Chapter 542: Chapter 542 Why Not Go Home
——Yesterday they went to the neighbor of the Li Family, the Liu Family, to search for clues, asking three questions:
1. How did Li Qianggui die?
2. Why do villagers shut their doors tightly at night after the Li Family died out?
3. Why didn’t the Li Family have any children?
Old Liu answered all these questions one by one, and his answers were very detailed, which Shen Mo remembered clearly.
But what did old Madame Liu say at that time?
It seemed like she chimed in with a few things…
Bai Youwei squinted her eyes slowly and said, “When we first met, the old woman said that the village was too poor. Those who could leave had all left, leaving behind only the old people who could not move and the old bachelors who could not get married.
Since the girls in the village were all married to other villages, the village bachelors could only buy wives. What about the bachelors who have no money? The old man mentioned this later on, saying that Li Lai was too poor to get married, which is actually hinting to us that there is something wrong with the roots of the Li Family.
Later, when we asked how Li Lai died, the old man said a lot, do you remember what the old lady said? She said, the Li Family, they are pitiful people.
The one who died was clearly Li Lai, yet she said Li is pitiful. This implies the Li Family probably suffered greatly under Li Lai’s hand.
And the last question is the most interesting.
We asked why there was no child in the Li Family, the old man said that lady Li was young, and giving birth hurt her body. However, what the old lady said at the time was…compassionate….too delicate.”
“Delicate…” Shen Mo pondered, “Ordinary daughters of peasant families are not described as delicate.”
Bai Youwei nodded slightly: “According to this clue, we can infer that everyone in the village laughs at the fact that Li Lai can’t get married, so he got annoyed and tricked a girl from outside the village home. I guess Lady Li’s original family might not be a wealthy and noble one, since it would probably have maidservants and other followers, making it difficult to get her. But she should be from a small wealthy family, not having to deal with much hardship since childhood, with a simple and naive character.”
“Young age, weak body, forced to give birth injuring her health, this is indeed a plausible explanation.” Shen Mo thought for a moment, then added, “It’s also possible that Lady Li didn’t want to give birth and deliberately damaged her own health. However, if that’s the case, she certainly must have suffered a lot in the Li Family.”
“If it was so tough, why didn’t she go home?” Bai Youwei was a bit puzzled, “Even if she had lost her chastity, she wouldn’t have not attempted to return home at all, would she?”
Shen Mo said: “Maybe her family values their reputation highly.”
Bai Youwei shook her head: “In ancient times, only the upper class cared about such things. If ordinary people in rural areas were to follow these rules, they wouldn’t be able to live their lives. In fact, even in the most conservative dynasties, it’s common for widows to remarry and for men to divorce and remarry.”
For example, everyone knows Arab women are conservative, covering their bodies completely except for their eyes, but in fact, if you go to some poorer villages there, you’ll find that the women need to work in the fields, they can’t afford to dress like that. They’re too busy figuring out how to subsist day by day to care about following those rules.
Bai Youwei moved forward slowly in her wheelchair, carefully considering everything.
“Something that’s preventable for a while can’t be prevented for a lifetime… Something must have happened to make Lady Li give up the thought of returning home…”
She looked at the distant mansion of the old scholar, suddenly stopped, and slowly widened her eyes.
“I understand now… Why she couldn’t go back…”
Shen Mo also stopped, peering at the distant ancient mansion.
They had never noticed before, but now, looking from afar, the mansion was situated much lower than the village, with a large, naturally formed boulder standing tall in front of the main gate, making the mansion… look like a tomb.
“What if…” Bai Youwei began softly, “She had an elder or younger brother who had passed the imperial examination and became an officer?”