Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 28 Warmth

"Big Brother!"

Seeing that her husband had been gone for a while without making a sound, Hao went out to check on him with some concern.

Upon seeing Zhou An, his eyes reddened with excitement. He ran up to him, pulled him close, and looked him over. Finally, he said the same thing as Zhou Li.

"You've lost so much weight, you must have suffered a lot!"

"..."

Zhou An suddenly realized that parents who haven't seen their children for a long time might notice that they've lost weight when they finally meet again.

Seeing that his mother was choking up as she spoke, he quickly comforted her.

"Alright, let's go inside. It's so cold outside," Zhou Li said.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Hao hurriedly pulled Zhou An into the house, and was about to ask a question when she saw Shi Tou and Jiang Fan walk in, and she was stunned.

"Mother, they are..."

Zhou An introduced Shi Tou and the others, and then, realizing that there wasn't enough room at home, told them to put down their luggage and stay at an inn in town for the night.

Zhou Li saw the two out, gave them directions, closed the courtyard gate, and hurriedly returned to the main room.

Zhou Angang learned from his mother that his younger sister had gone to sleep. When his father returned, he briefly recounted his experiences over the past few days.

"Are you hungry? Let me cook you a bowl of noodles," said Madam Hao.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mother. I've been craving this for a long time."

Zhou An knew that if his mother did anything else, she would be even more unhappy.

"Wait a minute, Mom will make it for you right away!"

As she spoke, Ms. Hao got up and went to the kitchen.

"The betrothal gifts were given a month ago, and your wedding is in ten days. The house in the city is almost ready. Go to the city tomorrow and see if there's anything else that needs to be decorated," Zhou Li said.

"I'll go tomorrow morning and pay a visit to Instructor Lu." Zhou An nodded.

His wedding date was set for the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. It must be said that ancient weddings were very convenient for the groom, as he didn't have to be involved in the betrothal ceremonies or anything like that.

"Yes, I have to go. I'll take the train to send you there tomorrow morning."

"Father, after I get married, let's move our whole family to the city."

"You can stay in the city; we still have land at home. Your mother and I will stay in Youyang."

Zhou Li was just an ordinary citizen. Although Zhou An had explained, he felt like an outsider when his son got married. The house was given to him by his in-laws, and he always felt like a son-in-law who had moved into his wife's family home.

He was already feeling awkward, so he had no desire to move into the house his in-laws had given him.

"father."

Zhou An said helplessly, "It would be unfilial of me to live in the city and leave you all in Youyang. In that case, not only would you be barred from the imperial examinations, but you would also lose your current academic titles!"

"Is it that serious?" Zhou Li was startled upon hearing this.

"Of course, the imperial court has very strict requirements for filial piety. As a scholar, I must not give anyone any reason to criticize me."

Zhou An wasn't trying to scare his father; in the Confucian system, the requirements for filial piety are already very high.

After Emperor Wu of Han promoted Confucianism as the sole state ideology, those in power began to link filial piety with loyalty.

The emperor was embarrassed to proclaim that everyone should be loyal to the royal family, but he could promote filial piety.

When loyalty and filial piety are linked, and filial piety is vigorously promoted, loyalty naturally takes root in people's hearts as well.

It is precisely because those in power have shifted the focus from filial piety to loyalty that the so-called filial piety of ancient times has reached a pathological state.

Filial piety and lack thereof are no longer a matter of perception between children and parents.

The parents felt that their children were not unfilial, and the children did not feel that they were unfilial either.

But if others perceive you as unfilial, then you are unfilial.

For scholars, once they are branded as unfilial, their future is completely ruined.

"Then let's move."

Although Zhou Li was somewhat reluctant, he was even more unwilling to let his son be affected because of him.

Zhou An smiled slightly upon hearing this. On his way back, he had been considering the issue of his parents' resettlement.

Regardless of whether he passed the provincial examination after the New Year, he wanted to continue studying at Jinling Academy.

After studying in Jinling for more than half a year, he realized that if he wanted to pass the imperial examination, he could not stay in Qinghe.

Even in later generations, people consider educational resources when studying, let alone in ancient times when the purpose of studying was to become an official.

Their vision and social atmosphere are far superior to those of a small place like Qinghe County.

He was somewhat worried about leaving his parents in Youyang.

He had achieved official rank, and his parents were honest people. Living in the city, no one would bother them, and their safety was guaranteed.

After Hao made the noodles and waited for Zhou An to eat them, she brought him hot water and urged him to wash up and rest.

"I figured you should be back by now. The bedding was just washed a few days ago. Before it snowed, I put it outside to air every day."

"Thank you for your hard work, Mother. If I become an official in the future, I will earn you an imperial title and bring you honor."

"What is an imperial edict?" Hao asked, puzzled.

"Forehead…"

Zhou An thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's similar to an official position, but you get a salary and don't have to do any work."

The term "诰命夫人" (a title for a woman of high rank) implies that a woman of high rank and a salary is appropriate.

"Stop trying to make me happy. These imperial titles must be very rare, otherwise how could the court afford to support so many idle people?"

Madam Hao smiled and said, "I'll be satisfied as long as you give me a grandson soon after you get married."

"..."

Why is it like this in every era? People start pressuring each other to have children before they're even married?

"Mother, you should go to sleep."

Zhou An said, "I'll soak for a while longer and then go to sleep."

"Then push the foot bath water a little further away later, so the blanket doesn't fall in in the middle of the night. I'll empty it tomorrow morning."

"understood."

After his mother left, Zhou An soaked his feet for a while, dried them, poured out the water, turned off the light, and went to bed.

The bedding still smelled of sunshine, and he fell asleep soon after.

The next day, Zhou An woke up to Yu Jie'er's scream.

They chattered excitedly around Zhou An, telling him how much they missed him and about the situation at home.

Zhou An was deeply moved and took out the gift he had brought for her.

The silver lock, weighing half a pound, was exquisitely crafted.

It wasn't that Zhou An was arrogant, but rather that the gold and silver locks that were common these days were all made this big.

When he went to the shop to choose, he couldn't find any small ones at all, unless he found a craftsman to make one himself.

The little girl received the silver lock and ran out happily to show it off to Madam Hao.

Not long after, Madam Hao came over and gave Zhou An a lecture, mainly about how such a large silver lock was too conspicuous and unsafe.

Zhou An then took out the gifts he had prepared for his parents.

The mother received a silver hairpin, while the father received a deerskin hat.

He had no choice; he simply didn't know what to buy.

The only jewelry men usually wear is a jade pendant, but his father would never wear one.

When Madam Hao saw the hairpin, she was so pleased with it that she stopped lecturing Zhou An.

After breakfast, Zhou An and Shi Tou got on the oxcart driven by their father and headed towards the county town, under the tearful gaze of Yu Jie'er.

"Oh, Third Sister, your eldest son is back?"

The neighbors saw this and came over to inquire about the situation.

"They just arrived last night, and now they're getting married."

"Oh right, you're going to be a mother-in-law soon."

The neighbor woman looked on with envy, and when she saw the silver hairpin in Hao's hair, she exclaimed in surprise, "This hairpin is so well made! When was it made?"

"My eldest son brought this back from Nanjing. That child is such a worry; such exquisite things must be very expensive."

Although Hao scolded him verbally, she couldn't hide the joy in her voice.

The lady suddenly felt a pang of sadness. They were both mothers, so why was there such a big difference?

I've heard those scholars say that you can't be successful without being beaten. Maybe I should go back and give my son a good beating?

I just don't know if he'll still be able to succeed if he's already in his teens and gets hit a lot more.

But Zhou Jia Dalang never fought when he was a child.