On a gloomy morn ing, a car riage rolled along a coun try road. Sit ting in it was a young woman, sad but stoic. Fol low ing the car riage was a young man on horse back, sob bing with grief. They had been a happily mar ried cou ple un til the young man’s mother forced them to sep a rate. They were now head ing for the home of the young woman’s par ents.

The young man’s name was Jiao Zhongqing and the young woman Liu Lanzhi. They were both from well-to-do fam ilies. Jiao Zhongqing worked as a clerk in the county mag is trate’s of fice in a big town a few dozen miles from home, so he had to rent a house close to his office. His wid owed mother dis liked ur ban life and there fore re fused to live there with him, so Zhongqing had to leave his mother with his newly mar ried wife Liu Lanzhi to take care of her. Lanzhi did not com plain. In stead, she

prom ised to be a du tiful daugh ter-in-law, as her parents had taught her to do since her girl hood.

 

 

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