Zhou Shuran lifted her head, confusion welled up in her heart. "Please, ask me anything, Elder Sister."
She saw her elder sister's eyes fall on Xiao Qingya's sleeping face before she turned to face her.
There was a flash of hesitation. Her brows furrowed. Zhou Anran's mouth parted slightly, and she closed it again. She shook her head.
"I hope that Mother doesn't make things difficult for you." She let out a sigh, her eyes full of concern.
Zhou Shuran's face faltered slightly, and she fell silent. She bit her lips, trying to muster up her strength for a smile, yet she looked like she was wincing.
"Perhaps Mother wants to keep me longer to accompany her." She fiddled with the scented sachet on her hand, crushing the herbs inside. "Don't worry about it, Elder Sister."
Zhou Anran took a deep breath. Her right hand reached out to her younger sister's hair. She caressed the hair, and silence fell between the two of them.
It was unknown what Chen Huayun was thinking. Zhou Shuran had already reached the marriageable age for a commoner family's girl.
There was no lack of hard-working men with decent personalities who had come to propose for her hand in marriage. Zhou Shuran had found some of them to be compatible with each other after they got to know each other through a matchmaker.
However, their relationship never progressed to marriage.
She was already seventeen years old this year. Other girls would have promised husbands at fourteen or fifteen, and then they would have gotten married half to a year later.
Although she didn't have deep feelings for the young men she was betrothed to, she was still somewhat disappointed when the marriage fell through.
It was always Chen Huayun who broke off the marriage one-sidedly, two times. She also never let Zhou Shuran return the things that the intended husband had given her.
Over time, no one dared to propose the matchmaker to Zhou Shuran anymore, fearing they would lose money instead.
Chen Huayun was also a demanding future mother-in-law. She would ask the future husband to give her daughter this or that, regarding them not good enough if they failed to give the things she requested.
"You can't do just this much? My daughter will suffer if she marries you!" Chen Huayun often insisted in her high-pitched voice. If it happened just once or twice, the man could still swallow it, but her demands became increasingly difficult to fulfill.
She even requested a title deed once.
Every time Zhou Shuran's marriage failed, she would just tell her daughter: "These men aren't good enough for you. They obviously don't like you enough. If they did, they wouldn't have married another woman."
Zhou Shuran understood the two men's perspectives better. They had tried to please her difficult mother in order to gain her approval. Nevertheless, they still failed.
It was already good that they were kind enough to let go of the things Chen Huayun had done. Anyone would feel like they had been scammed.
If she didn't approve of them in the first place, why didn't she say anything when the matchmaker introduced them both, or at least before the man's family decided she was to be their daughter-in-law.
From the initial fear of her future, Zhou Shuran gradually became numb and no longer cared as much. However, now that her elder sister had mentioned it again, she couldn't help but fall into a daze.
"If you like a good man, don't let anyone hold you back, or you might regret missing him in this lifetime. " Zhou Anran told her. "You can tell your sister. I won't let anyone else know."
Actually, their father also had been worried about his youngest daughter's marriage. Every time he discussed it with his wife, unfortunately, it always ended up in argument.
Until now, Zhou Shuran's marriage remained undecided.
"Alright…" Her lips trembled slightly. "Thank you, Elder Sister."
She couldn't help but remember how her elder sister also bravely married her brother-in-law despite all the opposition from their mother. It seemed that it was from that moment on that the relationship between Zhou Anran and Chen Huayun grew further apart.
Chen Huayun never gave Zhou Anran any good face unless she had an ulterior motive in mind. In fact, she had almost disowned her, but the gifts from her son-in-law made her think better of it.
There might be some useful things Xiao Wei would give them. She didn't want to take a loss.
A flash of complication crossed Zhou Shuran's face. She sighed and soon, she noticed her sister's tired face.
"You have been working at the field all day, Elder Sister. Let's just go to sleep," Zhou Shuran muttered.
Zhou Anran nodded and closed her eyes. Originally, she wanted to mention whether Zhou Shuran noticed anything wrong with Xiao Qingya, but she changed the topic just as the words were already on the tip of her tongue.
Of course, her current concern about Zhou Shuran's marriage was also real. It wasn't solely because she wanted to change the topic.
She had always wanted to say these words to her too. It was only that night that she got the chance.
It was unknown how many minutes had passed. Zhou Shuran turned her head to the side. She noticed Zhou Anran's steady breathing through the rise and fall of her chest.
She must have been so tired after spending a lot of time carrying water and working in the field. The time she spent at her elder sister's place was actually one of the few moments she could relax.
Chen Huayun wasn't that bad besides her blind preference for her eldest son and was a little controlling of her. She never forced her to do heavy work, but still, she could never truly relax there.
With some thoughts lingering in her mind, she fell asleep.
A few hours later, it was still dark when she woke up. Too early. And she wasn't alone.
Xiao Qingya blinked her round eyes at her.