Chapter 062: The Greedy Lady Xiuying
Zhu Yuanzhang squeezed Chen Biao's clenched fist and asked, "Why are you clenching your fist?"
"Oh, Dad, Mom and Madam Xiuying are going to set up a women's college. Is it okay for me to be a teacher there?" Chen Biao said, holding the medicine bag in his mouth, changing the subject. "I won't spread any rumors, will I?"
The cement hasn’t been made yet, so don’t give his father too high expectations.
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand high and tapped Chen Biao's head gently: "You are only a little older? What are you talking about? Your mother asked you to go, so just go. And by the way, you can find a girl you like and I will choose one for you."
Chen Biao gave his father a look of contempt: "Get lost!"
Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to be angry and said, "You actually told your father to get out! Is there a son as unfilial as you? You deserve to be beaten!"
Zhu Yuanzhang picked up Chen Biao, carried him on his shoulders and started running madly.
Chen Biao yelled, "Stop! Stop! I'm going to vomit!"
Zhu Yuanzhang not only ran madly, but also jumped up and down: "You vomit, you vomit."
Chen Biao was so angry that he yelled, "Mother! Mother!"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily: "Your mother is not at home today, so it's no use shouting!"
Chen Biao was so angry that he tried to hit Zhu Yuanzhang on the head, but Zhu Yuanzhang was too fast and he could not control the direction of his punch at all.
"Put down Big Brother!"
Finally someone came to rescue Chen Biao, but unfortunately they were the two brothers Chen Chong and Chen Chong.
The two brothers waved their little fists, trying to save their eldest brother from his suffering from their hateful father, but their legs were too short to catch up.
When Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou came to pay a visit to Zhu Yuanzhang, they saw Zhu Yuanzhang carrying Chen Biao and running wildly in front; his two young sons were chasing and shouting hard; Chen Biao looked like he was about to vomit, and looked extremely miserable.
Zhu Sheng's expression changed: "Guorui! What are you doing!"
Zhu Yuanzhang stopped and said without blushing, "I was just teasing my son. Ouch! You little bastards, how dare you kick me!"
Chen Biao caught his breath and immediately said, "Brother, run!"
Chen Chong and Chen Tan bravely said, "Don't run! Protect big brother!"
After saying that, they continued to hold Zhu Yuanzhang's legs and beat them hard.
Zhu Yuanzhang put poor Chen Biao down, and Chen Biao sat down on the ground, covering his mouth and retching.
Zhu Yuanzhang picked up his second son with his left hand and his third son with his right hand, as if he was about to throw them away.
Zhu Sheng's face was pale , and his scholarly grace was completely gone. "Chen Guorui! Put the child down! You can't throw the child away! He'll break!"
Chen Biao also put down his hand covering his mouth and said, "If you dare to throw my brother out, mother and I will not let you go!"
Zhu Yuanzhang put his second and third sons down and said, "You, as a son, are threatening me, your father? How can you be a son like that! Mr. Zhu, Mr. Ji, you should teach Biaoer a lesson. He has absolutely no manners!"
Ji Renshou had already picked up Chen Biao and carried him on his back with a look of heartache, and glared at Zhu Yuanzhang fiercely.
Ji Renshou had not yet met Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang had just returned to Yingtian and was busy with official business, so he did not summon him.
Today, he and Zhu Sheng were invited by Zhu Yuanzhang to have dinner at Chen's house. He was very nervous, wondering what kind of person Zhu Yuanzhang, the powerful ruler who had polarized opinions from the outside world, would be.
He asked Liu Ji, and Liu Ji just said sarcastically, "It's just two eyes, a nose and a mouth, what else can it be?", as if he had a lot of opinions about Zhu Yuanzhang.
But Liu Ji has taken on a lot of things now, and is very busy . He works hard for Zhu Yuanzhang, so he should not have any complaints against Zhu Yuanzhang.
Ji Renshou became even more nervous.
Seeing Ji Renshou so nervous, Liu Ji said, "The person you want to see is not Zhu Yuanzhang, but Chen Guorui. Zhu Yuanzhang may be a heroic ruler... more than half... half... less than half a heroic ruler. Chen Guorui is just a very friendly businessman. Brother, you will know when you meet him."
Ji Renshou saw it and knew it.
Is this being kind? Is this being naughty and mischievous?!
Regardless of whether Zhu Yuanzhang was a powerful ruler or a hero, it is not right for him to act like a naughty boy!!
"Biao'er, are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?" Ji Renshou glared at Zhu Yuanzhang again.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled good-naturedly, then kicked away the two unfilial sons who were still trying to beat him.
Chen Biao panted and said, "It's okay, I'm back to normal. Dad, I will definitely complain to Mom, I will!"
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows: "Afraid of you?"
Zhu Sheng was so angry that he hit the ground with his crutch: "Guorui!"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "I was just joking with Biao'er, and we were just exchanging feelings as father and son."
He said as he continued to kick his two sons.
Chen Biao couldn't bear it anymore, so he pulled Ji Renshou's sleeve and asked Ji Renshou to let him down.
Chen Biao held his two younger brothers' hands and said, "Stop fighting. You two can't beat him. Wait until Mom comes back, and then we'll complain and let Mom deal with Dad."
Chen Chong and Chen Tan bared their teeth at Zhu Yuanzhang like two little ferocious beasts.
Zhu Yuanzhang went back with his teeth bared, and even pretended to beat them.
Chen Biao quickly used his not-so-big body to block his two brothers who were completely unable to stop him: "Alright, alright, Dad, Mr. Ji and Mr. Zhu are here, don't make a fool of yourself."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "What kind of joke is playing with my son?"
