OBS Chapter 2269
Chapter 2269
Chapter 2269
"I want to be myself!"
This is what Sif said to Heimdall.
But even after Sif left for half a day, Heimdall still couldn't figure out what those words meant.
What does it mean to be yourself?
Who else could she be?
He didn't understand. To outsiders, Sif's life was already perfect. Although she was born into an immigrant family, her family held a very high position in Asgard. Her brother was favored by Odin at a very young age and quickly became a high-ranking official in Asgard... You know, becoming a god is basically the highest achievement for Asgardians.
Previously, this title was only bestowed upon members of the royal family, such as the king's brothers or nephews. Yet Heimdall rose from a Vanaheim immigrant to this position.
This family has an incredibly lucky start.
Many people want it but don't have it yet.
And what about herself?
She was chosen by Odin and Odin to be the prince's fiancée at a very young age... This is actually quite uncommon in Asgard. Although Asgardians have a very strict attitude towards marriage, and infidelity can result in more than just social death, but can have serious consequences, they generally don't care much about premarital behavior.
Or rather, maturity actually makes a product more marketable.
For example, a man who has had many girlfriends before marriage is very popular in the marriage market because it means he has enough charm.
The same goes for girls; Asgardians don't care much about chastity, and that hymen is of no value whatsoever.
It sounds far-fetched, but it's true. Before establishing an engagement, men and women in Asgard are free to fall in love, and their relationships can even develop into formal marriages. However, this requires consultation between the families of both parties. Generally speaking, unless the two families are vastly different or have some animosity, the marriage can usually be arranged.
They didn't care about so-called premarital chastity... In fact, we have always thought that ancient times placed great importance on women's chastity, but this is a misconception. At least before the Song Dynasty, ancient China did not have such strict requirements on so-called chastity.
This behavior is known as chastity worship.
This concept, rooted in the patriarchal system of ancient China, emphasizes female fidelity in marriage and sexual restraint to ensure the purity of family bloodlines and inheritance. It originated from male control over reproductive rights in the late primitive society and became an ethical norm with the strengthening of the patriarchal clan system. This concept demands lifelong fidelity from women, restricts freedom of marriage and love, advocates chastity until the death of the husband, and even suicide for the husband, while excessively venerating virginity and widowhood. Men, on the other hand, commonly practiced polygamy and frequented prostitutes, creating a double standard. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Neo-Confucianism, particularly the Cheng-Zhu school, pushed chastity worship to extremes, resulting in numerous official commendations of "virtuous women" and "chaste widows." The evolution of chastity worship is closely related to the system of rites and laws. The distinction between嫡 (legitimate) and 庶 (illegitimate) children was established during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and from the Han dynasty onwards, the government officially recognized chaste women through laws. Tang and Song society was relatively lenient on this, and remarriage was common among aristocratic women. In the Song dynasty, Cheng Yi proposed that "starving to death is a small matter, but losing one's chastity is a great matter," which was further elaborated by Zhu Xi, and the Ming and Qing rulers further strengthened it, making it the core of social ethics. Some scholars in the Qing Dynasty, such as Yu Zhengxie, questioned this concept, but folk practices were still bound by tradition.
In ancient times, widows and similar women were actually quite popular. In the imperial society of ancient times, the emperor, high above all others, had no shortage of women. However, the emperors of the Han Dynasty showed a particular fondness for married women, including widows. Turning to historical records, we can easily find that many Han Dynasty emperors, including several warlords at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, married married women and widows.
The phenomenon of married women or widows in the harems of Han Dynasty emperors began with Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Western Han Dynasty. Among the twelve emperors of the Western Han Dynasty, as many as four had married married women or widows.
In his early years, before marrying, Emperor Gaozu of Han (Liu Bang) lived with a widowed woman from his hometown, surnamed Cao (it is suspected she was widowed). Cao bore him his eldest son, Liu Fei, who later became the King of Qi. Although Cao never entered Liu Bang's harem, his initial attraction to her suggests a fondness for widows. During the Chu-Han Contention, after conquering King Wei Bao, Liu Bang took Wei Bao's wife, Bo Ji, into his palace. Bo Ji gave birth to Emperor Wen of Han (Liu Heng).
Some people online say that Wang Zhi was also a widow, but this is not the case. Wang Zhi was simply a remarried woman. Wang Zhi was a descendant of Zang Tu, the Prince of Yan in the early Western Han Dynasty. After her family fell into poverty, her mother, Zang Er, married two commoners, Wang Zhong and Tian Shi. When Wang Zhi grew up, she was first married to Jin Wangsun, a common farmer. Later, because Yao Weng had her face read and said that she was a person of great nobility and would give birth to an emperor, he arranged for her to be sent to the palace of the Crown Prince. She won the favor of Liu Qi, who was then the Crown Prince, and later gave birth to Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che.
