Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 722 Trust_1

Wu Ting stood up and bowed deeply, "Uncle and Auntie, what you have done for us nephews, we cannot repay. Please accept our bow."

Wu Yong, less quick-witted than his older and younger brothers, saw his younger brother do this and hurriedly followed suit, "Please accept your nephew’s bow."

Zhulan quickly stood up to help the two brothers, "Although our families are not related by blood, our years of friendship are better than kinship. Since you call us Uncle and Auntie, this is what we should do. Also, today’s grand ceremony, Wu Ting, when you are betrothed, do you still wish to follow such grand rituals again?"

Wu Ting blushed, "Auntie, I am still young, I am not in a hurry, I want to wait a few years."

He was different from his second brother; it was already difficult for his second brother to become a Scholar, and in the future, he could only rely on many years of accumulation. His older brother said, his second brother’s peak would be reaching Graduate. He was more gifted than his second brother, so he did not want to marry too soon and be distracted.

Zhulan just mentioned it in passing; without Wu Ming’s request, she would not take the initiative. Moreover, Wu Ting, young as he was, had big ideas. In Jinzhou Province, Wu Ting was the Family Head. The child had his own plans.

An hour later, the Wu brothers from Zhulan’s side went home. She was just thinking about resting when Zhou Changyi, reeking of alcohol, entered the room.

Zhulan frowned and gestured for the Maid to tell the kitchen to prepare sobering soup, "How much have you drunk? You reek of alcohol."

Zhou Shuren’s head was hurting terribly, still a bit dazed, "Mother, I was force-fed quite a bit of alcohol. On the way back, I’ve already taken sobering pills."

"Who force-fed you alcohol?"

Zhou Shuren’s alcohol tolerance was quite good; to be this drunk, he must have drunk a lot.

Zhou Shuren gulped down a cup of tea to suppress the alcohol’s odor, "I went out for some days, and since I have to leave again, some friends suggested a gathering. Without much thought, I went. After eating a bit, I felt something was off. They deliberately got me drunk. Fortunately, I always carry sobering pills with me. Just to hear their purpose, I endured and did not leave, so I drank too much."

Zhulan felt her heart tighten as she listened, "Your bravery is truly astonishing. Aren’t you afraid that you couldn’t handle it and would truly get knocked out, ending up capsized in the gutter?"

Zhou Shuren turned his head away to avoid his mother and burped from drinking, then after the flavor eased, he turned back, "Mother, I made double preparations. During a break to relieve myself, I had Dongmo instruct the coachman to call the young servant with good skills to wait at the mansion. I didn’t act rashly."

Zhulan looked at Zhou Changyi, who was still drunk despite having taken sobering pills, "You rest for a while; we’ll talk later about anything important. It’s better to avoid talking in circles, as it would only make me anxious."

Zhou Shuren’s head hurt, and he knew he was back home. The tension he’d been holding snapped, and leaning against the chair, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Zhulan looked at him, "If this goes back to the second wife, Zhao will be worried. Granny Song, go find two strong young servants to carry him to the small heated bed."

Granny Song swiftly went out and soon brought someone back.

Zhulan had the Maid close the windows a bit; the wind started blowing this afternoon. It’s not good for Zhou Changyi to be exposed to the wind after drinking too much."

Granny Song quickly brought in some water, and Zhulan took a cloth, "I’ll do it."

Granny Song, "Yes."

Zhulan wiped Zhou Changyi’s face with the cloth, looking carefully at him. Over the years, Zhou Changyi had grown a beard. With the beard, he seemed to have aged a lot. He didn’t sleep peacefully, his brows continually furrowed. Looking at his forehead, she realized that the frown lines of Zhou Shuren were the deepest, sighed and thought that Zhou Changyi liked to keep everything to himself.

When Zhou Shuren returned from the government office, he heard snoring before he even entered the room. He stepped in following the sound and saw Zhou Changyi asleep on the small heated bed.

Zhou Shuren approached Zhulan, "How much did Zhou Changyi drink?"

As he came closer, the strong scent of alcohol came forth.

"He was force-fed quite a bit of alcohol. It’s admirable that he managed to stay awake and come home at all. I just let him rest."

Zhou Shuren caught the crucial point, "Force-fed alcohol?"

"Mhm, Zhou Changyi is shrewd. He got drunk on purpose to coax out some motives. Don’t look at me; I don’t know the purpose either. He just fell asleep. You go change your clothes first!"

