Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!-Chapter 44 - Dark Heart_1

To kill a person would not only require her life in return but also tarnish the entire Wang family’s reputation.

For the sake of their reputation, Wang Zhangshi wouldn’t dare.”

Despite Wang Zhangshi’s propensity for beating and scolding the young maids, she would indeed stop short of killing.

The grandsons of the Wang family were about to marry, and several of the granddaughters were set to wed people as well.

Even if Wang Zhangshi were to act like a devil, she would not blatantly kill someone.

Wang Ru swiftly glanced at Yang Shi.

Was this the talk of someone with a simple mind?

Feeling a sinking in her heart, she dropped to her knees, “Grandma Zhou, my grandmother may not dare to beat me to death, but she dares to starve me.

As long as no one finds out, nobody can do anything about it.

You have a kind heart, please save me.”

Zhulan’s heart skipped a beat.

Now that Wang Ru had kneeled before her, she would become the person Wang Ru hated most.

Once Wang Ru came into wealth, she certainly wouldn’t want to face Zhulan whom she had knelt before.

Feeling blocked and suffocated, Zhulan, though she did not instigate conflict, couldn’t keep others from provoking her.

Her face grew cold as she pulled Wang Ru to her feet, “Look at you, speaking such foolishness.

The whole village knows that you, Third Miss, have the ability to make a lot of money now.

Your grandmother is the shrewdest of all; she wouldn’t starve you.

Look how pathetic you’ve become, scaring yourself silly!”

Zhulan quickly interrupted Wang Ru, calling out to the second brother who was splitting firewood, “Second Brother, quickly go fetch Wang Laosi.

How can he be such a father, letting his daughter become so frightened?”

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Zhou Er, who had been listening for a while, feared his mother might soften and agree to the request.

Dropping the axe, he said, “I’m on it.”

Wang Ru, being dragged along, seethed with resentment.

She had come to realize that the honest-looking members of the Zhou family were all concealing their cunning.

With this in mind, she felt no guilt about her own scheming, “Grandma Zhou, Xue Han is my friend, and you are her mother, and the kindest of all.

You also know that I’ve made money.

If you help me, I’ll share the formula with you and we can work together.

The Zhou family can take seventy percent; I’ll be happy with just thirty.”

Zhulan scoffed, thinking being your friend was a curse for eight generations.

Releasing Wang Ru, she said indifferently, “Third Miss, our Zhou family has three scholars.

We don’t involve ourselves in business.

There’s an order to society: Scholar, Farmer, Artisan, Merchant.

It’s no fault of yours for not understanding, Grandma Zhou doesn’t blame you, but you mustn’t talk nonsense like this in the future.”

Zhou Shuren had learned the laws of the fictional dynasty, which he had not failed to explain to Zhulan.

In this fabricated era, it was clearly stated that merchants and their offspring were ineligible for the imperial examinations unless they donated ninety percent of their wealth and returned to their hometowns to engage in farming for three generations.

Farmers who sold produce from their own fields did not count as merchants.

For instance, even if a landowner’s family nominally ran a grain store, they weren’t considered merchants because the store sold produce directly from their own land without any additional processing.

Zhulan’s household might have handled some cabbages, but that too didn’t count as trade, as the cabbages were harvested from their own land.

In rural areas, it was common to sell vegetables, grains, and poultry.

As long as one did not seek profits year-round, it was not considered a defining trait of a merchant.

However, year-round business operations for the sake of profit were indicative of a merchant, no matter how small the scale.

Even street peddlers, despite low costs, were merchants, who garnered no respect.

The stringency around the imperial examinations had a clear origin.

It stemmed from the Emperor’s wartime adversity caused by merchants, whose profit-driven actions indirectly led to the deaths of many soldiers.

Additionally, during the late periods of the previous dynasty, the emergence of merchants buying official positions and amassing wealth exacerbated chaos and widespread suffering, leading to a crackdown on merchants when the new dynasty was established.

This illustrated the Emperor’s deep disdain for merchants, not only imposing heavy taxes but constantly oppressing them.

In the new dynasty, the edicts from above were even more stringent, clarifying many boundaries and dissuading families with scholars from even brushing up against trade.

Zhulan did not believe Wang Ru was unaware of this; she knew full well that Wang Ru had been inquiring about it recently.

The woman had a dark heart, aiming to cut off the Zhou family’s scholarly pursuits altogether!

“Mom, Mom, I did it, haha, Mom.”