After the frail beauty went to the countryside, she went crazy with scientific research.

Chapter 379, Episode 0409: Old Master Cheng's Past
Judging solely from his career, there is nothing to criticize.

But this does not mean that he is a perfect person, much less that his character is worthy of praise in every way.

It's the same principle as when people only look at the achievements of a good emperor, and not whether he was a scoundrel or did something like "discarding the bow after the birds are all gone".

How many emperors have never killed their meritorious officials?
How many emperors weren't scumbags?
There is no doubt that Mr. Cheng made tremendous contributions to the country; however, his character in his personal life is truly questionable.

Cheng's father was a minor local official. He was betrothed to a man of similar social standing when he was very young, and the two married when he was fifteen.

In the same year, Professor Cheng met a group of students who had returned from studying abroad and had new ideas. Influenced by these people, he also had the idea of ​​studying abroad.

His parents disapproved of his journey, but his wife supported him. So, Mr. Cheng took the dowry his wife had given him and boarded a merchant ship to go to sea without his parents' knowledge.

Nine years have passed since that departure.

When he returned from studying abroad, the country was in chaos. He couldn't find his parents, but his wife was still waiting for him.

However, at this time, Mr. Cheng was accompanied by a classmate who shared his ideals.

This woman had been with him in D for seven years as husband and wife, and the two had a son and a daughter.

While saying he couldn't betray the kindness and support his first wife had shown him, Old Cheng demoted her to a concubine, claiming it was for the sake of their two children.

Despite her parents blaming her for not stopping her husband from being tormented from time to time, the first wife still dutifully cared for her in-laws and took care of him until his death. She worked herself to the bone and became ill. She looked like she was fifty when she was not even thirty, but she was demoted to a concubine.

Perhaps due to overwhelming disappointment, or even despair, his first wife died less than a month after his return.

She stopped interfering in his relationship with that female classmate, but as a result, not long after, Old Master Cheng took two more concubines.

At that time, people with overseas study experience were highly valued. After Mr. Cheng returned, the local prefect extended an olive branch to him. Mr. Cheng was capable in his career, and in less than two months, he was given an important position by the prefect.

Moreover, he was highly valued; not only was his professional expertise emphasized, but his opinions on politics were also frequently adopted, and he was often taken along to entertainment venues for socializing.

It was through this back and forth that Old Cheng got to know a singer at the nightclub, took her in, and became quite infatuated with her for a while.

But even his infatuation didn't stop him from taking another dancer as a concubine not long after, followed by two more. He then took four beautiful women of different heights, weights, and styles as gifts from others.

From the perspective of Cheng Lao Yuan's wife, it seems that the woman who returned to China with him gave off a bad impression, like a villain.

However, the truth is quite the opposite. Old Cheng's second wife was named Liu Yao. She was the eldest daughter of the Liu family in Northeast China. The Liu family in Northeast China produced a warlord, and Marshal Liu was Liu Yao's uncle.

Although she was called Liu Yao's niece, Liu Yao's father died saving Marshal Liu, and her mother died from postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to Liu Yao. Liu Yao was raised by Marshal Liu's side.

Marshal Liu, like many others, had a large harem. However, perhaps due to his exceptionally good lineage, all his wives and concubines bore him sons. With so many sons, he no longer valued them. His only daughter, the only child of his only brother who died saving him, became his precious darling. Even before Marshal Liu became a marshal, he showered Liu Yao with every good thing imaginable. At that time, traveling abroad was highly sought after in upper-class society, and there was an unspoken rule that anyone who had traveled overseas would have their social standing elevated.

At that time, the Liu family was not the eldest. Before becoming Marshal Liu, Marshal Liu could only obtain one quota for going abroad, and he gave this quota to Liu Yao, which shows Liu Yao's status in his heart.

The old man's gaze was distant, his thoughts seemingly drifting far away. "Madam Liu is a very gentle yet strong and independent person. When she was abroad, she did not know that Mr. Cheng was already married and that the two had registered their marriage in D country, where they had a legal marital relationship. She also did not know that he was able to leave the country with the dowry of his first wife, and thought that he had met someone who shared the same ideals."

"After returning to China and learning about the existence of Mr. Cheng's first wife, Mrs. Liu almost immediately decided to divorce Mr. Cheng and returned to the Liu family with her two children."

"I never expected that just one month later, the news of Cheng Lao Yuan's death would come."

The old man felt a mix of sadness and indignation, which ultimately turned into a sigh.

"People's thinking at that time was at two extremes: one was to learn from the so-called advanced ideas of foreign countries, and the other was to retain the rigid ideas about women from the previous dynasty."

"In my view, so-called advanced ideas are disrespectful to both men and women; and maintaining the ideas of the previous dynasty is disrespectful to women."

"During such a period of ideological clashes, the fact that Cheng Lao’s first wife died of illness in just one month became a typical example used by both sides of the thought to attack each other."

One side is using this incident to prove that true love is innocent, and that the one who is not loved is the third party;
However, this is not Liu Yao's view. She has her own independent thoughts, but at the same time, she has not lost the upright values ​​passed down from our ancestors just because she has been abroad. After learning about the existence of Cheng Lao's first wife, she did not think about driving her away or anything, but immediately withdrew.

The idea that "true love is innocent" and "the one who is not loved is the third party" is an insult to Liu Yao.

The other side seemed to be trying to uphold their so-called doctrines of 'propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame,' using extremely offensive language to attack Liu Yao and her children. There were even rumors that Liu Yao was responsible for the death of Cheng Lao's first wife.

Old Master Cheng seemed oblivious to all the suffering Liu Yao and her children endured, continuing with his usual routines and living a life of unparalleled comfort with his concubines.

Liu Yao and her children have not lived with Cheng Lao since then. She is a very strong and capable person. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, she brought back three airplanes from Germany.

Although she donated the fighter jets to the National Revolutionary Army, the National Revolutionary Army was also busy fighting against the Japanese at that time, and no one can deny that she made a huge contribution to the War of Resistance against Japan.

Therefore, the old man and the others respected Liu Yao very much, and all the older generation addressed Liu Yao respectfully as "Madam Liu" or "Mr. Liu".

It is a great pity that Liu Yao made a huge contribution to the War of Resistance against Japan, but she did not live to see the day of liberation. She died of breast cancer in her hometown in the winter of 1945.

"Old Cheng's first wife was not someone to be trifled with either. Her ancestors were imperial physicians. She did not know medicine, but her ancestors left behind a lot of medicine, including the kind of insidious medicine used in the inner palace. Old Cheng's first wife used a medicine that would make someone unable to have children on Old Cheng."

It is said that the medicine is not easy to detect. The old man had a good relationship with Cheng Da. Cheng Da once revealed to the old man that it was not until five or six years after his first wife died that the old man suspected that there was something wrong with his body. After consulting a famous doctor, he found out that he had been sterilized.

The doctor at the time told Old Cheng something that really hit home: if he had gone to see him a year or two earlier, there would still have been a chance of recovery.