The Heavens: From Knowing Whether You Rule the World

Chapter 10: I have a son of the Chu family, so why do I need an earl?
Two years ago, the Tongpan of Yangzhou was transferred and the position of Tongpan became vacant. Many people tried their best to get it, but no one expected that the position would fall to an official named Sheng.

Yangzhou, Shengfu.

Shouantang

This is where the old lady of the Sheng family lives and recuperates on weekdays.

"My son is here to pay his respects to his mother!"

"I heard from the servants that Hua'er went to the shore to see Hong off?"

Old Madam Sheng was playing with a string of Buddhist beads. She was dressed in plain clothes and looked quite pure and indifferent.

Sheng Hong was startled and answered calmly, "With Changbai following them, the two of them were calm in public, and there was nothing wrong with it."

"That's fine. We've already gone through some of the necessary procedures for getting married. It's okay to give it as a present."

Old Mrs. Sheng smiled friendlyly while holding a bowl of tea.

"Haha, Hua'er is a blessed child. He will have a bright future."

After Sheng Hong bowed respectfully, he walked to the side and sat down, chatting about trivial matters with a smile.

"Since ancient times, marriage has been a very important event for women. If a woman marries well, she will live a life of wealth, peace and harmony with her husband and wife. If a woman marries poorly, her husband and wife will not get along and her life will be ruined."

Old Madam Sheng was filled with emotion. She had chosen the wrong person in a split second!
At that time, she was only attracted by Old Master Sheng's appearance, but she never expected that he was a man who favored his concubine over his wife.

Moreover, Old Master Sheng Er from the second branch of the Sheng family also favors his concubine over his wife, and the illegitimate son Sheng Hong, who was raised by her, is also a man who favors his concubine over his wife.

She even doubted whether favoring concubines over wives was a tradition of the Sheng family. Why did everyone do it?
"I have also met Hong'er several times. Hua'er is also very satisfied with him and has mentioned him to me many times. He is indeed a good match for Hua'er."

"However, marriage is a very complicated matter and it affects a woman's entire life. You must grasp it well and make no mistakes."

Sheng Hong stroked his beard and nodded, "Mother is right. Hua'er has been filial and dignified since he was young, so he needs to think carefully about marriage. The etiquette of accepting the bride price, asking for the bride's name, accepting the bride price, accepting the bride price, asking for the date, and welcoming the bride are even more complicated. It will take at least half a year to complete the whole process, so we need to grasp the matter well."

"Well, I've seen your planning over the past few years. It's really not easy."

Old Madam Sheng picked up the tea and started drinking it, looking at Sheng Hong with a kind and benevolent look.

Although her son favored his concubine and neglected his wife, and was not a qualified husband, he was definitely a good father.

"Haha, mother, you are too kind. My son just did what he should do. In the end, Huaer is a lucky child.

In our dynasty, it has always been popular for men to marry lower and women to marry higher. Hualan is the eldest daughter of our family and the first child to get married. We must set a good example. Otherwise, others will think that even the eldest daughter cannot marry higher, and how bad the children of this family must be. I am afraid that there will be some restrictions on the marriages of the children in the future."

"Two years ago, my son accidentally learned that the second son of the Earl of Zhongqin was still unmarried. The Earl of Zhongqin has fallen into decline over the years, and our family can barely marry into the family, so I planned to meet the Earl's second son, but..."

Sheng Hong couldn't help but feel happy when he said this and stroked his beard.

"The Earl of Zhongqin's Mansion is a military commander after all, and our Sheng family is a noble family. We had no choice but to choose the Earl of Zhongqin's Mansion. We can't marry the eldest daughter of the family down. Who would have thought? The year before last, the child was promoted to Yangzhou."

"The Chu family of Yangzhou is a big family in Yangzhou! Looking at the world, they can also call themselves the 'Chu family of Jiangnan'. To be honest, they are still rich and powerful. Isn't this better than that damn Earl's Mansion? The eldest son of the Earl's Mansion is already married, and the second son has no chance of getting the title. Why bother?"

When Sheng Hong said this, he looked like he had picked up a huge bargain. Who could have thought that there was such a good marriage opportunity in Yangzhou!
"Well, the Chu family is a big family in a prosperous area like Yangzhou, and Chu Hong is a promising child. It would not be surprising even if Gao married the daughter of a prime minister.

But to put it mildly, you and Chu Zhizhou are colleagues, and our Sheng family is a noble family, and the eldest daughter is barely worthy of such a family, and such a person is hard to come by."

