Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 463: Mrs. Sheng’s Request
"Well, you choose a date and we'll move there then. But you don't have to worry about the wedding, as someone from the palace will take care of it when the time comes." Li An said.

It is a bit too cruel for him to marry a concubine and let Minglan do it.

"Okay, I'll ask someone to calculate the date tomorrow." Minglan said with a smile.

Li An hesitated for a moment and asked, "I heard that you went back to the Sheng family today. What did your grandmother say?"

Minglan's smile froze when she heard this, but she quickly returned to normal and said, "Grandma just hasn't seen me for a long time, so she asked me to go back and chat with you."

In fact, she didn't go back on her own initiative today, but Old Lady Sheng sent someone to call her back.

Li An had already married, so it was impossible that the government had not communicated with him in advance about the marriage.

Even if the emperor didn't say anything, given the relationship between Li An and King Huan, they should have heard about it.

Old Lady Sheng was not an unreasonable person. Although she was very angry about Li An taking a concubine, she also knew that she could not refuse a marriage arranged by the government.

But she wanted to know whether Li An knew about it before. It would be fine if Li An knew nothing about it, but if Li An knew it but didn't tell Minglan, it meant that Li An didn't like Minglan that much.

As a result, when Minglan was called over and asked, she found out that Minglan had already known about it, which made Mrs. Sheng very angry.

This was the first time in so many years that he got angry at Minglan.

But Minglan didn't want to tell Li Ang these.

However, Li An didn't believe it at all. Considering how much Mrs. Sheng cared about Minglan, how could she not react after hearing the news?

"Minglan!"

Li An looked at Minglan seriously and said, "We are husband and wife, so we should be honest with each other. You don't have to hide what grandma said from me. I know grandma must be very angry. I will take a day off tomorrow and accompany you. Grandma can beat you or scold you if she wants."

"Thank you, sir." Minglan said with emotion.

Li An held her in his arms, hugged her and said, "I told you not to be polite to me, and I am the one who is sorry for you. I should be the one apologizing to you."

"No." Minglan moved, found a comfortable position, and said softly: "This is all the emperor's intention, how can I blame you."

Li An moved his lips. When Zhao Zongquan came to him to talk about this matter, if he had directly refused, Zhao Zongquan would be angry, but he would not do anything to him.

At most, you won't be reused in the future.

But he had too many concerns at that time and ultimately couldn't muster up the courage.

"Grandma really wants to meet you, sir. If my words are a little unpleasant, please bear with me," Minglan said.

Li An pinched her face when he heard that and said, "Why didn't you say anything just now? Grandmother was already angry because of this. If I didn't go over after letting her, I'm afraid she'd be even angrier."

"I'm just afraid that my grandmother will scold you when she's angry, so I want to go after a few days when she's calmed down," Minglan said.

"You've been with your grandmother for so many years. Do you think she will calm down because of the passage of time?" Li An shook his head.

Minglan said nothing when she heard this. She naturally understood Mrs. Sheng's character, but she just couldn't think of any solution.

"Okay, don't think too much. It's getting late. It's time to eat." Li An said.

……

The next morning, Li An and Minglan took some gifts and drove to the Sheng family.

When Mrs. Sheng saw Li An, her face darkened, but she didn't get angry right away.

Because they came without prior notice, they sat for a while before Sheng Hong and Madam Wang arrived.

What surprised Li An was that Wen Yanjing and Rulan were also there.

After greeting each other and exchanging pleasantries, they sat down.

"I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that my fifth brother-in-law is here too." Li An said with a smile.

"Haha, I came here to ask you some questions while my father-in-law is on leave at home." Wen Yanjing said.

"It's still a few months away from Enke. Is Fifth Brother-in-law confident this time?" Li An asked.

It was already after the New Year when the national mourning period ended. By the time the news of the additional special examination spread, it took time for the students to rush to Bianjing.

Therefore, the Enco is held at the end of September, and it is only mid-April now, which means there are still more than five months left.

"No one can be sure of passing the imperial examination. We can only try our best," Wen Yanjing said modestly.

"Fifth brother-in-law, there is no need to be modest. I know how knowledgeable you are. You will definitely win the first place this time." Li An said.

"Then I'll borrow Ziqian's good words." Wen Yanjing said with a smile.

At noon, Li An followed Sheng Hong to the main hall for lunch, while the female family members stayed in Shou'an Hall.

After dinner, Sheng Hong asked someone to take Li An to Mu Cang Zhai, where Minglan used to live, for a nap.

