Chapter 174 How to become the male lead's darling?
(Thanks to reader 20191029205632917 for casting 2 monthly tickets.)
"Yes, but so what?"
Etiquette and law are ultimately just etiquette and law. If the eldest son kills someone, then he has broken the law, and that is wrong!
"Second Uncle, how could you do this...?"
"summer!"
Zheng Meiniang stopped Li Xiatian from saying what he was about to say, and smiled at Li Wangming with a hint of embarrassment.
Li Xiatian shut his mouth, but his heart and eyes were full of resentment.
Li Shiyue put down her teacup, gently patted Li Xiatian under the table, and after making eye contact with Li Xiatian, she smiled and turned to look at Li Wangming.
"Second Uncle, who set these rules of etiquette?"
Li Wangming was a little confused. He didn't understand why Li Shiyue had brought up who set the rules of etiquette.
"These rules of etiquette were established by the sages of the past and the officials in charge of criminal law according to the emperor's needs."
Li Shiyue nodded, then asked, "Is it against propriety and law for the principal wife to imprison her eldest son's wife and son? Is she guilty?"
"Yes!"
Even so, the eldest daughter-in-law and her son are still alive. The legal wife is guilty, but her crime does not warrant death!
The eldest son was wrong to kill someone!
Li Shiyue nodded again. She glanced through the window at the stage below, where people were already carrying props up. Then she turned back and spoke quickly to Li Wangming, saying, "Second Uncle, etiquette and rules are set by people. As long as people are human, they will have preferences, which inevitably leads to unfairness."
For example, in our village, Li Youfu and the others said that women should not enter the ancestral hall, but they still asked me to pay for the construction of the ancestral hall. Is that right?
This is just unfair to me!
If the ancestral hall of the clan is beneficial to me, that's fine, but tell me, is it beneficial to me? Or is it a constraint?
Therefore, not all etiquette and laws are correct.
It's understandable that the eldest son committed murder; after all, in that situation, either his entire family would die, or the legal wife would die.
Moreover, the legal wife was guilty first!
Why talk about etiquette when you only have one life?
Second Uncle, isn't this absurd?
If an emperor had suffered the same injustice as his eldest son in his youth, could he then add a law to the throne stating: "If a principal wife imprisons another man, it is a grave crime, punishable by death; the murderer is innocent!"
Li Shiyue winked at Li Wangming, then raised her glass to him and said, "Second Uncle, I don't know how they will perform this last act."
But as far as I'm concerned, if I were the eldest son, I would strike twice more: once to kill my father and once to kill my brother. That would solve the fundamental problem, and then there would be no more issues.
As for the law?
My whole family is about to starve, we're being tortured to death, and you're talking to me about the law?
Isn't that a joke?
Even if I have to flee with my wife and children, I won't hesitate to take them down.
Or, if I had a better idea, I could say that bandits broke in and killed the wealthy merchant, his wife, and his second son. As the head of the family, I could offer a reward for the bandits' heads.
After all, I'm already the head of the family, and all the family wealth belongs to me. What's wrong with me spending a little money?
The gong rang again. Li Shiyue raised his glass and clinked it with Li Wangming, who was speechless after being shocked by Li Shiyue's words. "Second Uncle, if I dared to cut off Eighth Uncle's finger, I would dare to kill him!"
Killing him alone wasn't enough?
Then I'll kill some more!
If I kill enough people, who can say that I did it?
After all, they were the ones who disrespected my mother first, and provoked me repeatedly!
After saying this, Li Shiyue turned her head away, ignoring Li Wangming, whose mind was already in turmoil, and looked down at the stage.
The final scene, which is also the third climax, is here: the eldest son tries to leave with his wife and children, but the second son refuses, and the two sides confront each other.
At this moment, someone informed the second son that his mother had been killed by the eldest son. The second son then drew his knife, ready to fight the eldest son to the death.
The wealthy merchant was dumbfounded. He watched as his eldest and second sons clashed, but the eldest son, who had been doing business for many years, was ultimately faster than the second son. The eldest son deflected the second son's knife away, and just as the eldest son's knife was about to strike, the wealthy merchant shouted, "Spare his life!"
The knife was not used in the end, and the eldest son escaped with his wife and children.
The play is over.
This ending left everyone dissatisfied!
The dozen or so tables of guests in the lobby on the first floor were all clamoring for the performers to finish the show and not leave any suspense for everyone.
The noisy lobby was a bit overwhelming, so the shopkeeper had no choice but to invite the short, pale-faced man to the stage to speak.
The man first bowed to everyone, then explained with a forced smile, "Distinguished guests, please forgive us!"
Today's performance of "The Two Brothers" is indeed over. The eldest son killed someone and had no choice but to flee with his wife and children.
It's truly over!
Distinguished guests! Please don't make things difficult for me; this is how the script is written.
But no one would listen to the man's explanation.
Suddenly, a chubby man stood up, holding up a twenty-tael silver ingot and shouting, "I'll give you twenty taels of silver, and you have to sing the ending for me today!"
My family truly does have an eldest son born out of wedlock and a second son born of the principal wife!
Li Shiyue, who was watching the play on the second floor, never expected that such a scene would unfold.
Surprisingly, a real tycoon was spotted among the audience!
Just as Li Shiyue was about to turn around and talk to Li Qiutian, she heard a familiar male voice coming from the next room on the left.
"My master said that if we can sing the ending today, he will reward us with ten taels of gold!"
Li Shiyue was debating whether or not to show herself and greet Ma San when she heard another male voice from the right side of her private room say, "My master says that if you sing the ending, you'll get a reward of ten taels of silver and he'll also hire your troupe for three days to sing 'The Two Brothers' right here in the Yuelai Restaurant!"
At the same time, the scumbag system in Li Shiyue's mind also rang out: "Situation triggered, mission detected. Please make the male lead Liu Shu recognize you as the most beloved person in his heart within twelve hours!"
A 100% completion rate for the task is considered a success! You will receive 200 points and one chance to win a prize!
Please complete the tasks diligently and become a favored concubine as soon as possible!
While Li Shiyue was still thinking about the task in her mind, people in other private rooms started saying at the window that they wanted to give a reward of ten taels, twenty taels, or fifty taels.
The audience downstairs also started to make a fuss, and some people threw coins and pieces of silver onto the stage.
The short, pale-faced troupe leader, who had been hit by the silver ingot, was experiencing a bittersweet feeling. He rubbed his stomach where the silver had struck him and quickly bowed to the audience below the stage.
"Distinguished guests, distinguished guests!"
"In a quarter of an hour, I'll sing the grand finale for you all!"
Inside the private rooms, the Hibiscus Flower room housed Li Shiyue's entire family, while to its left, in the Plum Blossom room, was Liu Tan, who had brought his child and wife to watch the play, with his bodyguards Ma San and Zhao Da standing beside him.
To the right of the Hibiscus Flower Room is the Lotus Flower Room, where Prince Liu Shu and Li Chunli are sitting!
This is about to be another good show!
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