Chapter 931 Surprising Wedding Customs
This sudden compliment amused Li San Niang. When Jenna saw Li San Niang pause for a moment and then laugh, she didn't understand, but she also smiled.
"Haha, this is the first time I've heard such praise. It's really interesting."
Jenna, please have a seat.
Song Fuling brewed tea and served it at the right time. Jenna skillfully picked up the teacup, blew on it twice, and then tasted it. "Good tea! Sweet and delicious, truly a fine tea!"
Li San Niang had dealt with people from other ethnic groups before, but among all the people from other ethnic groups she had met, she had indeed rarely seen a woman like Jenna who immediately showered people with compliments and flattery.
Moreover, Jenna is a foreign woman who speaks Chang'an Mandarin so fluently, which makes her even more remarkable.
"No one visits a temple without a reason. Since you've come, you must have something to say. Speak, what is it?"
Jenna was stunned for a moment when she heard Li Sanniang's question. "You speak Mandarin so well and know the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty. However, I am really busy and have too many things to do. If you have something to say, just say it."
I can help if I can, but if I can't, you shouldn't waste your time and should seek help from others.
"Please excuse me, Physician Li. I have been in Chang'an for a long time, and most of the officials I have encountered have been very roundabout in their approach to getting to the point."
Since Supervisor Li is busy, I'll get straight to the point.
"I went to Dr. Li's door to ask for a special spot at the women's medical school, because my mother-in-law, He, wanted to secure it for herself."
Li San Niang first went to see Song Fu Ling. As soon as Song Fu Ling received Li San Niang's gaze, she went to the table where she was, rummaged around for a while, and found a document a few moments later. She walked to Li San Niang's side and presented it to her.
Li San Niang looked at the document sent by the Honglu Temple, which concerned the various ethnic tribes coming to the Women's Medical College to study. She flipped through the pages and saw the number of places available. She noticed that there was only one person listed for Zhenla.
After putting down her lost money, Li San Niang looked at Jenna with a questioning expression.
Jenna stood up, bowed to Li San Niang, and explained the matter in a few words.
The original text states that Zhenla was divided into four major tribes, with the Pohe tribe being the second largest. (This part is fabricated; the Pohe tribe is also made up.)
The current chief of the Pohe tribe is Aqilaya's mother, who is the girl who gave the Dewdrop the rope of true love at the city gate.
"...After giving birth, she heard that the Moling tribe had robbed our Pohe tribe's mine. She became so emotional that she bled to death, leaving only Aqilaya behind."
The man who led the way for the Moling tribe was none other than Nesotiri, the man who had married into our Poho tribe, and who was also Aqilaya's father.
Li San Niang didn't feel anything about Zhenna's story. This kind of thing between small countries and tribes sounded like two powerful families in the Tang Dynasty who got married for profit, but in the end, it was all about profit and they would eat each other.
Among them, the only one who is truly pitiful is probably the child, Aqiraya.
However, Song Fuling, standing beside Li Sanniang, looked somewhat surprised.
"The world is indeed full of wonders; it's actually possible for a woman to marry a man!"
Jenna smiled with a hint of sadness, then looked up at Li San Niang again: "This time, due to the conflict with the Mo Ling tribe, our Po He tribe came to the Tang Dynasty alone."
However, the Court of State Ceremonial only recognizes the Moling tribe, so I thought I'd come to see Imperial Physician Li to see if we could grant one more spot so that someone from our Pohe tribe could also come and learn this divine skill!
Jenna clenched her right fist and struck her left chest, a gesture of respect and gratitude from the Bhakho tribe.
"Jenna asked Dr. Lee for help, and Jenna is extremely grateful!"
The pressure fell on Li Sanniang, who, of course, had the power to increase or decrease the number of people selected to study skills at Ping'an Women's Medical College.
The question is, why did Li San Niang want to add people to Po He Bu's group?
Seeing Li San Niang's scrutinizing gaze, Jenna straightened up and took out the wooden box she had brought when she came to visit from the table next to her.
The lid was opened, revealing a golden interior.
“Jenna knows that this is putting Dr. Li in a difficult position. In that case, please accept these gifts from Dr. Li. They are a small token of my appreciation from my mother-in-law, Dr. He.”
Gold is a valuable thing no matter when or where, but Li San Niang only glanced at it before looking away.
"I understand your request, but I cannot accept this. You should know that there are censors in the Tang Dynasty."
However, I think your suggestion is excellent. I'll discuss increasing the number of places with the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial later. Just wait a few days, and you'll have news then.”
In the end, Jenna still wanted to keep the box of gold, but Li Sanniang naturally dared not and could not accept it, and after much persuasion, she sent it out the door.
"Master, is it really possible for women to marry men in this world?"
Li San Niang smiled and reached out a finger to tap Song Fuling's nose. "You child, why are you so surprised?"
"I thought you were blinded by the box full of gold, but it turns out my dear disciple is curious about this marriage between a woman and a man."
“Master, I’ve seen even more gold than this box at Lady Zhongli’s place.”
The gold that Madam Zhongli donated to our maternity ward was packed in a box, much bigger than that small box.
Having seen so much gold, my disciple is naturally not surprised by what's in this little box.
What's truly astonishing is what Jenna said: not only is their tribe's chieftain a woman, but she also married a man from another tribe!
Qiu Xiang then chimed in, "You find this surprising?"
"Does Sister Qiuxiang know anything even more amazing?"
"That's certainly true."
"Good sister, please tell me quickly."
Song Fuling poured Qiu Xiang a cup of tea with great care, "Before I was assigned to Third Sister's side, I was also on missions with the Alliance."
A few years ago, I went to the southwest region with some people to investigate. You might think that women marrying men is already surprising, but there are actually things that are even more astonishing.
Walking marriage is an even more surprising custom than women marrying men.
"Walking marriage?"
Song Fuling repeated the two words Qiu Xiang had said. When Li Sanniang heard these two words, she remembered the introduction she had read somewhere in modern times. Listening to Qiu Xiang's explanation, Li Sanniang nodded in her heart and matched this walking marriage with the custom she had read about in her mind.
"The tribes there don't even have the concept of marriage. In our Tang Dynasty, men marry women, and in Zhenla, women marry men, but in the southwest, they don't marry at all."
People choose their time; if both parties are interested, then they can be together.
If a woman has a child, she will give birth to it and raise it with her maternal relatives, such as her uncles, brothers, and her mother. The man will not be involved.
When the man returned to his tribe, he also helped his sisters or nieces raise their children with men from other tribes.
This is called walking marriage.
Isn't that even more surprising than a woman marrying a man?
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