Chapter 84 This body and this heart will only follow my own will and walk my own path!
Stone carried an iron hammer and handed it to Lu Zhaoruo.
If it were the weak and timid Lu Zhaoruo from her previous life, she probably would have had difficulty even mentioning it.
But at that moment, she took only one deep breath, firmly grasped the hammer handle, and easily lifted it...
In her view, what she held in her hands was not just iron, but a brand new destiny that she had severed from her past and reclaimed with her own hands!
She surveyed her neighbors, her voice clear and steady, each word ringing out: "Today, I, Lu Zhaoruo, stand here, and with this hammer, I will shatter this place! From this day forward, all false reputations of chastity will turn to dust, and all past ties and entanglements will be severed!"
"I am no longer a woman of the Shen family, no longer living for the sake of the memorial arch! The world is vast, and I walk alone."
"With this body and this heart, I will only follow my own will and walk my own path!"
Having said that, she raised the heavy iron hammer high, gathering the sorrow and resolve of two lifetimes, and smashed it down with all her might towards the cold stone archway inscribed with "Her Chastity Endures"—
"boom!"
The solid stone archway cracked open with a grotesque fissure.
Before anyone could catch their breath, she swung the hammer again and brought it down!
The stone archway suddenly shattered, sending shards of stone flying and dust billowing up...
Gu Xian subconsciously closed his folding fan, the usual flirtatious and playful look in his peach blossom eyes vanished, replaced by shock and admiration. He sighed softly, "Truly a remarkable woman!"
Xiao Yeming stood beside him, his figure as steadfast as a pine tree.
Amidst the swirling dust, he suddenly narrowed his dark, jade-like eyes, fixing them fixed intently on the resolute figure wielding the hammer…
Lu Bohong had a big smile on his face.
This man-eating 'chastity arch' should be smashed.
But when he looked again at his younger sister's slender yet upright back, his eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
Lu Zhaoruo raised the iron hammer again and smashed it against the stone archway again and again.
The sound of thunder was deafening. Amid cheers and sighs from the crowd, the chastity archway finally collapsed, turning into rubble and dust.
This is what she did.
Firstly, it was to smash the iron chains and shackles that had bound her for half her previous life and from which she could not break free even in death!
Secondly, this chastity archway is a cannibalistic archway. In the name of "chastity," it devours the blood and bones of countless women, drinks up their tears, and leaves them living their entire lives like a dry well, deep and cold, never seeing the light of day.
She wanted the world to see that women should no longer be bound by this hypocritical concept of chastity; they had the right to pursue their own happiness and the right to resist this unjust fate.
Among the crowd, a gaunt widow with lifeless eyes was initially just watching numbly as the crowd surged by.
But when she saw Lu Zhaoruo swing the iron hammer, the earth-shattering explosion and flying debris seemed to hit her heart as well, making her tremble all over.
She stared blankly as the towering stone archway, a symbol of "glory," collapsed with a deafening roar. Looking at Lu Zhaoruo's figure, though stained with dust, yet still incredibly bright amidst the grime, her eyes welled up, and two streams of tears, long suppressed, rolled down her cheeks without warning.
She suddenly raised her hand and fiercely wiped away her tears with her rough sleeve.
When he looked up again, a faint but determined light ignited in his previously lifeless eyes.
She neither cheered nor spoke, but simply turned around abruptly and walked against the still-amazing crowd towards her husband's home.
The steps, initially hesitant, became faster and more steady.
Back home, she straightened her back, which had been hunched over for years, and said with unparalleled clarity to her astonished in-laws: "Your daughter-in-law wants to leave her husband's family and find another way to make a living."
Both the aunt and uncle were speechless.
They never imagined that their usually quiet and submissive daughter-in-law would make such a decisive request.
The mother-in-law was the first to recover, raising a slanted eyebrow and spitting, "You want to be divorced? Do you know that once you step out of this door, you'll be drowned in spittle! The neighbors' criticism, the elders' and relatives' contempt—can you bear that? Who will still consider you a respectable woman after this!"
