Madam Thompson chuckled, “Sister Brooks, there’s no need for so many words. My May has both looks and skill with needlework, she’s virtuous and gentle. The bride price cannot be a single coin less, and the wedding must be grand and respectable.”

Madam Brooks said with a bitter face, “But wasn’t it originally agreed upon as two hundred strings of cash?”

“Times have changed. Now Sanlang is making quite a name for himself. He can’t get into the academy, and yet he wants to learn martial arts—neither here nor there... How can we feel at ease marrying our daughter over?”

Madam Thompson said with a sneer.

Madam Brooks grumbled inwardly: Not at ease about marrying off your daughter? It’s obvious you just want to drive up the price and squeeze out as much bride price as possible. In the city, the mercenary and snobbish ways of the The Thompson Couple are well known. Raising a daughter is like planting a money tree—they won’t let go until they’ve made enough.

After much pleading, Madam Thompson showed not the slightest intention of compromise. Growing impatient, she said coldly, “Sister Brooks, some things are better left unsaid for the sake of harmony, but don’t blame me for being frank. Sanlang has no hope in his studies, his official career is cut off. Originally, my May would never have been promised to him, but for the sake of our families’ past ties, I reluctantly agreed. But look at what Sanlang has been up to lately? All sorts of nonsense. I saw him the other day—so thin and frail he could barely stand the wind, looking like a sickly invalid. I don’t want my daughter to become a widow as soon as she marries in, becoming a laughingstock for no reason.”

These words were extremely harsh.

Madam Brooks’s eyelids kept twitching as she tried to defend, “Ethan is a scholar, he’s always been like this physically.”

—In the Xia Yu Dynasty, civil pursuits were valued over martial ones, so it was common to raise scholars who were weak and unaccustomed to physical labor.

Madam Thompson snorted disdainfully, “Alright, that’s all there is to say. In short, if you want to marry my daughter, it has to be five hundred strings of cash. You can ask Granny Wood how many families are interested in May.”

That last sentence was actually true, though almost none could afford such a generous bride price. Normally, bride prices were under a hundred strings; for poor families, even less. The only exception was Patron Warren from the west of the city, who was willing to offer two hundred strings. But as a widower, Patron Warren had just celebrated his fifty-first birthday this year—he was considered a bit old.

After comparing, Madam Thompson still felt it was more respectable for her daughter to marry the young Sanlang Brooks.

Although Sanlang Brooks couldn’t get into the academy and was destined not to become an official, at least he was young and not bad-looking. Plus, with some family wealth, they wouldn’t have to live a hard life.

Besides, Sanlang Brooks was bookish and naive, with no head for business. After her daughter married in, she could run the household and have the authority of a true matron.

Originally, when Granny Wood came to propose last time, as long as the The Brooks Family agreed to a bride price of two hundred strings, the marriage would have gone through. But Madam Brooks thought the amount was too high and didn’t agree right away, hoping that after some time, the The Thompson Family would lower their demands.

Who would have thought that during this time, Sanlang Brooks would get into trouble and start acting strangely? When they anxiously came to propose again, the price had already doubled.

Raising the price from two hundred to five hundred strings, Madam Thompson had her reasons. Sanlang Brooks’s actions had become the talk of the town, his reputation greatly damaged. Since there was no written agreement before, if she didn’t raise the price now, when would she?

As for Sanlang Brooks’s health, he was indeed sallow and thin, quite frail. But he’d never been robust to begin with—“frail scholar” wasn’t just an empty phrase. Besides, with a bride price of five hundred strings, not to mention marrying a weak scholar, even marrying off to an old man on his deathbed would be acceptable.

Granny Wood spoke up at the right moment, “Madam Brooks, the Thompson girl is dignified and beautiful, an ideal match. A fortune-teller has read her birth chart—she’s sure to bring prosperity to her husband. Maybe after marrying her, Sanlang will settle down and focus, and might even get into the academy and become a xiucai.”

Madam Brooks was greatly moved by these words, but the five hundred string bride price weighed on her like a mountain, making her nearly despair.

You have to know, the bride price is only part of the wedding expenses—there are also all the ceremonies, banquets, and so on, which are no small cost.

Maybe she should talk to Ethan before making a decision.

“Mother, such a marriage isn’t worth it. We can’t afford it.”

A calm voice came from outside the door—Sanlang Brooks was standing there. Judging by his dusty appearance, he must have just returned from the martial arts school.

Hearing this, Madam Thompson immediately jumped up, “No sincerity at all—what’s the point of talking to me?”

She stormed off in a huff.

Granny Wood said a few polite words and also took her leave.

After they left, Madam Brooks came to Sanlang Brooks and asked, “Ethan, what do you plan to do?”

Sanlang Brooks smiled and said, “There’s plenty of fish in the sea, no rush.” Right now, he had no intention of spending any energy on this matter, and didn’t care much for so-called social conventions.

Uh!

Madam Brooks felt her son seemed to have changed—he’d become more assertive. Thinking it over, she found it reasonable: so what if he couldn’t marry the Thompson girl? Would her son have to remain a bachelor forever?

That’s right, the daughter of the The Smith Family in the east of the city wasn’t as pretty, but she was decent enough...

Soon, Madam Brooks had a new idea—arranging a marriage for her son was, after all, the thing every mother in the world was most passionate about. She wouldn’t rest until she found a satisfactory match.

Leaving the Brooks household and turning down a street, Madam Thompson and Granny Wood were once again together, speaking in low voices: