Ch 113: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

At the flower appreciation gathering, the married ladies gathered together to discuss Yun brocade, while the young unmarried ladies formed their own separate groups.

Jiang Xia had attended several banquets with Zhao Ru and Madam Lu, so she had become acquainted with quite a few daughters from official families. The ones she was closest to were naturally Third Miss Qin from the Duke Qin’s residence and Second Miss Han from the Han family.

Both Third Miss Qin and Second Miss Han came from military families. Influenced heavily by their upbringing, they had learned martial arts alongside their brothers from a young age, and both possessed straightforward, candid personalities.

Jiang Xia had grown up in the countryside, raised freely without affectation. Later, influenced by Jiang Ji, she had been exposed to many new ideas.

The three of them got along very well and usually stayed together at banquets.

A group of young ladies of marriageable age sat together in a viewing pavilion by the lotus pond. Looking toward another pavilion diagonally across from them where several young gentlemen had gathered, their conversations inevitably turned to talented young men. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. They discussed which young master excelled at archery, whose poetry had earned praise from their tutors, and similar topics.

Some of the girls were already engaged, while others were not. When speaking about such matters, they could not help revealing the emotions of young women, some filled with anticipation, others with worry.

Third Miss Qin and Second Miss Han sat along the corridor, munching on sunflower seeds while listening to Jiang Xia recount stories about Jiang Ji’s recent trip to Jiangnan. Two younger girls sat nearby, listening attentively as well.

Just as Jiang Xia was describing the food in Jiangnan, someone suddenly called out loudly.

“Second Miss Jiang.”

Jiang Xia turned around to see it was a young lady from an earl’s family.

“What is it?” she asked.

The Earl’s daughter said, “We were just talking about how you’ll be coming of age this year, won’t you? Has your family arranged a match for you yet?”

Jiang Xia would turn fifteen in another two months.

“Not yet,” she replied, shaking her head.

The girls present were all shocked.

“You’re already fifteen,” the Earl’s daughter said. “How have they not started arranging a marriage for you?”

Among noble families, girls were usually engaged around thirteen or fourteen years old. After their coming-of-age ceremony, a favorable date would be chosen for the wedding.

“Oh, I’m still young,” Jiang Xia answered casually. “The girls in our family aren’t allowed to marry until they’re eighteen.”

The young ladies were stunned and immediately crowded around her.

“Eighteen?”

“By eighteen, wouldn’t you be considered an old maid? How would you find a good match then?”

“Exactly! Isn’t your mother worried?”

“Why do you have to wait until eighteen to marry?”

Jiang Xia looked at them and replied,

“That’s simply our family’s rule.”

“Who made that rule? Your father? Or Duke Chang?”

“My brother,” Jiang Xia answered. “He said it’s bad for girls to marry too early. If your body hasn’t fully matured and you have to bear children, it can shorten your lifespan. He doesn’t want it to affect my health. He wants me to live a long life, so he requires that all the girls in our family wait until they’re eighteen before marrying. And the boys in our family can only marry girls who are at least eighteen too.”

The girls were speechless.

Third Miss Qin and Second Miss Han had heard about this family rule before, so they were not nearly as shocked.

But for the other girls, this was the first time they had ever heard such views or family regulations. They immediately began asking questions.

“Your mother agrees with this?”

“How could your brother establish such a rule? Isn’t he ruining your prospects?”

“Exactly. Eighteen is too old. It will be difficult to arrange a marriage.”

“Aren’t you worried?”

Jiang Xia smiled.

“I’m not worried at all. My brother said I can do whatever I want in the future. If I meet someone I like, then I’ll get married. And even if I never marry, that’s fine too. He said he can support me for the rest of my life.”

The girls who had just been criticizing Duke Chang for treating Jiang Xia unfairly all fell silent.

Some had already begun to envy her.

As daughters of noble families, they enjoyed privileged upbringings and luxurious lives. Yet their marriages were not their own to decide. Whoever their parents chose, they had to marry. Political and familial interests often played a significant role in those decisions.

“Your brother treats you so well,” someone murmured.

Jiang Xia nodded with a bright smile.

“Mm. My brother is the best brother in the world.”

The girls could all see from Jiang Xia’s expression that she genuinely believed her brother was the very best.

Still, one girl worried aloud.

“But by the time you’re eighteen, it really will be hard to find a match.”

“I won’t worry about finding a match,” Jiang Xia said, shaking her head. “My brother said that marriage should be with someone you truly like. If you meet someone you love, then get married. But if you don’t, you shouldn’t marry just for the sake of being married.”

The girls were stunned once more.

This was the first time they had ever heard such ideas.

The Fourth Miss from the Minister of Justice’s family sighed softly.

