Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 581 Shen Yang_1

Jinzhou Province, Zhou Shuren and Wong Ju were among the last to arrive; the Scholars who passed the examination this year had already been there, and the originally bustling hall had quieted down.

After Zhou Shuren took his seat, he said, "No need to stand everyone, please take your seats."

He Shu was the first to sit down, followed by the Scholars who passed the exams, taking their seats one by one.

Zhou Shuren gazed at the Scholars in a somewhat dazed manner. A few years ago, he too was one of the participants. Now, he sat up high, while everyone looked up at him. Zhou Shuren gave a few official words of encouragement, and then the banquet began.

Mr. Wong was somewhat incredulous; Zhou Shuren’s speech was too perfunctory—just a few words. If it had been him, a lengthy discourse would have been certain.

Zhou Shuren’s gaze landed on He Shu, but in fact, Yuguang continuously watched Shen Yang, the Scholar who resembled the Emperor. Shen Yang, unsatisfied, stared at He Shu.

Speaking of which, had it not been for He Shu, Shen Yang would have been the government granary student; the one who came in second was indeed reluctant to accept this!

Mr. Wang boasted with pride, "Ah, it’s no wonder He Shu is the grandson of his teacher."

Zhou Shuren responded indifferently, and Wong Ju retorted, "Old Wang, He Shu doesn’t bear the surname Wang, if I recall correctly, wasn’t Mr. Wang’s eldest son ranked eighth in his year?"

Mr. Wang’s face darkened. Wong Ju was known to bully the weak and fear the strong. With He Shu and Miss Wu from the Wu family, why didn’t Wong Ju go pick on Zhou Shuren instead?

Zhou Shuren couldn’t be bothered to listen to the two beside him bicker. After sharing a few drinks with the educational officials, he was about to eat when someone stood in front of him.

Zhou Shuren looked closely at Shen Yang, who was holding a cup of wine. Closer inspection revealed he didn’t resemble the Emperor as much. Considering the Emperor’s Princes, although some did not look like the Emperor, their bearing was remarkably similar. Zhou Shuren suppressed his thoughts and smiled.

Shen Yang was irked inwardly, believing that He Shu’s first place was due to his connections with these officials, especially his deep ties with the Wang family. He was resentful yet felt compelled to ingratiate himself, "I have always admired you greatly, sir, and today I finally have the honor of meeting you. Sir, I toast to you."

Zhou Shuren noticed the trace of resentment in Shen Yang’s eyes. Could Shen Yang be suspecting He Shu’s results to be rigged? He’s still young. He Shu’s results had no ounce of bias. With a light smile, Zhou Shuren said, "You are Shen Yang, the runner-up, right? The runner-up, eh? Keep striving in the future."

Wong Ju, "...."

Zhou Shuren mentioned the runner-up position twice, causing Shen Yang’s face to contort almost imperceptibly. Zhou Shuren was doing it on purpose!

Shen Yang’s smile became strained, "Yes, I will certainly redouble my efforts in my studies when I return."

Zhou Shuren’s mouth curved, "Drink up then; this is a toast of encouragement from me."

Shen Yang’s face stiffened, "Yes."

Everyone had been keenly eavesdropping, waiting to toast Zhou Shuren after Shen Yang left, but Zhou Shuren seemed rather daunting; they certainly didn’t want him mentioning their ranks, so they settled down quietly.

Zhou Shuren ate contentedly, yet his attention remained on Shen Yang, who proved adept at socializing. In a short while, he had warmed up to those around him—interesting, very interesting. freewёbnoνel.com

That evening, Zhulan asked curiously, "Having met him today, what do you think?"

Zhou Shuren, lying askew on the bed, replied, "Shen Yang, eh? He’s got schemes and cunning, but he’s too proud. To be honest, I’m somewhat disappointed."

Despite the constant conflicts among the Emperor’s Princes, Zhou Shuren still had considerable regard for them.

Upon hearing this, Zhulan too felt disappointed, then asked, "Did he make any other moves? Like deliberately trying to catch your attention?"

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "No, he just offered a normal toast. He didn’t even come close to me when he left."

Shen Yang probably took the repeated mentions of being the runner-up quite hard.

Zhulan murmured an acknowledgment, thinking that it could truly be a coincidence. Or perhaps, this student named Shen Yang was oblivious to everything; only the unaware could be genuinely innocent!

