Zhulan returned to the backyard. Fang Shi had just arrived and Li Shi was entertaining her. Zhulan entered the house and Fang Shi stood up awkwardly, “Qīnjiā.”

Fang Shi just wanted to come and see her daughter, but she didn’t expect her qīnjiā to come back. Her daughter didn’t know how she angered qīnjiā. Even Dong Shi was washing the quilt. And Dong Shi was the daughter of an official!

She wanted to leave, but it would be inappropriate to leave without seeing her qīnjiā, so she waited patiently.

Li Shi saw her mother-in-law coming back and said with a smile, “Mom, I’m going out to kill a chicken.”

“Go ahead.”

Zhulan sat in the main seat, and after Li Shi left, she said to Fang Shi calmly, “Qīnjiā, don’t stand, just sit down.”

Fang Shi clenched her palms slightly. The qīnjiā no longer had the smile she used to have. She was wondering what her daughter had done. She thought it was wrong. She had always asked her daughter to give in. Her daughter was not someone who would do anything wrong. She could not ask her daughter what she had done wrong. If she did, it would mean she admitted that she had done something wrong. After careful consideration, she said, “Thank you for your hard work along the way, qīnjiā.”

Zhulan was drinking tea. Fang Shi was really smart, but she had been used to being cautious all her life, and it had been ingrained in her bones. “Not bad.”

Fang Shi paused and continued, “I didn’t know my qīnjiā was back today, so I won’t disturb her to rest. I’ll go back first.”

Zhulan said, “Qīnjiā, don’t leave in a hurry. I still want to chat with you!”

Fang Shi’s heart skipped a beat. “Please speak, qīnjiā.”

Zhulan put down the teacup, “Don’t be nervous, qīnjiā. I just want to talk about what I saw and heard. People can gain knowledge and broaden their horizons when they go out. Now that I’m back, I will teach my daughters-in-law step by step. I hope that they can have a broader vision and not be timid. In the future, it is the Zhou family that will be embarrassed when they go out, qīnjiā, don’t you think this is the truth?”

Fang Shi’s face flushed as listened. Her qīnjiā was not happy with her, not happy with her meddling in the Zhou family’s affairs, and disliked her for teaching Zhao Shi to be timid. The only thing she did was to save face by not saying that she had taught Zhao Shi to be like a slave. Fang Shi’s hands were shaking, and she took a deep breath, “What my qīnjiā said is right.”

Zhulan didn’t mean to crush Fang Shi. Fang Shi had good intentions towards Zhao Shi, but she was just angry. She had spent so much effort to get Zhao Shi to stand up straight, but when she came back, she saw Zhao Shi shrinking again. She was furious when she saw this, “Look at me, my qīnjiā is here to see Zhao Shi, I’ll go call Zhao Shi in.”

Fang Shi hurriedly stopped her, “Qīnjiā, I don’t have anything else to do, so there’s no need to call her. Let her continue working. Oh, I have something else to do, so I’ll go back first. Mother-in-law just came back and needs to rest, so I won’t disturb her.”

Zhulan smiled and said, “Is that so? Then I won’t stop my qīnjiā from doing her job. I’ll just see her off.”

Fang Shi smiled falsely, “Okay.”

Zhulan sent Fang Shi away with a smile, not to save face for Fang Shi, but for Zhao Shi.

Fang Shi breathed a sigh of relief, as long as her qīnjiā didn’t ask to cut off contact with her.

When Zhao Shi saw her mother coming out with a bad look on her face, she knew that her mother-in-law must have said something to her mother. She lowered her head and continued to wash the quilt covers. At least her mother-in-law sent her mother out with a smile. She felt relieved. She could understand why she had changed so much, and her mother-in-law must be able to understand it too. She was grateful to her mother-in-law for saving her face, otherwise, she would be ashamed.

At the Jiang Mansion, Lord Jiang looked at Chang Lian’s red and swollen eyes and knew that it was Zhou xiùcái who had returned. He had been waiting for a long time, waiting for Zhou xiùcái to come back and deal with Chang Lian. He did not expect the effect to be so good. Looking at Chang Lian’s humbly asking for advice, he looked much more pleasing to the eye this time.

Chang Lian was not stupid. He could see that his jiěfū was in a good mood, and he felt even more ridiculous. It turned out that his jiěfū was also waiting for his father to deal with him. Why didn’t his jiěfū deal with him? Because he knew that when one’s own parents disciplined them, there wouldn’t no lasting resentment, but with outsiders, it was not always the same.

Only then did he realize how ridiculous his complacency was. Maybe his jiěfū analyzed Changzhi’s future with him on purpose. It was a test from his jiěfū. He finally adjusted his mindset. He was just an insignificant xiùcái and nothing else.

