Dirty Man

After leaving the Fu residence, we passed through two alleys and arrived at the main street. The street was full of pedestrians, and children were chasing and playing from time to time. The shouts and calls of vendors were endless.

The people of Dawei are quite open-minded, and there are many women setting up stalls on the streets.

"Fried sesame cakes, fragrant and crispy..."

"Pork shortbread, golden and shiny..."

Unlike when she only caught a glimpse of the city from the carriage, Fu Zhi Qiao was now fully immersed in shopping. Yin Xing followed closely behind her, afraid of losing her.

Suddenly, the sound of gongs and drums came from not far away. Musicians dressed in festive red clothes led the way, followed by the wedding procession. The procession was lively and bustling.

The groom, adorned in red and colorful decorations, rode a horse, creating a festive atmosphere. However, he looked quite old, with a gray beard.

"Ginkgo, let's go take a look."

"Hey! Miss, be careful!" Ginkgo was very worried. Her young lady had never been to such a lively place before. If she were to be bumped into, the consequences would be unimaginable...

As the wedding procession drew closer, people spontaneously stepped aside to make way for the newlyweds, and the surrounding crowd began to chatter about the procession.

"Is it Master He from West Street getting married?"

"Oh? Master He got married again?"

"Of course! This is his third wife; the first two are gone."

"Tsk tsk, this Master He is quite the ladies' man! I heard he has eight concubines at home, each one a beauty!"

"With so many beauties, I wonder if Master He can handle them all!"

These words made everyone around laugh. Master He was a well-known womanizer in the area, though it was a derogatory term. He married a young woman in her late twenties when he was in his fifties, not to mention that he also had eight concubines, making him quite the talk of the town.

Fu Zhiqiao was speechless. Sure enough, romantic topics are always the most attractive.

"How old is Master He? The Wang family's daughter is old enough to be his granddaughter. Isn't he ashamed?" A few words of cursing Master He for being an old cow eating young grass came from the crowd. The voice sounded like that of a woman.

Fu Zhiqiao immediately became interested.

This is the Great Wei Dynasty, an era where men are superior to women. It's truly remarkable that someone would stand up and despise the man in such an environment.

The woman's words were quickly met with opposition.

"If you ask me, the Wang family is truly blessed. Master He gave them a thousand taels of silver as a betrothal gift!" Ordinary families don't usually have such a large betrothal gift; a thousand taels of silver could last a lifetime. The man speaking showed an envious expression.

The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes at the man who had spoken. "This good fortune is for your daughter, do you want it or not?"

Fu Zhiqiao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged woman wearing a gold hairpin and gorgeous clothes. She was of medium height, with a slightly thick waist, and had a certain imposing presence.

She clearly comes from a well-off family, which gives her the confidence to speak like that.

"Sigh, look at this pomp and circumstance. After marrying into the Wang family, their daughter will have no worries about food and drink. What's wrong with that? Countless people will envy her!"

"I think you're the one who's most envious!" The middle-aged woman glanced disdainfully at the man who spoke. "Master He is older than Miss Wang's father. A beautiful young woman like her is being married off to a decrepit old man as a concubine. Do you think she would be willing?"

Master He marrying the Wang family's daughter is not just a case of a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung; it's more like a beautiful flower stuck in a pile of nearly dried-out cow dung!

In marriages with such a large age gap, it's normal for both parties to be willing and fall in love before getting married. However, the situation with the Wang family girl is clearly not like that.

The Wang family was willing to marry their young daughter, who was only 16, to Mr. He, who was 50, because they received a large dowry from the He family.

The man insisted on his point of view and objected, saying, "You can't say that. Men are more caring when they're older. If Miss Wang marries into the family and gives birth to a son, she'll have a share of the He family's vast wealth."

This statement garnered agreement from some people around them. Both sides could benefit from the marriage; the He family wanted the bride, and the Wang family wanted the money. The only one who felt sorry for the bride was the bride herself.

The middle-aged woman was clearly angered by his words: "Pah! The Wang family's actions are clearly driven by greed for wealth and they're selling their daughter for personal gain!"

Although selling one's daughter for personal gain was commonplace in the Great Wei, it was still very shameful to be pointed out in public.

