The theory of valuing males over females

After all, as parents get older, their ability to do work is limited, so they had to exert extra effort to help their younger son with his marriage. This also led to the situation during the division of family property where the eldest son and the main branch typically received the larger share.

As for daughters, there wasn't so much concern, with the family being poor and favoring sons over daughters, most girls were merely given a couple of pieces of clothing when they married, and only slightly better-off families would provide some dowry.

Take Madam Zhao, for example, her marriage was practically a half-sale by her family. Madam Zhao's betrothal gifts were not insubstantial, amounting to a full five taels of silver, yet when she came to the marriage, she brought only two old pieces of clothing, filled with patches and barely wearable.

Had it been a weaker woman, this alone would have left her without any status in her husband's family, but Madam Zhao was different. She did not have the temper of Madam He, who would throw tantrums at a moment's notice, nor would she cry and wail over a few harsh words from others.

She never cared about others' gaze and lived her life as she pleased, which is why, aside from some trivial family squabbles, her years passed quite comfortably.

Seeing Madam He growing more and more agitated, and whereas Madam Zhao took advantage of the moment to bury her head and eat strenuously, Ye Jiu, fearing that Madam He would upset herself, hurriedly reassured her, "Mother, let's eat. Don't upset yourself over this, it's not worth it."

Watching Madam Zhao's intense focus on eating silenced Madam He's scathing words.

The daughter was right, a woman like Madam Zhao wouldn't care no matter how much she was scolded. With nothing but a cabbage and radish stew on the table in the dead of winter, Madam He supposed that if she continued to scold, all the food would just end up in that woman's mouth.

Because, while she was scolding, everyone else at the table was just watching, only Madam Zhao shamelessly gorged herself, not forgetting to serve her two sons, while six-year-old Qingzhi was neglected by everyone.

Feeling suffocated with frustration, Madam He picked up her chopsticks and snapped, "What are you all waiting for? Eat, or do you want the food to go to the pigs and end up drinking the cold north wind?"

Even Madam He's sarcasm did not stop Madam Zhao from eating.

Ye Jiu could not say much about a person like Madam Zhao, but he did not approve of her behavior.

Even if Madam He had a bad temper, she was still her elder, yet Madam Zhao never knew respect.

Moreover, Madam Zhao had one major flaw, which was pilfering from her own family.

It's not that she shouldn't help her natal family, but Madam Zhao's pilfering was without boundaries.

Last year, the harvest was decent, and during the new year, Madam He made new clothes for all the boys in the family, yet the children of the second branch wore tattered clothes on New Year's Day.

Later it was discovered that Madam Zhao had taken her two sons' new clothes to her natal home for her nephews to wear, which sparked a major conflict within the family.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Madam Zhao behaved for only two months. Then, taking advantage of Madam He forgetting to lock the cupboard, she took several jin of fine flour back to her natal home.

This incident truly enraged Madam He; that flour was hardly obtained by her in exchange for coarse grains, intended to nourish Ye Jiu's body.

Unfortunately, her own daughter hadn't even tasted it before Madam Zhao sneakily made off with it.

If she had taken these things for her children to eat, Madam He would not have been so furious, but Madam Zhao did not keep any of it, taking the entire bag straight back to her natal family!

When Ye Gaoshi learned about the incident, he dragged Madam Zhao back and severely chastised her, but it was only a band-aid solution; afterward, Madam Zhao simply became more secretive in her actions.