Li Er took his wife and daughter, following his son-in-law Han Chengjiang, on a trip to the Hua Ling Dynasty in northern Northern Juluzhou. This counted as the first proper visit between the two families after they had become related by marriage.
The moment the woman stepped down from the carriage onto the place called Qiaozi Alley, which was broader than even the main streets, and saw her son-in-law's family estate, she began to feel cramped and uneasy before she had even crossed that lofty threshold. She did not know where to put her hands.
Her son-in-law had previously explained the origin of Qiaozi Alley's name, something about tall qiao trees rising upward and catalpa trees bowing downward, along with various principles she did not understand, so she had not taken it to heart. But when she heard that the entire alley belonged to the Han Clan, and that the Han ancestral precepts forbade the family from dividing, she was utterly dumbfounded. Her son-in-law's family was far too wealthy. Such a long alley, all surnamed Han? The yearly food expenses alone could not have been a small sum, could they?
Just the huge gold-lettered plaque at the entrance, together with those two white jade lions crouching there taller than people, had already dealt the woman a solid blow upon arrival. Once they entered the estate, the paths twisted and turned until her head spun. There was not so much as a speck of chicken droppings or dog shit anywhere along the way. She did not even dare spit. The woman viciously pinched the flesh at her husband's waist. He turned and grinned, reaching out to take her hand, but she hurriedly slapped it away. They were an old married couple already—did he have no shame? What if the scholars here