Zhou Shuren hummed in acknowledgment. His official clothes were somewhat thick. It had been muggy after the afternoon’s rain, and even the breeze was hot, making his body uncomfortable, "I want to take a bath first."

"I’ll have Granny prepare for it."

"Good."

Zhou Shuren finished washing quickly and came out after a shower. Zhulan was drying Zhou Shuren’s hair and mentioned that Wang Ling wasn’t bad, and that she had also sent off the letter to Wu Ming.

Zhou Shuren felt much more comfortable now that the sweat was gone from his body. "Hmm, that’s indeed a good match."

Zhou Changyi dreamt of his father and tried to listen carefully to what his father was saying, but he could not hear clearly. There were many people surrounding him in the dream, Zhao Shi was crying, his son had a look of disappointment, and it seemed his mother had said something too. No, that wasn’t right. He suddenly opened his eyes.

Zhou Changyi gasped for breath. It was indeed a dream.

Zhou Shuren turned, "Awake now?"

Changyi shivered at the sound of his father’s voice, turned his head a bit violently, and since the bed was small and he was sleeping on the edge, he fell to the ground, gasping in pain, "Dad, you’re back."

Zhou Shuren looked at Changyi speechlessly. Was it necessary to be so frightened just because he spoke out?

Zhulan waited for Changyi to get up. "Now that you’re awake, go ahead and drink the hangover soup."

Changyi saw the bowl of soup on the table and took it to drink promptly. His head still hurt a bit, but he felt much better after sleeping. "Mom, I made you worry."

Zhulan sat beside him and motioned for Zhou Shuren to lower his head so she could comb his hair. She asked, "Now that you’re sober, why did your friend make you drink so much?"

Changyi glanced at his dad and regretted so much. Why hadn’t he held out a little longer? If he had told his mom, he wouldn’t have to face his dad now.

Zhou Shuren said indifferently, "Why are you looking at me?"

Changyi replied, "Son feels that you have worked hard, Dad. Your white hair seems to have increased, that’s all due to worrying about us sons."

Zhou Shuren, "...."

It really wasn’t the sons he was worrying about that turned his hair white!

To save Changyi from treading on thin ice any further, Zhulan intervened, "Tell us, why were you made to drink?"

Changyi’s face turned red as he said, "These people wanted to offer me women, and I have been refusing. Today, they intended to get me drunk and present me with a fait accompli. Once I realized their purpose, I forced myself to stay alert and slipped away."

He wasn’t stupid. If they had no ulterior motive, they would have let him sober up instead of trying to get him intoxicated. There must be a plot against the Zhou family behind it, and the more he thought about it, the more scared he became. He boarded the carriage and urged the coachman to go faster.

Zhou Shuren observed Changyi. Zhou Changyi rarely made friends and didn’t have many in Jinzhou City. When he had nothing to do, he would stay in the residence and go nowhere else.

Chang Lian was hardened from a young age; it was difficult to scheme against him.

Chang Zhi was even more of a homebody. Besides visiting the bookshop or the Academy, he mostly stayed at home.

Only the second son had an active mind and many friends. Being the weaker party in the first wife’s family, it was Chang Yi who had become the target of the scheme.

Changyi felt cold sweat on his back under his father’s gaze and hurriedly said, "Dad, I have never done anything outside to disgrace our family."

Zhou Shuren trusted Changyi wouldn’t dare, "I haven’t distrusted you. Today’s incident won’t be the only one. Yesterday, I talked with your mother, and I am very pleased with your changes. Now that this has happened, you’ve learned a lesson as well. Don’t be afraid; a stumble may prevent a fall. Just be more cautious in the future. It’s getting late; you should go back to the second wife’s place for dinner and rest early."

Changyi walked out of the main house feeling groggy and said uncertainly to Dongmo, "The old man actually didn’t scold me, didn’t blame me for choosing friends poorly, and even comforted me?"

Dongmo was also surprised, "Second Master, while you were asleep, the main mistress was taking care of you."

He was genuinely shocked—as it turned out, today the main mistress and the Family Head were surprisingly genial!

With a grin, Changyi said, "Ah, so it wasn’t a dream after all. Dad and Mom trust me."

In the main house, Zhulan smiled, "You actually didn’t criticize Changyi."

Hearing Changyi’s laughter, Zhou Shuren’s smile deepened, "He’s almost thirty now. Since the child has changed, I’m willing to give him my trust."