Insufficient balance

  After some small talk, Ma Kui asked everyone to sit down, and the waiter brought up the dishes one by one. Ma Kui then said to Yang Ling: "Yang Xiuzi, I'm getting old, so I'll call you my virtuous nephew from now on. This son of mine has a rough temper and often gets me into trouble. This time he's caused a huge disaster, if it weren't for your clever plan and Magistrate Min's kindness, my son would have been put to death by the authorities."

  Yang Ling hastily said: "No, no, that day my junior saw it clearly, Brother Ma did not lay a hand on that Old Wang, to say the truth is that he was greedy and brought about his own demise. That Old Wang coveted Miss Ma's pearls, and when Brother Ma reasoned with him, he became enraged and died from holding his breath. It was truly not Brother Ma's fault, Sir Ma must not be too harsh on Brother Ma."

  "Father, I told you that my sister and I didn't believe it, but now Yang brother has said it too, so you should believe me, right? I really haven't hit that old man."

  "Shut up! You little beast, what right do you have to interrupt?" Magistrate Ma scolded his son and shook his head at County Magistrate Min, County Magistrate Huang, and Yang Ling: "Look, look, this little beast is useless and only causes trouble. How can he compare to Yang Xian's nephew? He's even younger than my son by a few years, yet he's already accomplished and has a reputation before the age of 20. Alas, my wife died too early, and with no one to discipline these two children, they've become so disobedient."

  The county magistrate of Min and the vice-magistrate of Huang, Yang Ling, couldn't help but explain to Ma Ang again. As they spoke, the waiter brought up a stream of wine and dishes. Before long, more and more people crowded into the theater. Those sitting around the elegant rooms were merchants passing through the post station, while in the remote and secluded areas were some idle postal workers, long-distance carriers, and unemployed government officials who had come to kill time.

  The front stage was brightly lit, and with a loud drumbeat, the actors invited by the theater began to sing on stage. At that time, there was no Beijing Opera, Yang Ling didn't understand the play, and it wasn't convenient to ask others, after listening for a few sentences, he really couldn't understand much, plus at that time all the actors were men, wanting to take a look at beautiful women was not possible, Yang Ling was very bored, but by listening to County Magistrate Min and Marshal Ma, and Huang discussing while watching, he roughly understood.

  After listening to the two of you telling the story, Yang Ling only felt that it was unbelievable. This play is about a woman whose husband left home soon after their wedding.

  After several years, the husband returned to his hometown. When he was almost home, he met a very beautiful woman picking mulberries. He was moved by her beauty and went forward to flirt with her. Unexpectedly, she rebuked him sternly and seriously, feeling embarrassed, he slunk back home with his tail between his legs.

  Unexpectedly, when he got home and took a look, his wife was the woman he had just tried to flirt with but failed. He felt extremely ashamed and also developed sincere admiration for his wife.

  The story so far is not bad, but the next day on stage, the wife at home cried and wrote a letter, hanging herself from the beam, saying that her womanly virtues were not up to par, leading to the man's evil thoughts, making her chastity ashamed, therefore she could no longer live in this world, only death can preserve her chastity.

  The matter was so sensational that it shook the whole countryside, and memorials were presented to the throne from all sides. The emperor issued a decree, posthumously conferring on this virtuous woman the title of First Class Marchioness, and bestowing upon her the "Pavilion of Chastity", an honor beyond compare. Her husband, in remembrance of his wife, afterwards married again, and together they went to offer sacrifices at her tomb.

  This Hongyan Building is a comprehensive body of theater and wine house, so the play is not so compact. After the play, they took a break in between, and Min and Ma started discussing with relish. Huang Xianchang sipped his wine and occasionally interjected a few words. Although he didn't say much, as a scholar, he was always able to express what Min County wanted to say but couldn't express.

  Yang Ling felt that this play was too unrealistic, he had heard of the most absurd thing, it seemed that in a certain dynasty, there was a woman who fell into the water and was seen by a passing man who pulled her up by the arm, she returned home and actually cut off her own arm with a kitchen knife, just because it had been touched by a man other than her husband.

