Zhao Danian Gets Married
Shen Feibai said angrily, “They’re dreaming!”
Even if the grandson didn’t take his surname, he would still be a descendant of the Shen family. How could they expect him to be adopted by Zhao Dashun?
If it really came to that, they might as well bring him back and let him take the Shen surname instead!
No, more accurately, since the Zhao family had such intentions, this marriage proposal could absolutely not proceed!
This time, without needing Shen Taohua to reason with him at length, Shen Feibai directly ordered Butler Liu to go to the Zhao family and convey their stance: they would never agree to any adoption arrangement, and the entire matchmaking matter should be treated as if it never happened.
Shen Taohua deliberately asked one more question, “What if the Zhao family changes their mind and says the adoption won’t be necessary?”
“Still not acceptable,” Shen Feibai said firmly. “Inheritance and continuation of the family line, is that something that can just be abandoned so easily? If it were that simple, they wouldn’t have had such an idea in the first place. It’s not as if their family must have you. Why should they make the eldest branch go extinct just for you? Do you think you’re some celestial fairy?”
Shen Taohua: “……”
There was really no need to insult your own daughter like that.
At this point, Xiao Qingqing also spoke up.
“Even if they initially compromise, over time they will inevitably rekindle those thoughts. But your presence would prevent them from acting on them. After years like this, no matter how happy they were at first to welcome you, it would gradually turn into resentment, even dislike.”
With the Shen family as your natal family, the Zhao family might not dare openly mistreat you, but could you really be happy living in such an environment?
Xiao Qingqing sighed. “When it comes to being a mother-in-law who wants to make life difficult for her daughter-in-law, there are always ways. Outsiders can hardly interfere.”
Even if the Shen family protected her as her natal family, could they watch over her at every moment?
And if they interfered too much, the husband’s family would only grow more dissatisfied, creating a vicious cycle.
Rather than waiting to suffer losses and regret later, it was better to cut off the possibility at the source from the very beginning.
Seeing her parents’ firm stance, Shen Taohua finally felt relieved.
Originally, she hadn’t even been the one actively arranging this matter, it was all Ping’an’s meddling. Still, it was good that it had been resolved so easily.
Datian Village.
When Madam Li learned from Zhao Danian that the Shen family’s daughter had not taken a liking to him, she still held a faint hope, thinking perhaps the Shen family had other ideas.
But shortly after, Butler Liu came to relay his master’s decision, there was no chance. The matchmaking was completely over.
The Zhao family was still reeling from disappointment when, unexpectedly, just after Butler Liu left, the village chief’s family came to propose marriage!
But comparing Tian Yuniang to the Shen family’s young lady… there was simply no comparison at all.
Later, when Madam Li happened to learn that someone had seen Tian Yuniang go looking for Miss Shen, she completely exploded. She felt that the whole matter with the Shen family had been ruined by Tian Yuniang, and immediately started a dispute with the village chief’s family.
Moon Crescent Tavern.
Zhang Wan asked excitedly, “So in the end, Zhao Danian’s marriage with the village chief’s family didn’t go through?”
Shen Taohua sipped her hot tea while watching the passersby outside and continuing to accumulate points, and said casually, “No, it did.”
She added with a sigh, “You don’t realize that some women, when they set their mind on getting what they want, can really go to extreme lengths.”
Zhang Wan immediately became curious. “What do you mean? Tell me, tell me quickly.”
Shen Taohua slowly explained, “I only found out later from Butler Liu. That Tian Yuniang, the village chief’s daughter, she…”
Perhaps Tian Yuniang had long realized that with Shen Taohua standing above her like a flawless jewel, she could never compare, so she simply schemed against Zhao Danian.
After learning that he had been rejected by the Shen family and was feeling down, she bought alcohol and went to comfort him.
