Qing Yao

Chapter 120 Is it too much to call you Grandpa?
Honestly, Lao Ding and Zhao An were about to max out the old man's credit card together. Their relationship was even closer than that of close family. Since their relationship was so good, like family, why hadn't Lao Ding let Zhao An meet his family for so long?

That's against etiquette.

They're not outsiders, right?

Zhao An is nominally married with a daughter, but in reality, he is all alone. Coming over every day is like having his whole family come together.

Old Ding's family is very prosperous. When he took office, his two sons, two daughters-in-law, five grandsons, three granddaughters, and his nephew's family all came over.

In the summer, my daughter and son-in-law came, along with the servants and attendants hired from our hometown, making a total of more than forty people.

The problem is that Zhao An has never met any of Lao Ding's many relatives, not even Lao Ding's wife.

That's going a bit too far.

Could it be that you, County Magistrate Ding, are two-faced and don't actually want to have a heart-to-heart talk with Professor Zhao?

Otherwise, why do this?
No matter the era, as a partner, there is no reason not to introduce your family to your partners, unless you have something to hide.

Old Song probably realized this as well, so he nodded and said, "Lord Zhao has indeed never met Lord Ding's family. We might as well meet them later. After all, there's nothing to hide about our close family ties."

Zhao An deeply agreed with these words and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Old Ding: "Your Excellency, although I, Zhao An, am a bit younger, I am still their elder. Rest assured, you will receive the appropriate red envelope."

The county magistrate frowned, looking at Zhao An with a wary expression. He snorted and said, "Why are you dragging my family into this when we're talking about the project? Our relationship is between you and me; there's no need for them to know."

"Too,"

Instructor Song turned to Professor Zhao, his eyes seemingly saying, "Shouldn't the fewer people who know about our relationship, the better? If that's the case, why bother dealing with Magistrate Ding's family?"

What if one of the Ding family's children is a bit loose-lipped and accidentally reveals the relationship between the three of them? That would be disastrous.

"That makes sense, but if something happens to the three of us, do you think your families will be able to escape unscathed?"

Zhao An raised an extremely serious practical problem: neither the monks nor the temples can escape.

"This"

Instructor Song's face darkened. When the city gate catches fire, how can the fish in the moat not be affected?

"Zhao An, what exactly are you trying to do?"

The county magistrate slammed the hydrological map of the Lixiahe region, presented by the workshop, onto the table, exclaiming, "utterly baffling!"

This slap startled Song Jiaoyu, who was sitting to the side, and he dared not say another word.

Seeing that the county magistrate was angry, Zhao An had no choice but to tell the truth: "I didn't mean anything by it, I just want to get married."

"what?"

Instructor Song stood there, stunned. "Doesn't Lord Zhao already have a wife?"

“That wife belongs to Zhao Youlu, not me! Besides, I didn’t want to marry her. You and Lao Ding forced her on me. Let me tell you, it’s a good thing my parents died early. Otherwise, if they knew I married a widow, they’d probably crawl out of their graves and curse me for being unfilial!”

Zhao An looked extremely aggrieved, though it was mostly fake.

It was a bit unfair; having one's virginity ruined by a woman who had given birth was bound to hurt. "Uh,"

Feeling somewhat guilty, Instructor Song thought for a moment and asked, "Then what kind of wife does Lord Zhao intend to marry?"

Zhao An didn't answer, but instead asked the county magistrate directly, "Old Ding, how many daughters do you have?"

Surprisingly, the county magistrate wasn't angry at all. He looked at the boy with a knowing expression and smugly hummed, "I only have one daughter, but I'm sorry to disappoint you, Lord Zhao, my daughter's child is already running around."

Zhao Anshun casually said, "It's alright. Boy or girl? If it's a girl, I don't mind calling you 'Father-in-law'."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the county magistrate stood up angrily, pointed at his nose, and cursed, "Zhao An, you've gone too far! Don't think that I, the county magistrate, am someone you can manipulate! If you dare to be so disrespectful again, I'll risk losing this position to make you pay!"

"Lord Zhao has gone too far. The county magistrate's son-in-law is young and promising, and he is also very well-read. He may even pass the provincial examination next year, and his future will be no worse than Lord Zhao's."

Song Jiaoyu's words only made the county magistrate more unhappy: "What? Just because my son-in-law failed the imperial examination, does this county intend to break them up and marry my daughter to Zhao An?"

Zhao An didn't stop there. Instead, he looked at the visibly annoyed county magistrate and asked, "Your daughter is grown up and there's nothing you can do about it, but can your eldest granddaughter get married?"

"You little bastard, what exactly do you want to do!"

The county magistrate grabbed a pile of documents from the table and started throwing them at Zhao An.

Surprisingly, Zhao An didn't dodge, letting a pile of papers "explode" across his face like a shower of flowers. Afterwards, he said sincerely, "Your Excellency, please don't be angry. To be honest, I just wanted to call you Grandpa."

"roll!"

The magistrate was so angry that he was about to grab something to smash again, but fortunately, Instructor Song grabbed him and said, "Your Excellency, please calm down! Your Excellency, please calm down!"

At the same time, he kept giving Professor Zhao meaningful glances: Can't you see that Lord Ding is angry with you? Hurry up and leave!
Zhao Ancai didn't leave because he came here specifically for the marriage alliance. Last night, the young lady mentioned taking a concubine, which he initially found uninteresting. However, after thinking about it carefully this morning, he realized that whether or not he took a concubine didn't matter. But if he could marry Old Ding's granddaughter, Old Ding would never be able to escape his grasp for the rest of his life.

Why insist on marrying Old Ding's granddaughter? Because the construction of water conservancy projects in Ganquan County is a major political achievement. If he's willing to spend money, Old Ding might be able to get promoted faster than him.

He's currently a county magistrate, and he has a good relationship with Lao Ding. But if he's promoted to prefect or governor, will Lao Ding still be able to maintain his original aspirations?

The human heart is the most unpredictable thing.

If Lao Ding, who has been promoted, becomes satisfied with his current life and loses the motivation to advance further, it's hard to guarantee that he won't harbor thoughts of killing Zhao An.

Therefore, we need to add another layer of insurance to the relationship between the two parties.

I call you Grandpa, but you, as his grandfather, can't possibly order someone to kill his grandson-in-law, can you?

“Lord Ding, I am a professor who has passed the imperial examination. It is not too much for me to call you grandfather, is it? Don’t think that I am trying to take advantage of you. In fact, if you are willing to marry your granddaughter to me, our relationship can last longer.”

The significance of the marriage alliance is self-evident and requires no further explanation from Zhao An.

Old Song thought it made sense, but shook his head and said, "If Lord Zhao can form a marriage alliance with Lord Ding's family, it would be a good thing. However, Lord Zhao already has a wife on the surface. It wouldn't be appropriate to ask Lord Ding's granddaughter to be your concubine, would it?"

Zhao An corrected him, "I said, that's Zhao Youlu's wife, not my wife. The one who wants to marry Lord Ding's granddaughter is Zhao An, the one standing right in front of you. Do you understand?"

After saying that, he added, "Old Ding, if you marry your granddaughter to me, Old Song and I will fully support you in climbing the social ladder."

(End of this chapter)