Zhulan really knew the girl from Wang De's family. The thirteen-year-old girl was indeed pretty. Zhulan had met her a few times and she was not bad either. Unfortunately, the surname Wang was not acceptable, especially since they were from the same family as Wang Ru. Their family did not want to have any relationship with the Wang family. "I understand what you mean, auntie, but my Chang Lian will take the Tongsheng exam next year, and we don't want to arrange a marriage for him so early. His father and I think he is still young, so it's not too late to wait for another year or two."
If Wang Ru hadn't been there, she would have wanted to just say that she would get engaged after she turned eighteen. In this dynasty, scholars got married late, basically at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Zhulan said there would be nothing wrong with waiting for a year or two. Of course, the main reason was that he didn't like the girl from the Wang family.
Matchmakers are all smart people. They didn't want to continue persuading. She understood that waiting for a year or two meant that they didn't like the girl from the Wang family. The girl from the Zhou family was an example. She got engaged very early. So these were just excuses. "Okay, I won't bother you anymore and will go back first. The Wang family is still waiting for a reply!"
Zhulan stood up and said to her, "Sorry for the trouble. This is a small token of my appreciation. Please don't hesitate."
The matchmaker felt the purse and found a lot of money. She understood that Zhou Yang wanted to spread her words and would not consider it for a year or two. "Oh, then I won't be polite."
Zhulan happily saw them off and did not return until they had gone far away. The matchmaker went to the front street and peeked into the purse in her sleeve. She counted and found thirty coins. She was very happy. She did not expect to make a wasted trip and get a lot of money. She hummed a little tune as she walked towards Wang's house.
In the past, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had never considered Changlian's marriage, mainly because in their minds the child was still young. When the matchmaker came, they took it seriously. After discussion, they concluded that the Zhou family would go to Pingzhou soon, and it would not be appropriate for Changlian to find a marriage partner in the nearby villages. It was not that they were materialistic and looked down on rural girls, but that people wanted to move up. In ancient times, the relationship between two families was mutually beneficial. They hoped that Changlian's in-laws would not ask for much help, but at least have the stamina for a few generations and not be a drag.
Wang De's family was unhappy, thinking that their daughter was the best, and that the fact that the Zhou family didn't like her showed that they had high standards. However, they didn't dare to say anything to the Zhou family. Instead, they blamed Wang Laosi's family, thinking that it was Wang Laosi's family that had ruined the reputation of Wang's daughter. As the branch of the Wang family in charge of the family tree, Wang De's family once again thought of opening the family tree and crossing out Wang Laosi's family.
Zhulan didn’t know about these things, and even if she did, she would just think that she and Zhou Shuren’s wings had flapped again, and the plot was going further off track.
After school in the evening, Chang Lian learned that someone came to propose marriage, but he was the calmest. This was because several classmates had asked him about the news. He already had an idea in his mind. If there had been no changes in his family before, he would have been very happy to be Wang De's daughter. But now it was different. He would rather find someone who could read and write.
I believe my parents think the same way. The reason is that my eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law can read and write, so he is confident that his parents will not arrange a marriage for him casually. Now after hearing his mother say to wait for two years, and thinking that his family is about to move away, he feels more confident. After dinner, he went to study hard. He was under a lot of pressure. His younger brother was a few years younger than him and was taking the exam in the same year. He did not expect to pass it in one go, but he did not want to do worse than his younger brother. It was not only a matter of face, but he also did not want his father to put all his attention on his younger brother.
The matchmaker's visit did not cause any waves at the Zhou family, but it did cause quite a stir in Zhoujia Village. No one said that the Zhou family was getting too arrogant, but instead the reputation of the Wang family's girl was brought up.
Zhulan heard the news from Li who came back and said, "Mother, the Wang family has created a family tree and deleted Wang Laosi's family from it."
Zhulan asked, "What's the reason?"
Li knew very well that Wang Laosi's family had angered the Wang family, "The reason was that educating a daughter was fine, but it would corrupt the family's morals and be disrespectful to the elders."
Zhulan was surprised, "How do you know so clearly?"
Just like being there!
Li laughed and said, "Because it's over. I heard it from Wang's wife."
Zhao hissed, "The Wang family is really angry. Not only did they keep it a secret, they also spread it everywhere. Who would dare to marry the daughters of Wang Lao Si?"