Chapter 59

From Lin Bei's perspective, Cui Lan was a capable woman, possessing a strong personality typical of ancient times. However, in the eyes of people from this era, Cui Lan was clearly an unqualified woman.

Liu Bei's statement, "Brothers are like hands and feet, women are like clothes," fully illustrated the low value placed on women in this era. Even Liu Bei, who was considered a benevolent person at the time, said this, so one can imagine how much worse the thoughts of others were.

Women should be gentle and graceful, adhering to the three obediences and four virtues, staying at home to assist their husbands and raise children. This should be the most common view of this era. Cui Lan, however, was too tall, and her appearance was not as delicate as that of a typical woman. In Lin Bei's eyes, she had a more masculine aura, but here, she would be seen as resembling a man, which was naturally unacceptable.

But has no one ever proposed marriage to Cui Lan until now? Not really. Since Cui Lan came of age, many people have sought to marry her, and matchmakers have visited her home many times. However, Cui Lan's family was not satisfied. Why? The men who proposed were too low-quality. There were middle-aged widowers with a son and a daughter, minor officials in the county who wanted Cui Lan as their third wife, a watchman with a limp who was also much older than Cui Lan, and some people from Nanyue, whom the Han people did not want to marry into. In Cui Lan's view, none of them were from a decent family.

Cui Lan had thought about marrying a good man and raising children, but as she grew older, the quality of the men proposing marriage declined. By the time she turned twenty, Cui Lan had almost given up on the idea of marriage, as she was already considered an old maid.

Modern leftover women can probably understand this heavy pressure: the neighbors' looks, the parents' disappointment, the relatives' pity, and the colleagues' schadenfreude. Many leftover women become homebodies as a result. In ancient times, this pressure was even more intense. Cui Lan's desire to read and write was probably half genuine and half an attempt to escape that environment. After all, the demon dragon lord in front of her would not keep reminding her about marriage.

"Alright, since you want to, and the teacher won't teach you, I'll teach you to read and write. At the very least, it will allow you to..."

"Lord, absolutely not, it goes against propriety," Bian Fuzi quickly said.

Lin Bei hurriedly said, "Hua Mulan even went to war in her father's place. What's wrong with women learning knowledge and understanding principles? Huh?"

"Who is Hua Mulan?" Bian Fuzi asked curiously.

"Hua Mulan, you don't know her? She's very famous. She is... uh, it seems you really don't know..." Lin Bei thought, Hua Mulan seemed to be from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, which was about one or two hundred years from here. It was still early, so he skipped it: "Regardless of whether you know her or not, I will teach Cui Lan. It goes against propriety? Hmph, that's your human propriety. What does it have to do with me? I am a snake, I don't need to follow propriety."

Bian Fuzi glared at Lin Bei several times, then grumbled. Lin Bei couldn't hear what he was saying, but he didn't care. As he said, he was now a snake, and he could follow human propriety if he wanted to, but if he didn't, who could say anything? This was the natural advantage of a snake. You could reason with a snake when it was in a good mood, but if it was in a bad mood, it could bite you to death.

Looking at Cui Lan, who was standing there somewhat frightened, Lin Bei wrote: "Cui Lan, from now on, you will learn from me. Don't pay attention to this old pedant. He is very rigid. You need to believe one thing: remember, women can hold up half the sky. Do you understand what that means? It means women are just as capable as men. But the key is to rely on yourself. If you become powerful, they will all fawn over you. If you want, you can even take a few pretty young men to infuriate these old pedants. Haha."

Bian Fuzi was so angry that his beard stood up, but he didn't dare to be angry with Lin Bei. He could only glare at Cui Lan and repeatedly mutter, "What a disgrace." Cui Lan looked panicked and quickly said, "Lan... dare not."

Lin Bei felt quite pleased. Look, this was his current privilege. He could say things that were taboo, like when he mentioned Emperor Ling Liu Hong to Bian Fuzi. Who in the Han dynasty would dare to call the emperor by his name? But Bian Fuzi found it reasonable. So, even though Bian Fuzi couldn't understand it now, he would soon realize that if demons were like humans, they wouldn't be demons. They were always different.

Then, Lin Bei explained to Cui Lan how to do things. Although Bian Fuzi was unwilling, he still translated everything. Cui Lan was very attentive and carefully noted everything. If she didn't understand something, she would ask directly, and Lin Bei would patiently explain. The matter was simple, so Cui Lan quickly mastered it. Afterward, Lin Bei had Bian Fuzi announce his decision to the people.

When Bian Fuzi did so, the way people looked at Cui Lan changed. It is said that interests are the fundamental reason for changes in people's status. Previously, Cui Lan could not bring them any benefits, but now she could. Many people realized that if Cui Lan relaxed the standards for collecting taxes, they could exchange for more mountain goods. This was a benefit.

Cui Lan felt this even more deeply. Many people found excuses to walk up to her, chatting and laughing with her, showing some flattery and hinting that they wanted to interact more in the future. Cui Lan remained calm, smiling in response, but in her heart, she felt that the lord was truly unpredictable and skilled at grasping human nature, which added to her respect and fear.

On the other side, Lin Bei proudly said to Bian Fuzi, "What do you think? I was right, wasn't I? I said they would fawn over Cui Lan."

Bian Fuzi sighed, "Lord, you may have good intentions, but Cui Lan may face trouble."

"What? Why?"

"Does Lord really not know?"

"Of course not."

Bian Fuzi paused and said, "Lord, you should know about Gaozu's slaying of the white dragon at Mangdang Mountain, right?"

Lin Bei's heart sank. How could he have forgotten about this?

To put it simply, after Liu Bang slew the white snake, he rose to power, eventually becoming the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. This was a legendary story. In ancient times, people were very superstitious, and the legendary white snake was a significant highlight. When Wang Mang usurped the throne, the white snake returned for revenge. From then on, every Han emperor would likely have a deep-seated fear of snakes. Even if they had just a hint of suspicion, they would not hesitate to eliminate the threat.

Although this place was in Nanyue, far from the emperor, there was still a government, the county and the commandery. If the county and commandery were loyal, they might send troops to eliminate Lin Bei. Even if they couldn't kill Lin Bei, Cui Lan, as his spokesperson, would not be able to escape.

Thinking about this, Lin Bei realized he had been too rash. If this happened, he would have harmed Cui Lan. The charge of colluding with a demon would be enough to have her entire family executed.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Lin Bei was truly anxious. Bian Fuzi clearly knew but didn't warn him.

"Lord, don't be anxious."

"How can I not be anxious?" Lin Bei cursed, "Good intentions turned into trouble. How can I not be anxious?"

"Lord, the county magistrate is somewhat... well, somewhat confused, leading to unrest in the region. The people of Nanyue are very fierce and often cause trouble. Not long ago, there was even an incident of killing officials. Although I am not very talented, I have some relationship with the county magistrate, who trusts my words to some extent. So, Lord, you don't need to worry for now."

"But you said she might face trouble?" Lin Bei felt relieved but also a bit angry. Why did these scholars always leave things unsaid?

"Lord, I just said she might face trouble. Think about it, if news of Lord's actions spreads, for example, to the Central Plains, it might..."

PS: Thank you to Beixin Jia Tuoxie and Xuanyan for the donations. As for the update ticket, I'll give it a try. Thank you.