Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

When Old Madam Sheng saw that Zhou Ning had agreed and that his demands were reasonable, but that the compensation was a bit too much, she was very displeased, even though the Sheng family had made a mistake first.

"Mother, Mo'er is born out of wedlock. I can only find a husband for her among the scholars, so that she won't be bullied by her husband's family like Hua'er did. Zhou Ning's family is clean and his background is well-known. I am very satisfied with him. Mother, please grant my request?" Sheng Hong pleaded.

Grandma Sheng looked at Minglan and, seeing that the little girl didn't seem disappointed, said, "You are the head of the household. Since you've spoken up, then this old woman will be your witness. But this is ultimately a matter of the inner quarters, and you've kept it from your mistress. If things get out of hand, don't blame me for not warning you."

Sheng Hong agreed repeatedly and prepared to go find Chang Bai and ask him to bring Zhou Ning to him!

"Wait! There's something I need to make clear. You're always busy, and that girl Mo Lan isn't someone I keep around. If she really does something scandalous and disgraceful, tarnishing the reputation of the women in the Sheng family, then you'll have to ask the eldest son's family for the money to buy the mansion yourself!" Old Madam Sheng made her position clear.

Although she had a considerable amount of dowry left, she needed it for her old age and also to leave it to Minglan as her dowry. How could she possibly pay the price for Linxi Pavilion's mistakes!

"Mother, rest assured, Mo'er is well-educated and reasonable, and will certainly not do anything to bring shame to the Sheng family," Sheng Hong said confidently.

After Sheng Hong left, Old Madam Sheng pulled Minglan to her side.

"Tell me, what are you thinking? Actually, that Wen-ge from the He family isn't bad either."

Minglan leaned against the old lady and smiled, "Grandmother, I was thinking, if Zhou Ning really wanted to be engaged to Fourth Sister, why would he propose such an absurd compensation? No matter what happens in the future, it's just an engagement for now. I want to stay with you for another two years!"

Grandma Sheng hugged her and said, "Good! Grandma will miss you too! In the Great Zhou Dynasty, men only have their 'coming-of-age ceremony' when they turn 20. Although it is allowed for men between 15 and 20 to have the ceremony earlier depending on the circumstances, Zhou Ning is still a bit too young. You can stay with Grandma a little longer!"

"grandmother......"

Zhou Mansion!

"Brother Changbai is here? Xiaoqing, lead him to the study and serve tea! Xiaoma, quickly go to Fanlou and buy the best pastries! Litou, go and serve him, wait for me to come!" Zhou Ning instructed.

Xiao Mei and Xiao Zhu were busy helping Zhou Ning get dressed when he got up!

Recently, Zhou Ning has been sleeping day and night, spending all her time sleeping during the day.

study!

"Brother Changbai, I've kept you waiting." Zhou Ning bowed.

Sheng Changbai returned the greeting and said, "Father sent me to find you, saying that Grandmother wants to see you and invites you to the mansion for a chat. Also, I have carefully memorized everything that Scholar Zhuang taught in class these past five days, and I was planning to have a servant bring it to you, but I can give it to you personally now."

"Thank you very much, brother! Since the old lady has invited us, we shouldn't keep her waiting. Please, then!"

Sheng Changbai took a sip of tea and said, "Alright, then let's talk as we walk. The imperial examinations are just around the corner, why did you suddenly ask for leave, and for so long...?"

Shouantang!

"Grandmother, Father is here too. Peng has risen!" Sheng Changbai greeted.

Sheng Hong said, "Bai'er, the imperial examination is just around the corner. Go back and study. Your father is here, so it'll be alright."

Sheng Changbai, unsuspecting, took his leave.

"Greetings, Madam Sheng. Greetings, Lord Sheng." Zhou Ning greeted them as he entered the room.

Old Madam Sheng said, "Do you know why I summoned you today?"

"Lord Sheng is here too. Could it be about my engagement with my fourth sister?" Zhou Ning asked knowingly.

