Gu Yaoniang followed Gu Ershu into the room with a dejected look on her face, feeling very guilty.
It was one thing for a young lady from a respectable family to run away from home, but to be pulled out of a dog hole by her second uncle and brought home was another. She felt her face burning and dared not look at the others in the hall.
Filled with regret, she paid no heed to her elders' conversation. Had she known this would happen, she would have simply walked out the main gate. Even if she had been discovered, she wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.
In a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly heard his father roar, "Second brother! How dare you follow suit and act recklessly!"
Gu Yaoniang looked up and saw her second uncle sitting calmly at the lower seat, showing neither remorse nor anger. Her father, however, stood up and paced around the hall with his hands behind his back, looking extremely agitated. She was completely bewildered, not knowing what had happened or why her father was so shocked and angry.
"Brother, don't worry. The world has changed. It will only be a good thing if Yaoniang comes with me to Shuojing."
Gu Yaoniang, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. What had she missed? She tried to crawl out through the dog hole, but her second uncle blocked her way, forcing her to obediently return home. Once home, her second uncle said that his trip back to Qingyun County was to take her away?
Mr. Gu impatiently interrupted, "You've been gone for years, never returning home, causing trouble outside, and now you're even taking Yaoniang with you? Tell me, how have the world changed?"
Gu Xingzhi turned to look at Yao Niang. He wasn't annoyed by his brother's attitude.
He said, “A few days ago, the Emperor introduced new policies. First, women can also attend official schools; second, if a woman is over twenty-five and does not marry, her family will not have to pay additional taxes; third, women can voluntarily register their households by going to the government office and obtaining the necessary documents. Do you know what this means, elder brother?”
But everyone else in the hall was stunned.
Mr. Gu and his wife looked at each other in bewilderment.
"New policy? What new policy? When did it happen?"
Gu Xingzhi was also taken aback. How come his family didn't know about such a big thing as the new policy?
"These are the new policies implemented this spring," he said. "The documents were all issued after the first court assembly after the New Year. Didn't Qingyun County receive them?" That shouldn't be the case! I saw the notice in Qingzhou Prefecture myself; logically, Qingyun County should have known about it by now!
Madam Gu glanced at her husband. All official documents from Qingyun County passed through his hands; whether they existed or not, he should know. Mr. Gu racked his brains, vaguely remembering that the prefectural government had indeed received an official document a few days ago. However, the prefectural government was busy at the time, and the document was just an ordinary dispatch, so he hadn't paid it much attention. He only glanced at it briefly, and it seemed to mention women's education, before instructing his apprentice to read it at the notice board. Could it be a document related to the new policy?
During the Da Cheng Dynasty, the official system was well-developed, and official documents were divided into five categories according to their importance and urgency. The seals, paper, and headings of different types of official documents were all different.
The official documents announcing the new policies of the dynasty were the most important documents, called the Flying Dragon Letters, which differed from other official documents. Whenever they were sent to a place, the local government had to post them in the public notice area for a month, with yamen runners reading them aloud every day to spread the word and prevent illiterate people from being unaware of the new policies.
Of the remaining four types, the Vermilion Bird Scroll is important and urgent; the Double Bright Scroll is important but not urgent; the Auspicious Urgent Scroll is urgent but not important; and the least valued is the Goose Direction Scroll, which is neither urgent nor important. The Goose Direction Scroll does not need to be posted publicly; it is often simply read aloud once by a junior servant, which is considered sufficient for public posting.
Why did the official document sent to the county government, which was supposed to be a "Flying Dragon Letter," become a "Gourd Letter" instead of a "Flying Dragon Letter"?
The Gu family members felt a vague unease, but they didn't know where they had gone wrong.
Mr. Gu temporarily set aside his doubts, but still disagreed with Yao Niang going to Shuojing with Gu Er.
"So what if the new policy allows women to enter the Imperial Academy? She's a girl; even if she doesn't marry and isn't fined, she'll still have to get married sooner or later. She should stay at home, get married, and have children. Does she expect to go out and earn her own future?"
Gu Xingzhi smiled wryly. How could he have forgotten that his elder brother was the most old-fashioned and conservative person? He believed that if he was good to you, he would only allow you to act according to his thoughts and ideas.
He turned to Madam Gu and said, “The Emperor has allowed women to enter official schools, and has not punished unmarried women and has permitted the establishment of female households. This means that women are allowed to go out and make their own way in the world. Sister-in-law, the Emperor’s most beloved child is now a princess. The new policies may very well be aimed at raising the status of women and paving the way for the princess. It’s a good thing for Yao Niang to go to Shuojing and broaden her horizons! In the future, if she wants to enter officialdom, I will do my best to help her rise to the top; if she wants to study, I will find her a famous teacher of the time; if she wants to get married, I will find her the best man in Shuojing!”
After saying that, Gu Xingzhi looked at Gu Yaoniang. The little girl's eyes were bright, and her cheeks flushed red because he had mentioned marriage.
"Second Uncle, can I really do it?" Can I really do it? I can go to school, I can become an official, so can I become a rich person on my own? I don't have to depend on anyone, I don't have to live by watching who makes my face every day.
Gu Xingzhi nodded. He knew then that Yaoniang was a shrewd woman. Although his elder brother wanted his children to be settled, keeping them at home waiting to be married was not suitable for Yaoniang at all.
Gu Yaoniang's personality is not much like her elder brother and sister-in-law; she is more like Gu Huiniang. She is not a delicate flower confined to her chambers, waiting to be pampered. In the past, there was no other way but to let her grow with the tide. But now that she has fertile soil to nourish her growth, how can she still be confined to a warm room?
Seeing that his wife and daughter were both captivated by Gu Xingzhi's words, and that his daughter seemed to wish she could sprout wings and fly away, Mr. Gu gave a cold snort.
He said, "I disagree. Gu Yaoniang, you go with your second uncle and don't come back!"
Seeing his wife glare at him, his imposing manner immediately vanished. Gu Yaoniang felt uneasy because of what he had said, her heart filled with bitterness and sorrow, yet she truly did not want to stay at home from now on.
Gu Xingzhi couldn't bear to see Yao Niang in such a predicament, so he said, "You've all seen it today. Even if I don't take her with me, the little girl will run away on her own. Wouldn't you be even more worried then? Why don't you leave the child with me? With the child settled and me taking care of her, you can rest assured."
He leaned closer to Mr. Gu and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Shuojing is full of talented men, why worry about not finding a better marriage for Yaoniang? Staying in Qingyun County, do you really want Yaoniang to suffer and marry a young man who is not even as good as the Qin family boy?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Gu's expression softened slightly. However, he couldn't bring himself to back down, so he angrily turned away and refused to look.
Gu Yaoniang was both angry and anxious, fearing that Mr. Gu would really not let her go home. She hurriedly called out "Father" and stepped forward to speak to her father. But she saw Mr. Gu's lips twitch and his eyes seem to be glistening with tears.
She stood there, stunned, unsure whether she should go forward. Shouldn't she be the one who's heartbroken?
Gu Xingzhi understood. From childhood to adulthood, as the eldest son in the family, Mr. Gu had always been a man of his word, stubborn and unyielding. But none of the Gu family members were born with the ability to hold back their tears. Whenever his heart softened, his eldest brother would pretend to be angry and turn his head to the side.
He gestured for Gu Yaoniang to leave, while he stayed behind, and gave his brother and sister-in-law another round of assurances.
With Gu Xingzhi's help, Mr. and Mrs. Gu were much more at ease, but they still had many requests for him, which Gu Xingzhi readily agreed to.
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