The road down the mountain seemed to have no end, and Yan Zhao was getting impatient. He didn't have a righteous face, so he didn't understand what the ghost girl was thinking. There were too many injustices in the world, and he didn't want to get involved in any of them, and he didn't plan to meddle in other people's business at this moment.
Rongyu was an exception. How could he be nosy about his family's affairs? He would definitely stand up for his family.
Yan Zhao was about to say that he didn't want to be fair, but Rong Yu quietly pulled his sleeve and put his finger to his lips: "I want to gossip."
Yan Zhao immediately changed his words: "Speak."
In this way, he is the new generation of Yan Qingtian who upholds justice!
To be honest, Rong Yu had no interest in this triangle relationship. He was definitely more selfish and heartless than Yan Zhao. However, Wen Yichu's eternal candle was lit.
It didn't get longer or brighter, but the flame was shaking more, which meant that Wen Yichu in the lamp wanted to meddle in other people's business. You know, Wen Yichu was not upset when Hu Wei died, but he was so excited when he saw injustice.
Rong Yu recalled Wen Yichu's heroic act of reporting to the police when he saw a man robbing a woman on the street. Although he was beaten and kicked out of the government office in the end, he is still as enthusiastic as ever.
This is a man of destiny who doesn't care about the persecution he suffers but is indignant about the injustice suffered by others.
And Rong Yu's indifference to all living beings and his self-centeredness are two extremes.
Seeing that the Son of Luck was so excited, Rong Yu reluctantly told him some gossip, otherwise he was afraid that Wen Yichu would be so angry that he would lose his temper.
When the female ghost saw that Yan Zhao was willing to listen, her original wailing immediately turned into tears of joy. She knew that she was right. Such a powerful ghost that did not devour ghosts must be a good ghost!
The next moment he explained the whole story in detail.
The woman's surname was Feng and her name was Wan. She lived in Yuenan Town and was called Wanniang. The scholar's name was Liuzhe, who was also from Yuenan, had no father or mother, and was a neighbor of the Feng family. Wanniang and Liuzhe had been childhood sweethearts since they were young, and had promised to spend their lives together. He often gave Wanniang small gifts such as cosmetics, hairpins and rings, and Wanniang was shy and happy to receive them. They were a pair of tender and affectionate mandarin ducks.
Liu Zhe was a scholar, and he had promised Wanniang that he would propose marriage to the Feng family after he passed the imperial examination. Wanniang also wanted Liu to marry her. Feng's parents were happy to see this marriage happen. First, the Liu family was a neighbor, and they knew each other well. Second, the government now valued civil officials over military officials, and scholars held high positions. If they had a son-in-law who was an official, it would be a great honor for their ancestors.
But fate did not fulfill his wish. Liu Zhe did not catch up with the imperial examination, but fell ill with tuberculosis. The disease was like a mountain falling on him. He saw doctors and asked for medicine, but he died after a few days.
In the mourning hall, Wan Niang was dressed in mourning clothes, lying on the coffin and almost crying herself to death. That night, she put on the rouge and powder that Liu Lang gave her, dressed up beautifully, and died after hitting the coffin, with her blood staining her white clothes red.
If she couldn't be Liu Lang's bride while she was alive, then they would commit suicide together for love and get married after death.
Feng's parents never thought that Wan Niang would commit suicide just like that. They raised their daughter to this age, hoping to exchange her for a betrothal gift and marry a rich and successful husband, but now, she is gone. Others started to talk about her, saying that Feng Wan Niang had no sense of shame, being buried alive with her husband before she even got married. Feng's parents felt ashamed, and they had to pay for the funeral expenses in vain, which was really unlucky.
At that time, a farmer named Niu Da from Yuexi Town was also seriously ill. He was worried that he had never married a wife until his death. When he heard that a girl had just died in Yuenan, he spent his life savings to buy the corpse and arranged a ghost marriage with her.
Feng's parents were blinded by money, and all their plans were in vain. This must be agreed to.
This is the current situation where two men are fighting over one woman.
Liu Zhe believed that he and Wan Niang were in love, and that Wan Niang had committed suicide with him, and that Niu Da had stolen her love away. Niu Da believed that he had spent money to make peace with Feng's parents, and that he was Wan Niang's legitimate husband. Both sides held their own opinions, and neither was convinced.
In the final analysis, it is all because of this bad custom of ghost marriage that the living act on their own and make the deceased unable to rest in peace after death.
Rong Yu said: "Your parents are really something. They were optimistic about your marriage when they were alive, but changed their minds after they died."
Wan Niang wiped her tears and said, "My father agreed to my marriage with Liu Lang because he hoped that Liu Lang would become an official and help the Feng family and me. After Liu Lang died, his plan failed, so naturally Niu Da's money was more real. My father values boys over girls and only loves me. We, his daughters, are just commodities for him to buy and sell."
"Why are you here?" Yan Zhao asked, "Who else is there besides you?"
