Mother urges marriage
There's nothing we can do; the world is just that unfair.
Yu Roulan didn't want Madam Zhao to think that Fu Zhiqiao hadn't arranged a marriage because she couldn't get over her previous one. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. "As long as your marriage isn't settled, my heart can't find peace. When I was your age..."
Fu Zhi Qiao: "..."
Her temples throbbed.
“The Zhao family’s son is now an official in the capital, and we are also doing business in the capital. It’s hard to say that we might meet again someday. Our family and the Zhao family have such a past. What if it gets leaked and causes some gossip…” Yu Roulan paused, turned her head to look at Fu Zhiqiao, and spoke again in a noticeably lower voice: “The Zhao family is doing very well now. A dignified compiler in the Hanlin Academy is not afraid of not finding a suitable wife. On the contrary, you are still single… Your mother is really worried. Your father would be sad if he knew in the afterlife.”
Goodness, even her father has been brought up. It seems Zhao Junhui really provoked her mother quite a bit!
Fu Zhiqiao twitched the corners of her mouth and comforted her, "Mother, our family is quite wealthy now, and I am the Lady of Ming'an County, personally appointed by the Emperor. Our family lacks nothing. We should just live our own lives and not care about other people's opinions."
Fu Zhiqiao knew that Yu Roulan was worried that if the relationship between the two families were ever exposed, people would gossip about her.
Although the Fu and Zhao families had a verbal engagement, there was still an agreement in place that if the engagement were broken off, she would be the one who was rejected. If this got out, it would indeed be detrimental to her reputation. However, several years had passed, and very few people knew that the two families had ever been related by marriage. Given Zhao Junhui's character, Fu Zhiqiao was not worried at all about the matter being exposed.
Hearing Fu Zhi Qiao's words, Yu Rou Lan sighed silently, then smiled gently, her gaze towards Fu Zhi Qiao filled with a sense of relief: "Mother knows, my A Qiao is a woman with a deep understanding of things."
If a daughter has such a broad mind, her mother should also be more magnanimous.
Yu Roulan couldn't help but sigh, "How lucky I am that God would let you be my child."
"What are you saying, Mother? It's my good fortune to be your daughter." Fu Zhi Qiao raised her eyes and looked directly into Yu Rou Lan's eyes.
Yu Roulan picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "Alright, let's not talk about the Zhao family anymore!" Then, she changed the subject, "If you don't want to get married, you can find a son-in-law to live with you."
"Mother!" Fu Zhiqiao chuckled. She thought the topic of urging marriage had ended, but she couldn't avoid it: "Marriage is a major event in one's life. We have to take it slowly and there's no rush."
Seeing that Fu Zhi Qiao's attitude was not as decisive as before, Yu Rou Lan breathed a slight sigh of relief and disagreed, "Why aren't you in a hurry anymore?"
Fu Zhi Qiao has been of marriageable age for a year, but there is still no news about marriage. Yu Rou Lan is inevitably a little anxious. It is said that young girls are full of spring fever, but her daughter has not made any progress at all.
No, it doesn't seem like there's absolutely no movement...
Yu Roulan seemed to realize something and cautiously probed, "Does A-Qiao have someone she likes?"
As soon as Yu Roulan opened her mouth, Fu Zhiqiao knew what she wanted to say. This was not the first time she had been anxious about her marriage. She remembered that when they were in Qingzhou, Yu Roulan had secretly looked at the portraits of many talented young men.
Faced with Yu Roulan's indirect questioning, Fu Zhiqiao did not avoid it, but directly told her about her relationship with Xie Zhuo.
"What?" Yu Roulan's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. Her eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief: "You're still with the Crown Prince?"
Fu Zhiqiao nodded.
Yu Roulan immediately became anxious: "No, no! You two are not suitable. He is already engaged and is definitely not a good match for you. I have been through this before..." When the news of Xie Zhuo and Yu Yadan breaking off their engagement was making headlines in the capital, Yu Roulan was not in the capital, so she did not know that Xie Zhuo had broken off the engagement.
Seeing that Yu Roulan was so anxious that she was becoming incoherent, Fu Zhiqiao quickly interrupted her and told her that Xie Zhuo had already broken off the engagement.
Yu Roulan was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth.
"He broke off his engagement so he could be with you?"
The engagement was called off? Is it such an easy thing to call off an engagement in a high-class family?
Yu Roulan was stunned for a long time.
"Mother?" Fu Zhi Qiao called softly twice.
Yu Roulan jumped, grabbed Fu Zhi Qiao's hand nervously, and asked, "Qiao, you...you guys..."
Could it be that they had physical contact?
Yu Roulan hesitated, but Fu Zhiqiao immediately understood, "Mother, what are you thinking about?"
Xie Zhuo's decision to break off his engagement and marry her daughter was completely unexpected for Yu Roulan, and she didn't know what to do for a moment.
She had met Xie Zhuo before, and at first she didn't object to Fu Zhi Qiao's relationship with him. But when she learned that Xie Zhuo was the heir apparent, her first reaction was no way! Her daughter couldn't be with someone like that! Apart from their looks and age being suitable, her A Qiao and the heir apparent were not suitable in any other way.
Marriage is not just a matter between two people. The Wang family is too prestigious to be matched with ordinary people. Moreover, the Wang family would never choose a merchant family like theirs, which does not even have a male heir.
