Zhao Shi tried her best to beautify her mother’s thoughts, pleadingly looking at her mother-in-law, hoping she would save face.

Zhulan looked at Zhao Shi, then at Second Zhou. Second Zhou didn’t refute Zhao Shi’s words; his thoughts were in line with Zhao Shi’s. They both knew why Fang Shi had come.

Fang Shi wanted to get out of the Qian family, and with the confidence Zhao Shi had given her, she dared to leave with Qian Keqi. She might even have used Zhao Shi’s influence. Fang Shi’s kneeling and feigning pitifulness upon arrival was just a prelude to her staying.

Zhulan looked at Zhao Shi and Second Zhou. The two of them had quite a bit of money to buy shops and land, all given by the Qian family. Zhulan asked Second Zhou, “Is there anything else?”

Second Zhou breathed a sigh of relief; his mother was still on his side, thankfully, she hadn’t pressed him. “Mother, nothing’s wrong.”

Zhulan asked, “Zhao Shi, what about you?”

Zhao Shi hesitated, then shook her head, thinking carefully. “Mother, I’m fine too.”

Zhulan smiled, but her smile carried a trace of coldness. Although she and Zhou Shuren had always been somewhat wary of the Qian family, up to now, the Qian family had never done anything excessive. On the contrary, they had treated the second branch very well. Yet after Steward Qian passed away, these two had not even thought of personally going back to offer their condolences or ask after the family.

Zhulan closed her eyes. This family—she and Zhou Shuren had worked so hard for so long, seemingly changing Second Zhou a lot, but that wasn’t the case. It was just that Second Zhou was very good at hiding his true feelings.

Zhulan waved her hand with her eyes closed. She was going to hand over Second Zhou to Zhou Shuren. Her cleaver wasn’t sharp enough for Second Zhou. As for Zhao Shi, Zhulan was a little sad. She had treated Zhao Shi well, putting her in the family genealogy, getting her marriage certificate, and having people witness her. She had given Zhao Shi a respectable identity.

Second Zhou couldn’t say he knew his parents best, but he understood them deeply. He wasn’t afraid of their scolding because he always tried his best, but he feared his mother would have nothing to say to him. “Mother.”

Zhulan pointed to the door, “I’m tired, go out.”

Second Zhou opened his mouth, and walked out with a nervous Zhao Shi. Zhulan heard the door about to close and said, “Second Son, these past few years, I haven’t personally taught you anything because you’ve always done very well. Today, I want to tell you something I hope you’ll remember: the most important thing between people is to treat each other with sincerity. No matter how smart you are, others aren’t fools. If you only want to receive without giving, you’ll eventually be abandoned by everyone.”

Zhulan didn’t say anything more after that; she knew Second Zhou had been standing at the door for a long time.

That evening, Zhulan never let anyone find fault with her work, and the dinner was very sumptuous.

Zhou Shuren returned and didn’t say more than a few words to Zhulan, but he knew her well. Zhulan’s smile seemed too fake. Zhou Shuren gripped his chopsticks, his gaze sharp as he looked at Second Zhou.

Second Zhou lowered his head, his mind preoccupied with his mother’s words. When he returned to the courtyard and saw his mother-in-law, he understood why she was disappointed in him. Her last question, asking if he had anything else, implied she hoped he would visit the Qian family to offer his condolences. Second Zhou felt a pang of anxiety; his mother had seen through his selfishness and heartlessness, hence her final words.

Boss Zhou lowered his head and continued eating. He did not know what Second Zhou had done; he only knew that Li Shi had gone to see Mother, and Mother had mentioned that Steward Qian had passed away. He had then gone to ask Mother who would be sent to offer condolences. No matter what, the Qian family could barely be considered relatives by marriage, and over the years, the Zhou family had received quite a few things from them. Even this year, the Qian family had sent over many gifts for the New Year.

After that, Mother had smiled very happily and even said that there would be dishes he liked for dinner that evening.

Chang Lian looked left and right, thinking to himself that the shrewdest one, Zhou Lao’er, had finally stumbled. Second Brother was also the best at putting on an act. Thinking back to the past few years, Second Brother had always appeared capable and reliable in front of their parents, to the point that the eldest brother had almost no presence at all. If their father had not always kept the eldest brother by his side, this family might only have known of Second Master Zhou and not even known of Eldest Master Zhou!