"You old woman, why do you speak so rudely? I... I'm not arguing with you anymore." The man shrank back into the crowd, looking dejected.

As the wedding procession passed, the onlookers gradually dispersed. Fu Zhiqiao focused on strolling through the streets. She had two reasons for going out today: first, to familiarize herself with the local customs and culture of Qingzhou, and second, to plan her entrepreneurial endeavors.

According to her observation, the most popular shops on this street were grain and oil shops and butcher shops, since food is the most important thing for people, and eating is the top priority. Next were jewelry and jade shops, lacquerware shops, gold and silver shops, and cosmetics shops...

Fu Zhiqiao was dazzled by the sights, and when she got tired, she went to a teahouse to rest.

Teahouses are important places for people to relax and socialize. Fu Zhiqiao listened intently while drinking tea, hoping to get some useful information, but after listening for a while, all he heard were scandalous stories.

As expected, everyone in the teahouse was gossiping; it seems I won't be getting anything out of it today.

Just as she put on her veil and was about to leave, she heard people discussing the words "Master He" and "marriage".

She turned to look and saw several scholars, mostly in their teens or twenties, dressed in matching blue robes; they were probably students studying in the city.

Each tea table in the teahouse was separated by a gauze curtain, providing a certain degree of privacy, but the students were talking very loudly, and their discussions went directly into her ears.

The students were indeed talking about Master He's marriage in West Street. Their opinions were divided into two camps: one side longed to grow old together with their beloved and thought Master He was too philandering; the other side said that having a beautiful wife and concubines was the true joy of life.

The discussion between the two sides gradually escalated into a debate.

"Of the three thousand rivers, one sip is enough," said a young scholar.

"Who doesn't like young and beautiful women? If I were Master He, I would also marry a young and beautiful one." The one who spoke was the pale-faced scholar opposite the young scholar, and his words were full of envy for Master He.

The pale-faced scholar was named Yan Xiangqing, and he was a student at Bailu Academy.

Yan Xiangqing considered himself somewhat talented, but unfortunately, his family was poor, and he was forced by his family to marry a wealthy but unattractive woman. He was very proud of himself and was always dissatisfied with this marriage. He was very envious of Master He, who was over forty years old, being able to marry a young wife and take beautiful concubines.

Because commoners in the Great Wei Dynasty were not allowed to take concubines, having three or four wives was a symbol of a man's status, so he greatly envied Master He.

Yan Xiangqing came from a poor family. He dreamed of passing the imperial examination one day, becoming a person of high status, marrying a beautiful wife and taking concubines, and reaching the pinnacle of life.

Fu Zhi Qiao suppressed her disgust. She understood that such thoughts were normal in this era. As she got up to leave, she heard the young scholar retort, "But Master He is over fifty years old, and Miss Wang is only sixteen. This... this is too inappropriate."

“What’s inappropriate about her? The Wang family is so poor and stingy. It’s already a miracle that Master He took a liking to her. Master He even gave the Wang family a large dowry. What right does she have to look down on Master He?” Yan Xiangqing said disdainfully.

Is this even human language?

Because of her family's poverty, she was treated like merchandise and married off to a wealthy man, only to be looked down upon by the world as a social climber. From beginning to end, Miss Wang was passive in this marriage, which was arranged by her parents and matchmakers; she had no right to choose for herself whatsoever.

At this moment, Fu Zhi Qiao deeply sympathized with the Wang family girl. If she hadn't transmigrated, how would "Fu Zhi Qiao" have been treated? Would she have been married off to a decrepit old man like the Wang family girl?

"It's one thing if you envy Master He's three wives and four concubines, but why do you keep belittling the Wang family's daughter?"

Fu Zhiqiao couldn't help but say, "Since Master He is so kind, why don't you marry your daughter to him? You would receive a large dowry, and your daughter could become a proper Mrs. He. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

The people in the teahouse: ...

No one expected that a woman would stand up and criticize a man.

Yinxing was startled by Fu Zhiqiao's sudden outburst, and the scholars stared at her blankly.

"You call yourselves scholars?" Fu Zhi Qiao said with a hint of disdain, "Talking about a woman behind her back is not the behavior of a gentleman!"

