| caption: |
Chapter Three. Phases of Life |
| text: |
Metlou's marriage did not last long. He and Shuidzing had not been lovers before their wedding; it was an open secret that she had had an affair with a man of Maibang clan and Bala morung, and that her first child, a boy called Louming, was her lover's son. Yet, as the child was born while Shuidzing was married to Metlou, the latter was regarded as the child's father and the boy belonged to the Leunok and not to the Maibang clan. Immediately after the birth of her child, Shuidzing moved into Metlou's house, and, subsequently, she bore him a daughter, who died in infancy. |
