Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 1282: Quit While You’re Ahead

The next day, Lady Li, always impatient, saw the gifts sent by Ming Teng and twitched the corner of her mouth, taking the gift list with a frown, "This is too extravagant."

After the engagement, gifts should not be sent like this; such extravagant gifts would only pressure the Lau family, who already face a high marriage burden with the dowry, and now with these expensive gifts, wouldn’t it empty their coffers to provide the dowry.

Seeing her mother-in-law frowning, Lady Li swiftly shifted the blame, "The list was prepared by Ming Teng."

Zhulan glared at Lady Li, "Don’t just blame it all on Ming Teng, you need to take some responsibility for your future daughter-in-law. Look carefully at this gift list. Are you going to foster relationships by visiting with gifts, or do you want to drive the Lau family to their demise?"

Lady Li, seeing her mother-in-law angry, admitted her fault with a particularly good attitude, "Your daughter-in-law will definitely be more attentive in the future."

Zhulan, "It’s also our fault, we helped our children with their engagements but neglected your education."

Yes, only Lady Li needs education; the other daughters-in-law would not make such a mistake.

In Lady Li’s understanding, having a mother-in-law and bringing a daughter-in-law into the family, as long as she doesn’t meddle in her son’s daily life, she qualifies as a good mother-in-law. As for the process of finding the daughter-in-law, well, it’s not that important.

This was the first time dealing with the process; Lady Li was carefree, thinking that sending valuable gifts showed significance, and Ming Teng was also laid-back, very much a straightforward man.

Zhulan beckoned Lady Li to come over, taking a pen to cross out the inappropriate gifts, while explaining the situation at Sir Lau’s house and what would be appropriate to send.

This time, Lady Li took careful notes, she had her own intelligence, and her mother-in-law’s detailed instruction meant that in the future, her mother-in-law would not intervene, and if mistakes were made, she would definitely be punished; thus, she had to remember attentively.

They redrafted the list, picking some rare but not expensive items, showing goodwill without putting pressure on the receiver.

The removed gifts from the list were cared for by Lady Li; Ming Teng wouldn’t take them back, letting the main house keep them, and they could be given to Ming Teng’s wife after his marriage, which would look better.

The next day, Lady Li went to the Lau family early. Lau Jing had not been promoted and was still a junior member at the Ministry of Justice. Previously, the Lau family lacked foundations, but now Lau Jing was not underestimated, and Lau’s second son was engaged to the legitimate eldest daughter of the Ning Duke Residence, and his daughter was engaged to the future prominent Duke.

Although not underestimated, it was too eye-catching, and being so conspicuous resulted in circulating rumors.

Lady Li’s arrival made Mrs. Lau extremely happy, and when she received Lady Li’s card, Mrs. Lau could finally sleep soundly.

Mrs. Lau looked at the gifts brought and her mouth curved into a smile, but she said, "Why bring gifts, this is too much."

With many years of learning, Lady Li was also impeccable in etiquette, quite capable of putting on appearances, "I should have visited more often, just blame my recent busyness, and once I got a chance, I came right away."

Mrs. Lau knew about the Zhou family moving to a new residence, indeed very busy; Lady Li coming so soon after being busy showed the Zhou family’s importance, "It should be me visiting you."

Though she said this, the Lau family really couldn’t visit often; if their social statuses were equal, the Lau family would not be so passive.

Heaven knows, she no longer wished to go out; she didn’t want to hear words targeting her daughter, a mother couldn’t bear it.

Lady Li felt Mrs. Lau’s warmth and inwardly lamented her own carelessness; indeed, she should visit more often. She thought of her sister-in-law; her sister-in-law was always frequent in her visits with Lady Hu.

Lady Li holding Lau Jia’s hand, "I have missed Jia Jia so much these days, you must bring Jia Jia to visit our residence more often in the future."

Mrs. Lau smiled and nodded, "Okay."

Lady Li knew exactly what Mrs. Ma wanted to hear about the most—it was the news about Ming Teng. The news from her own mouth was the truth. Lady Li talked a lot about Ming Teng, and mentioned that today’s gift was suggested by Ming Teng himself.

After Lady Li left, Mrs. Ma held her daughter’s hand, "Since the young magistrate cares about you, mother is relieved."

Lau Jia smirked inwardly; although she didn’t see Ming Teng often, she knew a bit about him. He had a broad-minded personality, and his sending a gift today was a surprise. Remembering rumors about Ming Teng, Lau Jia’s lips curled upwards; he was indeed making an effort.

In Pingzhou City, Zhao Bo’s steward finally arrived, bringing not the hope of the Zhao family, but despair. Zhao Bo did not hide it; he conveyed everything Zhou Shuren intended in his letter.

Then the Zhao family was thrown into chaos. Existing internal disputes continued, with some people supporting scheming while others disagreed.

Now, the best of Zhao Bo’s connections was severed, and the future depended on whether the Zhou family would hold grudges. The Zhao family was already notorious in the royal family.

This concerned the future of all descendants; the decline of the Zhao family was indeed literate.

Amidst the chaos within the Zhao family, they also had to appease the wrath of the Zhou family.

The next day, influential members of the Zhao family arrived, formally apologizing in person. This was exactly what the Zhou family wanted; as long as the apology was accepted, other details were irrelevant. Mingyun did not utter a single extra word.

Zhao family’s actions were easy to investigate, and once known, all crooked thoughts were completely extinguished.

Mingyun did not take anything from the Zhao family, be it antiques or land deeds. He accepted only the formal apology and then left Pingzhou City openly.

When Mingyun returned to Zhou’s village, he heard that the Zhao family had divided themselves up and were now separate.

On the first day back home, Dong Zhan arrived. Dong Zhan was somewhat embarrassed; he hadn’t expected to stay in his hometown this long, resulting in his own Dong family also causing a scene.

Mingyun and Jiang Zhu were kind to Dong Zhan. Although there was no blood relation, they had been together for many years, and Dong Zhan was a good man; they did not judge Dong Zhan based on the Dong family’s view.

In Mingyun’s eyes, Dong Zhan was still deliberately groomed by his Uncle, and his Aunt and the Dong family were inseparable. Thus, Dong Zhan was the person designated to support the Dong family in the future.

Jiang Zhu planned to pick up his grandparents and also visit the Jiang family, then they would begin their journey back to the capital.

In the capital, Zhulan was surprised that Su Xuan and the Countess were in contact, "When did you meet?"

Su Xuan replied, "We haven’t known each other for long. I own a merchant ship, she probably heard about it, so she took the initiative to contact me."

Zhulan thought about Su Xuan’s status; having lost her parents early and managing her family alone, she also had the status of a Magistrate. The Countess probably saw Su Xuan as a person of her kind and thus particularly wanted to get acquainted.

Zhulan curiously asked, "Have you met her in person?"

Su Xuan shook her head, "Not yet, so far it has all been through the steward. I’m still undecided about meeting her."

The idea of making a foreign friend hadn’t crossed her mind, even if the Countess seemed very keen on the idea of friendship.

Su Xuan added, "Also, I’m planning to sell the merchant ship." freewebnøvel.coɱ

Although her in-laws hadn’t mentioned it, the Zhou family was already conspicuous enough. Her dowry had always been top-notch, and over the years it had doubled. She had managed the household by herself before getting married, and understood the principle of quitting while ahead.