said that at the end of the Ming Dynasty , due to the messing around of the previous emperor Zhu Youxiao (the famous carpenter emperor), when the throne was passed to his younger brother Zhu Youjian (who was finally hanged in Chongzhen of Meishan Mountain) After the emperor), the Ming Dynasty had strong enemies from outside the country, Hou Jin (the predecessor of the Qing Dynasty), and Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng rose up. It can be said that it was in a state of turmoil due to internal and external troubles.
Since there are internal and external troubles, war is inevitable. When a war occurs, the most unlucky people are naturally the people. Life was already very difficult, and now heavy military service that kills people has to be temporarily added. You can imagine how miserable the life of the people is.
Like the fate of many adult men, Liu Dazhuang, who was forced to perform military service, soon lost his life in the northern battlefield. His wife, Chen Zilu, known as the "Little Talented Girl", also became the youngest and educated widow in Pinoy County on the third day after their marriage.
After receiving the bad news, Chen Zilu shed tears for a whole day, and finally fainted on the wedding bed with her red makeup still on.
When she woke up the next day, she was still greeted by her mother-in-law's loving face that had remained unchanged for thousands of years:
"My child, life has to go on, don't break your body from crying!" After saying that, a bowl of hot millet porridge was handed to her.
Chen Zilu struggled to sit up, and silently took the porridge bowl with beautiful patterns on it, then blew it gently, and then began to mechanically use the spoon to slowly put it into his mouth one by one.
Yes, even if life is as boring as this bowl of millet porridge, you still have to live your life: in this world, women, especially girls struggling at the bottom, have no right to fight. If you marry a chicken, you can marry a dog, you can follow a dog. A woman like her, Not to mention losing her husband after three days of marriage, even if she becomes a widow on the day of marriage, she can only accept her fate...
But she is not willing to give in, she is not willing to give in, she is only 17 years old, and has not experienced the true joy of being a woman, so she immediately wants to be bound by the shackles of morality.
Why can a man have more wives and concubines after his wife dies, but a woman can only stick to one thing and guard the urn for the rest of her life after her husband dies?
However, no one told her why?
The parents who gave birth to her and raised her only gave one sentence on the day of her wedding: "The water thrown out by the married girl will make you a member of the Liu family in life and a ghost of the Liu family in death!"
Although her father-in-law and mother-in-law were smiling on their faces and treating her like a real girl, they might have some bad intentions behind their backs. They might be keeping an eye on her for 12 hours, fearing that one mistake would mean losing both their life and wealth.
But this cannot be blamed on the old Liu family. Even if the rules are not there, her Chen family always has to pay back the 20 taels of silver she borrowed from the old Liu family. In fact, half of the reason why she, Chen Zilu, married Liu Dazhuang should be regarded as "repaying the debt."
In that era, it was normal for the father to pay his debts to his sons.
Like this, the days went on repeating themselves day by day. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Chen Zilu has naturally grown from a young and beautiful girl to a rough-skinned and thick-bodied country girl who only knows how to do farm work and serve the elderly.
It had been three years. If it hadn't been for that person's appearance, Chen Zilu might have just accepted his fate...
That person's name was Zhang Ruoxuan, a carpenter, a young, masculine carpenter.
Although the old Liu family is a declining middle-class family, the emaciated camel is bigger than a horse. Seeing that the three-year deadline has come, according to the local rules, the "ghost wedding", such as wooden beds, wooden tables, wooden chairs...etc., etc., none of the wooden utensils that should be burned to the underworld was left behind.
Zhang Ruoxuan and the other two young men Wang Cheng and Zhao Liang were the carpenters invited by the old Liu family to make wooden tools.
In fact, Zhang Ruoxuan, Wang Cheng and Zhao Liang are all young men from the nearby Yuanshi Woodware Shop. Ordinarily, young carpenters like them, whose skills are not yet mature, cannot work alone. They need an old carpenter to take care of them, but this Yuanshi Woodware The business is really good, and it's the peak season at this time. Most of the skilled old carpenters have been sent out, so we can only let the young people come out to get familiar with each other. Besides, the old Liu family makes wooden weapons, which will eventually be burned, so there are not so many requirements in terms of quality.
Chen Zilu had not been out of the house for three years since she married into the Liu family. However, seeing such young men for the first time and similar to her own age, an unknown fire suddenly arose in her heart. Her cheeks turned red, and her dull eyes regained their charming luster.
In order to see the young men more often, Chen Zilu always delivered the meals to the courtyard where they worked very early, and then waited patiently for them to finish eating before slowly packing up and leaving.
How can the boys not see what the girl is thinking? Whenever this happens, the three young carpenters will always take the initiative to tease Chen Zilu with words like: How old is your sister? My sister is so pretty. Sister smells so good today... Wait, anyway, what is good to hear, what is good to hear, what is good to talk about.
just talked about a girl who felt relaxed and happy, and made her heart flutter with love... Especially Zhang Ruoxuan, who was not only humorous, but also seemed to have some culture. He was so eloquent that he suddenly became Chen Zilu's confidante and a frequent visitor in his dreams.
