Han Yunyu, as the eldest lady of the Han family, has a distinguished status, but no matter what, she cannot rely on her status as an ancient woman. Modern women are open-minded and advocate freedom, and their own preferences should be the first criterion for marriage and love. However,
This was absolutely impossible to happen in ancient times.
Even though she is a young lady from Lord Han Yong's family, she still cannot escape the constraints of the times.
In ancient times, women believed that not having talent was their virtue. In addition to the three obediences and the four virtues, there were also many rules and regulations, and cultural traditions were also consistent. That's why when Lu Yao wanted to let his sister-in-law Xu take charge of the bank, he initially accepted it.
When the whole family objected, the situation arose.
Not only that, there were many details in ancient times, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, title status, etc., and there were many requirements and restrictions. Of course, this is related to the unique cultural atmosphere of ancient times. Women who grew up in this environment naturally
This has formed a kind of abnormal values, and all women follow such values.
In fact, it seems that Cao Han, who yearns for freedom and insists on finding a person to marry, is more in line with the independent thinking of modern women. However, ancient women's pursuit of free love usually does not have good results.
.
For Han Yunyu, marrying into the Lu family is actually more like a task for her. In other words, no matter whether Lu Yao is talented or not, even if she can't write the stone story, Han Yunyu will actually obey her parents in the end.
As she said, the matchmaker agreed to marry into the Lu family. But now, after seeing what Lu Yao wrote, Han Yunyu was indeed a little interested.
From the perspective of women's political status, feudal women had no right to participate in politics. The theory that beauty is a disaster caused women to encounter strong opposition whether they participated directly or indirectly in social and political life. Ancient Chinese culture shaped the
A series of images of women subjugating the country, the decline of the country, and the replacement of dynasties are all blamed on women. This absurd explanation of the cause of the country's demise has been prevalent in feudal society that has lasted for thousands of years. Women's participation in politics is regarded as the country's responsibility.
Shame is an act of treason. Although Empress Lu and Wu Zetian had dictatorships in history, regardless of their merits and demerits, they were always regarded as traitors to the country.
From the perspective of women’s economic status, in feudal families, the control of all property and the management of household chores were in the hands of the male head of the family. “The wife has no selfless goods, no selfless savings, no selfless weapons, and she dare not take private leave, nor dare to
"Private and private." Women have no status in the family, and the primogeniture system deprives women of their property inheritance rights. Not only that, women do not even have the power to control their own dowries. "Tang Law" stipulates that the ownership of a wife's dowry belongs to her husband; Ming
Qing law stipulated that a woman's dowry should be controlled by her husband's family, and when a widow remarried, her property would be left to her ex-husband's family. Women in feudal society could be described as complete "proletarians."
From the perspective of women’s educational status, Confucian education aims to maintain male dominance, so it “naturally” excludes women, which limits women’s access to education and loses the opportunity to enter school. They can only study in schools.
The family received limited education that was different from that of men. The main content of women's family education in ancient China was "ethics" and "women's ethics", which defined chastity, obedience, meekness and humility as the lifelong pursuit of Chinese women. Ban Zhao's
The "Female Commandments" contains special discussions on aspects such as humility, concentration, and obedience, emphasizing the education of women in "obedience" and slave education. Therefore, the requirements for the development of women's talents were greatly affected by ancient Chinese society.
Indifferent or even negative, advocating that "it is virtue for women not to have talent".
From the perspective of women's health status, women's foot binding is a bad habit in the late feudal society of China that destroys women's physical and mental health. Women with foot binding have to bind their feet from a young age, slowly breaking the bones of the feet and making them deformed.
.A pair of small feet after foot binding not only causes various inconveniences in real life, but also women have to endure great pain and disability during the entire foot binding process.
In addition, in the Song Dynasty when Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was prevalent, there was a popular saying that "starving to death is a small matter, but being unruly is a big matter." This shows that women's thoughts at this time were still very conservative.
Of course, why doesn't Lu Yao understand the above? He actually doesn't care whether Han Yunyu married into the Lu family because of the relationship between Han Yonghe and Lu Xu. Lu Yao has absolutely no idea about political marriage.
Interest. After all, I will have to find my own path in the future, a career path that is completely different from Han Yonghe and Lu Xudu.
What Lu Yao values more now is whether Han Yunyu has the slightest affection for him. At least at that time, when Han Yunyu was willing to come forward to rescue him and confront Cao Han face to face, Lu Yao knew that she
I really like myself.
