Simultaneous travel: City, infinite evolution

Chapter 262 The Qin Wedding
These dowries, which accompany the daughter to her husband's family after marriage, belong to the daughter's personal property and are one of the manifestations of her status in her husband's family.

With these dowries, she would be able to pay for things herself when it mattered most, without having to worry about her husband's family's feelings.

Whether it's the daily rewards for servants, winning people's hearts, or the expenses for socializing among noblewomen, it's all very useful.

Having economic strength and money in one's pocket gives one confidence and a higher status within the family.

This is a truth that remains unchanged throughout history and across the world.

A dowry is the personal property of the wife. It is extremely disgraceful and despicable for the husband's family to use the wife's dowry, or even to rob or plot to seize it, and this will be subject to moral condemnation from the entire society.

Nevertheless, it's not uncommon for some unscrupulous husbands' families to do such tasteless things.

Some women are victims whose husbands' families covet their vast wealth; others are victims whose husbands are of poor character and want to take advantage of their wealth for free.

Some marriages are tacit deals between two families, such as a wealthy merchant's daughter marrying into a noble family, one for a large dowry and the other to improve her social status and curry favor with powerful relatives.

It was a tacit agreement between the two parties.

Women are in a vulnerable position regardless of the situation.

If you're unlucky enough to marry into a dishonest family, and your own family isn't strong enough to rely on, then...

There's a high probability that the dowry will still be embezzled.

In the course of marriage, the bride's dowry is often much higher than the groom's betrothal gifts.

This is why in ancient times, having a girl was often considered a "money-losing proposition."

Because girls are less productive than boys and make more sacrifices in marriage, they are often called "money-losing goods," which, although harsh, is an objective fact.

Unlike later generations, the situation was reversed, with boys becoming a financial burden.

When a boy gets married, the financial burden can be enormous; the bride price shouldn't be too extravagant.

It was no less than the dowry of girls in ancient times.

More importantly, in ancient times, a girl's dowry was, at least, nominally her own property, and she had the right to use it.

But the dowry and betrothal gifts that modern boys pay don't belong to them; they can't use a single penny of it after marriage.

Even more outrageous is that the bride price and betrothal gifts did not belong to the girl; they were directly taken out of the newly formed family and lost.

Where are we now?

They went to the girl's family of origin.

The girl's parents raised her, married her off, and received an exorbitant dowry in one go, thus recouping their investment.

This is exactly the same principle as raising and selling livestock to recoup your investment.

It feels like human trafficking.

Some people might think that once a daughter is married off, it's like spilled water; if you don't take advantage of the negotiation opportunity to recoup your investment, you'll never get it back, and you'll end up losing money.

But even in families where daughters are married off, there are sons.

When a boy marries a girl, it's another losing proposition; the money he just earned is quickly lost again.

The truth is complicated and difficult to explain.

The best approach is for no one to bid.

It's that simple. In response to Mozi's philosophy, both weddings and funerals should be simple and not extravagant. A symbolic ceremony is enough, and no one will have to spend a lot of money.

However, this would cause both the man's and woman's families to disagree.

Because whether it's marrying off a daughter or taking a wife, if you don't make a profit, you're losing money.

Parents who raise children but receive no return are actually losing money.

It's the same principle as long-term investment, which costs a lot but doesn't generate profit.

Because newly formed families have children, and the costs of food, clothing, housing, and transportation are enormous.

The boy doesn't earn much money, and he invests it all in his new family, so he can't give back to his original family.

The girl doesn't earn much money, and she invests it all in her new family, so she can't give back to her original family.

Having children has become a losing proposition.

Driven by human nature's tendency to seek advantage and avoid harm, the game is not settled.

Another cycle has begun.

This cycle has come to an end.

The family line has ended.

A new cycle begins with newly impoverished families slipping from the wealthy.

What has happened will happen again.

What has been done will be done again.

What remains unchanged through the ages is the cycle of reincarnation.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva asked, "Where is reincarnation?"

The demons and monsters replied, "Reincarnation takes place in the human realm."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva asked, "Where are the evil spirits?"

The Asura demon replied, "Demons exist among humans."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva asked, "Where is transcendence?"

The wandering ghost replied, "Transcendence exists in the mortal realm."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva attained enlightenment and vowed not to become a Buddha until all hells were emptied.

Performing rituals for countless souls every day is useless; it's all just empty formalities and false compassion.

He must purify the human world, and then he will naturally become a Buddha.

That is true compassion.

Therefore, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva came to the human world and converted all these beings through physical means.

They no longer need to eat, have no needs, and have reached a state of neither increase nor decrease, neither defilement nor purity.

They all attained Buddhahood, and the world finally became a better place.

The end times have come, and finally, great compassion has been achieved.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva happily led the departed souls back to the underworld.

The world is finally empty.

But the supreme will was not satisfied.

Without the suffering of all living beings, the high and mighty gods would have less happiness, or even no happiness at all.

In order to encourage all beings to practice arduous cultivation and increase their blessings, Indra led the gods to kill Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

All beings returned to the human world, regained their physical bodies, and began the endless righteous cultivation practice.

In this way, all living beings finally received blessings.

A new cycle has begun.

The newly reborn Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva attained enlightenment and became one of the gods, diligently guiding the souls of the dead in the underworld.

The saga of "I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty" has begun again.

Therefore, the new Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could not become a Buddha in his entire life, nor did he dare to become a Buddha.

The cycle of reincarnation has begun again.

