Best Friend Zhang Wan
With one hand, Xiao Qingqing calmly fiddled with the abacus and asked casually, “Tell your mother the truth. Why are you so resistant to marriage? Is it only because every match your father found had various flaws? If next time he finds a perfectly good match with no obvious problems, would that still not work for you?”
Shen Taohua replied indifferently, “Even the best family, can it be better than our own? You and Father raised me for over ten years, of course there’s deep affection. But other families don’t even know me. Do you really expect them to treat a stranger like their own daughter?”
Xiao Qingqing was momentarily speechless. After thinking for a while, she said, “If you find a family that’s harmonious, with kind and easygoing in-laws, then you wouldn’t have to worry about being bullied after marriage.”
Shen Taohua let out a light laugh. “Mother, don’t tell me you don’t know that so-called ‘harmonious families’ and ‘gentle in-laws’ are mostly just what they show outsiders. It’s not like I haven’t seen how the daughters-in-law in our neighbors’ homes are living.”
Before marriage, each of them was just like me, young women who never worried about food, money, or clothing.
But after marrying, they either spent their days competing for favor with the husband’s concubines, or waking up before dawn and working themselves thin just to please their in-laws.
Some gave birth to four children in five years just to produce a son, ended up with chronic illness, and were still despised by their husbands as worn-out women, while the men had unclear affairs with young widows outside.
Others were forced into strict household rules by their mothers-in-law, suffered miscarriages as a result, and were still blamed by the husband for being weak. When they tried to defend themselves, they were scolded even more by the mother-in-law, who would say, “I went through the same thing back then, what makes you any different?”
Shen Taohua: ???
So it’s the “once you become a mother-in-law, you make others suffer the same way you did” cycle? You got drenched in rain once, so you must pour a flood on others to balance your resentment?
Even complaining to the husband was useless, the husband not only didn’t care but would instead blame the wife for not respecting the mother-in-law.
With so many examples right in front of her, they still expected her to follow the same path and willingly become a servant in someone else’s household?
Heh.
Before those people got married, she had even tried to advise them. Their compatibility scores were only around forty to fifty percent, truly not suitable matches.
But none of them listened. Some even thought she was a meddling little girl, and it even led to their parents being criticized at the door by others for not raising their daughter properly.
After that, she stopped interfering or speaking beyond her depth.
In the end, whether their lives turned out well or badly was their own choice.
She just needed to learn from it and not follow the same path.
Xiao Qingqing had no choice but to use their own household as an example.
“You’re not even a little envious of the relationship between your father and me? And look at Ping’an and Liu Mao, they’ve always been very good too.”
Shen Taohua didn’t deny it. “I am a bit envious.”
Who wouldn’t be moved by a near-perfect love with a compatibility rate above ninety percent?
Ping’an and Liu Mao were also childhood sweethearts who grew up together. There was nothing earth-shattering or tragic about their relationship, but it was steady, gentle, and long-lasting in a very grounded way, just as good to root for.
However…
Shen Taohua spread her hands. “The problem is, I don’t have a childhood sweetheart. All I have are a bunch of blind dates that don’t fit me at all.”
Xiao Qingqing disagreed. “How would you know they don’t suit you if you don’t spend more time with them? People need time to adjust to each other. Your father and I weren’t compatible from the very beginning either.”
Shen Taohua shook her head. “It’s not the same.”
She wasn’t rejecting them out of subjective bias, she had system data to back it up.
Of course, compatibility wasn’t fixed.
People change. When she first bound the system, she had deliberately observed several couples of different ages, backgrounds, family circumstances, and personalities. She found that as they got to know each other after marriage and gradually adjusted, their compatibility scores shifted significantly.
Some started just at the passing line of sixty but rose to over seventy and lived increasingly well together. Others instead dropped below fifty and ended up constantly arguing, their lives in complete disarray.
This proved that data didn’t represent everything.
But even so, it was still better than pure luck.
And based on that reference, she felt she definitely shouldn’t settle for just the passing line.
Her parents had a ninety-point compatibility. Ping’an and Liu Mao were both at seventy-five. There was no way everyone in her family would end up happily matched while she picked the worst option, right?
Xiao Qingqing asked seemingly casually, “But what if there really is a man who suits you perfectly and is outstanding in every way? What would you do then?”
Shen Taohua closed the ledger she had already finished calculating and said with a grin, “How could someone like that possibly exist so easily? Mother, you’re just trying to trick me into continuing these blind dates.”
Xiao Qingqing also smiled. “I remember you once said the author of those storybooks you like is a young scholar? Since you like his stories so much, he should be quite compatible with you, no?”
Shen Taohua laughed even harder, leaning against Xiao Qingqing. “I like the stories that author writes, but that doesn’t mean I have to marry him. Besides, being young doesn’t mean he isn’t already married. I don’t even know what he looks like—Mother, you’re really joking.”
It was like a fan of a celebrity dreaming of being with their idol. The odds were far too low; there was no point even thinking about it.
Xiao Qingqing really couldn’t argue with her anymore. She waved her hand. “Forget it. I can’t control you anymore. Let’s drop this. Earlier you mentioned some new ‘Three Obediences and Four Virtues’ to your father, what exactly were they?”
Hmm?
Shen Taohua studied her mother’s expression, then rolled her eyes and smiled. She repeated it cheerfully, then without hesitation dug a pit for Shen Laoye, who was always trying to marry her off. “Mother, you can try it on Father.”
Mrs. Shen didn’t say anything, but she looked deep in thought.
Moonlight Restaurant, backyard.
“Wanwan, I’m here.”
Zhang Wan, who was fully focused on devouring her meal, looked up and nearly spat out the chicken drumstick she’d just shoved into her mouth.