However, if you think about it carefully today, what did Han Yunyu say at that time? It was completely a kind of admiration for the author from a female reader who was immersed in the world of Dream of Red Mansions.
Admiration is not love, Lu Yao knew this very well.
Maybe it was because he saw Han Yunyu less often after that, and because he was busy with his career and competitions, Lu Yao gradually found that his so-called love at first sight for Han Yunyu began to weaken. Even now.
Lu Yao couldn't even remember what he looked like when he first met Han Yunyu.
Among them, Cao Han appeared in front of Lu Yao again and again, leaving a deep impression on Lu Yao.
Lu Yao hates scumbags very much. Even in ancient times, polygamy was allowed, but he didn't want to hurt another person for the sake of one woman. So, he must ask Han Yunyu today to find out.
After all, what does she think of herself?
In fact, Lu Yao could already guess the answer in his heart, but he always had to listen to Han Yunyu say it himself.
Because Mrs. Han had come to see her before, the door to Han Yunyu's room was not closed. However, Lu Yao still walked to the door, knocked on the door, and then stepped in.
Han Yunyu was dressed in white and was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to her. After hearing the knock on the door, she turned to look at Lu Yao and smiled.
She was still so beautiful, Lu Yao couldn't help but admire in her heart.
"You are here, mother said, what do you have to say to me?"
Compared to Cao Han's fiery temper and loud speaking style, Han Yunyu's voice sounded much softer.
Lu Yao nodded and said: "Well, there are indeed some things I want to ask you. We are getting engaged soon, so I want to find out..."
Unexpectedly, when Lu Yao took a deep breath and wanted to ask the question in his mind, Han Yunyu stood up from the bed and walked to Lu Yao. Lu Yao saw Han Yunyu looking at him with bright eyes and said
: "Don't talk about it yet, did you bring anything for me when you came this time?"
Lu Yao was stunned and said, "Oh, the delicious food and sour plum soup I brought have been given to the butler."
When Han Yunyu heard this, she looked a little unhappy and said, "Of course that's not what I'm talking about."
"So what are you talking about?" Lu Yao asked.
Han Yunyu continued: "It's been a while since I last saw you. After your imperial examination, have you updated the Records of the Stone?"
Sure enough, the three words Lu Yao didn't want to hear were said by Han Yunyu.
Therefore, Lu Yao could only say: "The exam just ended yesterday and I haven't had time to write it yet. I will finish it in two days and send it to you."
"That's right," Han Yunyu's tone of voice changed a little when she heard this.
Lu Yao found a chair and sat down. He looked at the woman in front of him and said nothing for a long time.
However, Han Yunyu kept looking at Lu Yao and didn't know why he came to see her today, so she asked, "Why did you come to me today?"
Lu Yao seemed to be distracted, looking away and said: "If one day I stop writing this stone record, will you still like me?"
In fact, when Lu Yao asked this question, he already knew the answer in his heart, but he still wanted to hear Han Yunyu tell him personally.
When Han Yunyu heard what Lu Yao said, she immediately asked: "What's wrong? Why do you have such an idea? Don't you plan to continue writing?"
"I just want to ask you, if this is the case. If I die one day, will you still be willing to stay with me?" Lu Yao continued.
I thought that Han Yunyu would think for a moment, but who knew that Han Yunyu quickly gave Lu Yao's answer.
"No matter what happens to you, I will be by your side."
Lu Yao was just relieved when Han Yunyu continued: "After all, this is the marriage designated by my father, and I can't violate it. What's more, you are a talented man, so I still want to marry you."
His heart is as cold as an ice cave, this is Lu Yao's current state of mind.
"Well, in that case, I should really thank you."
Lu Yao himself didn't know what tone and voice he used to say these words. He didn't hear clearly what Han Yunyu said next, so he stood up and left Han Yunyu's room.
Is that really so? It is so difficult to find someone you like in ancient times?
Thinking of this, Lu Yao couldn't help but feel a little funny. He thought that he was a person who had traveled back from modern times. His career was going smoothly now, the competition was about to start, and his official career was about to begin. In the end, he actually found someone in love.
If you don’t have one person you like? It’s ridiculous to say it.
The frustrated Lu Yao felt that he really had no face to stay in the Han Mansion anymore, so he came to the main hall, said goodbye to Han Yonghe in a hurry, took Tangxi away, and got on the carriage.
However, Lu Yao also knew in his heart that this engagement should not be broken, whether it was for his reputation and future career, the relationship between the Lu family and the Han family, or his father's status in the court.
The engagement between myself and Han Yunyu must be carried out.
