No one realized that the question was asked by Qin Chuan; they were only concerned with feeling sorry for the village head.
"This Miss Su Ruyan comes from a scholarly family. Her father is the prefect of this prefecture. Miss Ruyan has loved reading since she was a child and is proficient in music, chess, poetry and painting. Now she is a famous talented woman in Jiangnan, admired by many!"
"Miss Su is good in every way, but there is one thing she is not good at."
"What's wrong with it?" Qin Chuan continued to ask.
"This Miss Su has been looking for a husband since she was sixteen, and she's been searching for five years, but she hasn't found one she likes!"
"According to the imperial law, if a woman does not marry by the age of twenty-one, she will be exiled to Fengxiang to guard the imperial tombs."
"My God! It's that serious! If she doesn't get married, she'll be exiled to guard the imperial tombs!" Qin Chuan exclaimed.
"That's considered mild. Only daughters of officials receive this treatment. Ordinary women who are unmarried by the age of twenty-one are sent to the army as camp prostitutes or to brothels..."
"Damn, that's too ruthless..." Qin Chuan sighed.
"This Miss Su is great in every way, except that she's too picky. Look at her, she hasn't taken a liking to any of them this year..."
"Why don't we let Qin the Fool go up and give it a try?"
"Hey, where's Qin the Fool?"
When everyone realized Qin Chuan was missing, they took a closer look and saw that he had already walked towards the stage of the "Wedding Ceremony".
...
“Miss Su, this is the last ‘wedding procession’ of our manor.”
The officials looked at the beautiful woman on the platform, dressed in a wedding gown, phoenix coronet, and embroidered robe, and said...
“You are twenty-one years old this year. If you do not get married soon, we will have no choice but to imprison you according to the law. The prefect has also given the order.”
The beautiful woman, dressed in her wedding gown, phoenix coronet, and embroidered robe, had disappointment in her eyes and murmured softly:
"...My ideal man is a peerless talent. One day he will ride a fine horse and be carried in a grand sedan chair to welcome me into his home... Is there really no such person?"
A sneer suddenly came from behind her.
"Fifth Sister, if you don't get married soon, you'll be exiled to guard the imperial tombs! There are more women than men these days, it's a miracle if you can even get married! You're still fantasizing about some peerless talent and a grand wedding procession, your ambitions are higher than the sky, but your fate is as thin as paper..."
Su Ruyan turned around and said to the sneering woman:
"Third sister, you don't understand me..."
"Oh, our fifth sister, she's been the apple of her parents' eye since she was little, how could she bear the slightest grievance? And she wants some peerless talent? It's laughable..." another woman's voice rang out.
"Fourth Sister, you..."
Su Ruyan frowned, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Alright, Xue'er, Hua'er, you two should say less." An elderly woman, over fifty years old, wearing a gilded black cloak and leaning on a cane, coughed softly.
"mother……"
The round-faced woman, whom Su Ruyan called "Third Sister," called out and took the old woman's arm affectionately.
"Xue'er isn't wrong. Look at Fifth Sister, she's been picking one for five years and hasn't found one she likes. Isn't that just 'ambitions higher than the sky, but fate thinner than paper'?"
“That’s right, Third Sister is absolutely right. Fifth Sister is just ‘ambitious but unlucky’…”
The oval-faced woman, whom Su Ruyan called "Fourth Sister," also chimed in:
"That young master Zhu from the governor's family has been pursuing our fifth sister for a long time. He's also talented in poetry, but unfortunately, our fifth sister just doesn't like him..."
“That’s right. When it comes to being a good match, Fifth Sister and that Young Master Zhu are a perfect match.” Su Ruxue chimed in.
"Alright, that's enough!" The old woman closed her eyes.
Seeing that their mother was really angry, Su Ruxue and Su Ruhua had no choice but to shut up and stop talking.
After a moment of silence, Madam Yan of the Su family stared at her beloved youngest daughter on the platform, couldn't help but tap her cane, and said earnestly:
"Ruyan, you've been choosing for five years now, and you really haven't found one you like?"
“A country has its laws, and a family has its rules. In this era where there are more women than men, if you are not selected today, your father will lose face in officialdom. If those censors impeach your father for leading the way in violating regulations, our entire Su family will suffer because of you!”
"I'm begging you, Mother, please, no matter what... you have to make this marriage happen!"
Madam Yan banged her cane on the ground with a loud thud, looking utterly exhausted.
"Mother, Yan'er understands."
Su Ruyan slowly closed her eyes and said softly.
"Imperial edict has arrived!"
A eunuch carrying an imperial edict arrived at the "wedding procession" site.
The eunuch rushed onto the platform before Qin Chuan could and read out the imperial edict:
"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"
"Su Ruyan, daughter of Su Zhiqi, the prefect of Jiangzhou, has been unable to find a husband for five consecutive years. Now she is twenty-one years old. If she does not marry today, she will be exiled to Fengxiang County to guard the imperial tombs as a warning to others. So be it!"
Everyone else knelt on the ground, but Qin Chuan did not.
The eunuch didn't notice that after reading the imperial edict, he handed it to Su Ruyan with both hands and rode away.
"Oh! I didn't expect it to have alarmed the imperial court. Yan'er, what do you mean by this... this..."
Madam Yan was so angry that she tapped her cane and could barely stand. Fortunately, Su Ruxue and Su Ruhua supported her and prevented her from falling.
Just then, a young man holding a folding fan, dressed in white, with dark circles under his eyes, rushed onto the stage and almost knocked Qin Chuan off.
"Like smoke! Like smoke!"
The young man walked up to Su Ruyan, and upon seeing Madam Yan of the Su family, he quickly clasped his hands in a respectful greeting: "Madam."
"Young Master Zhu!"
"I didn't expect it to be Young Master Zhu!"
"That's great, Mother! With Fifth Sister marrying Young Master Zhu, all the problems are solved!"
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