future
What do they want to do
The young girls looked at each other, as if they had never thought about this question.
Or rather, no one has ever instilled in them the idea of considering the future.
In the concept they inherited from their parents, girls would be betrothed to men after they reached the age of 15, and their lives thereafter would be just like living in a yard with four walls, revolving around her husband and children!
If you are lucky enough to meet your true love, you can live a happy life together.
If you are unlucky enough to meet a bad husband, you will have to endure the grievances and raise your children, hoping that they will be filial to you in the future.
Unlike their male brothers who can carry on the family line and freely imagine their lives, the phrase "bringing honor to the family" seems to have never been associated with girls, and they have no right to consider themselves.
But over the past six months, they have studied with the teacher together with their adopted brothers and sisters. They have also learned the principles in the books, appreciated the wisdom of the ancients, and seen the vast world. Occasionally, they would feel unwilling to give up.
If only they were boys, they could do this and that... Almost every girl has fantasized about this in her heart.
But when Mingyue asked, everyone just remained silent.
They are afraid of saying too much, afraid of saying the wrong thing, and even more afraid of being laughed at for having wild ideas.
After all, in the eyes of many people, being born a girl is their original sin.
"You haven't thought about this? That won't do. You have to think about it carefully and boldly. Otherwise, I won't know your dreams, and how can you realize them?" Mingyue's eyes swept over their faces one by one, and she said gently, "Besides, people can't live blindly. You must have goals and dreams so that you can work hard for them."
"But we are girls, sister. Girls just need to get married. Don't think too much and ask for too much. People will call you a heretic."
After a period of silence, the first girl who spoke was beyond Mingyue's expectations.
The girl was originally named Zhou Qiandi. From hoping for a brother, begging for a brother, hoping for a brother... to owing a brother, the Zhou family gave birth to six girls before they had a son. Zhou Qiandi was also told by her parents that she owed her brother from the moment she was born, because if they hadn't wanted a son, they would never have given birth to a daughter like her. So she had to be grateful to her brother, and everything had to be for her brother's sake. She had to devote everything to her brother.
When Mingyue first met Zhou Qiandi, she was skinny and small, and was being ridden like a horse by her strong and plump younger brother. She was crawling back and forth on the muddy and gravelly ground. If she crawled a little slower, she would be hit by the cane in her brother's hand. Her parents were still standing by, smiling and cheering their son on, and occasionally complaining that she was crawling too slowly.
In order to avoid being beaten less, her arms and knees were rubbed by stones, but no one cared about her injuries. Everyone was concerned about her brother's emotions, and even she herself was used to it.
Therefore, when Mingyue said she wanted to buy her, her parents were extremely happy, as if they had never expected such a good thing to happen in the world.
Even though Mingyue only gave them five taels of silver, they agreed to sell their daughter without hesitation, and did not even ask Mingyue why she bought Zhou Qiandi.
Zhou Qiandi remained silent, with a numb look on his face, as if it didn't matter where he went or what happened.
Even though Zhou Qiandi was later renamed Lu Yunji by Mingyue, which means the clouds have disappeared and the rain has stopped, hoping that her life would be sunny after the rain, her temperament had already been settled. She was the most taciturn and the most introverted and quiet of all the girls.
Now Lu Yunji finally spoke, which was a rare occasion. Mingyue thought this was a very good start.
Only by digging out the rotten flesh in the body can the scars of the past be completely healed. "No, it is precisely because we are girls that we need to plan for the future instead of just letting things go. Yunji, listen carefully," Mingyue held Lu Yunji's little hand, which still had calluses that had not completely faded.
Mingyue said this to Lu Yunji as well as the other girls: "You are now members of the Lu family. The Lu family does not need to use your marriage to do anything, nor does it force you to become a certain person. In my opinion, you are as free as Yunqi and Tianwei, and you are just as important. No matter what you want to do in the future, I and Uncle Lu will support you."
Lu Yunji suddenly raised her head and looked at Mingyue, as if she suspected that she had heard it wrongly, "We are as important as Brother Yunqi and the others? How is it possible? They are boys," she bit her lip and shook her head, "We, we are just useless money-losing goods..."
Hearing the words "money-losing goods", all the girls hung their heads in disappointment.
The girls who are adopted by Mingyue are basically those who are not valued or cared about in their original families.
Some were like Lu Yunshu who almost drowned, some were like Lu Yunji who grew up being bullied, and some were like Lu Yunyan who were treated like slaves at home and not as human beings. They are more like the epitome of how countless poor families of this era treated girls, who were looked down upon and oppressed to death.
But everyone thinks that girls deserve to be treated like this, and the word "worthless" is engraved in their bones.
“Who said you are useless and money-losing? Hasn’t the teacher always praised Yunshu for her writing that is as good as Yunqi’s? Yunman is also very talented in painting. Yunjiao’s embroidery is vivid, and there is also Yunyan... Each of you has your own strengths. You are no worse than Tianwei and Fuji. Why do you look down on yourselves?” Mingyue pointed out the advantages of all the girls one by one, and their eyes sparkled.
Being recognized by Mingyue, their important sister, means a lot to them.
The hot-tempered Lu Yunjing was the first to applaud: "Sister is right, we are no worse than them. They just have a little more meat under us, what's so great about that?"
When the other girls heard this, their faces immediately turned red with embarrassment, but Ke Xin slowly relaxed.
Lu Yunman, who was of quiet nature, mustered up the courage to speak out her dream with red ears. She wanted to be the first female painter in the Qiyuan Dynasty, the kind whose paintings would be worth a fortune.
Lu Yun, who was on good terms with Lu Yunman, laughed and scolded her for being greedy, then turned around and climbed onto her shoulders again, muttering, "If you become rich, don't forget me."
With the sisters taking the lead, the other girls no longer seemed to think that they were being unorthodox and began to think about their own future.
Soon, Mingyue was surrounded by little girls with bright eyes and listened to their dreams.
Mingyue smiled. It was a good idea. The next step was to realize it.
But before that, there is one more important thing.
That is to change the world's view of women.
Women have been trapped in the wall for too long...
(End of this chapter)