The group of scholars blushed with embarrassment.

Yan Xiangqing, in particular, had a glint in his eye, but still stubbornly insisted in an attempt to save face: "That's just the truth. I didn't say anything bad about Miss Wang."

“You slandered the Wang family girl. Not only I, but everyone here heard it.”

"Where did I slander you? I'm telling the truth. Go out and ask around. It was the Wang family who offered their daughter to Master He. If you don't take the meat that's offered to you, are you even a man?"

Yan Xiangqing didn't think he was wrong. Before marrying the Wang family girl, Master He had married two other wives and taken eight concubines. At his age, he was still able to marry a young girl in her late teens. No one would refuse that.

"Then why do you say that the Wang family girl offered herself up? If you were in her shoes, would you be willing to marry a woman who has been married three times?"

People had only ever heard of men having three wives and four concubines, but no woman had ever married three husbands. Many of the onlookers in the teahouse laughed.

"Of course I'm unwilling." Yan Xiangqing chuckled, answering decisively. He certainly wouldn't marry a fickle woman.

"Since you are unwilling to marry a woman who has been married three times, why do you so confidently say that the Wang family's daughter is willing to marry a Mr. He who has been married three times and is over fifty years old?"

"This, this..." Yan Xiangqing stammered, sweat beading on her forehead. "Men and women are naturally different!"

"What's the difference?" Fu Zhi Qiao pressed on: "A man can remarry after divorcing his wife, but can't a woman remarry after a divorce?"

As far as she knew, in the Great Wei, men could divorce their wives, and women could also file for divorce. Moreover, there was no law here that prohibited widows from remarrying. Yan Xiangqing, a student preparing for the imperial examinations, couldn't possibly be unaware of this. Fu Zhiqiao wanted to use this to shut him up.

A man who marries multiple wives is envied, but a woman who remarries has to endure the gossip and judgment of the world.

Men take women for granted, viewing them as their possessions and property. In their minds, upholding chastity is a woman's responsibility, completely absolving themselves of any responsibility.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Xie Zhuo came to the teahouse to find out which outstanding students Qingzhou had this year. Hearing this conversation, he became interested. It was common for men to have three wives and four concubines, but he had never heard of a woman marrying three husbands.

He fiddled with the ring on his finger and continued listening.

Yan Xiangqing was quite angry. He organized his thoughts and continued to argue with Fu Zhiqiao: "Doesn't this girl understand the saying 'A husband has the right to remarry, but a wife has no right to marry twice'?"

Yan Xiangqing mocked her for not knowing the "Admonitions for Women," which caused a burst of laughter in the teahouse.

"Oh!" Fu Zhi Qiao ignored their mockery and pretended to suddenly understand.

"So you're the kind of person who would marry three wives and take many concubines! Which family are you from? Are you married? If not, I'll spread the word for you and see which decent family would dare to marry their daughter to you!"

She raised her voice deliberately when she said this so that the people at the surrounding tables could hear her clearly.

"Since you value women's chastity, why don't you value men's chastity?" Fu Zhiqiao mocked him, "Brother, you are too lenient with yourself and too strict with others."

Someone asked blankly, "Huh? What does a grown man have to do with chastity?"

“Of course men have chastity! A man’s level of self-respect determines whether he will ultimately succeed.” As she spoke, Fu Zhi Qiao asked the people at the next table, “Have you ever seen any successful man who frequents brothels and indulges in nightly revelry?”

Night after night of revelry and frequenting brothels were things only spoiled brats would do. The men she mentioned reacted for a moment and then shook their heads, "No, we've never seen that before!"

"And you? Have you seen it?" Fu Zhi Qiao asked the other person.

"No……"

"I don't have any either!"

“You saw it? Nobody else has seen it, which is enough to prove…” Fu Zhiqiao said to Yan Xiangqing firmly, “A man without a sense of chastity is worthless.”

An uproar erupted in the teahouse.

"You...you're talking nonsense!" Yan Xiangqing's forehead was covered in cold sweat, his body trembled slightly, and he barely managed to stand up by gripping the table with both hands.

"Ugh~" Fu Zhiqiao drawled, looking Yan Xiangqing up and down with a disgusted expression: "Worthless, dirty man!"