"I should say something that I shouldn't say. It takes a daughter-in-law a hundred years to become a mother-in-law! When a woman marries into another family, she has to follow the rules. If the mother-in-law is kind, she has to follow the rules for a few years. If the mother-in-law is not kind, I even saw a daughter-in-law who followed the rules until she died. If Hualan marries into the Chu family, she won't have any trouble in this regard."

"Mother is right. Last year, Mrs. Xu from the prefectural government caught a cold. Anyway, Mrs. Xu died of the cold.

Only three months after Madam Xu passed away, the Xu family married another legitimate daughter to be the successor of Chu Zhizhou, who is now the young Madam Xu. This young Madam Xu is a person who knows what she is doing and dares not offend Zifeng at all. When Hualan married, Zifeng would protect her, so she basically didn't have to follow the rules. "

Speaking of this, Sheng Hong couldn't help but sigh. Madam Xu was the legitimate daughter of the Xu family!
Although the rumors were that it was just a cold, and everyone tacitly said it was just a cold, the Yangzhou officials naturally knew the answer in their minds as to whether it was just a cold.

That's really cruel!

In winter, when people are sweating in the sauna, they are asked to stand outside the door after they are warm, which makes people catch a cold.

The Chu family is cruel, and the Xu family is also cruel!

Even if the Xu family's reputation is too mediocre, it's not possible that the Xu family would not have any reaction after all the people were gone, right?

Madam Xu died quietly without any commotion. The Xu family even let bygones be bygones and married young Madam Xu as their second wife.

The artificial death of an eldest daughter did not affect the relationship between the two families at all.

No wonder they are a big family!

No wonder the Yangzhou needles can’t penetrate and the water can’t soak!

Old Madam Sheng was a person who had seen the world. She had seen many such "occasional colds" and she did not react much at the time.

"Hong is studious and motivated. He will most likely pass the imperial examination. Chu Zhizhou has received excellent grades in the past few years. He will probably be promoted to serve as an official in Bianjing this time. We must settle the matter during this period of time. If we delay for too long, something unexpected may happen."

Old Madam Sheng solemnly advised that it was okay for men to get married and start a family a little later, but women really couldn't wait. Her granddaughter would be a jade-like age by the beginning of spring, and one day older or younger after the age of 15 would have completely different meanings, so at this time, there must be no mistakes in the marriage.

"Don't worry, mother. But it's not certain that Brother Chu will be an official in Bianjing!"

"Oh?"

Old Madam Sheng raised her eyebrows and looked at Sheng Hong in surprise. Before Sheng Hong could say anything, she suddenly realized something.

"Avoid suspicion in the same dynasty once?"

Sheng Hong nodded repeatedly. The father and son served in different dynasties, which meant that one was an official in the central government and the other could only be an official in the local area. Basically, this thing existed in every dynasty.

However, the laws of the Zhou Dynasty were that a father and son only needed to avoid suspicion once when they served in the same court. If one was an official in the capital and the other was an official in the local area, and they continued to divide the land for more than three years, they would be considered to have avoided suspicion.

After avoiding suspicion for the first time, father and son could serve as officials in the same court.

"With Zifeng's talent and reputation, and the favor of Han Zhang, I'm afraid he will be a top-ranking Hanlin in the future. In our dynasty, only Jinshi can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only Hanlin can enter the cabinet, which shows how noble the Hanlin officials are.

If that child really won the first place, the path he would take would be completely different. He would be on the path of becoming a Hanlin and a prime minister, and the first step would be to spend three years as a Hanlin editor.

Brother Bogui meant to wait and see how Zifeng performs in the imperial examination before making a decision. If Zifeng does well, he will stay in the local area for another three years, thus avoiding suspicion. If Zifeng fails and is sent out after the imperial examination, he will go to Beijing to serve as an official next year, thus avoiding suspicion once again.

Although Sheng Hong favors his concubine over his wife, he is quite talented in being an official. He knows everything he should know and is a genuine veteran in the officialdom.

"Yes, that's the truth. It's better to avoid such things as early as possible. Otherwise, if the censor catches you and impeaches you, your promotion at a critical moment will be ruined. It's better to avoid it early!"

Old Madam Sheng was also well versed in the rules of officialdom and immediately agreed.

"In this case, my lord, please discuss this with Governor Chu. It is time to make plans."

"Don't worry, mother. Take advantage of this time to slowly go through the necessary procedures. When Zifeng returns from the imperial examination, Hua'er will be married soon."

"Well, I can rest assured that you can do things."

(End of this chapter)