Chengjue, Chengjue, you know, right? Is he the sixth in his family?"

He Chu heard this and nodded.

"Does he have five older brothers?"

He Chu continued to nod.

"Are there younger brothers?"

"Yes."

"How many sisters?"

He Chu shook his head.

"No sisters?"

"Seems like, no."

"Then it makes sense!"

Old He slapped his thigh hard, pulling at his back, and immediately took a deep breath in pain.

"Dad, dad, take it slow, take it slow, have you figured it all out?"

"Nonsense, I guessed it!"

"Dad, you really guessed it!"

"Nonsense, I'm your dad! They have so many brothers, and when it comes to family inheritance, how much will be left for Chengjue? And no sisters, there's nowhere to collect dowry from!"

"..." He Chu.

"So, keep calm, remember, your sister's not marrying up, our He family never thought of selling our daughter to marry up to anyone!"

"Marry up?"

"Marry up what? Do we not have hands or feet, will we starve to death? I've heard there's no more war now, life will surely be better than before.

Tell me more about this, what's the deal with this marriage, have you met the elders in their family?"

He Chu shook his head.

"Haven't met?"

"Haven't met, but sis has."

"You let Sisi go see the in-laws alone?"

He Chu nodded.

Old He raised his hand at once, but due to the back pain, he couldn't stand up.

He Chu immediately understood, and leaned his head over.

"Slap!"

Old He slapped his son's head.

"You coward, don't say you're a pig butcher outside, we pig butchers can't afford the shame of having you, you let your sister meet the in-laws alone, do you not understand why I asked you to go with her?

It's to have you there to back her up, in case the in-laws try to bully Sisi, as her brother, you have to step up, if it's really unacceptable, slap them like your dad did!"

"..." He Chu.

"Are both of his parents still alive?"

Old He started to inquire about the son-in-law family's affairs.

"The mother-in-law has passed."

Consort Min has been deceased for many years.

"Hey, no mother-in-law?"

Old He was delighted, having no mother-in-law is good.

"There is."

"Huh? A remarried wife?"

"No."

"His mother is a concubine?"

"Kind of... roughly."

The Empress is the legitimate mother, the other consorts are actually concubines, unless elevated to Imperial Noble Consort.

"Hiss..."

Old He took a deep breath in shock.

The situation at the son-in-law's home was much worse than he thought.

"Direct Thief, he's actually a concubine's child!"

"Dad..."

"I went to the government office and asked around, they said Chengjue seems to have gotten into some trouble, and lost his constable position, do you think he's planning to escape back to the capital to seek refuge, and conveniently take our Sisi away?"

"Dad..."

"Direct Thief, got trapped, really trapped!"

Old He got furious, continued speaking to his son:

"Enough, enough, looking at their situation, it seems difficult for them to live richly and comfortably, alright, go find your brother-in-law again, ask him to come back, we'll handle the issues at the government office, and try to settle it if we can spend a bit to smooth things over.

If it doesn't work out, let him come back, and be my son-in-law here.

Our He family's property, you as a brother can split it with him, we can write an agreement."

"Son-in... son-in-law?"

He Chu's expression was quite interesting.

"Speaking of which, you little bastard spent half a year in the capital, if it weren't for your occasional letters, I'd think you were gone! What are you really doing in the capital?"

"Reading books, learning to write."

Old He was taken aback, blinked and asked:

"What are you doing?"

"Reading books, learning to write."

"You pig butcher, why learn to read, to write a will for the pigs?"

"My brother-in-law asked me to learn, so I did."

"Just because he asks you to do something, you do it? You're the older brother, how can you listen to him for everything, if he asks you to break into the palace one day, would you obediently do it?"

"Uh-huh, okay."

"You, you're driving me crazy!"

"Dad..."

"What's the situation with the marriage, why is it dragging on with no news?"

"I just came back, dad, previously because of the war, the wedding got delayed, that's why it's been postponed, now that there's no war, they let me return."

"You came back alone?"

"Brother-in-law also came back, but a day behind me, he's arriving tomorrow, with the dowry."

"Arriving tomorrow, oh, your sister?"

"Sister is coming back with brother-in-law."

"Makes sense, that's observing propriety."

"Dad, you should tidy up this shop."

"Yeah, should tidy it up, let's finish the wedding first."

"Dad, I mean, you should close the shop."

"Close it? Have you lost your mind, why say such nonsense?"

"Dad, close it."

"Close it, and do what?"

"Go to the capital, come with us to the capital."

"Go to the capital for what?"

"To let him take care of me? Can he afford it!"

"Uh..."

"Besides, I only know how to butcher pigs and sell meat."

"Brother-in-law said, we can open a butcher shop in the capital."

"Huh? Open a butcher shop in the capital?"

"Exactly."

"You're playing with me, didn't your dad just tell you, living there won't be easy, add the fact that it's unfamiliar territory, I go there and even if it's the same trade, who knows if it'll actually work."