"Name."
"My husband's surname is Luo.
Mrs. Luo. "
The registrar frowned unhappily. "I'm asking for your name."
Mrs. Zhang covered her face with her sleeves.
She blocked the view of the surroundings.
She didn't dare to look at this strange man. She was terrified and said softly, "This … Official, I can't tell outsiders my name …"
The registrar wore a pair of glasses in front of his eyes.
Hearing this,
He said angrily, "I can't write Mrs. Zhang when I register my name! There are so many women with the surname Zhang in the world. Who knows who you are? "
The surroundings were noisy. Other than some village women and merchants, there were also some people pulling carts and pulling oars not far away.
Mrs. Zhang didn't want these foreign men and vulgar people to hear her daughter's name.
She tried her best to whisper, "Qiongying."
"Speak louder. I can't hear you. "
Mrs. Zhang was so embarrassed that she almost cried. Old Madam Zhu, who was at the side, hurriedly smiled.
"Official, a woman follows her husband and son throughout her life. She doesn't need a name. You can just listen to the sound and remember it. My daughter-in-law comes from a noble family.
She's thin-skinned and has always spoken softly.
She's not used to speaking in public.
You see … "
The man wearing glasses frowned so hard that he could kill a fly. "Old Madam.
Move aside! Register personally.
No one else is allowed to interrupt. "
As he said that, he gave a look. The female soldier who was specially selected to line up for the women's registration area used her arm to block. Old Madam Zhu was pushed away and almost fell into an indecent horse squat.
Mrs. Zhang was helpless. When she saw her mother-in-law fall, she was so anxious that she didn't even care about covering her face with her sleeves. Her white and tender cheeks flushed red as she said loudly, "Qiongying, my name is Zhang Qiongying!"
Only then did the scholar take a good look at Madam Zhang. He looked at her flushed face and nodded. Finally, he was able to match the person's name to her face: "Very good, now you're more like a human. Zhang Qiongying, you can go down now. "
Mrs. Zhang's sharp eyes saw that he had neatly written 'Zhang Qiongying' next to her husband, Luo Jiafu, in the book she was writing.
It wasn't Mrs. Luo, who was written on the family tree and the yamen's population book.
The summoner took the registration booklet and shouted, "Zhang Qiongying! Come and get your identity plate! "
Madam Zhang was so embarrassed that she had said her name and was called out so loudly by a man in front of so many people. She hurriedly ran over and took the wooden plaque. She whispered, "You can call me Madam Zhang …"
The summoner ignored her and said, "Zhang Qiongying, you may leave. Don't interfere with official business. "
Zhang Qiongying still covered her face in shame, but Luo Liuniang was surprised. She only knew that her sixth sister-in-law's name was Qiongying after five years of marriage.
But soon, it was her turn. Under the worried and humiliated gazes of Old Madame Zhu and her sisters-in-law, she prepared herself mentally. She followed her sisters-in-law's example and covered her face with her sleeves.
When she sat down on the registration chair, there was a different registrar in front of her.
The new registrar was a woman. She was wearing a scholar's robe and had a sword at her waist. However, her steps were not steady as she skipped around. She was obviously an adult, but there was a kind of gentle beauty on her face that bordered on innocence.
She pushed away the registrar who wore a pair of glasses in front of his eyes and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll do it!"
The registrar stared at her for a while. Seeing that she didn't want to leave, he walked to the side while muttering.
Luo Liuniang stared at the new registrar with vigilance. She was secretly relieved. She didn't have to face a strange man face to face. Perhaps, she could save some of her reputation.
As soon as the new registrar sat down, he winked at her and smiled, "I'm Yuan Du. What's your name?"
"Luo Liuniang."
"No. What you said is fake. Who is called one, two, three, four, five! "
Luo Liuniang had to defend herself, "Because I'm the sixth in the family. There are five older sisters before me, so I'm Liuniang."
The registrar smiled innocently, "Then, this is just your ranking in the family. Everyone has a name. What's your name? "
Luo Liuniang was stunned for a moment.
Her third sister-in-law, who was ordered by her mother-in-law, knew that the registrar was not allowed to interrupt, but she couldn't bear to see her sister-in-law, who had always been gentle and obedient, in a difficult position. She quickly said, "Female registrar, a girl is not an official. It's useless to have a name. So in this era, many girls don't even have a proper name. It's normal to call them by their ranking. "
The new registrar didn't scold her for interrupting. He just turned to Luo Liuniang and said as if he was introducing himself, "Like my parents, they hoped that I could pass through the sea of bitterness to achieve happiness, so they named me 'Du'. A name is just a name that can be changed at any time, but it's a person's last wish for you. Don't tell me that you're just a ranking in this world? "
She was still smiling as she repeated, "Everyone needs a name."
A person who didn't even have a name and only had a number, could he still be considered a person?
Luo Liuniang was fifteen years old and had a deep boudoir. No one had ever said such words to her. She was shocked for a moment. She tightly grasped the handkerchief. Her lips moved, but she was speechless.
Many women in the queue heard these words. They lowered their heads.
