Chapter 414: Chapter 236: Late Marriage

“We really can’t blame Mother; it’s my second brother’s fault. He’s genuinely gotten foolish from all that studying, always going on about how a man needs great ambitions, aiming for distant horizons, and shouldn’t be stuck in trivial romantic matters. He claims he’s still young…”

Yet here I am, already about to be a father, while my second brother still says he’s too young. He truly has no shame.

Of course, he acts so willfully because both our grandfather and father support his decisions.

After all, the Zhao family is an apricot forest family, with ancestors who were doctors. It’s rare enough that we have a scholar, and since it was his own desire to tie his hair to the beams for sleepless nights and prick his thigh to stay awake for studying, we have to support him fully.

Never mind marrying later; even if he doesn’t marry at all, it’s not a problem. The Zhao family may not have many other things, but it sure has many sons.

If he doesn’t take a wife and have children, it’s fine; the Zhao family’s lineage is still guaranteed.

The eldest can manage the pharmacy, and while the third one may not be serious, he’s sweet-talking and lucky enough to marry Xiao Chunnuan, which is much easier and faster than gaining a scholarly title, isn’t it?

So, whether the second one marries or not isn’t really that significant.

Though they still harbor a bit of hope that if the second brother passes the scholarly examination next year and stays in the Capital, marrying an official’s daughter might not be off the table.

After hearing Zhao Minghua’s analysis, Chun Nuan understood this reasoning.

Indeed, there’s a reason for marrying late.

Speaking of which, Chun Nuan thought of Qiu Yan.

This girl is younger than me, but she’s already of marriageable age.

Previously, she acted obstinately, looking down on this one and that one, and Mrs. Qiu allowed her to do as she pleased.

But in the blink of an eye, she’s sixteen or seventeen, and Mrs. Qiu is starting to panic.

Yet, Qiu Yan is still being picky.

Her elder sister wrote a letter saying that Qiu Yan often goes to the General Mansion to play, actually to avoid the matchmaking her mother arranges for her.

Mrs. Qiu even asked her elder sister to persuade her to get married soon.

Qiu Yan had no choice, she finally agreed to a match, and Mrs. Qiu matched horoscopes with a son from an official family named Yu in the Capital. The match seemed excellent.

But who could predict that things wouldn’t go as planned, and Old Mrs. Qiu passed away.

Qiu Yan now has to stay home for mourning. Although she’s a granddaughter, she only needs to mourn for a year, but the Qiu family can’t have celebrations for three years.

If they were formally engaged, they could marry even during the mourning period, within a hundred days.

But alas, the engagement was only halfway done, so it had to be postponed.

The Yu family, naturally unwilling to wait three years, promptly told the matchmaker that the families were not fated to be together.

Thus, Qiu Yan’s marriage affairs faced another setback, which greatly worried Mrs. Qiu.

By the time the mourning period ends, Qiu Yan will be nearly twenty years old.

In Great Xia, it’s rare for a young woman of that age not to be married, especially an official’s daughter.

Qiu Yan unknowingly became a cautionary tale among the young ladies of the Capital.

The noble family wives began considering marriage for their daughters a year earlier, and they were less picky, mainly fearing their daughters would become like Qiu Yan.

Chun Nuan received Qiu Yan’s letter, read it over and over, and couldn’t help but laugh.

This girl hasn’t changed a bit.

Her mother is practically going mad with worry, yet she’s still nonchalantly acting as if nothing matters.

She’s even said that, worst-case, she’d accompany the ancient Buddha with a solitary lamp all her life.

She’s not very bright, not smooth of character, and besides, she’s lazy, unwilling to serve others, so marriage might not suit her after all.

What can Chun Nuan say?

Only that Qiu Yan has a big heart.

“Nuannuan, why are you laughing?”

Zhao Minghua walked into the courtyard and saw Chun Nuan laughing while shaking her head, and felt curious enough to immediately ask.

“Didn’t I mention to you before about my good friend from the Capital, Miss Qiu?”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned her. Is her wedding coming soon?” Zhao Minghua asked, “If you need to prepare any gifts, I’ll have someone arrange to send them to her. Hopefully, it’s not too late.”

“It’s not too late, how could it be? After all, there’s still at least two and a half years until her wedding, or maybe even longer.”

“How come?”

Zhao Minghua was puzzled.

Weren’t they close friends?

How could good friends not synchronize?

Two or three years later, their own child could run errands, and yet, Miss Qiu hadn’t married?

“Well, it’s because Qiu Yan was a bit willful.”

Chun Nuan didn’t believe Qiu Yan’s claim of not wanting to marry would actually come true. Even someone as willful as herself couldn’t escape the convention of marriage, and for a girl without any self-sufficiency like Qiu Yan, single life wasn’t an option.

After all, the Qiu family has other younger sons and daughters to marry off.

Having an unmarried spinster in the house would completely affect the other girls in the clan.

No matter how much her parents indulged, they wouldn’t allow her to do as she pleases.

Since she had to get married, she should pick the best time to choose someone suitable.

Who would have thought Qiu Yan kept delaying and not looking, and Mrs. Qiu just let it slide for a while.

As a result, the delay made her old enough.

“Now trying to find a good match, the men her age are already married, some even fathers; those younger typically don’t want an older wife; ultimately, the option left may be to marry as a second wife.”

Can you imagine a decent girl not marrying when she should, ending up as someone’s second wife? Isn’t that a loss?

“Not necessarily, right?”

Zhao Minghua felt some sympathy, thinking his own wife was much smarter.

Understanding that in this era women were bound to marriage, and since she couldn’t return to the Capital to marry a wealthy noble’s son, she negotiated her marriage like a business deal, securing many benefits and proactively marrying him.

Little did she know, as she was negotiating, he had already willingly surrendered.

He willingly signed and sealed an unequal contract to win over a beauty.

So, no matter the gender, one should always be clear-minded, remembering what they want, and how to achieve it.

“Doesn’t the Capital have a tradition of bridegrooms selected from examination candidates? There must be some scholars who’ve traveled far, yet haven’t found a wife due to poverty. When the time comes, perhaps Miss Qiu can just choose one of them?”

“Haha, you think too simply.”

What kind of place is the Capital?

Everyone there is shrewd; those scholars entering the Capital with hopes of becoming bridegrooms under scrutiny are quickly eyed by families looking for talented and good-looking candidates. If they score highly, these families immediately act. It’s almost a sure thing.

But Qiu Yan, a girl in her twenties, cannot join such excitement, or she’d drown in gossip.

When she had the chance, she didn’t seize it. Looking back, she no longer had the right to fight for it.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. If your good friend doesn’t mind, why not let her marry my second brother? After all, they’re about the same age.”

Zhao Minghua disliked seeing Chun Nuan frowning over others’ issues, fearing it would upset her and affect their unborn child. Doctor Chen had advised that a pregnant woman should maintain a happy mood.

“You…”

Chun Nuan was startled by his nonchalant suggestion: “If my second brother can pass the scholarly exams, it wouldn’t be out of the question.”

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