Fang Yingwu left the Wang family full of melancholy. This was really troublesome. Instead of falling into the hands of the white girl who hated her father so much, it would have been happier to have been forced into marriage by Miss Wang.
He was in an extremely depressed mood, and he still had the mood to borrow books from Mr. Wang, so he quietly left the village and went home.
I have worked hard and saw a glimmer of hope in the future. As long as I give him a few months, he will be able to make a breakthrough. Will he die prematurely because of this accident?
If one day, Miss Bai takes the due IOU and forces herself to sell herself to pay off the debt on behalf of her father, how should I deal with it?
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. Fang Yingwu unknowingly walked to the bank of Huaxi River, sat under a tree, and stared blankly at the several-foot-wide stream that wandered through the mountains.
"Alas!" Fang Yingwu let out a long sigh. But at the same time, he heard another sigh, almost at the same time as him.
He poked his head out from behind the tree trunk and found that at some point, Mr. Wang's sister Lan was sitting sideways on the stone slab on the shore not far away.
No wonder it is said, "If you want to be pretty, dress in filial piety." Wang Lan wrapped her head in a filial piety scarf, her body in filial piety clothes, and a long white ribbon around her waist that hung down to the stream below.
I saw her lowering her head and weeping, so pitiful, just like a branch of pear blossom carrying rain in the spring in a poem, which made Fang Yingwu feel in a daze for a while, forgetting his own sorrow.
Hearing the noise, Wang Lan turned around and suddenly saw Fang Yingwu. She couldn't help but be startled. She never thought that there was someone else here. Just now, Fang Yingwu was sitting behind the tree trunk, and several people hugged the thick tree trunk to block Fang Yingwu.
Looking at the figure, Wang Lan indeed did not see him.
"Why are you here?" Fang Yingwu asked feeling very strange. In the 21st century, he would have blurted out "fate", but this was during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, and the word "fate" should not be said to women easily.
.
If it was a strange man, Wang Lan would have stood up and walked away to avoid him, but she saw that Fang Yingwu was young and she had known him since childhood, and he looked like a little brother in the school, so she didn't rush to avoid him.
When Fang Yingwu asked, she sighed quietly, "The slave family has nowhere to go, so I ended up here accidentally."
Fang Yingwu said in surprise: "From here to the south is Xiahuaxi Village, where your husband's Cheng family is; to the north is Zhonghuaxi Village, where your parents' family is. They are only a few steps away, so why do you say there is nowhere to go?
?”
"Neither side wants to go back."
"Why do you think so? Logically, you should go to your in-laws' house. Could it be that your in-laws' house can't accommodate you? I see that you have been miserable today. What's the reason for that?"
Wang Lan could feel Fang Yingwu's concern and said truthfully: "My husband has been dead for almost two years, and it's almost time for the slave family to hold a funeral. This is nothing at all, but the husband's family is urging the slave family to remarry...
..”
Fang Yingwu comforted him and said, "That sounds good. It's not that easy to be chaste. Women don't have to stay widowed all their lives just to gain a false reputation. Could it be that you are determined to be chaste and build a chastity arch?"
"Brother Qiu is too young to understand what's going on here, and doesn't understand what the Cheng family means. They despise the slave family for occupying the husband's property, they despise the slave family for having an extra mouth in the husband's family, and they covet other people's betrothal gifts, so they are anxious to call out
The slave remarries!"
Am I young and ignorant? Fang Yingwu was stunned for a moment. Since time travel, he has often heard comments such as being young, old, mature and wise. This is the first time someone said that he was "young and ignorant".
But when Sister Lan said this, Fang Yingwu understood it completely. According to etiquette and law, after the death of the husband, the property in his name is in charge of the wife. But if the wife remarries, then the property must be returned to the husband's family and cannot be taken away.
Walk.
Another situation is that the widow’s right to preside over the marriage can go to either her husband’s family or her father’s family, it all depends on which one is stronger. If a widow remarries, she will also receive a large amount of betrothal gift, which is also true for a small family.
A lot of income.
That's why the Cheng family urged Sister Lan, whose mourning period was over, to remarry. This was quite profitable.
