Chapter 164: Family Tree Names

Zhulan did know the girl from Wang De's family. The thirteen-year-old girl was indeed pretty. Zhulan had met a few nice girls before, but it was a pity that the surname Wang was not acceptable, especially since they were from the same family as Wang Ru. Their family did not want to have any relationship with the Wang family. "I understand what you mean, auntie, but my Chang Lian will take the Tongsheng exam next year, and we don't want to arrange a marriage for him so early. His father and I think he is still young, so it's not too late to wait for another year or two."

If Wang Ru hadn't been there, she would have wanted to just say that she would get engaged after she turned eighteen. In this dynasty, scholars got married late, basically at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Zhulan said that there was nothing wrong with waiting for one or two years, but of course the main reason was that he didn't like the girl from the Wang family.

Matchmakers are smart people, and they didn't want to continue persuading. She also understood that waiting for a year or two meant that they didn't like the girl from the Wang family. The Zhou family's daughter was an example, she got engaged very early, so it was all an excuse. "Okay, I won't bother you and will go back first. The Wang family is still waiting for a reply!"

Zhulan stood up to see her off, "Thank you for the trip, Auntie. This is just a small token of my appreciation, please don't hesitate."

The matchmaker felt her purse and found a lot of money. She understood that Zhou Yang wanted to spread her words and would not consider it for a year or two. "Oh, then I will not be polite."

Zhulan happily saw the man out and did not return until he had gone far away. The matchmaker went to the front street and peeked into the purse in her sleeve. She counted and found thirty coins. She was very happy. She did not expect to make a wasted trip and get a lot of money. She hummed a little tune as she walked to Wang's house.

In the past, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had never considered Changlian's marriage, mainly because they thought the child was still young. But when the matchmaker came, they took it seriously. After discussion, they concluded that the Zhou family would go to Pingzhou soon, and it would not be appropriate to find a matchmaker for Changlian in the nearby villages. It's not that the city lords look down on rural girls, but people always want to move up. In ancient times, the relationship between two families was mutually beneficial. They hoped that Changlian's in-laws would not help much, but at least have the strength to succeed for several generations and not be a drag.

Wang De's family was unhappy, thinking that their daughter was the best and that the Zhou family's failure to please her showed that they had high standards. However, they did not dare to say anything to the Zhou family. Instead, they resented Wang Laosi's family, thinking that it was Wang Laosi's family that had ruined the reputation of the Wang family's daughter. As the branch of the Wang family in charge of the family tree, Wang De's family once again thought of opening the family tree and excluding Wang Laosi's family.

Zhulan didn’t know about these things. Even if she knew, she would only think that she and Zhou Shuren’s wings had flapped again, and the plot went further off track.

After school in the evening, Chang Lian knew that someone came to propose marriage, but he was the calmest. This was because several classmates asked about him. He knew it in his heart. If his family had not changed before, he would have been very happy to be Wang De's daughter. But now it is different. He would rather find a literate one.

I believe my parents think so too. The reason is that my eldest and second sister-in-law can read, so I am confident that my parents will not arrange a marriage for him casually. Now after hearing my mother say to wait for two years, and thinking that my family will move away soon, I feel more at ease. After dinner, I went to study hard. I was under a lot of pressure. My younger brother was a few years younger than me and was taking the exam in the same year. I didn't expect to pass it in one try, but I didn't want to do worse than my younger brother. It was not only a matter of face, but I also didn't want my father to put all his attention on my younger brother.

The matchmaker's visit did not cause any waves in the Zhou family, but it did cause quite a stir in Zhoujia Village. No one said that the Zhou family was in trouble, but instead the reputation of the Wang family's daughter was brought up again.

Zhulan heard the news from Li who came back and said, "Mother, the Wang family opened the family tree and crossed out Wang Laosi's family from the tree."

Zhulan asked, "What's the reason?"

Li knew that Wang Laosi's family had angered the Wang family. "The reason was that educating a daughter was fine, but it would ruin the family's morals and be disrespectful to the elders."

Zhulan was surprised, "How do you know so clearly?"

Just like being there!

Li laughed and said, "Because it's over. I heard it from Wang's daughter-in-law."

Mrs. Zhao hissed, "The Wang family is really angry. Not only did they keep it a secret, they also publicized it everywhere. Who would dare to marry the daughters of Wang Laosi?"