Chapter 3 Divorce (Part 1)
Just after the Lesser Heat solar term, the cicadas on the jujube tree outside Li San Niang's boudoir began to chirp "zhi-liao zhi-liao" as soon as the daylight was bright enough.
Although the family was taking care of Li San Niang's body after her miscarriage, Li Er Sao was still heavily pregnant, and Li's mother had to work as a midwife. It was quite a burden for Li Da Sao to manage the food and drink for so many people all by herself.
Whether it was because transmigrating could strengthen one's physique or because the original owner, Li San Niang, was a young woman with a good constitution, it was already the seventh day after her miscarriage. Her lochia had not yet cleared up, but it was probably because the medicine prescribed by her father was working. Although she was not full of energy like a normal person, she did not feel weak and uncomfortable.
I'm very grateful to the time-traveling Emperor Wu for improving my pants; I no longer have to wear those drafty, crotch-revealing trousers.
However, women's sanitary products were really rudimentary. A strip less than three fingers wide was filled with burnt wood ash and tied around the waist with a thin rope. This was the ancient version of a sanitary napkin.
Although Li San Niang rationally understood that burnt wood ash was relatively clean, she really missed modern sanitary napkins.
Li San Niang had to consider that if she succeeded in the first task, she would be able to win an unlimited supply of sanitary napkins in the lottery.
Considering that Li San Niang is only eighteen years old and doesn't plan to get married or have children, she must have been menstruating for at least twenty years!
Li San Niang first touched the rosy face of the little dewdrop sleeping beside her, then lowered her head and kissed her forehead before quietly going to the bedside cabinet to find a clean menstrual belt to replace the one that had been used the night before and was stained with lochia.
This is simply unacceptable! This thing has to be reused!
Carefully putting the contents into a wooden basin under the bed, Li San Niang quickly dressed and went to the kitchen to fetch some hot water to wash up.
Before she even reached the kitchen, Li's mother came towards her carrying a bucket of water.
"Third Sister, why are you up so early?"
As Li's mother spoke, she gestured for Li San Niang to turn back.
“Mother, I can do it myself. I’m perfectly healthy, not a porcelain doll. I was even thinking of going to make breakfast with my sister-in-law.”
"You don't need to worry about Dalang's mother. She's already taken care of everything. You should focus on taking care of your health now."
As they were talking, they entered Li San Niang's boudoir. Coincidentally, Little Dewdrop on the bed was half-sitting and rubbing her eyes. She looked so cute that one wanted to hug her and kiss her.
Mother Li put down the small wooden bucket, quickly sat down on the edge of the bed, and half-embraced Lu Zhu'er, laughing, "Grandma's little darling, why don't you sleep a little longer?"
Seeing that Lu Zhu'er was being cared for, Li San Niang quickly took down the wooden basin from the wooden shelf next to the bed, poured in hot water—not exactly hot, but lukewarm—soaked a small towel from the shelf, handed it to Li's mother, and then washed her own hands and face.
After wiping Lu Zhu'er's hands and face, Li's mother picked up the small ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) from the clothes rack on the other side of the bed and helped her put it on.
After Li's mother helped Luzhu comb her hair into two little buns, Li San Niang had already set the dining table for her sister-in-law.
Although not a wealthy and powerful family, the Li family still ate at separate tables early in the morning. They had millet porridge and homemade side dishes to eat as much as they wanted. Apart from the four little ones who went to the academy and Little Dewdrop, who each had an egg, only Li Ersao, who was pregnant, and Li Sanniang, who had recently miscarried, had eggs to eat.
Since it was within the city of Chang'an, it was impossible to raise chickens. Apart from a well in the backyard, which made getting water relatively convenient, all other ingredients had to be bought at the market.
However, on the mornings of the fifth and eighth days of each month, some villagers from the outskirts of the city would set up small stalls on the streets outside the city, selling their own vegetables and eggs. The government office would only accept one copper coin from them, which was distributed to the people who maintained the sanitation and swept the streets.
Therefore, eggs at home are given to those who need them first.
After the meal, Li's father told his second brother that he would go to the neighborhood official to inquire, but Li's eldest brother had already gone to his post at the crack of dawn.
Li's mother also had a family with whom she had previously agreed to give birth, so she packed up and left.