“If everyone could marry the person they loved, that would be wonderful.”

Jiang Xia glanced at her. She had heard that this young lady had once loved someone else but had ultimately been promised to the son of another family.

Another girl added,

“Yes. Who wouldn’t want to marry someone they love? But that’s not something we can decide for ourselves.”

“Exactly. Since ancient times, marriages have always been arranged by parents and matchmakers.”

Jiang Xia looked at them and said,

“My brother says that traditions passed down through generations aren’t necessarily always right. He says that in life, once you’ve achieved enough to eat and stay warm, the most important thing is to live happily and comfortably.”

“I really envy you, Jiang Xia.”

“Your brother is wonderful.”

“Do your mother and Regent Lu think the same way too?”

Jiang Xia thought for a moment before answering,

“They probably didn’t think that way before either, but now they’ve all been persuaded by my brother. So generally speaking, in our family, what my brother says goes.”

The girls were shocked again.

Even the Regent listened to Duke Chang?

Whenever Jiang Xia talked about her brother, her face lit up with excitement.

“I told my brother that I want to run a shop and go into business in the future, and he supports me.”

“You… you want to become a shopkeeper and do business yourself?”

“Your family has such a prestigious status now. Why would you still want to go into business?”

Among their social class, merchants ranked lowest among the traditional four occupations of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant. People of their status generally looked down on commerce. If Jiang Xia became a merchant, wouldn’t she be lowering her own standing?

Jiang Xia shook her head.

“I want to. You don’t understand. Back when I was in my hometown, I used to help my mother sell undergarments. We met a female shopkeeper once, and I thought she was amazing. Ever since then, I’ve thought that if I could manage my own shop someday, how wonderful that would be. I could earn my own money and spend my own money. Having money of my own would give me confidence. No matter what happened, I’d be able to support myself.”

The girls fell silent again.

When they eventually married, they would receive dowries. Their families would usually include farmland, estates, or shops as part of their dowries. Those assets would become their security.

But they would never manage those properties themselves. Most simply leased them out.

They had never considered personally going out into society to earn money.

Jiang Xia’s ideas were truly bold.

Some of the girls felt a degree of disdain. They were born into noble families. If they married well, why would they need to lower themselves by appearing in public to make money?

Others, however, felt envious.

They envied the freedom Jiang Xia described, the ability to choose how to live and whom to marry.

For a moment, everyone wore different expressions.

The topic had been somewhat overwhelming.

After chatting a bit longer, the conversation gradually shifted to other subjects, and the girls dispersed into smaller groups to entertain themselves.

Throughout the discussion, Third Miss Qin and Second Miss Han had remained relatively quiet. Both had practiced martial arts since childhood and possessed naturally free-spirited personalities.

Once the others had dispersed, Third Miss Qin said,

“My mother tried to arrange a marriage for me recently. I repeated what you had told me before, Xia’er. I said I wanted to wait until I was eighteen to marry. You have no idea. My mother nearly whipped me with a riding crop.”

The three girls were around the same age. Third Miss Qin was fourteen, while Second Miss Han had already come of age this year and was engaged to be married the following year.

Fortunately, she liked her fiancé and did not share the same worries as the others.

She asked,

“Don’t you have anyone you like?”

Third Miss Qin shook her head.

“After comparing them to Brother Huaizhou, my brother, your brother, and Xia’er’s brother, all those young masters suddenly seem rather unimpressive.”

Jiang Xia and Second Miss Han both fell silent.

After a pause, Second Miss Han cautiously asked,

“You don’t happen to like my brother, do you?”

“No, no!” Third Miss Qin quickly waved her hands. “I was just making a comparison.”

“Oh.” Second Miss Han continued probing. “Then what do you think about Cousin Huaichuan? Has your mother ever mentioned him?”

Before Third Miss Qin could respond, Jiang Xia hurriedly interrupted.

“No, no, absolutely not! My brother said that cousins are close blood relatives. If they marry, their children are more likely to have problems.”

Third Miss Qin and Second Miss Han: “…”

Second Miss Han frowned.

“But lots of people marry their cousins.”

“My brother said there’s a significant chance of problems. For the sake of future children, our family rules prohibit marriages between cousins.”

Jiang Xia’s expression was very serious.

Third Miss Qin rubbed her forehead helplessly.

“Your family’s rules are really strange.”

Jiang Xia nodded.

“They’re different from other families, but everything my brother says makes sense. You really shouldn’t marry your cousins either.”

As she said this, Jiang Xia looked directly at Third Miss Qin.

Third Miss Qin sighed.

“I don’t like Cousin Huaichuan. Don’t worry.”

Jiang Xia visibly relaxed.

