In ancient times, the birth dates and times were of utmost importance in marriage arrangements. Even if Zhulan educated Wu Ning exceptionally well, few families would choose her as their daughter-in-law.

Zhulan wasn’t in a hurry. Wu Ning was still young this year, and she mainly wanted to wait until Wu Ning adapted before having her and Xue Han manage the household together, gradually teaching Wu Ning.

Actually, before Wu Ning even arrived, Zhulan had already written a letter to her Second Sao, asking whether her youngest Zhízi, Wu Hai, had become engaged yet. She had casually brought up Wu Ning’s situation along the way. Although Zhulan had not said things outright, her Second Sao was a clever person. She understood the hidden meaning and replied that they were already looking at another girl, tactfully declining the match.

For the Yang family, being a family of military generals, the taboo of kinship was even more pronounced. Given Wu Dong’s situation and Wu He’s serious injuries, Zhulan wasn’t surprised by her second Sao’s rejection.

Zhulan knew quite a bit about Wu Ning. Wu Ning was somewhat soft-hearted. A suitable husband for her would have to be assertive and strong-willed, someone who could provide her with a sense of security, and someone who wouldn’t dislike her reputation or bully her. Finding a good match for Wu Ning was truly difficult.

Time flew by, and it was Mid-Autumn Festival. The second son and his wife from Chuanzhou returned.

Second Zhou had been living a quiet life in Chuanzhou, focusing all his energy on his orchard, where he had grown a considerable amount of melons. He had sent back a lot of fruit throughout the summer. The couple had been content, so Zhulan invited them back for the festival.

For the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunion, Zhou Shuren also had a rare day off. This year, there were going to be crabs for the festival.

Zhulan had arranged for the purchase of these crabs; some were sent to the Yang residence, and quite a few remained.

The eldest and second sons of the Zhou family had already eaten crabs and had been craving them for a long time.

Today, each family sat at a separate table, without separating men’s and women’s tables. Zhulan was teaching Wu Ning and Xue Han how to eat crabs when she heard Boss Zhou laughing loudly at the next table.

Zhulan turned around and laughed too; Ming Teng didn’t know how to eat it and just started gnawing on it. He was losing his baby teeth, and now his front tooth was gone.

Li Shi was angry, glaring at her husband. He was deliberately not telling her how to eat it, just wanting to see them make a fool of themselves. In a fit of anger, Li Shi grabbed the crab from her son’s hand and placed it in front of her husband, saying, “We’re clumsy and don’t know how to eat, so we can only wait to eat what’s served to us.”

Boss Zhou was speechless.

His daughter also placed her crab in front of him. Then he looked at his eldest son, who was even more ruthless, placing the whole plate of crabs in front of him.

Boss Zhou’s lips twitched. He only wanted to tease Li Shi and Ming Teng, but he never expected to get himself into trouble!

How long would it take to peel all this? Fine, he didn’t want to eat crab meat today; he’d just have to serve them all.

Just as Zhulan was about to look away, she heard a retching sound. She hadn’t even eaten a bite of crab, and the sound made her instantly nauseous. By the time she turned around, Zhao Shi had already run out.

Zhulan’s stomach churned; even the most delicious crab in front of her had no appeal. She forced herself to put down her chopsticks and said to Liu Ya, “Go to Doctor Zhang’s house and ask him to come over.”

Second Zhou stood up. “Mother, there’s no need to call a doctor. That Zhao Shi is two months pregnant.”

Second Zhou really didn’t want to tell his mother now that it wasn’t suitable to travel by carriage for the first three months of pregnancy. Even though the roads had improved a lot, it was still bumpy. His parents had finally allowed them to come home for the festival, and they didn’t want to be unable to return because of the pregnancy. He just hadn’t expected Zhao Shi, who hadn’t reacted at all, to have such a strong reaction after eating seafood today.

Zhulan guessed it; the couple was really trying hard. She could guess some of their little thoughts. Zhulan lost her appetite. “Go check on Zhao Shi. If she’s still not feeling well, call a doctor.”

Second Zhou felt his father’s gaze was too piercing, so he agreed and ran out.

After a while, Zhao Shi was fine, but she still had no appetite. Zhulan asked Liu Ya to look after her, and Second Zhou returned to celebrate the festival.

Zhou Shuren peeled a lot of crab meat for Zhulan. After a while, Zhulan’s nausea subsided, and she had some appetite, but she didn’t eat much.

After the festival, Second Zhou knew he had once again offended his father. The next morning, after confirming that Zhao Shi was alright, he took her back to Chuanzhou. No sooner had Second Zhou left than Fang Shi arrived.

Fang Shi came alone. “Qīnjiāmǔ, I heard my son-in-law and his family were back, so I came to see them.”

Zhulan said indifferently, “Unfortunately, they had urgent business to attend to and had to return to Chuanzhou. They just left a short while ago.”

Did she really think she didn’t know why Fang Shi had come? Fang Shi wanted to use Second Zhou and Zhao Shi’s presence at home to bring up the academy matter.

Fang Shi’s smile froze. For the past few months, she had sent many letters to her daughter, hoping her daughter could put in a good word for her son and find him a good academy. She only got a reply to one out of ten letters, all advising her to find a good private school.

She had planned to confront them today, but the two of them only stayed for a day. She felt that Second Zhou was avoiding her. Fang Shi clutched her handkerchief; her son-in-law was indeed unreliable, and she still had to rely on her son.

Zhulan watched Fang’s change of expression. “Qīnjiāmǔ, is there anything else?”

Fang Shi knew that her qīnjiāmǔ was becoming increasingly unfriendly. Several times when she came, her qīnjiāmǔ had a smile on her face, but her eyes were cold. If it weren’t for her son, she wouldn’t dare to visit so easily. “No, nothing else. I’ll head back now.”

Zhulan gestured for Liu Ya to see her off. Liu Ya quickly returned. “Mistress, there’s a young master from the capital outside. This is his letter. He says you’ll understand once you read it.”

Zhulan thought carefully. A young master from the capital? Deng Xiucai couldn’t be considered a young master; his child was already quite old. Who else in the capital could it be?

(End of Chapter)

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