Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 30 The Big Wedding

"What the instructor says is true. My previous views were just some shallow ones," Zhou An said with a smile.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."

Lu Wang could tell that Zhou An was reluctant to discuss the topic further, so he didn't continue. Instead, he asked, "Is the marriage coming up soon?"

"The wedding is on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. I will send the wedding invitation to Instructor Lu in a couple of days. Instructor Lu, you will be invited to have a drink at the wedding."

"I definitely have to attend the wedding banquet. Has the officiant been chosen yet?"

"The students wish to ask Instructor Lu to be the officiant at the wedding, but they are afraid of delaying Instructor Lu, so they would like to ask Master Lu to be the officiant."

"Come on, you're such a sly fellow. I had nothing to do that day, so I'll be the officiant!" Instructor Lu said with a laugh.

Seeing that Lu Wang agreed, Zhou An chuckled and said, "It is my honor that you, sir, can be the officiant at my wedding."

In the entire Qinghe County, the county magistrate was undoubtedly the most respected official.

But in terms of reputation, Lu Wang is the most renowned.

Lu Wang then asked Zhou An which guests he planned to invite. When he learned that Zhou An only intended to send invitations to some classmates he was on good terms with and the teachers of the academy, in addition to relatives and friends, he couldn't help but remind Zhou An.

"You can send a letter to the county magistrate and the officials and wealthy families of Qinghe County. Whether they will go or not is one thing, whether you send one or not is another. Now that you have the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations), things are different from before, understand?"

"I have learned a lot!" Zhou said, bowing with his hands clasped in thanks.

He had actually considered whether to invite the county officials and wealthy families, but considering that he didn't have much contact with them, it would be inappropriate to send them invitations.

But Lu Wang's words reminded him that having achieved official rank and fame meant he had already crossed social classes.

Although it wasn't really a big deal locally, since the county examination was held only once every three years, with dozens of people being admitted each time.

At least it's a title, which means he's already shed his status as a commoner.

Sending out invitations might not get you any response. But not sending them would be a sign of disrespect.

"It's good that you understand!" Lu Wang nodded slightly.

After Xiao Si boiled the water and brought it over, Lu Wang tasted the new tea and, knowing that Zhou An's wedding was approaching and he had a lot to do, didn't keep him any longer.

After Zhou An left, Lu Wang unfolded the painting again, held his teacup, and gazed at it intently.

"After Prime Minister Fan passed away, Prime Minister Han and the others returned to the court, but not one of them mentioned reform again, nor did anyone speak out for Prime Minister Fan. What can I do?"

A soft sigh echoed in the room, lingering for a long time.

.........

After leaving the county school, Zhou An went to the new house with his father.

The house was completely renovated compared to when he last visited.

The eaves were adorned with red decorations, and double happiness symbols were pasted on the windows, creating a very festive atmosphere.

Just setting up these things would cost a lot of money, and the Zhou family certainly doesn't have that much money.

According to Zhou Li, it was all done by the servants left in the Sheng family mansion.

It goes without saying that it was Shengwei who arranged it.

Even the wedding quilts for the bridal chamber and the chefs for the meat and vegetables needed for the wedding banquet on the wedding day have been arranged.

No wonder Zhou Li didn't want to live here. His son's in-laws arranged everything for him, leaving him, the father, feeling like an outsider.

However, this is quite common in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The saying "There are houses of gold and beauties in books" is no joke.

Zhou An was very busy for the next few days.

He only needed to verbally inform his neighbors and relatives in Youyang about his marriage.

Inviting the county magistrate and wealthy families in the city is definitely not an option.

Invitations need to be written and then delivered to each household in person.

These are things that Zhou An can only handle himself.

In addition, he also had to try on the wedding robe. Originally, the measurements were taken based on his previous size, but after more than half a year, Zhou An had not only grown taller, but was also much stronger than before.

The wedding robe also needs some modifications.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, December arrived, and Zhou An's family moved into their new house in the county town.

