Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 189: Legend of Zhen Huan 59

When they were still in the boudoir, Concubine Wan and Concubine Hui were both well-known talents. In particular, both of them had been evaluated that if they were men, they would have been successful in the imperial examinations, so they were also quite accomplished in the Four Books and Five Classics.

That's why Yi Xin said that both Wanpin and Huipin had some shadows of the literati. When they served the emperor, they put themselves more in the position of subjects rather than simply considering themselves as concubines in the harem. Therefore, in the original trajectory, the two of them cheated on the emperor one after another without feeling guilty at all. They probably thought that the emperor was immoral and unworthy of their loyal service.

It's just that Huipin had her share of mistakes. Even though she had been targeted all the way and even fell into a situation even worse than that of Wanpin, she still retained her pride and was as noble as the literati.

So after going to Changyin Pavilion a few times, I became interested in writing scripts and stories, and I decided to write a few stories that I liked.

But it is different for Concubine Wan. Even though her relationship with the emperor broke down, her family was exiled to the northwest because of murder and has not returned ever since, and she herself has had ups and downs in the harem for several years, she has begun to abandon her nobleness. Even though she has been disappointed and hated the emperor, and no longer has much love for him, she also has little pride left. It can be said that Concubine Wan is now a complete concubine in the harem.

Because Huipin found more interesting things to do, she reconciled with Concubine Jing, and her relationships with Noble Lady An and Noble Lady Fucha also eased a lot. After all, people like Concubine Jing in the palace feared loneliness the most.

Seeing that Huipin was interested in writing a story, Yi Xin secretly gave Huipin some advice, asking her to find out from the law when the status of women began to decline to the point where they have become complete vassals of men.

There were many books stored in the Jingyang Palace. Anyone who could read knew how important these things were. Huipin found shocking evidence in them: starting from the Tang Law, there were no more laws regarding the disposal of women's property in the laws of subsequent dynasties.

Yi Xin secretly sent someone to tell Huipin that in every dynasty before the Tang Dynasty, women were able to be granted land.

Huipin was a smart person. She certainly knew that once a woman was deprived of the right to own land and property by the court, she would truly become a man's appendage.

But when she looked around, Huipin felt that everyone was drunk while she was the only one sober. She felt very uncomfortable. Sometimes she even looked up at the sky and felt that there was something under the blue sky pressing down on her. In just half a month, Huipin was bedridden.

Concubine Hui suddenly fell ill, and the harem was almost in an uproar. Because of the previous incidents with Concubine Duan and Concubine Xiang, some people began to spread rumors that Concubine Hui was blocking someone's way.

Concubine Jing knew Huibin's condition best. Two groups of people from the Imperial Hospital came to take Huibin's pulse and prescribe medicine, but everyone said that Huibin was depressed and if she wanted to get better, she had to figure it out herself.

Concubine Jing felt that the Imperial Medical Bureau was more trustworthy now than before, but she really couldn't find the crux of the problem that made Concubine Hui depressed. She asked Caiyue and other palace maids who served her personally several times but couldn't find the reason. She became a little anxious.

Huipin's illness lasted for nearly a month. Yi Xin dealt with several people who spread rumors and finally curbed the restless atmosphere in the palace. Only then did she have time to visit Huipin in Yonghe Palace.

Yi Xin knew exactly what was wrong with Huipin, so she only brought some seasonal fruits and a manuscript she had just finished writing when she visited her.

When Huipin saw Yixin coming, she struggled to stand up and salute. Yixin quickly stepped forward and held her down, "Okay, forget about these empty formalities at this time."

Huipin remembered that Yixin had always been kind to the poor and the weak, so she couldn't help but grab Yixin and asked, "My Lady, when did we women become so humble?"

This was something to talk about. Yi Xin winked at Xizhu, and Xizhu took the people around Huipin and retreated to the outer room.

Yi Xin looked at Shen Meizhuang with a hint of appreciation. Shen Meizhuang's pain and depression at this moment all came from her unwillingness and resentment towards the weak reality of being a woman.

Yi Xin said: "In an era more distant than mythology, the first humans were ruled by women, because people at that time could only survive by gathering various fruits and young branches of plants, and these were things women were best at, so the dominant position of a family or even a tribe naturally fell into the hands of women."

"At that time, when men and women got married, women lived at home while men moved around. Once a man made a woman pregnant, his mission was complete and he had to return to his tribe. In order to prevent incest among offspring, the surname and clan name were separated at that time. Women were called by their surnames, while men were called by their clan names."

"Many of the so-called surnames with female characters today originally meant that their ancient ancestor was a woman, or in other words, a tribe led by women."

When it comes to surnames with the female character, Shen Meizhuang easily thinks of ancient surnames such as Jiang, Yao, Ji, and Qin Shihuang's surname Ying, which also has a female character.

"It was during the Han Dynasty that the surnames were combined. Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, was born in a poor family. His grandfather was an official, but his family fell into poverty. Liu Bang was the fourth son in the family, so his name was Liu Ji at first."

This name is really sloppy. It can be more commonly called Liu Laosi. Shen Meizhuang believes that there are probably many people in the family with the surname Liu who simply call themselves Liu Laosi.

Yi Xin continued to talk about the status of women, "The first time the status of women declined was when the population grew and simple gathering work could no longer support a family or a tribe. Hunting was born at that time, and women were generally weaker than men in physical strength, so they could not hunt as many animals as men. So gradually, the status of men began to rise, and correspondingly, the status of women began to decline."

"The person who really started to let men replace women's dominant position was Emperor Zhuanxu in ancient times. It is said that he once issued a decree requiring women to be accompanied by men when going out. If a woman went out alone, she would be punished immediately if she was discovered."

"So, by the time of the Xia Dynasty, women had almost become accustomed to working at home, and their social status was lower than that of men. However, at that time, many women still participated in politics and even held divine power, because sacrifices were prevalent at that time, and the power and status held by the high priests were no different from that of a king. Even in the Shang Dynasty, women could still serve as priests and lead troops into battle."

"Even in the Zhou Dynasty, women were not completely reduced to vassals of men, because although the laws of the Qin Dynasty did not stipulate that men and women were equal, women could own private property just like men, and women had household registration just like men. Women were almost the same as men except that they could not serve as officials in the court."

"Women were completely reduced to vassals of men. It was during the glorious Tang Dynasty that the Tang Code, which was established when the Tang Dynasty was founded, stipulated that only men could be granted land and only men could set up households. Women completely lost their land and household registration. No matter how high the status of women was during the Tang Dynasty, women had already lost the capital to be independent in this world."