Upon arriving in Lizhou, this was the first letter Zhulan received from her hometown. “Only a letter?”

Steward Ding replied, “This letter was delivered by express horse. Only a letter.”

Zhulan gestured for Steward Ding to leave. Once she was alone in the room, she opened the letter, thinking as she did so. This past month has been busy not only for her but also for the Yang family.

Her father, seeing her buy land and build an ice cellar, personally inspected the land and ice cellar. He then returned and bought a hundred acres of land to plant fruit trees. However, the Yang family wasn’t as wealthy as Zhulan’s, and they only bought three-year-old fruit trees. The remaining money was used to buy ninety acres of dry land and ten acres of paddy fields. Her father’s life savings were essentially gone.

Zhulan had offered to lend her father money, but he refused, only asking her to help her family when selling apples.

Because of Zhulan’s actions, some officials in Lizhou followed suit, buying considerable amounts of land to plant apples. This triggered a chain reaction; land near Lizhou was sold off, more people were hired, and the local residents received a significant increase in income.

Zhulan opened the letter; it was nine pages long—quite a lot had happened!

The letter was from the second son. It began by saying that when the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations was released, several elders in the clan were overjoyed, thankfully without serious injury. They said the family was bustling with visitors, and local gentry came to offer gifts. Even the magistrate of Dong County was very humble and courteous to Second Zhou.

Zhulan continued reading the next page. Second Zhou wrote, “After Chang Lian returned home, I was happy that Father had become the Zhizhou, but I also regretted that I couldn’t be by my parents’ side to fulfill my filial duties. I missed my parents very much. I inquired with Chang Lian and learned that they were well, which put my mind at ease.”

He then wrote about how to perform ancestral rites and mentioned that the house in Pingzhou had been sold for 1,300 taels of silver, which he said he would bring back to Lizhou City in the autumn.

Zhulan was delighted; the sale price was higher than she had expected. She thought 1,000 taels would be the maximum, but it was 300 taels more.

Zhulan continued reading. Second Zhou wrote, “Everything is fine at home, Father and Mother. Yu Shuang is like a young lady now, but she misses her grandparents very much. Ming Rui has also grown up. He’s not very old, but he has a good memory. He often asks your son where his grandparents are.”

Zhulan squinted. If she weren’t his original mother, she really wouldn’t have been able to read the letter objectively. Second Zhou realized the crisis and was trying his best to show filial piety!

After reading two more pages of the letter, the smile on Zhulan’s face disappeared. Second Zhou said that since he exchanged grain for Zhao Shi, the Zhao family knew about the Zhou family. The news from all the prefectures and cities knew who the second-place scholar was. When people from the Zhao family came to the door, Zhao Shi’s uncle and cousin came in person, but he chased them away.

Second Zhou wrote, “I’ve sent someone to investigate the Zhao family, but I was afraid you’d worry about home, so I sent a letter first. Don’t worry, I’ll handle the Zhao family well and take good care of my younger siblings.”

Zhulan believed Second Zhou could handle it. Second Zhou then mentioned Xuemei and the children; the twins were very obedient, and Jiang Sheng had even acquired three acres of land. The remaining two pages of the letter talked about Chang Zhi, Chang Lian, and the students Ming Yun and Rong Chuan. He mentioned that these two were doing well academically and had grown much taller.

Then he mentioned Chang Lian, who had focused on his studies after returning home. When the Dong family invited him to go out, he refused. As for Chang Zhi, he would come to Lizhou in the autumn to participate in the ancestral worship, and then he would go on a study tour with Xu Jinshi.

Zhulan put down the letter, feeling a pang of sadness. Separation did indeed weaken their bond, especially since she and Zhou Shuren had only been in the ancient world for three years. They had finally experienced the feeling of being parents again, and now they were separated once more. During their separation, the only thing she thought about was her children; she rarely thought about the adults when she was busy.

No, that was not quite right. She misses Xuemei quite a bit. Every time she bought something for Xuehan, she thought of Xuemei. With Xuehan around, she had also bought quite a few things for Xuemei.