The Wang family's ancestors were granted the title of Marquis within the Passes for their military achievements during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han, a title passed down to Wang's father, Wang Fengguang. As a youth, Wang Fengguang was extremely fond of cockfighting, which led him to meet Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Xun, who was living among commoners. When Wang was in her teens, she was betrothed to several families, but each time her fiancé died suddenly, leaving her unmarried. In the first year of the Yuanping era (74 BC), after Emperor Xuan of Han ascended the throne, he brought Wang into the palace.
Wang Zhengjun was betrothed to another man when she was a teenager, but he died before the wedding. She was then taken as a concubine by the Prince of Dongping, but he also died before she could enter the palace. Her father, Wang Jin, found this strange and had someone divine her destiny, who said she was destined for greatness. So, Wang Jin had his daughter learn various arts and crafts, and at the age of eighteen, he presented her to the palace, where she later became the Crown Princess of Prince Liu Shi.
As mentioned above, although only four emperors married married women or widows, this proportion is not low compared to other ancient dynasties. A significant reason for this is that before the rise of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty, female chastity was not considered a major factor. Marriage was relatively open at the time, and remarriage was not uncommon. As for widows, there was no concept of widowhood during the Western Han Dynasty, and the idea that a widow was unlucky in marriage was not prevalent. Remarriage after a husband's death was common, and the imperial family did not seem to mind. In fact, this wasn't limited to the imperial family; many Western Han officials also did this. For example, Chen Ping, a founding minister of the Western Han Dynasty, had a wife who had been married five times. Therefore, it's not accurate to say that Western Han emperors had a particular fondness for married women or widows. It was simply that the social atmosphere was relatively open, and there were no strict restrictions on female chastity, which led to this phenomenon. Even figures like Cao Cao and Liu Bei at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty married widows.
Even in the Song Dynasty, there were cases of remarried women becoming empress dowagers.
That was Empress Zhangxian Mingsu, the most powerful female ruler of the Song Dynasty. She was the third empress of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, and the first female ruler of the Song Dynasty to rule as regent!
Liu E came from a humble background. At the age of fourteen in 983, during the eighth year of the Taiping Xingguo era, she entered the Han Prince's residence but was later forced to leave, residing in the home of Zhang Qi, a court official. After Emperor Zhenzong ascended the throne in 997, she entered the palace and was granted the title of Meiren (a concubine rank) in January of 1004. After Empress Guo's death in 1007, she was promoted to Xiuyi (a high-ranking concubine rank) in January of 1009, and to Defei (a high-ranking concubine rank) in May of 1012, and finally made Empress in December. Liu E was quick-witted, intelligent, knowledgeable in history, and possessed considerable political talent, making her highly valued by Emperor Zhenzong. In 1020, Emperor Zhenzong fell seriously ill, and Liu E largely decided the affairs of state. When Emperor Zhenzong died in 1022, he bequeathed the title of Empress Dowager to Liu E, granting her the power to rule alongside Emperor Renzong. When Emperor Renzong ascended the throne, he was still young, and Empress Liu ruled as regent. She died on March 29th, 1033, at the age of 64, and was posthumously honored as Zhangxian Mingsu. Empress Liu ended the "Heavenly Book" movement that had lasted for ten years during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, ended factional strife, issued paper money, promoted water conservancy, established the Censorate, and founded state schools, laying a solid foundation for the "Renzong Prosperity." Empress Liu modeled herself after the virtuous Empress Ma Deng of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and later generations praised her for "possessing the talent of Empress Lü and Empress Wu, but without their wickedness." While Empress Liu was a capable ruler, she also clung to power. She concealed Emperor Renzong's true parentage for a long time, sending his birth mother, Consort Li, to guard the coffin of Emperor Zhenzong, thus isolating the emperor and his mother. Emperor Renzong only learned the truth after Empress Liu's death. The opera "The Prince Replaced by a Civet Cat" is based on this historical event.
