Chapter 1380
: There's no right or wrong, it's all about survival.
Chapter 1380: There's no right or wrong, it's all about survival.
Household registration is more important than life itself. Without it, one becomes a migrant worker if they leave the area. The Li people will not give up on them.
"They may continue to live in the house, but they must not sell it. Otherwise, it is considered selling family property and they will be killed!"
There are many other clauses, all of which are so cunning that Qin Xiaomi would want to draw her sword and kill someone, but that's how strict things had to be in ancient times.
Therefore, she did not stop her.
Madam Guan, the other ladies of the imperial family, and their other clansmen who remained in the city all agreed.
"Alright, ladies, sign and put your fingerprints on them!" Elder Li said coldly, adding, "After you sign, you must have the seals of the Prince of Ye, the Provincial Administration Commission, and the Capital Prefecture stamped on them. Only then will it be considered legitimate. Otherwise, it's like a hen crowing at dawn, without any Wei law to bind you!"
Tsk tsk, that old man took the opportunity to curse Qin Xiaomi.
But Qin Xiaomi didn't care. After all, the area outside the city was fraught with danger, and how much longer could the old man live? There was no need to argue with a dying man.
"I'll go first." Madam Guan signed and pressed her fingerprint on a long, wide sheet of Xuan paper filled with terms and the names of the women who stayed in the city.
The other ladies, Qin Xiaomi, and Aunt Alan took over.
The esteemed members of the Justice Faction, including Elder Gao and Elder Xu, also signed and affixed their fingerprints.
Next, the elders and influential members of the clan who remained in the city, including Li Zhen, Master Weng, the Tan family, the Chang family, and the Yun family, signed their names and pressed their fingerprints.
Women like Li Runiang and Li Liushi who stayed in the city also had to press their fingerprints one by one... That's how it was back then; anything involving women would be very complicated.
However, female relatives like Weng Liniang, whose parents and entire families stayed in the city, did not need to come to sign or put their fingerprints, because their parents were responsible for it.
"My husband, sob sob sob, I knew I didn't marry the wrong person." Li Wenhe's young wife cried tears of joy.
Li Wenhe comforted her, saying, "You are my wife. It is my responsibility to stay and protect you. Don't cry. Let's go home and live a good life together."
"Yes, yes, my husband, let's live a good life together, and never be apart, even in life or death."
Qin Xiaomi: "..." This is ancient times, how dare you two say such things?
Li Liu was even more outspoken than the two of them: "Heh, Third Sister-in-law, wake up! Someone like Third Brother, who can he beat? We should learn martial arts from the female guards so that we can protect ourselves with swords in critical moments. Otherwise, if we die and suffer, it won't stop Third Brother from marrying a new wife!"
The third sister-in-law was stunned again, unable to be moved. She pushed Li Wenhe away, turned her back, and sobbed softly.
Qin Xiaomi: "..." A woman with a peculiar mind.
"Li Liu, you forced me to this. Even if the city can be saved, I will not want you anymore. After all, we have been separated for so long. Who knows if you, an unruly woman, can hold on to your former life?!" Li Wenhu said angrily, trying to smear Li Liu.
"Bah! Get out of the city and go find your own way to make a living. For the sake of our marriage, I will visit your grave every Qingming and Winter Solstice!" Li Liushi was defiant today and just went for it.
"You, you, you!" Li Wenhu was furious.
What got even angrier was what happened next.
His second brother slung his bundle over his shoulder and scurried towards his wife. When he reached the wall of female guards, he turned back and shouted, "Big brother, we're entrusting our parents to you! We brothers will stay in the city, protect our ancestral home, fight the enemy, defend the city, and uphold the spirit of the Li family!"
Li Wenhu and his parents were stunned. How could their second son have betrayed them too?
"Second brother, come back! You unfilial wretch! How dare you abandon your parents? Are you even human?!" Li Wenhu was going crazy and wanted to cry. Damn it, in the end, he was the one who was abandoned!
He then pointed at Qin Xiaomi and scolded, "It's all your fault! You've ruined the good atmosphere of the capital city!"
"Commendable courage indeed! To dare to scold Qin Dongjia even with Commander Jiang present, he must be furious!" Si Pei was shocked.
