Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 1152 Collapse

The civil and military officials all watched Yao Wenqi. Yao Wenqi only felt his blood rushing backwards, realizing the Emperor indeed knew everything. The laughter of his elders still echoed in his mind, but the days of being suppressed by the Rong family were finally over.

At last, a mouthful of blood spewed out, and with a thud, he fell straight onto the floor tiles of the great hall.

Zhou Shuren felt a pain in his face. The floor tiles of the great hall were made of blue bricks—kneeling with force hurt, let alone falling straight down with a hiss.

Nobody went to help Yao Wenqi, as if they hadn’t seen him fall at all.

The Emperor sneered. He didn’t care whether Yao Wenqi had genuinely fainted or was feigning it. Now was the time to keep Yao Wenqi around, for it was more interesting to slice the flesh with a soft knife, cut by cut, and to slowly roast him to savor the taste.

The Emperor signaled for the guards to drag Yao Wenqi away, which they did, truly dragging him without a shred of dignity.

Zhou Shuren watched closely, noticing blood on Yao Wenqi’s face.

With Yao Wenqi’s collapse, the grand spectacle came to an end. Afterwards, everyone reported on their affairs with distracted minds and then left, with the eunuch designated to announce imperial edicts at the Zhou and Shi residences departing first.

Yu Dang was older and knew many people. Plus, with Eunuch Liu escorting him, no one approached, leaving Zhou Shuren surrounded by a crowd.

Xiao Qing patted Zhou Shuren on the shoulder, "I’ll head back to the Ministry of Revenue first."

Zhou Shuren, "...Aren’t you taking your subordinate with you?"

Xiao Qing looked at the officials catching up and said with a wooden face, "Can’t carry you."

After that, he walked away quickly, afraid of being held back with Zhou Shuren.

Zhou Shuren, "....."

How long had it been since he had seen the Grand Master of Writing move with such agility!

Prince Qi approached and said, "Mr. Zhou, no, should I call you Uncle instead?"

Zhou Shuren liked the sound of that but didn’t dare to acknowledge it outwardly. The Emperor recognized only his mother and had not formally called him cousin, "I wouldn’t presume."

Prince Qi inwardly cursed the old fox. He had made several attempts to broach the subject, but the old fox had kept his lips sealed, "We will be proper relatives in the future, and we should get closer. This Rong Garden, no, it’s now split into three parts. Although the Rong family’s construction plans have changed, I have also contributed. You owe me a drink, Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Shuren followed along, "Certainly, certainly."

Prince Chu felt complex emotions, "Congratulations, Mr. Zhou."

He simply couldn’t bring himself to use any other title. The way he had treated Zhou Shuren before was now the source of his own disgrace—it was better when Zhou Shuren targeted him, as now he felt an unspeakable suffocation.

Prince Liang snorted and quickly turned and left. He was the first to know, and Prince Qi and Prince Chu hadn’t stopped mocking him for his attitude toward Zhou Shuren. Given their long-standing grievances, why should he approach Zhou Shuren at all?

Then came the officials’ congratulations. Li Zhao slapped Zhou Shuren’s shoulder with his huge hand, "Well done, now you’ve become an Earl, Earl Zhou, make sure to let me know when you move homes."

Zhou Shuren’s back ached. Li Zhao must have been jealous and was openly retaliating, "Get your hand off me."

Li Zhao laughed heartily, "I won’t bother you any longer, I’ll leave first."

The Minister of Rites was stifled inside. Now that Zhou Shuren had family ties with the royal family, he had recently plotted against Zhou Shuren. He coughed, thinking he would have to treat Zhou Changyi better in the future, "Congratulations, Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Shuren responded with thanks, "Thank you."

Wong Ju, this poor little thing, had no presence in front of a bunch of bigshots. He didn’t even dare to step forward and could only stand on the perimeter, holding it in and watching his own father’s face smile like a steamed bun, particularly full of wrinkles. Today the old master must be crazily happy. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

At the Zhou family home, Zhulan heard from the steward that a decree was to be announced. She was very calm, instructed the maid to notify each room to receive the decree, changed her clothes, and then went to the front courtyard. By the time everyone arrived, even if they had doubts, they didn’t utter a word and accepted the decree neatly.

