Liu Jing sent away his sister-in-law Lai Ci and his nephew Hutou, and within a few days it was midsummer and May.
In the understanding of the people of the Han Dynasty, May is an evil month with many taboos. Therefore, "Customs of Customs" written by Ying Shao, the prefect of Mount Tai, states: "It is said that if you get an official position in May, you will not be appointed until you are exempted."
The room makes one bald."
The reason why his sister-in-law Lai Ci chose to leave at the end of April was because it was taboo to travel far in May. When Liu Jing started his official career the year before last, he also chose April 30 to report to the county meritorious service, instead of delaying it until May.
May is an evil month, and May 5th, the Dragon Boat Festival, is regarded as an evil month and an evil day.
The great Confucian Wang Chong mentioned in his book "Lunheng": "It is taboo to mention the son of the first month and the fifth month. If the son of the first month or the fifth month kills his father and mother, it is not allowed to be raised. If it is raised, the parents will die."
This custom has a long history. Mengchang Juntianwen, one of the "Four Young Masters" of the Warring States Period, was born on May 5th, so he was almost abandoned by his parents.
Emperor An, Emperor Shun, Emperor Chong, Emperor Zhi, Emperor Huan, and Emperor Ling of the Six Dynasties. Hu Guang, the Taiwei of the Six Dynasties, was also born on May 5th. His parents were taboo, so they "hid the infant in a gourd and threw him into the
River. Some people raised it...because it was born on a gourd, so the surname was Hu."
Therefore, on May 5th, the practice of abandoning babies and even drowning them was extremely popular. Liu Jing absolutely hated this custom, especially the behavior of drowning babies, which he absolutely could not tolerate.
He once heard his eldest brother Du Xi talk about something. His father's friend from the same hometown, Jia Biao and Jia Weijie, was a former party leader and as famous as Xun Shuang in the same county. When he was the county magistrate of Xinxi, he found that the small people in the territory were in poverty.
, those who give birth to many children cannot raise them.
Jia Biao then set up his own regulations in the county: "Anyone who does not give birth to a son will be charged with murder." The county was shocked. In a few years, thousands of babies were born because of him, all named "Jia".
Jia Biao's approach was very much in line with Liu Jing's wishes, so at the beginning of May, he officially issued an edict and announced to the entire county: "Mother and child cannibalize each other, which is contrary to nature and against the law. Anyone who dares to commit infanticide is guilty of the same crime as murder."
As soon as this ordinance came out, it immediately caused great controversy throughout Lingxian County. Liu Jingen was so powerful that the people did not dare to talk about it publicly, but privately they believed that he was just "meddling in other people's business."
The custom of infanticide has an extremely long history. For thousands of years, everyone has followed it and gradually accepted it as a matter of course and did not regard it as an immoral thing. Even the imperial court turned a blind eye to it.
One Eye did not interfere with this kind of folk behavior.
Now Liu Jing suddenly told the people that drowning an infant was illegal and would be the same crime as murder. It was simply inexplicable.
Liu Jingke doesn't care what the people think, he has issued an order anyway, anyone who dares to commit crimes will be severely punished. This kind of culture must be killed.
However, what Liu Jing did not expect was that his approach did effectively curb the trend of infant drowning, but the number of abandoned infants doubled.
When Liu Jing inspected the embankment on May 5th, he saw more than one case. He couldn't help but feel anxious, and immediately mobilized all county officials to patrol the rivers of Xiang, Lei, and Chengzhu. As soon as he saw an abandoned baby, he immediately
Save it.
In just half a day, the officials successfully rescued ninety-seven babies, leaving ninety-two alive.
Among them, there are 28 boys and 64 girls, with the proportion of girls accounting for more than two-thirds.
This male-to-female ratio is quite "normal". After all, male babies can carry on the family line and are also an important labor force after they are raised. Female babies, on the other hand, have limited help to the family. They will eventually get married when they grow up. According to today's customs, they have to make a fortune.
Dowry is a waste of money. Therefore, those who abandon male babies are few, while those who abandon female babies are many.
When Liu Jing returned to the county temple, he couldn't help but feel a headache when faced with so many crying babies who were crying for food. He urgently went to the whole city to recruit dozens of wet nurses to feed them.
But this was not a long-term solution. Liu Jing slowly came up with an idea and immediately returned to the county house to discuss it with his wife Deng Yuan.
Liu Jing came back in a hurry and just stepped through the door of the county house. He saw his wife Deng Yuan chasing a few flying butterflies among the colorful flowers.
Liu Jing couldn't help but stop and quietly admire his lively and lovely wife. She was wearing a bright yellow gauze dress today. It was as thin as cicada wings and as light as smoke. The long skirt trailed to the ground with fluttering ribbons. , the beautiful prints and exquisite edges are extremely gorgeous. Deng Yuan shuttles among the flowers, like a flower fairy walking out of a fairy tale.
Deng Yuan noticed Liu Jing just now after being reminded by Ah Shu, Ah Xi and other maids. A look of embarrassment immediately appeared on his beautiful face, and he thought to himself: "It's only half time now and it's not time to leave work yet. What's wrong with Liu Lang?" Just came back? It was really unlucky for him to see me behaving badly."
Seeing his wife's shy look, Liu Jing couldn't help laughing and shaking his head. Perhaps it was related to the education he received since childhood. In front of him, Deng Yuan always wanted to show the stereotypical image of a good wife who "doesn't change her face when she is angry, but never loses her temper when she is happy".
The problem is that she has a lively and active personality, and doing this is just suppressing her own nature. Therefore, she often has one face in front of him and another face behind his back.
Deng Yuan came to Liu Jing with his head lowered. Because he was chasing the butterfly just now, he ran very fast, and drops of sweat appeared on his white jade-like face.
Liu Jing took out a white silk handkerchief from his arms, wiped her sweat, and asked with a smile: "How many butterflies did Shaojun catch?"
"Two." Deng Yuan whispered back, and then quickly changed the subject: "Liu Lang, why did you come back so early today?"
Liu Jing took his wife's hand, walked to the hall, and briefly talked to her about rescuing nearly a hundred abandoned babies today.
Deng Yuan was not an uninformed woman. On the contrary, she was very smart. She was familiar with classics and historical books, and had far more insight than ordinary people. Liu Jing naturally knew this best, and would usually discuss things with her when encountering problems.
Deng Yuan frowned slightly after hearing this. She had agreed with her husband's previous proposal to issue a ban on infant drowning, but she did not expect this result.
Liu Jing walked into the hall, poured himself a glass of water, and said: "Now nearly a hundred babies are temporarily placed in the county temple, but this is by no means a long-term solution. The county temple is the center of a county. There are so many people coming in and out, and the baby's fragile body will not be able to withstand the disturbance, leading to premature death, so we have to make other arrangements."
Deng Yuan opened her red lips lightly and said, "If there are two people, maybe they can be adopted, but with these nearly a hundred babies... what does Liu Lang plan to do?"
Liu Jing confessed his inner plan to his wife: "I intend to set up a nursing home to feed abandoned babies until they grow up. Not only these babies, but all orphans without fathers and mothers can stay. Shaojun, what do you think?"