“That’s good. For the baby’s sake, it’s better to like someone else.”

Third Miss Qin: “…”

Second Miss Han burst into laughter.

“Xia’er, you looked so nervous just now. I almost thought you liked Cousin Huaichuan.”

Third Miss Qin joined in teasing her.

“Could it be true? You were awfully anxious just now.”

Jiang Xia glared at both of them.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Brother Huaichuan is the same as my brother.”

“She’s flustered! She’s flustered!” Third Miss Qin burst into laughter.

Second Miss Han added, “But Cousin Huaichuan really is a great person. You could consider him.”

“Oh, stop talking nonsense! If word gets out, none of us will be able to show our faces anymore!” Jiang Xia was genuinely panicking now. As she spoke, she reached over to cover Second Miss Han’s mouth.

“Alright, alright. I won’t say anything else,” Second Miss Han said, raising her hands in surrender.

The three girls continued teasing and playing around until they all dissolved into laughter.

---

Two days later, Madam Lu came to the Regent’s residence.

During lunch, Jiang Ji heard her say,

“I heard that the Fourth Miss from the Minister of Justice’s family rejected the marriage arrangement her family had made for her. She said she wanted to marry someone she loved and is now insisting on breaking off the engagement.”

Zhao Ru exclaimed in surprise.

“Wasn’t she supposed to get married in another two months?”

“Exactly,” Madam Lu replied, equally puzzled. “I don’t understand why she suddenly decided to call off the engagement.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xia froze for a moment.

The Fourth Miss from the Minister of Justice’s family… wasn’t that the girl who had said she envied her at the flower appreciation gathering?

“I… I think I know why,” Jiang Xia said.

Everyone at the table immediately turned to look at her.

Madam Lu asked, “Why?”

Jiang Xia then recounted everything that had happened at the flower appreciation gathering.

Afterward, she asked worriedly,

“Could it have been because of something I said?”

“It has nothing to do with you. Don’t overthink it,” Jiang Ji said. “She already had someone she loved and was unhappy with the marriage arrangement from the beginning. As the wedding date approached, she finally gathered the courage to fight for what she wanted.”

Madam Lu nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. It has nothing to do with you. If she can marry the person she loves, then that’s a good thing.”

Zhao Ru also reached out and gently patted Jiang Xia’s head.

After thinking about it, Jiang Xia said,

“That’s true. I could tell that day that she wasn’t happy about her marriage. But if she was unhappy, she should have said something when the match was first being arranged. I wonder if she’ll actually get what she wants.”

Madam Lu sighed.

“It’ll probably be difficult. The Minister of Justice found her a young man from an equally prestigious family. His future career prospects are almost certainly bright. The man she loves is a childhood neighbor. They care deeply for each other, but he’s just a scholar from a modest family. There’s no telling whether he’ll even pass the imperial examinations and become a jinshi.”

Jiang Ji also understood that deeply ingrained traditions of arranged marriage were not so easily overturned.

Still, seeing someone make an effort to challenge them was somewhat comforting.

---

Half a month later, no one knew what methods the young lady had used, but she truly succeeded in breaking off the engagement.

The following year, she married her childhood sweetheart, and the two lovers were finally united.

The young scholar was hardworking and ambitious. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Several years later, he passed the imperial examinations with second-class honors and successfully entered official service.

That, however, was a story for another time.

As for the present, both the Minister of Justice’s family and their former prospective in-laws had lost face because of the broken engagement.

Because of this incident, every time Jiang Ji encountered the Minister of Justice afterward, the man would glare fiercely at him.

In the Minister of Justice’s mind, it was Jiang Xia’s “nonsense” that had influenced his daughter.

His daughter had been preparing obediently for marriage. Then she attended a flower appreciation gathering and returned home demanding to break off the engagement.

How could that not have been someone’s influence?

And where had Jiang Xia heard all those ideas?

Surely from Jiang Ji.

Thus, the Minister of Justice ended up holding a grudge against Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji, however, remained completely unbothered.

He acted as though he noticed nothing and continued cheerfully greeting the Minister of Justice whenever they met.

Eventually, the Minister of Justice became so annoyed that he started going out of his way to avoid Jiang Ji altogether.

---

Because of this incident, the three marriage rules of Jiang Ji’s family spread throughout the capital:

First: No one under the age of eighteen was allowed to marry.

Second: Direct blood relatives or collateral relatives within three generations were prohibited from marrying.

Third: Marriage should be based on free choice.

These three family rules sparked widespread discussion throughout the capital.

Gradually and almost imperceptibly, they began influencing some people.

The change was slow, but it existed.

And in time, that influence would continue to grow, reaching more and more people.

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