Can this old man take a concubine?

  Even if modern people don't know much about the Four Books and Five Classics of ancient times, a simple sentence like "don't judge by appearance" is something only an idiot wouldn't understand.

  But who would have thought that Sun Yuangun had no intention of letting go of Bai Minghe, and came up with another sentence: "A gentleman stands on his own, marries a virtuous wife!"

  Someone outside the door shouted again, "The Lu family has arrived, the Lu family has arrived."

  Good opportunity, Bai Minghe secretly praised in his heart and immediately spoke up: "I'll go out and take a look."

  Sun Yuanjun stepped forward and blocked the 'door': "The Lu family is here to collect debts, this is a family matter, it has nothing to do with you."

  Bai Minghe plopped down on the edge of the kang, slapping the spot beside him: "Come sit down, I want to have a talk with you." Bai Minghe had once been in business battles, verbally sparring with countless people, yet he never thought that today he would be tongue-tied by a little servant girl.

  Sun Yuangjun put down the book, but instead of sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled over a stool and sat opposite Bai Minghe.

  "Listen to me, I'm all muddled now. Can't remember things from before, and this brain of mine isn't working either. They say the capital city exam is coming up, but with how I am now, I won't pass for sure. What do you think?" Bai Minghe first spoke in a self-deprecating tone, essentially pretending to be pitiful.

  Who would have thought, Sun Yuanjun, who had been keeping a straight face all along, suddenly burst out laughing.

  If it weren't for the birthmark on her face, she would be absolutely stunning, a femme fatale of catastrophic proportions.

  "In the third year of the Great Ming dynasty, only 3,000 scholars were qualified to take the imperial examination in the capital. One out of ten would be selected. Even if you were the only scholar in this life, after returning home, you could live a wealthy life for generations to come. You can openly say that I'm ugly and don't want to marry me, so this act of pretending to be pitiful is really foolish, just as foolish as it was ten years ago."

  Ten years ago?

  Was it a long time ago that there was such a memory? Bai Minghe tried hard to recall, but unfortunately, the memory in his mind didn't have that part.

  If one trick doesn't work, try another.

  Bai Minghe took a deep breath, maintaining his composure, staring into Sun Yuanchun's eyes: "As a jinshi, I must take a concubine."

  "Alright, according to the Great Ming Code, taking a concubine requires the wife's consent, so if I agree, there must be one condition."

  Is reading really good? Bai Menghu finally understood what is meant by 'a woman without talent is virtuous'. Just looking at the books in this room, Bai Menghu realized that the number of books is inversely proportional to virtue. Reading too much is terrifying.

  Wenzi values his reputation more than his life, and when he comes to the Great Ming, even Bai Minghe is afraid.

  With a few cautious steps, Bai Minghe made an effort to show off his masculinity and asked in a majestic tone: "Speak, what conditions."

  "Ba Jia's concubine, at least should be one..." Sun Yuanjun's heart was also racing, she clearly knew that this time she might have gone a bit too far. But in her heart, she really couldn't help but feel angry, this Bai Minghe just got hit by a stone, did he really forget himself? Did he really forget the promise made ten years ago by the creek?

  And he really forgot his own appearance, did he really think he was an ugly girl?

  The more she thought about it, the angrier Sun Yuanjun became. She gritted her silver teeth and said loudly: "A concubine of the White family should at least be a county mistress!"

  "What?!" Bai Minghe exclaimed, jumping up in surprise, but scared Sun Yuanchun half to death, who hastily retreated a few steps. His heart was pounding loudly, almost jumping out of his chest.

  Isn't this joke going too far? Sun Yuanjun was also a little scared.

  Bai Minghe jumped up and shouted: "What?"

  Sun Yuangjun listened and found that Bai Minghe was questioning her. But just as she was about to apologize and explain, Bai Minghe asked again: "What is the county master?"

  Sun Yuangjun felt a little dizzy, her husband wouldn't really be stupid because of being hit by a stone, would he?

  One has to ask and answer: "The county master is the daughter of the king, the princess is the daughter of the prince, and the princess is the heavenly family!"

  "It's really not worth it, remember. I'm Bai Minghe, and taking a concubine is at least a princess." What Bai Minghe said was true, all travelers who cross over don't marry princesses, and marrying one isn't considered an achievement, you have to marry a pair at the very least. Thinking about it, starting from scratch, fighting in the business world, establishing oneself in their 30s, achieving some success, marrying a princess is normal, marrying a pair is one's own achievement, only marrying a dozen is worth being proud of.

  Sun Yuanjun smiled, smiling extremely happily.

  The white crane in front of me is different from the one in my memory, but it has become more interesting.

  The air was released, and the laughter stopped. Sun Yuanjun suddenly put away the smile on his face and said seriously to Bai Minghe: "As the old uncle said, you are a holder of Jinshi degree. During our grand ceremony, we should follow the etiquette!"

  "This, can it be explained in a way that an illiterate person can understand?" Bai Minghe wasn't joking, his mind seemed to recall the Four Books and Five Classics, but it was like a hard drive that hadn't been organized, and he couldn't use it.

  Sun Yuanjun glared at Bai Minghe with a bad temper: "It's just that a cousin from the clan married me and became your concubine."

