Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 524 Tears are the Most Useless_1

Yao Yao was taken aback for a moment before she smiled lightly, "I don’t even have the right to hate."

Yao Zheyu wrapped his sister’s head in his arm, pressing it against his shoulder, "Cry. There’s no one else around now."

Yao Yao grasped the front of her big brother’s shirt with both hands, chuckling softly, her laughter growing louder, "There’s nothing to cry about, only the weak shed tears, and I never cry."

She never cried. When she was young and was schemed against by an illegitimate daughter, she knew that crying was useless, that only by becoming stronger could she take revenge. It was just a shame that she could crush the illegitimate daughter, but she couldn’t defeat her father.

Yao Zheyu let go of his sister, "Don’t you like jewelry? I’ll take you to buy some."

Yao Yao’s eyes curved with delight, "Okay."

At the jewelry store, it was Zhulan who brought Xue Han, and right, Ming Rui, who caused trouble, was also there. That kid had real guts, secretly taking Xue Han’s jewelry and hiding it, resulting in a perfectly good set of jewelry—both the hair shaking ornament and the hairpin—getting deformed.

Ming Rui, with his money pouch in hand, followed them upstairs, wailing to himself. He had just wanted to hide it, but in a moment of panic when he got caught, he damaged it. Now the silver in his money pouch would all be gone. These days his father wouldn’t be generous with silver, and he had already spent quite a bit of it. His stash had taken a while to accumulate.

Zhulan glanced at her grandson out of the corner of her eye. This kid was too bold. Or rather, he had always been bold. Ming Teng couldn’t compare. Although Ming Teng loved to play and was noisy, he never made a move against Xue Han, but Ming Rui was different. Remembering that Xue Han had snitched on him for skipping class, he schemed to hide the jewelry.

Seeing his grandmother looking at him, Ming Rui straightened his back and flashed an ingratiating smile, "Grandma."

Zhulan pinched Ming Rui’s ear, "Quite bold, aren’t you? You know pain now, don’t you?"

Ming Rui felt more than just pain; his money pouch must be empty. He had heard the shopkeeper say that both the hair shaking ornament and the hairpin needed to be remade. Only then did he realize how lucky he was to have chosen the most expensive set of jewelry.

Zhulan released her grip, "Hmph, let this be a lesson to you. Let’s see if you dare again."

Ming Rui rubbed his ear, truly scared now. A chill ran down his spine, and the way Aunt looked at him was too much like Grandma’s. He feared the worst.

Xue Han wasn’t angry. She knew the boy had his limits, and this incident was purely accidental. Yet the audacity of the kid to take revenge on her was noted. Good, she’d remember this.

Zhulan glanced at the new jewelry, sighing internally about the lack of spare cash. Supporting such a large family was like feeding a gold-swallowing beast. Everything—clothing, food, housing, and transportation—required silver. And with Zhou Shuren having taken in more people lately, expenditures were skyrocketing.

All Zhulan could do was feast her eyes. Once the silver flowed into the account... Oh right, she had received a letter from her parents a few days ago. The Zhou family’s orchard had yielded well this year, just waiting to be sold. And then there was the Li family, having finished the autumn harvest, with the crops all dealt with. Silver and grain would be arriving in a few days.

After the shopkeeper wrote up the bill, Zhulan took it, "Time to pay with silver."

Ming Rui’s looks were a charm. With his hair loose, he resembled a girl, and even neatly combed, he was an endearing child. The little guy frowned, not wanting to part with his money, eliciting chuckles from customers who were browsing the jewelry.

The shopkeeper was impressed. This must be Master Zhou’s grandson, charming indeed. However, for such a young child to be able to produce fifty taels was an eye-opener. Master Zhou’s wealth must be substantial.

Ming Rui held onto the silver note, "I don’t want silver, convert it into gold and give it to me."

He didn’t have the strength to carry ten or more taels of silver, and gold was easier to handle.

Zhulan pinched his chubby cheek. Like his grandmother, the boy also liked to carry silver with him, but now Madam Zhao wouldn’t allow it.

The shopkeeper said, "Please wait a moment, young master. I will go and get the gold for you right away."

Ming Rui responded with good manners, "Thank you for the trouble."

The shopkeeper returned quickly, and Ming Rui, smiling broadly, put it away, reminding himself not to spend any more silver recently.