They were soft and submissive, as if they were being bullied. They put on powder and rouge, just to amuse others in the boudoir.
Their whole lives, they were just some mother, some wife.
Yuan Du sighed silently. He looked at the little girl in front of him who had her head lowered. He smiled and asked again, "Everyone has a name. What's your name? "
Luo Liuniang was silent for a long time.
Yuan Du said again, "Why? No one gave you anything to rely on? Then you can give yourself something to rely on. You have to give yourself a name. From now on, once you're registered, you'll be called by this name. "
The registrar who was originally wearing a pair of western glasses saw this and sneered, "Young lady, you have to think carefully. If you register the wrong name or use some ranking in the clan to fool us, when we check, if there's something wrong, we'll arrest you and put you in jail. Your father and brothers won't be able to protect you. "
Luo Liuniang was very confused and scared. She clutched her handkerchief. She didn't know what was going on in her mind that had turned into paste.
Was it a name? She only remembered that when her sister-in-law was still alive, she was full of melancholy and read a few poems to her when she was still young. She couldn't help but blurt out, "I, I'm called Zhaoxue."
"Lonely light shining on oneself, the liver and gallbladder are ice and snow? Good name. "Yuan Du smiled and read it again. He skillfully and neatly wrote the name in regular script.
"Luo Zhaoxue —" The registrar had already shouted.
Luo Liuniang — from now on, she would be called Luo Zhaoxue. She stood up from the chair with a bewildered expression and took her wooden tablet.
Then, her mother, sister-in-law, niece, and servant girls had already surrounded her. They looked at her with tears and snot, as if she had suffered a great grievance. They all called her Liuniang, but no one cared about the new name "Zhaoxue".
She didn't know why, but in the middle of the crowd, Luo Zhaoxue suddenly had a strange feeling. She quietly turned back and looked at the registrar called "Du".
Yuan Du had already started to register the next person.
She lowered her head. While a group of womenfolk hugged her and cried bitterly, she moved her lips silently and repeated the poem over and over again. She remembered it in her heart.
Lonely light shining on oneself, the liver and gallbladder are ice and snow.
Her name was Luo Zhaoxue.
.....
"What is the meaning of this?" Third Master Luo's face was cold. He supported his old father and almost couldn't hide his anger anymore. "We have complied with your request. Why did you bring our womenfolk out to humiliate them?! "
"Humiliate them?" A few of the rebel army's generals were surprised.
"We just want to register the population …"
"Cough, Third Master Luo, we are just doing a routine registration. Look at the womenfolk's registration area. There are female soldiers guarding on both sides. Other men can't come in contact with the womenfolk. Moreover, you are not the only womenfolk who are registering. When the time comes, we will send you back in one piece. There are more important things right now. "
When the scholar surnamed Zhou saw this, he hurriedly winked at the rebel army. He hurriedly brushed it off. He was a member of the reformists who came from the south to join the rebel army. He was also born in a gentry family. He studied the imperial examinations step by step. Therefore, he knew the thoughts of the Luo family better than these generals who had been in the rebel army for a long time.
These gentry men could bow and bend their knees, surrender, and even secretly send their wives and daughters to the enemy for sexual pleasure when necessary. The only thing they cared about was "face". It didn't matter how filthy they were in private, they were always talking about etiquette, justice, integrity, and shame. If they were asked to come out and "show their faces" to some "lowly people" on the streets, it would be worse than killing them.
Although Zhou Dan, as a staunch reformist, had always looked down on these hypocrites, she still had to put on a show. Give them some face.
However, Third Master Luo still refused to give up. This was a great humiliation to the Luo family. He glared at Old Master Luo angrily and was about to argue when Old Master Luo coughed and came to his senses. "Old Third … don't be rude." A few servants hurriedly helped him up and helped him breathe.
Old Master Luo calmed his breathing and looked around the room with his shrewd eyes. He said weakly, "The rebel army is a benevolent and righteous army. They have their own reasons. It won't be too late to talk about the womenfolk later. Gentlemen, may I know why you have called us here? "
The shrewd and vicious manager of the Luo family recognized at a glance that they were in the VIP room of the largest restaurant in Jiaxing.
Mr. Zhou nodded approvingly. "Old Master is truly a heroic figure. To tell you the truth, the rebel army has already booked the entire restaurant today. All the gentlemen in the city are downstairs enjoying themselves. Only the Luo family is left. "
As he spoke, he gestured to a few generals. Half of it was coercion, and the other half was hypocritical and stiff enthusiasm. They invited the masters and young masters of the Luo family downstairs.
The entire floor of the spacious restaurant downstairs was filled with banquets. However, the banquet was rather quiet. A scholar with a goatee, whose face was red from drinking, was cursing loudly in the middle of the banquet. The people who were being scolded were all embarrassed.
Mr. Zhou smiled and introduced him to the Luo family in a low voice. "This is Mr. Bai Quan."
The Luo family took their seats.
However, Mr. Zhou and a few generals of the rebel army were still waiting for someone at the door.
Not long after, one of the soldiers standing guard outside suddenly came in secretly and reported in a vague manner.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
