Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 597 Feeling Ashamed_1

Zhulan filled herself with several cups of water before the bitterness in her mouth subsided, and only after eating some sugar did the taste of the herbal medicine in her stomach stop churning. After some tossing and turning, Zhulan broke out in a sweat and lay weakly against the pillow, "I didn’t have much of an appetite for dinner in the first place, now I have even less of one."

Zhou Shuren’s eyes crinkled with a smile, "If you don’t want to take the medicine, then you should recover your health sooner."

Zhulan pulled the covers down as she still felt a bit cold. Turning her head to look at Zhou Shuren, she said with apology, "I’ve worried you."

Zhou Shuren held Zhulan’s hand, "Since you know, take good care of yourself."

Zhulan’s expression twisted, "That’s somewhat difficult, this has been several years, and this is only the first time I’ve fallen ill quite severely. People cannot possibly never get sick, I’ve had colds from catching a chill before too, it’s all quite common."

Zhou Shuren sighed, "But I just don’t want you to get sick, heaven knows how scared I was when you were lying there unresponsive."

Zhulan clasped Zhou Shuren’s hand back, "I won’t allow it to happen in the future, I will definitely take good care of myself."

He was who she cared about the most; she couldn’t bear for him to be frightened and worried.

Hearing her words, Zhou Shuren felt somewhat reassured, "Why did you suddenly fall ill?"

Zhulan looked dejected, "Mother is gravely ill, she might not make it this time."

Zhou Shuren tightened his grip on Zhulan’s hand. In modern times, Zhulan lacked the love of her parents, and in ancient times, the elder Yangs gave Zhulan the love she missed. The elders held a significant place in Zhulan’s heart, "I know you want to go to Pingzhou, but I don’t agree, you can call me selfish if you want, but even if you weren’t sick, you still haven’t recovered from giving birth, your body can’t endure the hardships of a long journey."

A round trip taken at a slow pace would also require more than two months; the rigors of travel and lack of proper rest, combined with the certainty that she would not rest upon reaching Pingzhou, would drain Zhulan’s vitality, something he could not permit, no matter if it made him seem heartless.

Zhulan pointed at herself, "In this state, even if I wanted to return, I couldn’t."

Besides, she had no desire to go back, knowing her own physical condition; she couldn’t handle the upheaval. If her health had been better, she could have made a brisk trip back without collapsing so suddenly, sick with guilt and discomfort.

Zhou Shuren knew Zhulan all too well; one look at her, and he knew what she was thinking, "Don’t overthink it, your parents wouldn’t want you falling ill."

Zhulan felt a pang in her heart. With Mother ill, Father must be suffering too. The old master had fought through the first half of his life and endured wars in the second half. Although his old age was comfortable, Father was not without regrets. Wu Dong would always be his heartache, and now, with Mother critically ill, she too was worried about Father.

Zhulan coughed and said to Zhou Shuren, "Let Chang Li and Chang Zhi go to Pingzhou together. Chang Li can represent you; Chang Zhi, me."

Then she addressed Old Madam Song outside the door, "Go to the storeroom and pack the ginseng and other premium medicinal herbs."

Zhulan saw it was getting late. Everything still needed packing, which would take some time, and they wouldn’t be able to leave once the city gates closed. They could only wait until the next day for the two sons to depart.

Zhou Shuren pressed Zhulan down, "You’ve just taken your medicine, rest well for a while. I’ll arrange the rest."

Zhulan hesitated, "Hmm, you just came from the government office, and it’s not yet time to leave work. Aren’t you going back?"

Zhou Shuren stood up to change his clothes, "No need, I wouldn’t be at ease going back. I’ll stay at home with you."

When he finished speaking, Zhou Shuren took some clothes to change out of his official attire. After neatly placing his official clothes aside, he turned to find Zhulan already asleep, the sedative in the medicine working quickly.

Zhou Shuren wiped the sweat from Zhulan’s forehead before stepping out.

