Every step he took felt like walking on a knife's edge; the pain was unbearable to witness.
Because of foot binding, women almost lost the ability to work and walk, and were confined to their boudoirs and courtyards for their entire lives, like birds with broken wings, unable to see the vast world.
The teachings of "Admonitions for Women" and "Rules for Women" shackle people's minds.
From a young age, women are instilled with the concepts of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, and their thoughts are tightly bound, forbidding them from the slightest disobedience.
The virtues of gentleness and humility have been distorted into a submissive nature, resulting in women having no independent spirit or sense of autonomy.
She spent her entire life obeying her husband's family's orders, like a puppet, manipulated by others.
The custom of burying men alive with their deceased husbands is utterly inhumane. When a male member of the family dies, there are instances where wives and concubines are forced to be buried alive with him.
A vibrant life vanished in an instant in the dark tomb. Although relatives and neighbors felt sorry for the victims, they dared not step forward to stop them due to the constraints of old customs.
Such vulgar customs have cast a gloomy atmosphere over Jing'an, and the people are afraid to speak out.
The fate of baby girls was even more tragic. Deep-seated patriarchal beliefs led to their rejection from the moment they were born.
Many baby girls were abandoned in the wilderness and placed in so-called "baby towers," their cries echoing in the cold wind.
Life was easily discarded like ants, with no chance of survival, leading to an imbalance in the male-female population of the county, which also violated the natural order.
Chastity arches, a shackle for generations. After a woman loses her husband, regardless of her youth, she is required to remain chaste for life.
The years of widowhood were long and bitter, and life was difficult and arduous. However, because of a cold memorial arch, she had to suppress her inner desires and live alone in her empty room.
He spent the rest of his life in loneliness and poverty, physically and mentally exhausted, on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Women held a lowly position within the family. Their marriages were entirely determined by their parents and brothers, and their own wishes were like a candle flickering in the wind, ignored by everyone.
After marriage, she becomes an appendage of her husband's family, with no right to control property or equal rights to educate her children. Everything is subject to the man's will, and any slight disobedience will result in beatings and verbal abuse.
Furthermore, the powerful clans in Jing'an are deeply entrenched, and their actions often have drawbacks.
Many aristocratic families occupied vast tracts of land but concealed this fact, resulting in the loss of tax revenue and financial losses.
Moreover, he acted recklessly in the local area, monopolized commerce, manipulated prices, and caused great suffering to the people.
The children of the family, relying on their family's power, are arrogant and domineering, disregard the law, and disrupt the court, causing government orders to be ignored and the judiciary to be unable to act impartially.
In my humble opinion, this is not the kind of behavior that should occur under Your Majesty's benevolent rule.
Therefore, I have been working hard to promote reforms, posting notices in streets and markets to explain the harm of foot binding and to urge the people to abandon this bad custom.
The organization mobilized insightful individuals to compile new texts, promoting the principles that women should possess talent and virtue, in order to replace the old, restrictive teachings.
Strict laws and severe punishments were clearly established for acts of funerary sacrifice and infant abandonment to serve as a warning to others. In official schools, special places were set aside for girls to enroll.
Although few have responded yet, I firmly believe that given time, we will surely enlighten the people and turn the tide.
At the same time, I will thoroughly investigate the practice of the gentry concealing their land, remeasure the land, and collect taxes according to the law, so that they will no longer dare to wantonly seize the nation's wealth.
Furthermore, he rectified market order, cracked down on the commercial monopoly of the aristocratic class, encouraged ordinary people to engage in commerce, and thus stabilized prices and made markets prosperous and orderly.
Those who break the law and violate discipline among the sons of noble families shall be severely punished without leniency, so as to uphold the dignity of the national law, make them restrain themselves, and dare not openly trample on the law again.
Your humble servant is well aware of the heavy responsibility and long road ahead, but Your Majesty is wise and sagacious. I will do my utmost to seek an equal and free future for the women of Jing'an and to safeguard a prosperous and thriving territory for Your Majesty.
Furthermore, I have actively encouraged agriculture and sericulture, bringing new crops and agricultural tools to our dynasty, which promises a bumper harvest.
He also revitalized commerce, reduced or exempted taxes, led to the prosperity of markets, the circulation of goods, and the fullness of the government treasury.
Although I have devoted myself to this cause, the restoration of peace and stability is still in progress. For example, roads and bridges need to be extensively repaired, and water conservancy and irrigation need to be expanded.
Your humble servant will certainly devote all his loyalty and wisdom to fulfilling Your Majesty's trust, ensuring that Jing'an will forever remain Your Majesty's land of peace and prosperity.
The imperial court was deathly silent, except for Lin Yuze's weary yet resolute voice echoing between the beams.
The ministers listened quietly to every word he spoke, their expressions changing with his narration.
From initial surprise, to later solemnity, and now to deep worry.
After he finished speaking, no one spoke for a long time; only the heavy breathing echoed in the hall.
The ministers felt a chill run from the soles of their feet straight to their hearts, as if they were in an ice cellar surrounded by unseen, cold blades.
Thinking back to when Lin Yuze left, he was still full-figured and radiant. I was wondering how he could have become so thin and haggard in just half a year.
After listening, everyone realized that Jing'an was like a desolate land mired in quagmire.
The various bad customs and malpractices in the area are like clusters of sharp thorns, growing wildly and intricately, making it impossible to know where to begin.
Those long-standing, corrupt and outdated customs and practices are like strong shackles, tightly binding local development and progress.
Each one is like an insurmountable mountain, standing in the way of governance.
Those aristocratic families, on the other hand, were like a persistent, insidious disease, relying on their wealth and power accumulated over generations to run rampant and do whatever they pleased in the region.
If we were to eliminate them with ruthless and decisive means, the people would be filled with fear, which would surely cause a huge uproar and plunge the region into a state of turmoil and chaos.
It's like throwing a huge rock into a calm lake, creating huge waves, with unimaginable consequences.
However, if we turn a blind eye to their evil deeds and let them off easily, their wantonness, extravagance and debauchery will truly arouse our indignation.
He was truly caught in a dilemma, unable to find a comprehensive and proper solution, which explains why Lin Yuze had become so thin.
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