After exchanging pleasantries, Deputy Ma invited everyone to take a seat. The waiter then served the dishes that he had ordered. Ma Yi Cheng then said to Yang Ling," Scholar Yang, this old man will call you nephew. This son of mine has a violent temperament and often causes trouble for this old man. This time, he has caused a huge disaster. If it wasn't for nephew Yang's brilliant plan and Lord Min's mercy, my son would have been sued for his life."
Yang Ling hurriedly said," You're too kind. I saw it clearly that day. Brother Ma had never laid a hand on Boss Wang. Speaking of which, greed is really harmful. Boss Wang coveted Miss Ma's pearls, but Brother Ma held him back and argued with him. He died from embarrassment, but it wasn't Brother Ma's fault. Lord Ma, please don't be too harsh on Brother Ma."
Ma Ang immediately said,"Father, you didn't believe me when I told my sister, but you should believe Brother Yang's words, right?" I didn't hit that old man."
"Shut up! Little bastard, you have no right to interrupt!”Deputy Ma scolded his son and shook his head at Magistrate Min, Deputy Huang, and Yang Ling."" Look, look, this little bastard can't accomplish anything but is good at ruining things. How can he compare to Nephew Yang? He's even a few years younger than my son, but he's steady and experienced. He already has a reputation before he's even twenty years old. Sigh, my son and daughter died early, so there's no one to discipline them. That's why they're so insensible."
County Magistrate Min, County Magistrate Huang, and Yang Ling couldn't help but explain for Ma Ang. As they spoke, the waiter served the banquet like flowing water. After a while, more and more people gathered in the courtyard. The people sitting around the private room were merchants who were passing by the courier station. In the remote areas in the distance, there were courier envoys, long-term men, and government runners who had nothing to do and came to kill time.
The stage in front was brightly lit, and with the sound of gongs and drums, the actors invited by the theater began to sing on stage. At that time, there was no Beijing opera. Yang Ling did not know much about opera, and it was inconvenient for him to ask others about it. He did not understand much after listening to a few sentences. Moreover, the actors at that time were all men, and he could not even look at beautiful women to satisfy his craving. Yang Ling was very bored, but he only understood a general idea after listening to County Magistrate Min, Deputy Ma Yi, and Deputy Huang talk as they watched.
After listening to the story that the two of them shared, Yang Ling found it unbelievable. This movie was about a woman who had just married her husband, and her husband left home soon after.
After several years, the husband returned to his hometown. When he was about to reach home, he met a very beautiful woman picking mulberry leaves. He was moved by the woman's beauty and went up to flirt with her. Unexpectedly, he was refuted by the woman's righteous words. Feeling bored, he returned home dejectedly.
Unexpectedly, when he returned home and saw that his wife was the woman he had failed to flirt with just now, he felt very ashamed and sincerely praised his wife.
There was nothing wrong with the story at this point. However, on the second day of the performance, the wife cried at home and wrote a suicide note. She actually hanged herself. In the letter, she said that she had not cultivated her womanly morals to the extreme, so she had aroused the evil thoughts of men and shamed her chastity. Therefore, she could no longer live in the world. She could only die to preserve her chastity.
In the end, this matter caused a sensation in the village. All parties wrote letters and the emperor issued an imperial edict. This chaste woman was posthumously conferred the title of a first-grade imperial edict madam. The emperor bestowed her with a " chastity memorial archway ", which was extremely glorious. Her husband was grateful for his wife and later married a madam. The couple even went to the grave to worship together.
This Wild Goose Restaurant was a combination of a theater and a restaurant, so the acting was not so tight. After the show was over, there was a break for a while. Min and Ma began to talk with great interest. County Deputy Huang sipped his wine and interrupted from time to time. Although he didn't speak much, he was a scholar after all. He could always say what County Magistrate Min wanted to say but couldn't express.