Yu Jie was overjoyed to be able to live in a big house, but Zhou Li and Hao Shi were not used to it.

The people Zhou An arranged to serve them were all refused.

It is said that it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but after being farmers all their lives, they suddenly felt like they were being watched when someone was serving them.

Seeing this, Zhou An had no choice but to give up and let them adapt gradually.

December 5th, sunny, auspicious for weddings and moving.

Zhou Antian got up before dawn and, with the help of his maid, changed into a red wedding robe.

When the maid was dressing him up, she also adorned Zhou An with flowers and applied powder.

Zhou An had also seen some weddings where the grooms were dressed like the White Impermanence, with flowers in their hair.

He really couldn't stand that outfit.

Fortunately, this thing isn't strictly necessary; it's just for the festive atmosphere.

"Congratulations, Brother Zhou!"

When Zhou An finished tidying up and walked out of the courtyard, several classmates who were waiting outside came up to congratulate him with smiles on their faces.

"Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen!" Zhou An bowed respectfully.

For his wedding, he brought many of his classmates from the academy to help him.

To escort the bride, some unmarried men were needed as attendants, so naturally, they could only be found from the academy.

Although Zhou An's relationship with them was so-so, they didn't have any grudges against him. Now that he had passed the imperial examination, these people were willing to curry favor with him.

"Brother Zhou, you're too kind. We're more than happy to be here as your honored guests!"

"Yes, it's getting late, we can't miss the auspicious time, let's set off quickly!"

These people were actually quite jealous of Zhou An, and it wasn't a secret that Lu Wang recommended Zhou An to study at Jinling Academy.

They naturally crave such an opportunity.

But this jealousy could only be kept hidden in their hearts; no one dared to express it.

Unless Zhou An, like Sun Zhigao, fails the provincial examinations several times.

In fact, Sun Zhigao failed the provincial examinations many times, and his situation is somewhat similar to Zhou An's.

Sun Zhigao passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve and became a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). At that time, the entire Qinghe County believed that he had a great chance of passing the imperial examinations with flying colors in the future.

The praise and compliments from his classmates made him somewhat lose his way.

The sons of wealthy families in Qinghe County would invite him to restaurants and brothels every few days.

How could a twelve-year-old boy resist such temptation?

After failing the provincial examinations several times, those wealthy young men abandoned him.

Zhou An even suspected that those people were deliberately trying to flatter Sun Zhigao to his detriment.

After all, if Sun Zhigao really succeeds in the imperial examination, the Sun family will become one of the most prominent families in Qinghe County.

The resources of Qinghe County have long been divided up. With the emergence of new major players, other entities will have to give up some of their profits.

Surrounded by the crowd, Zhou An went to the main hall, bid farewell to his parents, and then, accompanied by several elders of the Zhou family and his uncle, went out, mounted his horse, and went to the Sheng family to fetch his bride.

The Zhou family has been small in number for the past few generations, with only one son per generation. Therefore, Zhou Li is very distantly related to other members of the clan.

Hao did have an older brother and a younger brother, but they were both ordinary people.

Youyang Town is located south of Qinghe County, but the wedding procession cannot take the same route twice. Therefore, the wedding procession leaves from the west of the town and takes a detour to the Sheng family to fetch the bride.

They made a lot of noise along the way, and it was almost noon when they finally arrived at Youyang Town.

The villagers of Youyang filled the streets, and when the wedding procession brought the bride back to the city, they would also go to the county town to attend the wedding banquet.

…………

Sheng Family Ancestral Home

In the main room of a small courtyard in the inner quarters, Shulan, dressed in a green wedding robe, sat in front of the dressing table, and her aunt Sheng Yun personally did her hair and makeup.

Standing to the side, Mrs. Li looked at her daughter, saying words of advice with a mixture of joy and reluctance.

A maidservant rushed in, bowed, and said, "Madam, the wedding procession has arrived in town. The master wants you to go to the main hall quickly."