“But how can a woman not get married when she reaches marriageable age?” Xu Yunrong’s tone was tinged with anxiety and helplessness.

Meng Zhao remained unmoved, her tone firm, "Mother, why must we get married? The current law doesn't say that a woman must marry once she reaches a certain age. Can't a woman have her own choices?"

Xu Yunrong sighed, her tone tinged with worry. "Daughter, not everything has to be done according to the law. Besides, in the wars of yesteryear, many widows were left behind. Didn't the court issue an edict saying that widows could remarry after observing three years of mourning for their husbands, and their husbands' families had no right to interfere? How do you know that in a few years, the court won't issue another edict requiring all women of marriageable age to marry? What will you do then?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao frowned. In order to maintain population growth, many dynasties in history did have such laws. If a woman reached a certain age and was still unmarried, not only would she be fined or imprisoned, but her family would also be punished. Moreover, the age limit was mostly around 13-15 years old. Meng Zhao could only not think about this very backward behavior.

“Since there is no such law now, I can choose not to marry. Besides, even if there were a law, if they want to impose a fine, then let them do so.”

Seeing that her daughter, who was always greedy for money, would rather be fined than get married, Xu Yunrong became really anxious.

"Zhaozhao, tell your mother what you're thinking. How can a woman not get married? If she doesn't get married, how will she have children? When you get old and can't walk anymore, your parents will be gone too. Who will take care of you then?"

Seeing her mother's anxious expression, Meng Zhao felt a little sorry for her, but still asked firmly, "Mother, what kind of person do you think I can marry? If I marry a bad person, he will have to spend my money in the future. If I marry a high-ranking person, I will marry into a wealthy family with many wives and concubines and strict rules. How can someone like me live that kind of life?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yunrong frowned even more deeply. "Daughter, how could you think like that? Marriage is such a big deal, so naturally you should choose carefully. Surely there isn't a single man in this world that you would find acceptable?"

“Mother, I did say I didn’t want to get married, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t accept men. If one day I see someone I like, it would be great if we could all be happy together. But I will not get married and have children.” Meng Zhao said her thoughts calmly.

Xu Yunrong was shocked by her daughter's outrageous remarks. She had thought that her daughter couldn't forget Shen Qing'an and couldn't accept other men, but she didn't expect that her daughter could accept other men, but couldn't accept marriage and having children.

Meng Zhao would never have said these words before.

However, over the past year, Xu Yunrong and Meng Dashan have spoiled her rotten, letting Meng Zhao do whatever she wanted, which has fueled her arrogance. In addition, now that she has money and land, she has gained confidence and finally spoke her mind.

The two were quietly looking at the account book, but their voices gradually grew louder, sounding like they were arguing. This startled Meng Dashan outside, who quickly came in to check on them.

As soon as he entered, he saw Xu Yunrong clutching her chest, her face pale, clearly very angry.

Meng Dashan's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward to support his wife, his voice filled with concern and anxiety, "What's wrong? Why are you arguing?"

When Xu Yunrong saw her husband come in, a surge of grievances welled up inside her, and her voice choked with sobs, "Ask your daughter what she said! A woman who doesn't want to get married or have children, what will she do in this world after we're gone? How can I not be worried?"

Seeing his wife so angry, Meng Dashan quickly patted her back gently to help her calm down, his tone unusually stern: "Zhaozhao, how can you talk to your mother like that? Everything your mother says is for your own good, isn't it? Would your parents ever harm you?"

Seeing Xu Yunrong choke up, Meng Zhao felt extremely sad, but still couldn't help asking, "Father, Mother, I want to ask you a question: Why did you only give birth to me and not give me a younger brother or sister?"

In this era, every family considers having many children a blessing. When Meng Zhao came here, he saw that families with two or three children were considered few, but families with five or six children were not uncommon, especially if both parents were still alive.

Meng Dashan and Xu Yunrong looked very strong and healthy, and their family owned a butcher shop. They weren't exactly rich, but it wouldn't be difficult for them to feed and clothe their children. However, Meng Zhao was already eighteen and still didn't have a younger brother or sister, which was quite rare.

Hearing his daughter ask this, Meng Dashan replied without hesitation, "That's because your mother hurt herself giving birth to you. She couldn't get out of bed for almost half a year. The doctor said it would take two or three years for her to recover, and even if she got pregnant then, she wouldn't be able to keep the pregnancy."

Xu Yunrong came from a relatively wealthy family and had never done any manual labor since childhood. Later, her family fell into poverty, and she married Meng Dashan. When she first married him, she was very thin and weak. Not long after their marriage, Xu Yunrong became pregnant.

Upon hearing the news, Meng Dashan was overjoyed. He had heard from others that the woman was pregnant and needed to nourish her body, so he worked tirelessly to earn money to buy supplements and meat so that Xu Yunrong could eat whatever she wanted.

As a result, when Xu Yunrong gave birth, her belly was much larger than that of other women during pregnancy. The midwife said it was because she had eaten too many supplements, which made the baby grow strong. This made things difficult for the mother, as it took her a whole day to give birth to Meng Zhao.

After giving birth, she couldn't move her legs. Meng Dashan's parents passed away early, and with no one to help her, he took care of Xu Yunrong little by little. He knew how much suffering Xu Yunrong had endured to give birth to his daughter, which is why he was so angry when he saw Meng Zhao talking back to Xu Yunrong.

Meng Zhao continued, "And then what happened? Mother recovered, but why didn't she get pregnant?"

Meng Dashan glanced at his wife and said in a low voice, "That's because I don't want to see your mother lying in bed unable to move again. Your mother almost lost her life when she gave birth to you, how could I dare to let her suffer again?"

Hearing this, Xu Yunrong's eyes reddened slightly, and she lowered her head and remained silent. Meng Zhao also felt a pang of sorrow upon hearing this. "So, Father, childbirth is like walking through the gates of hell for a woman. Since you can't bear to see Mother lying in bed unable to move, have you never thought that if I get pregnant and give birth, I might encounter the same situation as Mother?"