"Recommending poets?" Qin Chuan immediately became interested and pulled up a chair for Su Ruyan, urging her, "Wife, tell me quickly, what's this 'recommending poets' thing?"
After Su Ruyan sat down, she slowly said:
"Those with poetic talent are given special treatment in the court. As long as one can compose poetry and is recommended by court officials, one may be summoned by Her Majesty the Empress. After Her Majesty the Empress personally sets the examination questions, if one can satisfy Her Majesty the Empress, one may be able to get an official position."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan perked up and summarized:
"In other words, two conditions must be met: first, a court official must recommend you, and second, Her Majesty the Empress must personally assess you."
“That’s right,” Su Ruyan nodded slowly and continued, “However, those who can meet Her Majesty the Empress can also gain some benefits. Even if Her Majesty is not satisfied, she will reward them with some money or recruit them as students of the Imperial Academy, whose status is equivalent to that of a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations).
"Such preferential treatment..." Qin Chuan rubbed his hands together, eager to try.
It's just writing poetry, what's so difficult about that...
You can memorize 300 Tang poems even if you can't compose them.
Su Ruyan supported Qin Chuan's desire to become an official. Since Qin Chuan was a talented poet and the Su family was a family of officials, they could provide some assistance to his career.
Speaking of this, Su Ruyan seemed to suddenly remember something and discussed it with Qin Chuan:
"By the way, Father has always had the idea of having a son-in-law marry into our Su family. I think Father is quite satisfied with you, and he may talk to you about this soon."
"Marrying into the family?"
Qin Chuan was stunned. He hadn't expected Su Ruyan to tell him about this.
And judging from her expression, she didn't seem to care much about his choice.
Qin Chuan has no parents and no ties in this life. It's not impossible for him to marry into the family, but thinking of the expressions on the faces of Madam Yan, Su Ruxue, Su Ruhua, and others, he knows that "when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head." His life as a son-in-law will probably not be easy...
As if seeing through Qin Chuan's worries, Su Ruyan took his hand, placed her fair and jade-like hand in his palm, and held it tightly. "Husband, I will follow you. As the saying goes, 'A woman follows her husband wherever he goes,' and I will support whatever decision you make."
After speaking, her delicate body, exuding a faint, refreshing fragrance, involuntarily leaned against Qin Chuan, resting her head on his shoulder...
...
Qin Chuan thought the Su family wouldn't discuss the matter of him marrying into the family so soon, at least not in the next few days. After all, he had only been married to Su Ruyan for a few days, and Madam Yan was still not very satisfied with him.
Unexpectedly, just after Su Ruyan mentioned this matter during the day, Qin Chuan received a message from Su Zhi Qiu that evening, requesting to meet with him alone.
Having prepared himself, Qin Chuan arrived at Su Zhi Qiu's study. Su Zhi Qiu was dressed in casual home clothes, with a flowing beard and piercing eyes, clearly a handsome man in his youth.
"Please sit down."
Su Zhi Qiu said, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.
Qin Chuan sat down, and the atmosphere in the room immediately became solemn.
Su Zhi Qiu exuded an aura of authority befitting a long-time official, which made Qin Chuan feel a sense of pressure.
"Knowing Yan'er as I do," Su Zhi Qiu said slowly, picking up her teacup, taking a sip, "she should have already told you about this..."
Qin Chuan knew he was referring to the matter of marrying into the family. Although he had already prepared his refusal, it would be inappropriate to speak now, so he remained silent and continued to listen.
"Your Da Hong Pao is quite nice..." Su Zhi Qiu licked her lips and praised, then continued, "Do you know why my Su family seeks a son-in-law to live with us?"
Qin Chuan actually guessed about 80-90% of it, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he shook his head and pretended not to know.
In fact, it's obvious to everyone that the Su family has five daughters but no sons, a fact that has been the subject of much discussion for a long time. It's also common knowledge that the head of the Su family intends to find a son-in-law to marry into the family.
However, for various reasons, the Su family has repeatedly failed to find a son-in-law to marry into their family.
Su Zhi Qiu glanced at him with deep eyes and chuckled: "Hidden talent? You are very smart, but not speaking up when you should is also a mistake."
"Father-in-law..."
Qin Chuan was about to speak when Su Zhi Qiu interrupted him: "I don't blame you. You've never been in officialdom and don't understand the ins and outs, so it doesn't matter."
Then, Su Zhi Qiu stopped probing Qin Chuan and said to herself, "You already know why I want to find a son-in-law, so I won't bother to explain."
"The reason I called you here today is to ask you a question..."
"Would you be willing to marry into my Su family?"
After Su Zhi Qiu finished speaking, she looked at Qin Chuan calmly, waiting for his reply.
Qin Chuan shook his head.
Receiving this predictable answer, Su Zhi Qiu sighed, and then, with a hint of reluctance, asked, "You really don't want to?"
Qin Chuan pondered for a moment and said, "Thank you for your kind offer, Father-in-law. It's not that I'm unwilling to marry into the Su family, but I simply cannot. I'm sure you know my background better than I do myself..."
Hearing this, Su Zhi Qiu's gaze deepened once more. After a long silence, she finally nodded with a sigh, saying, "I understand..."
Seeing that he understood his predicament, Qin Chuan did not want to disappoint his father-in-law, so he told him about his idea of buying a house and land in Jiangzhou City.
"This is also to facilitate future interactions between the two families, and to make it easier for Yan'er to frequently visit her parents' home..."
Qin Chuan revealed half of his true thoughts, but left the other half unsaid: Jiangzhou, as a hub connecting nine provinces, boasts extremely developed water and land transportation, making it convenient for him to do big business in the future.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
