Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 68 Returning Home

"Big Brother!"

"My lord!"

The two looked excitedly at Zhou An as he walked into the hall.

"Your son is back. I haven't seen you for many days. Are you well, Mother?" Zhou An bowed.

"Okay, okay~"

Hao was excited and was about to ask Zhou An if the provincial examination went well, but then she realized that now was not the time to reminisce.

Zhou An gave Shulan a reassuring look, then looked at Zhou Shi and said calmly, "If I remember correctly, the Zhou family in Youyang migrated from elsewhere and doesn't even have a family genealogy. How can we be considered family?"

The term "family" here does not refer to households, but rather to clans.

The law does not actually support such family-based behavior, because it would be detrimental to tax collection for the rulers.

Besides the important land tax, the imperial court levied two other taxes on the people: household tax and poll tax.

The so-called household tax refers to various taxes and levies. There are many types of these taxes, all of which are levied on a per-household basis, and therefore they are collectively referred to as household taxes.

Some large families do not separate households for generations, which naturally reduces the amount of tax collected by the imperial court.

In order to collect more taxes, some dynasties even had strict requirements, such as brothers having to divide the family property after their parents died.

Even so, it did not prevent the emergence of local clans.

Originally, clans were simply groups of people banding together for mutual support, which is similar to the reasoning behind the emergence of states.

Humans are social animals; once a group is formed, it is not something an individual can easily break away from.

Whether or not a group belongs to the same clan is determined not by the same surname, but by the family genealogy.

If there is a family tree, they are indeed from the same family, even if Zhou has long since married out and is now facing misfortune and unable to make a living.

If the Zhou family doesn't help, they will indeed be scorned.

Even if the Zhou family brought this upon themselves, the main purpose of forming a clan was to help each other.

However, the Zhou family did not form a clan; the so-called kinship was established after their ancestors were moved here.

Whether they were originally from the same clan before migrating here, or whether they were just saying this to stick together for mutual support, is now impossible to ascertain.

In other words, whether it's the family as defined by the imperial court or the clan relationship as perceived by most people, the relationship between Zhou An's lineage and other relatives with the surname Zhou in Youyang depends on whether the Zhou family acknowledges it or not.

When Zhou saw Zhou An return, she was overjoyed. Although she herself had never been to school, her son had.

She knew a little about the etiquette and customs of scholars.

Scholars value benevolence, righteousness, and morality most. As long as she grasped this point, she didn't believe Zhou An wouldn't care about his reputation.

But before she could even speak, Zhou An said those words.

She was stunned for a long while before saying incredulously, "Elder brother, you can't write two 'Zhou' characters with one stroke! Everyone in Youyang knows that all branches of the Zhou family share the same ancestor!"

"Whether it's true or not isn't something that can be determined by words alone. As far as I know, since my great-grandfather's generation was moved to Youyang, it has always been a single-lineage family."

Zhou An said indifferently, "There's no family genealogy to begin with, and you're married out of the family, so you're no longer a member of the Zhou family. What face do you have to come to the Zhou family to borrow money?"

"Brother, you are a scholar, how can you say such cold and heartless words?"

Zhou's face darkened. "If word gets out, what will the world think of you?"

"Don't threaten me. We can't possibly be associated with relatives like yours. What you just said is right, if you want to kill yourself, my family can lend you a rope!"

Zhou An was most annoyed by this kind of moral blackmail; the ancients had become foolish from all the studying. Morality is a very personal thing, yet it has been turned into a mass standard.

However, this also has an advantage: anyone with a certain status or position will care about their reputation.

Some people even value their reputation more than their lives.

Even if some people are thieves and prostitutes, engaging in despicable acts, they dare not do so openly.

He wasn't the kind of person to be cold-hearted; if the Zhou family was experiencing financial difficulties for legitimate reasons, he would help them.

They raised a giant baby themselves and are reaping the consequences. If they really had a clear head, giving them some money wouldn't be a bad idea.

But Zhou was just there to freeload; even if she gave him a single penny, he would keep doing this kind of thing.

"you…"

Zhou pointed angrily at Zhou An and sneered, "Fine, now that your branch of the family has prospered, you look down on us poor relatives. I refuse to believe there's no place where we can seek justice."

After saying that, she turned to her three daughters and snapped, "Didn't you hear them telling us to leave? Why are you still standing there like idiots!"

"Mother-in-law!"

When Shulan saw that Madam Hao wanted to go and deliver it, she quickly pulled her back and shook her head slightly.

"Brother, will this be alright?"

Hao realized that Zhou wouldn't give up so easily, and said with some worry.

"Mother, I've heard some things outside and have a general understanding of them. Tell me about them in detail," Zhou An said.

"My lord, let me explain!"

Shulan immediately gave a brief account of the matter, including her speculations.

"Mother, there might be some trouble, but their family is a bottomless pit right now, we absolutely cannot give in!" Zhou An said after listening.

He originally thought that Zhou's son had cheated out of money, lost it all, and was worried about being scolded when he went back, so he ran away.

I never imagined there were so many things involved, so it's even less likely I can help under these circumstances.

"I know that giving my opinion will be a hassle."

Madam Hao sighed, "But you know her family's current situation. They've been driven to the brink. If we don't give them some money, she might really die at our doorstep."

Not only is that unlucky, but it will also have a negative impact on you.

"Mother, since that's the case, why don't we just move to Tongzhou as a family!" Zhou An said.

When he received the reward, he never thought of asking his parents to move to Tongzhou.

But now that I've encountered something so disgusting, this thought has come to mind.

Even if he manages to get through this temporarily, what if he goes to Bianjing to take the imperial examination and then comes back?

It's disgusting that they keep making such a fuss.

"Move to Tongzhou?"

Hao was stunned. They had only just begun to adapt after moving to Qinghe County.

Shulan could tell that Hao was unwilling, so she said, "Let's talk about this when Father-in-law comes back."

"By the way, where's Dad?"

Zhou An found it strange that Zhou Li hadn't shown up despite the fact that something like this had happened in the family.

"Your father went out to listen to storytelling!" Hao said irritably.

"Forehead…"

Zhou An didn't know when his father had developed this hobby, but thinking about it, it wasn't a bad thing.

"By the way, did you pass the provincial examination?" Hao asked.

Shulan also looked at Zhou An with some anticipation.

"You passed the exam!"

Zhou An laughed and said, "Your son is now a scholar who has passed the imperial examination!"

"Thank goodness, thank goodness!"

Mrs. Hao was so excited that she wept tears of joy.

"Mother, you should be happy that I passed the exam, why are you crying?" Zhou An comforted her.

"Mother is so happy!" Madam Hao wiped away her tears and smiled, "My son is now a scholar who has passed the imperial examination!"

"My child will be..."

"Madam, something terrible has happened!"

Just then, a maid rushed in, bowed, and said, "Third Miss is cursing and swearing outside the gate, saying that the eldest mistress and the young mistress are cold-blooded and heartless, and that the young master has wasted all those years of studying Confucian classics because he won't even help a relative in distress! Many passersby are watching from outside!"

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Hao flew into a rage and cursed, "That old hag, I'll go out and yell at her until she's dead!"