Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 96 Xue Mei_1

Zhou Shuren recalled carefully, "Do I?"

Zhulan struck a balance; it wasn’t that she was cold-hearted. Looking at Zhou Shuren, he didn’t remember either, "Our eldest daughter, Zhou Xuemei, ah!"

Zhou Shuren was stunned, slapping his forehead, "If you hadn’t mentioned her, I would have truly forgotten about her."

Zhulan couldn’t help but laugh, "It’s not your fault for forgetting her. Besides the time I first came through and remembered the children here, the next time I thought of her was when we were dividing gifts for Jiangnan. I have not given her a single thought otherwise."

Zhou Shuren furrowed his brows, "It really isn’t easy for married daughters to return to their parents’ home in ancient times. From what I remember, the last time Xuemei came back was in July."

Zhulan felt quite guilty in her heart; she and Zhou Shuren had taken over the bodies of the original couple, yet they had forgotten the couple’s eldest daughter, "Fortunately, the original soul had a discerning eye in choosing a family for our daughter. Xuemei’s mother-in-law is sensible, and her husband is the favored youngest son of the Jiang family. Xuemei has not been worn down; her life is quite passable."

Otherwise, had her life been not so good and they had both forgotten her, it would have weighed heavily on their consciences.

Zhou Shuren recalled, "According to my memory, our son-in-law Jiang Sheng only passed the child prodigy exam last year. He didn’t pass the academy examination this year, and he’s twenty-two now, three years older than Xuemei. They were married when he was nineteen."

Zhulan nodded, "Yes, he’s twenty-two now. The original soul’s memory tells me Jiang Sheng treats Xuemei well."

Zhou Shuren tapped the book in his hand, "According to the original soul’s memory, Jiang Sheng’s talent is decent enough, but it’s a pity that his family’s financial situation is poor, lacking sufficient books to study and not having a good teacher. Without the Zhou family’s books, even passing the child prodigy exam would have been difficult for Jiang Sheng."

Zhulan sighed; Jiang Sheng truly represented the poor scholars, "In Wang family village, the Jiang family has had few relatives for generations and no clan to rely on. They could only count on themselves. The reason Jiang Sheng married late was precisely because he had taken a fancy to Xuemei early on and valued the books of Zhou Shuren and the Zhou family. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited until he was twenty to marry."

The parents of Jiang Sheng indeed spared no effort for their son!

It was because there was no compulsory education in ancient times that it was difficult for scholars from modest backgrounds to study, and the level of education was limited. Not like the children of noble families who never lacked resources from a young age. If family elders were officials from the imperial examination, their enlightenment would be from scholars with advanced degrees. The advantage was stark. For noble families to produce a Scholar in their teens was not rare, whereas a Scholar around the age of twenty from a poor background was already a genius.

Seeing Zhulan drift off again, Zhou Shuren shook the book to attract her attention, "The parents-in-law indeed have foresight. However, given the current situation, it’s difficult to pass the Scholar exam. The entire Jiang family’s hopes are pinned on Jiang Sheng, requiring considerable expenses every year. There are also quite a few sons in the Jiang family. With Jiang Sheng failing the exams twice, his older brothers might not be able to wait any longer. The greater the hopes, the bigger the disappointments—I suspect there are no small conflicts within the Jiang family."

Zhulan knew Zhou Shuren’s analysis was correct. She sighed and thought of the jewelry Zhou Shuren had brought back for the maidservants last time. Sitting up, she said, "You forgot to bring jewelry for our eldest daughter last time. I was only thinking about fans and forgot about the jewelry too. Look, our granddaughter is also over a year old now. Why don’t we send the remaining set of jewelry to the granddaughter!"

Zhou Shuren felt somewhat awkward; he had indeed completely forgotten about his eldest daughter, "The eldest girl in the Jiang family must have been ridiculed by her sisters-in-law quite a bit. I remember from the last time we checked, we had silver earrings. You should find a pair and give them to the eldest girl as well. We’ll make this year’s New Year gift a bit more substantial. In addition to what we give to the eldest girl herself, let’s add something more practical for the Jiang family as a whole."

Zhulan calculated, "The eldest girl and her in-laws eat, and since the Jiang family doesn’t have much land and they’re supporting Jiang Sheng’s studies, they surely skimp on food and clothing. We should buy more pork and add more rice—so they can have a good meal during the New Year, allowing our daughter and her child to eat a bit more. The day after tomorrow, let the second youngest inform Xuemei about the betrothal matters, and send these over by the same token."

Zhulan dared not take too much upon herself; she had only the original soul’s memories and hadn’t yet met her son-in-law in person. She trusted her own eyes more, after all. She’d think about how to compensate them after she had a chance to meet him herself.

Zhou Shuren, "Yes."