Fireworks, however beautiful, are only briefly dazzling.
As the brilliance of the sky gradually fades, it will eventually return to darkness.
Fortunately, the people of Fengjing set off firecrackers, and the laughter and play of children prevented the prosperity from ending in emptiness.
"People are the foundation of a nation," Xu Mo sighed softly, looking up as he stood in the courtyard.
Chang Yan's pupils twitched slightly, but he quickly lowered his gaze and turned back to the dining table in the main hall.
Jiang San and Jiang Si were playing a drinking game, and the loser had already drunk more than a dozen cups and was completely drunk.
Even so, he didn't forget to hug his brothers in front of him, crying and saying, "I miss them, I miss them so much."
The person being hugged had tears in their eyes and was silently holding back sobs.
Who wouldn't want that? They wouldn't want their brothers with whom they spend every day, their family with whom they grew up, or those far away in the northern frontier.
Jiang San and Jiang Si hugged each other and cried.
Wen Zhiyun tried to hold back her tears, but they still welled up in her eyes.
Zheng Ruqian clenched his fists, seemingly lost in thought.
Chang Yan paused, his pupils trembling again. He thought of his third brother, who had gone far away to the northern frontier, and his eldest brother, who had been running around trying to solve the imperial examination fraud case.
Complex thoughts swirled in his chest, making him feel suffocated, unable to speak or swallow them.
He should do something.
Right...?
Suddenly, a clear laugh came from behind. It was my younger sister coming in. She always missed her third brother. If she saw this scene of crying and sobbing, it would be terrible.
Changyan stopped thinking nonsense, turned around, grabbed the chubby girl, and ran to the courtyard gate the moment she entered the house.
Jiang Sheng stood blankly in the candlelight, raised her delicate face, and whispered, "What's wrong, Fifth Brother? Is something the matter?"
fine.
I was just worried you'd keep crying, so I came out to hide for a while.
Before Chang Yan could finish his explanation, he heard a stealthy rustling sound behind him.
He hurriedly pulled Jiang Sheng behind the water vat, and by the dim candlelight, he saw a slender figure carrying a bamboo basket walk out, unlatch the door bolt, and then deliberately close the door and leave.
Is it her?
The brother and sister stood at the gate of the courtyard, puzzled and unable to understand the meaning behind her actions.
Just then, Zheng Ruqian slipped out of the main hall and saw the two standing there dumbfounded. He asked in surprise, "Why aren't you eating or watching the fireworks? What are you two doing here?"
Jiang Sheng twirled her index fingers back and forth, unable to utter a word.
Chang Yan calmly said, "Since Second Brother is here, let's find out what's going on."
The three siblings gently opened the courtyard gate and followed the footsteps.
The woman in front was so focused on walking that she didn't notice the three little tails trailing behind her.
On this day of family reunion, she left quietly without saying goodbye to anyone in her family. She walked for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea from the second courtyard before stopping in a dilapidated alley in the west of the city.
Even Jiang Sheng was surprised that Fengjing had such a dilapidated alley.
The woman remained calm as she walked to the end of the alley, where there was a small house built from broken tiles, presumably for storing discarded items. At that moment, she heard a series of noises coming from inside, as if someone lived there.
The woman knocked on the door and called out, "Sister Miao."
The drafty door of the dilapidated house was opened, revealing a haggard-looking woman, followed by a little girl of about ten years old, who was also disheveled and looked just as haggard.
Upon seeing the woman, the little girl's eyes lit up, and she called out, "Aunt Zhang."
Zhang Xianglian said "Hey," took out a few warm pastries from the bamboo basket, and then took out half a leftover pork knuckle. "Good child, go and eat with your mother."
The little girl's eyes almost lit up, but she waited for her mother to nod before taking the pastries and pork knuckle and placing them on the table.
"Sister Zhang, thank you for your hard work. You've been bringing food to my son and me all this time, and you've also found us this shelter." The woman surnamed Miao said, tears streaming down her face. "It's all my husband's fault for being so heartless. Because I can't give birth to a son, he insisted on driving my son and me away without even leaving us any clothes or money. He's trying to make us live and die out here."
The laws of the Dayu Dynasty were strict, and most ordinary people were monogamous, with virtually no opportunity to take concubines.
Many men who want to remarry can only vent their anger on their wives, and beatings and insults are commonplace. If the woman can't take it and runs away, the blame falls on her, and the man can happily remarry.
If the legal wife is murdered, the husband can even claim compensation to be used as a dowry for the new wife and for her future living expenses.
When it comes to the evil of human nature, this man is even more extreme than Zhou Zhiqiang.
Zhang Xianglian's eyes were full of sympathy as she said softly, "The more things are like this, the more you need to live like a human being and never do as he wishes."
“But I have no household registration, no identity, so I can’t do anything.” The woman surnamed Miao wept even more. “If we get a divorce, the child will have to be given to him, but he will never treat Daya well. I… I’m not at ease with him.”
She turned around and looked at the girl staring longingly at the braised pork knuckle, her tears flowing even more freely.
The laws of the Dayu Dynasty also stipulated that women could file for divorce, but they could not take their children with them.
Children always belong to men.
Many women endure humiliation and abuse for the sake of their children, even being beaten and scolded, until the man passes away, only then can they find peace.
But by then, they were already old and gray.
Youth fades quickly, beauty is gone, but whose youth isn't youth?
Zhang Xianglian gripped the Miao woman's hand tightly, and Jiang Sheng's words, "If only I could divorce my husband," suddenly came to mind.
Yes, it would be so nice if women also had the right to divorce their husbands and take their children with them.
“We’ll think of something about the child later. But as for you, I want to talk to the landlord and ask you to come and help me,” Zhang Xianglian said softly. “But you have to get a divorce first. The landlord is kind; he can tolerate taking some leftovers without permission. We can’t cause him any other trouble.”
The woman surnamed Miao nodded with tears in her eyes.
The two exchanged a few more words, and Zhang Xianglian told her to go back and have dinner with the children. She then turned around, closed the door, and let out a long sigh.
Perhaps it was too late, because the sounds of firecrackers gradually faded after the fireworks.
Most of the people who had been laughing and playing went home to rest, leaving the wide streets deserted and looking particularly empty.
A cold wind blew by, bringing a chill to the air.
Zhang Xianglian was initially calm and composed, but as she walked, she sensed footsteps behind her. She gradually became nervous, her heart leaped into her chest, and she unconsciously quickened her pace.
But the footsteps behind him quickened and became more frequent, as if they were about to catch up at any moment.
Zhang Xianglian was terrified and picked up her bamboo basket to run away.
Fortunately, that familiar and sweet voice rang out just in time, "Auntie, it's me."
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