Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 1228: Gift

Zhou Residence, Xue Han had still been living at her parental home these past days. Back when she went to the Duke Residence, she hadn’t caught the attention of the Empress and the Emperor yet. If a lot of people hadn’t just died inside the Palace, the Empress and Emperor would surely have brought her into the Palace.

It had been three days, and Xue Han had fully accepted that she had suddenly become the Prince’s Consort. During these days, only at her parental home could she avoid the invitations.

Xue Han looked toward the Palace, today her husband was returning to the capital, by now he should have already entered the Palace.

At this moment, the maid came over, "A Female Officer from the Palace has come to the residence, asking you and the young lady to enter the Palace."

Xue Han was surprised, "Not the Princely Heir, no, never mind."

She suddenly didn’t know how to address Rongchuan.

The maid understood, "He hasn’t come back."

Xue Han stood up, it wasn’t her husband who had sent word back, and yet they were asking her and her daughter to enter the Palace. Xue Han was anxious, "I will go change my clothes right away."

By the time Zhulan arrived, the young lady had already quickly gotten ready.

Upon seeing her mother, Xue Han asked, "Mother, why are you asking Lin Xi and me to enter the Palace at this time?"

Zhulan said pensively, "Could it be that Rongchuan is having difficulty moving?"

Xue Han, "Hmm?"

Zhulan told her daughter what she didn’t know, and after a moment of silence, Xue Han said, "He deserves a beating."

Zhulan looked at her daughter’s fingertips. Although it was not customary for women of this era to grow long nails, they would still be trimmed for beauty.

Xue Han stretched out her hand towards the nail grooming tools, raised her hand to look at her nails, slightly dissatisfied.

Zhulan smiled, pretending not to see as she teased her already dressed granddaughter.

Inside the Palace, Rongchuan had been moved to an empty hall that had always been vacant. Rongchuan heard what his mother said and was stunned, "This doesn’t look like it has always been vacant."

The Empress, touching the decorations inside the hall, explained, "Your mother knew you had been switched. This palace was chosen for you and has been kept vacant. Zhang Jinghong never moved in. Everything inside was personally chosen by your father and me before you were born. It’s just that over the years, it’s been renovated continuously and no longer looks like it originally did."

Now the palace windows were replaced with glass, the furniture updated to popular styles, and the floors covered with boards and carpets, making the entire hall design very cozy.

Rongchuan was speechless for a moment and took a few breaths before saying, "Son likes it very much."

The Empress had a radiant smile. After so many years, today was the most comforting day, almost like when she first became a mother, presenting the prepared birthday gifts one by one, "They are all in double, from me and your father, but we have kept them hidden until today when they could finally see the light of day."

Rongchuan’s eyes reddened, "You and Father prepared together?"

The Empress, looking at the gifts prepared by the Emperor, her eyes twinkling with a smile, "No, it was always just me preparing. I don’t know if the Emperor has ever prepared anything himself. We were very estranged back then."

Rongchuan’s voice was a bit hoarse, "Mother, these years have caused you worry."

The Empress was laughing, "It was all worth it, you will stay a few days in the palace, returning to the royal family rituals, the Ministry of Rites is ready, but your Prince’s Clothes are not finished yet, so it will take some more days."

Now they are hurrying to finish the Dragon Robe, making the younger son’s Prince’s Clothes together with the Dragon Robe, so it will take significantly longer than usual.

In the government hall, the Crown Prince’s gaze towards the Emperor was somber, his ears red. After so many years, the Empress had actually laid hands on him, his ear still hurt from her twisting.

The Emperor didn’t feel guilty at all, "Do you have any complaints?"

The Crown Prince cowered, "No, your son has none."

"I thought you did have complaints!"

Crown Prince smiled, "No, your son is very happy."

The Emperor hummed. The Crown Prince’s smile was not bad; he then continued to look down at his book. Seeing that the Crown Prince was still smiling, he said, "Aren’t you going to continue dealing with government affairs?"

