313. In the emperor's eyes, there is only usefulness and uselessness.
Wei Xiuming waved his hand, signaling Lin Fuman to step back.
She slowly retreated.
As the palace doors closed, the little girl couldn't help but tug at Xie Wenling's sleeve and whisper, "Brother Xie, why didn't you say anything just now?"
Qu Zijin followed up with, "Yes, His Majesty just stated that he wouldn't agree. Why didn't you speak up and try to persuade him? Do you really disagree with this matter?"
Xie Wenling then spoke up: "What is there to advise? His Majesty already has a plan in mind. If I had gone out to advise him just now, it would have had the opposite effect."
Qu Zijin frowned, clearly not understanding, and his tone even carried a hint of doubt: "I don't understand what you're saying. Just now, when we were about to give His Majesty a way out and help Lin Fuman seize the opportunity, you hid here and didn't say a word. Could it be that you regretted it?"
The little dumpling nodded in agreement.
Seeing the disbelieving looks on their faces, Xie Wenling was about to explain further when he heard Wei Xiuming's voice coming from outside the screen: "Grand Tutor Qu, Princess, you may leave now. I have something to discuss with Prime Minister Xie."
Qu Zijin's heart sank even further. Holding the little dumpling's hand, he steeled his resolve and said, "Your Majesty, Lin Fuman's idea is not unreasonable. If it can be gradually pushed forward, it will benefit both the court and the people. Please reconsider."
The little dumpling chimed in, "Your Majesty, Sister Fufu has worked really hard, please give her another chance, okay?"
“I said I would consider it,” Wei Xiuming paused, then said no more. “You may all leave now.”
Seeing this, Xie Wenling reached out and touched the little dumpling's hair: "Don't worry, His Majesty knows what he's doing. You all go back first and wait for my news, okay?"
He then looked at Qu Zijin: "Grand Tutor Qu, please rest assured, I will not go back on my word."
Looking at Xie Wenling's serious expression, Qu Zijin recalled that Xie Wenling had always kept his word.
His doubts lessened a bit, and he finally didn't insist any further. He took the little dumpling's hand and said, "Alright then, let's go back first. You should tell His Majesty properly that you should let me know as soon as you have any news."
The little dumpling nodded and followed Qu Zijin out, turning back every few steps. When they reached the palace gate, she didn't forget to look back at Xie Wenling.
Xie Wenling watched the two leave, and only after the palace doors closed again did he get up and walk to Wei Xiuming.
At this moment, Xie Wenling's eyes were clear as he looked directly at Wei Xiuming and got straight to the point: "Although Your Majesty did not agree to Lin Fuman's request just now, you have actually wanted to promote gender equality for a long time, but you just don't want to be too radical, right?"
Wei Xiuming looked at him, didn't deny it, but smiled and said frankly, "You understand me best. I am the emperor. In my eyes, there are no good people or bad people, no men or women, only useful people and useless people."
“In the past, the court only focused on men and kept women in the backyard. In the end, it was a waste of half of the manpower.”
He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "Moreover, the preference for sons over daughters has not improved much over the years. Many families abandon their daughters after they are born, but cherish their sons as treasures."
"At present, there are more and more unmarried men in various prefectures and counties. Without wives or children, they are prone to causing trouble."
"According to convention, it would have been time to launch a war to deplete this group of people."
"But constantly waging war is risky, can strain the national treasury, and can also shake public morale."
"Sigh, this is a real hidden danger. Last year, there was a group of unemployed men causing trouble. If this isn't resolved, it will become a big problem sooner or later."
Xie Wenling nodded: "Your Majesty is right. Too many unemployed people will not only disrupt public order, but also make the population ratio increasingly unbalanced, and there will only be more trouble in the future."
Wei Xiuming leaned back on the dragon throne, his tone now carrying a hint of imperial consideration: "So supporting women isn't because I'm kind-hearted, it's because it's genuinely effective."
"Women can read and do things, so the number of people the court can use has doubled."
"Moreover, women can become independent and no longer need to rely on marriage to survive. Families that favor sons over daughters will no longer abandon their daughters casually."
"The gender ratio will gradually become more balanced, and the problem of unemployed men will also be alleviated, killing two birds with one stone."
"Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision," Xie Wenling praised first.
Then he changed the subject: "But we really can't support this directly, otherwise we'll stir up a hornet's nest."
“If we issue an imperial decree directly, those men will definitely unite to oppose it. Not only will this matter not be able to proceed, but it will also shake the imperial power, which would be a loss.”
“That’s what I meant too,” Wei Xiuming nodded. “That’s why when Lin Fuman brought it up just now, I couldn’t agree. I could only ask her to change the reward. If I had agreed on the spot, tomorrow in the court, those old ministers would have knelt outside the hall crying and objecting, saying that I was disrupting the established order. That would have made things more difficult.”