Old Madam Song had already packed the ginseng and other herbs. Zhou Shuren glanced at them; all these years, Zhulan’s habit of hoarding things hadn’t changed. The corner of his mouth deepened into a smile.

Old Madam Song said, "Some have been kept in the mansion for emergency use; the rest are packed in the chest."

Zhou Shuren," Prepare the travel luggage."

Old Madam Song," Yes."

Zhou Shuren asked Jingyan to call the eldest and Chang Zhi to come over. He went alone to the study. Before he had finished writing the letter, his two sons arrived. Zhou Shuren glanced at them indifferently and continued writing his letters. He wrote a total of three letters: one to his father-in-law, one to Wu Chun, and one to his eldest maternal uncle.

Zhou Shuren put down the letter. "Your mother wants you two to go to Pingzhou, and I don’t have much else to instruct. Just be careful on your way. I personally selected the people who will accompany you."

The eldest son, Zhou, sighed in relief. He was afraid that his mother would go back to Pingzhou with them. If anything happened to her, he didn’t doubt that his father would chop him to pieces. "Understood."

Zhou Shuren continued, "Once you arrive in Pingzhou, try not to go out too much and take good care of yourselves."

Chang Zhi, whose mind was more willing to work than before, said, "Father, we will remember that."

Zhou Shuren looked at Chang Zhi. This was also a kind of training. Being a strategist on paper is never as effective as real experience. Zhulan chose Chang Zhi over the second brother, probably for this reason. "Hmm."

The next morning, Zhou the elder and Chang Zhi left in a carriage. Zhou Shuren took leave to be with Zhulan, all because Zhulan’s health still hadn’t improved and kept fluctuating.

In the morning, Zhulan’s mouth tasted bitter even after drinking porridge. She had a fever during the night and drank a bellyful of herbal medicine. Even after eating sugar, her mouth still felt nauseous.

Zhou Shuren asked, "Another piece of candy?"

Zhulan shook her head. "No matter how much I eat, it won’t get rid of the bitter taste in my stomach. Is our son alright?"

The little one had slept by himself the night before.

Zhou Shuren’s eyes twinkled with a smile. "Knowing you were unwell, he has become quite sensible. He came to see you this morning while you were still asleep and said that he would definitely be obedient and listen to your words in the future."

He didn’t say that he had coaxed the boy, who then decided to sleep by himself in the future.

Zhulan said with regret, "I frightened him."

"So, you need to get well. We are all waiting!"

Zhulan smiled. "I have a bit more energy today; I’ll get better quickly."

Unfortunately, Zhulan’s words did not come true. Seven days passed, and she could only manage to get up and walk around with difficulty. Although she wasn’t getting worse, she was still very weak, taking medicine three times a day, thankfully only to nourish her body now.

At the government office, Lord Wong saw Lord Zhou’s complexion had finally improved somewhat. In recent days, Lord Zhou’s face had never looked well, so he had been avoiding Lord Zhou. If it weren’t for what his wife had said—that Madam Yang was doing much better and was nourishing her body—he would have thought Madam Yang was in serious trouble.

Lord Wong put the survey statistics he had collected on the table, "My lord, here are the barren land statistics you requested."

Zhou Shuren, "You’ve worked hard these past days."

Most of his concerns had been with Zhulan, leaving many matters of the government office to Lord Wong.

Wong Ju thought to himself that Madam Yang should get well quickly; he indeed couldn’t take much more, as the daily workload was too much. Yet he said obligingly, "It’s my duty."

Zhou Shuren smiled. "Lord Wong is indeed a great help, with outstanding abilities."

Wong Ju felt the same, but humbly said, "Your subordinate does not deserve such praise."

Zhou Shuren squinted his eyes, "In that case, as Lord Wong is so capable, I’ll entrust the remaining accounting work to you as well."

Wong Ju, "...."

He wanted to smack his own mouth. No, really, there was no need; he already had enough on his plate.

Zhou Shuren was in a good mood. He too needed rest; it was nice to take things a bit easier.