Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 686 Taking Care of Daddy_1

The Empress leaned her head on the Emperor’s shoulder and muttered, "I won’t go see my son."

The Emperor held the Empress’s shoulder, his heart aching for Qingran, "I have news for you, in a few days Zhou Shuren’s wife and daughter will be coming to the capital, didn’t you want to see them? You can summon them."

The Empress’s voice rose slightly, "Really?"

"Absolutely true, news from Jinzhou Province."

Not leaning on the Emperor anymore, the Empress said, "Then I will pick a day to summon them."

Early the next day, Changlian’s family and Rongchuan set off for the capital. By noon, Lady Tao also came from the Ran Residence and took away Mingyun’s birthday details.

The birthday matching went smoothly; although it was not a match made in heaven, it was still considered a good matrimonial match. Soon after, they chose an auspicious day for the engagement, and Zhulan prepared to start her journey to the capital.

The night before departure, Zhulan held her son and said, "Mother is leaving you at home to accompany Father. You must help Mother take good care of him."

Originally pouting and on the verge of tears, Chang Zhong didn’t want to leave his mother. But after hearing her words, he felt less aggrieved, "Mother, I will take good care of Father."

Zhulan kissed her son, "Mother’s good son is so obedient."

Chang Zhong hugged his mother’s neck, "Mother, you should also come back early. Father and I will be waiting at home for you."

Hearing this, Zhulan almost didn’t want to leave, holding her son tight, "Mother has thought about it; I should take you with me."

Chang Zhong was conflicted, wanting to go with his mother but also reluctant to leave his father. Looking back at his father, he said, "Mother, I should stay at home with Father. Last time, Father cried when he was alone."

Zhou Shuren, "...."

He had only teased his son with those words, but the youngster remembered them all too well.

The next day, Zhulan and Xue Han boarded the carriage. Zhulan dared not open the carriage curtain to look back. From his birth until now, it was the first time her son was away from her, and she feared she could not bear it.

After traveling for a while, Zhulan felt tormented. She was also afraid her son would cry. Eventually, she could not resist the urge and stealthily opened the curtain to peek. However, by the gate, only Lady Li was left; everyone else had gone back to the courtyard.

Xue Han saw her mother freeze and giggled, "Mother, I secretly looked earlier; the little brother went back with Fourth Brother already and he didn’t cry."

Zhulan finally understood Zhou Shuren’s feelings; the little guy was so clingy in the morning!

At the Zhou residence, Chang Zhong stopped reciting his primer after a while, "I want to eat fruit; Mother is waiting for me to go back and eat fruit."

Chang Zhi stopped his younger brother, "You forgot, Mother has already gone to the capital this morning."

Chang Zhong felt deflated as he had forgotten, "Fourth Brother, I miss Mother."

Chang Zhi patted the little guy’s head, "Mother will be back in a few days."

Chang Zhi would have been better off not touching his head; with that touch, Chang Zhong burst into tears, "I miss Mother. Mother likes to pat my head. Fourth Brother, I miss Mother."

Chang Zhi wished he could smack his hand for acting without thinking and picked up his little brother, "Alright, don’t cry. Fourth Brother will take you to the garden to play."

"I don’t want to; I want Mother."

Chang Zhi, sweating with anxiety, could only try to console him fruitlessly. Having no other option, he said, "Fourth Brother will take you to see the little nephews and nieces, haven’t you always been eager to see them?"

Chang Zhong perked up with tear-filled eyes, "Really?"

"Let’s go; Fourth Brother will take you to see them now."

Chang Zhong stopped crying and looked eagerly at his Fourth Brother. When Mother was home, she wouldn’t let him go to Fourth Brother’s courtyard to see the nephews and nieces. But now that Fourth Brother was taking him himself, even if Mother found out, he would have an excuse.

Chang Zhong wiped away his tears, "I’ll only look and not touch."

Chang Zhi smiled, "Good, just look and don’t touch."

In the fourth room, Chang Zhong saw his little nephew and niece and exclaimed in surprise, "They are so tiny; no wonder Mother wouldn’t let me come over."

Chang Zhi laughed, "You grew up from being this small too."

Chang Zhong didn’t believe it, "Mother said I was a chubby kid."

Chang Zhi lifted his younger brother, "Indeed, a chubby kid."

Chang Zhong stretched his neck to look at the babies, "Mother said that when my nephew and niece are a full month old, she would bring me to see them. Eldest brother, how long until they are one month old?"

Chang Zhi counted the days, "Mother should be back around the time they reach one month."

As soon as Chang Zhong heard ’Mother,’ he pouted and was about to cry again.

Su Xuan glared at her husband and chided Chang Zhong, "Chang Zhong is the little uncle; look, your nephew and niece aren’t even crying. The little uncle is an elder and should set an example."

Though Chang Zhong didn’t cry out loud, tears fell, "Mother used to say the same thing."

Su Xuan, "...."

Chang Zhi, "...."

At noon, Zhou Shuren returned to the residence and immediately asked the steward upon entering the courtyard, "Did the little master fuss this morning?"

Steward Ding replied, "The little master cried all morning and has now cried himself to sleep."

Zhou Shuren paused in his steps, "Have you called for the doctor?"

The child had been crying all morning; he shouldn’t harm his throat from all the crying.

Steward Ding hurriedly said, "We’ve already had the doctor look at him, the little master is fine."

Everyone in the residence knew how much the family head cherished the little master, so the fourth master had called for the doctor early on. Now it seemed the fourth master was clever since who would have thought the family head would find time to come back at noon.

Zhou Shuren asked, "Where is the child sleeping?"

Steward Ding said, "In the fourth master’s courtyard."

Zhou Shuren hummed affirmatively and quickly made his way to the fourth room’s courtyard. Chang Zhi was having lunch, and Zhou Shuren asked, "Where is your younger brother?"

Chang Zhi stood up, "He’s sleeping in the study!"

He was worried his father would fret if Chang Zhong came back on a whim, and, sure enough, his prediction was right.

Zhou Shuren entered the study to find his son sleeping soundly on the little kang bed, his mouth pouted unhappily and his eyes swollen from crying. The sight broke Zhou Shuren’s heart. He carefully walked over, touched his son’s face, and gently tucked him in.

Watching this, Chang Zhi felt a pang of heartache; back when he used to be the eldest child, well, he couldn’t dwell on it—the more he thought about it, the more it ached.

Chang Zhi said, "The little brother cried because he was hungry and fell asleep after drinking a bowl of porridge."

Zhou Shuren chuckled softly, able to picture the little guy feeling sorry for himself while sipping the porridge, "You’ve had a hard time this morning."

Chang Zhi looked at his father’s uniform, "Father, you haven’t had lunch yet, have it first."

Zhou Shuren saw the little guy frowning and motioned for Chang Zhi to be quieter. Once they were out of the study, he said, "I won’t eat now. I need to get back. I’ll try to come back earlier this afternoon, and I’ll leave Chang Zhong in your care."

Chang Zhi, "Father, I’ll definitely take good care of my little brother."

This was his father’s trust in him!

In the capital, Zhulan finally arrived home. Lady Dong and Rongchuan were there. Zhulan asked, "Where is Chang Lian?"