Second Zhou realized that he was distracted and said hurriedly, “Dad, Zhao’s mother was sold in Pingzhou. We only know that she was bought by a family surnamed Yun. I have inquired twice but failed to find out. So I would like to ask Dad to help find out if there is a wealthy family surnamed Yun in Pingzhou City.”

Zhou Shuren asked, “Just the surname?”

Second Zhou also knew that there was too little information. “Only the surname.”

Zhou Shuren thought to himself that there were not many people with the surname Yun, and those who could afford to buy servants must be wealthy. Although Pingzhou City was not small, the Zhao family was an old family in Pingzhou. There was nothing in Pingzhou City that the Zhao family didn’t know. He should be able to find out by asking Zhao Bo. “I’ve made a note of it. I’ll ask someone to find out. You guys wait for news.”

Zhao Shi’s heart fell to the ground. She knelt down gratefully and kowtowed, saying, “Thank you, Dad.”

Zhulan hurriedly stood up and supported Zhao Shi. “It’s rare that you are always thinking about your mother. Good boy, get up soon!”

Zhulan knew that Zhao Shi had something on her mind. She didn’t expect that she wanted to find her mother. She was deeply touched.

Zhou Shuren felt pain when he heard the sound of kowtow and said to Second Zhou: “Hurry up and help Zhao Shi go back, you don’t need to thank us as a family.”

Second Zhou also felt sorry for his wife, and his forehead was red, “Dad, Mom, we go back first.”

Zhulan urged, “Go back quickly, by the way, roll boiled eggs on your forehead to prevent it from swelling.”

Looking at Zhao’s appearance, she must have felt uncomfortable because she kowtowed too hard, fortunately, she helped quickly.

Zhao Shi’s nose was red, she thanked her parents-in-law for not stopping her from looking for her mother who was sold as a slave. She didn’t know how much good fortune she had accumulated in her previous life to marry into the Zhou family.

Zhulan waited for her second son and his wife to leave, then said, “Zhao Shi has been married to our family for six years, and we don’t know if the Yun family who bought her is still in Pingzhou.”

Zhou Shuren lay down lazily again, “An official may be promoted and transferred, but if he is not an official, he will not leave his hometown.”

Zhulan prayed, “I hope the Yun family has not left.”

Zhou Shuren took the book and turned to the page he saw last time, “Even if in Pingzhou, it is unknown whether Zhao Shi’s mother is in the Yun family. It is common for someone to die in the backyard if they had signed a death indenture, and it is common to sell servants. We don’t know if she has been resold. Don’t hold out too much hope, so as not to be disappointed.”

Zhulan sighed, “And even if she is found, we don’t know if the master is willing to release the indenture.”

The silver money saved by Second Zhou and Zhao Shi might not be enough. No wonder Zhao Shi was embroidering screens when she had nothing to do after coming to Pingzhou. If she hadn’t forbidden her to stay up late at night to embroider, Zhao Shi would have wanted to use all her time at night.

Zhulan couldn’t help but sigh again: “Although Zhao Shi’s mother had a hard life, she didn’t live in vain because she had a daughter who cared about her.”

Zhou Shuren nodded, “It’s really rare.”

The next day, Zhou Shuren visited Zhao Bo and asked Zhao Bo to find out the news. Then Zhou Shuren was busy calculating Dong Shi’s brother-in-law. Zhou Shuren didn’t plan to visit him. He knew that he would be at a disadvantage if he took the initiative to visit.

He could only start from other places. Jiang Ming’s boss liked antiques. Jiang Ming would cater to his tastes and would definitely go to antique shops from time to time. He was not allowed to squat there. There were many antique shops in Pingzhou, and he couldn’t do it alone.

It was not good to find out the news, which would easily expose him. He also had his own way. He calculated when Jiang Ming would take a vacation, and then visited all the antique shops, selected a few with high quality, and then calculated the distance from Jiang’s house, and then squatted at the one closest to Jiang’s house.

Why did he squat at the nearest shop? Thanks to Zhulan’s information, she learned from Dong Shi that Jiang Ming didn’t like riding in a carriage. He always rode a horse when he accompanied Dong Shi’s sister back to the county town. In Pingzhou, Jiang Ming preferred to walk to the government office.

