After exchanging pleasantries, Deputy Ma invited everyone to take a seat. The waiter then served the ordered dishes one by one. Deputy Ma then said to Yang Ling: "Scholar Yang, this old man is asking you to be my nephew. This son of mine has a violent temperament and often causes trouble for this old man. This time he has caused a great disaster. If not for Nephew Yang's ingenious plan and Official Min's mercy, my son would have been charged with murder."
Yang Ling hurriedly said: "Not at all, not at all. That day I saw clearly that Brother Ma did not make a move against that Boss Wang. Speaking of which, it was really greed that harmed others. That Boss Wang coveted Miss Ma's pearls and was stopped by Brother Ma to reason with him. His humiliation turned into anger and he died. It was really not Brother Ma's fault. Official Ma must not be too harsh on Brother Ma."
Ma Ang immediately said: "Father, you didn't believe me and my sister, but you should believe Brother Yang's words, right? I did not hit that old man. "
"Shut up! Little bastard, you have no right to interrupt! " Deputy Ma scolded his son and shook his head at County Magistrate Min, County Magistrate Huang and Yang Ling. He said: "Look, look, this little bastard can't do anything right, but he is good at spoiling things. How can he compare to Nephew Yang? He is younger than my son by a few years, but he is calm and experienced. Before he has even reached his twenties, he already has an official's title. Alas, my wife died early. My son and daughter have no one to discipline them, which is why they are so immature."
County Magistrate Min, County Magistrate Huang and Yang Ling could not help but explain on Ma Ang's behalf. As they spoke, the waiter on the other side served the dishes like a stream of water. Not long after, the theater became more and more crowded. The people sitting around the private rooms were merchants who were passing by the courier station. In the more remote areas, there were messengers, drivers and off-duty bailiffs who had nothing to do and came here to kill time.
The stage in front of them was brightly lit, gongs and drums were beating, and the actors invited by the theater began to sing on the stage. At that time, there was no Peking Opera. Yang Ling did not understand opera, and it was not convenient for him to ask others about it. After listening to a few words, he did not understand much. Moreover, the performers at that time were all men. It was impossible for him to look at beautiful women. Yang Ling was very bored. Only when he heard County Magistrate Min, Deputy Ma, and Deputy Huang talk about it did he get a general idea.
Listening to the story of the two of them, Yang Ling only felt that it was incredible. This play was about a woman and her husband. Not long after they got married, the husband left home.
After a few years, the husband finally returned home. Just as he was about to reach home, he saw a very beautiful woman picking mulberry trees. He was moved by the woman's beauty and went up to her to flirt with her. Unexpectedly, he was sternly rebuked by the woman. Feeling bored, he returned home with his tail between his legs.
Unexpectedly, when he returned home, he found that his wife was the woman he had just flirted with. He felt very ashamed and admired his wife from the bottom of his heart.
Up to this point, there was nothing wrong with the story. However, on the second day of the play, the wife cried at home and wrote a suicide note. Unexpectedly, she hanged herself from the beam. In the note, she said that she was not virtuous enough to arouse men's evil thoughts and bring shame to her chastity. Therefore, she could no longer live in this world and could only die to preserve her chastity.
In the end, this matter caused a sensation in the village. Various parties submitted petitions, and the emperor issued an imperial edict. The chaste woman was posthumously conferred the title of First Rank Lady of Nobility. She was bestowed with a "Chastity Memorial Arch". Her husband was very grateful to her and later married another lady. The couple even went to the grave together to pay their respects.
The Swan Goose Restaurant was a combination of an opera garden and a restaurant, so the performance was not so tight. After the performance, there was a break in the middle. Min and Ma began to talk with great interest. Magistrate Huang took a sip of wine and from time to time chimed in with a few words. Although he didn't speak much, he was a scholar after all. He could always express what the county magistrate wanted to say but couldn't express.
