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"Of course I understand what 'Tachibana Sonako' means."
Chiba Tamonshiro said angrily.
After a woman gets married, she has to change her husband's surname. Even children as young as a few years old know this.
"This... let Tachibana-kun and Sanako get married? Shige-nii, are you kidding me?"
"Look at my expression."
Chiba Jutaro raised his hand and gestured with his solemn face.
"Are you kidding me? I'm serious."
"Well……"
As if trying to get rid of his confused expression, Chiba Tamonshiro raised his left hand and rubbed the back of his neck vigorously, looking away.
No wonder Chiba Tamonshiro had such a reaction and expression.
This question was asked too suddenly... He was asked about Sanako's marriage out of the blue, and he had no psychological preparation in advance.
And this kind of question cannot be answered casually.
"Brother Chong, why do you ask me this kind of thing for no reason?"
"...Brother Duomen, Sanako is 22 years old this year."
Chiba Jutaro sighed heavily.
"Don't you think that Sanako, who is now this age, has reached a point where her marriage can no longer be delayed?"
"..." Chiba Tamonshiro fell silent. After a moment, he nodded gently, "...Hmm."
In this Edo period, where people's ideological level, technological level, social order and good customs are basically still stuck in the medieval period, marriage is undoubtedly the top priority in life. Producing children and carrying on the family line is a matter of course for everyone.
matter.
In the Edo period, women could usually get married at the age of 15 or 6, and the average age at marriage also fluctuated within this range. Some people got married early, even at the age of 12 or 3.
Therefore, from the perspective of this era, Sanako, who is 22 years old but still unmarried, is now considered a "super-elderly leftover girl."
Out of concern for his family, 4 years ago, when Sanako was just over 18 years old, Chiba Tamonshiro often paid attention to the marriage of his little cousin who had not yet gotten married.
Chiba Tamonshiro also asked Chiba Sadayoshi and Chiba Jutaro several times why Sanako never got married? It shouldn't be based on Sanako's conditions.
And the response he got from Chiba Sadaki and Chiba Jutaro was always that the father and son smiled helplessly or laughed dryly, while saying, "Sanako hasn't found the person she likes yet, so she hasn't found her yet."
marry".
Seeing Chiba Tamonshiro nodding, Chiba Jutaro suddenly showed an overjoyed expression.
"Haha, Brother Domen, since even you feel that Sanako's marriage cannot be postponed any longer, then the next thing can be easily discussed."
"You don't need me to go into details. You should also know how difficult it is for a woman to live alone without anyone to rely on."
"Although Sanako is proficient in the art of naginata and the Kodachi art of my Beichen Itto style, and has great attainments in my Chiba family's ancestral acupuncture, but how much space can there be in this world to accommodate Samurai Hime and female doctors?
"
"My father and I are still alive. When our Chiba family is still prosperous, we can still protect Sanako."
"But when my father and I die one day, and our Chiba family will no longer be as glorious as it is now, what will she do?"
When Chiba Tamonshiro heard this, his expression suddenly changed.
"Brother Chong, please don't say such unlucky words."
What he was referring to, of course, were the two sentences that Chiba Jutaro had just said: "My father and I will die one day" and "Our Chiba family will no longer be as glorious as it is now."
"Hahaha, what's so auspicious about these words?"
Chiba Jutaro put his hands on his hips and smiled freely.
"People are always in danger, and there are always births, old age, sickness and death."
"The same goes for families. No matter how powerful a family is, it will decline one day."
"What's more, we are still living in a time of great chaos that has not been seen in thousands of years."
As if he was infected by what he said, a slight look of frustration and helplessness appeared on Chiba Jutaro's face.
"The Westerners opened the door to the country, the shogunate was weakened, the Nanki faction and the Hitotsubashi faction are still fighting endlessly, and powerful feudal lords from all over the world are eyeing..."
"In such troubled times, no matter what happens, it is not surprising."
"So I don't want Sanako's marriage to be delayed like this."
"Even if we don't care about the empty reasons of continuing the family line and extending the descendants, I just want Sanako to be happy. I also hope that Sanako can marry the person of her choice as soon as possible."
