Chapter 558: Children are valued by their mothers

"You were too ruthless."

Extorting thirty thousand taels in one breath; no wonder the Count's Prefecture felt the pain, even disregarding their face to recover these thirty thousand taels.

The Grand Steward thought that extorting money in the Heavenly Prison, a few thousand taels at a time was the limit.

This time it opened his eyes. It also let him know how black-hearted and ruthless this kid Chen Guanlou was.

Chen Guanlou smiled. "Zhu Ruhai is a special case. We aren't so ruthless with every prisoner."

"Why is he a special case? Did he offend you?"

"Offend me, that's not it. However, I really find him an eyesore."

"Why?"

"Maybe our horoscopes clash." Chen Guanlou perfunctorily said.

The Grand Steward pondered carefully and vaguely guessed a bit of the truth. "Because of his business?"

Chen Guanlou didn't commit.

The Grand Steward gave a light cough. "In the future, when taking action, you must pay attention to the measure. You were lucky this time; the Count's Prefecture has declined and has no power. If you encounter someone with power and influence next time, it will be troublesome."

"Thank you for the reminder, Grand Steward; I will keep it in mind."

He had been in the Heavenly Prison for so many years, and he certainly had a sense of measure in his actions. This case of Zhu Ruhai, he was intentional, deliberately extorting.

After leaving the Marquis Prefecture, Chen Guanlou went to the Su family to visit his eldest sister Chen Xiaolan and his two nephews, and by the way, sent a sum of money to his eldest sister, and sent a few gold bracelets and gold rings. Making Mother-in-law Su's eyes red with envy.

Gifts sent by the brother-in-law to the daughter-in-law belong to the daughter-in-law's dowry private property. Even if Mother-in-law Su stared until her eyeballs broke, and her face was thick, she couldn't snatch the daughter-in-law's dowry private property. If it spreads, does the Su family still want face?

In the neighborhood, the Su family is at least considered a family with face, and they pay some attention to decency.

Moreover, the two Su brothers both had thoughts of separating the family. If Mother-in-law Su snatched the second daughter-in-law's dowry private property, shouldn't she also treat the eldest daughter-in-law fairly?

Chen Xiaolan smiled, teasing Chen Guanlou. "You were clearly intentional."

Gifts can be sent privately, but he had to send them in front of Mother-in-law Su, clearly to stimulate the other party.

"I sent wine and meat to the Su family."

Every time he came to the Su family, he would carry wine and meat as a gift for visiting.

"If she hadn't seen you send me gold bracelets, the wine and meat you brought would have earned her a smile. Now it's miserable; I guess for the next few days, no one in the family will have a good time. Especially the father-in-law, if he doesn't bring back a gold bracelet, the days won't be peaceful."

"It's time to let the Su family eat the bitterness of maternal love." Chen Guanlou teased with a smile.

Chen Xiaolan gave a narrow smile, feeling very happy in her heart. Having a brother to stand up for her, she could be three points harder when arguing.

"Are you okay in the government office? Is anyone making things difficult for you?"

"How could anyone make things difficult for me? Your brother, I have a very good popularity."

"Yes, very good. Hanging out with some messy people all day, and don't know how to marry a proper

Here we go again, here we go again!

The matter of urging marriage, though late, always arrives.

"Sister, you must not learn from Su Pozi's nagging; it's annoying to death."

"You actually compare me to your mother-in-law, you little scoundrel. If you don't get beaten for three days, you'll be tearing off the roof tiles. Don't think that just because you're grown up, I can't beat you."

"Beat me, beat me. Once you're done, stop nagging and stop urging me to get married. I have my own plans for my own affairs."

"But you must leave an heir."

"It's not difficult to want children; I can produce them at any time."

"Who are you going to find to have them with? You can't just find a girl from a brothel to have children with, can you? Are you really not picky about the status of the child's birth mother? Aren't you afraid that the child will be discriminated against after being born? 'The child is valued because of the mother'—do you understand this principle? Back then, we had no father or mother and no support; why was the Su family still willing to fulfill the marriage contract and marry me into their home? It was just because my surname is Chen and I am a member of the Marquis Prefecture clan. The children I give birth to are naturally more valuable than the children born to women from small, humble families."

Chen Xiaolan's words were not wrong.

Even for the Emperor's sons, the dignified Imperial Princes, one must look at the status of their birth mother. An Imperial Prince born to a foot-washing maid, no matter how valuable, cannot be compared to an Imperial Prince born to the daughter of a noble family.

Previously, when the late Emperor passed away and the Imperial Princes sat in a row for the court officials to choose an Emperor, the Imperial Princes whose birth mothers had low status were screened out in the first round. If the birth mother's status was low, they didn't even have the qualifications to participate in the selection.

Those who remained until the end were all Imperial Princes whose birth mothers had high status.

Speaking of Chen Xiaolan, she had no father or mother; if this had been a small family, she would have been eaten to the bone by others long ago, and it would have been impossible for her to marry successfully.

The Su family was willing to fulfill the marriage contract because her surname was Chen. Now her children can go to the Marquis Prefecture's clan school to study and enjoy the food provided by the Marquis Prefecture. The children of the Su family's eldest son cannot enjoy this treatment.

Chen Xiaolan's two children have truly realized the principle of "the child is valued because of the mother." Now it is about studying; in the future, it will be the daughter getting married or the son going out to work—everywhere they can bask in the glory of the Marquis Prefecture.

How does this glory come about?

Naturally, it is because Chen Xiaolan's surname is Chen.

"The child is valued because of the mother" will be reflected in every aspect of the growth process.

If the mother comes from a humble background, the child can only rely on the father's relatives. If the biological father only has this one child, it is fine; if there are many children and the birth mother is not capable, one can fully imagine how difficult the child's path of growth will be. Unless they are gifted with extraordinary talent and show genius attributes from a young age.

However, geniuses are so rare.

If the talent points are put in the wrong direction, such as in carpentry rather than studying, they might have to suffer even more hardships.

To stop Chen Xiaolan from continuing to nag, Chen Guanlou hurriedly promised: "Don't worry, I definitely won't have children recklessly."

"Really won't?"

"Definitely! Raising children is very troublesome; how depressed would I have to be to find trouble for myself?"

"It's not that troublesome; find two wet nurses, you only need to pay the money."

Chen Guanlou:...

He still had no thoughts of having children for the time being. He didn't even have thoughts of getting married.

In some aspects, he followed the local customs and integrated extremely well. In other aspects, he did not follow the local customs and still insisted on the ideas from his previous life.

He must attain eternal life; he can have children whenever he wants.

But he, from the bottom of his heart, does not want children.

At least that is the plan for now.

After finishing the nagging with his eldest sister, seeing that the sky had darkened and it was time for dinner, Chen Guanlou decisively said goodbye. He was determined not to stay at the Su family for dinner.

The food at the Su family tasted okay, but the people were wrong; eating was like being tortured. He would have to be crazy to stay for dinner.

Chen Xiaolan knew his temper.

In the past, when he was at the bottom with no money or power, he was willing to endure it. Now that he had money, he was truly unwilling to endure it.

She only urged him to come and visit more often when he had time, and personally saw him out the door.

"If Su Pozi makes things difficult for you, tell me. I will go find Su Dacheng to vent your anger."

"No need! I'm not a steamed bun; I won't let her grind me down. Your sister has the means to protect herself."

"You guys should hurry up and split the family."

"The matter of splitting the family is not up to me. There is still more grinding to do."