Liu Zhe said angrily, "What about Feng Erniang and Feng Sanniang? They both died suddenly of illness and were taken away for ghost marriages. The money should be saved for Feng Si to get married. Her parents are such bad people that they even sold their daughter's body to support their son!"
He obviously had no good feelings towards Wanniang's parents. They even sold their daughter's body for money, so they were not worthy of being respected by his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Rong Yu interrupted: "Where's Aunt Feng?"
Wan Niang: "…It is me."
There is no Aunt Feng, only Feng Wanniang, otherwise she would look too much like an elderly woman.
Rong Yu asked sharply, "There are three sisters in your family, but no one survived?"
Wan Niang mustered up her courage and said a shocking yet expected fact: "In fact, my second and third sisters did not die of illness..."
The Feng family has three daughters and one son. Their parents have always favored their sons and ignored their daughters. Wan Niang is pretty and likes Liu Zhe, but the two sisters are not like that. Er Niang has a birthmark on her face. Because she is ugly, no one wants to marry her when she is old enough. San Niang had a high fever when she was a child and her brain is not very smart. No one wants to marry a stupid daughter-in-law.
The two sisters died of illness one after another, and their bodies were soon sold. Those who wanted to marry a ghost were not too picky about the bodies.
“I originally thought that Second and Third Mothers really died of illness.” Wan Niang’s tears turned into fear, “Until I accidentally saw my parents talking in the house. They said… Second and Third Mothers can’t get married anyway. Keeping them at home is just eating for free. It’s better to strangle them to death and sell them, and then marry them to a ghost, and get some money… If not, if it weren’t for my good looks and Liu Lang’s promising future, the betrothal gift from marrying alive would be higher than that from marrying to a ghost, I’m afraid I can’t escape death…”
As soon as these words were spoken, there was clearly no wind blowing in the mountains, but it was icy cold.
What is more terrifying than ghosts and gods is the human heart. This statement is very appropriate.
"How can this be justified! There are such cruel and inhumane parents in the world. Is there still law?" Liu Zhe was so angry that his soul was unstable. "Wan Niang, why didn't you tell me at that time? I would have gone to report to the authorities with you, and I would not have let Second Mother and Third Mother die unjustly!"
The flame of Wen Yichu's eternal candle also began to jump wildly, and he was obviously as angry as Liu Zhe.
Wan Niang laughed bitterly: "Report to the authorities...How can I report it?"
Rong Yu finally understood.
Ghost marriages are extremely popular here and are considered normal. At first, officials and businessmen colluded to plunder the people's wealth, and the poor were too poor to get married. People wanted to have a happy marriage and have a wife to accompany them after death, so the phenomenon of buying and selling corpses emerged. The poor were forced to buy corpses, and if they continued to suppress it, it would inevitably arouse public resentment. The people did not report it, and the officials did not investigate it. It became a custom to turn a blind eye.
The corpses bought at the beginning were all female corpses who died of normal illness. However, driven by profit, moral corruption and law violation are inevitable. The sale of corpses has formed an industrial chain, which is profitable, and more and more black-hearted people are reaching out to this gray area. As the saying goes, there are too many monks and too little porridge, there are too many bachelors, and there are too few female corpses. There will always be people who force living women to "die of illness" and turn them into corpses to be sold.
The experience of the Feng sisters is a microcosm of the countless women who have been victimized by bad habits.
The officials here will certainly not care. The oppression of officials and businessmen, the monopoly of knowledge, and the prevention of prosperity for the people have made the people ignorant, which is why ghost marriages are prevalent today and the scene of ignorance and numbness.
The laws of the Sheng Dynasty did not prohibit ghost marriages, because the people who first made the law did not even think that someone would buy and sell corpses for marriage, so naturally there was no way to make a judgment against this act. It is always the criminals first and then the police, the crime first and then the law. If there is no law prohibiting it, it is allowed, and this unethical custom is so rampant.
If one wants to break this bad habit, it cannot be overturned by a commoner alone.
Unless he has authority.
Hu Wei was horrified, but Wen Yichu was indifferent. When Wan Niang was persecuted, Wen Yichu was filled with righteous indignation. He was not only upset about Wan Niang's experience, but also hated the world and human nature. Since he saw this suffering, he would not turn a blind eye.
Does Wen Yichu really not mind the person who killed him
He does mind it, but it's nothing compared to his real wish.
Two months later, the good news that Wen Yichu passed the imperial examination would be announced. Under normal circumstances, if Rong Yu could overthrow the Hu family and avenge Wen Yichu within two months and successfully receive the good news, his mission would be completed.
But Wen Yichu's ever-burning candle can last for three years, not two months. With a three-year mission deadline, Rong Yu obviously has to do more than just revenge.
Wen Yichu's ambitions were to serve in the court, to rule the world, and to benefit all the people.
As the Demon King, Rong Yu will probably fight for justice this time.
