Zhulan held the hand warmer. It had been a long time since she saw Li Shi shouting. She was startled. She was just thinking about something. “What are you shouting about?”

Li Shi saw that her mother-in-law looked unhappy. She was so excited that she forgot that her mother-in-law didn’t like her making noises. “Mom, our Eldest Jiù is here.”

Zhulan stood up quickly, “Are you sure?”

Li Shi, “Mother, the head of the family has already welcomed him, how could I be wrong?”

It was a coincidence that she and the head of the family were about to leave. They were going to the butcher shop where they always bought meat. The butcher said there was beef yesterday. She asked the butcher to save some beef for her. She was about to go get it when she saw her jiù knocking on the door!

Zhulan said, “Go and ask Eryue to go to the Zhao Mansion to pick up your father.”

Li Shi: “Yes, I’ll go right away.”

Zhulan walked out of the yard wearing a cloak. After waiting for a while, she didn’t see Boss Zhou coming to the backyard. She quickly went to the front yard and saw Boss and Lichun moving boxes. There were two carriages outside the door, and the carriages were full of luggage.

Big brother Yang Zhumu was watching from the side. Zhulan looked at her Eldest brother’s head. Eldest brother’s hair had turned a lot whiter and he looked much thinner. She felt sad, “Eldest brother.”

Yang Zhumu looked back and could not recognize his younger sister. He was a little dazed. His impression of his younger sister was getting more and more vague. However, his younger sister was getting better and better. As the eldest brother, he was happy. “Why are you in the front yard? It’s so cold outside.”

“I saw that the boss didn’t take you to the backyard for a long time, so I couldn’t help but come out to see, brother, why did you come to the capital?”

Yang Zhumu looked at the luggage without blinking, and after everything was moved, he motioned to his younger sister to wait for a while, paid the driver with silver, and then said, “Let’s go back to the house and talk.”

Zhulan: “Okay.”

Yang Zhumu looked around the yard and said, “The capital city is different. The houses are all exquisite!”

Zhulan, “It’s a merchant’s house, so it’s more exquisite. Brother, Wuchun’s house in the capital is more luxurious.”

Yang Zhumu smiled and said, “This kid said it.”

Zhulan knew that her elder brother had suffered a lot on the road, and the kettle in the room was always boiling. Zhulan poured some hot water and said, “Brother, drink some hot water to warm yourself up.”

Yang Zhumu took the hot water. He had suffered a lot from the snow and wind on the way. “Wu Chun’s letter arrived first, so Dad asked me to pack my luggage. After I finished packing, your letter and the things I brought back arrived. Dad and I discussed it. Dad asked me to come to the capital to settle down first and wait in the capital until the snow melts next year. Then Mom and Dad can come and we all will leave together.”

Zhulan was anxious, “Are Dad and Mom okay?”

Looking at her elder brother’s appearance, she missed her parents even more.

Yang Zhumu held the teacup and said, “Dad is feeling better now. Mom had a serious illness, but she missed seeing Wu Chun and Wu He so much that she recovered. She was able to walk when I left.”

Zhulan was silent for a long time. Her mother’s serious illness took away a lot of her energy and spirit, and this illness would affect her lifespan.

Yang Zhumu put down the cup and said, ‘Your sǎozi came here too. She packed all the luggage at home. Well, we were in a hurry this time and didn’t bring you anything.”

The main reason is that the whole family wasn’t in the mood, and thinking about it, their eldest sister didn’t really lack anything, so they didn’t bring anything.

“Brother, I have everything I need. By the way, have you dealt with all the land at home?”

Yang Zhumu said, “Your second brother will handle it after I left.”

Yang Zhumu smiled and said, “Look at me, I forgot to give you the letter. Before leaving, I met Changyi and Changlian, and they asked me to bring it to you.”

Zhulan received a letter from Second Zhou some time ago, which was about Wu Dong’s news. After receiving the letter, Zhulan read Second Zhou’s first.

The letter talked about some family situations, and most of them were about worrying about Zhulan and Zhou Shuren. There was no important news.

There was a lot of news about Chang Lian, mainly about Chang Zhi. Some people asked him about the news and asked whether Chang Zhi was engaged.

