This was perhaps the deepest wound Xu Qinglang had suffered.

Men like to show off in front of women, boasting and strutting around, like gorillas pounding their chests and making noises when trying to attract a mate:

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

Zhou Ze thought that Xu Qinglang, with his fawning expression, seemed to be releasing his mating signal for the first time.

Unfortunately, the girl said, "Your house was provided by my family's company as resettlement housing."

"Snap!"

It was like something had shattered.

Xu Qinglang wanted to clutch his chest and kneel down.

Pain,

So much pain,

Heart-wrenching pain.

The girl slowly stood up and said to Zhou Ze, "Boss, let's add each other on WeChat. If you plan to cooperate in the future, you can contact me."

"Sure." Zhou Ze naturally wouldn't refuse.

After adding each other on WeChat, the girl left with her corgi.

Xu Qinglang sighed, waved his hand, and slowly turned to leave the bookstore.

He needed time to heal.

Zhou Ze smiled. It seemed that at least for a while, the phrase "twenty-some houses" wouldn't come out of Xu Qinglang's mouth again.

Turning around, Zhou Ze saw Bai Yingying sitting on a plastic stool, dazed. No, not dazed. To be exact, she was reading "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty."

"Boss, what does 'the water is too cold' that you said to that ghost mean?"

The female corpse had inherited most of her memories from Madam Bai. In those days, women didn't read many kinds of books. Naturally, they couldn't be as well-read as men studying for imperial exams.

As for the talented women gathering together in "Dream of the Red Chamber," that probably only happened in books.

"He was a leading figure in the literary world during the late Ming Dynasty and even served as Minister of Rites. When the Qing army entered the pass and the Ming Dynasty was about to fall, he prepared to die for his country. His beloved concubine, Liu Rushi, prepared to die with him. But when the concubine jumped, he didn't dare to jump and said, 'The water is too cold.' In the end, he surrendered to the Manchus."

"That person is really scum. Boss, were you using that to mock that ghost?" Bai Yingying asked.

"Actually, although Qian Qianyi surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he secretly funded anti-Qing forces and provided information to the anti-Qing army. He was even questioned by the Qing court for it."

"This..." Bai Yingying didn't know how to evaluate this person.

She was simple, like old people and children watching TV who like to ask bluntly, "Is this person good? Is this person bad?"

For many people, the world is either black or white. As for the gray areas, they are too complicated and too difficult to understand, so they simply pretend not to see them.

"The one I just sent to hell is essentially similar to Qian Qianyi," Zhou Ze said with a smile, picking up his teacup and sitting down on the chair behind the counter.

"Then why did you send him to hell?" Bai Yingying asked, puzzled. "At least, you could turn a blind eye and let him stay in the mortal world for a while longer, right?"

Zhou Ze shook his head. "Are you starting to feel sorry for him?"

"The water is too cold, it's only human," Bai Yingying pouted. "I'm dead now, a zombie. If I were still alive, I don't think I would die for the emperor and the court. That should be my choice.

Dying can certainly earn praise, but not dying is also understandable."

"The ghost judge was right to say that he should have died on that day," Zhou Ze put down his cup. "I was dead, and I came back to life. I'm actually trying to survive. I shouldn't have the right to ask others whether they should die.

Don't you think so?"

Bai Yingying nodded.

"Everything needs to be considered in a specific context. To understand the ancients and their behavior, you have to put yourself in that era, in the context of that era's culture, customs, and so on.

From today's perspective, of course, we want national harmony and all ethnic groups to be one big family.

But if you were in the late Ming Dynasty, everyone should have their own position.

Your idea is like an ancient farmer thinking that the emperor could eat ten fried dough sticks and ten big meat buns for breakfast every day. It's wrong and inappropriate to use our small-person thinking to put ourselves in the shoes of those historical figures.

Yes, Qian Qianyi helped the anti-Qing army do a lot of things after surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. He even satirized the Qing Dynasty in his own compiled documents, but that was not enough for him."

"Not enough? Does he really have to die?" Bai Yingying asked, puzzled.

"He has to die," Zhou Ze replied seriously. "Including that ghost I just threw down there, he has to die too!"

After speaking, Zhou Ze took a deep breath.

"It's okay if he doesn't die. He can leave freely, become a wealthy man, and completely forget about the martial world, abandoning wealth and honor, and becoming completely unknown."

"Why?" Bai Yingying obviously disagreed. "Everyone's life should be in their own hands."