The four children helped clean up the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, then carried their schoolbags and went to the academy with their companions.
Li San Niang and Li Da Sao washed the dishes and chopsticks with the hot water from the bottom of the pot, then took a basket and chatted with Li Da Sao and Li Er Sao under the jujube tree while working.
Dewdrop, however, was well-behaved; she could play with a cloth tiger for half a day on her own.
Li's father and his second brother carried pastries from Xiang Gui Ji and milk crisps sold by a merchant in the West Market. They also found a ginseng root in a brocade box at home beforehand and went to the home of Li Mulin, the eldest uncle of the Li family, on Zhuque Street.
The Li family migrated from Lu to Chang'an in the previous generation. Li's father and his eldest uncle were cousins. However, some discord occurred between the elders, which made Li's father's childhood difficult. He apprenticed himself to someone else and entered the medical profession.
Uncle Li learned medicine from his father from a young age. He was of average talent, but he was born with exceptional talent. His eldest son, Li Lingxiao, was exceptionally gifted and had a reputation for intelligence since childhood. He is now a physician in the Imperial Medical Bureau, a low-ranking ninth-grade physician.
After Uncle Li's father passed away, the two families resumed their contact. However, it's hard to say how deep their relationship was, since a life had taken their place. For nearly twenty years, they had no contact with each other. Therefore, the descendants of Brother Li and Uncle Li's branch were ranked separately, each with their own lineage.
The marriage between the Wang family and Li San Niang was likely arranged because the Wang family had high hopes for the match.
Upon arriving at the gatehouse, I gave my name and waited a short while before being invited inside.
Only Uncle Li stood at the entrance of the main hall, waiting for the young girl to bring tea. After chatting for a few moments, Uncle Li explained his purpose.
Uncle Li pondered for a moment before speaking: "Third Sister's matter is both easy and difficult to handle. With Princess Cheng'an as an example, the Wang family can't very well deny it. I learned from Erlang that apart from Wang Dalang, who is somewhat like his father, Wang Xiaolang is not a decent person. Not to mention, without the suppression of Wang Dalang's father, that shallow-minded woman in the Wang family is still very easy to deal with."
“Since Third Sister is willing to spend some money, and Eldest Brother has some connections with Li Lingshi of the Household Registration Department, as long as the neighborhood head is on our side and speaks with the Wang family, it is still possible to get Third Sister to bring the concubine back.”
When Li's father and second brother heard that Li's eldest brother was willing to help negotiate, they felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from their hearts.
After chatting for a few minutes, the two left Uncle Li's house.
They changed routes and took a donkey cart back to Changshoufang. Li Erxiong went to Xiangguiji and bought four kinds of pastries. After getting off the donkey cart, he and his father went to the house of Fangzheng Sun Fugui.
After explaining the matter in detail, Sun Fangzheng thought for a while and then said that as long as the Wang family could agree to let the young lady return home to be raised by her mother, he could stamp the divorce agreement and then go to the Ministry of Revenue to get the official marriage certificate.
As for the marriage of the concubine that Li Sanniang mentioned after she came of age, that was easy to discuss; they could just write a contract and have it signed at the government office.
As for Li San Niang's desire to establish a female household, it was easy to arrange; all she needed was a property within the neighborhood.
Not to mention that Li San Niang was willing to pay the considerable deposit to the government office, so this matter should be resolved easily.
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Li's father and second brother exchanged a few kind words and returned to the clinic.
The clinic was already open, with a sign on the main entrance that read "Herbal Medicine Hall." Two young assistants were serving patients.
Father Li hurried to sit in the clinic, while Second Brother Li went to the back first to say he was back before going to the medicine cabinet to get medicine for people.
After a busy morning, Li San Niang and Li Da Sao set the lunch table, and the five of them only started eating after Li's father picked up his chopsticks.
Brother Li is a member of the Imperial Guard and usually doesn't come home for lunch. Mother Li is a midwife, so she probably ate at the master's house today. The four little ones ate lunch at the academy.
In fact, it was after Emperor Wu ascended the throne that he vigorously developed agriculture, introduced Champa rice from Annam, and merchants from the south brought sweet potatoes. They took the lead in eating lunch, and the practice gradually spread from Chang'an to the outside world.
But it's estimated that only the people in Chang'an City would be willing to eat like this three times a day.
