Zhulan digested the news and asked, “Do the servants of the Yun family know where the steward is?”

Zhao Shi was in a daze. After hearing her mother-in-law’s question, she came back to her senses from the news that her mother had remarried. She clutched the handkerchief in her hand and waited for her father-in-law to reply.

Zhou Shuren said, “Steward Qian is a native of Pingzhou. After the Yun family left, Steward Qian took his family back to his hometown, Qianjia Village, which is about an hour’s drive from Pingzhou.”

Zhulan was surprised. She thought it would take a lot of trouble to find someone. She never expected Zhao Bo helped to inquire about it. It only took two days before and after, and the person was found so easily. Zhulan couldn’t help thinking that he was probably not the protagonist, so there wouldn’t be so many twists and turns to go through.

Zhulan saw that Zhao Shi was still in a daze, and asked Changyi, “I didn’t expect to find someone so quickly. When do you plan to go to Qianjia Village?”

Second Zhou considered various possibilities, but he really didn’t consider that his mother-in-law would remarry. This disrupted the plan. He and his wife had discussed saving money to redeem the person, and then rent a small yard for his mother-in-law to live in. Now there is a cheap father-in-law. Oh, no, according to what my father said, the cheap father-in-law has a big family, and my mother-in-law had become someone’s stepmother!

Second Zhou looked at his wife. Okay, his wife hadn’t digested the news yet. Look, she had been in a daze for a long time. She will probably need some time to accept it.

Second Zhou supported his wife and said, “Dad, Mom, let’s go back and discuss it first, and come back later.”

Zhulan, “OK, go back first!”

Zhao Shi was a thoughtful person, and she had to think about it for a while.

Zhulan waited for her second son and his wife to leave, and said, “There must be other news. Now that they are gone, you can tell me.”

Zhou Shuren knew he couldn’t hide it from Zhulan, “There is indeed news. Ahem, Zhao Shi’s mother was pregnant when she entered the mansion and gave birth to a boy. He is three years old this year. Moreover, there are quite a few people in Steward Qian’s family; he has three sons. Being a stepmother is not easy, especially since the stepchildren are all grown up. Zhao Shi’s mother doesn’t have any family support, so her days probably aren’t going very well.”

Zhulan calculated the age of Zhao’s mother. Zhao Shi was twenty-two this year, so Zhao Shi’s mother should be about thirty-seven or thirty-eight. She gave birth to a boy three years ago, which was an advanced maternal age in ancient times. “Zhao Shi’s mother has another child. Is she okay?”

Zhou Shuren, “Zhao Bo didn’t mention it, so she should be fine.”

Zhulan sighed, “Zhao Shi’s mother has a really bad life. Her ex-husband sold her, and her second husband has a large family, and her son is still young. Her life is really hard.”

“It’s better than selling yourself as a slave and letting someone else hold your life in your hands.”

Zhulan thought the same, and then she became worried again, “Zhao Shi’s mother married Steward Qian. I guess the steward fell in love with her at first sight, so he didn’t bring her back to the mansion. When Zhao Shi’s mother was sold, she was about 30 years old and yet retained her charms. Being her daughter, they will also know how attractive Zhao Shi is. The Qian family is a mess, and those who can be stewards are all shrewd. It may not be a good thing to recognize relatives.”

Zhou Shuren naturally thought of it, “Wait and see what Changyi says.”

He also wanted to test his second son to see if he could think of this.

Zhulan rolled her eyes and curled the corners of her mouth, “I have a way.”

Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows and asked, “What is it?”

He really didn’t have any good ideas. The main thing was that he was a scholar. If he was a juren, he could also control his cheap relatives.

Borrowing power was not always a common thing. It was still more reliable to have the ability yourself.

Zhulan said mysteriously, “Keep it a secret.”

After a while, Second Zhou came by himself. He said, “Dad, Zhao Shi, and I have discussed it. I will go to Qianjia Village first. If my mother-in-law is doing well, we will wait for Dad to pass the imperial examination and recognize each other.”

He also thought that Changlian and Changzhi would both pass the imperial examination. There would be three scholars in one family. Changlian and Changzhi were young and very impressive, but he didn’t have much confidence in whether his two younger brothers could pass the exam. Relatively speaking, he believed that Dad could pass the imperial examination.