In the carriage, Tang Xi, who was sitting opposite Lu Yao, could see that Lu Yao was not in a high mood. He did not know what the young master said to Han Yunyu when he went to her room, so he could only whisper: "Young Master
,Shall we go back home now?"
Tangxi called out several times before Lu Yao came back to his senses, and then he said: "Let's not go back to the house. Let's go to Cao's house. According to the current time, Cao Yi and Cao You should have returned home."
Getting ready for lunch, I should be there."
Tangxi nodded and ordered the horseman to drive the carriage directly to Cao's Mansion.
Lu Yao didn't know why he came directly to the Cao Mansion. Was it because of his anger? Or did he follow his inner choice? Now, he felt that his mind was very confused and he couldn't think about the problem in an argument. He only knew that he had just
After getting Han Yunyu's answer, the first person he thought of when leaving Han Mansion was Cao Han.
He really wanted to meet Cao Han, who had a hearty laugh, was straightforward in everything he said and did, and dared to come to him late at night.
It's that simple.
After arriving at Cao's Mansion, sure enough, after knocking on the door, the housekeeper told him that Uncle Cao Guo and Cao You were having dinner in the house. Lu Yao also knew that no matter how bad his mood was now, he could not lose his etiquette, so he asked the housekeeper to pass the news on his behalf.
After a while, he said that he had something to do and wanted to discuss it with Cao Yu, but he didn't go in and just waited at the door.
Lu Yao is not confused enough to tell the housekeeper directly that he wants to find Cao Han. It is best to call Cao Yu out first, and then let Cao Yu find a way to bring Cao Han out. After all, Uncle Cao Guo has always been kind.
Face, he made a temporary decision to come to Cao Mansion without bringing anything, and Lu Yao didn’t know whether Cao Yi knew that he had just come from Han Mansion, and he would definitely not be able to enter Cao Mansion now.
If you don't, you will be said to have no etiquette.
Where is Cao You at this time? He is having dinner with his father, mother, and Cao Han in the restaurant. His younger brother Cao Ping has something to do today, so he is not at home at this time. Needless to say, it must be for the martial arts contest to recruit a bride.
The housekeeper came to the restaurant and informed everyone that Lu Yao was outside the door and wanted to see Cao Yu.
In fact, the Cao family had already learned about Lu Yao's meeting with Han Yonghe today through Han Wenyuan at the training ground. However, Cao Yi did not expect that after Lu Yao approached Han Yonghe with his front foot, how could he come to him with his back foot?
The house is here.
However, the thoughtful Cao You had already guessed what Lu Yao was thinking. As for Cao Han, when he heard that Lu Yao was outside the house, he quickly told Cao Yi that he wanted to go out and see Lu Yao. "No, Lu Yao
Yao must have come to see your brother today for official reasons, so you can't be presumptuous!" Cao Yi quickly refused Cao Han to go out on official business grounds.
Considering that it was indeed possible that he was looking for Cao Yu to discuss the Cuju competition, Cao Han had no choice but to give up.
Cao Yu got up and left the table, heading straight out of the house.
Lu Yao actually never expected that the first person of his own age he would see after finishing the imperial examination was Cao You.
When Cao Yu saw Lu Yao, he said without waiting for him to speak: "Did you go to Han Mansion just now?"
Lu Yao nodded and said, "Yes, after all, the exam just ended and I went to visit Master Shangshu."
"I have read the letter you wrote to me, and I have also conveyed the meaning of the letter to my sister for you." Cao You said expressionlessly.
Lu Yao's eyes lit up and he said, "Sure enough, you can still understand what I am thinking. So, can I see her today?"
Lu Yao thought Cao You would agree, but who knew, Cao You said coldly: "No."
"Why is this?"
Cao You said: "Let me ask you, do you have any thoughts about canceling the engagement?"
Lu Yao was stunned in place. He could only say: "Since you understand me, you should know that I cannot cancel this engagement."
Cao You said calmly: "Of course I know that you have many concerns. After all, no one wants to make any mistakes in their career. But you also need to know what the relationship between our Cao family and the Han family is now. Do you think this relationship has caused
, don’t you have any responsibility?”
"I do. The misunderstanding last time was actually partly caused by me." Lu Yao naturally knew what Cao Yu was talking about.
"So, do you think it's feasible for my sister to go to your Lu Mansion to be a concubine? Even if my sister is willing, can my father, a great uncle, allow his daughter to be someone else's concubine?" Cao You said
He said sharply, "So, even though you know the result is like this, I advise you not to bother my sister anymore. Instead of torturing each other, it's better not to see each other."