  But if that's also considered "losing virginity", after all, it's physical loss of virginity. The woman in this play can't even tolerate spiritual "loss of virginity". It doesn't count as losing virginity, she just looks pretty and others have lustful thoughts. The man is not at fault, but rather the wife feels that her virtue is not enough, which is simply absurd.

  Listening to the Magistrate of Min County and the Marshal still praising without stopping, Yang Ling finally couldn't help but say: "Two nobles, this play is too exaggerated and unrealistic, isn't it? Her husband sees a beautiful woman on the road, speaks flirtatiously, has such an unscrupulous character, gets scolded and leaves, and in the end, his wife thinks she's not virtuous... This is simply unreasonable, where in the world does this happen? Such a ridiculous thing, such an exaggerated play, what's good about it?"

  Ma Ji's expression changed and he said, "What? Yang Xian read the books of sages and yet doesn't know about this matter in 'The Legend of Loyal Women'? What's not true about it? This woman is so chaste and loyal, she's indeed a model for all women under heaven. Where's the humor in that?"

  Mr. Min also smiled and took a sip of wine, chuckling: "Yang Shuai must have only read those classics that can be used to take the imperial examination, and doesn't know this story of 'The Legend of Lian'. Your heart is kind and your face is soft, which is understandable, I also think this woman is a bit pitiful. If I were the county official there, I would definitely give her husband forty heavy slaps and fine him for life, forbidding him from taking a concubine."

  However, this matter is not entirely unfounded. During the Chenghua period, when I was fighting pirates in Fujian as a low-ranking soldier, there was a woman in southern Fujian whose husband had died and she wanted to follow him in death. Her relatives all thought it was an honor and beat drums and gongs to proclaim it loudly. Three days later, the woman held fresh flowers, wore bright clothes, sat in a sedan chair, and went to her husband's grave. She climbed onto a stool and hanged herself from a pre-arranged colorful pavilion. Emperor Yingzong once issued an edict bestowing a chastity arch on her, which brought honor to the whole village. Hehe, that arch was actually built by me!

  Ma Ji Chen nodded and said, "Exactly, the great defense of propriety cannot be taken lightly. Yang Xian's nephew is too soft-hearted towards women. Women like this are usually virtuous wives from good families. If she were a courtesan, how could she have such strong moral integrity?"

  At first, Xu Zhou's famous courtesan Guan Wanwan was taken as a concubine by the governor Zhang Yan. After Zhang Yan died, she did not die to follow her husband, but instead moved back to her old residence, the Swallow Tower, to live alone for ten years, vainly seeking to gain a reputation for guarding her chastity, truly shameless.

  Later, the Jiangzhou Sima wrote a poem that pierced through her hypocrisy, and this woman died of shame after fasting for ten days. Compared to the woman in the play and the young wife from Min, she was far inferior.

  Yang Ling was good at practicing calligraphy in his previous life, so he recognized the handwriting. However, he didn't know that Bai Juyi could be so sympathetic to a charcoal seller, but had such an attitude towards a widow. This was during the Tang Dynasty, when China's social atmosphere was most open-minded. Now, after Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty invented the "Three Obediences and Four Virtues", it's no wonder that women suffered such deep harm.

  Ma Lian'er, who was listening on the side, couldn't help but snort coldly and interrupt: "Ten years of spring tears changed to a swallow's tongue, three times old and ugly exchanged for a butterfly's eyebrows. If it were a loving wife following her husband away, there would be nothing wrong with that. However, since this kind of man views his concubine as a commodity that can be bought and sold at will, without any emotional attachment, and still wants someone to die with him, I think it's a bit excessive."

  She was reciting a poem from Bai Juyi's "Chase the Whims of Youthful Fancies", which told how he bought some 15 or 16 year old girls as concubines, played with them for three years until they were 18 or 19, then got tired of them and thought them old and ugly. Some were given away, others sold off, and a new batch was bought in; this had happened three times in ten years, which he wrote about in the poem to boast to his friends.

