Mrs. Jiang Dong had no problem with my sister's mother-in-law. Not to mention that she and my sister didn't have much affection, she kept inviting my sister to come just to cooperate with her husband. Of course, she was doing it for my sister's good. If she didn't break my sister's pride, my sister would have many sad days. It would be better to straighten it out while my sister was young.
Now it seems that the effect is very good. She thought her younger sister would come to her to complain, but she never came once. Her younger sister's mother-in-law is indeed as powerful as her mother said!
Mrs. Jiang Dong smiled and said, "Madam, please get up quickly. We are also family members. Madam, you don't need to be treated as an outsider."
She couldn't bring herself to call her aunt, so "Mrs. Juren's wife" was just the right name.
Zhulan smiled and sat down. "It's my first visit and I don't know what Yiren likes. A few pieces of leather are a token of my appreciation."
There have been a lot of furs in the house recently, and Zhulan has become more generous. She has some nice furs that are to the girl's liking and are decent. These mink furs are the best ones.
Mrs. Jiang Dong really liked it. She knew that the Zhou family had made a fortune in the past few days, so she accepted it with a smile, "Thank you, Madam Juren. I don't have anything good. I heard from Chuchu that Madam Juren has a daughter. It just so happens that I made two sets of jewelry for my little daughter. I thought Madam Juren would bring her daughter, but she came alone. This set of jewelry can only be taken home by Madam Juren."
Zhulan stood up and thanked him, without explaining why she came alone. Dong suggested that she bring Xuehan with her, but Zhulan disagreed. There was a big gap between the family of a fifth-rank official and that of a seventh-rank official. Dong was cautious with her own nephews and nieces, let alone Xuehan.
Mrs. Jiang married Jiang Ming and gave birth to two children. They were both young and at the right age to be willful. She didn't want Xue Han to come and suffer her anger.
Zhulan and Jiang Dongshi really had nothing to talk about. Their chat pattern was question and answer. When she ran out of questions, she fell silent.
Zhulan didn't want to find a topic to talk about, because Jiang Dongshi spoke very cautiously. Zhulan knew that Jiang Dongshi's status as a second marriage had made her think a lot, and she was afraid that if she said too much, Jiang Dongshi would think too much, so it was better not to say anything.
Fortunately, Lord Jiang had no intention of keeping Zhou Shuren for dinner, and he let him leave very happily, and Zhulan followed him.
There were no outsiders on the way back, and Zhulan took a deep breath, "Ms. Jiang and Mrs. Dong have two different personalities. Although they don't talk much, it feels too depressing."
Zhou Shuren held Zhulan's hand and said, "We are leaving too. We won't come to your house again in the future."
Zhulan really didn’t want to wait at the Jiang family’s door any longer, “Yeah.”
Zhou Shuren asked worriedly, "Is Mrs. Jiang Dong not making things difficult for you?"
Zhulan shook her head, "No, he's very kind to me."
Zhou Shuren didn't ask any more questions, as long as Zhulan didn't get upset.
After returning home, Zhulan gave the jewelry she brought back to Xuehan, "Jiang Yiren gave it to you, keep it for yourself."
Xue Han accepted it happily. The jewelry was not expensive but exquisite, and embellished with precious stones, which made it the little girl's favorite.
When Mrs. Dong saw her mother-in-law smiling, she felt relieved. She was glad that her sister didn't embarrass her mother-in-law. Otherwise, her sister would be the one who was really harming her!
On the second day, Zhou Shuren went to see Zhao Bo, who was also the runner-up and ranked eighth. Zhou Shuren passed the exam, so Zhao Bo sent someone to deliver a gift. Zhou Shuren also gave Zhao Bo a gift.
This was the first time they met after passing the imperial examination.
Zhou Shuren didn't come back until the afternoon. Zhulan knew that Zhou Shuren was asking when Zhao Bo came to Beijing. "What did Zhao Bo say?"
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "He knows I'm going to Beijing early, so he wants to go with us."
Zhulan: "That's great. The more people there are, the safer the road will be."
Zhou Shuren paused and said, "Tomorrow you go to the Wu family and ask Mrs. Wu Li if Wu Ming wants to go with them."
Zhulan smiled and said, "Okay."
Even if Zhou Shuren didn't mention it, she would have gone to the Wu family to ask. It would be a shame to miss the chance to gain a favor.
The next morning, Zhulan went to the Wu family and said, "Aunt, we plan to leave for the capital in a few days. My husband asked me to ask you if your Wu Ming wants to go to the capital in advance."
Wu Li was surprised and asked, "Are you planning to go to the capital in advance?"
"Yes, we want to go to the capital before winter comes, so as to avoid the difficulty of traveling after the New Year. It is easy to get sick in the cold weather. We have finally passed the imperial examination, and we can't fall ill again in the capital. Fortunately, we have a house in the capital, so if we go there early, we can get enough energy to participate in the spring examination."
Wu Li was really scared when her eldest grandson got sick in the provincial examination. She thought there was no hope for him to pass the examination, but she didn't expect that he would be able to become the top scholar. These days, she was busy receiving gifts and had no intention of going to Beijing to take the examination. She held Yang's hand and said, "Thank you, auntie. It's hard for you to think about Wu Ming. I, an old woman, don't know much, but fortunately you are thinking about him. Auntie was really afraid that Wu Ming would get sick again."
Zhulan comforted him, "Wu Mingji is a man of destiny. Don't you think he will become the top scholar?"
Mrs. Wu Li was really afraid that her grandson would get sick, especially in spring when he could easily catch cold and be fatal. "Aunt, I am really scared. Wu Ming also followed you to Beijing in advance. Aunt is also thick-skinned. Please take care of him more because Wu Ming has no parents."
Zhulan held Wu Li's hand and said, "Don't worry, auntie. I have always treated Wu Ming as my own nephew. We will take good care of him in the capital."
Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Li believed what Mrs. Yang said. Wu Ming was Changzhi's senior brother, and the relationship between the two families was closer than before!
Zhulan finished her business and prepared to leave. "Aunt, I have to go back to my hometown tomorrow and buy some things for my eldest daughter. I will leave first."
Wu Li stood up and said, "I'll take you there."
"Aunt, please stay."
Mrs. Wu Li still insisted on seeing Zhulan to the door, and only returned to the house after Zhulan walked away.
Zhulan returned home and took Xuehan to buy cloth and cotton. The cloth they bought was fine cotton cloth for babies, and the cotton was also intended to make quilts for the unborn child.
Zhulan couldn't help with the confinement care, so she could only buy some more things to take back.
This time when they went home, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren brought back a lot of things, most of which were bought for Xuemei.
The whole Zhou family went back to their hometown. Zhou Shuren and Zhulan were going to take the eldest son and his wife to the capital, and arrangements had to be made for the remaining three sons.
Zhou Laoer and his family returned to their hometown. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were not at home. Zhou Laoer was in charge of the family's land. As for Jiang Sheng, he didn't have to worry about the land, and Jiang Sheng could also take better care of Xuemei.
After Zhou Laoer and Zhao knew the arrangement, they wanted to go to the capital even more, but they did not dare to refute Zhulan and Zhou Shuren's decision.
Chang Lian and Dong stayed in Pingzhou to look after the family. They not only had to look after the family, but also had to take care of the students.
This time, Chang Lian had the opportunity to be the boss. Chang Lian and Dong were so scared that they wanted to kneel again. It was only after Zhu Lan gave them a reason that they felt relieved.
As for Changzhi, it was even easier. He could be sent directly to Jinshi Xu's house. With Jinshi Xu taking care of him, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren would have nothing to worry about.