However, Yang Ling felt that the play was too unreal. The most outrageous thing he had heard was that one day, a woman fell into the water and was saved by a passing man. When she returned home, she used a kitchen knife to cut off her arm, just because it was touched by a man who wasn't her husband.
But if that was considered "losing her chastity", it was still a physical one. The woman in the play couldn't even bear the mental "losing her chastity". Speaking of it, it wasn't really losing her chastity. It was just that she was beautiful, and the man was lusting after her. The man wasn't at fault, but the wife felt that she wasn't virtuous enough.
Listening to the county magistrate and Deputy Ma's endless praises, Yang Ling finally couldn't help but say, "Sirs, isn't this play a little too exaggerated? Her husband saw a beauty and flirted with her. He was scolded and left. In the end, the wife felt that she had lost her chastity. This … this is ridiculous. How can there be such a thing in the world? What's so funny about such an exaggerated drama? What's there to watch? "
Deputy Ma was surprised, "What? Nephew Yang is a scholar, but you don't know about the events in the 'Legend of the Martyr'? What's so untrue about it? This woman is so chaste and is a role model for all women in the world. What's so funny about it? "
Lord Min also smiled and took a sip of wine. He chuckled, "Scholar Yang must have only read those books that can be used to obtain scholarly honors. He doesn't know about the story of the 'Legend of the Martyr'. It's fine that you're soft-hearted. I also feel that it's a pity for this woman. If I were the county magistrate, I would heavily flog that husband forty times and forbid him from taking a concubine for the rest of his life.
However, there's nothing untrue about this story. During the Chenghua era, when I was fighting pirates in Fujian, I was still a small soldier. There was a woman in southern Fujian who wanted to follow her husband after his death. Her relatives were so proud of this that they beat drums and gongs to announce it. Three days later, the woman was holding fresh flowers and dressed brightly. She sat upright in a sedan chair in front of her husband's grave. She stepped on a stool and climbed onto a decorated canopy that had been set up beforehand. She committed suicide by hanging her neck. Emperor Jingtai once decreed that a chastity memorial arch was bestowed upon her.
Deputy Ma nodded, "That's right. Etiquette is a great precaution. How can we be careless? Nephew Yang is too soft-hearted. Speaking of which, this kind of woman is a virtuous woman from a good family. If it's a woman of pleasure, how can she be so chaste?
Back then, Guan Panpan, a famous prostitute in Xuzhou, was taken as a concubine by the commander-in-chief Zhang Ji. When Zhang Ji died, she didn't sacrifice herself for her husband. Instead, she moved back to her old residence, Swallow's Tower, and lived alone for ten years. She vainly hoped to gain a good reputation as a chaste woman.
She was truly shameless. Later on, it was the Jiangzhou Magistrate who wrote a poem that exposed her hypocrisy. Only then did she die shamefully without eating for ten days. Compared to the woman in the play and the young married woman from central Min, she's a far cry. "
In his previous life, Yang Ling loved to practice calligraphy and had some calligraphy, so he knew who the Jiangzhou Magistrate was. But he didn't know that Bai Juyi could be so compassionate towards an old man who sold coal, and yet treat a widow like this. That was the most liberal era in China, the Tang Dynasty. Now, after the Song Dynasty's Zhu Fuzi'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 from the side, was very indignant. She couldn't help but snort coldly and interrupt, "Ten years of spring cries have turned into oriole tongues, three years of disgust have turned ugly into moth eyebrows. If a beloved wife dies with her husband, there's nothing wrong with it. But since this kind of man treats his concubine as a commodity that can be bought and sold at will, without any sense of affection, and even wants her to die for him, I think it's a bit too much. "
She was reciting a line from Bai Juyi's poem about his romantic life, 'Chasing Pleasure'. It was about how he bought some fifteen or sixteen year old girls as his concubines. After playing with them for three years, when they were only eighteen or nineteen years old, he felt that they were old and ugly. So he gave them away, sold them, and bought a new batch. In ten years, he bought three batches, so he wrote it in the poem to show off to his friends.
