"This place hasn't been used for a long time, right? It looks like no one has lived here for at least a few decades." Fang Qing judged based on the daily necessities around her. The newest things inside looked like they were from twenty or thirty years ago.
Su Xuanxuan nodded, it was indeed true.
The local rules and regulations were still hung on the wall. The two stood by the wall, looking at the blurred words on it from a distance.
"The first rule is to cut off all love, forget about desire, and maintain your purity."
"Rule 2: You cannot go out at will. If you want to go out, you must first apply to the head of the hall. After approval, you will be accompanied by a special person."
"Article 3: All daily necessities in the hall shall be distributed according to work. Work diligently and give full play to the power of women."
…
It seems that these have all been improved, but what about the ones that have not been improved, and what about the ones before?
Could it be more demanding than this?
"In that era, if there was a place that could take in these women, it would be considered good." Fang Qing looked at these rules and it didn't seem difficult to follow. Perhaps this could also be a shelter for those women with difficult fates.
Su Xuanxuan shook his head: "It's not that simple. This place looks good, but it's actually a place where people are eaten without leaving any bones. It looks bright and beautiful, but it's also rotten behind the scenes."
Those women simply fell from one cage into another, and their lives were even more difficult than before.
As soon as he finished speaking, the wind outside the door whistled again.
As the two took a step forward, the scene around them changed dramatically. The dilapidated house became less dilapidated, and the entire yard was filled with people.
Su Xuanxuan saw the strangeness in it at a glance.
"Don't run around, we've entered an illusion. Just watch..."
She wanted to see what these female ghosts were going to do and also wanted to know about their past.
At this time, the yard was full of people, and a woman was tied to the stone platform and bound to the wooden frame.
The woman's hair was disheveled and she was stripped down to her underwear, which was stained with blood.
His lips were pale and scabby, and his eyes were hopeless.
Looks dying.
A woman in her 50s with combed hair and wearing dark clothes stood in front of him holding a cane.
"Do you know your mistake?"
The woman tied to the rack bit her lower lip and said nothing.
Because of this, the old woman was enraged and started whipping her with a rattan stick dipped in salt water.
"You refuse to plead guilty! I'll teach you a lesson! If you violate our hall rules, you will be punished!"
The women standing nearby said nothing, some even flinched in fear.
"What mistake did she make?"
Su Xuanxuan spoke lightly.
A female voice came out of nowhere and answered.
"She just accidentally touched the firewood farmer's hand. What mistake did she make?"
The female voice was a little unwilling: "But even so, they still think he has lost his virginity and must be punished."
"She was only 20 years old. She was made a child bride at the age of eight and married at the age of 16. Her husband died the following year and she was sent to this place by her in-laws."
The woman was hung on the wooden frame, dying. The people around her left. The woman hung on the wooden frame day after day. The wounds on her body began to fester and ulcerate. Finally, she could not hold on and took her last breath.
The Shouzhentang practice was to wrap the person in a straw mat, dig a pit and bury him.
The scene changed again. It was a night and the river bank was brightly lit.
Everyone was holding torches, lighting up the entire village in red.
There were two people tied up on the boat on the shore, a man and a woman.
Their mouths were stuffed with rags and their feet were tied with stones.
The clothes that the woman was wearing were from Shouzhentang.
"You are not a faithful wife and have an affair with a man outside your family! According to the rules of the hall, you must be thrown into a pig cage as a warning to others..."
An elder stood on the shore and spoke, looking quite majestic.
"What did she do again?"
Su Xuanxuan asked again.
It was the same female voice again: "She's also a pitiful person. At the age of 13, her parents sold her to the Shouzhen Hall to work as a maid, and she became an unmarried woman. Once you enter this Shouzhen Hall, you are no different from the other widows there. The rules are the same."
"It's normal for her to like a man at her age. It's also normal for her to want to experience the sweetness of love in such a boring place. But he's from the Zhen Tang. This is all a big mistake!"
"They didn't do anything special. They were just caught having a secret meeting in the mountains. They became the chicken that was killed to scare the monkeys! Shou Zhen Tang will never allow such a violation of the rules to exist. Her young life can only be sacrificed to the rules."
The scene continued, the man and the woman looked at each other and cried, but could not do anything.
There was resentment and unwillingness in their eyes.
The boat reached the center of the lake. The strong man stuffed the two people into the cage and finally pushed it down hard. With the weight of the stone, the two sank to the bottom of the lake and gradually disappeared...
The people watching around were also frightened, and the women on the mountain didn't dare to do anything out of line anymore. No one wanted to die in such an unclear way.
The scene continued, but the scene changed again.
It was a time of war, and the enemy attacked and discovered this place.
The women inside either escaped or died.
Some people, unwilling to suffer humiliation, simply ended their own lives.
After the enemy left, the village returned to its former tranquility.
But these poor women were still not treated well. Those people began to hold them accountable, saying that they had violated the hall rules and that the remaining women should take the initiative to apologize!
They should commit suicide and remain chaste!
The women who had managed to survive were once again forced to death.
Su Xuanxuan's eyes turned red when he saw this.
"Tell me...what on earth did they do wrong? They just wanted to live, but there are so many people who want them dead!"
The female voice sounded again, full of resentment and injustice.
I thought the matter would end like this, with the demise of that group of women.
But in fact, it’s not over at all!
The scene quickly changed, and after the country was stabilized, the door of Shouzhen Hall was opened again.
A new group of women arrived, most of whose husbands were killed by the enemy or died on the battlefield.
According to the customs of the village, they were sent here.
Repeating the lives of those women before.
It was not until the 1970s and 1980s, when the village was connected to the outside world and many leaders came from above, that this local custom was gradually abolished.
And with the death of the last woman, the door of this chastity hall was completely closed.
Since then, strange things have been happening inside and no one dares to approach.
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