"Once there was the Liu clan; now there is the Wang clan. Both produced virtuous and worthy people. This showed that only virtuous and worthy daughters could bring prosperity to a household and pass it down through the generations. So-called chastity was hardly worth mentioning."
Because of these rumors, coupled with the development of telegraphs and the newspaper industry, information spread faster, farther, and deeper. The popular custom of applying for chastity arches for women who remained chaste at home weakened, and in Changzhou Prefecture, it even vanished outright.
All under heaven bustled and jostled for profit. At the beginning, chastity arches had indeed been awards granted by the Imperial Court out of admiration and respect for women who remained chaste.
But later, some people discovered that there was profit to be made from them. If a family had a chaste and martyr-like woman, not only could the women of that family marry better, but the family could also bring better daughters-in-law through its doors. Men could even find greater convenience in seeking their futures outside.
That future was not limited to officialdom; it worked in other trades as well.
Some lineages among the people even began competing over the number of chastity arches they possessed.
The Pan family had no chastity arches.
For one thing, the Pan family did not have that many officials, so they had no use for such a thing.
For another, parents and brothers could not bear to see their daughters and sisters suffer such grinding torment. Thus, if there was a young widow in the family, they would bring her home and marry her off again.
To speak honestly, the Pan family had wanted to apply for a chastity arch for Old Madam Pan back then, but she had refused.
When Pan's father died,