The article concludes with a blessing: I hope we are not anyone's wife, not anyone's daughter, and not anyone's mother, but simply human beings, living life to the fullest!
After Chuanyu finished reciting with great emotion, the scene fell silent. It must be said that all the women present were deeply moved.
Whether they are a queen confined to the inner palace, an elderly woman who has seen through half her life, a woman who has spent half her life indulging in domestic chores, a newlywed bride taught the three obediences and four virtues, or a young girl who never leaves her home, the world creates rules and regulations for them. Every gesture and movement is constrained. They cannot laugh loudly or cry freely. They are like puppets, manipulated by a puppeteer to live out their lives.
In poor families, the principle of obeying one's father at home, one's husband after marriage, and one's son after the husband's death is vividly demonstrated.
Those who attain wealth and high social status, and receive imperial decrees, do so through their husbands and sons.
Why can't they have their own ideas? Why can't they earn their own honor?
But even if that's what they think, who dares to be the first to break the dogma? They are still wives, daughters, and mothers; they can't just abandon everything.
Even though the emperor had allowed women to enter officialdom, no one took it seriously. Even though there were already girls' schools, when Chuanyu recited this article here, it still sounded shocking to them.
So their silence wasn't just because they empathized, but also because they were afraid.
Outside, all was quiet.
The ministers dared not look at the emperor's face. The emperor's previous permission for women to enter officialdom was just a casual remark, but who knew that Consort Zhao and Consort Meng would actually win in the subsequent competition.
After Zhang Qing started a girls' school, everyone just treated it as a joke, but now it seems they're taking it seriously!
In the ensuing silence, Chuanwen applauded Chuanyu, whose face was flushed and heart was pounding, and said, "Well said!"
The only applause was from Chuanwen, but Chuanwen had no idea what embarrassment meant. After clapping for Sister Yu, she even gave her a thumbs up.
At the same time, I thought to myself, "Sigh, now I finally understand the saying, 'If you keep a wolf in a cage with a rabbit for too long, it will turn into a rabbit too...'"
Then he looked regretfully at the women present.
The women who noticed Chuanwen's gaze seemed to feel looked down upon...
The Empress glanced at the document, her brows furrowing as she pondered something.
The ministers outside all looked increasingly grim. Although the emperor also frowned slightly, he didn't have the same bitter and resentful expression as the ministers. In fact, he quite liked the article on the jade back. From the style of the article, it could be seen that the writer was a very insightful and unpretentious person. It was just a pity that he wasn't a man, otherwise he could definitely be used by him.
Thinking this, she looked at Zhang Qing.
Since her identity was revealed, Zhang Qing has been wearing women's clothing, but it is simple and elegant with little decoration.
The emperor thought to himself, "What difference does it make whether someone is male or female if they have talent and can contribute to the Great Jin Dynasty?"
However, since ancient times, men have been superior to women. Changing this situation will inevitably arouse opposition from many people and even trigger a chain reaction. At this stage, he only wants Chuanwu to develop the weapons in his novel to strengthen the country. There is really no need to take this risk.
The Minister of Rites then stepped forward and requested the Emperor to withdraw the decision that women could enter officialdom.
They were already granting Zhang Qing a great privilege by allowing her to remain an official; they couldn't concede any more.
The Minister of Revenue thought about his wife's fierce appearance and quickly stood up to support the Minister of Rites' request. There were still many rules and regulations governing women; if there were no such restrictions, his wife would be out of control.
Seeing that Zhang Qing was about to get up, the emperor waved his hand impatiently, "Sit down, everyone. Let's have a happy festival today and not talk about anything else."
The group reluctantly returned to their seats, but after this incident, they lost interest in the rest of the day.
Inside, no one dared to talk much with the women of the Changxing Marquis's residence. The noble ladies who had previously been so fond of Chuanyu now avoided his gaze and didn't say a word to him.
Chuanyu was a little disappointed. After dinner, she went out for some fresh air while enjoying the song and dance performance. Chuanwen followed her out and comforted her, "There are always pioneers in change. There will always be many people who don't understand and look at us differently. But what we are doing is a great cause! Hundreds of years from now, when people look back on history, we pioneers will be the light that redeems women!"
Chuanwen's earnest words of comfort made Chuanyu look at her seriously. Usually, her sister Wen was just a carefree person who only knew how to eat and drink, but she never expected her to be so serious, and what she said was so philosophical.
However, Chuan Yu was indeed comforted. She smiled shyly and said, "Actually, I didn't do anything. I just cooked for the students."
"How about we go for something big?"
Chuanwen's eyes sparkled with excitement. Chuanyu, feeling a bit embarrassed by her sister's kidnapper-like words, asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
Chuanwen smiled and knew that her sister Yu was not the kind of obedient girl who was the heroine of a sadomasochistic novel. Her sister Yu was a person with great wisdom!
Seeing Chuanwen's mischievous smile, Chuanyu felt something was off, so she quickly added, "Let's not do anything reckless."
Chuanwen nodded obediently. How could she do anything reckless? She promised she wouldn't.
But Chuanyu was even more worried when she saw Chuanwen's well-behaved appearance. Although Wenmei was well-behaved, she knew that it was all just an act. In fact, Wenmei was a very opinionated person who liked to do things recklessly. Generally, the more well-behaved she was, the more it meant that she had already made up her mind about something bad.
Chuanyu finally sighed. Oh well, what can she do? She's her sister. Even if she gets into trouble, she'll just have to take the blame for her.
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