Liu Zhe and Wan Niang suddenly changed the topic to Feng Er Niang and Feng San Niang. Niu Da saw that the situation was not right and quickly pulled it back: "What do you mean by reporting to the authorities or not? We are talking about our own business. My lord, Feng Wan Niang's parents sold her to me a long time ago. Why did this scholar take my wife away without spending a penny?"
Yan Zhao frowned: "Women are not objects, how can they be bought and sold? Who she wants to be with depends on her wishes."
Wan Niang immediately said, "Of course I will follow Liu Lang! I only recognize Liu Lang as my husband!"
"But she is mine!" Although Niu Da was afraid of Yan Zhao, he was still unwilling to give up. "She is wearing a red wedding dress. She is married to me..."
Rong Yu said: "Just now we all thought he wanted to eat us, and he was anxious to protect himself, not caring about her life or death. But Liu Zhe protected her. It shows that you don't like her, so why bother to pester her?"
Niu Da is not a cultured person, he only says one sentence over and over again: "She and I got married..."
These three ghosts didn't go to the palace to reincarnate, they were all obsessed. Liu Zhe and Wan Niang's obsession was naturally each other, and Niu Da's obsession was that he must marry a wife. He and Feng Wan had no emotional foundation, and of course he would not protect her with his life like Liu Zhe, but obsession was not so easy to eliminate.
Yan Zhao said, "Are you sure that what she is wearing is the wedding dress for you?"
"Of course it's red..."
Liu Zhe and Niu Da were stunned.
At first glance, what Wan Niang was wearing looked like a bright red wedding dress, but upon closer inspection, one could tell something was wrong—it was the white dress stained with blood that she had worn when she was in mourning for Liu Zhe.
"She died when she crashed into the coffin while wearing this mourning dress, and then she was changed into another wedding dress for a ghost marriage. The clothes that ghosts wear are usually the burial clothes when they are put into the coffin. If they are old clothes, it must be because the memory of the day they wore them was too deep and the obsession was too strong, so they did not want to forget them even after death. What she wore was mourning clothes stained with blood, not the wedding dress for her ghost marriage with you, which means that the person she really wanted to marry was Liu Zhe, not you." It was rare for Yan Zhao to say so many words in one breath, and very fluently.
Of course, the mourning clothes stained red with blood were turned red because Feng Wan was too obsessed with marrying Liu Zhe after her death. It does not mean that she really shed so much blood when she died.
Niu Da muttered: "But I've spent all my money..."
"You can go and tell her parents in your dreams and ask them to burn paper money for you, which will offset the loss." Rong Yu said.
Niu Da: "I don't want money..." I just want a wife.
"I haven't finished yet. Take the money and go to the underworld to fight. If you are reborn into a good family in the next life, you can also marry a wife." Rong Yu half tempted and half threatened, "If you stay in the world, you will be a single ghost in this life. Which one do you choose?"
As soon as the ox grows up, it immediately chooses to reincarnate.
It turns out that he could marry a wife in the next life by bribing the ghost messenger with ghost money. If he had known this would happen, why did he still stay here
His obsession is to get married. If he is reborn, he will get married. If he doesn't, he will be single forever. It is like his soul returning to the underworld!
"Since you have made your choice, just leave after you finish your dream." Rong Yu said.
Niu Da said gratefully: "Yes, yes!"
He left happily.
Liu Zhe and Wan Niang were stunned to see that the ghost's obsession was resolved so easily. They wanted to thank the benefactor and said that they would repay him with all their might...
"No need." Yan Zhao finally said the most important line, "I want to ask for directions."
Liu Zhe: “…”
Wan Niang: “…”
"Not only that." Rong Yu added, "I also want you to do me a favor."
With the guidance of the two ghosts Feng and Liu, Rongyu and Yan Zhao finally found the correct direction to go down the mountain.
Yan Zhao said: "The six reincarnations determine one's fate. Paper money can only work in the underworld, but it cannot change one's fate. It is unknown whether he will fall into the animal realm in this life. How can you be sure that he will get married?"
"I'm not sure." Rong Yu had no guilt in his heart, "Can't we just trick him away? Otherwise, how long will it take?"
Yan Zhao: “…” Not really surprised.
Yan Zhao asked again: "I, Feng Wan, call you Mr. Liu Zhe. What does Mr. Liu mean?"
Rong Yu said: "That is what my husband meant."
Yan Zhaoruo is thinking about it.
Rong Yu glanced at him and said, "You missed me? We'll be married soon."
"… Rongrong." Yan Zhao suddenly said, "My shroud is black, but the one I'm wearing is red."
"What?" Rong Yu said nonchalantly, but Yan Zhao's words just now echoed in his mind - the clothes that ghosts wear are usually the shrouds when they are put into the coffin. If they are old clothes, it must be because the memory of the day they wore them when they were alive was too deep, and the obsession was too strong, so they did not want to forget it even after death.
Yan Zhao turned his head to look at him.
"The time I remember most vividly in my life must be the day I became an official."