Whether it was because Zhao Danian normally didn’t drink, or because he was truly heartbroken and lost control, in short, he got completely drunk and was no longer in his right mind. Under those circumstances, and with Tian Yuniang clearly prepared in advance, things happened between them while intoxicated, and what was done could not be undone. They were even discovered on the spot.
A woman’s reputation in ancient times was extremely important. Once it had come to that point, how could he refuse responsibility?
Moreover, Tian Yuniang’s father was the most powerful person in Datian Village, and he was also willing to provide a very generous dowry.
Unless the Zhao family no longer wanted to live in the village, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept the marriage, even if they knew it had likely been deliberate on Tian Yuniang’s part.
The Tian family also knew the matter was difficult to speak about, so after mutual discussion, the marriage was arranged in great haste. From betrothal gifts to wedding ceremony, it took only seven days in total.
Now, Tian Yuniang had already entered the Zhao household and become a married woman.
After hearing all this, Zhang Wan looked utterly unsettled and stammered, “Th-this can work too? That Tian Yuniang is way too… What if the Zhao family still refused in the end? Wouldn’t she not be able to marry anyone afterward?”
Shen Taohua said, “Maybe she was betting that Zhao Danian is a responsible person, someone who, once he’s been with her, would never refuse to take responsibility.”
Zhang Wan was left speechless. After a long pause, she murmured, “But even if she marries like this, can she really live a good life?”
Ping’an, who was sitting nearby, spoke up. “She’s the village chief’s daughter. With her father backing her, the Zhao family probably wouldn’t dare do anything to her.”
Zhang Wan frowned. “But once she marries, she’s someone else’s daughter-in-law. Would her father still be able to keep watch over her every day?”
She analyzed it in detail based on what she had heard from Shen Taohua. “Most importantly, Tian Yuniang doesn’t even mind that one of her children will be adopted away. She even went as far as getting drunk to make things happen. Clearly she’s deeply in love with Zhao Danian. If in the future her father sees she’s being mistreated and tries to intervene, she might even think he’s being meddlesome and side with her husband instead, making her father end up in a thankless position.”
Shen Taohua nodded in deep agreement while cracking sunflower seeds.
It was just like some modern domestic abuse cases, neighbors call the police to help, and in the end, the person being abused still sides with the abuser and resents the neighbor for interfering.
Even if Village Chief Tian doted on his daughter, over time he would probably also gradually grow cold inside.
Of course, this was just their speculation.
It wasn’t impossible that after getting what she wanted, Tian Yuniang might not end up compromising in her marriage.
When Shen Taohua met her, she had even specifically calculated the compatibility score between them.
And surprisingly, it had reached a passing score of sixty!
It was just unclear whether, after everything that had happened, that compatibility would rise or fall…
Maybe she could take another look next autumn harvest season.
Zhang Wan rambled on for a while before saying, “Forget it, forget it, let’s not talk about that. You’ve been in the countryside these past few days so you probably don’t know, things have been really lively in the city lately.”
Shen Taohua became interested. “What’s going on?”
Zhang Wan said excitedly, “It actually has something to do with you. That group interview you organized, you eliminated everyone, but other families with children of marriageable age aren’t as picky as you. Quite a few people specifically went to inquire about everyone’s answers during the retest. Those who felt the reasons for elimination were acceptable quickly went to matchmakers to arrange marriages.
The two men you didn’t find anything wrong with, just that they didn’t suit your eye in terms of appearance, are especially popular. I heard several families are competing for them, and the brides’ dowries are being raised higher and higher in competition. Those two were still unhappy when they left that day, but now they’re probably over the moon.”
The corner of Shen Taohua’s mouth twitched. She genuinely didn’t expect things to develop like this.
Had she unintentionally started a new trend?
Zhang Wan continued, “Do you remember that one who was secretly involved with his cousin behind her back?”
Shen Taohua raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me even he has people fighting over him?”
Zhang Wan clicked her tongue twice. “Not exactly fighting over him, but compared to those eliminated in the first round who are now basically ‘unsellable’ in the matchmaking market, he actually does have someone interested.”
