In Dayuan, many of the countless laws were biased towards women, exploiting men. For instance, the "Husband Rules," the "Department of Surveillance," the fact that only women were permitted to take office, and only private schools exclusively for women were established, etc. Even the soldiers in the army barracks were all women, leaving no place for men. It was common for women to go barefaced in public, but if a man went outside without wearing a hat to cover his face, he would be accused of being indecent, unchaste, and would attract scorn and be regarded with a certain disdain by others. However, Dayuan also had a law specifically targeting women. A woman was considered older by the age of twenty-five, and if she hadn’t taken a husband by then, an official matchmaker would intervene. There were many official slaves among the matchmakers, most of whom were descendants of criminals. The mother of the brothers, Liang Yuru, was of unknown origin, an outsider with a strange accent. She eventually settled down in Kaoshan Village, but since she hadn’t taken a husband by the age of twenty-five, she was seized by the official matchmakers and later returned to the village with a husband. But perhaps because the marriage was not what Liang Yuru desired, having succumbed to societal pressure and the law, she treated her husband very poorly. As a child, Liang Yuening witnessed countless times his father being submissive and ingratiating toward his mother. While she wasn’t as violent towards her husband as Dong Dabao previously had been to his father, she was always cold, indifferent, and dismissive. Her indifference wasn’t just towards their father; she never showed a kind face to her sons either. He had a deep impression of an incident when they were in town, he saw someone selling candied haws and tugged at his mother’s clothes, indicating his desire for them. But she pushed him away disdainfully. He cried out for his mother, looking as if he was about to cry, but she instead sharply ordered him to shut up, not to call her mother, not to cry, not to make a scene, not to want the candied haws, not to cling to her. His mother moved too fast, and he, being too small at the time, couldn’t keep up with her pace. She was swallowed up by the crowd and he couldn’t find her, left all alone standing on the busy street, with people passing by, none of whom he recognized. He spent two lonely days in town, so hungry he felt dizzy and light-headed, and at one point, he was so out of it that he stuffed a handful of mud into his mouth. Two days later, his father found him with his older brother and Third Brother. He had become seriously ill, yet his mother showed no concern at all, and it was since then that he dared not express his desires anymore. He always remembered the figure that hastened to shake him off that day. As if he were a burden, a nuisance, he learned to stay silent when bullied, beaten, or scolded outdoors. He would retaliate on his own strength, seeking no one’s help. He forced himself to understand, to grow up. Now, he was big enough. Now, he had something he wanted again. But what should he do? Perhaps she had drunk too much water last night. Before dawn broke, Dong Huiying was woken up by the need to urinate. Groggily rising from the bed, she glanced at the ground and saw only one person. Liang Haoming was sleeping soundly, but Yue Ning was nowhere to be seen. She scratched her head in puzzlement but didn’t think too much about it, then tiptoed over Liang Haoming’s body. As she opened the door and the cold wind blew in, she shivered. "It’s so cold," she murmured, rubbing her arms as she stepped outside. But just as she moved, she stopped again. To the left, a man was leaning against the wall, his head drooping.