Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent! Chapter 71 - 71 71 Camouflage1

71: Chapter 71 Camouflage_1 71: Chapter 71 Camouflage_1 Zhulan genuinely felt sorry for Mada Zhao.

Without a proper background to protect her outstanding beauty, it was a disaster, compounded by natural calamities forcing people to flee.

Humanity showed its bottomless cruelty ti after ti, requiring one to guard not just against strangers but also against one’s own relatives.

Mada Zhao’s beauty was her curse, and her fate was almost certain to be sold into so filthy place.

She could only disguise herself.

Crying was an excellent camouflage since no one liked a tear-stained face during tis of natural and human disasters.

Mada Zhao thus protected herself, but the disguise had been worn for so long, it had seeped into her bones.

Zhulan reflected with narrowed eyes.

Zhou Shuren, the second son, was the most calculating mber of the family.

His complicity wasn’t limited to Mada Zhao alone; he surely had a hand in devising sches against her.

The saying goes that a man forgets his mother once he takes a wife, and he played the dutiful son well.

After hearing his wife’s words and realizing the gravity of the situation, Zhou Shuren hurriedly ca to the main house.

Standing at the entrance, he saw his mother’s changing expressions and felt his heart pounding.

He fell to his knees all at once, “Mother, your son is at fault.”

Zhulan, “….”

Zhou Shuren was indeed the smartest person at ho; he knew she had discovered Mada Zhao’s beauty.

Seeing his mother’s emotionless face which was unnerving, Zhou Shuren grew apprehensive.

His mother was not the sa person she used to be.

“Mother, I had no choice.

Mada Zhao’s beauty is too great, and bringing her into our family is a curse.

If discovered, we cannot protect her, and she could bring disaster upon us.”

He indirectly explained why Mada Zhao often resorted to tears.

As Zhulan recalled Mada Zhao’s visage and winced in sympathy, her thoughts turned to her oldest granddaughter.

She resolved to push Zhou Shuren harder.

He had to not only beco an official but a high-ranking one at that, for even a small ranking official could not guarantee his children’s protection.

Zhou Shuren was inwardly nervous.

He was the first to notice Qiu Niang’s beauty and didn’t want to bring calamity upon himself by considering marriage.

He simply paid attention, unable to control his feelings.

It’s tough for a plain man to resist a beauty.

Still, he had a conscience and didn’t want to cause trouble for his family, so he refrained from acting.

Later, it was Qiu Niang who took notice of him and directly approached him.

Externally, he appeared to be the most honest man in the family, but inwardly, he was the most rebellious and purposeful, especially after eting his eldest brother’s wife.

He beca determined to marry a clever woman.

It is said that beauties are all looks and no brains, but when he realized Mada Zhao’s tears were a facade and encountered her intelligence, he was attracted.

Thus, he bartered grain for a wife.

Later, even with his mother disapproving, they agreed on the marriage.

But Mada Zhao couldn’t stay indoors forever.

He and she knew too well that the less she appeared in public, the more people would grow curious—particularly about a wife bought with grain, speculating what made her worth such a trade.

They had no choice but to venture out, always accompanying his mother, for she was skilled in martial arts and people would not dare to approach too closely.

As for the subsequent abuse of his wife, leading to his mother being labeled the harsh mother-in-law, he and Mada Zhao never anticipated his mother would take the bla.

At first, they thought the village would lose interest in a weepy, weak wife.

Little did they know how envious the village won would be of his mother.

Consud by guilt, Zhou Shuren could only kneel as his mother remained silent.

Zhulan considered that if the original soul were still alive, she would surely have been furious—not at Mada Zhao, but at the distrust shown by their son.

Now that it was her, she felt Zhou Shuren deserved punishnt and should kneel; it was for the original soul’s sake, not her own.

“Keep kneeling.

Rise when you have knelt for an hour.

Reflect on your mistakes during that ti.”

Her son in the capital needed education.

This stepson had always felt insignificant and lacked a sense of belonging to the family.

It was not entirely Zhou Shuren’s fault; the original couple had their issues as well.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late—the stepson had been showing considerable dedication to the Zhou family recently.

Leaning against the wall with closed eyes, Zhulan also estimated the ti.

Nearly an hour had passed without the stepson getting up.

Opening her eyes, she saw him pale, his legs unable to bear the kneeling any longer.

She nodded internally, knowing he recognized his fault and wanted to atone through kneeling.

A smile flickered in Zhulan’s eyes.

The martial arts she and Zhou Shuren practiced weren’t in vain, “Stand up.”

Zhou Shuren had reflected on many things during the half-hour.

People fear letting their thoughts spiral out of control.

Since acknowledging his parents, he tended to consider things from their perspective.

With a heavy heart, he bowed his head, “Mother, your son has been unfilial.

I used to bla my parents for not caring for , never looking at my own faults.

You and father have never mistreated Mada Zhao and , yet I never appreciated you and distrusted you, even used you.

I have failed you both as a son.”

Zhulan’s smile deepened, “Get up.

I’m not angry at you.

I, too, am at fault.

The tumultuous years of war distracted from paying adequate attention to you.

I apologize to you and ask that you not bla your mother.”

Zhou Shuren’s eyes reddened.

He had never suffered hunger or cold during the years of chaos, recalling how his mother hunted for food and never played favorites.

His heart ached, “Mother, I was wrong.”

Zhulan stiffened.

Her stepson was weeping in her lap.

Even though she wasn’t the original person, and it took so getting used to, feelings were infectious, and she couldn’t help but stroke his hair and curve her lips into a smile.

Not only were Zhou family’s children changing, but so were she and Zhou Shuren.

She realized she had started to feel like a real mother, no longer just playing a role.