Chang Zhi, however, did not care about any of this. He was busy thinking about returning to Pingzhou. “Father, I heard from Eldest Brother that someone is going to be sent back to Pingzhou to offer condolences to the Qian family. It just so happens that I’m returning to my master’s home in Pingzhou. Father, let me go along on the way!”

Zhou Shuren squinted and put down his chopsticks. He could guess why Zhulan was unhappy from his youngest son’s words. His second son had disappointed her and Zhulan in Pingzhou City, and since then, he and Zhulan had treated the second wife differently. This time, he had disappointed Zhulan again.

Zhou Shuren said, “Alright, you can set off in a few days. I’ll prepare some books for your Master. Once I’ve sorted them out, you can take them to your master.”

These books—cough, cough—were all hand-copied versions of rare editions that Zhou Shuren had shamelessly managed to get from Chen Daren. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he had copied quite a few. Xiucai Xu had always worried greatly about Chang Zhi, and since he and Zhulan had rather cleanly pushed the responsibility away, they felt somewhat embarrassed about it. No scholar could resist rare books, and Zhou Shuren was not a stingy person. He planned to give Xiucai Xu a copy of everything he had obtained.

Chang Zhi was overjoyed. He thought his father was truly generous; he knew how many good books his father had acquired. “Father, I thank you on behalf of my master.”

At the women’s table, seeing that Zhou Shuren had resumed eating, Zhulan greeted Fang Shi warmly, “Qīnjiāmǔ, don’t just eat rice, have some more dishes as well.”

Fang Shi replied, “Yes.”

Hearing her daughter repeat her mother-in-law’s words, Fang Shi felt that these words were not only addressed to her son-in-law but also to her. She was panicked. She knew best how she had left the Qian family, and she knew best how much she had taken with her. If it weren’t for the in-laws’ name, she wouldn’t have gotten so much.

What to do? What to do?

Zhulan looked at Fang Shi, then lowered her eyes to look at Yu Shuang. Zhulan raised her head and smiled, saying, “The second branch has too few rooms, so Yu Shuang will start living in the main courtyard from tomorrow.”

After saying that, Zhulan said to Liu Ya, “Take some people to prepare the side rooms.”

Zhulan was really worried about letting Zhao Shi raise Yu Shuang. She wasn’t afraid before, because Yu Shuang was always with Xue Han, and she would teach her every time she came. She wasn’t afraid of what Zhao Shi would say when she went back. But now it was different. Zhao Shi had Fang Shi by her side, and she was really afraid that the good girl would be spoiled.

Zhao Shi was stunned. Now her son wasn’t around during the day, and her daughter was either with her mother-in-law or her sister-in-law. This time, she wouldn’t even see her at night?

Yu Shuang looked at her mother, then at her nǎinai. It was not that she looked down on her waipo; she simply disliked her waipo’s manner of doing things. Especially today, when her waipo had kept pulling her aside to ask whether Nǎinai treated her well and whether there was any difference in how she and Yulu were treated.

She knew that Nǎinai liked  Eldest bómǔ more, but when it came to the grandchildren, Nǎinai always treated everyone fairly. Nǎinai had never favored Yulu over her.

After dinner, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren returned to the courtyard, followed by Second Zhou. Second Zhou entered and said, “Father, Mother, Steward Qian has been good to Zhao Shi and me. He’s practically my father-in-law. Chang Zhi and I are going back together. With me watching over Chang Zhi, you can rest assured. We can also visit my sister on the way.”

Zhou Shuren’s gaze turned somewhat cold. “No matter whether by sentiment or propriety, you should go back. There’s no need to use your younger siblings to claim credit for yourself. They’re no longer children and can take care of themselves.”

Second Zhou hesitated, then lowered his head. “Yes.”

Zhou Shuren said quietly, “But before you go back, you’d better ask your mother-in-law what she took from the Qian family. Don’t get beaten up before you even get inside. Of course, you can continue to use me to bully others. Anyway, we’re far away, so we don’t know, right?”

(End of Chapter)

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