The old man was so angry that his beard trembled. He stamped his foot and shouted, "Absurd! The Book of Rites says: 'A woman is one who follows others: in childhood she follows her father and elder brothers, after marriage she follows her husband, and after her husband's death she follows her son.' Now that you have married into my Wang family, you are a member of the Wang family in life and in death! How dare you come and go as you please? Such self-serving behavior is simply against human ethics and a disgrace to the family!"
"You have let down my deceased son's spirit even more."
Upon hearing this, the widow was not intimidated at all. Instead, she met the gazes of the two elders and said, "Five years! I have kept watch for five whole years! I have paid my respects morning and evening, served them medicine, and guarded this courtyard without ever slacking off. I have fulfilled all my duties!"
She looked at her mother-in-law, her eyes no longer showing any fear: "You are afraid of the neighbors' criticism, afraid of the relatives' contempt, but have you ever been afraid that I would exhaust myself in this deep house and die alone? The 'innocence' you want is nothing more than using my flesh and blood to maintain the Wang family's dignity!"
Then she turned to her father-in-law, her words sharp and piercing: "Since my husband is dead and I have no children, I will follow my own path and find a way to live. Do you want me to die to preserve my chastity in order to please you and to be worthy of your deceased son?"
"After five years of filial piety, the daughter-in-law believes she has done everything she could, and owes no debt to anyone!"
She bowed one last time, raised her head, and straightened her back: "Today, I am not here to beg for your permission, but to tell you—I am determined to leave."
Sinking into the house.
As soon as Lu Zhaoru smashed the "chastity archway", the yamen runners from the prefectural government swarmed in like a tide and began to confiscate the Shen family's property.
She led Dongrou into the inner courtyard and packed their valuables into a bundle.
I just stepped out the door.
Gu Xian and Xiao Yeming saw her come out and then began to say goodbye.
Gu Xian smiled and said, "A Bao has trained my son Acong to be extremely obedient. Tomorrow at Anle Tower, I will personally escort him back."
Xiao Yeming kept his eyes lowered the whole time, not daring to meet her gaze. He simply cupped his hands in a hasty bow and turned to leave...
He was in a hurry to get back and make arrangements, and to conduct a night raid on the three pirate strongholds at sea the next day...
After the two left, Stone and Greenie came over and knelt in front of her.
Lu Zhaoruo raised an eyebrow slightly: "The indentures of all the servants of the Shen family have been returned. You can go home or find your own way to make a living. What are you doing kneeling here?"
Dongrou said softly, "My lady, the two of them want to follow you. Shitou's mother passed away a few days ago, and there are no relatives left to rely on. Lü'er lost her father at a young age and is all alone and homeless."
After hearing this, Lu Zhaoruo gazed at the two of them and asked gently, "Are you truly willing to stay by my side? Even if there are hardships and difficulties in the future, will you have no regrets?"
Upon hearing this, Stone and Green immediately prostrated themselves in worship.
Shi Tou bowed his head and said, "Several months ago, if it weren't for your medicine that saved my mother, how could she have lived for several more months? When she passed away, she died with a smile on her face, without any regrets. I am grateful for your kindness and wish to serve you for the rest of my life, at your beck and call."
Greenie also kowtowed, her thin body trembling slightly: "This servant is all alone and helpless. I am grateful to Madam for taking me in. I will never forget this kindness. I am willing to stay by Madam's side until death do us part."
Lu Zhaoruo lowered her eyes and looked at the two kneeling figures, her heart stirred slightly.
She knew that Shi Tou was honest and loyal.
Her gaze fell on Greenie's slender figure. In her previous life, the Shen family did not have this girl. In this life, she personally went to the brokerage and picked her out from a group of maids waiting to be sold.
Although he was a bit timid, he had a pure and kind heart.
Lu Zhaoruo hesitated for a moment, then gently helped the two of them to their feet: "In that case, you will both follow me from now on."
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