Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 35 The Old Lady's Admonition

"Brother-in-law, you're joking. The entrance exam for Mingde Academy is designed for different age groups, and I just had the advantage of being young," Sheng Changbai said modestly.

Zhou An smiled and said, "Same here. When I was your age, I wasn't confident I could pass the exam either."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Sheng Wei introduced his sister Sheng Yun's son and several younger members of the third branch of the family.

After Zhou An finished recognizing the people, Sheng Wei and his wife took him and Shulan to pay their respects to the old lady.

The elderly woman was about sixty years old, with silver hair, but she looked quite energetic.

She smiled and gave a few words of advice, telling Zhou An to be more tolerant of Shulan, and then said nothing more.

After paying their respects to the matriarch and sitting and talking for a while, the matriarch sent all the men away, leaving only the women to keep her company.

After Sheng Wei and the others left, the old lady took Shulan's hand and asked, "Is my grandson-in-law treating you well?"

"My husband treats me very well," Shulan said softly, blushing.

"Where are your in-laws?"

When the old lady heard Shulan say that Zhou An treated her well, she didn't ask any further questions.

The young couple were shy and, being newly married, were still quite excited about their new relationship, so it wasn't obvious what they were thinking.

But it's different with the in-laws.

As someone who has been through it all, she understands even more the importance of in-laws in a marriage.

My in-laws are kind people, so even if my husband is a bit of a jerk, they will help keep him in check.

But if the in-laws are not good, even if the couple has a good relationship, it's useless.

"My in-laws treat me well. My father-in-law is not a talkative man, and my mother-in-law even lets me manage the household," Shulan said.

"You're letting the housekeeper do it?"

The old lady frowned slightly. Generally, when a new bride enters the family, even if no rules are established, she should be allowed to get to know the family for a period of time before being put in charge of the household.

"Shulan, could it be that the Zhou family is eyeing your dowry but is too embarrassed to ask for it, so they put you in charge of the household?" Sheng Yun frowned.

A woman's dowry is actually her private property. If the two divorce, the dowry is taken with her. It does not mean that the dowry belongs to the man.

Of course, part of the dowry that the Sheng family gave to Shulan was originally intended for the Zhou family; it was a form of financial assistance.

But the Zhou family is being a bit too hasty in doing this.

"Aunt, that's not how it is."

Shulan quickly shook her head and explained the whole story.

When they learned that Madam Hao had noticed that her two sisters-in-law were eyeing Shulan's dowry, the old lady and the others smiled as they put Shulan in charge of the household.

This shows that Hao was very clear-headed. Having a clear-headed mother-in-law is a very fortunate thing for a woman.

"Then you should keep a close eye on things."

The old lady instructed, "I know you are timid, but you must be firm in this matter, otherwise your mother-in-law will be disappointed in you if she sees that you cannot do things properly."

As long as you satisfy your mother-in-law, and she'll support you, I'll feel at ease!

She didn't have any prejudice against scholars; the old man from the second wife's family was once a third-ranked scholar in the imperial examinations.

But he didn't just frequent brothels; he brought concubines home one by one.

But scholars also have one advantage: no matter how immoral or immoral they may be, they would never dare to be unfilial.

It was only because her parents-in-law passed away early that her two grandfathers dared not act recklessly, as long as her parents were there to keep them in check.

Sheng Hong is a good example. Old Mrs. Sheng was not Sheng Hong's biological mother, and he did not have a deep affection for her.

However, Old Madam Sheng was the absolute ruler of the second branch of the family. Even if she pointed her finger at Sheng Hong and scolded him, Sheng Hong had to listen with a smile and dared not disobey in the slightest.

It's hard to say how Zhou An will treat Shulan in the future, but as long as her mother-in-law is satisfied with Shulan as her daughter-in-law, and with her support, Shulan's life won't be difficult.

"Granddaughter understands." Shulan nodded.

.........

Zhou An followed Sheng Wei and the others back to the main hall, where Sheng Wei inquired about Zhou An's plans for the future.

He didn't hide anything and explained his plans for the future.

After the New Year, he needs to go to Tongzhou to take the provincial examination. If he passes, he will not leave Qinghe County and will wait to go to the capital to take the metropolitan examination the year after next.

If he fails the provincial examination, he will have to wait three years for the next one, and then he will go to Jinling Academy to continue his studies.

"Wouldn't such a worthy son-in-law have to study at Jinling Academy for two years?"

Sheng Wei asked, "If that's the case, have you considered how to arrange things at home?"

Once you are over twenty years old, you can no longer stay at Jinling Academy to study.

Zhou An will be eighteen years old after the New Year, and he can only study there for two years as a temporary student.

But Zhou Ancheng had only been married a short time. If he went to Jinling to study, wouldn't Shulan be left alone in her room?

"Xiao Xu has considered it and will bring his wife along. My parents are still young and healthy, so there's no need to worry. I've discussed it with my parents, and they've both agreed," Zhou An said.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Wei was immediately relieved. Zhou An was an only son, and Shulan should have stayed to serve her parents-in-law.

But as a father, he naturally didn't want his daughter to be separated from him for the next two years after getting married.

But this kind of thing requires the consent of Zhou An's parents, not Gu Ning's decision.

"Alright, you younger generation should go out for a walk and have a chat. There's no need to stay here so formally," Sheng Wei said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

Upon hearing this, the younger generation in the hall immediately showed joy. Among them, including Sheng Changsong, the eldest son of the main branch, none of them were married yet.

It's so unbearable to not even have the right to speak in front of elders.

Now that he had been given permission, he immediately stood up, bowed, and left.

Sheng Changbai deliberately walked slowly as he and Zhou An exited the main hall. He smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, my father holds an important position, and my grandmother caught a cold a few days ago. My mother needs to take care of her, so I had to come to escort my eldest sister to her wedding."

"Is Second Grandmother alright?"

Zhou An said with concern, "Your older sister and I will take some time to visit him in the next few days."

"Grandmother would be very happy to know how much my brother-in-law cares."

Sheng Changbai smiled and said, "However, when I came, my grandmother was already much better. Now that the end of the year is approaching and the journey is long, my brother-in-law doesn't need to go through all that trouble."

"Please give my regards when you return, Changbai."

Zhou An said that only because he was a junior and had no choice but to say it.

There was no need to actually make a long trip there.

Sheng Changbai told him these things to prevent Zhou An from overthinking.

After all, the eldest daughter of the first wife got married, and only a younger generation from the second wife came back, which inevitably made people think.

However, it wouldn't be appropriate for Sheng Wei to explain this matter on his own. Sheng Changbai is of the same generation as Zhou An and is also the eldest grandson of the second branch of the family. It would be most appropriate for him to explain it.

"Brother-in-law and second brother, would you like to go check on them in the study?"

Sheng Changsong smiled and said, "The ancestors of the Sheng family have always liked to buy rare books to collect, and my father has also bought quite a few over the years."

Sheng Changbai didn't speak, but looked at Zhou An.

"Then let's go take a look. My family has been commoners for generations. The books in my house are some that I bought gradually after I started studying. They are all very common books," Zhou An said with a smile.

Speaking of which, the ancestor of the Sheng family was quite an extraordinary person.

Zhou An remembered that the ancestor of the Sheng family was a beggar who didn't even know his own surname.

At that time, there was also war, making life even more difficult for beggars.

Later, when the country was first settled, he heard that a prosperous era was about to begin, so he adopted "Sheng" as his surname.