Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 1267: Small Goal

Palace, the Empress really didn’t know about the daytime events; the Emperor knew, as the Zhou family had Qing Xue and others; today’s events related to the Empress, naturally he would report the news.

The Emperor didn’t mention this matter during the meal; now, just before going to sleep, he talked about today’s incident at the lantern shop, "I specifically checked today; the man the Empress’s cousin married holds an official rank from the sixth grade, a rare audacity among the relatives of officials of this rank. Who gave them such confidence?"

The Empress’s pupils contracted, "Your servant truly didn’t know about this." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

The Emperor hmmmed, toying with the string of pearls his father had given him; his father had a pair, and this string was given to him.

The Empress did have some understanding of the Emperor. The calmer he was, the more dissatisfied he was in his heart. At the same time, she was also annoyed that her parental family didn’t tell her anything. She recalled what the Emperor had said a few days ago, "Your servant will hurry in placing more people."

Then the Emperor pulled back the quilt and lay down, "Don’t just focus on the harem; you should learn from the Empress Dowager."

The Empress breathed a sigh of relief internally; she had passed this ordeal, "I will."

The Emperor closed his eyes, "Rest now."

The Emperor fell asleep very quickly; the Empress was miserable: she didn’t sleep all night and still had to carefully turn over without disturbing the Emperor’s rest.

In the following days, the court politics had basically come to a halt; the Emperor met with ministers daily just to chat. Those with good governance results for the year were verbally praised by the Emperor, and those with poor results were encouraged to work harder.

As the new Emperor, the Crown Prince had always been by the Retired Emperor’s side; thus, the Crown Prince was very familiar with all these responsibilities.

When it was Zhou Shuren’s turn, there was a bit of a change in tone.

The Emperor said with a smile, "Minister Zhou’s potential is limitless; I am very satisfied."

Zhou Shuren, "...."

The Emperor continued, "Does Minister Zhou have any goals for next year?"

Zhou Shuren perked up, "Your servant has a small goal."

The Emperor was curious, "Do tell?"

Zhou Shuren rubbed his hands, "Your servant’s small goal... I hope to have a minimum of one month of total vacation next year."

The Emperor, ".... Actually, I also have a small goal."

Zhou Shuren indicated he did not want to listen!

The Emperor smiled, "My goal for next year really isn’t huge; just to expand the Navy by half."

Zhou Shuren, "!!"

A face that clearly said you must be joking with your servant.

The Emperor picked up a map, pointing at several ports, "We need to have our own stable routes, plus the current military strength of several ports is insufficient; next year, the Navy must definitely expand."

Zhou Shuren chuckled, the expansion in the numbers of the Navy meant more ships would also need to be constructed!

The Emperor put away the map, "This is just my small goal; I have other goals, such as changing the weapons and equipment of the Northwest Army in batches, among others."

Zhou Shuren interrupted, "Your servant has no more small goals, really, none left."

Damn it, the Emperor was definitely doing this on purpose! If he dared to ask for more leave, the Emperor would dare to add more small goals.

The Emperor’s smile grew deeper, yet internally he cursed, this old fox always thinking about rest, "Oh, I misspoke just now, I have only one goal next year, mainly the Navy."

Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes internally, "Your Majesty, weren’t you encouraging your humble servant today?"

The Emperor offered consolation and pep talks to other ministers, but his words to him were laced with poison!

No matter how much Zhou Shuren cursed the Emperor in his heart, not having to see the Emperor during the new year was really too good.

On the twenty-eighth day of the year, Zhulan arrived at Marquis Rong’s Residence; Yao Yao was about to give birth to twins. The twins had been restless, and it had not been easy to carry them to term now.

With no elders in charge at Marquis Rong’s Residence, Zhulan was invited to oversee the festivities.

In fact, in Rong Enqing’s heart, holding the fort was one aspect, but the other was more important. He sincerely believed that Mrs. Yang was blessed and hoped she might bring some of that fortune to his wife and their two unborn children.

When Zhulan arrived, Mrs. Yang had already been in labor for a while, and Rong Enqing had also summoned the Imperial Physician.

Zhulan took one look at the delivery room and saw that Yao Yao’s condition was not too bad; she then left the room feeling relieved to wait.

Zhao had accompanied Zhulan on this day, and with the year coming to an end, the fourth daughter-in-law, Su Xuan, was actually the busiest.

Rong Enqing paced back and forth. These two children were extremely important to him; their birth would completely resolve the issues of inadequate heirs.

Zhulan waited until the afternoon. As it was getting dark, the two children were born smoothly—a pair of twin girls.

Both children were not very big, which made Zhulan fearful as she watched them.

The children were born without complications. Rong Enqing regretted that they were not boys, but then he thought that having one son already, having two daughters was also quite good; his son would inherit Marquis Rong’s Residence, and he wouldn’t have to make extra preparations due to having too many sons.

With this thought, Rong Enqing fondly looked at his two daughters.

Zhulan waited all day, and Rong Enqing personally escorted her back to the Zhou residence, then he returned to Marquis Rong’s Residence.

Back in the main courtyard, Zhou Shuren asked, "Were they born?"

"Yes, two precious young ladies."

Zhou Shuren smiled, "That’s quite good."

Zhulan also thought it was good, "And you? How was the opera today?"

Zhou Shuren waved his hand, "Don’t mention it, it gave me a headache."

If Wong Ju hadn’t invited him today, he wouldn’t have gone out at all. After enduring the opera, he felt like hitting someone and definitely didn’t want to make plans to meet up again.

Zhulan chuckled, "Okay, don’t frown anymore; you already have enough wrinkles."

Zhou Shuren, "..."

It was all Wong Ju’s fault; he had been frowning all day long.

In the Dong family village, Mr. Dong asked his eldest son, "Have you found out everything?"

Mr. Dong replied, "Yes, the Li family’s New Year gift is half more generous than ours."

Mr. Dong sighed, "The Zhou family has a grudge against our family."

Mr. Dong was furious, "Father, let’s separate our household."

Mr. Dong was silent; his son continued, "You know how your daughter behaves. Although this year’s gift is the same as in previous years, she still holds resentment in her heart. Our family can’t help her, but we keep causing her distress. Father, don’t let her affection for us wear thin."

Of course, what he worried about the most was his son; God knows how much he worried after his sister gave birth, fearing that the Zhou family would angrily send his son back.

He was counting on his son, and nobody could stand in the way.

Mr. Dong said gravely, "I understand. By the way, did you invite your older sister to come back for New Year?"

Mr. Dong, "I invited her, but she said she wouldn’t come, she will celebrate by herself."

The affairs of the Jiang family and his elder sister’s family were no secret; who could have imagined that the Jiang family would move to the capital and still choose her sister’s child despite having a father-in-law like Minister Zhou? Unfortunately, regrets came too late, her elder sister felt too estranged, and the damage was already done, not something a few nice words could erase.

With age, and frequent communications from his younger son, Mr. Dong grew increasingly rational and saw the corruption in the Dong family.

Mr. Dong looked at his eldest son, feeling relieved but also sighing as the other sons resented him, accusing him of favoring the eldest branch.

As time moved quickly to New Year’s Eve, the entire Zhou residence was not only full of ice lanterns but also hung many lanterns, sticking couplets and paper-cuts. The Zhou residence was busy from the morning onward.

With time passing, the scent of food wafted throughout the courtyard.

In the evening, when the whole family sat together, Zhou Shuren cleared his throat, "The past year has ended, and we need to continue to strive in the new one, so this year we’ll add a segment—everyone speak about their small goals for the coming year!"

Zhulan, "..."