Zhou Shuren was very satisfied with Second Zhou’s thorough consideration, “What if she is not doing well?”

Second Zhou bowed, “We have considered it. Zhao Shi wanted to have her face scratched, but my son didn’t agree. It’s not that my son disliked Zhao Shi’s injured face, but if my son couldn’t protect his wife, he would feel incompetent. So my son thought of an idea. Back then, Fourth Wang’s daughter was getting prettier day by day, and my son had observed that the girls were very good at makeup. So he wondered if he could disguise Zhao Shi’s face with a disfigurement.”

Zhulan looked at her second son. She really didn’t expect that Second Zhou would observe the changes in Wang Ru and her sisters and come up with a solution based on the changes, which was the same idea she had.

When Zhou Shuren saw Zhulan’s reaction, he knew that Zhulan had the same idea, so he asked Second Zhou, “Since you have an idea, why do you have to wait until I pass the imperial examination to recognize each other?”

Second Zhou explained, “The man was a steward, and that steward of a merchant family. He must be very scheming, and only the prestige of a scholar can calm him down.”

Zhou Shuren was satisfied. It was good that Second Zhou could think of these things. He was confined to his hometown before, but now in the city, Second Zhou would get a better experience. “Since you have an idea, do it according to your wishes. Come to me if you need anything.”

Second Zhou heard that his father was satisfied with him, and he felt relieved. He was really afraid that his father would still remember what he had interrupted. “Dad, I will go to Qianjia Village to find out tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

Although the Zhou family didn’t know about Zhao Shi’s search for her mother, they knew from Zhao Shi’s dazed look that something happened in the second house, but they didn’t know what it was.

The next day, Second Zhou left without having breakfast. He had rented a carriage yesterday afternoon. Before leaving, Zhao Shi stuffed some cakes into his mouth, fearing that her husband would be hungry.

Zhao Shi ate breakfast absent-mindedly. Li Shi wanted to ask but was stopped by Dong Shi.

Zhulan looked at Dong Shi more. Dong Shi had been very close to Li Shi in the past few days and had given Li Shi advice in private. They were both daughters-in-law, and Dong Shi’s advice was sometimes more useful than hers because they stood at different angles and Li Shi’s understanding was different.

The effect was also significant. Li Shi was much more stable at home and knew what to ask and what not to ask.

After dinner, Zhou Shuren went to stake out. Today was Jiang Ming’s day off.

Zhulan was at home, and Wu Li Shi brought Wu Ning to the house. Wu Li Shi brought a lot of gifts, including two big fish and some meat in the basket.

Zhulan saw that the gift was heavy, so she knew she had something to ask for. “Aunt, if you have something to ask, just say it directly. Why do you bring so many gifts?”

Wu Li Shi was not surprised that Yang Shi saw through her intentions. In fact, she had wanted to come for a long time but felt embarrassed after the abrupt visit last time. She waited a few days for things to settle down before coming over. She pulled her granddaughter over and said, “Auntie indeed has a favor to ask. As you know, I can only cook, and the only skill I can pass on to my granddaughter is cooking. As for needlework, I can only sew clothes and don’t know how to embroider. When I saw the pouch Girl Han gave to Ning Ning, I realized there is a skilled embroiderer in your family. I hoped to ask for some guidance for my granddaughter, so I thickened my skin and came over.”

Zhulan smiled and said, “I thought it was something else, but it turned out to be pointers. This is not a big deal. It’s just that some things have been going on at home recently. Auntie, how about Xuehan teach Wu Ning the basics first, and then come to learn after the government exam?”

Zhulan agreed only after seeing Zhao Shi’s imperceptible nod. Otherwise, she would not have agreed so readily before confirming with Zhao Shi.

Wu Li Shi was happy, “Of course it’s good. Auntie thanks you.”

Wu Li Shi sat for a while and then stood up to say goodbye. Although she didn’t go out to help now, there was still a lot of work to do at home.

Zhulan sent Wu Li Shi away, returned to the main room, and stopped Zhao Shi who was about to go back to the room, “Wait a minute, Mother has something to tell you.”

(End of this chapter)

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