"When Dodo's army entered Nanjing, Qian Qianyi was the highest-ranking official in Nanjing at the time. He led everyone to kneel and welcome the Qing army into the city, surrendering to the Manchus.

He couldn't surrender, and he wasn't qualified to surrender.

His reputation, his status, his power, his position, his enjoyment, his extraordinary treatment, were all given to him by the court, which can also be understood as being given to him by the country.

The more benefits you get, the more responsibilities you should bear.

You took so much from the country, reaching the highest position, and even though your back was about to break, you still pursued Liu Rushi, living a carefree life.

So when the country needs him, he naturally has the obligation to fulfill his responsibilities.

This is a kind of contract spirit.

When the country is in trouble, everyone is responsible. In fact, even ordinary people can look up to the sky,

Look at the sky,

And no one will say they are wrong.

But those ancient officials who were paid and enjoyed the people's wealth and blood, they had the obligation to do everything they could to save the ship when the country was about to sink, and even die with the ship."

Bai Yingying listened and nodded as if she understood.

"For example, the one in the Confucius Temple was an official in the Ming Dynasty, similar to the current prosecutor, but not the chief prosecutor. Later, he became one of the nine ministers, similar to today's minister.

After surrendering, he was able to do so well and rise so high. Do you think he should die?

A high official in the Ming Dynasty once shouted that the country had supported scholars for 150 years, and today was the day to die for righteousness. That's what he was talking about."

"My head is spinning," Bai Yingying shook her head.

"This is a bookstore. Although there are more novels, you can also read other books," Zhou Ze twisted his neck. "Anyway, you have nothing else to do."

Bai Yingying glanced at Zhou Ze, implying that it was as if he had something to do.

Zhou Ze got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face. When he came out, he saw Bai Yingying filling his teacup with water. Bai Yingying asked again:

"By the way, Boss, what happened to the high official who shouted 'the country has supported scholars for 150 years'?"

"Oh, the emperor sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to beat him severely with sticks in front of the Left Shun Gate."

Zhou Ze sniffed.

"And then there was nothing after that."

"............" Bai Yingying.

The master and servant had a rare moment of literary youth, chatting about history and worldviews.

Of course, this good atmosphere didn't last long, because the female corpse immediately put down the book, picked up her phone, and started playing Honor of Kings.

But another customer came into the store. He was a middle-aged man, about forty years old, wearing a black down jacket. His face was a bit rough, his clothes were a bit tattered, and he looked a bit simple and honest.

"Boss, can I post a notice here?" the man asked Zhou Ze humbly.

"What kind of notice?" Zhou Ze asked.

"A missing person notice," the man replied honestly.

"Go ahead," Zhou Ze got up and walked to the front of the store, watching the man post the notice on the wall.

"No photo?" Zhou Ze saw that the notice only had text and no photo.

"She was still small when she was taken away, only a few months old, no photos," the man rubbed his hands and handed Zhou Ze a cigarette. "Don't mind it."

Zhou Ze took the cigarette and asked, "Was she abducted?"

"No, she was given away. At that time, she already had an older sister. There was no two-child policy at the time, and I couldn't afford the fine, and I was afraid of losing my job, so I had to give her away.

Over the years, we have been thinking about her day and night, hoping to see her again, but we haven't had any contact over the years. After all, she was given to someone else to raise, and as long as the other family treats her well, we don't want to disturb her. It's not good for her either."

"Oh," Zhou Ze nodded.

"This time, her younger brother is unlucky and got leukemia. I only know that the family who adopted her lived near this area more than ten years ago, so I can only look for her here.

Her older sister didn't match, and now her younger brother's life can only be saved by her. It's also a good opportunity for our family to reunite."

"Younger brother?" Zhou Ze frowned and asked, "How old is she this year?"

"Seventeen."

"How old is her younger brother?"

"Sixteen."

"Pitiable," Zhou Ze sighed.

"Yeah, how could such a young child get this disease? Boss, please keep an eye out for me. I'm going to post more in front. I've already contacted the media, and there may be an interview tomorrow.

I guess we'll be able to find her soon, and then our family can reunite, and her younger brother can be saved."

The middle-aged man smiled honestly,

And then walked towards the front.

After he walked away and his figure disappeared into the night,

Zhou Ze looked at the missing person notice on the wall in front of the store and said softly:

"Pitiable."

Then,

Zhou Ze reached out,

And tore off the newly posted notice.