Chapter 283 Zhao Huajing Feels Guilty
"Granny, what brings Teacher Mi to our house so late? We just got back from the academy not long ago."
Daiyu was worried that something difficult might happen at the academy, so she directly suggested that with her senior sister, the Empress, here, what could possibly cause trouble for the nanny?
"It's nothing," Yuan Hongqu said dismissively.
“Sir, I am also a member of the academy. If there are any difficult matters, please don’t be polite with me.” Zhao Huajing was also afraid that Yuan Hongqu would take on everything herself and would not want to trouble her.
"If it were a trivial matter, why would Mi Ling suddenly come to you at this time? It must be that even she feels embarrassed, which is why she came to discuss it with you. Sir, is it perhaps inconvenient for me to know?"
Yuan Hongqu smiled slightly and shook her head.
"It's a waste of your talents to trouble you with such a trivial matter. Just like what you said about Mi Ling, if we can't even handle this kind of thing, then we are simply incompetent."
"Sir!" Zhao Huajing exclaimed anxiously, fearing that Yuan Hongqu would be upset because of what she had just said about Mi Ling, and quickly explained.
“I don’t want her to bother you with everything. If the academy is short-staffed, we can hire more people. There are plenty of idle women in the capital.”
As Zhao Huajing spoke, she thought about what she needed to discuss with Mr. Yuan today, which was one of the reasons she had come to the Lin family's house with him.
"Mr. Yuan, should the academy recruit another batch of teachers?"
Yuan Hongqu was puzzled. Zhao Huajing had never inquired about recruitment at the academy before, so why would she suddenly bring this up?
"Although the academy has no plans to recruit new teachers at the moment, it's no problem to place a few if you need them."
Yuan Hongqu has never had any principles when it comes to these trivial matters.
It doesn't make much difference whether there's one more or one less teacher; those who can teach at the academy won't be troublemakers.
Zhao Huajing gratefully pulled Yuan Hongqu along, "I knew it, sir, you're the best. Only you could do something like this for me."
Yuan Hongqu's forehead creased with three black lines: You are the Empress; such matters only require a mere notification, and your subordinates will handle them perfectly. Although you were once my student, now you are the Empress. How could I refuse? How dare I refuse?
“Several ladies wish to go to the academy to broaden their horizons. If they were to become students, they would feel awkward sitting with the young girls at their age. After much thought, I decided to have them become teachers. They wouldn't need to teach; they could simply observe the teachers’ classes.”
Zhao Huajing thought about the people who came to her for help, and she couldn't refuse them.
Yuan Hongqu pondered for a moment, her mind racing. If the Empress was going to bring up this matter, then the person who proposed it must be of a higher status than the Empress, which could only be the Emperor.
Is the Emperor planning to plant spies in the academy?
Probably not.
He wouldn't even consider an academy full of girls a threat.
No matter how large the academy was, in the eyes of these men, it was nothing more than a place for women to pass the time, and they would not take it seriously.
Although Zhao Huajing said that they would not teach the classes, but only listen in, their presence in the classroom would affect the classroom atmosphere and the students' concentration. This precedent should not be set.
"Which families' wives are they?" Yuan Hongqu asked cautiously first.
"There's the lady of the Liu family, who is the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Liguo, and several other families who are military officers. They used to guard the border with their husbands, and only came to the capital in recent years. They are out of place with the noble ladies in the capital, and often make jokes in their social interactions."
Zhao Huajing thought about those ladies and felt troubled.
The academy was filled with a scholarly atmosphere, and everyone was talking about reading and writing poetry. These ladies couldn't read many characters. If they were sent to the academy, who knows what kind of jokes they would make.
Yuan Hongqu understood immediately upon hearing this.
Since she wasn't suspected by those above, nor was she sent by someone specifically to intimidate the girls' academy, she would accept these ladies!
"Senior sister, why don't we set up a special adult class in the academy, taught by older teachers? That way, the ladies won't feel embarrassed, and they can study seriously," Daiyu suddenly suggested.
Zhao Huajing had considered this method, but opening new classes and courses in the academy was a big deal, and these ladies didn't want to attract anyone's attention.
They had previously hired tutors to teach at home, but with little success. Thinking that the girls' academy was very professional, especially with a ready-made example, they decided to go to the academy to observe and learn.
A prime example is Liu Qianrou from the Liu family. She was originally a tyrant in the capital. After attending the academy for a year, although her temper was still as bad as ever, she had learned not to lose her temper at will. Although she was not exactly very polite, she had not made any mistakes.
The women who had mocked Liu Qianrou were all stunned by her transformation.
In the past, Liu Qianrou was easily provoked and taken advantage of, but now she has learned to distinguish right from wrong and will no longer fall into other people's traps easily.
In December of this year, Liu Qianrou also arranged an excellent marriage.
Now, Liu Qianrou has practically become the living advertisement of the girls' academy, so after the New Year, many noble ladies are whispering to their husbands about how to go to the girls' academy to learn and become smarter.
Military generals are generally straightforward, and after being nagged too often, they would all go and bother the emperor during court sessions.
In their minds, the Empress was also one of the principals of the girls' academy, and it was just a matter of the Empress saying a word to send their wives to the girls' academy.
They can't go directly to the Empress, but they can go to the Emperor!
The Emperor was so annoyed by these people that he actually went to see Zhao Huajing...
Zhao Huajing didn't intend to directly propose the new class to Yuan Hongqu, but unexpectedly Daiyu brought it up.
Yuan Hongqu glanced at Zhao Huajing, "Even Daiyu could think of a method, but you didn't?"
"That's because I'm afraid of troubling you too much, sir." Zhao Huajing was surprisingly unsure of herself. She felt that in Xinsheng's eyes, she probably no longer had the right to be given whatever he wanted.
"What are you saying!" Yuan Hongqu frowned, staring at Zhao Huajing with displeasure. "Did I ever teach you to settle for second best if you were afraid of troubling others?"
"You are now the Empress, second only to the Emperor. Where does your confidence come from? Hasn't the Emperor given you that confidence?"
Yuan Hongqu's words grew increasingly harsh, and Zhao Huajing looked slightly flustered, but remained quite composed.
“Sir, I have confidence in front of anyone, except you.”
She felt guilty towards Mr. Yuan.
"Three days later, the girls' academy will open a class for ladies. Once the course schedule is finalized, they can come and attend classes. Also, the classes are not free; the tuition is three times that of regular students. If you find it difficult, you can pay for it yourself. The academy cannot do business at a loss."
Yuan Hongqu's voice was not loud, but it was firm and resounding.
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