There were several ice basins placed in the corner of the main hall, and the cool air filled the whole room. The black charcoal, which was afraid of heat, no longer lingered in Qin Xiaoxiao's arms, and lay beside the ice basin, wagging its tail comfortably.

After serving tea, the maids quietly retreated outside, leaving only two people and a big cat in the room.

"Brother Li, I have read all the cases you were looking for last time. I have some questions and I don't know who to ask, so I had to come to you." Qin Xiaoxiao revealed the main purpose of coming to Beijing. She felt that he

Able to understand one's own thoughts.

"Say." Jing Heng's heart moved, not letting Qin Xiaoxiao see his nervousness.

Qin Xiaoxiao did not notice anything strange about him, and asked her first question: "The woman violated the seven-out rule and caused dissatisfaction with her husband's family. The husband's family can divorce her to maintain the peace of the family. Why did the woman lose her height?"

Can’t you divorce your husband? If a woman who has been forced into a desperate situation by her husband’s family has another way out, will she still have murderous intentions towards her husband’s family?”

She read the more than one hundred cases over and over again no less than five times. From the heartache and anger at the beginning to reflection, she still didn't understand why the current household marriage law had to trap women in the mire. Could it be that

Is it just to show that men are superior to women?

Jing Heng did not answer directly, but instead asked an irrelevant question: "Do you know why every three years the palace has to let the palace maids who are over twenty years old go home?"

Qin Xiaoxiao nodded: "First, it shows the kindness of the royal family, second, it warns the wealthy families not to accumulate slaves, and third, it will not delay their marriage."

After all, farming, corvee work and fighting all require a lot of labor, and this labor depends on the belly of a woman to give birth. If a large number of women are controlled by a very small number of people, it will be detrimental to the country and the people.

"What you said is true, but you missed one thing." Jing Heng pointed to the black charcoal lying next to the ice basin, and compared it with the black wild raccoon: "Every time spring and summer change, male black wild civets will fight for each other.

When spouses fight, the same goes for men."

He had never thought of this before changing jobs. He happened to be on duty at the Ministry of Household Affairs today. He had nothing to do and looked through the newly made registration books last year (ancient books for registering household registration, land, taxes, etc.), and unexpectedly discovered that the male registration recorded in the book was actually more than

There are more than a million female citizens.

"Is that so..." Qin Xiaoxiao's mind raced quickly, and he instantly understood the unfinished meaning of Jing Heng's words, but it was even more difficult to accept it.

It has been a hundred years since the founding of the Tianyuan Dynasty. The imbalance between men and women caused by wars during the change of dynasties should be restored to balance in these hundred years. The reason for the current situation of more men and fewer women is nothing more than that the world values ​​men more and "waste rice grains."

"The baby girl was "washed".

Cruel things like "washing girls" mostly happen in poor and remote places. Although she has never seen it, she has often heard that a family wanted a son, and ended up giving birth to six daughters in a row, and cruelly threw five of them into the

Drowning in a urine bucket.

It can be seen that the situation in the past dynasties will not be better than that of the current dynasty. The imbalance between men and women has always existed, and the millions of extra men have become a big hidden danger. For the long-term stability of the country, women will not be allowed to control marriage.

s right.

But what have women done wrong? Just because they look weak and easy to bully, they should become livestock for those in power to consolidate the country?

Those men who were "pacified" did corvee service when the country was stable, and had to go into battle to kill the enemy during wars. They were also controlled by those in power, and they could only bully weaker women.

"I will not let you fall into such a situation, there is no need to worry." Jing Heng did not expect Qin Xiaoxiao's reaction to be so big, and he held her hand in confusion and comforted her.

"You have no close relatives who have suffered such misfortunes, and you don't understand the anxiety of a woman to be married. Of course you think I'm making a fuss out of a molehill." Qin Xiaoxiao was a little frustrated, and her tone was harsh: "My eldest cousin is such a good girl, but she wants to

Ruined by an unequal marriage."

