On the Difficulties of Escape in Ancient Times

Chapter 40 Male Virtue
  Fortunately, Xiao Xiao didn't want to go out either.

Perhaps in order to match the atmosphere of the ghosts traveling during the Ghost Festival, it will be cloudy outside today and the wind will be extremely strong.

You must know that even the official road now only has compacted soil. With the carriages and horses passing by, and the free winds from the southeast and northwest, the winding road is really covered with dust visible to the naked eye.

So she would rather hide in the carriage than eat a mouthful of ashes.

Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Xiao also came to their mule cart to chat and collect shoe soles.

"We escaped on the night of June 12th, right?" Mrs. Wu scratched the needle in her hair a few times, then continued to put the soles of her shoes in, not forgetting to sigh: "It's so slow these days, I don't know. How long will it take to settle down?”

Mrs. Xiao was thankful: "Fortunately, we have arrived in the county today. Our rice and noodles are almost at the bottom."

What she didn't say was that tomorrow was the middle of July, the day when the gates of hell were said to open to pay homage to the ancestors.

If she was still squatting on a deserted road, she would always worry about whether she would bump into something.

Now that I have found a place to rest, I can also buy some incense, candles and paper money to worship my ancestors.

Wu's eyes lit up and she asked curiously: "Sister-in-law, how much money do you have left?"

What she wanted to know most was her family background. Unfortunately, her husband's eldest brother seemed difficult to deal with, so she didn't dare to ask around.

Mrs. Liu understood what her sister-in-law meant, and she was very experienced in this topic: "The husband holds the money, so I don't know. But when we go in, we must first go to the medical clinic and ask the doctor to take a look at their bodies."

No one except the Lin sisters would believe her words.

Who doesn't know that Xiao Youfu has always been very fond of the Liu family?
  Especially these days, Mrs. Liu was very polite and obedient, and I almost never heard him refute Mrs. Liu's words.

Even if Mrs. Xiao had a problem with her eldest daughter-in-law not giving her a grandson, she didn't dare to say anything before. Now that she has seen the cruelty of the eldest son and his granddaughters along the way, she really has no objection at all.

In order to avoid conflicts between her sisters-in-law, she could only change the subject: "I don't know how the prices are here? Hey, this money is really cheap, isn't it?"

When Mrs. Wu heard this, she thought about buying a new house that was less than three years old, and she slapped her thigh with hatred: "We don't even have a place to live now, and the old man has reached the age of talking about his wife, how much money will he get? I feel so sad just thinking about it.”

After saying that, he glanced at Ms. Liu and her nieces with envy: "They say that giving birth to a girl is a waste of money. I think that's nonsense. Sister-in-law, if you marry Xiu'er and the others, you can get a lot of money as gifts?"

Then he laughed and joked: "Xiu'er is also in a hurry to get married, right?"

Xiao Xiu paused while sewing clothes.

If it hadn't been for this disaster, she would have been ready to get married.

But she was glad that her parents did not leave her alone, otherwise she would not have the good life she has now if she fled with her husband's family.

She lowered her head and said in a weak voice: "I don't want to get married!"

Mrs. Wu hates that iron cannot be made into steel, and her fingers are almost on Xiao Xiu's forehead: "Silly girl, isn't the Wu family a wonderful family? You must talk to them more. If you marry, you will be the young lady in charge. The popular ones drink spicy food, and there are maids and women to serve them."

Xiao Lian, who was sitting on the shaft of the carriage and driving slowly along the team, was the person who disliked Wu the most in the family. She especially hated the fact that her second aunt would always bully her own mother into not having a son.

She is only one year older than Da Lang. When she was a child, her sister and brother fought, and her grandmother, second aunt, and the others got on the wrong side of things and even called her a loser behind others' backs. Therefore, Xiao Lian was particularly vindictive.

Now when I heard the second aunt say this, she had a pretty face: "It's okay, aunt, what are you talking about? You are still the elder!"

After saying that, he glanced at Xiao Xiao warily.

Of the three sisters, the younger sister, the white-eyed wolf, likes to go to her second uncle's house in town the most. In the past, if there was such a verbal conflict, the younger sister would help the second aunt speak and refute her own words.

She is now afraid that her little sister will come to cause trouble again.

Xiao Xiao was originally listening to Lin Xuan's seafood in Mingzhou. When she heard what the second aunt and the others said, she was speechless: "My second sister is right, aunt, you can't ruin our reputation."

Then he said seriously to Xiao Xiu: "Sister, I am gentle, capable, and sensible. I am sure you will find a good husband!"

In fact, what she wanted to say more was, silly boy, would a married person just jump into a pit of fire?

Just like she didn't find a man with the urge to marry in the era of free marriage. How could she find a man she wanted to marry in this time and space where taking wives and concubines was legal?
  As the ancient saying goes, if a man is reliable, even a sow can climb a tree and play disco.

Just because a man won't take concubines, you can't force yourself to marry into a poor family who can't afford to eat, right?

But even so, there is no guarantee that a man with no money left in his pocket will have ulterior motives for the widow in the village.

Besides, Xiao Xiao wanted to have a good life where she could wear clothes and open her mouth, but she didn't want to wrong herself. She had already made up her mind to recruit a son-in-law.

If a man has masculine virtues, he will be virtuous, and he can live a good life as a married couple.

If you are wrong, just kick your son-in-law out of the house.

Thinking of this, she was secretly glad that the time-traveling predecessors of the Wu Dynasty were still very powerful. They improved the status of women, encouraged families without men to recruit sons-in-law, encouraged widows to remarry, and allowed women to start independent families.

What makes her secretly happy is that she feels that her body is getting better and better now.

The ears and eyes are clear, the legs and feet are light, and the strength becomes stronger.

There is no law here to protect the personal safety of women in the family after getting married, but with my current strength, I don’t have to worry about domestic violence at all!

Xiao Xiu smiled happily when she heard that her two sisters were protecting her: "It's good for our family to be together now."

Mrs. Liu also lowered her face and said sternly to Mrs. Wu: "Brothers and sisters, don't say such nonsense in front of the girls."

The reason she tolerated Mrs. Wu in the past was because she gave birth to three sons, and her parents-in-law favored her second uncle's family.

Furthermore, she and Xiao Youfu had conflicts and lived separately, hoping that her parents-in-law would take more care of their mother.

Then there is the old house where we used to live. Speaking of it, it also belongs to the second uncle's family. It is their mother who takes advantage of it.

In addition, the three nephews were very close to them. For the sake of their nephews, she was willing to tolerate Wu.

However, she is also protective of her young, and of course she loves her biological daughter even more.

Wu can embarrass herself, but she cannot talk about her daughters like that, as if they are interested in the Wu family's money.

Mrs. Xiao was deeply afraid that if they quarreled, her daughter-in-law would eventually be scolded by the boss and the second child. She glared at Mrs. Wu and comforted Mrs. Liu: "She just means what she says but doesn't mean it. Don't pay attention to her!"

Mrs. Wu was frightened by Mrs. Liu's cold face. She quickly took advantage of her mother-in-law's words and lightly slapped herself on the face. She said sarcastically: "Sister-in-law, don't be angry. It's all because I can't speak."

Old Mrs. Xiao glared at her again: "You go down and feed the mules. Thanks to your age, I, an old woman, have to worry about everything for you."

(End of this chapter)