  Ma Ji Chen was extremely displeased, feeling that his daughter's words had brought shame to their family in front of the county magistrate, a county official, and a scholar with a good reputation. He felt that her words were unfilial and reflected poorly on his parenting. Despite being very fond of this daughter, he couldn't help but slap her on the ear and scolded: "You foolish child, what are you talking about? Since our great ancestors' time, our dynasty has placed great importance on moral teachings. To commend virtuous women, those who remain widowed for thirty years without remarrying by the age of fifty are publicly honored with a ceremonial tablet at their gate and exempted from corvee labor for their family. What an honor that is!"

  Chastity and fidelity are the original virtues, it is often said that one horse cannot be equipped with two saddles, and one foot cannot tread on two boats. Therefore, a woman should not serve two husbands, just as we officials do not serve two masters. Although women's virtues lie in gentleness, their reputation for chastity and fidelity is also important. Have you forgotten all the teachings I have given you?

  Ma Lian'er, who had always been the most favored by her father, couldn't help but speak out against them when she heard them say that women were men's private property and playthings. Unexpectedly, her father slapped her in front of outsiders, leaving her feeling both ashamed and angry, unable to hold back tears as she covered her face and rushed out.

  Ma Ang saw his father get angry and didn't dare to persuade him. He wanted to chase after her but was afraid of making his father even angrier, so he hesitated on the spot. Ma Yi Ching waved his hand in a huff and said: "Let her go, we'll just focus on drinking our wine. This child has really been spoiled by me, she can actually say such things."

  Yang Ling couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. What was wrong with what Ma Lian'er had said? Why was Ma Yi so furious, and County Magistrate Min didn't even try to stop him. He stood up and said: "Miss Ma must have just pitied Guan Panpan, she died of starvation and the world lost a talented person, so she spoke out of emotion, Uncle doesn't need to be angry."

  "It's already late today, it's not proper for Miss Ma to go out alone, let's persuade her to come back."

  Although Ma Yi felt that his daughter's words were too damaging to her own face, after all, the father-daughter relationship was deep. Although she spoke harshly, she was actually worried about her. Seeing him speak politely, her expression softened and said: "Thank you for your trouble, Yang Xian nephew."

  Yang Ling bowed to Magistrate Min and Marshal Ma, then hastily chased after her. Malan was standing at the entrance of the theater, staring blankly at the stars under the red lanterns. Yang Ling felt a sense of relief and slowed down his pace as he approached her, saying: "Miss Ma, let's go back. Your father is only worried that your words will be overheard and affect your reputation. It's because he cares about you deeply that he scolds you severely. Don't be too angry."

  The girl looked up at the twinkling stars in the sky and said softly: "What does this world take women to be? Women who die with their husbands, women who die for chastity, are good women, can be praised, can be commended. A woman's chastity shows her virtue, but also shows a man's greatness, showing that he is worth a woman's sacrifice, but what has he done for women?

  Treat women as men's private property, not only concubines but also wives. I listened to "Three Kingdoms", the Peach Garden Oath, the first thing they did was kill their wives and children, do they have affection for their wives? Liu Bei treated his wife like clothes, hunter Liu An treated his wife like a dish, killed her to entertain guests, are these humans or beasts?

  Water doesn't mind being clear, a woman doesn't mind being clean. Do you know? My mother... was driven to death by my father. At that time, he was still a soldier, and Mother alone brought up my brother and me, living a very hard life. Later, the bandits from the nearby mountain came down to plunder, and Mother hid my brother and me in a water tank to escape. The bandits raped her, but fortunately, they had a kind heart and didn't kill her. As a result, she wasn't killed by the bandits' knives, but was stared to death by Father's and the village men who saw the bandits and escaped for their own lives.

