Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 1245: Sympathy for Ming Teng

Chang Zhong ruefully said, "Dad, you didn’t ask Mom for Silver, do you have enough Silver to buy a colt?"

Zhou Shuren, "!!"

Chang Zhong understood, the Silver in his dear father’s purse wasn’t sufficient.

The carriage had just begun moving when Zhou Shuren shouted, "Stop the carriage, stop the carriage."

Then, Zhou Shuren turned to Shen Xing, fell silent for a moment, and said to his son, "I’ll wait for you in the carriage, you go back and get the Silver."

Chang Zhong, "...me?"

Zhou Shuren cleared his throat and said, "If I go, I probably won’t get much Silver back."

Chang Zhong understood, so dad had annoyed mom again; he wondered why mom didn’t offer the Silver willingly. She wanted dad to pay the Silver!

Zhou Shuren clutched his own purse, "I don’t have much Silver; don’t expect me to pay."

Horses really were expensive, especially good ones; even foals were prohibitively costly.

Chang Zhong gave his biological father a look of disdain, pulled open the carriage door, and was lifted off by Shen Xing; then he dashed towards the house.

When Chang Zhong arrived at the main court, he didn’t see his mother but found Qing Xue with a purse; he understood it was just his mother wanting to torment father. He regretted coming back.

Opening the purse, Chang Zhong found 150 taels of silver notes inside. With a curved smile, he withdrew one hundred taels, leaving only a single fifty-tael note in the purse in front of Qing Xue.

Qing Xue, "...."

She remembered that the mistress had told her that the purse contained Silver for the master’s tea party with guests the day after tomorrow; she had told the young master too!

Chang Zhong hummed and, clutching the purse, ran off.

Back on the carriage, he said, "Mom only gave fifty taels, saying that there’s Silver in here for dad’s tea party with guests the day after tomorrow."

Zhou Shuren, "...only this much?"

His wife, even if angry, would not disregard his dignity; at most, she would just give him a hard time.

With an earnest face, Chang Zhong said, "Dad, don’t you know what you did to upset mom?"

Zhou Shuren felt somewhat guilty, averting his gaze from his son’s eyes, and right when Chang Zhong had a smirk of triumph, the purse had already been snatched into his father’s hands.

Chang Zhong, "...."

Zhou Shuren had already opened the purse, dumping out all the Silver and silver notes inside, "!!"

He felt envious; his purse was nowhere as well-stocked as his son’s.

The corners of Chang Zhong’s mouth stiffened, "That’s my Silver."

Zhou Shuren chuckled, "You, my boy, never carry more than one hundred taels of silver notes, but look at you now, even daring to skim from your old man’s Silver."

Chang Zhong blurted, "How did you know?"

Zhou Shuren thought to himself, because your mother and I have searched your room, things like the larger silver notes, you’ve hidden away. At that thought, he couldn’t help but touch his nose and then tapped his son’s forehead, "I’m always your father; let’s see if you dare to try and deceive me again, you little rascal."

Chang Zhong looked regretfully at the one hundred taels of Silver notes, gathered up his Silver, and huffed.

Yesterday, Zhou Shuren wasn’t at the horse grounds, yet he still managed to maintain a strong presence there.

The task of choosing a pony for his youngest son went particularly smoothly.

Chang Zhong tugged at his father’s hand, "Dad, let’s go to the racetrack and have a look!"

Zhou Shuren was actually quite tired, but he felt guilty about his younger son, having hardly spent any time with him. In fact, over the past two years, the boy had spent more time with Wu Ming than with him. Gazing into his son’s eager eyes and looking at his little chubby hand holding his, he smiled and said, "Alright."

Chang Zhong was ultimately a child, and despite being precocious, he craved his parents’ company—especially his father’s. The plump youngster happily bounced up, "Dad, you’re the best."

Chang Zhong felt that the days his father spent recuperating at the villa were not his happiest moments, because his father was only with the Emperor. It was upon returning to the capital that he felt truly blissful.

It took a while riding in the carriage before they reached the racetrack. Over the years, the racetrack in the capital had grown increasingly popular.

With economic development, every industry thrived, and for the hobbies of the nobility, coupled with the foreigners’ fondness for this kind of competition, the hottest places in the capital at night were various boats and brothels, while during the day, the most heated places were the racetrack and gambling houses.

Zhou Shuren stepped out of the carriage and, to tell the truth, this was his first visit to this place. He even felt sorry for himself, as his days were spent facing nothing but official duties. Hearing the shouting inside, he was rather miffed!

By now, Shen Xing had already handled the passes and came over. Zhou Shuren took the wood token in his hand—it was quite exquisitely made. Different tokens meant different seating arrangements and varying levels of service.

Zhou Shuren handed the token to Shen Xing and looked down at his chubby son, "How come you know so much about this place?"

On the way here, his chubby son had talked non-stop.

Chang Zhong said, "Ming Teng’s nephew has been here several times. He told me about it, and he even wanted to bring me along. I firmly declined!"

Although he was tempted, he had his limits and would only come with his father’s permission. Of course, he was also a little crafty—preferring that his father brought him, rather than going with his cousin.

Zhou Shuren smiled, "Lately, I have indeed been very busy."

He had been so occupied he wasn’t aware that Ming Teng was living such a vibrant life!

Chang Zhong looked up at his father, thought about Ming Teng’s smug face, and said with a smile, "Dad, you’ve worked hard. Ah, Ming Teng’s nephew is also quite busy. Ever since that day, he’s been very preoccupied. I heard from Steward Ding that his invitations are now being carried in baskets."

Zhou Shuren replied, "I’ve been at home these past several days. Ming Teng is taught by a distinguished teacher; I must test him thoroughly tomorrow."

Chang Zhong’s eyes crinkled in a smile, little chubby hands pulling on his father’s hand and giving it a shake, "Dad, Ming Teng’s nephew must have made great progress. You can’t look at him with the old glasses anymore. His teacher is a great scholar, you know!"

Zhou Shuren said pensively, "I just happen to want to compare my knowledge with the scholar."

Shen Xing and others, "...."

They sympathized with Young Master Ming Teng!

At the racecourse, Zhou Shuren was not one to trouble himself, and considering the current wealth of his household was not lacking in silver, he naturally chose the best section, along with his youngest son.

Of course, this area could not be had just by having silver. Being the man who accompanied the Emperor in land acquisition and the future Minister of Revenue—with the status of Father-in-law of Prince Qin—he still had access.

Zhou Shuren ascended the steps and paused, "What a coincidence."

Prince Qi and Prince Chu were red-faced and locking glares, clearly having had a recent quarrel. Hearing the noise and seeing who had arrived, Prince Qi fanned himself with a hand fan and said, "Minister Zhou has come as well."

Zhou Shuren’s seat token was inferior to those of the princes; his seat was in the back. He nodded and said, "I came with my younger son to buy a small pony and thought since we’re near the racetrack, we might as well stop by. I’ve been in the capital for many years and have never been here before, so today I took the opportunity to visit."

It was necessary to explain himself clearly and take the chance to curry a bit of sympathy.

Prince Qi and Prince Chu exchanged a look. Minister Zhou was truly unfortunate; there were many places worth visiting in the capital these past few years, especially here, and Minister Zhou hadn’t been once. They both remembered seeing Zhou Shuren’s desk at the Ministry of Revenue, and they sympathized with Minister Zhou!