He walked to the government office and walked to rest. Zhou Shuren had a higher chance of blocking people when squatting at the nearest shop.

After Zhou Shuren worked for two days and made a squatting plan, he asked Zhao Bo to inquire about the news and got a reply.

Zhao Bo personally delivered the letter, “Brother Zhou, sister-in-law, I’ve been busy at home recently. I couldn’t visit you in person when you came to Pingzhou. It’s really rude.”

Zhulan heard from Zhou Shuren that one of Zhao Bo’s clan grandfathers retired and returned to his hometown to help the younger generation. Zhao Bo was also participating in this year’s provincial examination. It was a rare opportunity. He was busy preparing these days. Seeing Zhao Bo’s happy face, he must have caught the clan grandfather’s eye.

Zhou Shuren said, “Brother, what you said makes me feel ashamed. I know you are very busy, but I still asked you to find out. I am being rude.”

Zhao Bo said indifferently, “It is not a big effort to find out. I just asked. Brother Zhou is too polite.”

Zhou Shuren invited Zhao Bo to take a seat, “Since you don’t want me to be so polite, please don’t mention being rude. You look so radiant, it must be that your wish has come true. I’d like to congratulate you.”

Zhao Bo smiled, “Thank you, Brother Zhou.”

This grandfather had been an official in Jiangnan. He went to visit him when he traveled in Jiangnan, but unfortunately, he didn’t catch the grandfather’s eye. Unexpectedly, when the grandfather retired and returned to his hometown, he caught his eye, which was a great joy for him.

Zhulan stood up, “You guys chat first, I’ll go make a pot of tea.”

Zhao Bo said politely, “Sorry for bothering you, sister-in-law.”

“It’s my duty.”

Zhulan took out the best tea leaves to make tea and came out again after serving the tea. She could only wait until Zhao Bo left before asking Zhou Shuren.

Second Zhou came over and whispered, “Mom, is there any news?”

“Yes, there is news. After the people leave, I will ask your father.”

Second Zhou was happy for his wife, “I will go tell Zhao Shi.”

Zhulan held Second Zhou, “Don’t let Zhao Shi have too good hopes. If the news is not good, Zhao Shi can’t bear it if her hopes are dashed.”

Second Zhou’s heart sank, “Mom, I know.”

Zhao Bo left after a while. If he hadn’t come to make up for the visit and deliver the news, he would not have had time to go out.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren saw him off to the door and returned to the backyard. Second Zhou and Zhao Shi were already waiting in front of the main house.

Zhou Shuren said, “Come in.”

Zhao Shi heard the tone of her father-in-law, her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help but hold the head of the family’s arm tightly.

Second Zhou patted Zhao Shi’s hand, “Go in.”

Zhao Shi bit her lip, took a deep breath, and then walked in.

Zhou Shuren saw the second son and his wife come in, so he didn’t ask. He motioned for them to sit down and said, “One good news and one bad news. The good news is that there was indeed a Yun family in Pingzhou, but they failed in business two years ago and were swallowed up. Now they are down and out and have left Pingzhou to live with their relatives.”

Second Zhou interrupted and asked, “Dad, where’s the good news?”

Zhou Shuren looked at his second son who interrupted with dissatisfaction in his eyes. The boy was still a little impatient. Second Zhou shrank his neck when he saw his father looking at him.

Zhulan pulled Zhou Shuren. She was also waiting for the news. Why didn’t this man speak quickly and have time to glare at his son?

Second Zhou saw his mother’s actions and thought, look at my mother scolding my father, but my father was still so friendly. Well, in my father’s mind, his son was just a debt collector.

Zhou Shuren knew that Zhulan was also thinking about it, so he retracted his gaze and continued, “The good news is that Yun’s family was kind and righteous. They released all the servants’ indentures. Zhao Bo and I specifically talked about the situation of your mother-in-law and found the servants of the Yun family at that time. Your mother-in-law did not enter the Yun Mansion as a servant. She entered the Yun Mansion four years ago as the wife of the housekeeper.”

Zhulan, “.”

Her second son’s mother-in-law was amazing. She should have sold herself as a slave, but she turned out to be the wife of the housekeeper. It seemed that there was a lot of story here!

(End of this chapter)

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