Sheng Hong said, "I've been thinking about this these past few days. Although you... are arrogant and conceited, all you want is a virtuous and kind wife, which is not a fault. Today, with the old lady as our witness, we will finalize this marriage."

"Rest assured, Lord Sheng, as long as Fourth Sister is true to her word, I will have no objections and will certainly arrange the marriage. However, if you shatter my hopes, the matter of the mansion will affect the reputation of the Sheng family," Zhou Ning confirmed again.

Sheng Hong said, "You can rest assured, Mo'er will definitely satisfy you."

"The students are extremely grateful; Shanda is like a second parent to them..."

Grandma Sheng watched the two, one big and one small, chuckling as if they were in cahoots. After witnessing the whole thing, she chased them all away, wanting to avoid seeing them and getting annoyed.

The marriage was officially settled, but only about ten people, including the maids, knew about it!

That evening, at Linxi Pavilion!

"What? Didn't he say he didn't want to? Honglang, it's not like our Mo'er can't get married, why does it have to be him?" Lin Qinshuang broke down.

I was happy for only a few days, then I thought it was all over!

Now you're telling me it's settled?

Sheng Hong said, "Nonsense! His family has no elders. When Mo'er marries into the family, she will directly become the head of the household! Although he is only a candidate for the imperial examination now, I have read his essays. Even I may not have his insight. Passing the imperial examination will be no problem for him!"

That's just a woman's perspective!

Short-sighted!

Seeing that Sheng Hong was determined, Lin Qinshuang tried to appease him and prepared to think of another way.

......

Only two days left until the imperial examinations!

Sheng Family Private School!

"With the imperial examination approaching, today is still a practical test. I'll use this 'Confucius' Family Sayings' as a template, randomly open a page, and point to a sentence. We'll use that as the topic for our policy essays!" said Scholar Zhuang.

He flipped the page, pointed to the back, and suddenly laughed, "How fitting! Today's essay topic is: Should we establish the eldest son as heir, or the most capable and virtuous? Which is better!"

Sheng Changbai said with concern, "Sir, I'm afraid this topic is inappropriate."

Zhuang Xuejiu waved his hand and said, "No problem, no problem. These days in the capital, even teahouses often discuss this. We can talk about it behind closed doors in secret, it's no big deal. But you all, please don't tell each other."

Gu Tingye, who was most interested, spoke first: "His Majesty has no son. Among the imperial clan, Prince Yong is the oldest and has many children. He should be made the heir. What is there to argue about?"

Prince Yong's team! +1

The illegitimate son, Sheng Changfeng, was displeased and said, "The Prince of Yan is only half a year younger than the Prince of Yong. Although he only has one son, both father and son are shrewd and capable, and highly respected. Having such a wise prince as heir is also for the sake of the country and the nation."

Yanwang team! +1

Gu Tingye turned his head and said, "Being half a year younger is still being young. If the name isn't proper, then the words won't be proper. If everyone in the world valued talent, then that would be fine. But everyone insists on distinguishing between high and low, noble and base, and that's how this whole mess started."

Sheng Changfeng continued to argue, but was stopped by Zhuang Xuejiu.

"Changbai, you speak!"

"Sir, I believe that the eldest son should be established as heir..." Sheng Changbai used Qin Shi Huang as an example to illustrate the many lessons learned from abolishing the eldest son's position and establishing a younger one.

Prince Yong's team +2

Although I haven't chosen to take sides, this is my stance!

"Emperor Wu of Han was not the eldest son of the legitimate wife, but after he ascended the throne, he was able to enrich the country and strengthen its military, wipe out the Xiongnu, and establish great achievements. It can be seen that not establishing an eldest son is not necessarily a bad thing." Changfeng disagreed.

Zhou Ning was bored, and seeing that Yu Yanran hadn't come again today, he stared at Xiao Minglan next door.

Minglan seemed to sense something and, unable to bear Qi Heng's burning gaze, turned around to see what Zhou Ning was doing.

The two looked at each other, and after a moment of surprise, they both turned their heads away.

Was he/she just looking at me?

"Zhou Ning, Sixth Miss, you two speak!"

......