"Mom, your belly is so big? Are you pregnant?"
"You bad girl, you're making fun of me, your mother. You don't even have a father, who am I going to give birth to?"
"Mom, it was Cao Hanhui who said that. Why did you hit me?"
"Cao Hanhui doesn't understand our family situation, but you don't know. By the way, how are your studies going?"
"What book?"
"Of course it's the Four Books and Five Classics. Why are you acting so stupid here?"
"Oh~ I remember now. I'm going to Cao Hanhui's house later. His brother wants to teach me."
"Ji Nianqin, the reason why your mother asked you to stay home and study is because she doesn't want you to associate with those questionable people outside."
"Hey? Cao Hanhui, you came to see me? Come over and say hello to my mother."
"Hello, Auntie. Nianqin and I are going to study. I will bring her back later."
Cao Hanhui and Ji Nianqin walked forward hand in hand, but were stopped before they could evacuate to a safe area.
"Wait! Cao Hanhui, unmarried women usually don't leave the house, but you just came back with my daughter, where are you going now?"
"Mom, didn't she say? Read a book."
"Starting today, pause."
"Nianqin, what happened to Auntie?"
"It's all because of you. When I came back and saw my mom's belly was big, I asked if she was pregnant, and this is what happened."
"I was just kidding. You can tell I've gained weight. Tell me everything, Nianqin. You wouldn't tell me about what happened today..."
"No, no, I can't. If I tell my mother about the little pug, she'll think I'm causing trouble for her again and will spank me. My hand is for a tattoo, so I can't just spank it casually."
"From the look in Auntie's eyes, it seems like she has something against me, Nianqin."
"No way, I only said that I was pregnant. It was you who said it. My mother shouldn't be so stingy."
"What? Of course she'd be angry. I get it. Your mother must be angry about my brother. She thinks I'm trying to match you up with my brother by always asking you to come to my house and saying such nonsense. Maybe Auntie has already imagined the whole scene in her mind."
"That's not an exaggeration. You're just too easily startled and timid. I just treat my mother like a close friend."
"Absolutely not, Nianqin. Respect for elders has existed since ancient times. She is your mother. How can you treat her as a peer? This is against the rules."
"Rules and rules again. I see, those so-called rules are all set for women, like the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, obey your husband at home, obey your husband after marriage, and obey your sons after your husband's death. If women really lived like that, what's the point? Men can just get a dog. Then you can obey them completely. But if not, you can even kill it and eat its meat."
"Hey! That's what you're like. You almost got into trouble just now. I went home and observed my brother. He also has that bump on his neck, but we don't. What does this mean?"
"That's a man. I've said it before, he just doesn't act like a man. Who would be so mean to a dog? He must be petty. It makes me sick just thinking about it."
"But could those people around him who are dressed in the same way be Qing guards?"
"How is that possible? Look at what they're wearing, they don't look that good. At most, they're just small businessmen with a little money who like to listen to storytelling."
"I hope so, otherwise, we will be in trouble."
"Stop worrying about it. I think you'll end up frightened to death sooner or later... Eh? Isn't that a little pug?"
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