However, when he saw the disapproving looks from Mr. Zhu and Mr. Ji, he let the two unfilial sons go and invited Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou to have a chat in the study.
Chen Biao let go of his brother's hand and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother, are you okay?" The two younger brothers rushed over and almost pushed Chen Biao down again.
Chen Biao barely held his two younger brothers together and said, "It's okay, it's okay. If you see Dad bullying me next time, don't rush over. You can't beat Dad, and you might get beaten up. If Mom is at home, go find her. If Mom isn't at home, go find your uncle."
The two younger brothers said in unison: "Uncle is not here either? If uncle is not here, can we beat dad?"
Chen Biao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I've already told you two, you can't beat him. Mom and uncle are not at home, so just ignore them and play by yourselves. Big brother will be fine."
His father could make a scene, but he wouldn't mess with his health and safety. If he got really angry, his father would immediately back down.
The two younger brothers looked dissatisfied.
Apparently, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. These two little brats, barely as tall as Zhu Yuanzhang, were really dreaming of how to beat up their stinky dad who rarely came home and bullied others when he did.
Chen Biao hopes that when they grow up and become mature, they will still have such ambitions.
After returning this time, Ma Xiuying finally had time to set up the women's college.
The children of Zhu Yuanzhang's generals would marry each other. To educate these girls well was to educate the future mistresses of the family, so the female relatives were very concerned about this.
Zhu Yuanzhang would become emperor, and these girls would at least have imperial decrees in the future. Some of them might even accompany their husbands to guard the frontiers and preside over government affairs.
Although women cannot engage in politics, wives of military families in frontier areas have to take on some government responsibilities, just like Ma Xiuying does now.
Ma Xiuying was already worried about what to let the girls learn, and was very angry. When she came back and heard that Zhu Yuanzhang was bullying her son again, she immediately rolled up her sleeves.
If Chen Biao had not held her back, Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou would have had to watch the future Empress Ma beat up the future Emperor Zhu.
After watching this scene, I am afraid that after Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he would lead all the civil and military officials to the homes of these two old men to mourn before they died.
For the sake of Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou, Ma Xiuying temporarily let Zhu Yuanzhang go and began to consult Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou on the issue of establishing a women's academy.
Ma Xiuying believed that some of the content in "Nujie" was inappropriate and the books that women studied should be recompiled.
For example, if a woman is always docile and tries to please her husband, what if that husband is a bad man and commits cruel things? Would the woman be complicit in his evil deeds?
Since history books praise women who sacrificed their relatives for the greater good, the world should disapprove of women who are always docile. Women, like men, should understand the greater good and know right from wrong, so they can advise their husbands, raise their children well, and take good care of their families.
Ma Xiuying also believed that with commerce now more developed than before, women could work and support their families while raising children. In Yingtian City, if the men farmed and the women worked, the family would be much better off than others and would have more money to send their children to school.
Therefore, the rule that women cannot show their faces in public may be relaxed. Not only in times of chaos, when there is no other choice, women can show their faces in public. When peace and prosperity come, women can also go out to work and make the family more relaxed.
However, it may be necessary to carefully consider what rules women need to follow when going out.
Chen Biao listened from the side and thought that the content of women's education that his mother had heard from Madam Xiuying was still too conservative.
However, compared with the previous dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty, it is much more relaxed.
At least, they have grasped the key to improving women's status, which is labor and gaining independent economic status.
Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou were actually quite conservative on women's issues, but they had to admit that Ma Xiuying was right.
Both of them had experienced hardship, so they knew that in ordinary families, it was better for two people to work than for one person to get enough food.
Moreover, they also knew the real reason why Ban Zhao wrote "Nujie", so they had no objection to changing some of the contents in "Nujie".
Chen Biao naturally knew this after reading history books all his life.
Ban Zhao was 54 years old when she wrote "Nujie". " Nujie" said that it was written to teach her unmarried daughters. It was impossible for her to have an unmarried daughter at that time. This was naturally an excuse.
Ban Zhao was a tutor to women in the Eastern Han court. The Eastern Han dynasty was characterized by short-lived emperors, with imperial relatives and eunuchs taking turns in power. When Ban Zhao entered the palace as a tutor, Empress Dowager Deng was in power, and she served as both her tutor and advisor.
Ban Zhao wrote "Instructions for Women" under the pretext of teaching the girls of the Ban family and giving subtle advice to Empress Dowager Deng.
After the Western Han Dynasty, many aristocratic women in the palace were involved in government affairs, and lewd behavior was prevalent. "Nujie" was an attempt by Ban Zhao, a teacher, to restrain the aristocratic women in the palace.
Ban Zhao herself probably never imagined that her "Instructions for Women" would become a torture device to restrain ordinary women for thousands of years.
Just like Cheng Yi's casual remark "Starving to death is a minor matter, but losing one's chastity is a major one" while chatting with a friend, which was not recorded in any of his own writings, and his own actions in supporting widows to remarry, it was only recorded by his disciples who listened in on the conversation in the "Chengshi Yishu" compiled by later generations. Moreover, Cheng Yi's remarks were not directed at women, but at everyone.
Cheng Yi of the Northern Song Dynasty would certainly not have imagined that his words would be misinterpreted by people of the Southern Song Dynasty, leading to the death of so many innocent women.
Unfortunately, even those who have read books know that these are misinterpretations and will not go against the trend of the world for women.
The only chance for women in the feudal era to loosen their shackles was when dynasties changed and everything needed to be rebuilt, and the empresses of previous generations would issue new "admonitions for women."
Such as Empress Changsun’s "Rules for Women".
Unfortunately, these queens, like Ban Zhao, only focused their attention on the noble women in the palace.
Madam Xiuying was very greedy and wanted to compile a book of "commandments" that would also be suitable for common women.