Liu E's ancestral home was Taiyuan. Her grandfather, Liu Yanqing, served as Right General of the Valiant Guard during the Later Jin and Later Han dynasties of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Her father, Liu Tong, was the Tiger-Swift Commander during the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song and the Prefect of Jiaozhou (present-day Leshan, Sichuan). Therefore, the family moved to Huayang, Chengdu. Shortly after Liu E's birth, both her parents died, leaving her an orphan. She was raised by her mother, née Pang. Living under the care of others, Liu E grew up to become a singer, possessing not only a melodious voice but also skill in playing the botao (a type of rattle-drum). At a young age, Liu E married a silversmith named Gong Mei from Shu (Sichuan). Gong Mei took her away from Shu to the capital, Bianliang (Kaifeng), to make a living. In the capital, facing financial difficulties, Gong Mei planned to sell Liu E and remarry her. In the eighth year of the Taiping Xingguo era (983), Zhang Qi, the commander of Zhao Heng (later Emperor Zhenzong of Song, then known as Zhao Yuanxiu), the third son of Emperor Taizong of Song, recommended Liu E to the prince. Zhao Heng was immediately captivated by Liu E. Emperor Taizong, seeing his third son's gaunt and thin appearance, asked Zhao Heng's wet nurse who was with the prince. The wet nurse, who disliked Liu E, told the emperor about her arrival in the palace. Upon hearing that his son was associating with a woman of humble origin and unknown background, Emperor Taizong was furious and ordered Zhao Heng to expel Liu E from the palace. Soon after, he arranged a marriage for Zhao Heng with a woman from a prestigious family, the daughter of Pan Mei, a founding meritorious official of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Heng dared not disobey his father's order, yet was reluctant to part with Liu E. He secretly placed her in the home of Zhang Qi, the commander of the palace, and they met secretly from time to time. Zhang Qi, seeing that the prince deeply loved her, served Liu E with great care and caution. To avoid suspicion, Zhang Qi dared not return home and instead chose another house to live in.
In the third year of the Zhidao era of Emperor Taizong of Song (997), Emperor Taizong died, and his son Zhao Heng succeeded to the throne as Emperor Zhenzong of Song. After ascending the throne, Emperor Zhenzong brought Liu E into the palace, but the harem already had Empress Guo and other concubines, so Liu E had no official title. After entering the palace, Liu E did not compete for favor with the empress and other concubines in Emperor Zhenzong's harem. Among the concubines, Lady Yang (later Consort Yang) was extremely favored. When Emperor Zhenzong went on tours, Lady Yang was always by his side, and her favor was almost equal to Liu E's. Throughout her life, Liu E treated Lady Yang like a sister, never showing any discord, and they rose and fell together in the harem. In the first month of the first year of the Jingde era of Emperor Zhenzong (1004), Liu E was granted the title of Fourth-Rank Beauty. Liu E was an orphan, without parents or other family members. She then recognized Gong Mei as her brother, and Gong Mei changed his surname to Liu... and her ex-husband even received a noble title.
Asgard is similar; they don't discriminate against widows, and there's no such thing as chastity worship. The sacredness of marriage isn't for the sake of so-called virginity, but because marriage itself is a contract—a contract witnessed by the ancestors of two families. If either party breaks it, they are betraying their ancestors, and that's the real issue.
It is said that this custom is related to the harsh environment of the ancient Asgardians. In tribal times, food and water were scarce, and medical care was severely lacking. Many people did not know whether they would wake up the next day after falling asleep that night. Under such circumstances, all resources needed to be used to the maximum extent.
Reproductive resources are also a resource, and women who have given birth are even more popular because it means they are more experienced and their offspring have a higher survival rate.
Although this happened 10,000 years ago... in reality, it's only been a few generations in Asgard. Many customs have changed, but not by much.
In short, Sif became the prince's fiancée very, very early, which is extremely rare in Asgardian custom. But it is precisely because of this that Sif is so unique.
Basically, it's like you're still in elementary school when Tsinghua and Peking Universities have already decided on your direct admission quota.
A true winner in life!
What more could one ask for in a life like this?
Heimdall didn't understand.
He could understand Sif's unhappiness, but he couldn't understand why she was so resolute.
Why would someone as loyal as Heimdall have a falling out with Thor? It's because he's putting pressure on Thor, wanting everything to go back to normal. He wants Thor to publicly acknowledge that Sif is Thor's fiancée.
This wasn't just Heimdall's idea; many Asgardians, including Frigga, shared this sentiment.
Although the goddess of the Pantheon is excellent in terms of status and other aspects, she is definitely qualified to be Thor's wife.
But the Asgardians had grown accustomed to Sif, and at the same time, they despised the Pantheon.
These two reasons combined make everyone even more eager for Thor to fulfill his engagement with Sif. Moreover, according to Asgardian tradition, their engagement is recognized by both families. If Thor breaks the contract, it would be tantamount to leading the way in defying Asgard's traditions.
The Asgardians cannot tolerate this, especially the older generation, who are more traditional.