Wang Lan had held back a lot of words and had nowhere to talk. In his eyes, Fang Yingwu was just a little brother. He couldn't afford to be wary, so he couldn't help but spill the beans: "My husband's family has already found a partner.
He is a distant relative of the same clan in the same village. But that person has bad conduct, smells bad, and is old. Even if he kills the slave family, he does not want to marry him.
But the husband’s family covets the rich gift from that man and persecutes the slave’s family every day. The slave’s family is miserable in the husband’s family, and sometimes they really want to throw themselves into a trap and commit suicide!”
Same clan, same village? It turned out that the person her husband's family was looking for was this kind of person? Hearing this, Fang Yingwu thought thoughtfully, and suggested: "Then you can go back to your parents' house and hide, that's a way out."
Wang Lan was born in a family of school teachers. She had been reading books since she was a child. She knew that it was right for a son not to criticize his father, so he reluctantly said: "You saw what my family is like this morning."
"Mr. Wang wants you to keep your integrity, so you should pretend to agree first and wait for a few days to be clean before talking." Fang Yingwu said, if it were him, he would definitely handle it in such a smooth way.
"Brother Qiu is really too naive to agree. It is my father's and brother's family's idea to be virtuous for the rest of their lives. Once the Nu family agrees, they will be completely trapped and unable to escape. Do you really want the Nu family to be an old widow for decades?
What?"
Fang Yingwu, who considered himself a veteran, was once again distracted by the word "innocent" for a moment. He finally realized what kind of image he was in Sister Lan's eyes. He was probably still the little kid with a bubbling nose before she got married.
My younger brother's impression.
I don’t know why, but I couldn’t bear it and defended angrily: “I’m not naive, I know your father wants you to observe the rules to gain benefits!”
Fang Yingwu knew that the Ming Dynasty officials encouraged chaste behavior, and the court had repeatedly issued edicts that all women who had observed chastity for more than twenty years could have a lintel on their door, which was probably equivalent to what is commonly known as a chastity memorial arch.
In addition to spiritual rewards, there are also material rewards. Emperor Taizu Gao once issued an edict that all members of the family who were honored by the imperial decree would be exempted from military service.
In other words, the father, brothers, and nephews who were commended for being a chaste woman can be exempted from all corvee and related taxes. This is a very affordable policy for civilian families with heavy corvee.
Fang Yingwu guessed that with Mr. Wang's stingy character, he probably had the idea of exempting the whole family from military service. After all, Sister Lan is only eighteen or nineteen years old this year, and it is entirely possible for Sister Lan to continue to live and serve for twenty years. And Sister Lan
Her brothers and sisters naturally added fuel to the flames, urging Sister Lan to make up her mind to keep the rules.
After thinking about this, Fang Yingwu sympathized with Wang Lan even more. Compared with her miserable situation, his own sorrow was too childish. Women these days are often like goods and can't help themselves. The widow's movements are even more at stake, and those involved
The interests are greater than those of women who have not left the government, and they have also been turned into business.
I couldn't help but sigh: "Your husband's family treats you as a business, and your mother's family also treats you as a business. Human relationships are so cold and warm, how can you gain a foothold in the future?"
After hearing this, Wang Lan was sad, lowered her head and sobbed, crying: "My husband's family wants to do this, and my father wants to do that. They are contradictory to each other. Even if the slave family accepts their fate, who should they listen to? Brother Qiu, what else can the slave family do?
?Forget about forcing the slave family to death!"
Fang Yingwu was still thinking of ideas, and subconsciously said: "Listen to me!"
Wang Lan couldn't help but stopped crying. Her face was a little embarrassed and flustered. She was not sure whether it was intentional teasing or unintentional remarks.
Fang Yingwu came back to his senses and quickly changed the subject and advised: "You must never have any thoughts of committing suicide. There are always ways. At least your husband's family is easy to deal with!"
When Wang Lan heard Fang Yingwu's confident tone, she forgot her previous embarrassment and looked up at him hopefully, "The slave family is so pitiful. Brother Qiu, please don't lie to me, or I will really die."
.”
Fang Yingwu said enigmatically: "Don't worry, your husband's family and the evil person who is planning on you are actually ignorant people. This time they will be stripped of their skins even if they don't die!"
