if they informed her too soon before reaching home.

Seeing how her sons looked, Zhulan guessed their thoughts, "You don’t need to worry; I already know."

Zhou’s eldest son was taken aback, "Mother, how did you find out?"

They had specifically prevented their uncles from sending letters.

Zhulan, seeing her sons gaunt figures and feeling touched—children of the Zhou family were respectful and loving toward her—said, "I knew as soon as your grandparents passed away. They came to me in a dream. You’ve had a hard journey."

The tension in Zhou’s eldest son’s heart finally eased. He had been worrying every day about how to break the news to his mother, fearing she would fall ill again, "Grandmother was very lucid before she left. She hoped you would take good care of yourself."

Chang Zhi continued, "After grandmother passed, grandfather also lost his vitality. He passed away peacefully."

At the time, he thought their grandparents would have expressed wishes for their mother to take more care of the Yang family in the future, but they hadn’t said a word.

Zhulan’s heart felt sour, "Is your eldest uncle’s family well?"

Zhou Eldest Brother glanced at Chang Zhi; in Pingzhou Prefecture, the socializing had all been handled by Chang Zhi. You can’t imagine his surprise, as he had always been afraid that Chang Zhi would offend someone. However, after accompanying him and meeting some outsiders a few times, Zhou Eldest Brother felt infinitely grateful in his heart. His father really was remarkable, Chang Zhi had finally started using his brain.

Chang Zhi noticed his elder brother looking at him, which meant it was his cue to speak, "Mother, Uncle’s family is doing quite well, but the younger generation is rising slowly. Currently, only Cousin is holding up the Yang family, so Uncle and Auntie mentioned Mother several times, hinting in every possible way that they hope Mother can look after the Yang family more."

Zhulan smiled. This was human nature, and she wasn’t surprised. With their parents gone and her unlikely to return, even her elder brother was worried about weakening family ties. "I have it in mind. You should all go back and rest well; you’ve had a hard journey," she said.

Zhou Eldest Brother said, "Mother, we are not tired. This is what sons should do."

Zhulan sighed to herself. In ancient times, filial piety was paramount. Aside from the truly unfilial ones, most were dutiful sons indeed!

In the main house, Zhou Eldest Brother walked into the courtyard and saw his wife counting silver notes, twitching the corner of his mouth, "You could damage the silver notes with all this counting."

Lady Li suddenly looked up and then disaster struck—a fifty silver note was torn at one corner. "Ah, my silver note!"

Zhou Eldest Brother felt stifled. Forget his wife’s tender inquiries, her mind was entirely fixed on the silver notes. Fortunately, the maid had the sense to pour some tea. "Where’s Ming Hui?" he asked.

Lady Li carefully set aside the silver note, her heart aching. "He’s gone to start his education."

Zhou Eldest Brother was taken aback, "We’ve hired a teacher at home again?"

Lady Li waved her hand dismissively, "Meng Jie, Father’s apprentice."

Zhou Eldest Brother felt a bit wronged, "Don’t you miss me?"

Only then did Lady Li notice her husband’s looks. Counting the days, he must have rushed back home. Finally, she showed concern. "Look how thin you’ve become. Now that you’re back, I’ll take good care of you."

Zhou Eldest Brother was satisfied. It was good to be home, finding Lady Li plump and well also set his mind at ease.

In the fourth house, Su Xuan was fussing around her husband. She knew he would grow from his experiences away, but he had grown far too much. Looking at how analytic he had become took her by complete surprise.

Chang Zhi couldn’t help feeling helpless, "Am I really such a shock to my wife?"

Su Xuan nodded honestly, "Very shocking. If you hadn’t looked the same and Eldest Brother hadn’t come back with you, I would have thought you were switched out with someone else."

Chang Zhi laughed softly, "Does my wife want to check?"

Su Xuan’s face turned red, admittedly, Chang Zhi could sometimes be quite subtly flirtatious. Now that he had become more astute, she really couldn’t cope.

Zhulan was overjoyed because her two sons had come home, relieved from her constant worrying. Indeed, she was a mother whose thoughts travelled a thousand miles with her children.

With the approaching provincial exams, He Shu’s foot injury was quite severe, but the injury on his hand had healed a lot. As soon as he recovered a bit, he had visited the Zhou residence to express his gratitude.

Ever since Chang Zhi learned of He Shu’s accident, Zhulan noticed that her son had become even more composed. Then she realized that Zhou Eldest Brother was nearly avoiding Chang Zhi, indicating that the now mature Chang Zhi had upped his game. The animal-like instincts of the old couple made them quite wary of Chang Zhi.

On the day of the provincial exams, the Zhou residence received an invitation from the Princely Heir’s residence. Zhulan took the invitation without reading it; she truly disliked Magistrate Shen. How to put it? Their personalities clashed—Magistrate Shen was a bit too arrogant. Unfortunately, there was no avoiding it. She indifferently opened the invitation and was stunned, "This isn’t Magistrate Shen’s invitation; Miss Yao Yao is actually in Jinzhou City."

Housekeeper Song took a glance, "Miss Yao Yao wants to make a visit."

Zhulan’s eyes twinkled with amusement, "Yes, she will visit tomorrow."

The more she understood Yao Yao, the more she liked her. Zhulan was indeed welcoming to Yao Yao’s visit to the Zhou residence.