"Having a reliable husband with outstanding talents to rely on will make things much easier in the current chaotic world."
"So, brother Duomen, let me tell you the truth: I started looking for a suitable person to be my brother-in-law a long time ago."
"After careful selection, I finally found the most suitable and high-quality candidate."
Hearing this, and then thinking of the question that Chiba Jutaro asked just now, "What do you think of the name 'Tachibana Sanako'?" and other questions, no matter how stupid people are, they can understand what Chiba Jutaro meant.
"So..." Chiba Tamonshiro lowered his voice, "You like Tachibana-kun?"
"Brother Duomen, don't you think Tachibana-kun and Sanako are a good match?" Chiba Jutaro grinned, "First of all, the age is very suitable. Tachibana-kun is 18 this year, Sanako is 22 this year, and Sanako is only a big Tachibana.
Jun is 4 years old, Jun Jun is not engaged yet and is still single."
"And, Tachibana-kun is very good."
"Brother Duomen, you should also know what achievements he has achieved in the officialdom."
"Not only does he have a bright future in the officialdom, but he also has a bright future in the swordsmanship."
Chiba Jutaro pursed his lips towards the dojo in front of him.
"Brother Duomen, you just saw how high Mr. Tachibana's swordsmanship and sword skills are, right?"
"He is full of confidence and has only just learned swordsmanship for eight months."
"It only took 8 months to surpass almost all the disciples of our Little Chiba Sword Hall."
"If you let me compete with the current Mr. Ju, I will probably lose more than I win."
Chiba Jutaro talked eloquently... with the attitude of "I can talk about Tachibana-kun's merits for three days and three nights."
As Chiba Jutaro became more and more excited as he spoke, Chiba Tamonshiro intervened at the right time, interrupting Chiba Jutaro's seemingly endless praise of Aoto.
"Brother Shige, I agree with all these compliments you have for Mr. Tachibana. But -" Chiba Tamonshiro changed the topic, "Sanako's husband... the most important quality should be that Sanako likes him.
Him?"
As soon as Chiba Tamonshiro finished speaking, Chiba Jutaro said quickly and excitedly:
"Brother Duomen, you have hit the point."
"The most important reason why I think Tachibana-kun and Sanako are a good match is that I recently discovered that Sanako doesn't have a bad feeling towards Tachibana-kun, and maybe she even has some good feelings towards Tachibana-kun."
"Have a good impression...? Brother Chong, are you...sure?"
Chiba Tamonshiro showed a dazed and confused expression.
Although he is only Sanako's cousin, he and Sanako have grown up together.
He knew very well what kind of personality his cousin had - he had basically never seen him show any obvious kindness to men other than family members.
Chiba Jutaro's words just now really gave him a slight psychological shock.
"Of course I am sure." Chiba Jutaro nodded, "I am her brother, and I live under the same roof with her. Most of her daily actions are under my nose."
After finishing speaking, Chiba Jutaro sighed deeply with emotion on his face.
"What a turn of events... A few months ago, I really thought Tachibana-kun and Sanako had no chance."
I think back then, when his "Handbook for Preparing a Brother-in-Law" accidentally let Sanako discover that Sanako himself said "I won't like Tachibana-kun", Chiba Jutaro's heart dropped a lot.
At that time, he thought: It's over, the high-quality sister-in-law candidate he finally found was rejected by Sanako again...
At that time, he had basically given up on the idea of ​​bringing Qingto and Sanako together.
It was not until recently, when Aoden began to visit the Little Chiba Sword Hall frequently, that this "hope" that was almost extinguished was rekindled.
Over the past two months, Chiba Jutaro has seen with his own eyes how harmonious the relationship between Ayoto and Sanako is.
Every time Aoto comes to Little Chiba Sword Hall, he will definitely come to meet and chat with Sanako.
And Sanako never resisted getting along with Qingto.
Several times, Chiba Jutaro saw his sister, who was serious to the point of being old-fashioned and always stern, showing a faint smile several times while chatting with Aonto.
To be continued...