Breaking the Fence to Finally Become a Family, Jia Zheng Hires a Tutor

"Sigh~"

Sun Shaozong sighed, put down the Da Zhou Law that he had opened only to the cover, and stared blankly at the Crane Stepping on Spirit Turtle candlestick beside him, lost in thought.

Ever since returning from the Jia family, Ruan Rong had shut herself in her room, and he heard that she hadn't even eaten dinner.

Sun Shaozong had thought about trying to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say—should he tell her: the position of principal wife is out of the question, so just be a concubine obediently?!

Perhaps…

He shouldn't have brought her back to Da Zhou in the first place.

Just as he was pondering, he heard a series of small noises from outside. At first, Sun Shaozong thought it was the two maids outside playing around again, so he didn't pay much attention. But the noise grew louder and louder, making it impossible for him to ignore.

What kind of mischief are they up to?

Although Sun Shaozong had always felt that it was pitiful for fourteen or fifteen-year-old girls to be treated like slaves, and he usually took good care of them, that didn't mean he would allow the maids to act spoiled and presumptuous.

What's more, he was already in a bad mood.

So, he endured it for a while longer, and when he saw that there was still no sign of stopping outside, Sun Shaozong stood up and suddenly pulled open the door.

"You two…"

A reprimand was already on the tip of his tongue, but Sun Shaozong swallowed it back.

Because standing prettily outside the door was a woman in a phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes—who else could it be but Ruan Rong?

"Brother Sun."

Their eyes met, and Ruan Rong shyly lifted the corner of her skirt and asked softly, "Does this attire of mine look alright?"

Sun Shaozong didn't know where she had found this wedding dress, nor did he know what kind of mental struggle she had gone through after returning from the Jia family before finally taking this step…

But none of that mattered, nor was it the time to delve into it!

He suddenly pulled Ruan Rong into his arms, gently nibbling her silver ingot-like earlobe, and murmured, "No matter what others think, from this moment on, you are my wife!"

Ruan Rong's eyes immediately turned red, and she buried herself in Sun Shaozong's arms, calling out 'Husband' in a muffled voice.

That night.

Sun Shaozong, who was usually eager for intimacy, instead restrained himself and leaned against the headboard with Ruan Rong in his arms, talking intimately for most of the night.

Seeing that it was already past the fourth watch and heading towards dawn at the fifth watch, Ruan Rong became anxious instead, fearing that she wouldn't be able to produce 'evidence' in the morning, which would arouse suspicion from others. So, she silently took out a plain silk handkerchief from her bosom, spread it shyly on the bed, and didn't say a word, but her silence spoke volumes, an invitation without words.

So, the next day, Ruan Rong was not only paralyzed in bed and unable to get up, but even the two little maids serving outside slept soundly until noon.

When they woke up and looked at Sun Shaozong again, the two little maids' eyes had changed. They were fearful but also carried a hint of anticipation, looking for opportunities to flirt in front of him. Even when fetching a basin of water for washing, they had to tease Sun Shaozong's biceps.

Enough of the small talk.

It is said that after Ruan Rong's status as a concubine was confirmed, the happiest person was not Sun Shaozong himself, but his good-for-nothing elder brother, Sun Shaozu.

On the one hand, he drove all the beauties in his room to Ruan Rong's side to pay their respects, and handed over the power to distribute the inner courtyard's monthly allowance to Ruan Rong, to show that this concubine was different from the others.

On the other hand, he secretly found Sun Shaozong and asked him whether he wanted to find a noble relative among the military generals and nobles, or a sensible young lady among the civil officials, to change the Sun Mansion's style.

Sun Shaozong naturally didn't bother with his calculations.

During the day, he prepared for the New Year with Old Steward Wei, and at night, he was intimate with Ruan Rong, more like a married couple than just friends. He also made time to read the Da Zhou Law, so he could quickly familiarize himself with the laws and regulations of the Da Zhou Dynasty. For a time, he was extremely busy.

On the morning of the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Feng Xin, who had been missing for many days, came to visit, bringing a large cart of dried fruits, saying they were produced on his own estate and weren't worth much.

Having heard him mention that after reporting to the Ministry of War, he had waited for several days without any news, Sun Shaozong asked his cheap older brother to help inquire—with Sun Shaozu's current official rank, he couldn't influence major events, but he could help with the future of a mere seventh-rank Patrol Inspector.

Feng Xin thanked him profusely and left, then secretly sent a thousand taels of silver, and Sun Shaozong realized that he was actually from a 'local tyrant' background.

And so, the family had a prosperous New Year.

On the second day of the New Year, he had to follow his cheap older brother to visit relatives and old friends—Sun Shaozong originally thought that the Jia family would definitely be at the top of the list, but who knew that his cheap older brother first went to the residence of General Feng Tang, the Divine Martial.

Later, after inquiring, he learned that this Feng Tang was now serving as the Patrol Camp Commander, who was Sun Shaozu's immediate superior.

Because Sun Shaozong's reputation for 'solving strange cases with a few words' had spread throughout the Capital, and he had become famous in Shuntian Prefecture before even taking office, General Feng was quite warm to him, and specially instructed Sun Shaozong to be more intimate with his son, Feng Ziying, in the future, so that the 'rebellious son' would understand that there is always someone better.

After leaving the Divine Martial General's residence, the second place they went was naturally Rongguo Mansion.

Originally, the two brothers wanted to visit First-Class General Jia She, but halfway there, they were intercepted by Second Master Jia Zheng, who let go of the cheap older brother and led Sun Shaozong to Rongxi Hall in the north.

That Jia Zheng was about forty years old, and he was quite refined and handsome, and it could be seen that he must have been a romantic figure when he was young.

But now he was extremely pedantic and upright, quoting scriptures almost every sentence, which made it difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, Sun Shaozong had read some books in modern times, so he didn't show his timidity on the spot, but after chatting vaguely about this and that, he didn't understand what Jia Zheng's purpose was in asking him to come over until he left Rongguo Mansion.

But after Sun Shaozu asked for details, he became a little unhappy, and suspected that Jia Zheng wanted to marry off his concubine daughter to Sun Shaozong, so he complained at home for half a day.

Who knew that on the fifth day, Jia Lian actually sent tuition fees and a greeting card with great fanfare, wanting to hire Sun Shaozong as the Horsemanship and Archery Instructor of Rongguo Mansion, responsible for supervising a group of young masters such as Baoyu, Jia Huan, Jia Cong, and Jia Lan.

Thanks to book friend 'Listen to My Roar' for the reward.