Classic Ancient Novels: Yixiu Pu

"Yixiu Pu" is a classic Chinese novel. Two sisters, Pang Fengniang and Yanniang, were born in a wealthy family in Fuzhou Prefecture. After Feng Niang married into the Lin family, she gave birth to three girls in succession, and she never gave birth to any more girls. It is a custom in Fujian that the first-born girl is less likely to give birth to a boy and is more likely to drown. However, Feng Niang is not like this. Instead, she regards her daughter as the apple of her eye and advises her husband to take a concubine to continue the fireworks. Later, her husband's concubine gave birth to a boy, named Lin Ding. Yan Niang married into the Gong family and gave birth to a girl for the first time. Yan Niang drowned the baby girl in order to give birth to a boy. The second baby gave birth to twin girls. Yan Niang still drowned the two girls. The third baby finally gave birth to a boy named Shouchun. The fourth child gave birth to a baby girl. Yan Niang still wanted to drown the baby, so she asked her servant Zhou Cai to take the baby girl and drown her. Zhou Cai couldn't bear it, so he wrapped the baby girl with the picture of the Seven Sages embroidered by Yan Niang when she was not married and placed it by the river. The baby girl was picked up by fisherman Bao Liang that day and named Gui'e. When Gui'e grew up to nine years old, she was taken in by Mei Hanlin and fostered in the mansion. Later, she married Lin Ding as his wife.