Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 78 Sheng Hong's Promotion

"I didn't say I wouldn't have children, I just told you not to rush it!"

Zhou An said, "These things can't be rushed; just let nature take its course."

He originally wanted to persuade Shulan to wait a few more years before having children, but seeing Shulan's reaction, his previous words were completely in vain.

Judging from Shulan's reaction, the choice between saving the mother or the child probably didn't exist in ancient times.

When faced with this kind of problem, the woman doesn't need to make a choice; she already has one herself.

This is a long-established concept that cannot be easily changed.

Anyway, he will be going to the capital to take the imperial examination after the New Year, and if he is delayed, another half a year will have passed.

At that age, even if Shulan was pregnant, there wouldn't be much danger if she was careful.

"Um."

Shulan talked to Zhou An about this topic, and her anxiety subsided a bit.

In fact, besides long-standing beliefs, the attitudes of husbands and in-laws, as well as internal conflicts, are also very important reasons why women are eager to have children.

Although Zhou An never showed any eagerness for the child, Shulan couldn't help but overthink it.

The constant internal strife almost led to a mental breakdown.

"By the way, have the servants pack up these next few days. Once I've finished dealing with some things, we'll head back to Qinghe County!" Zhou An said.

During his months in Tongzhou, he also made some friends.

Although we weren't as close as I was with Guan Yan, I still had to treat them to a meal to say goodbye before I left.

He also wanted to see Hu Yuan off.

"Okay, I understand." Shulan nodded.

……

Zhou An spent half an hour reading in the study before returning to his bedroom.

The weather cooled down in the evening, and Shulan wore a thin shirt with a bellyband embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water that was faintly visible.

Upon seeing Zhou An return, she personally went to the washroom to serve him a bath.

As a result, the washing took nearly half an hour. Zhou An carried the exhausted Shulan out of the washroom.

At this moment, her clothes had disappeared.

The couple went to bed and lay down, and the maid turned off the light and left.

Zhou An hugged Shulan, and just as he closed his eyes, he felt her hand reach out to him.

"My wife, you were just begging for mercy."

Zhou An made a joke, but he was also quite surprised by Shulan's initiative.

The two have been married for more than half a year, and now Shulan is no longer so shy when they enjoy intimate moments in the bedroom.

But most of the time she was passive; she neither refused nor objected to whatever Zhou An wanted to do, but she never took the initiative to ask for a fight.

"My lord, I... I think my inability to conceive might be related to always being in the bathroom. We... we..."

Shulan's voice was barely audible, filled with shyness, but in the end, we couldn't bring ourselves to say it even after several attempts.

Zhou An chuckled inwardly. Indeed, except for the first month after arriving in Tongzhou, when the weather got hotter, he always took a bath in the washroom tub.

It's not as hot this way, and it's easy to clean up afterwards.

Seeing that Shulan was so anxious she was almost crying, Zhou An whispered a few words in her ear.

After listening, Shulan hesitated for a moment, and then Zhou An felt her move.

"My lord, I'm ready, come quickly."

Shulan's voice was full of shyness, and her hesitant tone was like the sound of a battle horn.

In the darkness, Zhou An gently touched Shulan's body and got up...

……

The next day, since he didn't have to go to class, Zhou An slept in, which was a rare treat.

When he got up for breakfast, a servant led Guan Yan, who looked anxious, into the room.

"Huai De, Scholar Hu is leaving; he's already at the dock!"

Guan Yan disregarded his own politeness and hurriedly greeted Zhou An upon seeing him.

"What?"

Zhou An was startled upon hearing this, and quickly put down his chopsticks and stood up, saying, "My wife, I'll be going now!"

After saying that, he grabbed Guan Yan and hurriedly left the house.

On the way to the dock, Guan Yan recounted the situation.

It turns out that Guan Shuo had planned a farewell banquet for Hu Yuan last night, but Hu Yuan refused.

Early this morning, Hu Yuan went to Tongzhou Wharf without notifying anyone.