Jiang Ming became more and more satisfied as he watched Chang Lian’s attitude change. The arrogance of this kid was finally gone.

At Zhou’s house, Xue Han went to the main room with needlework in her arms. She didn’t expect that her second sister-in-law’s mother would go away so soon. “Mom.”

Zhulan waved at Xuehan, “Come and take a look. This is the jewelry that your mother bought for you in advance. The styles I picked are all timeless. Do you like them?”

Xue Han’s eyes widened, “Mom, didn’t you buy me jewelry? Why did you buy such expensive jewelry?”

Zhulan laughed, “Mom has already told you that it won’t be outdated in a few years, don’t you understand? Silly girl, this is preparing your dowry in advance!”

Xue Han’s face flushed, she was so shy, “Mom, I’m still young!”

Zhulan felt that girls in ancient times matured so early that she had already learned to be shy. “It is precisely because you are young that I am preparing in advance so that we won’t be in a rush when the time comes. I will save some jewelry for you first. When we have more money in the future, I will buy you land, a house, and a shop, so that you can marry in style.”

Xue Han bit her lips and said, “Mom, I don’t want so much. My sister didn’t even have much dowry when she got married. I don’t want it either.”

She was already very happy. Even if she didn’t have the dowry her mother bought for her, she had a lot of jewelry, which meant a lot of money. Plus, she had been learning embroidery, and the handkerchiefs she embroidered were already quite good, but she had never sold them. When she could sell the handkerchiefs in the future, she could save the money for herself.

Moreover, her parents had found Rong Chuan, a man she liked, and her father was supporting Rong Chuan’s studies. She could not ask for such a large dowry. Besides, there were many girls in the family, and she could not drain out the family fortune when she got married.

Zhulan was very relieved. Although the original couple did not educate their son well, their daughters were all good. Both girls were not greedy and they both cared about their parents.

Zhulan pinched Xue Han’s cheeks and said, “Mother has not only prepared a dowry for you but also for your sister. I will give it to your sister when you get married.”

Xue Han bit her Li Ship and said, “Mom, it’s not easy for you and Dad to save up the family fortune. I can’t accept it.”

Zhulan leaned close to her daughter’s ear and said, “Mom has some money. I met Master Yao in the capital. Master Yao gave me a lot of money in return for saving my Li Shife. When your father becomes a juren, he will give you more money. Mom and Dad know what’s going on. Don’t worry about it.”

Xue Han blinked her eyes and was instantly attracted by the capital. She took her mother’s hand and said, “Mom, tell me about the capital!”

Zhulan laughed, she was just a child after all. Yesterday she had been listening to Xue Han talking about family matters, and she really didn’t talk about what she had seen or heard. While packing her jewelry, she talked about what she had seen and heard along the way.

In the yard, Zhao Shi and Dong Shi heard Xue Han’s laughter from time to time. Zhao Shi regretted it so much. She regretted ignoring Xue Han. At that time, she listened to her mother’s words, focused on herself, and even forgot about her sister-in-law. If she had not ignored Xue Han, Xue Han would have spoken good words for her, and her mother-in-law would have forgiven her earlier.

Dong Shi also regretted why she didn’t think of bringing Xue Han with her when she went to her sister’s house. The daughter was the treasure of the old lady, and the sister-in-law was the treasure of her parents.

In the afternoon, Zhou Shuren brought Mingyun back. Mingyun was very excited and didn’t pretend to be a little adult anymore. Mingteng kept asking him questions and Mingyun teased him by telling him how fun riding a horse was. The envious Mingteng didn’t dare to make trouble for Zhou Shuren. The little guy got anxious and his eyes turned red. He felt very aggrieved and cried loudly and ran out to seek comfort from Li Shi.

Zhulan glared at Zhou Shuren. Among the two grandsons from the eldest’s room, he only took Mingyun. Look how aggrieved Mingteng was. Zhou Shuren still had a smile on his face and watched his eldest grandson chase out with a laugh.

Zhulan listened to the noise outside. Li Shi’s voice was loud, and the door to the main room was open. Zhulan could hear clearly that Li Shi said, “Son, it’s no use crying to your mother. Go ask your brother to ask your grandfather. Your brother is much more effective than your father.”

Zhulan laughed out loud, father was not as good as his son!

Mingteng stopped crying and sniffed. What his mother said was the truth. He thought to himself that his father was so useless. He suddenly felt sad again. He would never be able to escape from the control of his eldest brother for the rest of his life. The more he cried, the more heartbroken he became.

Boss Zhou heard this as soon as he entered the backyard, and he was so upset!

(End of this chapter)

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