Chapter 755 The Lowly Commoner
The first girls' school in the Great Yu Dynasty, named Great Yu Girls' School, was located in the west of the city.
There used to be a large five-courtyard mansion in the west of the city, which was the dowry of the current empress. It was uninhabited and was converted into a girls' school.
The construction was personally overseen by Cheng Zhao, assisted by officials from the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, and helped by female officials from the Kunning Palace. After two months, it finally took shape and became what a school should look like.
On the fourth day of the second lunar month, the girls' school opened for the first time.
As the first rays of sunlight fall on the eaves in the morning, the quiet school gradually comes alive.
The daughters of ordinary people arrived earlier, dressed in their most presentable clothes, and lined up in groups of three or five at the entrance to enter.
They looked up at the school gate, its vermilion doors gilded, its eaves like hooks, its green tiles gleaming in the light, appearing sacred and inviolable.
"I never imagined that ordinary people like us could attend such a good school."
"This is a school founded by Her Majesty the Empress and Lady Sui, and princesses attend it, so it can't be too bad."
"I wonder if Her Majesty the Empress and Lady Sui will come to the school today. I have never seen the two noble ladies before."
"I have absolutely no idea what this school teaches. Do you know?"
"We'll find out when we go in."
The female students handed in their registration certificates and then entered in an orderly manner through the main entrance.
Inside, there was a large square with smooth marble tiles on the ground and many paintings on the walls, all of them portraits of women.
These commoner women naturally didn't recognize the people in the portraits. They had to get closer to read the text to find out their names. However, there weren't many literate people present, so they could only listen to those who could read relay the information.
"This is Princess Taiping. More than ten years ago, she took the initiative to marry into a foreign land and received much praise."
"The first woman here is Empress Xiaojia, the first empress of our Great Yu Dynasty. I never expected Empress Xiaojia to be such an extraordinary woman."
"This is an ordinary woman who saved all the children in the village with her frail body during the great war. The locals made a golden statue of her and she became a legend."
"And then there's this Lady Chu. Over a hundred years ago, she researched hemp thread weaving techniques and improved the weaving process..."
"All the women on this wall are renowned and extraordinary women of the Great Yu Dynasty..."
There are twenty-four paintings in total, featuring portraits of all the women who have contributed to the Great Yu Dynasty from its founding to the present day. Each of their lives is a legendary tale.
The commoner women stood blankly in front of the stone wall, each one seemingly lost in thought.
Is it possible that one day, they too can become legends praised by everyone, just like the women in the portraits?
As everyone was looking at the woman's portrait, a discordant sound came from behind them.
"You poor people, get out of the way!"
A sharp rebuke rang out, and the commoner women all turned around.
Then a group of young ladies from noble families, around twelve or thirteen years old, came walking by. They were all dressed in extremely bright and beautiful clothes, some in brocade, some in gold and silver embroidery, and some in sky-blue silk... In short, as soon as you saw them, you knew that they were the wealthiest class in the Great Yu Dynasty, and that ordinary people like them could not afford to offend them.
The one in the lead is the youngest daughter of Lord Feng, the current First-Rank Grand Protector.
Taibao was a member of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. Miss Feng often went to the palace with her father and got along very well with the princes and princesses of similar age in the palace.
Because of her impressive family background and social status, and the fact that her friends were all members of the royal family, she was always the one who was fawned over in the circle of daughters of officials.
She strode over, her gaze sweeping over the portraits on the wall, and said coldly, "These lowly commoners are actually worthy of appearing on the stone wall alongside Empress Xiaojia and Princess Taiping. It's an insult to the royal family. Just like you lowly commoners, you're actually worthy of studying in the girls' school with us. I don't know why Her Majesty the Empress made this arrangement."
Her rebuke caused the commoner women around her to lower their heads.
Among them, some were from the lower classes, whose parents sent them to the girls' school because tuition was waived; others were daughters of merchants, whose parents sent them to the girls' school hoping they could get to know the ladies of noble families, and if they became close friends, it might benefit the family business... But judging from the situation, it was impossible for them to befriend the ladies of noble families, because they simply looked down on people of low status like them.
"You all heard that clearly," Miss Feng said with a snort. "From now on, wherever we appear, you lowly people should automatically give way. If anyone dares to be so blind as to approach us, don't blame me for being rude."
The commoner women present were all terrified and dared not object, lowering their heads in tacit agreement.
"Who is making such a grand entrance?" A clear, cold voice rang out. Though the tone was clear, it carried a hint of iciness. "With such a grand display, I thought it was the teacher from the girls' school. Turns out it's just a student. However, even if it were the teacher, if he were to flaunt his power in front of the students, the girls' school wouldn't tolerate such a teacher, let alone a mere student."
Miss Feng looked up and saw a simply dressed woman walking gracefully towards her.
This woman was naturally Cheng Wanwan, but Miss Feng did not recognize Cheng Wanwan.
Although she and Cheng Wanwan had appeared together at the palace banquet, Cheng Wanwan belonged to the women's circle, while she belonged to the wealthy heiresses' circle. She had only seen Madam Sui from afar, and the elegantly dressed Madam Sui at the palace banquet and the simply dressed woman in front of her were simply unimaginable as the same person.
Miss Feng spoke coldly: "Who do you think you are, to dare to criticize me? Do you even know who I am? My father is the First-Rank Grand Protector, and my mother is..."
"Of course I know you are Miss Feng." Cheng Wanwan's smile was indifferent. "Grand Tutor Feng is a veteran of three reigns. He has devoted himself to assisting the Crown Prince and teaching His Highness to be a benevolent ruler. However, he has neglected to discipline his youngest daughter. Miss Feng is arrogant, domineering, and thinks too highly of herself. She has no benevolence whatsoever. My girls' academy cannot tolerate such a student. Guards, remove this Miss Feng from the student list."
"What?" Miss Feng's eyes widened suddenly. "Who are you? What gives you the right to decide my fate? What if my father finds out..."
"You keep talking about your father all the time, are you only three years old?" Ruan Mingzhu walked up from behind, looking disdainful. "Feng Jingfu, you're thirteen years old, can't you leave your father alone and walk on his own?"
Miss Feng's given name is Feng Jingfu. She was humiliated by Ruan Mingzhu by name, which made her face turn red with anger.
"Didn't you ask who this is?" Ruan Mingzhu smiled and said, "This is Lady Sui, a renowned second-rank imperial consort of our Great Yu Dynasty. This school was initiated by Her Majesty the Empress, but all the details were finalized by Lady Sui. At the same time, Lady Sui is also the acting headmistress of the Great Yu Girls' School. Tell me, does Lady Sui have the right to expel you from the school?"
When it comes to the matter of the headmaster, Cheng Wanwan gets a bit bald.
She thought the Empress would find an excellent female teacher to be the headmaster, but to her surprise, three days before the start of the school year, the Empress handed her the headmaster's token.
The tokens have already been engraved; does she still have a choice?
She had no choice but to agree to serve as the headmaster temporarily for three months, and she would resign immediately once a new headmaster was found.
She looked up at Feng Jingfu and said calmly, "The first batch of freshmen at the girls' academy consists of 136 people. One more or one less won't make a difference. Miss Feng, would you like to go by yourself, or should I send someone to the Feng family to inform them so that your father can come and pick you up?"
Feng Jingfu's face immediately froze.
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