There is also Sister Qingqing who is discussing marriage. She was frightened by what happened to her cousin Yin Yin. She always felt that the men who looked down upon her were not good people. She was afraid that she would be bullied by her husband's family after marriage, so she could only swallow her anger like other women.

die.

"What should we do? Let me experience it for myself?" Jing Heng is not a good-tempered person. If someone else said this to him, he would have turned around and left. Facing Qin Xiaoxiao, he could only coax him nicely.

With.

"You are not a woman, what can you understand?" Qin Xiaoxiao was speechless, but his mood was better: "Can't the world give suffering women a way to survive? Just let them divorce their husbands."

Jing Heng was shocked by her rebellious words. He frowned and asked, "Are you worried that you will be bullied when you marry me, so you came up with this idea, or did you come up with this idea because you sympathize with women like your cousin?"

Qin Xiaoxiao was even more surprised than him: "What are you talking about? We grew up together, and I don't know who you are. Of course, I feel sorry for women like my cousin, so I want to help them escape from the sea of ​​misery."

When Jing Heng heard this, he finally realized what he had misunderstood.

Previously, he always thought that this girl was worried, so he asked him to find those files. For this reason, he deliberately read all the files, and also noted some of his thoughts on the files, telling her that he would never be violent towards her.

.

It turned out that he had misunderstood.

Thinking that in the past few months, this girl may have never really considered accepting his heart and agreeing to marry him, he didn't know whether to be sad or happy for her trust in him.

Seeing Jingheng's tangled look, Qin Xiaoxiao thought he couldn't understand, and couldn't help but whisper: "I also have selfish motives. If a woman can't divorce her husband, what if I give birth to a daughter in the future, and my daughter is treated as unkindly as my elder cousin?

I can't even get her home."

Jingheng took it for granted that this daughter was born to him. He followed her words and became furious: "Whoever dares to bully my daughter, I will chop into pieces!"

Qin Xiaoxiao was stunned, and after reacting, she corrected him angrily: "I'm talking about my daughter!"

Jing Heng's ears turned red after he finished speaking. Just as he was debating whether to explain or not, Qin Xiaoxiao's explanation instantly aroused his anger. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Who are you married to?"

Qin Xiaoxiao held his forehead and said angrily: "I have not married anyone, nor have I had a daughter with anyone. I said just in case, just in case!"

Jing Heng woke up, and now his ears and forehead turned red all at once. He lowered his head in annoyance, not daring to look directly into Qin Xiaoxiao's eyes.

"Brother Li, are you ashamed?" Qin Xiaoxiao was very surprised. She stretched out her finger and poked the reddest part of him: "Oh, it's hot, you're ashamed!"

She laughed unabashedly, watching him become angry and angry, her handsome face getting redder and redder, but she was not afraid that he would really be angry.

Jing Heng did not have the same experience as her. He looked at her and smiled expressionlessly, slowly calming down the embarrassment in his heart and waiting for the red color to fade away.

The maids outside the door heard the laughter in the room, and they were not surprised. One maid who had been rewarded by Emperor Yuanhe not long ago was extremely surprised. She couldn't believe that someone dared to laugh at the young master, but the young master did not get angry.

"I wonder which family this girl is from, why His Highness and the Young Master value her so much." The maid was so curious that she couldn't help but ask her companion.

The companion glanced at her sideways, half-smiling but not smiling: "Don't listen to what you shouldn't hear about the masters' affairs, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

The maid was frightened and said hurriedly: "Sister, I don't mean anything else, just pretend I didn't ask."

Seeing that she was interested, her companion kindly reminded her: "The girl's surname is Qin, but you can just call her 'girl' when you meet her, and you won't go wrong by treating her like a young master."

The maid became more and more surprised. In an instant, she had several guesses about Miss Qin's identity, but she quickly rejected these guesses one by one: "Yes, thank you sister for the tip."

In the room, Qin Xiaoxiao had enough laughter, poured a cup of tea and handed it to Jingheng.

