In an elegant room above a restaurant, Xue Hong and Jia Lian were sitting there, pushing cups and changing cups.
The table is full of delicacies, such as boiled dried shreds, crab meat and lion's head, three sets of duck, Wensi tofu, duck-wrapped shark's fin, salted goose, barbecued mandarin fish, grilled square...
They are all Yangzhou's specialties. They are all delicious and delicious, and just looking at them will make you want to eat.
Xue Hong was doing better, waving his chopsticks frequently and taking a few bites from time to time, because he was a food lover in his previous life, but even if he could eat alone, he would not be able to finish all these dozen dishes by himself.
On the other hand, Jia Lian only took a few sips of wine at the table from time to time, rarely moved his chopsticks, and spent most of his time chatting with Xue Hong.
Although Jia Lian is not good at learning, few people can match him for his humaneness and sophistication. At the wine table, Jia Lian's conversation and behavior are all generous and generous, which makes people feel good.
Most people would probably become close friends with Jia Lian if they only met him once.
Jia Lian was very happy to see that Xue Hong liked the dishes he ordered, and then said: "Brother Hong, I heard that this is your first time coming to Yangzhou. I don't know what food is good and what food is average."
Yes, I simply ordered a few randomly, and it seems that Brother Hong really likes it."
After hearing this, Xue Hong swallowed the food he was chewing and said with a smile: "Thank you, Brother Lian, for your hospitality. This Yangzhou cuisine really deserves its reputation."
The Jia family is all pure-looking, and Jia Lian is naturally the same. He already knows Xue Hong's ability and ability, and Xue Hong has outstanding appearance. Naturally, Jia Lian also wants to make Xue Hong a friend.
For Xue Hong, although Jia Lian had bad personal ethics, he had never done anything bad and was capable in his work. There was no doubt that he would be useful in the future.
So the two of them had a great time at the banquet, and the host and guest had a great time. The two of them also became more and more familiar with each other.
After going back and forth, Jia Lian inevitably became a little drunk, and then accidentally revealed some information.
Although the Jia family is in decline, relying on its connections in the army and the circle of four princes, eight princes and twelve princes, it is still a strong force in the capital. Moreover, the noble lineage has always been in the same spirit and married to each other, so generally
Officials can't afford to offend, and they don't want to offend the Jia family.
But the Jia family actually only maintains its glory by relying on the legacy of Rong Ning. In fact, the Jia family now doesn't even have a single person with real power.
The highest-ranking person in the Jia family is Jia Zheng. He has been in the fifth rank of the Ministry of Industry, a foreign minister. Jia Zhu held this position when he was born. He still has this position now. It has been more than ten years and he has never moved. I don’t know whether it is because of lack of ability or because of lack of ability.
The emperor intended it.
Just when Xue Hong wanted to take advantage of Jia Lian's drunkenness to ask something, there was a sudden commotion outside the restaurant.
Xue Hong and Jia Lian got up and looked outside the window. They saw a circle of people gathered downstairs. Because of the distance, Jia Lian couldn't see clearly, but Xue Hong's pupils trembled and he immediately turned over and jumped from the window.
Go down.
Jia Lian: "Hey? Brother Hong, where are you going? Wait for Brother Lian!" Jia Lian also hurriedly went downstairs.
Xue Hong passed through the crowd and saw the body of a woman lying quietly on the ground in the house through the window.
A little girl knelt beside the woman's body and cried heartbrokenly, saying "Mother" in her voice, which made people cry.
Xue Hong originally wanted to come down quickly to see if he could save the woman, but it was too late, she was already dead, and even Xue Hong could not save her.
At this time, Jia Lian also came down from upstairs. When he saw the face of the woman in the opposite room changing slightly, he tugged on Xue Hong's sleeve: "It's my brother's fault today. How could I have ever wanted to invite Brother Hong to a drink and meet someone like this?" What a bad luck!"
Xue Hong shook his head and said: "The incident happened suddenly. What does it have to do with second brother Lian? Dad, do you know what happened here?"
Following Xue Hong's inquiry, the old man beside him spoke out in full detail.
It turned out that the woman who died in the house was Zhang Sanniang, the third daughter of Zhang Yuanwai and the wife of Gao Xiucai. In the morning, Zhang Sanniang went out to buy groceries and was pestered by some local gangsters who teased her with words. Zhang Sanniang was smart and ran out. .
After returning home, Zhang Sanniang committed suicide by taking poison at home to remain chaste.
Xue Hong's eyesight was far beyond that of ordinary people, and he could see the details on the corpse clearly. There were no wounds on the female corpse, and there were no signs of struggle. It was indeed a suicide.
But let alone verbal teasing, even if she really lost her virginity, it was not Zhang Sanniang’s fault, so why bother committing suicide?
At this time, Xue Hong's ears could hear comments and comments from people around him from time to time.
"This Sanniang has a strong temperament and is willing to die to keep her chastity. She is indeed a young lady from Zhang Yuan's wife's family!"
"Yes, yes, such a woman is a role model."
"No, that little lady Gao has a mother like Zhang Sanniang, and she will definitely be a chaste and fierce woman in the future!"
Even the husband of Zhang Sanniang, a highly talented scholar, showed no signs of sadness, but looked proud.
Xue Hong suddenly felt a thump in his head, as if something had fallen off.
Mrs. Gao's heart-wrenching cries and the praises of the people around her filled Xue Hong's ears.
Xue Hong turned around and looked around. No one was sad or sorry for Zhang Sanniang's death.
Jia Lian thought Xue Hong was frightened by this scene because he was young, so he quickly asked.
Xue Hong endured the discomfort and smiled: "Second Brother Lian, I'm a little uncomfortable. Let's go back."
Xue Hong has lived in this world for sixteen years, and he has always been out of tune with this world.
When Xue's father was alive, he loved Xue Hong in every possible way and naturally sent many maids to serve him. But when Xue Hong got older, he removed most of the maids who served him.
When he was ten years old, there were only two maids left around him to serve him tea and water.
Later, when he left the government and started his own business, he never hired any maids again.
In fact, in the early Ming Dynasty, women's chastity was more of a moral praise and support, but in the middle and later periods, it began to change.
After the development of the Qing Dynasty, the issue of chastity developed to the point of inhumanity!
In the manuscripts of Qing history, the deeds of the women who kept the festival alone totaled four volumes. The youngest among them was only 15 years old.
There are countless people who have died for the sake of integrity. Since the rise of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, the requirements for women have become more and more distorted.
Especially in the Qing Dynasty, once a woman lost her moral integrity, she would be severely punished! Even to death!!
The Legend of the Martyr Woman records: During the Daoguang period, a woman was trapped in a flood. She happened to meet a man who reached out to pull her and rescued her. Logically speaking, one should be grateful to others for saving her life.
However, this woman felt that being touched by a strange man was a stain on her innocence, so she returned home, picked up a kitchen knife, and cut off the left arm that had been touched by the man. The story of this woman cutting off her arm to protect her chastity became a popular story.
How ridiculous? How sad!!
When Xue Hong and Jia Lian passed by a theater, an idea suddenly came to their mind.
He wants to write books and plays! He will write out thought-provoking stories for future generations, and slowly enlighten people's wisdom.
The first thing that Xue Hong thought of was the famous opera "The Legend of White Snake".