Chapter 35 The River God's Wedding: I hate how unfair this world is to women...

Wang Xiufen has recently felt that she has a new hope for the future, and her brow has relaxed considerably.

Wen Yatou somehow obtained another batch of new seeds and seedlings and distributed them to the villagers.

She pointed out each item to everyone: "This is winter wheat, it's cold-resistant and can grow even in winter. These are radish seeds, cabbage seeds, and also rapeseed and broad beans..."

Everyone here is an experienced farmer; they know exactly how to plant and care for the crops, so Wen Yu doesn't need to give them much guidance.

After whispering among themselves for a while, a few close friends finally pushed Wang Xiufen forward to ask.

Wang Xiufen spoke on behalf of everyone: "Wen girl, where did you get these precious seeds?"

These seeds are not uncommon in normal times, and many people have planted them before, but they are hard to find during famine years, and people haven't planted them for a long time.

Wen Yu just smiled and said, "A while ago, some merchants came to the city. I saw that they had a wide variety of goods, so I bought some to try."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

As expected, it's all thanks to Wen girl's connections! In previous years, the fields could only lie idle in winter, but now we can plant something again.

Amid the joy, some couldn't help but wonder: the land's fertility is limited; can it withstand such ravages?

As if seeing through everyone's concerns, Wen Yu magically produced the familiar glass bottle.

"Thank Goddess of the Earth, I went to the temple and begged for some sacred spring water. As long as we mix it with the well water, our seedlings will grow strong and healthy."

She spoke of it casually, but who in the village hadn't sincerely worshipped at the local temple? Yet no one had ever received such "divine grace."

Everyone trusted Wen Yu, so they didn't ask any further questions.

And so, amidst expectant gazes, the fields of Luxi Village were once again covered in new greenery.

As autumn winds begin to blow, the grass withers and dies, but the land of Luxi Village remains lush and vibrant, as if gently protected by something invisible.

During a break from their farm work, the villagers gathered together and finally couldn't help but marvel at what they had seen.

It seems that Wen Yu is truly talented and has been favored by the gods.

The spring water was truly miraculous, making the crops grow quickly and well, and even the autumn wind couldn't take away the village's vitality.

In addition, since Wen Yu took the lead in raising livestock, many villagers went to the city to buy chickens and ducks, and others who couldn't easily go to the city mostly asked others to bring them some.

Nowadays, chickens and ducks roam the village, their clucking and squawking filling the air. They also have an extra egg in their bowls on weekdays, and life is getting better and better.

Who could have imagined that Luxi Village could undergo such a dramatic transformation in just a few months?

On the edge of the field, several people sat together to rest.

Suddenly someone nudged Wang Xiufen with their elbow: "Auntie, do you still remember what Wen girl used to be like?"

Wang Xiufen was stunned.

Yes, she is probably the person the village should remember most.

Wen Yu used to be a timid little girl. After her parents passed away, she became even more taciturn, hiding from people and almost invisible.

But now... Wang Xiufen tried hard to recall, but her memory felt blurry.

Replacing that timid and cowardly figure is now a gentle and warm smile.

"She...has changed a lot." In the end, that was all Wang Xiufen could say.

Yes, a lot has changed.

These days, after she finishes tending to her own fields, she likes to go to the school to sit for a while.

Although she didn't seek to learn anything difficult, she did learn quite a few characters from the young people and could even recite a few poems.

"Hoeing the fields at noon..."

The first poem in the school textbooks was this one.

Yes, that's how their ancestors lived their lives for generations.

They work from sunrise to sunset, facing the loess soil with their backs to the sky, relying on their own hands to dig out food, living a simple yet resilient life year after year.

But a sudden famine cut off all hope of survival, and at that time she thought that this was all there was to life for Luxi Village.

Unexpectedly, Wen Yuzhen was able to change everything.

Wang Xiufen recalled the lesson that had the most profound impact on her.

That day in class, Ning Shengan talked about an article about water management.

The text describes a disaster in a certain place, where floods swept across the land. People threw young women into the river, calling it "the River God's Wedding," in an attempt to quell the floods.

While everyone was still deep in thought, Wen Yu, unusually, stepped onto the podium.

She asked everyone, "Do you think this will be useful?"

The audience shook their heads in unison.

"Everything in the world depends on human effort." Wen Yu placed his hands on the podium, his back straight. "The river is heartless and has no intelligence. So where does the River God come from? It's just that the local officials are powerless to control the floods, so they blame it on ghosts and gods to exonerate themselves."

"They blamed the disaster on the people's lack of piety, saying that more women needed to be sacrificed. But why—of all people, women?"

Wen Qingshi raised his hand and was the first to answer: "Women are weak and powerless to resist."

Wen Yu nodded: "Yes, this is one of them."

“Since it’s called ‘marrying,’ choosing a woman is even more legitimate,” Lin Lan tentatively added.

"That makes sense."

Wen Yu looked at the three girls on the other side; they seemed to have something to say.

She stepped down from the podium, walked straight up to them, and asked, "What about you? What do you think?"

Almost instantly, everyone's eyes turned to her, and Fan Yizhen's face flushed red. She had never been watched by so many people before!

But her two classmates nudged her encouragingly, saying, "Go ahead and speak! You should let everyone hear your thoughts!"

So Fan Yizhen boldly stood up.

"I think... in the eyes of the world, women are born to be sacrifices!"

"The ruler is the guide for the subject, the father is the guide for the son, and the husband is the guide for the wife. In this hierarchy of ruler and subject, father and son, women are always at the bottom."