Deputy Ma was very displeased, he felt that his daughter's words were too disgraceful. There was a county magistrate, a county magistrate, and a famous scholar present, and his daughter's words were disgraceful and showed that he didn't have a strict upbringing. So, although he loved his daughter the most, he couldn't help but slap her on the face and scolded, "Idiot, what are you saying? Since the founding of the Emperor, our court has placed the most importance on moral education. In order to commend chaste women, those who are widowed at thirty but do not remarry at fifty will be given a banner to their families and will be exempted from the family's service. What kind of glory is that?
Chastity and chastity are part of one's duty. As the saying goes, one horse does not deserve two saddles, one foot cannot stand on two boats. Therefore, a woman cannot serve two husbands, just as we, a minister cannot serve two masters. Although a woman's virtue lies in her gentleness, her chastity comes from her chastity. Have you forgotten what I've taught you? "
Ma Lian 'er was usually the most doted on by her father, so when she heard them say that women were a man's private playthings, she couldn't help but refute them. She didn't expect her father to slap her in front of others. She was embarrassed and angry, and couldn't help but cover her face and cry. She turned around and ran out.
Ma Ang saw that her father was angry and didn't dare to stop him. She wanted to chase after him but was afraid that her father would be angry, so she hesitated. Deputy Ma waved his hand angrily and said, "Let her go, we'll just drink. This child, I've really spoiled her. How can she say such things?"
Yang Ling couldn't help but be speechless. What was wrong with Ma Lian 'er's words? Why was Deputy Ma so angry? Why did County Magistrate Min feel that it was only natural for him to not stop her? He stood up and said, "Miss Ma must be feeling pity for Guan Panpan. If she dies on a hunger strike, the world will lose a peerless talent. That's why she said it on a whim. Uncle, don't be angry.
It's getting late now, it's not appropriate for Miss Ma to go out alone. Let me persuade her to come back. "
Although Deputy Ma felt that his daughter's words were too embarrassing, he had a deep relationship with his daughter. Although his words were harsh, he was really worried about her. Seeing that he was being polite, his expression softened and he said, "Then I'll have to trouble Nephew Yang."
Yang Ling cupped his fists at Sir Min and Deputy Ma Wuwu, then hurriedly chased after them. Ma Lian 'er was standing under the red lanterns at the entrance of the theater, staring blankly at the sky full of stars. Yang Ling felt relieved and slowed down his steps. He slowly walked forward and said, "Miss Ma, go back. Your father is just afraid that your words will be heard by others and it will affect your reputation. As the saying goes,' the deeper the love, the more severe the responsibility. 'Don't be too angry."
Ma Lian 'er raised her face and looked at the twinkling stars in the sky. She said softly, "In this world, what do they treat women as? A woman who sacrifices herself for her husband and her chastity is a good woman, worthy of praise and praise. A woman's chastity shows the virtue of a woman and the greatness of a man. It shows that he is worthy of a woman's sacrifice. But what has a man done for a woman?
To treat a woman as a man's private property, not only a concubine, but also a wife. I've heard of the Three Kingdoms. When the Three Kingdoms swore brotherhood, the first thing they did was to kill their wives and children. Did they have any affection for their wives? Liu Bei treated his wife as his clothes, and the hunter Liu An treated his wife as a dish. He killed her to serve his guests. Are they humans or beasts?
Water can never be too clean, and women can never be too clean. Do you know? My mother … was forced to death by my father. At that time, he was still a soldier. My mother lived a hard life with my brother and me. Later, bandits from the nearby mountains came down to rob them. My mother hid my brother and me in a water jar and escaped. The bandits raped her, but my father showed mercy and did not kill her. In the end, she was not killed by the bandits' saber. Instead, she was glared to death by my father and the men in the village who only cared about themselves when they saw the bandits. "
Yang Ling was silent for a long time. He sighed softly and said, "Uphold justice and extinguish human desires. Starving to death is a small matter, but losing one's chastity is a big matter. Zhu Xi's words may not be right, but this world belongs to men, so it is right." He thought of his own era and shook his head. "Not only is it right now, hundreds of years later, there are still many men who believe in it. But this kind of reasoning is specially designed for women."