Shen Taohua looked confused. “I made it so clear that day, how is anyone still taking a gamble? What’s the point?”
Zhang Wan shrugged in imitation of her. “Apparently the woman is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy merchant family. Her father wants to curry favor with someone and plans to send her to be a concubine, or even a secondary wife, to some old man. Compared to becoming a kept woman for someone old enough to be her father, it’s definitely better to find a young man instead.
As for the cousin, she’s still from a respectable family after all. She’s probably seen plenty of scheming in inner households and doesn’t take a mere cousin seriously.”
Shen Taohua felt a bit complicated. “If she’s happy with it, then so be it.”
That was probably just different people having different pursuits.
She turned to look at Zhang Wan, whose eyes were sparkling with gossip. “What about you? Did you see anyone you liked during the interviews?”
Zhang Wan rested her chin in her hands. “Don’t even mention it. The ones I liked all had problems. After thinking it over, I feel like I can still be saved, I’ll wait a bit more patiently. Maybe there are better ones coming later.”
Shen Taohua patted her shoulder with satisfaction. “That mindset is correct. Settling or compromising won’t bring happiness.”
Zhang Wan looked a little worried. “I feel like after seeing so many people you’ve become more and more picky. If this keeps going, won’t you end up not liking anyone at all, and only be able to let the official matchmakers assign someone for you?”
Shen Taohua comforted her, “Don’t worry! Absolutely not!”
If Zhang Wan still couldn’t find a suitable match when she reached the proper age, worst case, she would travel through the entire city and county and dig three feet into the ground to find someone with a compatibility score above eighty for her.
Although Zhang Wan didn’t know what she was basing that confidence on, she knew her friend wasn’t someone who made empty claims.
And she herself had a fairly easygoing personality. After worrying for only a short while, she quickly let it go and began chatting with Shen Taohua about other trivial gossip.
Datian Village, Zhao Family.
Ever since Tian Yuniang entered the Zhao household, Madam Li had never treated her kindly and kept her running around doing endless chores every day.
As for Zhao Dashun, as her husband, he merely looked on coldly without any intention of protecting her.
In the afternoon, Zhao Danian was silently chopping firewood in the courtyard. Halfway through, Tian Yuniang, who had finally finished her work, came over holding a bowl of water.
“Brother Danian, have some water.”
Zhao Danian paused for a moment but didn’t take it. He quickly resumed chopping firewood, even deliberately increasing his force.
Seeing this, Tian Yuniang felt deeply hurt. “I know you’re angry in your heart, but the Shen family cannot accept their child being adopted out. But I don’t mind! We are the most suitable match.”
Zhao Danian said with a stern face, “Whether it’s suitable or not is already settled. What’s the point of saying all this now?”
Tian Yuniang raised her voice. “Of course it has a point! I married you because I like you. Haven’t I shown you my feelings by going this far?”
She endured being constantly nitpicked by her mother-in-law without ever complaining to her natal family. She even accepted being gossiped about and having her reputation ruined in the village just to be with him, couldn’t he see any of that? Had his heart turned cold?
Tian Yuniang reached out to touch Zhao Danian, but he immediately stood up and avoided her, his tone cold and firm.
“I never asked you to like me.”
With that, he turned and went straight into the house without looking back.
Tian Yuniang’s heart tightened painfully, and her eyes instantly turned red.
Did she regret it?
Of course not.
She would never regret it.
Her greatest dream in life was to marry Zhao Danian, and now that she had succeeded, she was too happy to regret anything.
The fact that Zhao Danian didn’t like her now was only because he disliked the methods she used. Once she bore a few children for the Zhao family and they spent more time together, feelings would naturally develop.
This current cold treatment was only temporary. One day, Brother Danian would understand that they were the most perfectly matched pair.
Thinking this, Tian Yuniang convinced herself again, wiped the corner of her eye, and quickly followed after him with a smile.