Chapter 327 She Doesn’t Get Old

Zhulan received Wuchun's letter, which was written to Zhulan. Communication was inconvenient in ancient times, so this letter was written by Wuchun to express his safety after he arrived in Lizhou.

As for the letter written by Yang Zhumu, it was estimated that by the time it arrived in Lizhou, Wu Chun's reply should still be on the way.

Zhulan and her elder brother opened the letter together. This time, there was also fur along with the letter. She ignored the gift list in the letter and went straight to the main text.

When Wu Chun arrived in Lizhou, he was still under Zheng Hong. Zheng Hong was in charge of the defense of Lizhou and the soldiers stationed there. Wu Chun was a powerful military general who assisted him.

Wu Chun bought a large courtyard with three entrances in Lizhou City for only two hundred taels. The courtyard covered a large area. He specifically mentioned that although Lizhou was a provincial capital, the conditions were very poor and the majority of merchants in the city were fur traders.

Although the war was over and refugees gradually returned to Lizhou City, the entire city was still very desolate. The people were extremely poor, and many of them sold their children.

Yang Zhumu was stunned. "How come this guy wrote so much about the lives of the people in Lizhou City? A good guy has three or four pages."

Zhulan handed over a few pages of letters about Lizhou City to Zhou Shuren, "Wuchun wrote this to Shuren."

Zhou Shuren took it preciously. He asked Wu Chun to write this. He asked Wu Chun to tell him everything he saw in a letter. This boy wrote in great detail. It seemed that he visited nearby villages quite often. Wu Chun's tone was very sad, especially when he wrote about the lack of food and some people even had to eat dirt.

Zhou Shuren's heart sank. Although the environment in the Northeast was harsh in winter, the land was fertile, and the weather had been good in recent years. As long as they did not sell more food to save money, every household could eat enough. In recent years, those families with more land in the Northeast had enough money to dress themselves up.

This is also the reason why Shang Jia has been traveling to the Northeast more frequently in recent years than before.

Even the merchants of Lizhou City were unwilling to go there, which shows how poor and miserable the people there were.

Zhulan also finished reading the rest of the letter, which was all about Wuchun's plans for settling down. In the end, he invited Zhulan and Zhou Shuren to visit Lizhou City if they had the chance.

Yang Zhumu felt upset for a while, as he was not mentioned in the whole article!

Zhu Lan noticed her brother's mood and laughed, "He doesn't know you are here with me."

"I wrote him a letter."

Zhu Lan was speechless. "Brother, calculate how long it would take for you to receive Wu Chun's letter and then reply to Lizhou City. When Wu Chun wrote to me, your letter hadn't reached him yet! How did he know that you were also in the capital? Wait a few more days for your reply to arrive."

Yang Zhumu calculated, "It's true. The letter from this kid should be on the way to Beijing."

Zhulan received the letter and said, "I'm going to check out the gift my eldest nephew brought me."

This is a New Year's gift. Although it comes a little late, it is already February and the exam will be held in a few days.

Zhou Shuren took the letter and said, "I'm going to go back and read first."

Zhulan, "Okay."

Zhulan and her elder brother went to see the gifts together. There were three boxes of things, two boxes of furs and one box of dates. These dates were good things.

Zhulan gave some away and saved it for her mother to eat when she arrived in the capital.

Zhulan had just packed up the furs when Li came back with Xinghua and a vegetable basket. She rubbed her hands by the fire and said, "Mother, this weather is really cold!"

Zhulan was worried. The imperial examination also had three sessions: the ninth, twelfth and fifteenth day of the first lunar month. One would enter the examination hall on the first day and leave on the next day.

Each examination room is still very small, five feet long, four feet wide and eight feet high. You are searched upon entering, and then each person is given three candles. After the candidates enter the room, the door is locked. The conditions are still very difficult!

Zhulan asked, "What kind of meat did you buy today? You look so happy."

Li grinned and said, "Mom, today's mutton is fresh. I bought a few more pounds of mutton and stewed it tonight."

Zhu Lan nodded and said, "Buy more meat tomorrow and make more sausages for your father."

"Why!"

Time soon came to the eighth day of the New Year. Zhulan checked the things Zhou Shuren brought. This time, not only did Zhulan check several times, but Zhou Shuren also checked twice.

Zhulan looked at Zhou Shuren's nervousness, and she felt relieved. "It's rare to see you so nervous about anything."

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "I've already taken ninety-nine steps, and now there's only one step left. How can I not be nervous?"

Zhu Lan held Zhou Shuren's hand and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. We have come this far. Just let things take their own course."

These days, Zhou Shuren has been having dreams at night. She can hear Zhou Shuren talking in his sleep, and he is reciting lessons in his dreams!

Zhou Shuren: "Yes."

When Zhulan heard this, she agreed with him verbally, but she certainly didn't think so in her heart. Zhou Shuren always said that she was willing to take responsibility, so why wasn't he the same?

But Zhou Shuren was narrow-minded and only cared about her.

The capital city was really bustling in February, especially on the eighth day of the first lunar month. The streets were filled with horse-drawn carriages, and the traffic jam became more severe the further southwest one went.

Zhulan's family arrived late, and their carriage was stuck behind, so they had to walk in the cold weather.

The situation on the street was similar. Not only Zhulan's family was walking. Zhulan was willing to spend money, especially on Zhou Shuren, who was not cold as he was wrapped in a thick cloak.

You also need to queue up to enter the examination room, which is the same process as the provincial examination.

Zhulan waited for Zhou Shuren to go in, and stood on the street for a while without any intention of leaving.

Although Li is fat, she is not the most resistant to cold. Li rubbed her hands and said, "Mom, let's go home!"

Zhulan came back to her senses and took one last look at the examination room. Zhou Shuren had gone to fight for her. She curled her lips and said, "Go home."

After returning home, Zhulan went back to her room and drew the scene of Zhou Shuren entering the examination room.

Mrs. Li stood aside and said, "Mom, you draw really well."

Zhulan tilted her head, "How did you get in?"

Li's eyes were filled with grievance, "Mom, I have always followed you."

Zhulan knew that Li was here to keep her company. She couldn't help but reach out and pinch Li's chubby face, "It feels really good."

Li opened her eyes wide, but she was so happy in her heart. Her mother pinched her. Her mother and the head of the family both loved her the most. Li blushed when she thought of what the head of the family said.

Zhulan stared at Li as she ran out. She just pinched Li's face. Why was Li so shy?

Xue Han came in with her niece, "Mom, why did my sister-in-law run away?"

Zhulan, "Who knows what she is thinking."

Xue Han was stunned when she saw that her mother looked calm and not worried at all. "Mom, aren't you worried about Dad?"

In the past, my mother was always worried every time I took an exam.

Zhulan waited until the ink was dry, put the painting away and said, "I believe in your father."

Xue Han was silent. She really envied the relationship between her father and mother. She also hoped that she could be like Rong Chuan in the future. Thinking of this, Xue Han's face turned red. "Mom, I'm going back to the room."

Zhulan blinked her eyes. What happened today? Why were they all so shy? Was she no longer able to keep up with the train of thought? Was she really getting old?

Zhulan shuddered. It was scary to think about it. No, her real age was not even 30, and in ancient times, she was not even 40. She was not old, not old!