Chapter 1817 Dowry

Too many young ladies in the capital envy my cousin. My fourth uncle has been engaged to Gu Sheng, and they are all secretly laughing at my cousin's marriage, waiting to see Gu Sheng's betrothal gift!

Minghui said playfully, "Gu Sheng is not poor."

In the Hanlin Academy, Gu Sheng took advantage of his break to calculate what he still needed. He started preparing the betrothal gift years ago. His eldest brother took out all his money for the betrothal gift. He was touched but did not take his eldest brother's money because his eldest brother already had his own family.

Ever since Lord Zhou had clearly designated him as his son-in-law, he had never sold any of his paintings, not even when someone had offered him a high price. He had previously asked his future son-in-law to sell several paintings to the south, earning a lot of money. Together with his savings and income from business, he could amass enough money for a betrothal gift of ten thousand taels.

Gu Sheng frowned. It was a pity that he couldn't get the antique calligraphy and paintings, and the betrothal gift was still a bit ugly. The more he thought about it, the tighter his brows furrowed.

Changzhi received the task of editing a book today. He had just selected the staff and remembered that Gu Sheng had come to look for people.

Gu Sheng raised his head and stood up quickly, "Sir."

Chang Zhi sat down and explained his purpose. "I didn't want to interfere with your future. Today I was assigned to edit a book. Don't underestimate editing a book. I think the above means a big move, so I want to ask if you will continue to stay in the Hanlin Academy?"

Gu Sheng greeted him quickly and said, "Thank you for considering me, sir. I have already made an appointment with my future husband, and he has helped me arrange it privately."

Chang Zhi thought it was a pity, but then he said that everyone has their own opportunities, "If that's the case, just pretend I never said anything."

Gu Sheng, "Thank you for thinking of me, sir."

Changzhi got up and went back in a hurry, but Gu Sheng didn't think it was a pity because he had plans for his future.

When leaving the government office, Gu Sheng went out and saw his husband Wu Shangheng, "Why are you here?"

Wu Shangheng motioned for them to get on the carriage. Gu Sheng almost had no place to sit. He saw a lot of boxes in the carriage. "What did you buy?"

Wu Shangheng pointed at the box and said, "I took these out to exchange with you for paintings."

Gu Sheng opened the box in confusion. The long box contained ancient paintings, and the other boxes contained paired ornaments. He had trained his eyesight with Wu Shangheng and knew the value of these things very well. "I know you want to help me, but I can't take advantage of you. You have already helped me a lot."

Wu Shangheng said, "We are friends, how can I say I am taking advantage of you? I think your paintings are worth collecting, and they may be worth a fortune in the future. I have exchanged all your paintings for yours, but I feel like I am taking advantage of you."

He was helping his friend, and his words were not meaningless. Besides, he really enjoyed seeing people get slapped in the face. They didn't want to see the betrothal gift being made fun of, but he wanted to see who was the joke.

Gu Sheng greeted him and said, "I know your good intentions. If I delay any further, it will be pretentious. If you want any paintings in the future, just tell me. I don't want a penny."

Wu Shangheng laughed, "I got a great deal this time."

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it is the day before the Spring Examination. Last year's major imperial examination incident has made this year's Spring Examination particularly strict. This time, no food is allowed to be brought into the examination room. The examination center will be responsible for the food. There are also some things that cannot be brought in, and this has been printed in the newspaper early to notify the candidates.

New rules were posted outside the examination room, prohibiting food from being brought in, and this was agreed upon by all the examinees. Most of the examinees did not take care of themselves, and all they ate were cold, hard cakes or greasy snacks. Now they don't have to worry about food and can save a lot of time for rest.

Today, all the masters of Zhouhou Mansion are at home. In the past, there has not been such a big commotion at home, and the married daughters have also returned.

Zhou Shuren took a day and a half off for his son's spring imperial examination, and planned to personally send his son to the examination room tomorrow.

Changzhi is over 30 years old, but he still can't help feeling jealous. His eldest son and grandson are indeed his lifeblood. Look at how concerned his grandfather is!

Zhou Shuren not only cared about his son, he also personally checked the supplies brought into the examination room no less than three times.

Changzhong looked at the people in the room with a smile on his face. He responded patiently to everyone's concern and advised them not to worry about him.

Ming Jing and the others sat in the corner, pulling their brother's sleeves, "Brother, little uncle is so awesome."

If it were him, he would have been terrified before the exam. Thinking of the test questions his uncle had done, his back felt cold. He decided that he would never take the exam to become a scholar before he was 25 years old.

Minghui also admired him, "Don't you think about who taught your uncle?"

Ming Jing swallowed his saliva. Uncle Wu Ming was also a great man. Who didn't know Lord Wu of the grassland? Then he chuckled. So he had many backers and they were all very powerful. Not only could the young master walk around with ease, but his descendants would be able to do the same in the future!

Minghui knocked his brother on the head, "It's all up to you!"

Ming Jing looked up and laughed dryly, "Just pretend I don't exist."

Changzhong burst out laughing. Mingjing was the funniest among his nephews. He waved and said, "Come and sit down."

Ming Jing didn't want to go, and was pushed out by her brother. She hesitated and was finally kicked by her father. She covered her butt and frowned, "It hurts."

Boss Zhou was furious. What was this kid doing today? "It's okay if it hurts."

Zhulan glared at him and motioned Mingjing to come over and sit down. "Mingjing is very generous. Mingjing is already so old, and you still don't know how to save face for the child!"

Zhou Shuren thought Mingjing had gained weight again, "It's true that a big heart makes a big body."

Mingjing tried to shrink her stomach, but it was no use and her stomach was still bloated.

Li said speechlessly: "Don't shrink, your stomach is solid."

With a burst of laughter, everyone in the room laughed out loud. Ming Jing's ears turned red, and then he smiled too, because the atmosphere became more relaxed.

The whole family had a reunion dinner in the evening. When the main courtyard was quiet, Zhulan and her husband washed up. Shuren had no intention of resting. Then Zhulan saw Shuren wearing a cloak and asked, "Where are you going?"

Shuren said, "I'll go see my son."

Zhulan also wanted to go and take a look, then thought for a moment and said, "You go."

Shuren gathered his cloak and pushed the door open. Zhulan shook her head with laughter. She didn't notice that her son was nervous, but her husband was even more nervous.

In Changzhong's courtyard, the night watchman saw the lantern and took a closer look. He saw that it was the Marquis. He hurried forward to greet him and said, "I have met the Marquis."

Zhou Shuren looked at the closed gate and asked, "Master, are you ready to rest?"

The servant replied quietly, "The lights have been turned off and we are resting."

They, the servants, all admired their own master and thought that he would be nervous and unable to sleep, but it turned out to be overthinking. When the time came, the master turned off the lights and rested on time.

Zhou Shuren stood at the door, thought for a moment and said, "Open the door carefully."

After hearing this, the servant opened the door. Zhou Shuren went in by himself carrying the lantern without letting anyone follow him. When he arrived at his son's bedroom, the old woman who was on guard at night was busy opening the door.

There was light in the room because of the lantern. Zhou Shuren walked to the window carefully. He was afraid of scaring his son so he didn't stand at the head of the bed. He saw that his son was really asleep with a smile on his face. He looked at him for a while before turning around and leaving.

Changzhong always sleeps well at home, even in deep sleep. He really doesn’t know why his father came to see him.

(End of this chapter)