Zhulan didn’t wait for Zhou Shuren to read the letter before replying, because even if Zhou Shuren read it, he wouldn’t reply personally. Now, Zhou Shuren’s heart was with the people, and there was even less room for his adopted sons.

In the Li family village house, Second Zhou and Chang Lian sat facing each other. Second Zhou now went out as the Second Master of the Zhou family, wearing newly made clothes made of the finest fabrics from the capital. Even with his honest face, no one dared to look down on him. He had gained weight recently due to the many banquets he had attended.

Second Zhou sipped his tea and said, “I wonder if the letter has reached Lizhou yet, and I wonder how things are in Lizhou.”

He worried about whether his father could handle the situation in Lizhou.

Chang Lian now completely idolized his father. “The Emperor values ​​Father, so Father will definitely find a way to handle the problems in Lizhou. We’ll know when the letter arrives.”

Second Zhou put down his teacup. He genuinely wanted to go to Lizhou immediately. He now envied his eldest brother. He used to think being the eldest brother was miserable, but now he wished he were the eldest. “I wonder if my eldest brother can help Father and Mother.”

Chang Lian fell silent. “My eldest brother is not the same as before.”

When he saw his eldest brother again, it would be difficult for him and his second brother to trick him. Over a year of independent training, with his parents teaching him step by step, he deeply envied him.

Second Zhou fell silent. So their parents really had favored the simple-minded one more. Right—when they met again, that simple child wouldn’t be simple anymore!

Second Zhou thought of Fourth Wang. Fourth Wang used to be so angry with him, but now Fourth Wang flattered and called him Second Master, and he would never show off the separation of the family again.

Inside the house, Zhao Shi and Dong Shi were embroidering handkerchiefs. Zhao Shi was in a good mood. This time, Dong Shi had no advantage. Her father-in-law’s rank was higher than that of Dong Xiàntàiyé, and he was even favored by the Emperor.

The head of the household said that many officials in the prefecture never even saw the Emperor in their entire lives, but her father-in-law not only saw him but was also given an important position. Look at how meticulously Dong Shi treated Chang Lian and how much respect she showed to her, her second sister-in-law.

Zhao Shi’s happiness was short-lived, but her mood soared again. Before, when she was with her mother-in-law, she could compete with her sister-in-law for her mother-in-law’s attention. Now, her mother-in-law only had her sister-in-law in front of her. Was it really true that fools are blessed? Did Heaven favor the simple-minded?

Dong Shi had already experienced a fall from grace. Ever since her father-in-law passed the imperial examination, her parents had told her that she was nothing more than the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law and that any respectable status she would have in the future depended on the Zhou family.

Not only did her father-in-law become the second-highest scorer, but he was also appointed as the Zhizhou of a directly governed prefecture. Her father said that as long as her father-in-law could stabilize Lizhou City, his future was limitless.

When she returned to her parents’ home now, her older brothers and their wives all called her the Third Madam of the Zhou family instead of ‘little sister’ this and ‘little sister’ that. Thinking about the looks on her sisters-in-law’s faces, and thinking of those relatives who had made things difficult for Chang Lian—yet not only came in person to apologize but even handed over half of the profit they’d earned from forcibly selling the recipe, a full one thousand taels—she couldn’t help feeling satisfied!

It was just a pity that her husband said that this money belonged to her Dàsǎo. The money from selling the recipe had all been given to her Dàsǎo. Her father-in-law and mother-in-law had warned him that it was okay to scheme against outsiders, but not family members. These thousand taels were to be given to her Dàsǎo in Lizhou City.

As for why they didn’t have Second bǐgē write a letter about it, the reason was simple—her husband and Second bǐgē were both jealous of the Dàgē and Dàsǎo, so of course they had no desire to share the good news.

Not to mention her husband, she was jealous of her sister-in-law, too! Thankfully, they could go to Lizhou City in a few months!

(End of Chapter)

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