However, all this was soon discovered by the suspicious mother-in-law. In order to protect the last layer of poor family wealth for her late son, the old woman actually gave Chen Zilu a loud slap in the face in front of the young men:
"Don't forget, you are still the Liu family's wife..."
The mother-in-law's words were like the coldest well water in the chastity well of Pinoy County, pouring Chen Zilu all over...
However, what the old woman didn't expect was that Chen Zilu was not as timid as usual, lowering his head like a child who had done something wrong, but looked up at her with a silent face, and his eyes were terrifyingly calm.
"It turns out she is a married woman..."
Only at this moment did the young men finally know that Chen Zilu was actually the daughter-in-law of the Liu family.
Then, both Wang Cheng and Zhao Liang sighed softly and let go of all their unnecessary thoughts. Only Zhang Ruoxuan seemed to be holding on to something... because he saw something different in Chen Zilu's eyes.
In the days that followed, Chen Zilu still brought light meals to the young men early, but the young men seemed not as "enthusiastic" as before. They talked less and were not so "unbridled".
"What's wrong with you? Have you nothing to say to me?"
Finally on the third day, Chen Zilu couldn't bear it anymore and asked the question in her heart.
However, the boys didn't seem to hear her question, but were minding their own business picking up the rice in their bowls.
"Yes, I am the daughter-in-law of the Liu family, but my husband has been dead for three years... On the third day after the wedding, I became a widow!"
After being silent for a long time, Chen Zilu suddenly said the words that had been suppressed in his heart...
After saying that, he quickly left the yard with relief.
Wang Cheng and Zhao Liang were still picking at the rice indifferently, but Zhang Ruoxuan was obviously a little frightened. He silently put down the bowl and chopsticks and stared at Chen Zilu's indifferently leaving back, with mixed feelings in his heart.
After that, Chen Zilu never said a word to the little carpenters again, or even looked at them again... There is nothing more sad than heartbreak, maybe she should just accept her fate.
"Yesterday, today, tomorrow, day after day!"
This is what Chen Zilu said most every day after "giving up" on the little carpenters. In the boudoir, in front of the courtyard, beside the pavilion and bridge... wherever she could express her emotions, she would say such a sentence that perhaps no one could understand.
Her mother-in-law thought she had lost her mind and specially invited a goddess for this purpose. Wang Cheng and Zhao Liang also thought she was crazy and stayed away from her for fear of causing trouble to themselves.
Only Zhang Ruoxuan knows the meaning of this sentence...
Yesterday, today, tomorrow, day after day , it seems like a mumble, but it is actually a meaningful couplet:
Yesterday, today and tomorrow, on the surface, it is a running account, but in fact it means the past, present and future.
Why should we talk about the past, the present and the future?
Because: day after day
To put it bluntly: living this kind of counterproductive life every day, living in the moral kidnapping of by , when will it end?
God, what did I, Chen Zilu, do wrong? I have to spend a lifetime of loneliness in exchange for the so-called "chastity"...
This is the cry of a woman, the sorrow of a person living at the bottom of the old society. Complaint, an oppressed class was forced to roar against the exploiting class...
"Breakfast, lunch and dinner, extra meals!"
This is the second couplet that Zhang Ruoxuan thrust into Chen Zilu when he was about to leave Liu's house at the end.
His meaning is also very clear:
breakfast lunch dinner Although it is the same as yesterday, today, tomorrow , it will be repeated day after day, every day, and it must be carried out, but I believe that with my efforts, I will definitely add meals to meals, giving you a different life.
could not be simpler than a second line, but it represents Zhang Ruoxuan's determination to withstand all pressure and accept Chen Zilu.
Maybe some people still don’t quite understand: Chen Zilu’s husband has been dead for three years. Moreover, although they are named husband and wife, they are not husband and wife. Isn’t it normal to marry them and form a new family? How can it be so troublesome?
is good. If you look at it now, this is indeed nothing, but in the old society, this was treason and might lead to lawsuits.
Think about it, how much courage did it take for Zhang Ruoxuan to finally accept Chen Zilu and give her a happy marriage?
is written at the end:
In the end, Zhang Ruoxuan paid back 20 taels of silver for Chen Zilu, and the two finally came together...
It is said that in order to prevent Zhang Ruoxuan and Chen Zilu from getting together, the Liu family paid a lot of money to hire someone to write a lawsuit and sue the two to the Pinuo County government. However, in the end, they failed in their efforts. Guess what?
The county government official dismissed the Liu family's lawsuit with just one sentence:
The so-called three years of mourning for Liu Dazhuang, Chen Zilu has been loyal to Liu Dazhuang for three years.
It seems that this county government official is a good official!
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