Chapter 881 A Dream of Youth 413
The boat gently rocks on the rippling water, and the green willows sway and dance in the morning mist and glow. Pink apricots bloom on the branches, making spring all the more enchanting.
Zhao Huilan folded the letter in her hand and put it back in its original place. Her gaze fell on the appointment letter on the table. Since arriving in Yangzhou, she had never dared to slack off. Now she had achieved some political achievements and could step into the court.
Xie Ning and Yan Xi were among those who helped her, but to Zhao Huilan's surprise, her maternal grandfather also agreed to her joining the Censorate.
You should know that in her memory, her maternal grandfather was a very traditional and stubborn person.
Xie Ning's letter resolved her doubts. Putting aside gender prejudices, Zhao Huilan's excellence as a younger relative was enough to make Xia Xiang take notice.
Xia Xiang was not a person who liked to show favoritism. On the contrary, he would only provide financial assistance to his own children as much as he could, and would not go against his conscience to promote a junior simply because of kinship.
In Xie Ning's letter, besides clarifying Xia Xiang's change of attitude towards Zhao Huilan, he also outlined the direction Zhao Huilan should strive for in the future.
One aspect was the abolition of prostitution, military prostitution, and the practice of one husband with multiple wives. They did not dare to take any major actions, but instead guided the situation slowly, waiting for a suitable time to enact legal policies.
Yan Xi's decision to have only one imperial consort also served another purpose: to advocate for monogamy. She was setting an example, though she didn't say it explicitly.
The system of one husband and multiple wives still prevails in the world. This concept, formed over thousands of years, cannot be changed overnight.
Therefore, it is currently just an advocacy, and there is still a long way to go before it is elevated to the level of law.
Yan Xi initially thought that since men could have one wife and multiple concubines, women could also have one husband and multiple wives. However, for the vast majority of people, those who could take concubines or keep male lovers were basically wealthy and powerful.
However, due to the influence of traditional ideas, the group of men who took concubines was much larger than the group of women who kept male lovers.
Therefore, Yanxi abandoned this idea because it could not fundamentally improve the status of women.
Those who want to take concubines continue to do so, and the women who become concubines remain commodities that can be bought and sold at will. This group is enormous, and they are not liberated.
If monogamy could be elevated to the legal level, more women who had become concubines could be freed from the confines of the home, and more women could be prevented from becoming someone else's concubine through forced conscription, buying and selling, or deception.
Only in this way can more women participate in social production, first gain autonomy, and then secure more and fairer rights for themselves.
Firstly, monogamy is easier to manage and more beneficial to the country.
The example set by those above is just the beginning; Yan Xi's example is just the start.
Her thinking was greatly influenced by Xie Ning.
Xie Ning only briefly mentioned the last point. Zhao Huilan gently closed the box. She was not entirely clear about the matter, so after returning to the capital, she visited Xie Ning at the Xie family.
Xie Ning poured Zhao Huilan a cup of jasmine tea. The fragrance of jasmine filled the room, slightly calming the restlessness in her heart.
"Changning, there is something I don't understand."
Xie Ning knew what Zhao Huilan wanted to ask, but instead of answering the question first, he asked, "Do you know why Emperor Jing was willing to let me serve in the court?"
Zhao Huilan pondered for a long time. She had an answer in her heart, but she felt that none of them were the answers Xie Ning had given her.
“He is first and foremost a king, and only then a man, a man.” Xie Ning put down his teacup and looked at Zhao Huilan, while Yuan Can quietly drank his tea beside him.
"I don't know if all the emperors of past dynasties put the country and the people first, but Emperor Jing did. That's why he used people who benefited the people and the country. I have this talent, so I was able to use him."
She was a pawn in the king's quest to consolidate his rule.
“You established weaving workshops in Yangzhou, which promoted women’s employment. You also opened weaving workshop schools to teach them survival skills. As a woman yourself, you can see even more clearly the suffering they endure and the shackles they carry on their shoulders.”
That's good; only by knowing their suffering can one alleviate their worries.
More and more women like you will stand up in this world and seek justice.
Just as men are not only fathers and husbands, they can be officials in the court, merchants, craftsmen, and all kinds of professions in the world.
Women should not be limited to being mothers and wives. The idea that men should be responsible for external affairs while women should be responsible for internal affairs can be a result of mutual agreement between the couple, but it should not be a tacit rule.
Women can also build a business empire.
Xie Ning changed the subject, "But just like a county official, his attention will be more focused on the people, while a king of a country must first think about the country, the people, and his own foundation."
Our gaze falls upon women like ourselves, knowing their suffering and wishing to ease their worries.
Your Majesty is also a woman, and she is aware of the predicament, after all, she herself has suffered greatly from it, but she is also a ruler, and she wants to be a wise ruler.
Therefore, her primary consideration wouldn't be that; rather, she would need to first consider how to stabilize the situation, whether this move would benefit the overall situation, and whether it would benefit her rule.
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