Next came the matter of recruiting students. After the college posted the recruitment notice, quite a few people gathered around to look at it.

"They recruit students, and they're all women! My God, this school is a school that only recruits women."

When the notice was posted, literate people looked over and exclaimed in surprise.

"Really? My God, women can go out to study? What's the point of them going out to study?"

"That's right. It's better to work hard at home instead of using this energy. You can find a good husband and earn money for your family."

Some people complained.

"You're really something else. All you want to do is marry your daughter off and sell her for money. Are you marrying her off or selling her? If you ask me, anyone who becomes your daughter is truly cursed for eight lifetimes."

Immediately, someone refuted him.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What business is it of yours what my daughter is?"

"Pah, it's none of my business. I just look down on you for using your daughter to pay off debts."

"Are you asking for death?" Nan Re instantly flew into a rage and immediately started fighting.

Instantly, the surroundings became noisy, and the academy guards who had been watching the commotion quickly came out to stop it.

"Alright, alright, what are you fighting for at the school gate? Go home if you want to fight."

What happened next was that some people were unwilling to send their daughters here, while others were willing to send them.

Those from slightly better-off families, or families that dote on their daughters, will come up and ask about the fees, and the staff will explain it to them in detail.

Some merchants, who are already wealthy, want to send their daughters here to study. After all, this is a school established by the Imperial Noble Consort and the Emperor, and it would be good to make connections with some people.

The rest were ministers. Because of the changes in the court in recent years, these ministers had broadened their horizons and learned about the strengths of children from foreign families. In addition, since the emperor had ordered the school, there should be arrangements for it. At the very least, they would have to learn arithmetic, foreign languages, and martial arts and horseback riding, which was not something that ordinary young ladies would learn.

These people were already secretly working hard when the school started recruiting teachers, and now that they're recruiting students, they'll naturally send their own children over.

"Madam, the academy has already started enrolling students. Have someone register your children tomorrow. As long as they meet the age requirement, register them all so they can attend the academy," Chen Tingjing said as he walked in.

"Yes, but sir, do we really want all the children to go in? We don't know how things will go, and if something happens to them, it might be difficult to handle," Madam Chen said hesitantly.

"Don't worry, since this was ordered by the Emperor, nothing will go wrong. Otherwise, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the Emperor? And if nothing goes wrong, it's very likely that the Imperial Noble Consort will be the head of the department." Chen Tingjing comforted his wife.

Madam Chen was startled, but quickly recovered: "Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort, yes, that's right, this position can only belong to Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort." After saying that, she said nothing more and told someone to prepare to register the young ladies of the household for the next day.

Many ministers in the court had similar experiences in their families. As for some imperial relatives, they had already received the emperor's veiled message, so they sent their daughters there without any resistance. They had no choice because the emperor had said that all the princesses of marriageable age in the palace would be sent there.

The princesses have all gone; if they don't send them over, wouldn't that be disrespectful to the Emperor?

However, some were very happy, such as Prince Yu, Fuquan. When he learned that Emperor Kangxi was going to send several of his children to the academy, he happily sent his children there as well. "Listen, I don't need to bother him at home anymore," Fuquan thought to himself.

Overall, the academy was running smoothly, but there were those who didn't like it and would protest loudly from below.

For example, this person in front of me was supposed to have his last day of training today. After the training was over, he could go home and start teaching once the students were settled.

But just as I was about to leave today, I saw a few people walking towards me who were about to cause trouble. Why do I say they were causing trouble? Because they were holding up signs that said women were forbidden from being teachers and from running girls' colleges.

The women who were just exhausted from training and eager to go home and rest were no longer in a hurry. They just stood there watching, after all, joining in the fun is a traditional virtue.

Besides, they were clearly trying to take away their livelihoods, so naturally they couldn't agree to it.

They said they came here to teach because their families asked them to, but after these few days of training, they have gained a deeper understanding of the college, and everyone really likes this job.

This job not only offers a generous wage, giving them the confidence to not ask their families for money, but also provides them with a legitimate reason to come out and not have to stay at home every day.

Most importantly, everyone here respects them, which is different from how they feel at home. They really enjoy how they feel now.

So they all stood still, waiting for them to come over.

The group slowly walked to the front, with Mingxiu standing at the very front and Luzhu standing next to her. Today was the last day of training, and Mingxiu had specifically told Kangxi that she wanted to come out and see the world. She had begged Kangxi for a long time before he finally agreed. Mingxiu hadn't revealed her identity, but she hadn't expected to run into this situation today. Seeing them stop, she directly asked, "What do you want to do?"

The man standing at the front was an elderly man. He bowed with the respect due to a scholar and then looked at Ming Xiucai with a serious expression, saying, "The ancients said: 'A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent.' How can you show yourselves in public like this, and even teach and educate people as teachers? How are you worthy to mention the words of the sage? We have come here today to protest. How can women go to school and learn the words of Confucius?"

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