According to convention, Yang Anchen should have settled down before Yang Anjin. Otherwise, if the younger ones in the family are about to start a family but the older ones are still not making any moves, people may easily suspect that he has some health problems.

Fortunately, Yang Anchen is a capable man, so the villagers would only mutter a few words behind his back and would not tell Zhang Lanzhen about it.

But if he was a boy or a girl, Zhang Lanzhen would definitely come after Yang Anchen first.

Considering how often Yang Anchen had been visiting the Yang family over the past few days, Zhang Lanzhen had a vague suspicion: "You're not really into Fang Chu, are you?"

Yang Anchen pursed his lips and didn't respond, neither saying yes nor no.

But Zhang Lanzhen, seeing his expression, could not help but guess what he was thinking. Frowning, she said, "Back then, Yang Chunxue pursued you so hard, and you said you didn't like her. She was a bad person, and I told you about the gentle girl from your uncle's village, but you had an excuse to refuse. I thought you were always picky in town, hoping you would bring someone back to me one day. You were so determined and didn't make any move, so I didn't dare to push you. Why are you suddenly saying you like Fang Chu?"

Before Yang Anchen could reply, Zhang Lanzhen looked at Yang Anjin, her face full of embarrassment: "I know Fang Chu is a good person, and I didn't say that I must let you marry a girl, but now Anjin said that he gave her to his brother, and you want to marry her back now. What kind of thing is this? The matter of exchange marriage is not easy to say. If it weren't for the fact that Anjin has already been decided, I would also be willing to find someone to talk to you, but you see, things have already come to this point, and I can't just consider yourself."

The custom of exchange brides has always existed, and it is not uncommon for two families' children to marry each other. In order to carry out an exchange bride, both families must have a son and a daughter or a little boy.

Generally speaking, anyone with a little common sense would not agree to such an absurd practice, unless the parents are cruel and the son is not ambitious, and he is still unable to find a wife at his age, so he is forced to resort to this desperate measure.

When Zhang Lanzhen was still a girl in her parents' home, there was a girl who was very popular in the boudoir. The girl was an older sister and her family was very patriarchal. They raised a younger brother who was a good-for-nothing and had a bad reputation. When he reached the age for marriage, he still couldn't find anyone.

Her parents kept the girl at home and were unwilling to let her find a husband even though she was past the age of marriage. Later, when someone finally came to propose marriage, her parents did not consider the man's family conditions, but instead set their sights on an unmarried sister in his family.

The man was not a good person either. In order to get married, he agreed to the request of the girl's parents and exchanged his younger sister for the other person's son. He married the elder sister himself and let his younger sister marry the girl's younger brother who was not a good person.

The two families didn't even mention the issue of betrothal gifts, and regardless of whether the girls were willing or not, they just confirmed the marriage exchange.

Later, Zhang Lanzhen got married. When she returned to her parents' home, she asked about the girl's situation. Her mother said that the girl had a bad life after getting married, and it was common for her husband's family to beat and scold her. Once, she couldn't stand it anymore and returned to her parents' home. Her husband's family came to the house and asked for her to return, saying that if the girl didn't go back, they would take her sister away.

The girl's mother couldn't bear to see her son be without a wife, so she pushed the girl back into the fire pit with her own hands.

The two little girls were pushed into a desperate situation in just a few words and had no chance to resist. Zhang Lanzhen has always hated this and thought it was extremely stupid and was simply using the girls' lives to pave the way for her son.

Now Zhang Lanzhen's hair has turned white. When she occasionally returns to her parents' home, she may not always meet her childhood playmate. Even though the girl was treated differently by her parents in the past, she never felt sorry for herself. In her memory, the girl has always been full of vigor and vitality.

But now, the bright eyes in my memory have become cloudy due to wear and tear. Even when talking about the past, he still feels resentful and is full of complaints about his unhappy life. Zhang Lanzhen feels distressed when she sees him.

So she was reluctant when she saw Yang Anchen had such thoughts. If others knew about it, they would think that there was something wrong with the man in one of the two families.

Yang Anchen put down his bowl and chopsticks, his expression making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Zhang Lanzhen had also expressed her feelings about the girl's difficulties in front of the children. Yang Anchen knew her concerns and said, "This is different."

"What's the difference? You and An Jin are not born from the same mother, or Fang Yu and Fang Chu are not born from the same mother? Who will you care what others say then?"

"Why do we have to listen to what others say? If we live a good life, others will naturally see it."

"You're being unreasonable." Zhang Lanzhen was so angry at his words that her chest ached. "You don't care what others say, but your Aunt Cuilan doesn't care either? An Jin doesn't care? Fang Chu and Fang Yu's reputations are all gone. You're a scholar, so of course people will go easy on you. But what about Fang Yu? Have you ever thought about what others will say about him?"

"You don't know what I'm trying to teach you." Seeing that he hadn't said anything, Zhang Lanzhen spoke up on her own: "No wonder Fang Yu hadn't succeeded after several attempts. He's probably waiting for his little brother to grow up and get him a better wife. Zhu Cuilan seems to love her little brother very much, so she used him to buy a wife for her son. By then, you, An Jin, and Cuilan's two children, none of them will be able to escape."

Yang Anjin rarely saw Zhang Lanzhen speak so seriously. He watched Yang Anchen's expression change again and again, and he couldn't help but say, "Mom, it shouldn't be as serious as you say. Everyone outside knows that it was Aunt Cuilan who first arranged the marriage for Brother Fang Yu. It can't be considered a marriage exchange."

Zhang Lanzhen glared at him. "What's the point of deciding who got it first? When the time comes, we won't be able to explain it all. Maybe they'll even say things like the two children have been secretly in love for a long time. What will we do then? Besides, your Aunt Cuilan isn't the kind of person who sells children for money, and she doesn't care about appearances. Even if you're a scholar, Fang Chu might not be interested in you if you want to marry him."

Yang Anjin didn't dare to talk back. He just kept his mouth shut and looked at his brother in embarrassment.

The two of them were at loggerheads, and Yang Anchen was incredibly stubborn. Zhang Lanzhen couldn't lose her temper, so she said sternly, "If you really want to be involved with Fang Chu, then I'll cancel An Jin's marriage to avoid any future rifts between the two families, and to avoid ruining my relationship with your Aunt Cui Lan."

"Mom!" Yang Anjin shouted anxiously.

Zhang Lanzhen did not favor one over the other when it came to her two children. Even when Yang Anjin was the younger one, she sometimes asked Yang Anchen to give in to her more.

Today was the first time that he had to give way to Yang Anchen, and it was a lifelong event. Yang Anjin felt that his mother was biased and was so angry that tears were about to come out. He pushed the bowl away and turned back to the house.

No one could take seriously what Zhang Lanzhen said in anger. It was just that these two people were standing on her side against her, and she said those words in anger.

"Look at this, look at this, this is all due to habit. He'll smash pots and bowls when he's unhappy."