The world neither increases nor decreases, neither is defiled nor pure.

Only through the arduous practice of sentient beings can blessings be generated, which are then bestowed upon the gods.

All beings have obtained the righteous Great Law, acquired fine qualities, and received the propagation, praise, and encouragement of divine words to cultivate.

The great god Indra is so compassionate, righteous, and kind.

Because of Indra's virtues, he enjoys inexhaustible blessings, which he deserves.

Amitabha, good is good.

As one of the countless beings, Chen Hong is adapting to the rules of this cycle of reincarnation.

He would never stoop so low as to steal his wife's dowry.

With the wedding procession in tow, they headed towards their mansion.

The onlookers also walked together in twos and threes.

"Come on, come on, there must be a banquet at this wedding, let's join in the fun."

"Go together, go together."

Chen Hong led his wedding procession, followed by onlookers, in a grand procession through the main streets.

After arriving at his Chen residence.

Chen Hong got into the car and considerately helped his bride out.

He led the two brides by the hand to the main gate of the mansion.

After entering the main gate, the two brides step over a brazier of burning reeds, symbolizing the warding off of evil and disaster.

Then they went to the shrine of the Kitchen God and offered sacrifices to the Kitchen God and their ancestors.

As the groom, Chen Hong poured wine onto the stove and prayed, "May the Kitchen God protect us, may the bride enter the home, and may the harvest be plentiful."

Then Xiaoyue announced to everyone:

"The bride, Lü Zhi, and Lü Su, are formally given the name Chen Lü Shi!"

For the Chen family's daughter-in-law!

This is why so many women recorded in history are named "Ms. So-and-so".

Joining one's husband's family means becoming a member of that family, using both the husband's and the bride's surnames as one's own name, marking one's formal entry into the family.

Originally, the announcement was to be made by the groom's mother in public.

But Chen Hong was all alone, so he just had Xiaoyue make the announcement as a formality.

It must be mentioned that Lü Zhi and Lü Su were lucky to meet Chen Hong, who was all alone and yet had the ability to build such a large family fortune.

There are no in-laws to weigh on them, and no messy, complicated interpersonal relationships.

That would make daily life so much more enjoyable.

Since ancient times, conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law have been sharp. Mothers-in-law often try to uphold the rules, suppress their daughters-in-law, establish their own authority, and use this to exploit their daughters-in-law and act arrogantly.

The daughter-in-law wanted freedom, wanted to rebel, didn't want to be suppressed, and wanted to make her own decisions.

That's where the conflict arises, isn't it?
Next comes the ritual of sharing a single animal and eating together.

Chen Hong and his wife Lü Zhi and Lü Su knelt on a straw mat and shared boiled pork and millet rice.

The groom, Chen Hong, fed the bride meat with a wooden spoon, saying, "Sharing the same meat is like tilling the same field."

After feeding both women a bite of pork.

The two women, as brides, returned the rice toast, saying, "We share a grain of rice and sleep in the same bed."

Next came the nuptial wine ceremony.

Chen Hong split the gourd in half and tied them together with hemp rope.

First, a drop of wine was poured as a sacrifice to the earth, and then Chen Hong and his wife, a married couple, drank low-alcohol fermented wine together, symbolizing "connection by blood".

"Now that the nuptial ceremony is complete, please have the bride and groom tie their hair together."

Gao Yao shouted at the top of his lungs.

Chen Hong and his wife each took a strand of hair, tied them together, and put them into a brocade pouch.

Thus, the hair-tying ceremony was completed.

This is what is known as a "married couple".

Thus, with everyone as witnesses, the wedding was considered complete.

Empress Lü Zhi and Empress Lü Su were sent to their bridal chamber in the backyard.

As the groom, Chen Hong was required to host a banquet for relatives and friends and greet guests in the courtyard living room.

The banquet typically includes braised meat dishes and rice wine, and lasts for several days.

Thanks to the chef Gao Yao, Chen Hong's banquet was filled with countless delicacies, drawing high praise from the wedding guests.

"Haha, this is the best banquet I've ever had."

"This is absolutely delicious!"

"I've been living in vain before, I've never seen such a delicacy before."

"This groom's family is something else; they can casually come up with so many dishes that I've never even heard of before."

They also set up hundreds of tables for a continuous feast, claiming that the feast would last for three days and three nights, and that all guests who came to congratulate them, regardless of whether they were nobles or commoners, were welcome to eat.

Even noble families don't have this kind of pomp and circumstance, do they?

"What a wealthy and generous family!"

"Look at this mansion, it's built so grandly and lavishly."

"This mansion is so big, it's equivalent to 30 of someone else's houses."

Such a luxurious and spacious place must cost at least several hundred gold coins, right?

That's more money than I could earn in thousands of lifetimes.

That's incredibly generous!

I'm so envious!

"If I could live here, even if I had to live in a latrine every day, I would be happy to do so."

"The world of the rich!"

The people and guests all praised it.

Suddenly, a voice announced the names of the deceased:

"His Majesty the First Emperor has arrived!"

"Everyone make way!"

Everyone was shocked, the crowd stirred, and everyone craned their necks in anticipation.

"His Majesty the First Emperor?"

"How can this be?"

"Why would His Majesty the Emperor attend such a small wedding?"

“Isn’t this incredible?”

"really?"

"Fake my foot! Who in the world would dare to impersonate His Majesty the Emperor? Would they be courting death?"

(End of this chapter)