"Cheng'er, this... let's just forget about it." Old Madam Yun hesitated, reluctant to speak.
"Husband, the process of foot binding is truly unbearable; it's better if you don't know about it," Zhao Shi advised.
"No, I want to hear it, Mother, Madam, please tell me. I want to know how these tiny feet that have been praised so much were actually made."
However, Yun Hongcheng insisted, "Women all over the country have bound feet. If they, who are so delicate, can endure it, how can I, a grown man, not even bear to hear about it?"
"Well... as your mother said, don't be too sad."
Madam Yun and Zhao exchanged a glance, knowing that Yun Hongcheng would not give up if they didn't speak up, so they said, "Foot binding is divided into three processes: binding the toes, binding the narrow, and binding the curved."
"This 'toe wrapping' means tightly wrapping the four outer toes and bending the outer longitudinal arch of the foot."
Madam Yun pointed to her own feet and demonstrated step by step, "Next is to wrap the feet to make them thinner, bending the horizontal arch of the foot downwards; the final step is to wrap the feet to make the inner longitudinal arch of the foot bent, and the purpose is to bend the outer longitudinal arch more thoroughly, so that you can have the most perfect three-inch feet."
"Ugh..."
Although she had already guessed that the process of foot binding must have been extremely cruel, hearing it with her own ears still made Yun Zhourong cover her mouth and sob softly.
Yun Hongcheng seemed to have lost his soul, and even this grown man shed tears. "This is the beauty that the world praises... This is nothing but torture!"
To put it bluntly, foot binding is a process of forcibly breaking and tearing the tendons in the feet, forcing the foot bones to reshape.
That's absolutely inhumane!
"Smack..."
Yun Hongcheng suddenly slapped himself hard across the face, feeling a heavy weight of resentment in his chest, almost suffocating him.
He used to think that the product of such cruelty to women was beautiful.
He's not human!
"Husband, what are you doing!"
Unexpectedly, Zhao rushed forward and took Yun Hongcheng's hand with heartache.
"My wife, I am no human being, no human being at all... I pride myself on being a clear-headed person, yet I endorse such a distorted aesthetic. I have wasted all my time reading this book!"
Yun Hongcheng grasped Zhao's hand in return, his whole body trembling with intense heartache and regret.
He recalled how, just a slight bump on the sole of his foot from a stone, he had been in so much pain that he could barely walk.
How did this petite and delicate woman endure such excruciating pain?
No wonder…
No wonder so many girls died because of foot binding.
How is this any different from murder?
"Grandmother, Second Aunt...should I have said these things...?"
Yun Zhourong was an indecisive person to begin with, and seeing Yun Hongcheng's reaction, she began to wonder if she had made a mistake.
"Ruanruan, I think you know better than anyone the consequences of not binding your feet. It will delay your marriage, and the most important thing for a woman in her life is to get married."
After Zhao finished speaking, she sighed and said, "Hey... remember not to say these things in front of others in the future, okay?"
She also felt some regret. Just now, thinking about the pain of foot binding when she was a child, she couldn't help but say those things. She shouldn't have said that. Which woman didn't go through that? She was really being dramatic.
Yun Zhourong felt a tightness in her chest, but in fact, she felt fortunate to have an intact foot.
However, the thought of not being able to get married by the age of twenty made her feel like a failure as a woman.
She was filled with too many contradictions and doubts, and desperately wanted to confide in someone and find some solace.
She couldn't help but think of Ji Minxiu, wondering what kind of answer he would give if it were him.
At this moment, Old Madam Yun was still trying to persuade Yun Hongcheng, "My son, this isn't your fault. That's how everyone thinks. Don't be so hard on yourself..."
“Mother-in-law is right. Even we women don’t think foot binding is wrong. How could you, as a man, think of that?” Zhao patted his shoulder to comfort him.
However, after hearing these words, Yun Hongcheng felt even more depressed.
He felt that this was very wrong.
It's clearly the women who have been wronged; they should be the ones protesting and complaining. So why is he the one being comforted?
"Father, Mother, can I eat now?" Yun Mingyuan asked softly, his eyes glued to the dishes.
"Yes, yes, let's eat first, otherwise it will get cold and won't taste good." Upon hearing this, Madam Yun quickly said.
"Let's eat first, otherwise we'll have to travel later and we won't have the energy if we don't eat enough," Zhao said.
"Alright." Yun Hongcheng could only suppress his emotions and sit down with them.
"That's more like it."
Madam Yun nodded and started eating.
She looked at it, then picked up a roasted bok choy heart.
I thought it was just ordinary greens, but when I took a bite, the outer layer was crispy while the inner layer retained the fresh taste of greens. Paired with sweet soy sauce, the taste was extremely rich.
As the former matriarch of the Earl's Mansion, she had naturally tasted fine food, but this seemingly ordinary dish completely won her over.
"Mother, how is it?"
Seeing that Old Madam Yun remained silent, Yun Hongcheng and the others waited anxiously.
Madam Yun quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and exclaimed in amazement, "Delicious! This food is so delicious, you all must try it!"
"Okay, okay." Hearing this, the group breathed a sigh of relief and started eating.
"Wow, this red meat is so soft and tender, and so sweet! It's delicious!"
Yun Mingyuan couldn't wait to pick up a piece of braised pork and shovel it into his mouth with rice. The rich, savory flavor of the meat filled his mouth, and the taste was so delicious that he felt like his soul was floating.
"Hmm, it's quite good." Yun Hongcheng was also surprised; it was indeed a taste he had never had before.
However, the shock of foot binding still lingered in his heart, leaving him with little appetite; he only ate a few symbolic bites.
However, the others didn't think much of it and were all engrossed in the delicious food.
"This meat is so unique, it even has a milky flavor."
"This...this is roast duck, but the skin is crispy!"
"I never knew shrimp could be cooked like this! Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, sweet and delicious—it's absolutely amazing!"
"This rice is also fragrant and soft, with absolutely no grainy texture."
"..."
After the meal, everyone was not only satisfied with their food, but also broadened their horizons.
The food was so delicious that even though they were full, they still craved it.
At this time, the eldest son's family members, having paid the money, all received freshly baked white steamed buns.
"It smells so good! I haven't had such delicious steamed buns in ages." Yun Mingzhu took a big, satisfying bite.
"Sister, what do you think those people in the cowshed are doing right now?" Yun Mingxuan asked, nudging Yun Mingzhu with his elbow.
"Hmph, those poor bastards have nothing to eat and are sleeping in drafty cowsheds. I bet they've all frozen to death," Yun Mingzhu said casually.
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