The next day, Jiang Tingting got up early and went to the kitchen to cook porridge. Of course, the rice she used wasn’t traded with the villagers—it came from her space.
The grains were plump and fragrant.
She also fried a few egg pancakes and paired them with refreshing side dishes, just right for breakfast.
“Tingting, you’re up this early?” Mother Zhou only realized when she got up that Jiang Tingting had already prepared breakfast.
“Mother, you’re up just in time,” Jiang Tingting said with a smile. “Go wash up, and breakfast will be ready.”
“You child… you’re really too diligent.” Mother Zhou felt that her son truly had skill—even after being exiled, he managed to find such a good daughter-in-law.
Jiang Tingting smiled. In the Jiang family, she had done even more than this.
But no one in the Jiang family had ever thought she was diligent; they only thought she didn’t do enough, that she was too lazy.
Jiang Tingting brought all the breakfast out from the kitchen. After the family of three finished eating, Jiang Tingting loaded all the family’s dirty clothes into a basket.
Seeing this, Mother Zhou quickly said, “Tingting, leave it. I’ll go wash them by the river in a bit.”
“Mother, I’ll handle this. You rest at home.” Jiang Tingting said in a tone that left no room for refusal.
“Sister-in-law, I’ll wash my own clothes.” Zhou Qingrui blushed and quickly spoke up.
He was a man—how could he let his sister-in-law wash his clothes?
Jiang Tingting laughed and said, “Qingrui, you focus on your studies at home.”
“Studies?” Zhou Qingrui looked at his sister-in-law in confusion. Since the family’s exile began, he hadn’t studied at all.
All the books at home had been confiscated during the house search; he hadn’t been able to keep a single one.
“Yes, studies!” Jiang Tingting said firmly.
She knew Zhou Qingrui loved studying. Zhou Qinghao often said his younger brother was a bookworm, who would get so absorbed in a book that he’d forget to eat.
“What’s the use of studying?” Zhou Qingrui muttered with a desolate expression.
The house search had shown him the emperor’s incompetence and the court’s darkness.
The Zhou family had been utterly loyal to the court, and in the end, they were exiled after having everything confiscated.
Was he supposed to serve a court like that?
A smile curled at the corner of Jiang Tingting’s lips, and she lowered her voice: “If the sky isn’t bright, then we’ll change the sky!”
Zhou Qingrui: “!!”
Jiang Tingting smiled. “Your sister-in-law believes you have that ability.”
Zhou Qingrui turned his head in shock to look at his mother—was his sister-in-law saying what he thought she was saying?
“Tingting?” Mother Zhou couldn’t help but gasp. Those words weren’t something to be said lightly.
Jiang Tingting looked at Mother Zhou with a candid gaze. “Mother, I believe my husband’s spirit in heaven will also bless us.”
Mother Zhou was stunned for a moment, then immediately caught on—was this Qinghao’s intention?
Did Qinghao have that kind of power now?
“Mother, nothing is absolute. We just need to wait for the right moment.” Jiang Tingting hinted to Mother Zhou that changing the sky was something to be done gradually, but changing the dynasty was Zhou Qinghao’s decision.
Of course, Mother Zhou wouldn’t oppose her own son’s decision.
“Listen to your sister-in-law. Study hard.” Mother Zhou turned to educate her younger son.
Zhou Qingrui: “??”
What just happened?
Why did his mother change her mind so quickly?
He had clearly seen that his mother was also shocked when she heard his sister-in-law’s words.
Still, Zhou Qingrui was very obedient to his mother. He nodded docilely. “Mother, sister-in-law, I understand. I’ll study hard.”
Mother Zhou said with a smile, “Once things settle down, I’ll find a way to get you some books to read.”
Right now, the family didn’t even have books, let alone enough food to fill their stomachs.
The two of them had only eaten their fill after Jiang Tingting arrived—last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast were the first real meals they’d had.
“Mother, there are books,” Jiang Tingting said with a smile. “My husband already gave them to me.”
Mother Zhou was shocked—was her son really going to change the dynasty?
“Mother, I’ll go get them.” Jiang Tingting finished speaking and turned to head to her room.
Zhou Qingrui was completely dazed. He asked his mother in a daze, “Mother, isn’t sister-in-law’s husband eldest brother? Didn’t eldest brother already… How did eldest brother give sister-in-law books?”
Mother Zhou gripped Zhou Qingrui’s hand and said excitedly, “Your eldest brother has passed, but…”
Mother Zhou explained how Zhou Qinghao’s spirit had appeared in a dream. After hearing it all, Zhou Qingrui had only one feeling—his mother had been deceived!
“Mother, I know eldest brother is gone, and you’re heartbroken, but… eldest brother really is gone. How could his spirit appear in a dream?” Zhou Qingrui shook his mother’s shoulders through gritted teeth. “Mother, I think Jiang Tingting is a spy sent by the court to watch us.”
“Don’t be fooled by her tricks! She’s deliberately making me study, making me plot rebellion, just to find an excuse to wipe us out completely.”
“Father and eldest brother died in battle, but all the soldiers under their command have vanished. The court wants to use us to lure those people out.”
Zhou Qingrui was only twelve years old, but he thought deeply.
Especially after such a great upheaval had befallen the family, he had matured quickly, and now considered things more carefully in every matter.
“If we were to harbor any thoughts of rebellion, then when the court executes us, it would be perfectly justified. The soldiers who followed Father and Eldest Brother would surely not bear to see us beheaded—they would inevitably come to rescue us at the execution ground. And then, with heavy troops lying in wait, the court would wipe them all out in one fell swoop!”
Zhou Qingrui was so anxious that cold sweat broke out on his forehead in layer after layer: “Mother, you must not listen to Jiang Tingting’s wild nonsense!”
“Qingrui, listen to your mother…” Zhou’s mother had just begun to explain when the door creaked open, and Jiang Tingting pushed her way inside.
Zhou Qingrui immediately shielded his mother behind him with wary vigilance, glaring fiercely at Jiang Tingting.
And to think he had believed this sister-in-law of his was a decent person—turns out she was nothing but a lackey of the court.
Pah!
Jiang Tingting looked at Zhou Qingrui, who was like a little wolf cub, and couldn’t help but laugh—fierce yet adorable, quite endearing.
Truly his brother’s younger sibling, with such good vigilance.
And he also knew to protect Mother—a good child.
At Jiang Tingting’s laugh, Zhou Qingrui’s heart leaped into his throat. Though he was terrified, he still forced himself to appear calm as he stared at her: “I’m telling you, don’t bother trying to scheme against us. We—”
“When you were seven, you mistook a weed for a snake and wet your pants in fright.” Jiang Tingting said with a smile, successfully making Zhou Qingrui’s face darken.
Zhou’s mother looked at her youngest son in surprise—had that ever happened?
Why didn’t she know about it?
“In the winter when you were eight, you were greedy for ice and chipped your tooth, then lied to Father and Mother that it fell out on its own.” Jiang Tingting continued.
Zhou Qingrui: “!!”
Zhou’s mother: “??”
“And also… when you were five, you drew a little turtle in a book, and only after you finished did you realize it was your father’s book.” Jiang Tingting went on.
Zhou’s mother had a vague impression of this: “Wasn’t it your eldest brother who dirtied the book? And it wasn’t a little turtle either—it was a tortoise.”
“That was because my husband took the blame. He thought that at his age, it was impossible he’d drawn a little turtle, so he deliberately smeared it into a black blob.” Jiang Tingting said with a smile, looking at the dumbfounded Zhou Qingrui, “Now do you believe that your brother can send you dreams from the dead?”
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