Chapter 301 This backyard is a den of cannibals, and it only eats women.
(Thanks to cjy080837 for casting 2 monthly tickets.)
Li Shiyue looked at Li Wangming with some surprise; she really hadn't expected Li Wangming to say something like that.
She usually thought that Li Wangming was a bit too pedantic because he read those Confucian classics, but the fact that Li Wangming could say such things about Pan'er's actions proved that he actually understood human relationships.
However, in some aspects, such as his scumbag father Li, Li Wangming can still be a bit stubborn.
Li Wangming saw the agreement in Li Shiyue's eyes, and only then did he dare to raise his head, straighten his back, and continue: "Qiuqiu's words are very good. When choosing a son-in-law, you should choose one whose family has many brothers."
They don't care about the eldest son or the youngest; they prefer the middle son, the one whose parents and siblings don't value.
If a man like this comes to our house, as long as we treat him properly, he'll definitely be able to live a good life in our home.
"And those like her," Li Wangming looked up and gestured towards the neighbor next door, indicating Li Chunli, "those who go to become maids or concubines for wealth and status will definitely not have a good ending."
Li Wangming looked at Li Shiyue again, and lowered his head to speak softly: "Shiyue, about the matter you asked me that time, I got busy when I got back to the village and forgot to tell you."
Li Chunli's brother, Li Shigui from our village, is indeed in the prefectural school!
However, he wasn't in my class. I only ran into him by chance when I was about to graduate from the academy before the New Year, and that's when I found out he had also entered the academy!
As soon as Li Wangming finished speaking, the sound of gongs rang out downstairs. It was intermission, and the waiters and the opera troupe members were holding trays and asking for tips.
Mother Li placed one tael of silver on the tray of the young opera troupe girl who came into the room to ask for a reward, and also gave the girl a handful of copper coins, probably a dozen or so.
"Just watch, I predict that the next scene will be Pan'er complaining to Zhu Dalang."
Following Li Wangming's words, everyone looked down at the high platform.
Pan'er had done dirty and tiring work for the wife all day. At night, she let her hair down and knelt by the window, sobbing.
Just as Li Wangming had guessed, after a few days of being asked to do chores by his wife, Pan'er finally found an opportunity and blocked Zhu Dalang outside the study.
She knelt down in front of Zhu Dalang with a "plop," lowered her head, and revealed the jade hairpin in her hair.
As the male head of the household, how could Zhu Dalang not know that his wife had been setting rules for Pan'er these past few days?
However, he didn't want to get involved, so he avoided Pan'er day after day.
Little did anyone know, Pan'er still managed to seize the opportunity to meet him.
Looking at the jade hairpin in Pan'er's hair, gleaming with emerald light in the sunlight, Zhu Dalang couldn't help but recall the days before his marriage when he and Pan'er were deeply in love.
That's just how men are.
So, Zhu Dalang squatted down and lovingly pulled Pan'er into his arms, gently stroking her back and coaxing her with sweet words.
Pan'er cried bitterly in Zhu Dalang's arms, and then followed Zhu Dalang into the study.
So when the wife's maid went to the study to call for him, she found Zhu Dalang's page standing awkwardly at the study door.
Then, the legal wife naturally learned that Zhu Dalang had been having illicit relations with Pan'er in the study during the day.
The legal wife naturally wouldn't openly criticize or even insult Zhu Dalang; she simply ordered the maids and servants to drag the disheveled Pan'er out the door.
Two people were engaging in lewd acts during the day, but naturally only Pan'er was punished.
This backyard is a den of cannibals, and it only eats women.
When Pan'er was dragged out by the old woman and maid, the jade hairpin in her hair accidentally came out of her hair and fell to the ground, where it broke.
Yes, the jade hairpin that Pan'er regarded as a token of their love was smashed, broken into pieces.
Ignoring the pain, Pan'er threw herself on the ground and began picking up the pieces one by one, muttering, "This is what my husband gave me, what he gave me, what my husband gave me."
The wife, who was watching Pan'er's actions from the side, realized at this moment that the jade hairpin was a piece of jewelry that Zhu Dalang had given to Pan'er before.
"Guards! Gag her and take her to the woodshed to await further instructions!"
Pan'er was locked in the woodshed, gagged and bound hand and foot, and then thrown into a pile of firewood.
When the play reached this point, Li Shiyue saw several women in the main hall already wiping away their tears.
Meanwhile, in her own private room, the sentimental Li Xiatian also had tears in her eyes. She murmured to herself with a sob in her voice, "Pan'er is so pitiful. She was clearly with Zhu Dalang, so why is she the only one being blamed?"
"You, you're actually crying?"
Zheng Meiniang handed over her handkerchief, and Li Xiatian took it and quickly wiped away her tears.
"Mother, I just feel sorry for Pan'er."
"Is this what you call pitiful?"
"Sister, you see, Second Uncle was right. Pan'er might not even survive in the end."
Li Xiatian stared down at the high platform with her still slightly moist eyes. She saw that Zhu Dalang, who had wanted to say a few good words to plead for Pan'er, was all smiles after learning that his wife was pregnant. He had completely forgotten who Pan'er was.
"Good, good, good, whether they are boys or girls, they are all good!"
Zhu Dalang and his wife embraced each other, a beautiful picture of affection and deep love between husband and wife.
Day after day passed, and as his wife's belly grew larger, Zhu Dalang no longer remembered Pan'er in the woodshed.
Now, Pan'er has become a lowly cleaning woman in the courtyard, specializing in cleaning chamber pots.
Day after day, she did this dirty work, and Pan'er was always surrounded by the stench of feces and urine, losing all her girlish charm and cuteness.
Finally, one day, on a bright and sunny day, Zhu Dalang passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. His wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, while Pan'er threw herself into the well with a broken jade hairpin in her hair!
Thus, the performance of "The Jade Hairpin" came to an end.
The gong sounded again, and the troupe leader appeared, bowing to everyone and asking for rewards. People upstairs and downstairs cheered and gave him rewards.
This play, "The Jade Hairpin," is not particularly original. However, the actress who plays Pan'er is captivating in every performance, and just listening to her sing is enough to cause unbearable heartache.
Just then, Li Shiyue heard a waiter downstairs announce the reward: "A reward for the lotus pond on the second floor, twenty taels of silver! A special reward for Pan'er, twenty taels of silver!"
Li Shiyue and Li Wangming locked eyes. They both knew that Li Chunli and Liu Shu were sitting in the lotus room next door.
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