Ma Lian 'er sneered. "Zhu Xi? Every time he opened his mouth, he talked about Heaven's justice, and every time he closed his mouth, he talked about Daoism, but he seduced two nuns to become his favorite concubines, and even his daughters-in-law who lived with him. He was truly a model of morality, a model of a scholar. What a great irony. "
Yang Ling only knew that the etiquette was carried forward in the hands of Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty. Since then, women have been sacrificing their chastity like mushrooms after the rain. He didn't know that Zhu Xi had such 'romantic affairs'.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Since men have the final say in this world, then it is not surprising that Taoism has different requirements for men and women. If a man's dignity is insulted, then he has to endure the humiliation. As long as he takes revenge in the future, he will be able to hold his head high. No one will care how shameless he used to be, even if he took the initiative to eat feces. As for women, even if they are forced to lose their chastity, it is still an unforgivable sin!"
Ma Lian 'er suddenly turned around. Her eyes that were brighter than the stars looked at him in surprise. After a long time, she said, "Nowadays, you are the first man, especially a scholar, to say such words. I really didn't expect that at such a young age, and having read those' books of sages' for so long, you could have such knowledge. 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, "Returning the tears of a pearl, regretting that we didn't meet when we were not married …"
Yang Ling's heart palpitated when he heard this. The atmosphere between them suddenly became stiff. After a long time, he forced a smile and used a joke to ease the atmosphere. He said, "Although you and I are fated to meet because of your pearl, I have never given you a pearl. Miss, please don't misunderstand."
Ma Lian 'er giggled and turned her head to glare at him seductively. She bit her lips and with a red face, she gathered her courage and said, "That's because you don't have good fortune." Looking at his tall nose under the shadow of the lamp, Ma Lian 'er's heart skipped a beat. She turned her head away again. She only felt a kind of charming atmosphere spreading between them.
She gently wiped away the cold tears on her face and said, "If others are good to me, I will be good to them. Since my mother died, I, Ma Lian 'er, feel that there is no man in this world who is worthy of us women's sacrifice. I will not be that stupid chaste woman on the stage. I will live well for myself!"
Yang Ling was obsessed with her beauty that emerged from her confidence and pride. After a long time, he sighed softly, "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 strangely, "Do you think my words are outrageous and shocking? Is it okay to say it five hundred years later? "
Yang Ling was shocked. He hurriedly laughed and said, "I was just thinking that, perhaps, at that time, there would be a portion of men who would treat women as an independent existence and treat them as equals. Haha, I'm just making wild guesses and expressing my feelings."
Ma Lian 'er smiled slightly. She reached into her bosom and took out the pouch. She took two steps forward and stuffed it into Yang Ling's hands. She said, "I can see that your little wife loves you very much. This pearl is my gift to you. I only hope that you will treat your wife well and don't mistreat her."
The pouch in his hand still carried her warmth and faint fragrance. Ma Lian 'er saw that he was in a daze. She giggled and pulled up her hair, saying, "Let's go. We should go back. I am only sad, not angry. After all, it doesn't make sense. How many men can understand a woman's sadness?" From the corner of her eye, she saw that Magistrate Huang had already chased after them. She hurriedly withdrew her hand and walked back inside.
Yang Ling came back to his senses after a long time. He turned back and saw that Magistrate Huang Qiyin was giving him a meaningful smile. He made a gesture of invitation. Yang Ling also smiled and cupped his hands in greeting. The two didn't say a word, but they seemed to be very familiar with each other.
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