Crown Prince, "..."

Looking at the zhezi on the table, Crown Prince took a deep breath. Previously, he never felt that the government affairs were too many. However, looking at his father’s desk, with seasonal fruits laid out, a cup of herbal tea at hand, and a travelogue in hand, he even muttered ’good’ whenever he read something that pleased him.

The contrast was quite stark!

In the afternoon, after leaving the government office, Zhou Shuren and his second son arrived home together. Chang Yi rushed up when he saw his father, "Father, today Rongchuan returned to the capital, and the ambassador’s embassy was blocked at the Ministry of Rites. I heard from Minister Wang that Rongchuan brought back quite a few foreigners."

Zhou Shuren was surprised, "Why did he capture foreigners?"

Zhou Shuren really didn’t know about this since he had been too busy. These days, the Ministry of Revenue was so busy that one man had to do the work of three. His visits to the Palace were also filled with reporting. Speaking of which, since the last palace coup, there had not even been a morning court assembly.

Chang Yi responded, "You also don’t know what happened?"

"You know I’m too busy, so how much do you know?"

Chang Yi shook his head, "I don’t know much either. I used to work in the embassy. A few days ago, because of the palace coup, I was transferred back to the Ministry of Rites, so now I am not in the embassy, and I am not very well informed. What I know is still what Minister Wang said. From his expression, it seems pretty serious."

Chang Yi paused then continued, "Right, in a few days, the princes from various countries will visit. The Ministry of Rites is taking this matter very seriously."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, thinking about the harmful ointment the Zhang family managed to obtain, which should have been obtained from the foreigners. Since the government began bannin ointments, smuggling had persisted steadily, and despite severe punishments, the profit motive meant the foreigners had never given up.

He thought about modern times, where technology had advanced significantly, and although regulations were strict, smuggling had not been completely eradicated.

Zhou Shuren, "Rongchuan is the fifth Prince, the Emperor’s biological son, the Crown Prince’s biological brother."

After all, no matter how big the issue, someone was always there to cover for Rongchuan.

Chang Yi burst into laughter, "Right, Rongchuan is a Prince."

Shortly after Zhou Shuren changed out of his official robe, a palace guard arrived with a message. There would be a morning court session the next day.

Zhou Shuren had a hunch, "It should be because of the foreigners Rongchuan brought back."

Zhulan, "I’m worried about Rongchuan, uncertain of how badly he’s hurt."

Zhou Shuren scoffed, "Within the Palace, there’s also the Empress. You should know, it’s not just the Emperor who’s concerned about the absent Rongchuan, the Empress is worried as well. As soon as Rongchuan enters the Palace, the Empress will know it. Even if Rongchuan gets beaten, it won’t be severe. His injuries won’t be too serious."

Zhulan, "Look at me, I forgot about the Empress."

It was mainly because the Empress was too quiet.

Seeing his wife exhausted, Zhou Shuren said, "These days have been tough on you."

Zhulan was indeed tired, with visitors coming every day continuously. Even with the help from the daughters-in-law, she was still busy. "I’m not as tired as you are. Look at you, your face has even more wrinkles these days."

Zhou Shuren, "!!"

That was the downside of being skinny. As wives age, they tend to get fatter, and a plump old lady will have fewer wrinkles on her face. But for him, it was different; the wrinkles on his face were especially noticeable.

Zhou Shuren sat down in front of his wife’s mirror, grateful for the advancements in glass technology. Nowadays, the mirrors made by the government were quite good. He looked closely at his face and tugged at it, "Tomorrow, let’s have more meat dishes. I need to nourish myself."

He refused to believe that he couldn’t gain weight.

Zhulan was too lazy to roll her eyes, "You think being fat is good? The doctor told me to lose weight, saying being too fat isn’t good."

Every day she kept up with her walks, but she still couldn’t control her gradually increasing figure. She was almost envious of Zhou Shuren’s physique.