Upon learning the news, Guan Shuo sent people to summon all the officials in Tongzhou to the dock.

After Guan Yan arrived, he came to find Zhou An.

But when they arrived at the dock, they saw Tongzhou officials of all ranks standing there, watching a ship sail away.

By this time, the boat had entered the Yangtze River, and a person could be vaguely seen standing on the bow, who looked like Hu Yuan.

"Greetings, Prefect Guan! Greetings, esteemed officials!" Zhou An and Guan Yan bowed respectfully.

"Scholar Hu said he disliked parting, so he didn't inform anyone," Guan Shuo said.

"Huai De!"

Du You stepped forward, patted Zhou An on the shoulder, and said, "Our teacher said that you will meet again when you go to the capital for the imperial examinations, so there's no need to be sad!"

"The student understands!"

Zhou An nodded, stepped forward, bowed deeply towards the direction of the ship, and said, "This student sees off Scholar Hu!"

The strict parent followed suit and also paid his respects.

"I've made all the arrangements. You can stay at the academy and study from now on!" Du You said.

Zhou An said, "Thank you for your kind offer, Scholar Du, but I have been away from home for many days, and I will be going to the capital to take the imperial examination after the New Year. I would like to return home to be with my parents and fulfill my filial duties!"

Du You was silent for a moment before saying, "Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important. Since you've thought it through, I won't keep you any longer!"

.........

Hu Yuan has left, so there's no need for Zhou An to stay in Tongzhou any longer.

That evening, he hosted a banquet for several scholars with whom he had a good relationship at Tongzhou Academy. The next day, he left Tongzhou with the strict supervision of his superiors.

When Zhou An and the others returned, the happiest person was not Zhou Li and Hao Shi, but Ning Jie'er.

Before she learned to read from Shulan, Zhou An and Shulan hired someone to come to their home to teach her to read before they went to Tongzhou.

The Great Zhou Dynasty placed great importance on education, and there were quite a few scholars in Qinghe County.

Those who never pass the imperial examinations also need money to support their families.

Scholars naturally didn't want to farm; even if they opened a private school in a small town, they still needed to have the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination).

All they could do was provide early education for the children of wealthy families or open those kinds of schools in the countryside.

Therefore, it is not difficult to find someone to teach you to read.

Zhou An invited back an old scholar who was over fifty years old and still hadn't passed the county examination.

He's not a bad person, but he's quite old-fashioned.

The teaching methods were also much stricter than Shulan's, which made things very difficult for Yu Jie'er.

When Zhou An and Shulan returned, she thought she could finally escape her misery.

However, Zhou An did not do that, but instead let the old scholar continue to teach Yu Jie'er.

If he passes the exam next year, he will have to take Shulan with him to take up his post after being appointed to an official position.

We will come to pick up our parents after we have settled in.

Moreover, it depends on the place of employment. If it is a remote area, it would be better to let the parents stay in Qinghe.

We'll dismiss the old scholar now, but we'll have to hire him again later.

After spending a day at home with his parents and catching up on each other's lives, Zhou An and Shulan visited the Sheng family the next day with gifts.

Sheng Wei has returned from Bianjing and is very happy to see his daughter and son-in-law back.

After paying his respects to the old lady, he led Zhou An to the main hall.

"My dear son-in-law, your uncle's assignment has been decided. He will be transferred to the capital to serve as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. He will be able to take up his post in the capital after the New Year." Sheng Wei said with a smile.

Sheng Hong's current rank is sixth grade. After being transferred to the capital, his rank remained the same, only his duties changed.

In terms of power alone, the position of Shangshu Tai Ren is clearly inferior to that of the Tongpan of Yangzhou.

In other dynasties, the Secretariat was the true central government.

However, this dynasty merged the Secretariat and the Chancellery into the highest institution of the court, rendering the Secretariat virtually defunct.

But for those who want better career prospects, power is secondary as long as they can get a government position in Beijing.