  "Nonsense!" Bai Minghe really thought it was nonsense. One Sun Yuanchun could be a duty, a responsibility. But what about the other one? Never seen before, don't even know who that person is. This kind of thing is too dangerous. But seeing Sun Yuanchun almost in tears, he immediately spoke very seriously: "Remember, the Bai family will take a concubine, at least it's a princess!"

  Are you kidding?

  It was more like the promise ten years ago, Sun Yuanjun's heart felt warm.

  Sun Yuanjun looked at Bai Minghe with a different gaze, but Bai Minghe was somewhat afraid and didn't know what to say. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became awkward.

  Just then, the noise outside the door grew louder, and it seemed that someone was shouting something like "Holding a public office". Bai Minghe took advantage of the situation to say: "I'll go out and take a look." After saying this, Bai Minghe adjusted his clothes and slowly walked out of the door.

  As soon as Bai Minghe appeared, everyone outside immediately fell silent. Bai Minghe swept a glance at all the people surrounding the courtyard, and without exception, the young men were all flushed red in the face, while several elderly men seemed to be speaking calmly. At this moment, however, all eyes were focused on Bai Minghe alone.

  The young man stepped aside and several elderly people came forward.

  "Please let the elder know that our villages, Changmu, Shangquan and Beihai, borrowed 47 dan of grain from Xiaquan village last autumn. Our Changmu village alone contributed 20 dan. Originally, we agreed to repay before summer harvest, but unexpectedly, a fire broke out in our village a few days ago, burning down the granary. So, I'm here to discuss whether it's possible to repay part of the debt first!"

  According to this old man, this is debt collection.

  Bai Minghe lowered his head and remained silent, he didn't understand the rules of the Great Ming, nor did he know if it was reasonable to ask for a portion of the payment in advance. He wasn't even sure what he should say.

  He himself was trying to avoid embarrassment by escaping outside, but who would have thought that it would be even more embarrassing outside.

  "Master, the people of Xiaquan Village are not unwilling to repay, but they can't afford to repay. They cannot even move their grain." The speaker was Sun Lao Shu Gong, the head of Xiaquan Village.

  The old man who just spoke also said: "Our Changmu Village doesn't even have grain to plant."

  Upon hearing this, the people of Xiaquan Village also fell silent. It can be said that Changmu Village has been forced into a desperate situation, otherwise they would not have come to ask for an advance repayment of debts. After all, it's impossible to let creditors starve while debtors live a good life.

  Bai Minghe dared to interrupt, this matter is not just troublesome, it's a life-threatening major event.

  Sun Yuankun, wearing a veil, stood behind Bai Minghe: "Husband should take care of it, husband can't not take care of it. This is the life of 70 households and nearly 400 people, so with husband here, the two villages can have a peaceful New Year."

  Where does this confidence come from? Do you really think that scholars are gods?

  Bai Minghe weighed the pros and cons in his heart, not helping would mean he was unfeeling and unrighteous. Helping was truly no easy task, especially since he didn't understand history, let alone thoroughly study the Ming dynasty. However, Bai Minghe did know that during this time in the Great Ming Dynasty, scholars valued their reputation more than their lives.

  Sun Yuanjun's face has a birthmark, ugly! Don't say it's ugly, even if it's like a 'flower' here, Bai Minghe wouldn't dare to mention divorce. This would be his lifelong shame in the Great Ming Dynasty, and because of this factor, he might find it harder to get promoted than others, and people won't want to cooperate with him when doing things.

  After weighing his options, Bai Minghe slowly lifted his head.

  This action attracted everyone's attention, and they all looked forward to hearing what this old gentleman had to say.

  Bai Minghe's face was serious, and he said word by word: "I am Bai Minghe, who has read many books and is loyal to the righteous. When it comes to being a person, I emphasize the importance of 'righteousness'! Today's matter, I will take care of it. There are still three days before the New Year, and on New Year's Eve, I, Bai Minghe, will naturally let everyone have a good year!"

  "Good!" A group of young people cheered loudly.

  The crowd of old men also bowed in unison and shouted: "The gentleman is benevolent, we surrender!"

  As the crowd dispersed, Bai Minghe returned to his room and asked as soon as he sat down: "What is a jinshi? Can't a jinshi do anything?"

  "Juren can borrow official grain!" Sun Yuankui directly helped Bai Minghe think of a plan.

  Borrow! Doesn't it require interest? Borrow! Does it mean I can return it as is? Bai Minghe lightly shook his head and asked, "How much do you need to borrow?"

  Sun Yuanchun had obviously calculated it, and the result needed was actually forty stones.

  Bai Minghe didn't understand, so Sun Yuankui explained: "Actually, I've already borrowed from Xiaquan Village for three years. Every year, I can repay a part of it, but still, the amount is getting bigger and bigger. This is also because the villagers are kind-hearted; otherwise, Xiaquan Village would have sold its children and land by last autumn."

  "Why?"

  "Wild boars caused a disaster, destroying the crops. Last year was the worst loss, if it wasn't for Zhangmuvillage being kind and taking the lead in lending us grain, otherwise there would be no Xiaquan village." Sun Yuanjun explained again.

  Bai Minghe was even more puzzled, wondering if ancient people were really so kind. Thinking this, he couldn't ask that, so Bai Minghe asked instead: "Longmu Village is benevolent and thick, what 'intersection' do the two villages have?"

  "Every year we fight for water, and our Xiaquan Village is the main force!"