As someone who had been through it all, Yu Roulan understood very well that the difference between the Fu family and the Wang family was like heaven and earth. It was inevitable that a woman who married into a higher social class would suffer grievances in her husband's family. Yu Roulan did not want Fu Zhi Qiao to experience these things. She would rather Fu Zhi Qiao marry an ordinary person and live a simple and happy life.
The Fu family already has enough wealth to last several generations, so there's really no need for them to suffer any more.
Furthermore, who are the princes and princesses in the royal palace? They are top figures in the powerful and wealthy class. Would they accommodate Fu Zhi Qiao's temperament? Fu Zhi Qiao is also exceptionally strong-willed. If they clash like this, it will cause unrest in the household, and the couple will become an unhappy couple.
For a couple to have a long and harmonious relationship, the influence of their family is extremely important.
“No, no, you two are not suitable.” Yu Roulan still felt it was inappropriate. “A Qiao, marriage is not a game. Don’t listen to what people outside say about ‘love conquers all,’ that’s just a line from a play. Our family is in business, we need to be more pragmatic. Don’t let the power and wealth in front of you blind you!”
Fu Zhi Qiao nodded repeatedly as she listened. To be honest, she was surprised by Yu Rou Lan's words. She hadn't expected Yu Rou Lan, who lived in a feudal society, to have such thoughts.
Seeing that Fu Zhi Qiao agreed with her, Yu Rou Lan breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he listened, she calmed herself down and asked, "He wants to marry you as his legal wife?"
Yu Roulan's original intention was to dissuade Fu Zhi Qiao. As far as she knew, the Duan Prince's Mansion only had one heir, and the heir's wife would be the future Duan Prince's Consort. She didn't believe that the Prince's Mansion would agree to marry a merchant's family member as their daughter-in-law. However, she saw Fu Zhi Qiao nod again...
Yu Roulan fell silent. Now she could no longer deceive herself. It seemed that the Crown Prince's decision to break off the engagement was indeed for his daughter's sake, rather than a conflict between the Prince's Mansion and the Minister's Mansion.
The mother and daughter looked at each other, speechless.
Finally, Yu Roulan spoke first. Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, she said earnestly, "Men, when they love you, they're willing to do anything for you, but what if they stop loving you?"
Fu Zhiqiao looked directly at Yu Roulan and said calmly, "I understand what Mother means. Mother doesn't need to worry. Without the proper etiquette of a principal wife and the promise not to take concubines, I will not marry him."
Fu Zhi Qiao understood what Yu Rou Lan meant; she knew what Yu Rou Lan was worried about.
Even if Xie Zhuo wanted to marry her, he wasn't the one in charge of the Duan Prince's Mansion yet. As the heir, he had to listen to the prince, and as a son, he had to listen to his parents... In other words, it would be very difficult for Xie Zhuo to fulfill his promise to marry her.
Yu Roulan's head was buzzing.
The proper rites for a principal wife are a must, but the promise not to take a concubine is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
The promise not to take concubines was considered extremely unrealistic for the Prince's mansion. Let alone a powerful family like the Prince's, even ordinary men with a modest means would have multiple wives and concubines. Yu Roulan was about to retort to Fu Zhiqiao that this was wishful thinking, but remembering Xie Zhuo's willingness to break off his engagement for her sake, she changed her tone: "Even if the Crown Prince agrees, the Prince and Princess will not."
“Then I won’t marry him.” Fu Zhi Qiao’s tone was very firm.
Yu Roulan was so shocked that she couldn't speak again.
Seeing Yu Roulan's shocked face, Fu Zhiqiao immediately softened her tone: "Mother, I didn't say I had to marry him."
Yu Roulan was completely speechless. She hadn't expected her daughter's idea to be so shocking. "He already broke off the engagement for you, and you still don't want to marry him?"
Fu Zhiqiao was speechless. "Mother, whose side are you on?"
Yu Roulan then realized what she had said, and an embarrassed look flashed across her face. "Mother, Mother just felt..."
Yu Roulan was speechless. She didn't know what to say. Fu Zhi Qiao's words had a huge impact on her.
Ordinary girls would be trembling with fear when facing a wealthy and powerful in-law family. But her daughter was different. Not only was she not afraid, she even dared to ask her husband not to take a concubine. Yu Roulan could only sigh that her daughter's character was truly extraordinary.
The living environment in the Great Wei Dynasty was not friendly to women. Women carried heavy shackles. If they were not loved by their husbands, they would be ridiculed; if they could not bear sons, they would be despised; and if they prevented their husbands from taking concubines, they would be labeled as jealous and gossiped about.
Fu Zhi Qiao would not allow herself to fall into such a situation. Even if she never married, she would never compromise. She now has her own business and employs hundreds or thousands of workers. She is already in a vast world and naturally does not want to return to that cage-like backyard.
Fu Zhi Qiao didn't mention these thoughts to Yu Rou Lan; after all, she knew it herself.
"Ah Qiao, you are a child with your own ideas. I won't try to persuade you much. You just need to know that no matter what happens in the future, I will be by your side."
Meeting Yu Roulan's warm gaze, Fu Zhiqiao smiled and said, "Mother has been quite free lately. Is it because the accounts of Taibai Tower are not enough to look at?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Roulan couldn't help but laugh. She gently tapped Fu Zhiqiao's head and said, "You silly girl, you have no manners."
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