Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 623 Open and Aboveboard_1

The next morning, Zhou Shuren went to the government office, and Mr. Wong leaned in, "I heard Shi Qing is back?"

Zhou Shuren glanced at Wong Ju with the corner of his eye, "You seem to be quite interested in my household."

Wong Ju chuckled dryly, "I am concerned about the official."

Zhou Shuren said, "This official has his own wife to care for him, so Mr. Wong, please stay four feet away from me."

Wong Ju was flabbergasted, "...."

No, he really had no other intentions, he was just curious about Shi Qing, who disappeared for almost a year and then returned as a Graduate, which was a bit of a shock for him—Shi Qing’s background should have made it difficult for him to pass the examination.

Mr. Wang came in and saw the stunned Wong Ju, "What’s wrong with Mr. Wong?" freewёbnoνel.com

Zhou Shuren sat down and said: "Who knows what’s with him, did you need me for something?"

Mr. Wang nodded, "The tally of collapsed houses in East City has been completed. Here are the statistics."

Zhou Shuren took it but set it aside without looking, "How has He Shu been recently?" he said to Mr. Wang.

A thought turned in Mr. Wang’s heart as he replied, "Everything’s been pretty good, he wrote in his last letter that the marital home is all set up already."

Zhou Shuren uttered an "ah," "He’s quite efficient."

Mr. Wang smiled. How could he be anything but efficient? Establishing a family is an important matter. "If there’s nothing else, official, I’ll be going back first."

"Mhm."

Mr. Wang left the room still turning the matter over in his mind. Official Zhou wouldn’t mention He Shu without reason. He stopped abruptly after a couple of steps; if he remembered correctly, He Shu’s fiancée’s brother was a county magistrate on the frontier. It seemed that Official Zhou was hinting at something—was he dissatisfied that He Shu wasn’t paying enough attention to Miss Wu?

Zhou Shuren indeed had no such intention. After his conversation with Shi Qing yesterday, he had been filled with many thoughts, so he had thought of He Shu, merely feeling thankful that nothing had happened to He Shu, who was also just one of the competitors.

At the Zhou residence, Shi Qing took his leave, and having not been to the streets for a long while, Zhulan found that most shops were now open. She wanted to purchase some items for Wu Ning’s marriage. Most of the major things had already been acquired, but some sundries were still needed.

Xue Han was not yet married and it was not suitable for her to follow, so Zhulan asked Lady Dong to accompany her. On their way to the shops, Zhulan asked, "Is Yu Yi asleep?"

Thinking of her plump daughter, Lady Dong’s heart softened, "The lass loves to eat and sleep; once she’s full, off to bed she goes. I don’t even know who she takes after."

Zhulan laughed, "She must take after Chang Lian; he was the least active when he was little."

Zhulan became lost in memory; the Zhou children had all been quite interesting when they were younger.

Lady Dong beamed, "Is that so? The master also says Yu Yi resembles me."

Zhulan asked, "Chang Lian left early this morning, where did he go?"

Lady Dong knew, "The books the master wanted arrived at the bookshop, and he went there early in the morning to wait. I heard many people are after them!"

Zhulan understood; Chang Lian was feeling greater pressure because of Shi Qing’s return, or else he wouldn’t have rushed to the bookshop so eagerly, "You’ll have to put up with him a bit more these days; he’s under a lot of pressure."

Lady Dong smiled, "Madam, I understand."

Last night the master was muttering in his dreams, woke up in the middle of the night, and struggled to fall back asleep for a good while. She understood; with his elder and second brothers still without rank, the master was shouldering the burden of the Zhou family. As for Rongchuan, after all, he’s a son-in-law and doesn’t carry the Zhou surname.

Lady Dong thought of the son her mother at home kept talking about, and her headache intensified a bit. The third branch of the family indeed needed a son, but having children wasn’t something that one could accomplish just by wishing for it, and her pressure was no small matter either.

When they arrived at the store, Zhulan, holding a shopping list in her hand, quickly selected the items needed. As she left the store, her steps paused.

"What’s wrong, mother?" Lady Dong inquired.

