For a moment, Mingxiu was at a loss for words. What kind of bizarre remarks were these? What kind of nonsense were they spouting? Angry, Mingxiu retorted without holding back, "If the Sage knew that you interpreted him like this, he would probably be turning in his grave. He would be so angry that he would come back to life and curse you to death."

"Besides, why should women be expected to be obedient to their husbands and have the four virtues, and to be without talent or virtue? Who decided that women can only stay at home to support their husbands and raise their children? And who decided that women cannot show their faces in public?"

"Why shouldn't women study the classics? It's all because of you men, you scholars, who oppress us women every day. Why do you look down on us women so much? Why didn't you just get born? Wasn't your mother a woman? Weren't you born from your mother? Aren't we women the ones who take care of the family and give birth to you? Weren't we women the ones who take care of you? You eat our flesh and drink our blood every day, and you still look down on us. If you don't look down on women, why don't you look down on yourselves? If you're so capable, why didn't you get born? You might as well just hang yourself."

"You, you, you are utterly foolish! Women should stay at home to support their husbands and raise children. This is a woman's duty. What does it have to do with men? Besides, these are the only things women can do. The academy is such a sacred place. Why should women be allowed to enter it?"

Mingxiu was furious. She took a deep breath and was about to say something when someone next to her interrupted her.

"Why can't women enter? What gives you the right to criticize women from such a high and mighty position? As the ancients said, 'Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me.' They also said, 'Learning has no order of precedence; the accomplished are the teachers.' How come the sages were right? You're not a sage. You've only studied for a few years, yet you've become so arrogant and short-sighted, only knowing how to suppress women. Are men inherently superior to women?" Mingxiu was stunned. She turned to look at the person speaking beside her, dressed in emerald green, now staring sharply at the man in front of her. Mingxiu recognized her; she was the top scorer in this exam, and her test paper was very original. It seemed to be Zhang Lingchun, Zhang Ying's great-aunt, who had never married for some reason.

Zhang Lingchun's words stunned everyone. They hadn't expected the woman before them to be so eloquent. The middle-aged man, whose face had been flushed red from Zhang Lingchun's retort, looked at her and said, "Women and petty men are the hardest to deal with!"

"Hmph, Confucius's saying 'Only women and petty men are difficult to deal with' was directed at the 'ruler' among the 'gentlemen.' 'Women and petty men' doesn't refer to all women and 'petty men.' You don't even understand this? How dare you say you've studied Confucius's words for several years? You're not even as good as me, a mere woman. How dare you look down on women? Besides, there have been many remarkable women in history. How can you compare to Xie Daoyun, the talented woman who became famous for her poem about snow, 'Not as good as willow catkins rising in the wind,' or Shangguan Wan'er, who was known as the 'female prime minister' during Wu Zetian's reign, or even Wu Zetian, the first female emperor and historical fool?"

Zhang Lingchun spoke sharply and sternly, leaving the person opposite speechless.

Mingxiu nodded: "That's right, you guys are really more trouble than you're worth. If I were you, I would go directly to the person in charge, or to Emperor Kangxi, instead of bullying women here. Building a girls' academy is the Emperor and the Imperial Noble Consort's idea. If you're so capable, go and find them. If you can persuade the Emperor not to build this school, we will naturally not show up."

"Outrageous! Outrageous! How could you do this?" The old man at the front was so angry that he almost fainted.

Mingxiu watched coldly, not wanting to answer. In the end, the matter was left unresolved because someone came and took those people away. After they left, Mingxiu turned around and saw Zhang Lingchun surrounded in the middle, talking about something.

Seeing Mingxiu looking over, she also looked over and nodded in acknowledgment. Mingxiu nodded in greeting and then quickly got into the carriage and returned to the palace.

She's been out for quite a while now, and if she doesn't go back soon, it might get too late.

After Mingxiu returned and changed her clothes, she saw that Kangxi had already arrived. "Your Majesty, I have something to tell you. A lot happened today." Mingxiu walked over, took Kangxi's arm, and led him to the couch. Then she waved her hand to dismiss the servants.

“Father-in-law, the room next door is still the same. Please go and rest for a while. If the Emperor calls for you, I will have someone call you,” Yu Lan said, standing next to Liang Jiugong.

Liang Jiugong nodded with a smile, then followed him to the side, leaving the little eunuch beside him standing at the door.

This was the usual practice. Both Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Mingxiu disliked being served, so when they arrived at Yonghe Palace, everyone would wait outside with nothing to do.

After everyone understood, Liang Jiugong would usually rest in the room next door and only come out when the emperor summoned him.

As for the eunuch beside him, the palace servants of Yonghe Palace brought him a stool to sit on while he waited, with tea and snacks available nearby.

After arranging the servants around the Emperor, Yu Lan and the others went about their own business, only calling on the Empress if needed.

Inside the room, Mingxiu leaned against Kangxi and recounted everything that had happened that day, her anger barely contained: "How can there still be such a pedantic person? It's infuriating!"

Kangxi looked at Mingxiu in his arms and said, "Alright, don't be angry. It's not worth it. Besides, what can they do if they're just talking? It's not difficult to change them. As long as these women achieve something, no one will say anything."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!