However, Yang Ling felt that this act was too unreal. The most ridiculous thing he had heard was that there was a woman who fell into the water one day. A man who passed by saw her and pulled her arm out. When she returned home, she used a kitchen knife to cut off her arm because it had been touched by a man who was not her husband.
However, if it could be considered as " losing her virginity ", it was a physical loss of virginity. The woman in this play could not even bear the mental " loss of virginity ". It was not considered a loss of virginity. It was just that she was beautiful and others were lustful. The man was not guilty, but the wife felt that she was not virtuous enough. It was simply preposterous.
Hearing County Magistrate Min and Deputy Ma's praises, Yang Ling finally couldn't help but say,""Milords, isn't this show a little too exaggerated? When her husband saw a beautiful woman on the way, he flirted with her. His conduct was so bad that he was scolded and left. In the end, his wife felt that she was unchaste. This was simply outrageous. How could there be such a thing in the world? What was so funny about such an exaggerated and unrealistic play?”
"What? Nephew Yang has read the books of the sages, so you don't know about the traces in the Legend of the Martyr?" Ma Yi Cheng asked in surprise. What's wrong with that? This woman was so chaste and was the role model for all women in the world. What was so funny about her?”
Lord Min also smiled and drank a mouthful of wine. He chuckled and said,"Scholar Yang must have only read the books of sages that can be used to obtain fame. He doesn't know the story of the 'Legend of the Heroic Maiden. I also feel that this woman is a bit of a pity. If I were the magistrate there, I would definitely beat that husband 40 times and punish him not to take a concubine for the rest of his life.
"However, there is nothing wrong with this matter. During the Chenghua years, when I was fighting the pirates in Fujian, I was still a soldier. There was a woman in Minnan who wanted to follow her husband after his death. Her relatives were proud of it and beat gongs and drums to publicize it. Three days later, the woman held flowers in her hand and was dressed in bright clothes. She sat in a sedan chair and went to her husband's grave. She stepped on a stool and climbed up the pre-built colorful tent. She hung her neck and committed suicide. Emperor Jingtai once issued an edict to give her a chastity archway. The whole village was honored. Hehe." I was the one who built that memorial archway for her."
Ma Yi Cheng nodded." That's right. It's a great defense of etiquette. How can we be careless? Nephew Yang is too soft-hearted." Speaking of which, this kind of woman was a fierce woman from a good family. If she was a woman in a pleasure field, how could she be so chaste?
Back then, Guan Panpan, a famous prostitute in Xuzhou, was taken in as a concubine by Marshal Zhang. After Zhang's death, she did not die for her husband, but moved back to her old residence, Swallow House, and lived alone for ten years. She wanted to gain a good reputation for chastity. She was really shameless.
Later, it was Jiang Zhou's Sima who wrote a poem that exposed her hypocrisy. This woman was so ashamed that she starved herself to death for ten days. Compared to the woman in the play and the young woman in Min Zhong, she was far inferior.”
Yang Ling had practiced calligraphy in his previous life, so he knew who the Jiang Prefecture Sima was. However, he didn't know that Bai Juyi could be so sympathetic towards an old man selling charcoal, but he had such an attitude towards a widow. At that time, it was still the Tang Dynasty, which was the most open-minded in China. Now, after the Song Dynasty's Master Zhu's invention of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, it was no wonder that women were so deeply poisoned.
Ma Lian 'er, who was listening at the side, was extremely indignant. She could not help but snort coldly and interrupt,"After ten years of spring, the song has changed into the tongue of an oriole, and the three dislikes of old ugliness have changed into crescent eyebrows. If a beloved wife were to follow her husband, there would be nothing wrong with that. However, since this kind of man sees a concubine as a commodity that can be traded at will, without any feelings to speak of, and wants her to die for him, I feel that it is a little too much."
