Chapter 210 Visit
After resting for two days, the group of six visited the Tan family with gifts.
Madam Tan treated them with the courtesy due to honored guests, showing great importance to her son's three classmates, and was also very polite to the three women of Sheng'an.
"I've heard of your great name for a long time, but I've never had the chance to meet you before. Today I finally get to see you in person, and you are indeed a clever and insightful person."
Madam Tan held Sheng An's hand, her smile dignified and kind as she praised her repeatedly: "These past few years, Rou'er and her brother have been living in Qingzhou, and we've been grateful for your care."
Sheng An humbly replied, "Zhenlin and my husband are classmates and good friends, and Qingrou calls me 'sister.' I just occasionally invite them over for a casual meal; it's really not like I'm taking care of them."
Madam Tan shook her head and said sincerely, "These two siblings always talk about you and your husband every time they come home. It's clear they've caused you a lot of trouble."
Sheng An hurriedly said, "Madam, you are too kind. These are just normal interactions between friends. We shouldn't be causing any trouble."
Seeing that the woman before her came from an ordinary background but spoke to her confidently and without any stage fright, Madam Tan felt a growing appreciation for Sheng An, and her smile became even more genuine.
"It is an honor for Zhenlin and his sister to have friends like you two."
After speaking with Sheng An, Madam Tan praised Xiao Yun and Liu Yanran repeatedly, and personally handed over the gifts she had prepared in advance to the three of them.
The three gifts were exactly the same: three jade hairpins with similar clarity.
Prefect Tan was busy with official duties and only had time to talk to Xu Jinnian and the other two when he returned to his residence for lunch at noon. He then tested them on the spot.
The results of the examination were naturally satisfactory.
Despite Madam Tan's earnest insistence, Sheng An and his group had dinner at the Tan residence before leaving.
Late at night, Magistrate Tan was still handling official business in his study when his wife brought him a late-night snack, as usual.
While eating, Prefect Tan chatted with his wife about everyday matters, and the topic turned to Sheng An and his party who had come to visit that day.
Madam Tan smiled and said, "They are generous, polite, and know how to behave appropriately; they are all good children."
Prefect Tan nodded: "Zhenlin's three classmates are all of excellent talent and character. They are very likely to pass the provincial examination together. If they enter officialdom in the future, they will help each other and it will be a good thing for Zhenlin."
Madam Tan shared the same thought: "For the master to praise them as top-notch, their future must be bright. I will constantly remind Zhenlin not to distance himself from them."
Prefect Tan reminded him, "When you arrive in the capital, keep an eye out for daughters of prominent families. Zhenlin's marriage should be taken seriously."
Family members know their own situation. The father-in-law passed away many years ago, and the connections he left behind have been almost exhausted, offering little help to the eldest son's career.
The two brothers-in-law are of mediocre talent, and at nearly fifty years old, they are still in sinecure positions with no real power, and their futures are predictable.
The younger generation doesn't have any outstanding talents either; they'd be lucky to even reach the level of their parents.
His own future was not bad, but his foundation was weak and he was far from the capital, so he could not help his eldest son much.
In this way, how far one can go depends entirely on the eldest son's abilities.
Fortunately, the eldest son found a good teacher and had three outstanding classmates, which provided him with readily available connections.
If a good marriage can be arranged in the capital, the eldest son's future will be much smoother.
After spending a day at the Tan family's house, Sheng An was somewhat exhausted. After washing up, she lay in bed and didn't want to move.
But the man beside her was restless, his hand igniting fire all over her body, making her furious.
By the time Sheng An realized what was happening, she was already straddling the man's waist and abdomen, her gaze meeting a pair of eyes burning with desire.
"Since you won't go to sleep quietly, then get up and read me a storybook."
Sheng An pinched Xu Jinnian's chest twice in annoyance, then pulled out a half-read storybook from under the pillow and shoved it into his hand.
Xu Jinnian took the storybook and casually flipped through a couple of pages. Seeing that it was a proper storybook, he put it aside and gently kneaded the hand that was resting on his chest: "We haven't been intimate for several days. Doesn't An'an miss it?"
The man's voice was deep and husky, with a unique allure. A faint smile appeared on his handsome face, and his eyes were fixed intently on Sheng An's.
Sheng An swallowed subconsciously, refusing to admit that she had been seduced, and stubbornly insisted on getting off the man: "I don't want to, let's go to sleep!"
Before her legs could even come down, her slender waist was firmly pressed down by a pair of large hands.
The man's palm was burning hot, as if it could scald the skin. Sheng An unconsciously twisted her body, but her buttocks bumped into something, and she froze on the spot, not daring to move.
Xu Jin laughed out loud, tightened his waist and sat up, hugging Sheng An's waist tightly, his chest pressed against hers, and whispered in her ear: "Is it what your husband wants?"
Sheng An was held tightly in his arms, unable to move forward or backward. A constant stream of heat emanated from the man, and her whole body gradually flushed. She stammered weakly, "You're twenty-one already. You need to know how to be moderate."
I don't know who told me this in my past life, but a man's abilities in a certain area will plummet when he reaches the age of twenty-five.
For the sake of her happiness in the second half of her life, she felt it necessary to give a reminder, otherwise she was worried that one day, this handsome face would also lose its charm.
How bland and tasteless life will be then!
Xu Jinnian lifted his wife's chin, his eyes narrowing dangerously: "Does An'an think her husband is too old? Or is it that An'an is dissatisfied with my performance recently?"
Sheng An felt a little flustered, her throat was dry, and she felt that her answer was wrong and that the consequences would be dire.
"No, I'm just concerned about you. We don't have children yet, and if we don't control ourselves and things go wrong later, it will be even harder to have children."
Xu Jinnian seemed to be deep in thought.
Thinking he had escaped a disaster, Sheng An began to pry open the large, iron-like hand around his waist: "For the long term, you won't go wrong if you listen to me."
Xu Jinnian seemed to have taken his words to heart and slowly released his grip.
Sheng An breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and kissed the man on the cheek: "A reward."
The next moment, her waist tightened, and a strong force struck her, forcing her to sit back on the man's lap.
Then came a violent storm that tossed her about, leaving her swaying and clinging tightly to the man beneath her.
The result of a night of indulgence was that Sheng An overslept the next day, not even noticing that Liu Xiaoyun and Liu Yanran had come over.
By the time she found out, they had already finished lunch and gone out to play with their husbands.
Feeling ashamed, Sheng An retaliated by pinching Xu Jinnian's waist: "Look what you've done! Your two sisters-in-law will definitely laugh at me!"
Xu Jinnian reassured them, "No, I told them that you forgot the time while playing chess last night, which is why you couldn't get up this morning."
Sheng An: "..."
Nobody would believe such a flimsy excuse!
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