Zhulan quickly read the letter and found no other information.

Li Shi came in, “Mom, the room is cleaned up.”

Zhulan said to her elder brother: “Brother, you have worked hard on the journey. You should go back and have a rest first.”

Yang Zhumu really didn’t have anything to talk about. He didn’t want to mention family matters and make his sister worry. “Okay.”

As for asking Wu Chun, there was no need to do so. The letter written by his sister was very detailed. He already knew how much pain his eldest son was in and didn’t want to hurt himself anymore.

Zhou Shuren went to see Yang Zhumu first when he came back, but unfortunately, his jiù zi was so tired that he fell asleep. He went back to the room and said, “He’s asleep.”

Zhulan said faintly: “Brother has aged a lot.”

“Wu Dong is his youngest son, the apple of his eye. How could he not grow old if his heart is cut out?”

Zhulan asked, “What did Zhao Bo want to see you about?”

You know, they hadn’t seen each other much since they came to Beijing. They were both working hard to prepare for the next spring exam!

Zhou Shuren warmed his hands, “He came to me to find out about Wu Ming and to ask how Wu Ming is preparing.”

Zhulan thought of Wu Ming. After coming to the capital, Wu Ming never left the house. He stayed in his room reading books every day, which put a lot of pressure on Zhou Shuren. “Have you told Zhao Bo?”

Zhou Shuren, “I have to tell him. I can’t be the only one feeling the pressure.”

Zhou Shuren had long given up the possibility of competing for first place. The longer he interacted with Wu Ming, the more shocked he was. He had the perspective of later generations, while Wu Ming was a pure ancient person. He discussed post-war developments with Wu Ming, and Wu Ming’s views were not bad. There were many things he had not thought of.

Zhulan laughed, “It looks like Zhao Bo wants to fight for it!”

“Everyone’s children have such great resources that people will envy them. Naturally, they have the confidence to compete for it.”

He could guess the questions for next year’s Spring Examination, let alone these big families. Next year’s Spring Examination was going to be exciting!

According to his research on the Emperor, the more he guessed the test questions were, the more likely they were to appear. The Emperor of this dynasty was a practical person and what he needed were useful people.

In the afternoon, Yang Zhumu woke up, changed his clothes, and said embarrassedly: “I slept for a whole day, my brother-in-law must have waited for a long time.”

Zhou Shuren said, “We are all family, there is no need for you to be polite to me, big brother. Please take a seat.”
Yang Zhumu was indeed very tired. He knew that his mèifu would come back to talk to him, so he forced himself to stay awake. But after falling asleep, he woke up hungry. Looking at the food on the table, his stomach growled, “Excuse me.”

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, “Brother, let’s eat first.”

Yang Zhumu waved his hand, “No, wait and see.”

Zhou Shuren said: “There is one last dish, mutton soup, it will be ready soon.”

“Ok!”

A quarter of an hour later, Zhulan came in with mutton soup. “Brother, you’re awake. I was just about to call you. Now it’s time for dinner.”

Yang Zhumu just counted dozens of dishes, including beef, and was shocked. The girl was living such a good life. “You should also sit down and stop working.”

Zhulan, “Hey!”

Yang Zhumu drank a lot at dinner. Men don’t shed tears easily unless they are very sad. Zhou Shuren could drink, and Yang Zhumu also drank a lot. In the end, he drank a little too much. Zhulan listened to her elder brother crying.

After crying for a while, Zhulan found that her elder brother was in much better spirits. It was almost New Year when Yang Zhumu came. After Yang Zhumu visited Wuchun’s house, he still lived in Zhulan’s house because he was alone in the capital.

This year’s New Year was not celebrated by all the family members, and with Wu Dong’s death, the New Year was not very lively. Time accelerated after the New Year.

It seemed like a day had passed in the blink of an eye, and before long it was the day for candidates from all over the country to come to the capital.

All the inns in the capital were packed with people. Zhou Shuren didn’t go out anywhere and stayed at home reading every day.

During the Spring Examination, Zhulan really felt Zhou Shuren’s nervousness. Zhulan’s family also received a letter from Wuchun.

(End of this chapter)

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