She was reciting a poem from Bai Juyi's recount of his romantic life," Chasing After Pleasure." It was about how he had bought some fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls to be his concubines and had only played with them for three years. They were only eighteen or nineteen years old, but he already thought that they were old and ugly. Thus, he gave some to others and resold them. Then, he bought a batch of fresh goods and changed them three times in ten years. That was why he wrote it in the poem to show off to his friends.
Ma Yi Cheng was very unhappy. He felt that his daughter had lost face by saying such words in front of everyone. There was a county magistrate, a county magistrate, and a scholar with a great reputation present. His daughter's words were disrespectful and did not seem to show that his upbringing was not strict. Therefore, although he usually doted on his daughter the most, he could not help but slap her and scold,"Bastard, what are you talking about? Since Emperor Taizu Gao, this dynasty has placed the most emphasis on morals. In order to commend virtuous women, those who are widowed at 30 and do not remarry at 50 will be commended and exempted from the servants of their own family.
Chastity and chastity are originally their duty. As the saying goes, a horse does not deserve two saddles, and it is difficult for one foot to step on two boats. Therefore, a woman does not serve two husbands, just as we, a minister, do not serve two masters. Although a woman's virtue lies in gentleness, her chastity and reputation are all based on chastity. Have you forgotten what I taught you?”
Ma Lian 'er was usually the most favored by her father, so when she heard them talk about women as if they were men's private wealth and playthings, she couldn't help but refute them. She didn't expect her father to slap her in front of an outsider. She was embarrassed and angry for a moment, and she couldn't help but cover her face and cry. She turned around and ran out.
Ma Ang saw that his father was angry and did not dare to persuade him. He wanted to chase after him but was afraid that his father would be angry, so he could not help but hesitate. Ma Yi Cheng waved his hand angrily and said,"Let her be. We'll drink on our own. I've really spoiled this child. How can she say such things?"
Yang Ling could not help but be speechless. What did Ma Lian 'er say wrong? Why was Deputy Ma so angry? Magistrate Min also felt that it was only natural that he did not dissuade her. He stood up and said,""Miss Ma must have only pitied Guan Panpan. She starved herself to death, so there was one less peerless figure in the world. Therefore, she said it on a whim. Uncle, don't be angry.
It's already late, it's not appropriate for Miss Ma to go out alone. Just wait for Little Nephew to persuade her to come back."
Although Ma Yi Cheng felt that his daughter's words were too embarrassing, he was deeply in love with his daughter. Although his words were ruthless, he was really worried about her. Seeing that he was polite, his expression eased and he said, Thank you for your trouble, Nephew Yang."
Yang Ling cupped his hands at Lord Min and Deputy Ma, then quickly chased after them. Ma Lian 'er was standing under the red lantern at the entrance of the theater, staring blankly at the stars in the sky. Yang Ling felt relieved, and he slowed down his pace as he walked forward." Miss Ma, go back. Your father is only afraid that your words will be heard by others and affect your reputation. As the saying goes, love is accompanied by responsibility. Don't be too angry."
Ma Lian 'er looked up at the twinkling stars in the sky and said softly,"What does this world treat women as? A woman who died for her chastity was a good woman and could be praised. A woman's chastity showed her virtue and the greatness of a man. It showed that he was worthy of a woman's sacrifice. But what did he do for a woman?
Women are treated as a man's private property. It's not just concubines, but also wives. I heard from the Three Kingdoms that the first thing they did was to kill their wives and children. Liu Bei treated his wife like clothes, and the hunter Liu An treated his wife like a dish, killing her to entertain his guests. Were these people or beasts?
Water is not tired of being clean, women are not tired of being clean. Did you know? My mother was forced to death by my father. At that time, he was still a soldier. My mother took care of my brother and me alone and lived a very difficult life. Later, bandits from a nearby mountain came down to rob us. My mother hid my brother and me in a water tank and escaped the calamity. The bandits raped her, but she was kind enough not to kill her. In the end, she was not killed by the bandits 'knives. Instead, she was glared to death by my father and the men in the village who saw the bandits and ran for their lives.”
