Zhulan was craving roasted lamb. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Oh dear, she hadn’t even considered it! She’d missed out on so many delicious foods. Zhao Shi’s idea was truly excellent. “Alright, go arrange it!”

Seeing her mother-in-law satisfied, Zhao Shi couldn’t help but smile. She couldn’t compete with her eldest sister-in-law, but perhaps she could rival her third sister-in-law. With her mother-in-law not home, she was thinking about how to steal her mother-in-law’s attention from her eldest sister-in-law. Although it was still about food, her eldest sister-in-law wasn’t cooking anymore; she was in charge of the kitchen. She had found a way.

Zhulan wanted to rest, so her three daughters-in-law went back to their rooms.

After lunch, Zhulan took her daughter back to the main courtyard. Zhulan pinched her daughter’s nose. “I was looking for you this morning. Why didn’t you come?”

Xue Han smiled sweetly. “Mom, my sisters-in-law want to be by your side all the time. Aren’t I just giving them a chance?”

The sisters-in-law in the family had often competed for their mother’s attention!

Zhulan chuckled, “Come here. Mother brought you some good things.”

Xue Han asked, “Mother, didn’t my elder brother give me the gift you brought yesterday? How come there’s more?”

Zhulan smiled. “Of course there is; it’s your dowry I brought back. Do you want to see it?”

Xue Han’s face flushed instantly. Before, when Rong Chuan wasn’t home, she would miss him, but when she was busy, she didn’t think about it much. This time, with Rong Chuan back, she felt different. “Mother…” Zhulan felt a pang of sadness.

Marriages started early in ancient times. For Xue Han’s health, Zhulan revealed the truth, “Mother is telling you, I’m going to keep you here for a few more years.”

Xue Han became even shyer, stamping her feet. “Mother.”

Zhulan sighed, “So precocious in ancient times!” Then she stood up, took out the scraps of jade that Zhou Shuren had carved and polished for her jewelry—a small box—and placed it beside Xue Han. “These are scraps of jade bestowed by the Emperor. Mother is going to use them to inlay some jewelry for you.”

Xue Han was speechless.

She knew about this—no, the whole city knew! Some people had even specifically asked her to confirm it!

Xue Han felt it wasn’t right to give her the leftovers after her father had made jewelry for her mother. “Mother”, she said, “you should keep what Father gave you. Give us the rest later!”

Zhulan thought the quality of the jade was hard to come by, and she wanted to give her daughter a respectable dowry. She didn’t think it was wrong to give it to her daughter, especially since the jade was so large. She didn’t intend to make jewelry for herself. Besides, in ancient times, a woman’s dowry was usually divided among her children, and she didn’t want anything to be buried with her. She couldn’t take it with her when she died anyway, so she might as well leave it to the living.

Wait, no, Zhou Shuren specifically gave her this dowry, which she intended to take with her to be buried with her. She didn’t want to take anything else.

Ugh, she was perfectly fine alive; thinking about burial goods was too early.   

Finally, Zhulan decided to make the decision herself. After chatting with her daughter for a while, it was getting late; winter days were too short.

That evening, the Zhou family had roasted whole lamb, specially prepared by a chef from a restaurant. The lamb wasn’t very big, mainly because there were many people in the family, mostly adult men, and one lamb wasn’t enough.

Chang Zhi was enjoying his meal when he saw snow falling outside. “Dad, this scene is perfect for writing poetry!” he exclaimed.

Zhou Shuren didn’t think so. He was full and just wanted to go home and chat with his wife. Who wanted to write poetry in the yard? Zhou Shuren stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked away briskly.

Zhulan saw Zhou Shuren waiting for her outside the door, her eyes full of smiles, and quickly followed him.

Eldest Zhou, who hated reading the poem the most, slipped away. “The ground is too slippery in the snow. I need to help your sister-in-law back first.”

Second Zhou also got up and left. Who wanted to write poetry? He’d rather drink some wine and hum a tune.

Chang Lian was sick of writing poetry. His master was currently teaching him something, and he’d been pulling his hair out a lot lately. “I drank a bit too much today; I’d like to sober up and digest a bit. My wife, shall we go for a walk?”

Dong Shi’s eyes were full of joy. Her husband was always busy studying, and since they hadn’t consummated their marriage, they rarely spent time together at night. It had been a long time since she’d gone for a walk with him. “Okay.”

Rong Chuan had witnessed Chang Zhi’s seriousness before, so he pulled Ming Yun and slipped away first.

Ming Teng and Ming Rui were wearing bitter faces from their shushu’s lectures. With Nai Nai not home, their Shushu’s demands on them were even higher, especially for Ming Teng, who was memorizing poems every day—he was truly sick of it.

Now, he and his younger brother Ming Rui wished their shushu weren’t home!

Xue Han was the last to stand up, patted her older brother’s shoulder, and walked away, suppressing a laugh.

Chang Zhi looked at the empty dining room, speechless.

The next morning, just after breakfast, Zhulan was looking at the invitation when Li rushed over. “Mother, Qi Shi wrote me a letter.”

From the author: Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, a prosperous Year of the Rat, all the best, and good health!
  　

(End of Chapter)

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