After the eunuch who announced the decree had left, Zhulan shared the same thought as Zhou Shuren—they never expected such a big surprise.

Steward Ding grinned, "Madam, is our Zhou residence going to be changed to a Count Residence?"

Zhulan came back to her senses. Now that they had a title, indeed many things would change. "Chang Yi is at the Ministry of Rites. Go there, and he will know what to do."

Steward Ding smacked his lips; he didn’t understand and still spoke up, needing to ask the second master in detail, "Yes."

Zhulan arranged things one by one before she had time to speak with her two daughters-in-law.

The two daughters-in-law were still in a daze. Zhulan couldn’t help but laugh, "Snap out of it."

Madam Zhao’s mind started to spin again, "Mother, our family really does have a connection with the Rong family!"

Zhulan nodded. "The eldest sons all know, but it couldn’t be told to others. Now that the Emperor has legitimized the Rong family, there’s nothing to hide anymore."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao realized that the head of the family had known all along. She felt vague and unsettled but now was completely reassured and became cheerfully excited, "Mother, is our family a Count Residence?"

Zhulan nodded, "Yes, a Count Residence."

Although there were many with titles in the capital due to the establishment of the new dynasty, there were no non-royal princes, and the highest was a Duke, with titles of varying degrees.

Even if the Zhou family was only a count, Zhou Shuren wielded great power in the Ministry of Revenue, and the Zhou family was related to the royal family. With sons who were also impressive, Zhou Shuren’s status as an earl made most marquises give way in deference.

Su Xuan was the most dazed. When she first married into the Zhou family, all the young ladies she knew thought she was crazy. Later on, her father-in-law was remarkable, with the entire family moving to the capital, her father-in-law holding great authority. Her mother-in-law not interfering in the affairs of each room, she had heard plenty of sour comments.

Now came the surprise. This time, they would genuinely be envious of her. No, when her husband became the second-place scholar, they didn’t know how many handkerchiefs they had torn to shreds.

Zhulan heard Su Xuan laugh out; it was indeed a happy thing. She joined in the laughter and then told Old Lady Song, "Double this month’s wages."

Speaking of her wages, Zhulan was startled. The monthly wages given by the Zhou residence were not insignificant. She congratulated herself and also her old man. They had saved up bit by bit; she knew several officials in the capital who lived outside the city walls and their maids didn’t dare to buy much.

Speaking of the salary, the Emperor had increased the officials’ salary last year due to a drought. Compared to the previous dynasty, officials in the current dynasty received one and a half times more. Without extravagance or keeping many concubines, it was actually enough to support a family.

Zhulan thought a lot. There were a few officials who had no concubines in their housholds, like Liufeng’s uncle, regardless of how fierce Lady Jin was, still had concubines.

At the Shi family residence, Shi Huai sat down on the ground after the eunuch who announced the decree had left, not moving at all, looking particularly old in his daze.

Yao Yao, on the other hand, had her mind blown to a blank. She sat stiffly on the ground, motionless as if she were a statue.

The only one who was sober was Shi Qing. In fact, Shi Qing had also taken half a day to regain his senses. Once he did, he hurriedly rewarded the eunuch with money and then leaned on the steward, as his knees were numb from kneeling too long, signaling the steward to bring over a chair.

He also needed to recover his senses, and moreover, he had to wait for his father and wife to come to. He couldn’t feel at ease if he wasn’t here.

Then he signaled the old woman to take his son back to the back courtyard first. The steward and the old woman were so excited that they spoke incoherently. They didn’t care whether they were servants of the Shi family or not; they only knew that by following their young master, who had become a marquis and a descendant of a family like the Rong family, they could now walk with their backs straight when they went out, rather than having to lower their heads and give way when facing the servants of other officials’ families.