Yang Ling was silent for a moment, then sighed softly." It's not a big deal to starve to death, but it's a big deal to lose your chastity. Zhu Xi's words may not be right, but this world belongs to men, so it's right." He thought of his own era and shook his head."Not only is it right now, but hundreds of years later, there are still many men who believe in it. However, this principle is specially designed for women.
"Zhu Xi?" Ma Lian 'er sneered. He talked about 'justice' and 'Daoism' but he seduced two nuns to become his favorite concubines and daughters-in-law. He was really a model of morality and a model of scholars. What a great irony."
Yang Ling only knew that the great defense of propriety was developed by Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty. From then on, women who died for their chastity began to emerge like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, but he did not know that Zhu Xi had such " romantic affairs."
He couldn't help but smile bitterly." Since men have the final say in this world, it's not surprising that Daoism has different requirements for men and women. If a man's dignity is insulted, he will have to endure hardships and endure humiliation. As long as he takes revenge in the future, he will be able to hold his head high. No one will care about how shameless he was in the past, even if he took the initiative to ingratiate himself with feces. As for a woman, even if she was forced to lose her chastity, it is still an unforgivable sin!”。
Ma Lian 'er suddenly turned her head, her eyes brighter than the stars looking at him in surprise. After a while, she said," You're the first man, especially a scholar, to be able to say such words. I really didn't expect you to have such knowledge at such a young age and after reading those 'Sage Books' for so long. What a pity, what a pity."
Yang Ling couldn't help but ask,"What's a pity?”
Ma Lian 'er turned her head and said faintly," Return Jun Mingzhu's pair of tears, wishing that we didn't meet before marriage."
Yang Ling's heart skipped a beat as he listened, and the atmosphere between the two of them suddenly became stiff. After a while, he forced a smile and used a joke to ease the atmosphere. Even though we met because of that pearl of yours, I didn't give you a pearl. Miss, please don't misunderstand."
Ma Lian 'er giggled and turned her head to glare at him charmingly. She bit her lips and said bravely with a red face," That's because you're not lucky." Looking at his tall nose under the light, Ma Lian 'er's heart skipped a beat. She turned her head away and felt a romantic atmosphere between them.
She gently wiped away the cold tears on her face and said,"If others treat me well, I will treat them well. Ever since my mother died, I, Ma Lian 'er, have felt that there is no man in this world who is worthy of us women making such a huge sacrifice. I will not be that stupid chaste woman on the stage.”
Yang Ling was mesmerized by her beauty, which had emerged from her confidence and arrogance. He sighed softly after a while,""You were born too early. You should have been born five hundred years later, really!”
Ma Lian 'er blinked her beautiful big eyes and asked curiously,"Do you think my words are outrageous and shocking? Could it be that it was fine to say this after 500 years?”
Yang Ling was shocked, and he quickly laughed,"" I was just thinking that perhaps at that time, there would be a portion of men who would treat women as independent existences and treat them equally. Heh heh, it was just a wild guess and a thought."
Ma Lian 'er smiled and reached into her bosom to take out the pouch. She took two steps forward and stuffed it into Yang Ling's hand, saying,""I can see that your little wife loves you very much. This pearl can be considered my gift to you. I only hope that you treat your wife well and don't mistreat her.”
The purse in his hand still carried her body temperature and faint fragrance. Ma Lian 'er saw that he was in a daze and giggled. She combed her hair and said,"Let's go back. I'm just sad, not angry. After all, it doesn't make sense.”From the corner of her eyes, she noticed that Deputy Huang had chased after her, so she quickly withdrew her hand and walked in.
Yang Ling only came to his senses after a long while. He turned back and saw the county deputy, Huang Qiyin, smiling meaningfully at him. He made a gesture of invitation, then smiled slightly and cupped his hands in response. The two of them did not say a word, but they seemed to be very familiar with each other.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。