Chapter 428 The Academy Wants to Build a Swimming Pool

“Lan Su has never liked these kinds of occasions, so I won’t force her.” Yuan Hongqu said calmly, not wanting Daiyu to suspect anything, otherwise why would she be willing to go out to the banquet?

Daiyu thought about it and agreed. Lan Su had never liked formal banquets, but she really enjoyed going out to have fun.

In fact, Daiyu herself was the same.

Although she never forces herself, there are always people who try to force her.

For example, her good senior sister.

I don't know what the theme of today's banquet is. Should I make some preparations?

Thinking of this, the anxiety of not seeing Lan Su dissipated.

If it weren't for the fact that she hadn't been out for a long time, Daiyu wouldn't have been worried about the theme of the banquet at all.

Because for her, the topic doesn't matter; she just has that kind of confidence.

At almost every banquet, she always ends up becoming the center of attention. Even if she makes a small mistake, people will always smooth things over and find her mistake quite elegant.

Well, although Daiyu herself sometimes finds it quite ridiculous, she is the one who benefits from it, so it would be too unfair for her to continue to act innocent.

Actually, she herself didn't know that there was a phenomenon called "protagonist halo" or "protagonist filter," and that she was the protagonist of this world.

Yuan Hongqu knew this, but she didn't realize it was the protagonist's halo. She simply thought that Daiyu was indeed so outstanding, and it was reasonable for her to be loved by so many people.

Yuan Hongqu felt that there was no difference between how others viewed Daiyu and how she viewed Daiyu.

After all, Daiyu was so outstanding!

Yuan Hongqu must be the person in this world who has the strongest bias towards Daiyu!

No matter what Daiyu does, she can always find a reasonable excuse. Fortunately, Daiyu is not a spoiled child, otherwise Yuan Hongqu would be the spoiled parent who spoils her child.

"Granny, who are the people invited to today's banquet, and what are their titles?"

“Many of the wives of officials of the fourth rank or above in Suzhou are young girls around your age. You could get to know them better. In the past, you mostly interacted with your classmates from the academy in the capital. Even those you were close to were all studying at the academy. Now, take a look at the girls who aren't studying at the academy and see if there's any difference between them and your classmates,” Yuan Hongqu said in detail.

"In addition, the girls' college here is expected to start enrolling students next spring. We'll see if they have any unique opinions about studying at the college, or what special facilities they would like to have in their school. We can add or change things as appropriate based on their feedback."

"That's good, Granny, but isn't that unfair?" Daiyu pouted.

"How is it unfair?"

"I've mentioned wanting to add a swimming pool to the Women's Academy in the capital. I've told you about it several times, but it hasn't materialized yet." Daiyu had indeed mentioned this to Yuan Hongqu.

After all, if a woman could swim, many private matters within the inner quarters would no longer be easily managed.

“There are no suitable teachers in the academy to teach swimming. We’re currently looking for pearl divers in the south, so we can have them teach swimming.” Yuan Hongqu had considered Daiyu’s suggestion, but it was too difficult.

First, there's the location. Second, the swimming area is so large that bringing in water would be a huge project. Moreover, the girls' academy is full of noble girls; how could she dare to let them swim in cold water directly?

However, things are now looking promising.

“I heard that because our academy’s students performed well in auditing the accounts this time, they will be rewarded not only for them when they return to the capital, but also for the academy itself.” Yuan Hongqu fiddled with the tassel on her fan handle.

"I'm going to suggest to the Empress that we get another hot spring resort for our academy. We can turn the resort into a swimming pool and have the girls go there in batches to learn to swim."

“That’s wonderful, Granny! Actually, I could teach swimming too.” Daiyu said confidently.

They built a swimming pool in a secluded spot next to their koi lake.

It is surrounded on three sides by artificial rockery, shaded by green plants, and has a pergola covered with creeping vines.

In the middle is a marble pool with geothermal heating underneath.

Therefore, if the water temperature is insufficient, the geothermal heating system can be activated, turning the pool into a swimming pool that can be heated at any time.

Of course, such a grand gesture was unprecedented even in the imperial palace, but what could be done when the Lin family had only one son per generation for several generations, and by Lin Daiyu's generation, she was the only one left!

If she doesn't spend money recklessly, who knows who will end up benefiting from the Lin family's wealth!

She's not a spendthrift, nor does she have any extravagant hobbies.

She can afford just one swimming pool.

However, switching to an academy would be somewhat difficult to afford.

It's not that the academy can't afford the money, it's just that they can.

There will be people who criticize it, and I expect the criticism will be quite severe.

Therefore, Yuan Hongqu always kept Daiyu's body under control.

With the addition of the hot spring resort, building a swimming pool at the academy and teaching female students to swim can now be put on the agenda.

As for having Daiyu teach swimming, that's not impossible.

Yuan Hongqu nodded. "We'll think about other things after we get the hot spring resort. You can teach swimming if you want."

Daiyu was overjoyed, and even the last bit of unease she had felt earlier disappeared.

She took Yuan Hongqu's hand, and the two got off the carriage and walked together into the courtyard.

Many people had already arrived along the way, but this was Daiyu's first appearance among the female relatives of Suzhou officials, and no one recognized her yet.

Daiyu's father was the Governor-General of Liangjiang. To put it bluntly, if the Emperor were not here, Lin Ruhai would be the local tyrant.

The women along the way did not recognize Lin Daiyu, but judging from her demeanor and attire, and observing that Lord Yuan, whom they had all met in the past few days, was holding her hand with a gentle expression, they guessed that this was probably Princess Lin.

After all, Lord Yuan has never had a gentle expression; he always has a cold face, no matter who he's facing.

Although he looks very dignified, he is too unapproachable.

At this moment, it seems to have a touch of humanity.

Yuan Hongqu and Daiyu went straight to the Empress's residence. At this time, not all the guests had arrived yet, so the Empress naturally did not go out. Instead, she sat and chatted with the families of several officials.

"Yu'er is here. I haven't seen you for a few days. You look a little thinner."

Daiyu had barely entered and hadn't even had a chance to curtsy when the Empress saw her and immediately felt a pang of pity.

"Come sit next to me right now."

Several girls who had been sitting around the Queen quickly moved aside upon hearing this.