Cao You's words can be said to have very directly explained the seriousness of the problem, and also completely revealed the choice before Lu Yao.
"Actually," Lu Yao said calmly and looked at Cao You, "I never understood it before. I thought I liked Han Yunyu, but now it seems that what I really like is your sister. I know that she also likes me.
Yes. Just now, I went to the Han Mansion just to test Han Yunyu's feelings, and you should know the result by now. But, I really can't refuse this engagement."
Cao You finally heard Lu Yao tell the truth, and his tone became much gentler, but he still sighed and said, "Nine out of ten people are unhappy in life. Nothing is perfect. If I were you, I wouldn't do it either.
Cancel the engagement, but even if you and my sister have feelings for each other, my father will not agree to it, you understand."
It can be said that Cao You told Lu Yao very tactfully that his engagement with Han Yunyu could not be cancelled, which meant that it was impossible for him to be with Cao Han. If no one had helped Lu Yao realize the reality before
If so, the current Cao You would have awakened Lu Yao.
Lu Yao stood there and sighed.
Strange to say, along with this sigh, snowflakes began to fly in the sky. This was the first snow in nearly half a month. It is actually a bit strange to say that it is snowing at this time. After all, it is a spring day.
has arrived.
Lu Yao stood in the snow, paused for a few seconds, and finally bowed to Cao Yu, turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute," perhaps seeing Lu Yao's lonely figure, Cao You stopped him.
Lu Yao turned around and heard Cao You say: "If you really want to be with my sister, you must find a way before the palace examination, otherwise, it will be too late."
Lu Yao said: "What do you mean?"
Cao You sighed and said: "That's all I have to say. It's really untimely for you to come to my sister today. As long as my father is at the house, you can't see her. I think it's because you were in Han Mansion just now.
I’m frustrated, so I’m just overheated. You go back today. If there is a chance later, you will definitely be able to see me. However, you must remember that you only have one month to make a decision."
After saying this, Cao You ignored Lu Yao who was standing in the snow in a daze, turned around, and went straight back to his house.
As the gate of Cao Mansion closed, Lu Yao, who was standing in the snow, turned around with a lonely expression and returned to the carriage.
"Go back home." Lu Yao said these two words in a very weak voice.
While the carriage was moving, Lu Yao kept thinking about what Cao Yu said to him just now.
What does it mean to make a decision before the imperial examination in a month? Although Cao You does not support his relationship with Cao Han, his father, Cao Guojiu, is even more unlikely to marry Cao Han to the Lu family.
Be a concubine.
Even so, why did Cao You just say that he had a one-month deadline? Could it be that after this month, Cao Han will...
When he thought of this, Lu Yao felt his heart tighten and feel very painful.
It had been a long time since he had experienced such a feeling. Lu Yao himself had forgotten that heartache felt like this.
When Lu Yao returned to the house, what Lu Xu saw was a lost son.
Lu Yao didn't even say hello to Lu Xu. He just said that he felt a little uncomfortable and went back to the room to rest.
When Lu Xu saw this, he couldn't help but become worried, so he called Tang Xi, who had been with Lu Yao all the way, and wanted to ask why Lu Yao became like this.
Naturally, Tangxi did not dare to hide it. He told Lu Xu that the young master went to the Han Mansion and did not do anything so-called raising an army to prosecute. Instead, he directly found the young lady of the Han family, Han Yunyu. Tangxi knew that he could tell Lu Xu about this matter.
Everyone in the Lu family will definitely not tell this matter.
"Since meeting the young lady of the Han family, the young master has become what he is now." Tangxi said.
The expression on Lu Xu's face was erratic, thinking to herself that Lu Yao and Han Yunyu hadn't met many times, so why would their reaction be like this this time?
"After you left Han Mansion, did you go anywhere else?" Lu Xu asked again.
"No, after we left the Han Mansion, the young master expressed that he wanted to take a walk in the city. We walked for a while, and then it suddenly started snowing, so we got on the carriage and went back to the manor."
Tang Xi replied like this, and Lu Xu didn't say anything more.
In fact, when the carriage stopped at the gate of Lu Mansion and before getting off, Lu Yao told Tangxi that no matter who asked, he could not tell anyone about his visit to Cao Mansion today, and then he directly gave the horseman two passes.
Money blocked his mouth.
Therefore, in the face of Lu Xu's questions, Tang Xi naturally did not tell him what happened when he went to Cao's house just now. In fact, Lu Yao's loss of consciousness only became more serious after his conversation with Cao You.