Li An waited for a while but Minglan didn't come back. Danju came over and told him that Minglan was taken away by Ruolan to talk.

Li An went to sleep alone.

When he woke up, he found Minglan had returned.

"Madam, what time is it?" Li An asked, rubbing his head.

"It's just 3 p.m." Minglan handed the teacup to Li An and said, "Why did you drink so much again?"

"I can't help it, my father-in-law is happy." Li An took the teacup and took a few sips, and immediately felt better.

"It's getting late. We should say goodbye and go back. Grandmother is still waiting for you." Minglan said.

"Okay, I'll get up right away." Li An said.

After finishing their packing with Minglan's help, the two came to Shou'an Hall. At this time, only Old Madam Sheng and the servants were there.

The two men exchanged greetings, and Mr. Sheng sent the servants away.

"Minglan, you go out first." said Mrs. Sheng.

"Grandma...Yes, granddaughter will take her leave."

Minglan wanted to say something, but met Mrs. Sheng's unquestionable gaze, so she could only respond and look at Li An.

Li An gave her a reassuring look before she walked out.

Old Madam Sheng didn't say anything, but picked up the teacup and kept stirring the tea with the lid.

After a long while, she finally spoke, "Minglan has been very sensible since she was young. She has been hiding this matter from me."

"Grandma, grandson-in-law..."

"All right!"

Old Madam Sheng waved her hand, interrupting Li An and said, "I am not blaming you for telling you this. After all, this is a marriage granted by the government. But I want to ask you, what will you do after marrying a concubine?"

"I'll ask her to serve tea to Minglan." Li An said.

Although a co-wife is no different from a wife in all aspects, she is still considered a concubine according to etiquette and law.

In ancient times, the practice was monogamy with multiple concubines, and this cannot be changed.

Even a concubine has to offer tea to the main wife. However, Princess Anyang is a princess. Even if she is not orthodox, she is recorded in the royal canonization book. It is natural for her not to offer tea to Minglan.

Li An said this to make it clear to Old Lady Sheng that even if Princess Anyang came into the family, she would not be able to be on an equal footing with Minglan.

Old Madam Sheng nodded slightly and said, "I feel relieved when you say that, but I still have two requests. I wonder if you can agree to them?"

"Grandma, you said that as long as I can do it, I will definitely not refuse." Li An said.

“First, the marriage of Princess Anyang must be more grand than when Minglan got married,” said Old Lady Sheng.

"Okay!" Li An agreed without thinking.

When he married Minglan, it was not grand at all, and could even be said to be shabby.

But Princess Anyang was different. Although she was originally just a palace maid, many people would come to see her because of the royal family's face. Moreover, the royal family arranged for the wedding to be held, so Mrs. Sheng's request was a bit embarrassing for Li An.

Even so, Li An still did not hesitate.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sheng nodded slightly with satisfaction. She was indeed making things difficult for Li An in this matter, but she also had other purposes.

If Li Ang married a concubine with more ceremony than his principal wife, it would be easy for people to laugh at Minglan for this when she visited other officials' wives in the future.

"Another requirement is that Princess Anyang cannot have a child before Minglan has a legitimate son." said Old Lady Sheng.

"Okay!" Li An nodded.

For him, he doesn't care much about the status of legitimate or illegitimate children, or the seniority.

However, it must be said that the system of primogeniture lasted for thousands of years in ancient times, and there must be a reason for it.

Determining status early can avoid many conflicts.

As the concubine, the child born to Princess Anyang was naturally a legitimate son.

If she gave birth to a son first and Minglan gave birth to a child later, there would be a lot of trouble in the future.

After all, Minglan is the legal wife, and theoretically the children she gives birth to are more qualified to inherit.

Even if Mrs. Sheng didn't say anything, he wouldn't let this happen.

Ang Lee is not so self-righteous as to think that he can bring up his children to be brothers and sisters.

There are many cases where brothers, who are from the same mother, become enemies just for the sake of their own interests.

Moreover, if Princess Anyang was truly an honest and decent person, she would be able to live in peace with Minglan.

But if her child was born first, could she not fight for the sake of the child?

In order to avoid this situation, Li An would not let her give birth to a child first.

……

"Sir, what did your grandmother tell you?" Minglan asked on the way back.

"Do you really want to know?" Li An looked at Minglan with a smile.

"Ah."

Minglan looked at Li An's smile and always felt that there was something wrong with it, but out of curiosity, she nodded.

