Chapter 53 Revised
Especially after seeing Aunt Zhao’s near-death experience with her own eyes, Shen Wei understood more and more that she had no choice. The road ahead was endless and the road behind was even more of a bottomless abyss.
She doesn't have God's vision. She is just an ordinary person who is struggling to live a freer life. Apart from her unyielding pride, she has nothing else.
Under Xiaoman's gradually heavy expression.
Shen Wei, who was looking at the script, suddenly paused.
She frowned and stared at the plot of the script again and again. Finally, she raised her head with an expression of disbelief.
"Xiao Man, have you read the opera "Wen Wan Lan Ning"?"
Xiaoman nodded: "Girl, I've seen it."
"This opera is one of the best in the capital. The heroine Wen Lan is filial and tolerant, a woman of virtue, well-mannered, and very tenacious. She is a role model for all the ladies and young ladies in the capital."
Shen Wei: "......"
model?
Shen Wei only felt the soles of his feet were cold.
She took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and asked Xiaoman, "Do you still remember the plot?"
"I remember."
"This opera is about Ning Feng, a down-and-out scholar. His family is poor and he has to take care of his sick mother. He has to endure a lot in order to scrape together enough money to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination."
"Once, Ning Feng accidentally rescued Wen Lan, the daughter of a local wealthy businessman."
"After Wen Lan knew that she was rescued from coma, she fell in love with Ning Feng at first sight. She thought Ning Feng was a gentleman who did not take advantage of her coma to destroy her reputation."
"Then the two got married. The Wen family cured the old lady's illness, let Ning Feng read the best books, hired the best teachers, and let him travel thousands of miles to Beijing to take the imperial examination. In the end, Ning Feng won the third place in the imperial examination."
"Ning Feng's talent was noticed by the Grand Tutor, and Miss Grand Tutor fell in love with Ning Feng at first sight. The two got married in the capital, and Miss Grand Tutor didn't even know that Ning Feng already had a wife in his hometown."
"Ning Feng didn't say anything until Wen Lan went to the capital to look for her husband."
"........."
This is what happened in the end.
The old lady Ning, who was cured by the Wen family at a great cost, was brought to the capital to enjoy a good life. She witnessed the prosperity of the capital and the power of the Taifu family.
She immediately turned hostile and instigated Ning Feng to divorce his bad wife from his hometown.
As soon as the divorce letter arrived at the Wen family, Wen Lan cried and refused to believe it, and went to Beijing to find her husband.
After going through a lot of hardships,
Wen Lan found Ning Feng, whom she wanted to marry again, but Ning Feng was unwilling to acknowledge Wen Lan's identity. After all, he had already married Miss Taifu, so how could he still be interested in her who came from a merchant family?
Wen Lan generously expressed her willingness to give up her position to Miss Taifu. In order to follow the saying "marry a chicken and follow the chicken", she did not ask for a status when entering the mansion, and served the old lady and Miss Taifu at the same time, and suffered a lot of torture.
I lived worse than a dog during those years.
He also used all the money earned from the Wen family's business to pave the way for Ning Feng.
Eventually the Wen family went bankrupt and became impoverished. The old lady despised her lowly status and drove her out of the house, where she lived a life worse than death.
It happened that at this time, the old lady was sick with the plague, and Miss Taifu was unwilling to serve the old lady. It was Wen Lan who came back with a flattering face and took care of the old lady's excrement and urine, and finally moved the whole family with her love.
The end of the story.
Ning Feng finally realized that Wen Lan was a virtuous and good woman, so he made an exception and took Wen Lan as his co-wife. Both Miss Taifu and the old lady accepted Wen Lan's existence, and they were happily reunited.
Shen Wei: "......"
"Girl, this is the story of the play."
"It praises that women should be gentle and virtuous, tolerant and generous, not calculative, and give selflessly. Even if her husband and her in-laws do not accept her for the time being, they can still be influenced by her love."
"It will have a happy ending."
"Although she is of low status, her in-laws will accept her because of her good qualities."
"The noble ladies in the capital also speak very highly of the heroine Wen Lan. They all think she is a good daughter-in-law who is both filial and virtuous, and they are proud to have such a daughter-in-law in their family."
Listening to Xiaoman's narration, Shen Wei felt a chill all over his body.
With the invasion of thoughts, the status of women has gradually declined.
This is not something that can be achieved overnight.
It is not a sudden change after some major events happen.
It's every detail in life, a word, a disapproving look, or even the hidden hints in opera... This made Shen Wei suddenly remember an advertisement he had seen online.
In the picture, the whole family celebrates the New Year in harmony. Everyone is sitting on the sofa, watching TV, eating dumplings, and laughing. Only the seven-month pregnant daughter-in-law is doing housework.
This kind of small detail invasion of thought may not be noticeable, and perhaps no one will pay attention to it or think about it deeply, but it is a picture of a happy family.
But when you peel it open, it's so sad and pitiful.
"Xiao Man, do you also think that Wen Lan in the opera should give selflessly? Even if her mother-in-law and husband despise her background and kick her out of the house many times, she should still use her love to influence them?"
Xiaoman looked into Shen Wei's eyes and suddenly her chest shook.
She stopped grinding the ink.
If it were in the past, Xiaoman would have praised and admired Wen Lan.
Because all the noble ladies in the capital would express such emotion after watching the opera and would praise Wen Lan's qualities.
She should do the same.
She should follow the crowd and make the same voice. Only in this way can she integrate into the group.
But now...the uncomfortable feeling hidden deep in her bones came out. Xiaoman pursed her lips and was silent for a long time before saying, "Girl, I actually feel a little sorry for Wen Lan."
"It was obviously she who cured my mother-in-law, and it was she who spent so much money to pave the way for Ning Feng."
"Why was she born into dislike and abandoned after Ning Feng entered high school?"
"In the beginning, Wen Lan was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and Ning Feng was just a poor scholar. She didn't despise the poor and love the rich. She gave so much for her husband's family, but in the end she ended up being a concubine."
"A co-wife is a wife in a nice way, but in reality, isn't she still inferior to the principal wife?"
"I actually felt uncomfortable when I watched this opera. I always felt that Wen Lan's efforts were not worth it. But after watching the opera, everyone praised her for being a good daughter-in-law, so I could only praise her."
If Xiaoman could feel this uncomfortable feeling, it means that the ladies and young ladies who watched the opera would also feel the same.
But this strange feeling will be suppressed by years of cognition.
Wait for a long time.
Everyone is accustomed to thinking that way.
Then, this kind of example of exploiting the selfless dedication of daughters-in-law in exchange for recognition will become mainstream.
"Then I'll change the story while inserting the advertisement." Shen Wei hated this story, and hated the details that were everywhere even more: "Within the range that you can accept, I'll change the ending to be more comfortable."