“Yaoyao! I heard about the Meng family incident. That young master Meng is really a scumbag! It’s a good thing you didn’t end up with him, he’s even worse than that Young Master Xue you met before!”
Shen Taohua sat down beside her and casually grabbed a handful of candied peanuts from the small table, popping them one by one into her mouth. “Tell me about it!”
Putting aside Meng Jun’s rotten character, he even insisted she read that ridiculous “Lessons for Women.” What a joke.
When she was learning to read, she had skimmed it once, and her mother immediately threw the book away after finding out, saying it wasn’t something meant for human consumption.
She deeply agreed, it was a pile of feudal trash that only corrupted good girls.
Zhang Wan waved the chicken leg indignantly on her behalf, cursing Meng Jun for quite a while before sighing. “You tell me, why is it so hard to find a reliable match? I originally thought if you ran into someone decent and didn’t want him, I could just pick up the leftovers. Who would’ve thought that after all these months, I haven’t managed to catch a single one.”
Shen Taohua smiled. “That’s because you’re just waiting to pick up my leftovers. If you really want to marry, you should let Uncle Zhang arrange some introductions for you.”
Zhang Wan shook her head. “What elders think is a good son-in-law and what we actually want in a husband are completely different things. I trust your judgment. As long as you think someone’s fine, I don’t need to test them separately, I’ll just pick up the leftovers directly! Hehe.”
Shen Taohua’s mouth twitched. She casually picked up a peanut and flicked it at her. “You really are a genius.”
Zhang Wan caught it neatly with her mouth and crunched it happily. “Of course!”
Shen Taohua snorted. “Then you can just wait slowly. Maybe you won’t meet a good one even after a year or two.”
Zhang Wan looked sincerely encouraging. “A year or two is too long. You should speed things up.”
Shen Taohua didn’t understand. “You’re a year younger than me. Why are you in such a hurry? You’ve still got plenty of time.”
Zhang Wan made a miserable face. “In less than two years I’ll be eighteen. If I still haven’t married by then, I’ll have to pay fines!”
She bent her slightly chubby fingers and counted seriously. “The first year means double tax, the second year is triple, the third year is quadruple. All that money added up is enough for my whole family to live on for at least five years.”
Just thinking about paying fines made her heart ache.
The Shen family only had Yaoyao as a daughter and plenty of money, so paying fines every year wasn’t a big deal for them. Her family was different, she still had an older brother.
If she kept making the family pay such heavy fines every year for nothing, her brother and sister-in-law would inevitably feel unhappy, and it might even cause family tension. That wouldn’t be good.
Her mindset was different from Taohua’s. Taohua simply didn’t want to marry at all, while she just wanted to find someone she liked. Then she’d have a few cute children and live a peaceful, happy little life with her family, that would be enough.
Zhang Wan reminded her, “And don’t forget, if you’re still unmarried at twenty-five, the official matchmakers will assign someone for you. And those matches are rarely good. If it drags on that long, you’ll probably end up suffering for the rest of your life.”
Shen Taohua didn’t care at all. “It’s fine. If I delay it for a while, I’m happy for a while. If I keep delaying it, I’m happy all the time.”
She still had eight years to enjoy life freely.
If she really still hadn’t found someone suitable by twenty-five… she’d deal with it then.
Of course, she wouldn’t really ignore Zhang Wan either.
Whenever she encountered someone reasonably decent during her blind dates, she didn’t just check their compatibility with others, she also compared them with Zhang Wan.
Unlike herself, Zhang Wan’s compatibility with others wasn’t low. It wasn’t common to see scores above sixty, but one would show up every now and then. It was just that she felt her best friend deserved someone even better, so she hadn’t mentioned it.
There was still time anyway. She could slowly filter through them and help Zhang Wan keep an eye on things.
After chatting for a while about matchmaking, the two of them shifted to an enthusiastic discussion about new storybooks.
At that time, in the capital.
After receiving another letter from Peach Blossom County, Xie Zhuo learned about the incident involving Meng Jun. His expression instantly turned cold, a flash of irritation passing through his eyes.
What right did a man like Meng Jun have to make Shen-guniang mention “Three Obediences and Four Virtues” because of him?
Nonsense.
Wishful thinking.
A face thick as a basin.
Xie Zhuo cursed inwardly for a long while before finally easing his anger. Then, as he read the later part describing how the matter was resolved, his expression grew subtle.
Although the letter did not explicitly mention what Shen Taohua had done in the Meng Jun incident, he could still see her shadow throughout it.
Recalling her lively and clever demeanor from years ago, a nostalgic smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Xie Zhuo’s lips.
At that moment, a cleaning woman hired for the courtyard came knocking, saying that the courier had delivered another stack of letters from the post station, sent from the bookshop.
Xie Zhuo straightened immediately and had the woman bring them in at once. He selected a familiar-looking letter, opened it, and gently traced his fingers over the paper as he read every line carefully, his gaze growing increasingly soft.
After reading it back and forth three times, he placed it back into the envelope, turned around, and opened an exquisite wooden box on the antique shelf behind him, placing the letter inside.
The box already contained more than a dozen letters, all in the same handwriting, without exception, all sent by the same person.
Xie Zhuo lightly stroked the carefully preserved envelopes for a moment before turning his attention back to the first letter.
This time, he focused especially on the “new Three Obediences and Four Virtues” mentioned within, his handsome face showing a level of seriousness he had never even shown when preparing for the imperial examinations.
In the following days, after attending his studies at the government office each day, Xie Zhuo would go straight home. Occasionally, colleagues would invite him out, but he would refuse every time, saying he needed to go back and study.
When their peers heard this, they all sighed in admiration. “Even after passing the imperial examination, he still studies so diligently, we truly fall short!”