With a clatter, Jiang Dalang spurred his horse forward, charging straight towards Liwen Lake.
Li Wenhu was terrified, thinking he was going to die under the horse's hooves. But he didn't. Jiang Dalang stopped his horse abruptly, dismounted, grabbed Li Wenhu, and lifted him up.
"Let go of me! What are you doing? Help! Help!" Li Wenhu shouted.
His parents were terrified and dared not fight Jiang Dalang, who was wearing armor. They only shouted, "The Wei army is a public instrument of the dynasty, and the Wei people must not be killed indiscriminately!"
Jiang Dalang didn't lay a finger on him. He simply carried him to the city gate, then tossed him forward with a thud, throwing him outside the city gate.
His sharp gaze swept over him, and he said coldly, "Get lost."
After saying that, he turned around and walked back, mounted his horse, glanced at Qin Xiaomi, nodded to her, and then rode back to his original position.
Uncle Qin grabbed Qin Xiaogu with a beaming smile, "Look, look! How good Dalang is to your sister Xiaomi. Now you can rest in peace, your uncle and aunt can rest in peace."
Xiao Gu sighed and tugged at his clothes, which had been pulled askew: "Second Uncle, I'm painting."
Can you be more mature and stop being so easily startled?
"Tsk, Xiao Gu, you can't be like this. You're so serious at such a young age. You'll grow up to be a shut-in. How will you get along with people? How will you get along with your wife? Nobody likes a quiet person. Everyone likes someone who can say nice things." Uncle Qin felt that his younger generation was a real worry, making him very anxious.
Qin Xiaogu ignored him.
Instead, the painting depicts Jiang Dalang standing up for Qin Xiaomi.
"Father, it's just us and Hu-ge'er now. Should our family go out of the city to find a way to make a living?" Li Wenhu's mother asked Li Hui, the head of the family.
Li Hui's face was very ugly. He wished he could kill those three daughters-in-law. It was all because of their troubles that the family was torn apart.
“A bunch of bastards, they’ll get what’s coming to them.” Li Hui cursed through gritted teeth, then pulled his hand back from his wife’s grasp and said, “Of course we should leave the city. If we don’t leave, are we going to stay and wait to die or be robbed? The atmosphere in the city has already gone bad. If you want to stay, I won’t force you.”
"No, no, I'll follow you even in death." His wife hurriedly pledged her loyalty, then grabbed Li Hui's arm tightly. Li Hui was her lifeline; she couldn't bear to be separated from him, even in death.
But she misplaced her trust.
Li Hui had more than one woman and some spare money, so he kept another family in Qingfang Prefecture. However, Qingfang Prefecture had been cut off from the capital city for a long time, and Li Hui was worried about that other family, so he agreed to the decision of the second elder of the Li clan to leave the city.
After another half hour of fussing, the "Letter of Imperial Decree for the Protection of Female Families Residing in the City" was finally stamped with the seals of the Prince of Ye and the Imperial Army, and recognized by the Wei law, thus bringing the matter to a close.
Dangdang Dangdang!
As the gong sounded, the elder of the Li clan called out: "Fellow villagers, gather together! Join me, Li Wengyunbai, and other members of our clan as we leave the city to find a way to survive and preserve our bloodline!"
That old man is quite good at bewitching people.
However, there are indeed quite a few people who agree with this statement. Therefore, although many women and their families were left behind, more than 10,000 people were determined to leave.
"Waaah, Earth God, Ancestors, your unworthy descendants are leaving! Please bless us, let us be safe, and let us continue the lineage of our clan. If we survive this journey, your unworthy descendants will return to our homeland to apologize to you!"
Under the circumstances, all aspects of life unfold, and there is no right or wrong, only the individual's path to survival.
Meanwhile, Li Zhen, Li Liang, Master Weng, and others were still persuading their clansmen: "If you find out how difficult it is to find a way to survive in the wilderness after leaving the city, then return to the city."
Many of the clansmen nodded with tears in their eyes.
There were also those who criticized it.
"Hmph, sowing discord among our clansmen and attempting to exterminate our bloodline, you are truly wicked!" Elder Li Wu and Li Gui angrily rebuked, staring fiercely at the figures of Li Chenshi and her daughter, looking as if they wanted to devour these traitors alive.