Xue Han eyed Ming Rui’s money pouch, her lips curving into a smirk. So there was still silver left.

Zhulan took Ming Rui’s hand, "We’ve been out for a while, let’s go to the cake shop and buy some pastries, then head home."

Xue Han spoke somberly, "I’m feeling upset. I don’t know who will comfort me by treating me to some pastries, or else my mood might take a turn for the worse."

Ming Rui reached out to hold his little aunt’s hand, raising his head to say with a pained expression, "Little Aunt, I’ll treat you to pastries."

Xue Han’s eyes crinkled with a smile, "Good boy."

"Haha."

Zhulan followed the laughter, seeing the second Miss Yao laughing. She wasn’t sure when the young lady had come upstairs, but it seemed she had been standing at the top of the stairs for a while.

Xue Han felt a bit embarrassed, "Miss Yao, the second daughter."

Yao Yao greeted them, "Madam, Miss Zhou."

Zhulan smiled, "Did the second miss and the Princely Heir come to look at jewelry?"

Yao Yao said, "Yes, I like jewelry. My brother told me that the pieces from this shop are quite good."

Zhulan understood, "It seems that last time, the Prince was buying jewelry for Miss Yao."

Yao Yao nodded, "Yes, for my birthday gift."

Zhulan added, "Congratulations to the Princely Heir."

Yao Zheyu politely said, "Madam is too kind."

Zhulan nodded, "Then I won’t disturb you any further."

Xue Han nodded to Yao Yao and, followed by her curious nephew, headed downstairs.

As Ming Rui went downstairs, he looked back at the Princely Heir. Yao Zheyu paused, realizing what a sensitive child he was; just an extra glance had been noticed. As he returned the look openly, he let go of his whimsical thoughts, for there was nothing to hide.

Ming Rui returned the smile, realizing he had misunderstood.

After Yao Yao and the others had left, "The descendants of Official Zhou’s family are all quite exceptional!"

Yao Zheyu remarked, "Family harmony brings prosperity to everything."

Yao Yao agreed, "Yes, indeed. The atmosphere at the Zhou household is so enviable, with no troublesome concubines or infuriating illegitimate children. An He is truly fortunate."

Upon returning to the mansion, Ming Rui ran off. That little aunt was too bullying, pestering him to buy pastries and then announcing her May birthday so soon, wuu wuu!

Xue Han watched Ming Rui’s escape, thinking he was still too green to compete with her.

Zhulan said to Xue Han, "You should go back and rest for a while."

Xue Han calculated the time, "No, mother, I’m going back to class."

"Hmm."

Zhulan returned to the main courtyard and heard her youngest son’s laughter. She walked in quickly and saw Chang Zhi and Su Xuan playing with the child, "What brings you two here together?"

Su Xuan, who had been dragged here by Chang Zhi, blushed at the thought of his words, "We knew mother was out, so we came to entertain our brother for a bit."

Zhulan looked at Chang Zhi, surprised that he had set aside his books to play with the child, "Are you sure nothing is amiss?"

She didn’t completely believe them! The combined impact of these two was significant; without knowing what was up, she wouldn’t feel at ease.

Chang Zhi, as thick-skinned as he was, couldn’t very well say he had brought Su Xuan to bask in the child’s aura, hoping to have a child of their own soon. He, cough cough, thought that once they had a child, his wife’s attention would not always be on him, allowing him more time to read.

Zhulan looked at Chang Zhi doubtfully; his ears were red, and Su Xuan was shyly looking down, avoiding eye contact. She got the picture, "You’ve just gotten married, there’s no rush for children. It will happen when it happens."

Su Xuan’s hand itched; she wanted to scratch Chang Zhi. How embarrassing this was, as if she were desperate to have children.

Chang Zhi coughed, "Mother, you understand, there’s no need to say it out loud. It’s rather embarrassing."

Zhulan, "....haha."

Who would have thought Chang Zhi could be embarrassed?

Chang Zhi felt he could not stay any longer, clearly no match for his mother. He took Su Xuan’s hand, "Mother, we’ll be going now, haha."

Su Xuan was about to explode with frustration. Is there anyone who behaves like this, dragging someone away so abruptly? She might not care much for her image, but she didn’t want to lose it completely!