At the end, when the fourth mistress went crazy, I'm shocked the family still kept her around. Still let her live in the apartments. I would figure they would have kicked her out or moved her to one of the servants quarters. Hidden her away. Chinese families were and most of the time still are very mindful of "face" or pride. This causes shame in the household.
shareI wonder if maybe she's kept around as a warning to the rest of them of what can happen when one goes against Chen's rules.
shareYou'll notice that nobody outside of the family and servants comes to the house, with the exception of the doctor. These women and servants are sequestered, which was unfortunately common in wealthy families. The master comes and goes as he pleases; Meishan only sneaks out at the end because the master isn't home, and Yan'er is sent to a hospital when she's deathly ill. Otherwise, we don't see the servants or women leaving the compound.
Kicking Songlian out would expose her "madness" to the world, and she could potentially expose their murder as well. It's better to keep her in her private compound so they do not lose face with the outside world.
You're a sexual Disneyland.share
It makes for a good, shocking ending, that's basically it.
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