Before dinner, Li's father gestured to his second brother to tell everyone about his visit to Uncle Li's house and the neighborhood committee's house that morning.
Later this afternoon, I'll give the street vendor a few copper coins to help deliver a message to the Wang family. Tomorrow, we'll all go to the Wang family to discuss Li San Niang's divorce and bringing Xiao Lu Zhu back home.
Li San Niang quickly set out the bowls and chopsticks and said, "Father, we'll go together then. Once we get the divorce papers, we'll go to the yamen to get the red contract. Perfect timing, we'll also get a contract from the Wang family that they can't arbitrarily decide on Lu Zhu'er's marriage on their own."
The dowry my family gave me when I got married was partially used up during my marriage, but it was only the income from the twenty acres of land outside the city and my share of the Yiyuan powder from the family storeroom. The dowry money my father and mother gave me back then is still there, which should be enough to cover the deposit at the government office.
Mr. Li nodded in agreement.
Lunch consisted of boiled sweet potatoes, homemade side dishes, and stewed fresh vegetables bought from the morning market—a large bowlful, enough to fill you up. There was also mung bean soup being cooked by Aunt Li in the pot.
After Emperor Wu ascended the throne, he initiated the salt production process by seawater, which was a government-run business. Technological innovations resulted in high-quality, affordable salt that was white and fluffy, with only a salty taste and no bitterness. As a result, ordinary people were willing to use salt in their dishes for seasoning.
Li's father was a doctor himself, so he knew that people would lack energy if they didn't eat salt, but eating too much salt was also bad and would make them sick.
Therefore, homemade dishes are never heavily salted like other people's, and are perfectly seasoned, making them delicious with anything.
The Li family had a habit of taking a nap in the afternoon. Accompanied by the chirping of the male cicada in the jujube tree, Li San Niang fanned Xiao Luzhu with a palm leaf fan and coaxed her to sleep. Afterwards, Li San Niang also drifted off to sleep.
In less than half an hour, Li San Niang woke up feeling suffocated. She had to admit that her sister-in-law's mung bean soup was too delicious. She had only drunk one extra bowl. If she had drunk more, she would have woken up even sooner.
After relieving myself of the urgent need to pee, and seeing that Little Dewdrop showed no signs of waking up, I reluctantly woke her up, fearing that she might sleep too much during the day and be too sleepy at night.
I had just fed Luzhu some warm water and was carrying her out when I saw Li Ersao drying the herbs she had collected from the village in the yard.
Although Brother Li would go to the villages outside the city every half month to collect some herbs and taught some villagers who often went into the mountains, including Sister-in-law Li's family, how to simply process the herbs they collected, he was not a professional after all, and most of the herbs still needed to be processed by himself.
Li San Niang walked over and gently used some force to pull Li Er Sao towards the bamboo chair under the jujube tree.
"Second sister-in-law, take a rest. The sun is still blazing. You watch over the dew for me, and I'll go and dry the herbs myself."
"This is my third child, and I'm just sitting around doing nothing. You're the only one who treats me so preciously."
"Even if you're the tenth child, you're still a precious person," joked Sister-in-law Li, who came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of tea.
The three of them had been sitting around the small bamboo table for less than fifteen minutes when Li's mother returned with a basket.
Li San Niang quickly stepped forward to take the basket from Li's mother and put it in the kitchen, intending to boil water after dinner to scald and disinfect the tools for future use.
"Mother, how is it? I see there are still ten red eggs in the basket." Li San Niang asked curiously as she brought a cup of tea to Li's mother.
"It went very smoothly. This isn't Zhou's first pregnancy. Her family sells meat, so she eats well and is in good health. She gave birth in just a few hours. It's a healthy baby girl with lots of lanugo. She looks like a beautiful little thing." Mother Li picked up her teacup and drank it all in one gulp, then said to the three of them.
"I delivered these three Zhou brothers when I was young. So many years have passed, and I've delivered seven or eight babies for them. Finally, they have a little girl, and I was so happy that I gave them a string of copper coins on the spot." As she spoke, Li's mother took out a wrapped cloth from her bosom and took out the copper coins strung together with a thin string.
"Old Master Zhou was overjoyed in the courtyard and even invited me to a banquet when the baby was one month old."
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