Nightwatcher

# 289. Borrow Someone

*Why would such a powerful Buddhist sect choose to seal its own traitor in the Great Feng? The reason either lies in some special property of Sangpo Lake or in Shenshu himself...*

Xu Qi'an hesitated slightly before voicing his doubt.

"I am just an ordinary man, and know nothing of such secrets," Wei Yuan shook his head, indicating his lack of knowledge.

"Xu Ningyan, you're twenty this year, correct?" Wei Yuan suddenly asked.

"Yes, Duke Wei," Xu Qi'an was puzzled, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu from this line of questioning.

As expected, Wei Yuan followed up by saying, "It's about time for you to start a family."

In this world, people generally lived long lives unless afflicted by natural disasters or accidents, easily living past sixty. Seventy or eighty was not uncommon. Therefore, the marriageable age range was broad. Some girls married as early as fourteen, their bodies not yet fully developed, which led to some awkward scenes. On the other hand, some women remained unmarried into their twenties, untouched by suitors, and equally pitiful in their own way.

Xu Qi'an had seen both cases first-hand. His aunt married his uncle at sixteen, while Princess Huaiqing, already twenty-five, was still single. Reflecting on the question of lifespan, Xu Qi'an couldn’t help but wonder why the Confucian Sage passed away at 82, which seemed a bit premature for such a remarkable figure.