Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 69 Casual Chat Between Husband and Wife

"mother!"

Zhou An quickly pulled his mother back, saying, "If you go out and argue with her now, it will only attract more people to watch the show."

"So we're just going to let her go around cursing and ruining our family's reputation?" Madam Hao's face turned ashen with anger.

"Don't worry, the magistrate should know by now that my son has passed the imperial examination, and he won't let her cause such a scene," Zhou An said.

He didn't have a good solution for Zhou's tantrum for the time being.

If someone is cursing you outside, you can't exactly send someone to beat them up and drive them away, can you?

With so many people watching, doing this would actually be more disadvantageous for him.

However, the county magistrate probably won't let Zhou continue making trouble like this.

When someone from Qinghe County passes the imperial examination, it is a significant achievement for the county magistrate.

The purpose of being an official is simply to protect the territory and its people, and to educate the populace.

The fact that more scholars pass the imperial examinations in the areas under its jurisdiction is a manifestation of education and moral progress.

Although it is said that even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes, these kinds of conflicts between relatives are the most difficult to handle.

But Zhou had married into another county and was no longer from Qinghe County. How could the county magistrate allow Zhou to cause such a scene and ruin Zhou An's reputation?

He couldn't wait for Zhou An to pass the imperial examination next year and achieve top honors.

"Sigh, let's just wait and see. Having such a relative is the worst luck imaginable," Hao sighed.

Zhou An said, "Mother, let's find Father and talk about moving to Tongzhou."

"My lord, why don't we ask my father? Perhaps he can help," Shulan said.

"Um?"

Zhou An's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He couldn't think of a solution to this kind of problem, but Sheng Wei might be able to.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Sheng Wei supports the third branch of the Sheng family. It takes more than just money to keep them from taking advantage of him and to keep them obedient.

Human greed is insatiable; the Sheng family has many members in its third branch. Surely there must be one who is greedy?

"Mother, I have passed the imperial examination and must go to my in-laws' house to share the good news. I will also take this opportunity to ask my father-in-law for advice and see if he has any good ideas."

"You should send someone to fetch your father back first. If your father-in-law can help, we won't move. If not, we'll move to Tongzhou," Zhou An said after thinking for a moment.

"But you just got back and aren't prepared at all. How can you go like this?" Hao said.

Shulan said, "Mother, I knew my husband was coming back, so I had someone prepare gifts."

Upon hearing this, Madam Hao exclaimed happily, "Shulan, you've really thought this through! It's truly a blessing for the Zhou family to marry you!"

Seeing that Madam Hao was not angry, Shulan smiled and said, "What are you saying, Mother-in-law? It is my good fortune to marry into the Zhou family."

Zhou An was pleased to see the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law praising each other, which showed that they had been getting along very well during this period.

Since ancient times, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has been a major source of family conflicts.

However, he had to interrupt their mutual flattery, saying, "I also bought some gifts in Tongzhou, I'll bring them with me later."

"Okay, then you should go back to your rooms, pack your things, and get going."

Madam Hao said, "I'll send someone to bring your father back!"

Zhou An and Shulan bid farewell to Madam Hao and left the main hall.

Lu Zhou An asked with some doubt, "Wife, when did Father become so fascinated with listening to storytelling?"

Storytellers have existed since ancient times, and they mainly tell stories about history and ghosts.

So-called history is not all official history; much of it consists of unofficial history.

Many of the novels from the Ming and Qing dynasties that followed were actually compiled from those popular stories.

Many historical novels were formed in this way.

Many teahouses have storytellers, and skilled storytellers can even make up their own stories.

"My father-in-law was usually bored and liked to go out for a stroll. After a while, he became fond of it and even thought about opening a teahouse and hiring a storyteller to tell stories."

I just hadn't found a suitable shop yet. I had someone find out that there was a suitable shop for sale, and I've already bought it.

"I'm just worried that my father-in-law might overthink it, so I haven't told him yet. You can give it to him later, sir," Shulan said.

"My wife is so kind!"

Zhou An was deeply moved upon hearing this; Shulan's consideration was truly thorough.

"It's all I should do," Shulan smiled.

The couple chatted idly all the way back to the courtyard, where Yu Jie'er ran out with a joyful expression.

"Big brother, you're finally back!"

Yu Jie rushed forward, intending to hug Zhou An, but stopped just before reaching him. She placed her hands on her waist, squatted slightly, and performed a curtsy.

"Greetings, elder brother!"

"Yo!"

Zhou An smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Yu'er, your etiquette is quite proper, thank you for your trouble, madam!"

"That's because Sister Yu is willing to learn," Shulan said with a smile.

"Oops, I've messed up my hair."

Yu Jie'er struggled free and glared at him with displeasure.

"Did you miss me?" Zhou An asked with a smile.

Yu Jie nodded: "I do miss him, but the one who misses my older brother the most is my sister-in-law. I've often seen her lost in thought these past few days. I told my mother, and she said that my sister-in-law misses my older brother."

"Sister Yu, what nonsense are you talking about?" Shulan blushed instantly upon hearing this, too embarrassed to look at Zhou An.

"I'm not lying..."

"alright!"

Yu Jie'er wanted to argue, but Zhou An quickly interrupted her, saying, "Go and play first. I need to change my clothes and go back to my sister-in-law's parents' home. I'll give you your gift when I get back."

"Oh well!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Jie'er didn't make a fuss and went off to play with her little maid.

The couple entered the house, and Shulan instructed, "Go quickly and bring me the ivory-colored dress I made."

"Yes!" The maid Cuiliu responded and left.

Shulan then helped Zhou An take off his outer garment, and after the maid brought him his clothes, she helped him put them on.

"I made it according to your previous measurements, but it's still a little big. It seems you suffered a lot during the provincial examination; you've lost a lot of weight."

Shulan felt a pang of sympathy and stepped forward to straighten his collar.

Zhou An reached out and took her hand, looking down at her, and said, "My wife, I missed you!"

He didn't know what kind of feelings he had for Shulan, but he had thought about her a lot during this time, especially when it was late at night.

Perhaps it was because he had gotten used to holding her as he fell asleep at night, or perhaps he had developed feelings for her.

But none of that matters; once you've thought about it, you've thought about it.

"My lord..."

Shulan was also moved by his words.

Zhou An lowered his head and kissed her.

.........

"Alright, they're all your maids, what's there to be embarrassed about?"

Inside the carriage, Zhou An saw Shulan looking down like an ostrich and couldn't help but tease her.

"My lord also said!"

Shulan glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed, and the blush on her face deepened again.

"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore!"

Zhou An's smile faded, and he asked seriously, "Wife, do you think Father and Mother would be willing to go to Tongzhou?"

"My in-laws had just settled into life in Qinghe, and now they're asking them to move to Tongzhou. They definitely don't want to."

Shulan thought for a moment and said, "Tongzhou is not the same as Qinghe County. You won't be able to adapt to it in a short time."

"The student of Tongzhou Xuezheng was a student of Hu Xueshi, a lecturer at the Imperial Academy in Bianjing. Hu Xueshi and Lu Jiaoyu were also old friends."

Zhou An said, "Before I returned, I visited Scholar Hu. He said that after returning to his hometown, he would teach at Tongzhou Academy for a period of time and invited me to attend his classes."

Next year is the imperial examination, and I definitely want to try. Since this has happened, I thought we should just move the whole family to Tongzhou.