Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 42 The Underrated Shulan

"Your in-laws are the same; they didn't even send me a message about your wedding. I only found out by hearing about it from others!"

Zhou's face was kind, but her tone carried a hint of anger and self-reproach.

If Shulan hadn't learned about her family's situation from Zhou An, she might have really thought that her in-laws had acted unfairly by not informing her.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Shulan curtsied and smiled, "My mother-in-law mentioned to me a few days ago that my aunt lives too far away and is getting old, so she didn't inform you because she was afraid it would tire you out."

"No matter how old I get, I'll crawl here to help my husband get married."

Zhou looked at Hao and said, "Your lineage has always had only one son. If we relatives don't come, people will think that our Zhou family has no one left."

"Third Aunt is right."

Madam Hao said, "Everyone else in the Zhou family called out, just because you married so far away, Third Aunt."

Zhou An almost burst out laughing when she heard this. Her mother's words seemed polite, but they were actually a veiled insult, implying that she was now a distant relative after getting married.

Zhou Shi naturally understood, and her face darkened. However, remembering her purpose, she forced a smile and pretended not to understand.

"Brother, you two, please sit down. I'm not an outsider!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou An pulled Shulan down to sit.

"The eldest son has now passed the imperial examination and married the eldest daughter of the Sheng family. I heard that when the wedding procession was going into the city, the bride's family hadn't even left yet."

Madam Zhou said enviously, "Your branch of the family has finally made it through, unlike my good-for-nothing son who has failed the exams for so many years!"

"If my aunt had kept a proper eye on him, he probably would have passed the exam long ago. I heard that my uncle likes to gamble in brothels, so he has no interest in studying," Zhou An sneered.

Actually, his great-aunt married quite well; her husband's family owned several hundred acres of land, which was much better than theirs.

Unfortunately, all the children he had were daughters, and even after taking a concubine, the two daughters were also born.

It wasn't until Zhou was in her early thirties that she gave birth to that one son.

Her husband's family is well-off, and they have so many daughters; once they get married, their family's situation will only get better.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the custom of marrying into wealthy families was prevalent among ordinary people; it was not a common practice among commoners.

In ordinary families, when a daughter gets married, the groom's betrothal gifts are converted into dowry, a portion is kept, and the remainder is used to prepare a dowry for her.

How much to keep depends on the woman's family.

If she could choose to marry some of the daughters from her husband's family to a decent family, and keep a few of them, it would improve the family's financial situation even further.

Unfortunately, he was the only son in the family, and they spoiled him rotten, sending him to a private school to study from a young age.

As a result, they didn't learn propriety, morality, integrity, or a sense of shame, but they learned all the vices: eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.

The gambling den knew about his family's financial situation, and they were willing to lend him money even when he lost everything. His family had to sell their land to pay off his debts.

Because they couldn't bear to manage it, they squandered all their wealth and sold off most of their land.

Only the two girls who married early were married off normally; the girls who married later were almost all sold off.

Mrs. Zhou said awkwardly, "I've taken care of him. He was just immature before, but he's grown up now and much more sensible!"

"Pfft~"

Zhou An couldn't hold back any longer; his cousin was already in his thirties and had children who were teenagers.

Is this what you call being ignorant before?

Hao almost couldn't hold back either. Seeing Zhou's face as black as the bottom of a pot, she scolded, "What are you laughing at, child!"

"I've been thinking about something else," Zhou An said, his smile fading.

"Don't you scholars often say things like 'If we don't see each other for three days, we'll gouge out our eyes'?"

Zhou said somewhat awkwardly, "My baby has really changed now. He wants to find a minor official position in the county."

Shulan kept her head down, afraid that Zhou would see the smile on her face.

They even gouged out your eyes to look at you. How can you look at someone after they've already gouged out their eyes?

She tried to recall some sad things and suppress her smile.

But upon closer reflection, she realized that everything had gone smoothly for her since she could remember.

At home, she was pampered by her parents, and her older brother, younger brother, and younger sister all respected her as the older sister.

After she got married, her parents-in-law never made things difficult for her, and her husband treated her well.

Unable to think of anything to suppress her smile, she could only force herself to hold it in.

"Then I wish my cousin all the best." Zhou An smiled, not telling her that it was wishful thinking.

The minor clerks in the county government are real local tyrants. Even though they are not officials, the county government officials have to treat the minor clerks with utmost respect after taking office.

The petty officials remain, while the officials come and go.

According to the rules of the imperial court, local officials were subject to a strict system of temporary transfers. If they did not receive a promotion by the end of their term, they would be transferred to another post and would not remain in one place for a long period of time.

Although other officials can be re-elected, the ranks of county-level officials are not high. Even without money to bribe or connections, they can still rise through the ranks by gaining seniority.

Therefore, officials are frequently changed or transferred, but it's different for minor officials; they can stay in one position for an entire afternoon.

Moreover, those who could serve as minor officials were all prominent local families.

Even if the Zhou family hadn't fallen into decline, they wouldn't have been qualified to be minor officials, let alone now that they've fallen to this state.

Zhou An guessed that it was very likely that his cousin had used an excuse to deceive Zhou Shi.

"Don't worry, we're all family. Although we're not in the same county, those officials all have connections. If my Bao'er really becomes a minor official, he'll definitely take care of you. Maybe he can even help you find a minor official position in the future," Zhou said with a smile.

Hearing this, Hao was somewhat tempted. The imperial examination was too difficult; even she and Zhou Li had never thought that their son would actually pass it.

They thought that if their son got an education, he could open a private school or something in the future, which would be better than them toiling in the fields for a living.

If one could become a minor official, that would be equivalent to being a high-ranking official.

In the eyes of ordinary people, there is no distinction between officials and clerks; even a minor official is still an official.

"Then thank you very much, Auntie. I'll wait for my uncle to get a job so he can take care of our family in the future," Zhou An said with a smile.

"That's for sure. Your family helped us before, and your great-aunt isn't ungrateful."

Zhou patted her chest to assure him, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "But as you all know, there are many people eyeing such a lucrative position as a minor official. Even though Bao'er has the help of a powerful person, she still needs to spend some money to bribe officials. Our family really can't afford it, so we were thinking of borrowing some from your family!"

"Auntie, this isn't just a matter of a few coins. We just had a happy occasion, and we can't possibly sell the land with the money we earned, can we?"

Although Ms. Hao was somewhat tempted, she immediately sobered up when she heard that money was involved.

Don't end up spending money without getting any benefits.

"The land definitely cannot be sold!"

Madam Zhou looked at Shulan and said, "My niece-in-law has such a large dowry, she must be rich. Why would she need to sell land?"

Worried that Shulan would refuse, she quickly assured her, "Don't worry, grand-niece-in-law, as long as my Bao'er becomes a minor official, he will definitely help Dalang, and he will repay every penny!"

"Grandma!"

Zhou An was worried that Shulan was too soft-hearted, and because Zhou Shi was using him as an excuse, she would find it difficult to refuse. Just as he was about to speak, Shulan reached out and stopped him.

"Grandma, men who bring women as part of their dowry will be looked down upon."

My husband is also a scholar. If word gets out, what will outsiders think?

"What if my husband's reputation is damaged because of this?" Shulan said calmly.

Zhou An looked at Shulan in surprise, realizing that he had underestimated her.