  Yang Ling fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "Preserve heavenly principles, eliminate human desires. Dying of starvation is a small matter, losing one's integrity is a big matter. Zhu Xi's words may not be correct, but this world belongs to men, so it must be right." He thought back to his own era and shook his head: "Not only is it true now, but hundreds of years later, there will still be many men who believe in it. However, this principle was specifically designed for women."

  Ma Lian'er sneered, "Zhu Xi? He speaks of 'heavenly principles' and 'moral integrity', but he's the one who seduced two nuns as his concubines and even took advantage of his son-in-law's widow. What a great example of morality and a role model for scholars. It's truly a huge irony."

  Yang Ling only knew that the grand defense of propriety was in the hands of Zhu Xi during the Song Dynasty, and it wasn't until then that women who died for chastity emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. He didn't know that Zhu Xi had such "romantic affairs".

  "He couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, saying: 'In this world where men have the final say, it's no wonder that moral teachings have different requirements for men and women. If a man's dignity is insulted, he can endure humiliation and swallow his anger, as long as he gets revenge in the future, he'll be able to hold his head high again, and no one will care about how shamelessly he behaved before, even if he willingly debased himself by eating feces. But for a woman, even if she was forced into losing her chastity, it's an unforgivable sin!'"

  Ma Lian'er suddenly turned her head, a pair of eyes brighter than the stars looked at him in surprise, and after a while, she said: "Nowadays men, especially scholars, can say such words, you are the first one, I really didn't expect that you, being so young and having read those 'sacred books' for so long, would have such insight, unfortunately... it's really unfortunate..."

  "What a pity?"

  Alas, she turned her head and murmured: "I return to you the bright pearls of tears, regretting that we did not meet before I was married..."

  Yang Ling's heart skipped a beat, and the atmosphere between them suddenly became awkward. After a while, he forced a smile and used humor to ease the tension: "Although you and I met because of that bright pearl, I didn't give it to you as a gift, Miss, don't get me wrong."

  Ma Lian'er let out a snort of laughter, turned her head and gave him a flirtatious glare, biting her lip and blushing as she said: "That's because you're not lucky enough." As she looked at the shadow of the lamp on his high-bridged nose, Ma Lian'er's heart skipped a beat, and she turned away again, feeling a romantic atmosphere spreading between them.

  She gently wiped away the cold tears on her face and said, "Others are good to me, I am good to others. Since my mother died, I, Ma Lian'er, have felt that there is no man in this world who is worth our women making such a great sacrifice. I will not be that foolish wife on the stage, I will live well for myself!"

  Yang Ling was enchanted by her beauty that emerged from her confidence and pride, and after a while, he softly sighed: "You were born too early, you should have been born five hundred years later, really!"

  Ma Lian'er blinked her beautiful big eyes and asked strangely, "Do you think my words are rebellious and shocking? Will it be okay to say this 500 years later?"

  Yang Ling was startled in his heart, hastily laughed and said: "I just thought that maybe at that time, some men would regard women as independent beings and demand equality from them, haha, it's just a wild guess, just feeling and speaking".

  Ma Lian'er smiled slightly, reached into her bosom and pulled out the purse, took two steps forward and stuffed it into Yang Ling's hand, saying: "I can see that your little wife loves you very much. This pearl is a gift from me to you both. I only hope you will treat your wife well and not mistreat her."

  The handbag in her hand still carried her body temperature and a faint fragrance. Malan saw him dazed, giggled and pulled his hair, saying: "Let's go back, I'm just sad, not angry, after all, it's hard to understand what women say, how many men can understand the bitterness of women?" She glanced at the corner of her eye and found that Huang Xianchang had chased out, so she hurriedly pulled back her hand and walked in.

  Yang Ling slowly came to his senses, turned back, and saw County Magistrate Huang Qiyin smiling at him with a profound meaning. He made a slight bowing gesture with his hand, and Yang also smiled slightly, responding with a slight bow. The two didn't say a word, but seemed extremely familiar.