Zhulan looked across at the teahouse; she saw a man with a big beard, who looked like he might be from one of the foreign clans, following a scholar into the teahouse. Upon taking another look, she noticed the bearded man quickly came out and got into a carriage, and Zhulan also boarded her carriage, "It’s nothing, let’s go."

She thought that the man looked fierce and wondered if trouble was about to ensue!

Ahead, Ning Xu was sitting inside a carriage. Out of curiosity about the Mr. Zhou that the Crown Prince mentioned, and since the Emperor was restoring his identity, resulting in his regained freedom of movement, he had come out for a walk. Not long after entering the capital, he spotted a young man who looked like the Emperor, so he followed him to the teahouse.

He originally wanted to sit down inside, but all the people in the teahouse were staring at him, and he realized that his appearance was not suitable, so he left.

In the capital, within Zhang Jinghong’s study, he glowered at the man who had just arrived, "Are you saying that you didn’t find the person?"

"Yes, by the time we sent people to investigate, the person had already checked out and left."

Zhang Jinghong felt an unbearable blockage in his heart, cursing himself for his foolishness. When he first discovered the situation, he was preoccupied with wild thoughts. By the time he came to his senses and responded, the person was gone, "Did you find out any information?"

"We only found that next year someone named Shen Yang will participate in the imperial examination, but we couldn’t find any other information."

Zhang Jinghong narrowed his eyes. Participating in the imperial examination meant the person would return. This individual could not be allowed to remain free; it did not matter who had replaced him—without the real one, he could keep pretending. And it didn’t matter whether Shen Yang was innocent or not, resembling the Emperor was unacceptable.

He was well aware that once the true one appeared, death awaited him. His hand involuntarily trembled—we still remembered the torture of lingchi.

Now, thinking about it carefully, the Emperor’s words back then were probably meant for him, "Send someone to check for me, and do it thoroughly."

Then he added in a rush, "No, we can’t check—dismiss yourself."

Now he couldn’t make a move; too many eyes were on him. Any action from him would certainly draw attention. He couldn’t investigate, couldn’t investigate—he could wait.

In Jinzhou Province, outside a study hall, Zhou Changlian and Meng Jie came out carrying books. A carriage was stopped in front, and upon lifting his eyes to the partially opened carriage window, Zhou Changlian recognized the person at a glance—it really wasn’t easy to forget a face full of beard, "So it’s you."

Ning Xu couldn’t help but be amused, "There really is some fate between us. Last time we didn’t formally introduce, my name is Ning San."

Zhou Changlian was internally speechless; the name Ning San obviously sounded fake, but he saw no need to hide his own identity. In Jinzhou Province, one only needed to ask around to know about him, "Zhou Changlian, this is Meng Jie."

Ning Xu’s gaze intensified a bit—Zhou Changlian, this name had been mentioned by the Crown Prince, who said that the son of Zhou Shuren would come to the capital for the imperial examination next year, so this was him, "Last time, thank you for your help, Mr. Zhou. Since we’ve met again by fate, I too would like to show my appreciation. It’s nearly noon; how about we have a casual meal together?"

Zhou Changlian’s peripheral vision had been assessing the carriage and entourage all along. Today’s encounter was different from last time; previously, it seemed like he was from the foreign merchant, but this time the caliber of the carriage was such that no ordinary person could use it, certainly not a merchant. And looking at the entourage, he had interacted with Princely Heir Yao enough to recognize military attire when he saw it, "Sure."

Ning Xu smiled. Although the youth before him seemed mature for his age, he was no match for Ning Xu’s experience. It seemed like the young man wanted to probe him—squinting his eyes, it was hard to tell who was investigating whom, "Get in the carriage, then!"

Zhou Changlian felt Meng Jie tug at his sleeve slightly. With a nearly imperceptible movement of his hand, Zhou Changlian signaled that all was well, then he climbed into the carriage with agility, showing no hesitation whatsoever.

Ning Xu took note, "You certainly aren’t faint-hearted."

Zhou Changlian settled in comfortably, and once Meng Jie had also boarded the carriage, he spoke, "It’s not that I am bold, but rather that you bear no ill will, am I right?"

Besides, if there truly was malice, neither he nor Meng Jie could escape—the power disparity was too vast. It was better to face it openly.