“Those demoted officials, who claim to be unappreciated, can turn around and get drunk in brothels, reciting poems and painting in the arms of beauties. The world calls them elegant,” Fan Yizhen spoke more and more fluently, as if she had poured out her heart. “But I just feel that… who cares what the women behind them think?”

"They are the ones who are remembered in history, and their poems are sung for thousands of years, but behind this story, has any woman ever left her name?"

"They are Chen, Li, Wang...the poets' mothers, wives, daughters, confidantes...but they are not people!"

"In poetry, women represent beauty and romance, but women who are not good-looking are, in legends, described as plain-looking or like Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi. No one cares about their talent; they are only used to ridicule: 'I heard your wife is plain-looking. What do you see in her?'"

Her words were resounding.

The entire room remained silent.

“So, how could such a mythical event as ‘River God’s Wedding’ be without a ‘goddess’ as a supporting character? They say the woman went to be a bride and enjoy happiness—” Her eyes suddenly seemed to ignite with flames, “They dare to say such things, but do they dare to believe them themselves?”

"Who doesn't know that a living person thrown into the river is certain to die! How could these officials, who were selected through studying the classics, not know this? They know it better than anyone!"

"It is precisely because they know that those women are powerless to resist while they are alive, and that no one will speak up for them after they die, that they dare to advocate this! The women's fathers and brothers dare not speak, because they too must follow the order of this world; the women's mothers and sisters dare not speak, because if they do, they will be the next to be thrown into the river."

"If ghosts and gods truly exist, as those people claim, then those wandering spirits will be the first to come looking for them!"

There were faint cheers from below, but no one actually stood up to interrupt her.

These words were so powerful and thought-provoking that they stirred the hearts of many, and many people silently repeated what she had just said in their hearts.

At some point, Fan Yizhen's voice choked up, and her eyes welled up with tears.

“I hate how unfair this world is to women, yet I am also despicably grateful that I have not become one of them.”

The classroom fell silent. She nodded to Wen Yu and sat back down in her seat: "Sister Wen, I'm done."

Wen Yu was silent for a moment, then said softly, "You're right."

"The 'River God's Wedding' is just a microcosm. Over the centuries, countless women have been sacrificed in this way. But ultimately, it all comes down to the inaction of the government."

She drew a map of the waterways of Luzhou Prefecture on the blackboard and marked it with an X.

"Just like our Luzhou suffered a severe drought for three years, is it really unrelated to the government?"

"In fact, when the drought first started, the imperial court had already allocated funds and sent people to manage the floods. The imperial envoy was ordered to clear the silted-up river channels, build water conservancy projects, and save the people downstream."

“But that Lord Peng squandered all the allocated funds,” Wen Qingshi added in a low voice.

Ning Shengan, who had once taught the young masters of the Peng family, was now recalling the scenes from that mansion.

Outside, the people are suffering terribly, while inside, life is incredibly extravagant.

At the banquet in the mansion, the wine in the cups of the high-ranking officials and nobles was more than the water that the disaster victims outside could drink.

"As you've all noticed, the rivers have been cleared and there's been more rain these past few days," Wen Yu continued drawing. "Because Lord Peng has fallen, the new Lord Su has put the money to good use, repairing water conservancy projects, buying surplus grain, and benefiting the people."

Some people exclaimed, "Lord Su is truly a good official..."

"Your Excellency truly has the world in your heart..."

"Lord Su is indeed a capable man."

Amidst a chorus of sighs, Wen Yu suddenly asked.

"Is it really impossible for Lord Peng to do all this?"

Everyone was stunned, and then fell silent.

Wen Qingshi stood up, his voice clear and bright: "They both came from the imperial examination system, how could Lord Peng not understand? He just doesn't want to do it!"

"If he spends money on water conservancy, what will he have left for enjoyment? So he pretended to be stupid and said that Luzhou had offended the emperor and was now being punished by heaven, and that he needed to perform rituals to atone for his sins. He would rather spend money to hire a shaman to perform a ritual to worship heaven than benefit the people."

"After all, there is only one set of money. Once it is given to the people, it is gone."

In one sentence, he pierced through all the pretense and hypocrisy.

The audience nodded silently, completely convinced.

Wen Yu smiled with satisfaction.

No wonder they're her children; they're so smart.

This lesson, which may have seemed to be just about discussing a text, planted a seed in the hearts of many people.

After school, the villagers went home in twos and threes, discussing what they had learned in school.

Some villagers learned to write simple characters, borrowed a dictionary from the library, and pieced together a letter to their families who had fled to distant places, asking them to come home and visit whenever they had time.

Some villagers learned some arithmetic and planned to make their own account books to rationally manage their family's money.

Some people even borrowed an agricultural book and, with Wen Qingshi's help, roughly sorted out its contents, intending to put the knowledge into practice on their own land.

In the past, who would have dared to imagine such a life?

"Could it be... that the gods have taken pity on us, Luxi, and entrusted Wen to take care of us?" Uncle Zhang muttered to himself on the way back.

Wang Xiufen didn't reply, but just thought about it silently in her heart.

Perhaps there are no gods in this world who can save people from suffering.

But there really are people like Wen Yu and that Lord Su, who genuinely bring a way out for everyone.

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Author's note: I've wanted to discuss the topic of the River God's wedding for a long time, and I've finally written it down.

We fight forever so that we will no longer live as victims. [Thumbs up]