Jing Heng glanced at her, took a few sips, and said he didn't care about her.

Qin Xiaoxiao continued to talk about business: "Brother Li, if you want to change the household marriage law, do you have any good ideas?"

Jing Heng shook his head: "There is no way."

Qin Xiaoxiao was anxious: "The current household marriage law was adopted from the previous dynasty, but there are some changes. This shows that the household marriage law can be changed!"

Jing Heng asked her: "Do you think the previous dynasty's household marriage law is beneficial to women, or the current household marriage law is beneficial to women?"

Qin Xiaoxiao fell silent.

Comparing the household marriage laws of the previous dynasty and the current dynasty, the previous dynasty recognized that a woman’s dowry belonged entirely to herself, and her husband’s family was not allowed to seize it in any way; the current dynasty also recognized that a woman’s dowry belonged to herself, but once a woman violated the seven-out rule,

If you are abandoned by your husband's family, you must leave half of your dowry as compensation.

In this way, wouldn't the words "losing money" be firmly engraved on the woman's body, making the public despise their daughter even more?

There are many similar revisions, but most of them are not good for women.

She also has several books on household marriage laws from other dynasties. The contents are similar, and it can be seen that they have been used from generation to generation. The rules and regulations that suppress women have long been deeply rooted in the people's bones and are regarded as norms.

It's easier said than done to shake it.

"Xiaoxiao, do everything according to your ability." Jingheng warned Qin Xiaoxiao, not wanting to see her troubled by this matter, let alone seeing her suffer unpredictable harm.

Qin Xiaoxiao raised his head and asked seriously: "Brother Li, if I make up my mind to do this, will you help me?"

Jingheng rubbed her head and suddenly smiled: "Yes."

As long as it is your wish, I will help you achieve it.

Qin Xiaoxiao also smiled, no longer caring about the difference between men and women, she threw herself into his arms and held him tightly like she did when she was a child: "Brother Li, I like you the most!"

Jing Heng's face froze, and he almost lost control of his hands and tore her out of his arms.

In the evening, Qin Xiaoxiao returned to the inn, packed her things happily, and was leaving Beijing early tomorrow morning.

"Why are you so happy? Did the princess reward you with something good?" Qin Shan asked his daughter while leaning on the edge of the table while nibbling on a large juicy melon.

"I won't tell you!" Qin Xiaoxiao made a face with a smile and put the small things he bought for his family yesterday afternoon into the bag.

"Huh, I know even if you don't tell me, that boy must have made you happy." Qin Shan said sourly, not forgetting to remind his daughter: "You are about to kiss me, so you'd better avoid this boy."

Qin Xiaoxiao felt extremely guilty. She rolled her eyes and asked with a smile: "Dad, Brother Li and I grew up together. It can be said that our two families know each other well. If I can't find a husband that I want, I will arrest Brother Li."

Can I be your son-in-law?"

"Pfft! Cough cough, cough cough -" Qin Shan suddenly choked on the melon seeds, and his dark red face changed color due to coughing. He ignored his luck and glared at his daughter and said: "Ahem, you, you

What to say?"

Qin Xiaoxiao quickly came up behind him and slapped his vest twice with her palms: "Dad, isn't it just that letting Brother Li be your son-in-law? Doesn't it make you so happy?"

"Which one of you, ahem, which eye of yours is happy to see your father? Ahem..." Qin Shan's eyes widened even more, wishing he could give his daughter a slap in the face: "Just, even if we

If my family can't recruit anyone, I, I don't want that guy to be my son-in-law, cough!"

Seeing her father refuse so simply, Qin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but feel worried. Even if she accepted Brother Li's intention and was willing to marry him for a hundred years, her father would have a hard time with it!

Seeing that his daughter remained silent and gradually stopped coughing, Qin Shan had an ominous premonition in his heart. He turned around, stared closely into his daughter's eyes, and said lovingly: "Your father, I am getting old and I can't stand being scared. Don't look away next time."
To be continued...