"Grandma said that we have been married for more than half a year, so why is there still no progress? She asked me to try harder." Li An leaned close to Minglan's ear and whispered.

"My grandmother would never say such a thing."

When Minglan heard this, her face turned red and she gave Li An a cold look.

"I added the last part, but grandma really urged us to have a baby as soon as possible." Li An pinched Minglan's face and smiled.

Although Minglan is not absolutely beautiful, she has some baby fat on her face, which makes her look quite cute.

Li An likes to pinch her face the most.

Minglan's expression darkened when she heard this, and she said, "Sir, I am useless."

They got married last November, and it has been more than April now, which means it has been half a year.

Although there was a month of national mourning, it was not a short time.

Except when she was not feeling well, the two of them were not idle, but they just didn't respond.

Originally she was not in a hurry, but now Princess Anyang was going to marry in two months, so she became a little anxious.

Seeing Minglan's gloomy expression, Li An stopped joking and teasing her. He held her in his arms and comforted her, "This kind of thing is unpredictable. At worst, we can come here a few more times in the future and try hard when we go back!"

"What nonsense are you talking about, sir!" Minglan pinched Li An in shame and anger, but she didn't use much force.

Li An is now nineteen years old. He has been practicing martial arts for many years and is in good health. He never gets enough of it.

She couldn't bear to beg for mercy every time, otherwise she wouldn't have come up with the idea of ​​taking a concubine for Li An.

"Confucius said that food and sex are human nature. How could I be talking nonsense?" Li Ang said with a smile.

Minglan was a little overwhelmed by Li An's blunt words, and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Sir, the day after tomorrow is an auspicious day. I plan to have Desheng and Haitang get married the day after tomorrow. They have no relatives, so we can close the door and set up a few tables, and we will officiate their wedding."

"Yeah." Li An nodded and said, "Desheng has been with me for many years, and it's time for us to get married."

"It's easy to make arrangements with them, but I don't know what to do with those around me." Minglan said worriedly.

Her maids who came with her as a dowry are all getting quite old, and it’s time for them to be sent out to get married in the next year or two.

Everything else is easy. There are relatives at home, so when the time comes, we can just give some dowry and let their family arrange it.

What she couldn't let go of was Xiaotao, who had been with her since she was a child and had no relatives at home.

At that time, no one was willing to serve in her and her mother's courtyard, only Sister Xiaodie and the silly girl Xiaotao followed her wholeheartedly.

Although Xiaotao looks silly and not very smart, she is loyal to her.

To be honest, her relationship with Xiaotao is deeper than her relationship with her brothers and sisters.

There is no suitable one at home now, and Xiaotao will be alone if she is sent out, and I am worried that she will be bullied.

"Are you worried about Xiaotao?" Li An said.

After so long, he has some understanding of the maids around Minglan.

"Yes, sir, why don't you take Xiaotao as your concubine?" Minglan said.

She was unwilling to let the maidservant around her become her concubine because she was worried that something might happen in the future that would destroy the years-long relationship between master and servant.

But Xiaotao is an exception.

Li An didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "What are you thinking about? I told you are enough, and Princess Anyang had no choice."

Every man dreams of having three wives and four concubines, and as a man, Ang Lee naturally has the same dream.

What's more, it is legal in this era.

But Ang Lee still restrained himself.

In ancient times, conflicts between wives and concubines were very common, and things like what happened in the Sheng family happened in most families.

Ang Lee was also worried that something like that might happen in his family in the future.

If in the future, Minglan secretly harms the children born to his concubine, Li An really doesn't know how to treat her.

Even though Minglan is broad-minded, the concubines will still fight with each other.

In order to avoid this situation, Li An had long given up the idea of ​​taking a concubine.

"But Xiaotao and I are like sisters, and I really can't let her stay by my side like an old maid for the rest of her life." Minglan said.

Li An pondered and said, "What do you think of the stone next to Zhong Huai?"

In the original drama, Xiaotao married Shitou and lived a good life.

Although Minglan is married to him now, it does not affect Xiaotao's marriage to Shitou.

"Stone?" Minglan was stunned. After thinking about it carefully, she quickly formed an impression.

At that time, Gu Tingye was studying at Sheng's house, and Shi Tou followed Gu Tingye.

But she was still a girl at that time, and she had hardly spoken a few words to Gu Tingye, let alone Gu Tingye's entourage.

"Although Shitou is Zhonghuai's long-time attendant, he is not a servant." Li An repeated the general situation of Shitou.

(End of this chapter)