The two exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's concerns.
This matter cannot be rushed; we can only proceed gradually, step by step, first getting some people to accept it, and then slowly expanding the scope.
Wei Xiuming thought for a moment and then asked, "So what do you think we should do as the first step?"
Xie Wenling pondered for a moment before slowly speaking: "His Majesty is already working on establishing girls' schools, and female students have been enrolled in various prefectures and counties. There is no need to rush to increase the number of schools now."
"The first step should be to legislate to clarify that women also have inheritance rights."
"But we don't need to enforce it. Let those who are willing do it first, and then the court will give them some rewards."
"For example, if a family is willing to divide the family property among their daughters, they can reduce or exempt some taxes. This way, some people can be encouraged to try it, and it won't attract too much opposition."
"After all, bribery is always better than coercion."
Wei Xiuming agreed: "This method is good; it's not radical and allows for gradual guidance. What about female officials? Should we try setting up a few positions first?"
Xie Wenling said, "It is permissible to establish such positions, but not too many, and not too high-ranking ones."
“First, set up a few positions for female officials in the palace, such as managing documents and miscellaneous affairs. They will not have to participate in court politics, but will only be responsible for specific small matters.”
"This way, people can gradually accept female officials without making those officials feel that women will take their positions and thus become resistant."
"Once everyone gets used to it, we can gradually add more positions and promote people, which will be a natural progression."
“Alright, let’s do it your way,” Wei Xiuming decided. “You go back and draft a plan, then find a few reasonable officials to discuss it with, avoiding those conservative old ministers. Once the plan is straightened out, show it to me, and we’ll slowly move forward with it.”
"I obey the order."
-
Qu Zijin and Xiao Tuanzi walked out of the Imperial Study and saw Lin Fuman standing under the corridor, tiptoeing and looking into the palace. When she saw them, she smiled.
The little girl ran over immediately, grabbed her hand, and exclaimed with bright, sparkling eyes, "Sister Fufu! You were so brave just now!"
Lin Fuman was a little embarrassed by the praise, but she still couldn't help but puff out her chest, with a little pride in her eyes: "I just don't want to give up like this. Even if His Majesty doesn't agree, I want His Majesty to know that many of my sisters want to be in charge of their own lives."
Qu Zijin also came over, smiling and nodding: "Although we didn't succeed, settling for women households and imperial merchants is much safer than fighting for equal rights. Once we have a foothold, we can slowly push forward."
"Mmm," the little dumpling nodded repeatedly, "If Sister Fufu hadn't mentioned it, Yue'er would have wanted to too!"
"Ah? No wonder you came today, and even brought the Grand Tutor with you," Lin Fu said suddenly, then breathed a sigh of relief. "It's a good thing I brought it up first. Otherwise, if you had brought it up, word would have spread, and the attacks from others would have been directed at you and the Grand Tutor."
Lin Fu was mentally prepared to be attacked in the future, but Xiao Tuanzi and Qu Zijin were not.
and……
She felt that her mental resilience was definitely better than the two of them.
However, when this topic came up, Lin Fuman held the little dumpling's hand and talked on and on about her thoughts: "Grand Tutor, Little Moon, I've already thought it through!"
“When I go back, I will open an orphanage and a girls’ school.”
"The orphanage unconditionally takes in baby girls abandoned by their parents and raises them."
"Girls' schools only accept female students, teaching them to read and write, as well as needlework, accounting, medicine, business... anything."
“I asked my husband to teach them so that they could all have a skill and wouldn’t have to rely on others.”
The little dumpling's eyes widened in amazement: "Wow! Sister Fufu, you're so amazing! This way, all the little girls will become amazing people!"
Lin Fuman got more and more excited as she spoke, clearly having thought about it for a long time: "And another thing, I need to set some rules!"
“If the baby girls in the orphanage grow up and their parents who abandoned them want to take them back, it is absolutely forbidden!”
"No matter how pitiful they sound, we can't let them take the child away and leech off our lives!"
“I will not let these irresponsible parents take advantage of me, thinking that they will give birth to a daughter and then leave her for me to raise, and when the child grows up, they will cry a few times and play the victim to trick the girl into marrying someone else and collecting a dowry, or tricking her into being exploited…”
I absolutely disagree!
"If the girls also soften their hearts and want to go back, then I will let them raise the baby girls I raised, teach them to read and write, and convert all my efforts into money."
“Make them pay money to take it back.”
"This way, we can prevent them from taking advantage of loopholes and give parents who truly regret their actions a chance."
---
A note from the author:
Kuangfu: From Mencius, Book 2, Part 2, referring to an adult male who has not yet married; pronounced kuàng fū.
(Meaning: an old bachelor)
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