In the fifteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, a talented woman emerged from the Imperial Women's Academy.
The story actually had a rather cliché beginning.
There was a girl named Mingcha whose family had been in the tea business for generations. In this generation, they were lucky enough to become imperial merchants, which gave Mingcha the opportunity to study at the Royal Women's Academy.
Mingcha herself was very ambitious and intelligent. She learned faster than her classmates. After studying for several years, she reached the age to get married. Her father asked her to go home and get married. The marriage was arranged beforehand. The eldest son of the Cheng family, a wealthy porcelain merchant family.
Although they learned a lot at the academy, the academy initially focused more on teaching women knowledge and principles, without explicitly discussing topics like freedom of marriage.
So, Mingcha, following the wishes of her parents and the words of the matchmaker, went home to prepare for her marriage. However, she harbored a deep-seated resentment that she herself could hardly perceive.
She felt she shouldn't be doing this, but she didn't know what was right.
In a daze, the wedding date was set. On the eve of the wedding, Mingcha's elder brother was accidentally caught in a fight and died while delivering tea, so Mingcha's wedding was postponed.
Her fiancé was a little unhappy, but he didn't say anything.
Mingcha's family consisted of only two children, her brother and herself. After her brother's unexpected death, she became the only child in the family. Her parents were heartbroken, and she was also devastated. Six months after her brother's death, her marriage was put back on the agenda.
At this time, her fiancé had an affair with his cousin at a banquet before their wedding. The affair was discovered by everyone, and his cousin was two months pregnant, indicating that the two had been having an affair for a long time.
Her fiancé's cousin cried and begged her to give in to his wishes. Mingcha looked at her fiancé's submissive manner and couldn't stand it. She really couldn't stand such a man. But the marriage was already arranged. Her brother's death had already added a layer of gloom to the family. If something else went wrong with her marriage, her parents would be even more worried.
In the end, Mingcha didn't compromise herself and broke off the engagement.
The reason for the annulment of the engagement was not her fault, but her reputation did not improve much. She still had suitors, but they were all ugly and inferior to her ex-fiancé, so she naturally looked down on them.
And so, she turned eighteen, which in this era would be considered old maid.
Aside from princesses of the royal family, very few girls are still unmarried at the age of eighteen.
At this time, her father's relatives came to the door, wanting her father to adopt a child from one of the relatives. After all, in the eyes of others, her father had no sons, and this huge family property needed someone to inherit it.
Her father had a so-so relationship with his relatives and knew their character, so he was naturally unwilling. But they kept pressuring him, and in the end, Mingcha announced that she would find a son-in-law.
She decided not to get married.
She talked with her father for a long time in the study, and the next day she began to learn how to do the family business from him.
Two years passed, and Mingcha gradually gained fame as a woman. People had all sorts of opinions about her, but no one denied her competence, saying she did even better than her brother.
No matter what people say about her, they always end with the comment, "If only she weren't a woman!"
She doesn't like people talking about her being a woman, but she can't control what others say.
When Tong Cheng'er heard about her situation, she summoned her, inquired about her affairs, gave her a reward, and summoned her from time to time. As people outside the palace saw that she, a merchant's daughter, could speak in front of the Empress, their prejudice against her gradually disappeared.
And so, Mingcha (tea) gained a foothold.
Later, her business grew very large, and she became a famous businesswoman. After her father passed away, she took over the family property, and Emperor Yinzhen even bestowed upon her the title of the First Imperial Merchant of the Qing Dynasty.
Many women like Mingcha appeared later, and after learning about Mingcha, many women had things they never dared to think about before.
With the development of various industries in the Qing Dynasty and the emergence of many labor-saving tools, it was no longer just men's function that could support a family; women could also earn a living through their own labor.
The economic base determines the superstructure, and women began to gain confidence. Correspondingly, Yinzhen revised some laws that were too biased in terms of male-female relationships, and as a result, many women "stood up".
In the spring of the twentieth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Tong Cheng'er and Yinzhen traveled incognito. They observed the lives of many ordinary people, which, in Tong Cheng'er's view, might not have been particularly good, as she had seen what a truly prosperous era was like. However, things were much better now than before.
Just then, a sound of cursing and fighting came from the street.
“I asked you to take the children to school, and what did you do? You took them to the wrong place, causing our daughter to be punished by her husband. Don’t come home for dinner tonight.”
"I was wrong, I was wrong, okay..."
As he spoke, the man looked at the woman next to him with a wronged expression.
The two walked away, arguing and bickering.
Although such cases are rare, their existence means there are more possibilities in the future.
The woman began to read and write, and at home she no longer completely obeyed her husband...
There is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality.
In the twenty-second year of Yongzheng's reign, Yinzhen sent Westerners to stir up trouble there. He didn't even spare the East India Company. It would be better if such an organization didn't exist.
The world needs healthy exchange of goods and services, not one-sided exploitation of the other; such relationships are unsustainable.
In the twenty-fifth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, many new trends emerged in the Qing Dynasty. Under the leadership of Empress Tong Cheng'er, clothing styles became more diverse. While it was no longer necessary to expose arms and legs, summer clothes became much lighter and more varied in style.
Although Yinzhen sent people to stir up trouble in other countries, he did not go too far. Everything in excess is as bad as deficiency. His aim was to develop himself. The shipbuilding industry developed better and better, more and more merchant ships came from the Qing Dynasty, and the navigation technology became better and better. The Qing Dynasty became more and more known to the world, attracting many people to come and retaining many people.
It's no longer surprising to see blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners on the streets of Beijing.
People live in peace and contentment, relationships between men and women have improved, children are gradually getting access to education, and the mindset of ordinary people is changing. In the past, they only thought about having enough to eat and wear, but now they think about living a better life and sending their children to school...
In the thirtieth year of Yongzheng's reign, Yinzhen abdicated. He had done what he could and should have done. Over the years, Hongzhao had been by his side and had learned a lot. He was getting old and his energy was limited. He wanted to spend the last few years traveling with his empress.
Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er lived a harmonious and happy life together. They were a young couple who grew old together. The only thing Yinzhen kept from Tong Cheng'er was that he couldn't touch other women, and Tong Cheng'er never knew this.
Yinzhen felt it was unnecessary. Even without this problem, if he had the choice, he would still be willing to live this kind of life. The Yongzheng in his dream was too bitter and tiring, and he had no confidant by his side. He was fine as he was. Tong Cheng'er was a gift from heaven to him out of pity.
(This concludes the main story. There are also side stories. Thank you all for your support! See you in the next book.)
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