Chapter 210 Before the Exam
“Miss Xue, based on my understanding of the Women’s Academy before it moved to the capital, given your current situation, as long as you pass the written exam, you’ll likely pass the interview as well. As for whether the rules of the Women’s Academy have changed now, I’m not sure.”
Yuan Hongqu truthfully told the reporter that she was unwilling to help Xue Baochai, but if Xue Baochai enrolled in the girls' academy, it was not impossible for her to eventually become a female official.
Xue Baochai's stains are actually nothing, after all, a large number of low-ranking palace maids were originally the female relatives of disgraced officials, or even prisoners of war. Xue Baochai is considered to be one of the better ones.
Xue Baochai originally wanted to be a companion to the princess, but the requirements for female officials were that they have a clean background and no criminal record for three generations of their direct descendants, which she naturally did not meet.
"Thank you, Mr. Yuan." Xue Baochai felt relieved and bowed deeply again.
Yuan Hongqu did not accept the gifts brought by the Xue family.
The Xue family only came to ask a question, but the gifts they presented amounted to more than a thousand taels of gold.
Even if Yuan Hongqu hadn't regained her memories as the former vice-principal of the girls' academy, she wouldn't have accepted these things, let alone now that she had.
She accepted gifts from the Xue family. If Xue Baochai were to enroll in school and Aunt Xue were to say that she had received guidance from Yuan Hongqu, then even if she had a lot of words, she probably wouldn't be able to explain herself clearly.
However, when it came to tricking Xue Pan, she didn't hold back at all.
Wu Tian not only managed the estate outside, but also set up some shops in the capital. Whatever business the Xue family's shops did, their shops followed suit. With Yuan Hongqu as a cheat code, no matter what business they did, they could make their costs cheaper and their quality better than the Xue family's.
Furthermore, Xue Pan completely neglected business matters, and as women, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai were even less inclined to interfere in the affairs of the shops. The shopkeepers themselves had long since treated the shops as their own, practically emptying them out.
With Wu Tian deliberately seizing market share, the Xue family's business became even more difficult.
The period before and after the Lunar New Year should be the most profitable time, but while other people's shops are making money, the Xue family's shop is losing money endlessly.
Before the end of the first month of the lunar calendar, three shops had already closed down, and another one closed down in the second month.
Several other companies have also submitted their accounts, and all of them have reported losses over the past few months.
Aunt Xue realized that the shop was closed, which reduced the cost of purchasing goods. The shop assistants had also been dismissed, reducing labor costs, and she actually lost less money.
Therefore, whenever a shop incurred losses for several consecutive months, she would immediately take stock of the accounts, close the shop, and sell it.
After going through the entire process, even the brokers in the brokerage firm became extremely familiar with the Xue family.
The Xue family's shops are all in prime locations, so they never have trouble selling, and they can make a good profit from them.
Aunt Xue discovered that the money from selling the shop was much faster than making money from doing business, so she sold the shop very quickly.
Xue Baochai knew that this was not a long-term solution. The shop was like a hen that lays eggs, but once it was sold, it would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
But in the current situation, my brother's leg is broken, and we don't have a capable manager to oversee everything.
Although she wanted to, as a woman, she was unwilling to show her face in public.
Moreover, she could also see that although her mother loved her, she was still inferior to her brother.
I'm afraid that if I interfere too much, my mother will become suspicious that I'm going to fight with my brother for the family property!
The Xue family's shops were sold off one after another, and Yuan Hongqu ended up with quite a few more shops.
However, the original Hongqu shop was not bought from the Xue family.
There are plenty of good shops out there. As long as she's willing and able to afford them, she can buy any kind of shop. There's no need for her to keep an eye on the Xue family's shops.
However, Wu Tian was not instructed to deliberately avoid buying the shops offered by the Xue family. If the opportunity arose, buying them would not be out of the question.
The Xue family is large and powerful, and a few shops haven't seriously damaged them yet. However, if things continue like this, it won't be long before they are finished.
On the way back from the Lin family, Aunt Xue wanted to speak several times, but seeing that Xue Baochai had her head down and seemed to have no intention of listening to her, she didn't say anything.
Upon returning to Pear Fragrance Courtyard, before Aunt Xue could even speak, Xue Baochai said...
"Mom, I need to prepare my exam materials for tomorrow, and I also need to study for a while longer."
Aunt Xue swallowed her words again; in her heart, she didn't really support Xue Baochai going to study at the girls' academy.
They were staying at the Jia family mansion. None of the three girls from the Jia family themselves went to the academy, but the girls staying there were going to some girls' academy. Aunt Xue always felt that her family was being too outstanding.
Since ancient times, it has been said that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. The women of the Wang family never studied, yet they still lived a life of luxury.
Jia Min of the Jia family was well-educated and married a top scholar, but she only enjoyed her life for a few years before dying young.
In her opinion, it's better for women not to study. The more they know, the more they think, and what's good about thinking too much? She heard that there's a Madam Rong in the East Mansion, who is also a very learned and talented woman, but now she's sickly every day.
It seems that those who read too much often have short lifespans.
When Baochai's father was alive, he hired many tutors for her and she read a lot of books. After her father passed away, Baochai stopped studying and spent her days doing needlework. She was very composed.
Recently, I've been bothered by this girls' academy, and I've started thinking about studying there, but it's only added to my troubles.
If Baochai hadn't had such thoughts, the mother and daughter wouldn't have gone to the Lin family today and been ridiculed by that lowly Zijuan.
Aunt Xue was indignant. She turned around and took her maid to Madam Wang's residence to complain to her sister.
After seeing off the Xue family mother and daughter, Yuan Hongqu returned to Jiaoyun Garden.
Unexpectedly, Daiyu, who should have been studying, was actually embroidering with an embroidery hoop.
"It's really strange. When did you start tinkering with this? I've never seen you touch a needle and thread in a whole year." Yuan Hongqu smiled and looked closely. She saw that Daiyu was embroidering a kitten, which looked exactly like the little kitten at home.
Even after Yuan Hongqu returned, Daiyu did not stop.
“Granny, we’ve made a double-sided embroidery piece in our sewing room. Both sides are decorated with lifelike little kittens, and the patterns and colors are different on each side. I really love it and wish I could embroider something like that myself.”
"Hmm, that's really rare. I heard it was a birthday gift from them to you. How did you find out beforehand?"
"The sewing shop came to Aunt Jin wanting a better frame so she could have it mounted. I happened to overhear and went over to take a look."
"So, you're not going to review your books anymore?"
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