"Why are you in the yard and not in the house?"

Shen Xiaoniang said calmly, “The light in the yard is good, I can teach Ming’er to recognize a few words.”

Seeing that their room was pitch black, the scumbag dad subconsciously asked, "Why don't you light a candle?"

"It's all gone."

"Isn't it just the beginning of the month?" The scumbag dad was surprised.

"It was just a small piece, and I used it up when I got up at night," said An Chunming.

The scumbag dad remembered that he was the one who made the rule.

He didn't feel embarrassed at all, so he took Shen Xiaoniang's hand and walked into the house.

In the dark room, the scumbag father thought about it and asked the servant to bring a thicker candle.

After the candles were lit, he looked at the simple room and endured it again and again.

Still couldn't help but ask, "Is your room so badly decorated?"

The broken tables and broken stools make it look just like where the country folk live.

"Could it be that the madam has withheld your things?" he asked with a sullen face.

A hint of sarcasm flashed through Shen Xiaoniang's heart, and she replied meekly, "Madam didn't deduct anything from us mother and son. Madam treated us very well, and everyone is treated like this."

"The master doesn't come often, so naturally the treatment is worse."

The scumbag dad didn’t react at first that Shen Xiaoniang would actually say good things to Dong Shuangyan.

"Do you think Madam treats you very well?" How could that jealous woman deserve such praise?

Shen Xiaoniang nodded and said, “Madam, it’s hard to manage the family, but she is relatively fair in her work.”

At least he always had a cold face towards any concubine, but he never used any dirty tricks.

The treatment set by the madam is naturally the same, but how it is divided among the people below depends entirely on the attitude of the master of the mansion.

The scumbag dad looked a little ugly.

Seeing this, Shen Xiaoniang changed the subject in time, and his expression recovered.

If I hadn't asked for anything from him...

"Master, Ming'er is ten years old now, and he can't even read a few words yet. Do you think it would be possible to send him to a private school for a few years?"

"It's not for the imperial examination. I just don't want him to grow up without knowing a few words."

The fee for taking the imperial examination was five hundred taels, and Shen Xiaoniang knew that the other party would definitely not give her this money.

She just wanted her son to learn a few words. She never dared to hope for the family property. She knew her son would have to be self-reliant after he grew up.

It is always easier to make a living if you know how to read than if you don't.

If the other party hadn't mentioned Dong Shuangyan, the scumbag father might have agreed after waking up.

It’s just that I didn’t enjoy the meal tonight, and after coming here, I heard Shen Xiaoniang say good things about the other party.

"So what if I can't read? If I can't read, I can't do business. Think about how I used to travel all over the country and still made our family business bigger and bigger."

Shen Xiaoniang was not one of those ignorant women, and she rolled her eyes secretly.

And the business is growing bigger and bigger? If it weren't for the wife's help...

In the end, nothing happened, and the scumbag father didn't even want to pay the annual salary of five taels of silver.

His original intention to stay with Shen Xiaoniang faded, and he left without saying a few words.

What chilled Shen Xiaoniang and her son the most was that right after their scumbag father left, the servants around him took away the candles that were used to light the room.

The mother and son looked at each other in bewilderment in the dark night.

"Mom, it doesn't matter if I don't go to private school. You can read, right? I can just learn from you." An Chunming said sensibly.

Shen Xiaoniang sighed, “Mother only recognizes those few words. After I hand them in tomorrow, you’ll be gone.”

An Chunming remembered the help that Dong Shuangyan and her son had given him, and his elder brother's promise to him to go to them if he had any problems.

"Mom, Madam helped us last time, and my eldest brother also said that I could go to him if I had any problems. Do you think we should go and ask Madam for help?"

Shen Xiaoniang shook her head, without any expectations in her heart.

"No, no legitimate wife would be willing to help a concubine."

Helping the concubine's son is even more impossible.

The light in An Chunming's eyes completely dimmed.

In her previous life, when Shen Xiaoniang mentioned this matter, she was not angry with Dong Shuangyan and An Jingzhi.

Different situations call for different mindsets.

If you are in a bad mood, you will naturally be unwilling to agree to anything.

Especially now that the business is suffering, many pieces of linen are piled up in the warehouse and cannot be sold. Some of the things he did sell were still sold with the help of Dong Shuangyan, whom he hated. He is even more unwilling to have any unnecessary expenses.

The next morning, the scumbag father did not have dinner with the mother and son.

Dong Shuangyan called the housekeeper to the mansion and asked, "Where was the master last night?"

The housekeeper hesitated for a moment and said, "Rest in Qin Xiaoniang's room and leave after breakfast in the morning."

Even though I have given up on the other person, there are still some waves in my heart.

"Okay, I understand. You can go down."

The butler withdrew respectfully.

The housekeeper Old Yang was originally recruited into the mansion by Dong Shuangyan, and now his son Xiao Yang is the housekeeper for An Jingzhi.

An Jingzhi also demonstrated outstanding business talent, and his son often praised him when he came home.

Emotionally and logically, he would favor Dong Shuangyan.

An Jingzhi, however, found it a little strange. Logically speaking, today should be the day when the original owner officially started attending private school.

The reason why he remembered it so clearly was because this incident was the beginning of pain for the original owner.

It was because An Chunming started attending a private school and showed extraordinary talent that his scumbag father paid more and more attention to him, and the mother and son became increasingly marginalized.

It is too early to rely on his mother to exchange for the title, and it will not be accomplished in a short time.

With his current business, if someone can follow suit and share a piece of the meat, it won't attract too much attention.

But if the business grows bigger and bigger, it may attract some people's attention.

Their family needs a protective umbrella.

An Chunming is the best candidate.

Even if he only passed the exam and became a small scholar, people would still be cautious in this remote Zeyun County.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Mom, Chunming is already ten years old, why don't you send him to a private school?"

"That's something your father needs to consider. If he's not anxious, why should I be anxious?" Dong Shuangyan said.

"Mom, what do you think of Chunming and his mother?"

Ever since he had decided to train someone for his son, Dong Shuangyan and he had someone observe Shen Xiaoniang and her son.

"He's an honest and upright person. Her son is indeed very smart, but I don't know what his character is like." Don't let him become an ungrateful person.

Compared with other concubines, the mother and son are indeed well-behaved and do not cause trouble. It can even be said that they are too quiet.

An Jingzhi suddenly thought and said, "Mom, how about sending Chunming to school? You know your son is not cut out for studying, and that's how his life will be."

"But our family's business may grow bigger and bigger, and it is inevitable that it will be coveted by those with ulterior motives. If there is a scholar in our family, those people will think twice before taking action."

Dong Shuangyan said jokingly, "You can't even concentrate on reading, so how do you know that An Chunming can?"

"Besides, the imperial examination costs five hundred taels of silver. All this property will be yours from now on. Are you willing to give away five hundred taels of silver?"