Zhulan changed the topic, "I wonder how Rongchuan fared in the exams."

Zhou Shuren held his son’s little feet, "Rongchuan, he’ll be fine. The lad has a resilience in his bones; as long as he puts his mind to it, he will surely succeed."

Zhulan thought it made sense; after all, copying was difficult, and yet Rongchuan persevered and mastered it, "It’s getting late, we should rest too."

Zhou Shuren was indeed tired; he’d been busy with some reforms in Jinzhou Province those days, and he was worn out, but the results were positive. Now everyone had to register when entering or leaving the city; they recorded the date and the flow of people at each city gate every day, and where each person lived was documented clearly. Although it wasted some paper, it made the movement of people very clear. Being the closest Prefecture City to the capital, it was better to be strict.

Zhou Shuren curled the corner of his mouth; in the past few days, they had caught several child traffickers. Watching those TV dramas hadn’t been in vain; inspections of carriages leaving the city were even more thorough now.

Zhulan soothed the child to sleep; turning back, she saw that Zhou Shuren had fallen asleep. Pulling over the quilt to cover him, her fingertips traced his eyebrows and eyes, "You’ve worked hard."

Zhou Shuren seemed to hear her and hummed softly before turning over and continuing to sleep.

Zhulan curled her lips and blew out the candle to sleep as well.

Two days later, the Xue family and the matchmaker arrived; it was a decision already made. After chatting for a few sentences, the matchmaker took the birthday compatibility report. He Shu and Wu Ning’s birthdays weren’t a match made in heaven, but they were quite compatible, a decent match indeed.

Zhulan felt relieved and smiled at Wu Ning, "Are you at ease now?"

Wu Ning, holding the birthday compatibility evaluation, felt the tension in her mind ease; her eyes reddened. She didn’t want to cry, but tears just wouldn’t stop falling. She hurriedly wiped them away, "I’m happy, I truly am happy."

Heaven knows how worried she was that the birthday compatibility results wouldn’t be good. She was really scared; these days had been agonizing for her.

Zhulan hugged Wu Ning, "Auntie knows, go ahead and cry, you’ll feel better after crying."

Wu Ning didn’t want to cry, but after hearing her aunt’s words, she wept even harder, until she ended up hiccupping, "I’m, hic, I’m okay now."

Zhulan took a handkerchief to wipe Wu Ning’s face; the girl’s eyes were swollen. She’d been holding back a lot, "Now that the birthdays are matched, we just need to pick a date. Auntie was hoping to keep you longer, but it won’t work, so your uncle and I discussed it and decided to set the wedding date for early next year."

She and Zhou Shuren had thought it through; it would be better for He Shu and Wu Ning to marry sooner rather than later.

Wu Ning’s face turned red with shyness, "Auntie, I’ll head back first."

Two days later were auspicious days; Mrs. Xue, the lord Wang, and He Shu’s uncles and cousins arrived, and the engagement was set, just waiting to get married early next year.

After sending the guests away, Zhulan felt contented; Wu Ning’s marriage arrangement went smoother than she had anticipated.

Zhou Shuren had drunk quite a lot of wine, pressing his forehead, "The date is set; you write a letter to Wu Ming, tell him to prepare everything he needs to."

Zhulan calculated the days, "Speaking of which, it’s been five or six days now. If we send the letter by express horse, Rongchuan’s letter should have arrived."

Zhou Shuren sipped his tea, "There’s been a lot of rain these days; it might have been delayed."

Zhulan saw her son climbing to the edge of the kang bed wanting to get down by himself and quickly went over to protect him. Once the little guy made his way down, Zhulan pinched her son’s hand, "You’re becoming braver and braver, aren’t you?"

The little fellow giggled, "Mom, I’m amazing."

Zhulan tugged at the hair of her son, "Okay, okay, you’re amazing."

The little guy shook his head, "Mom, don’t pull my hair, it hurts."

Zhou Shuren sat aside, "You little rascal even know what pain is. Look at your father’s beard; you’ve almost pulled it all out."

The little guy quickly ran behind his mother, then peeked out his little head, "Daddy’s beard is ugly; I won’t pull it anymore."

Zhou Shuren gritted his teeth; the child was clever, ever since he’d learned to say mommy and daddy, he’d picked up speech much faster, especially after the New Year. The boy could express himself simply, and then Zhou Shuren became dejected; his son was always wounding him!