Chapter 380 A fight broke out
"Since Princess Jiangzhu is so confident, is she able to represent the other students in this competition?" With the Emperor already in the lead, it was not the Imperial Academy's Director of Studies' turn to ask this question.
However, the students of the Imperial Academy had already performed poorly in front of the Emperor and lost. If they did not turn the tide now, the Director of Studies felt that he could retire and return to his hometown.
How can he have the face to serve as a teacher after producing so many timid and cowardly "pillars of the nation"?
"My lord, please don't misunderstand. I only said that the senior students in our academy are capable of participating in the imperial examination, not that I have to represent them in the competition. If my classmates are interested in this competition and their families support them, they will naturally participate."
With Mr. Yuan and the Empress Sister present, Daiyu had two powerful backers, so she spoke with confidence, but she was not as arrogant as before.
The Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy was clearly setting a trap for her, but Daiyu wouldn't fall for it so easily.
Before, she might have been provoked, but now that she was at peace, she spoke with more composure than before.
The scholar hadn't expected that Lin Daiyu, at such a young age, would so easily escape the trap set in his words.
He had thought that such a woman, praised to the point of being arrogant and ignorant, would be the most presumptuous of men. He never expected that she would be so intelligent.
Looking at the students who came today, although they are not the best among those in the Imperial Academy, they usually perform quite well. This time, they were basically all wiped out, and they lost face completely!
"That's quite right. Anyone who wants to participate can participate, and those who don't want to won't be forced," the Emperor said, echoing Daiyu's words.
Upon hearing the Emperor's words, some officials on both sides beamed with joy, while others wore gloomy expressions, as if they were about to wring out black water.
"Your Majesty, since ancient times, has any woman ever participated in the imperial examinations? Not to mention that no woman has ever set foot in the examination hall, what woman is even qualified to participate in the metropolitan examination? This is utterly absurd!"
Just as the Director of Studies was feeling embarrassed, he suddenly heard the Grand Tutor beside the Emperor bristling with anger. If it weren't for his small eyes, they would have glared a hole through the contract.
This old tutor once taught the emperor, and recently the emperor came out incognito, which meant that there was no need to be bound by the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects. That's why he dared to be so presumptuous.
"The Grand Tutor is right."
“Indeed, indeed. The examination hall is such a sacred place; how can we allow women to go in and cause trouble?”
"Yes, this is outrageous! Women should stay at home to support their husbands and raise their children. It's already wrong for them to go out to study, let alone participate in the imperial examinations. It's simply against the natural order!"
Some officials were very emotional.
However, some officials are quite reasonable.
"That being said, you should also realize that graduates of the girls' academy are far superior to women who have never studied at the academy in every aspect..." This was said by an adult in the family who had married a graduate of the girls' academy. He had always been a big fan of the girls' academy, and his daughter had also been sent there.
"Indeed, in the past, women were mostly unreasonable and argumentative. However, after studying at the women's academy, they no longer acted so unreasonably or made a scene when problems arose." This was his biggest feeling after his wife had studied in the ladies' class at the women's academy for a period of time.
This man's wife was extremely shrewish and didn't know many words.
He started doing small business in the city to support his studies when he was in school.
He is a man of conscience, and has never had the thought of abandoning his wife all these years.
After the girls' academy established a class for ladies, his wife immediately enrolled.
After this official became a government official in the capital, his wife followed him to his post, causing quite a few embarrassing incidents. For a period of time, she was too afraid to go out.
However, after only a few months of classes, the changes were earth-shattering. He no longer made a fool of himself when going out for social events, and even his temperament and personality changed a lot.
Most families with women studying at academies initially thought that girls' academies were just places for women to relax, but later their views completely changed.
Most officials whose families did not have any children studying at girls' colleges had little affection for them.
At this point, a heated debate began between officials holding differing views.
Another group held a neutral stance. Although no one in their family had attended a girls' academy, they could appreciate its benefits. However, they felt that women holding official positions was inappropriate, so they remained silent. If the discussion between the two sides became too heated, they would try to mediate...
The emperor sat leisurely at the table, watching his ministers on both sides engage in back-and-forth exchanges as if they were watching a play, trying to persuade each other.
The group of students from the Imperial College had already stepped aside.
Daiyu had already walked to Yuan Hongqu's side, and was clinging to her arm and shaking it affectionately.
"Sir, do you think they might start fighting?"
"They're all scholars, the most refined of all, and they're also the most concerned about their reputation..." Yuan Hongqu hadn't finished speaking when one of the officials picked up a writing brush from the table and threw it at another official, while the other side, not to be outdone, grabbed a brush holder from the table and smashed it at the opposite side...
Yuan Hongqu was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped back to protect Daiyu from being caught in the crossfire.
The Emperor and Empress clearly hadn't expected that their verbal sparring would escalate to physical violence.
No matter how heated the arguments were in the imperial court in the past, there was never any physical fight!
The emperor's guards, sensing the danger, had already positioned themselves in front of him, but the emperor waved his hand and said in a deep voice,
"Let me see another side of these trusted ministers of mine."
He watched with great interest, and if any official was accidentally pushed off the battlefield, he would have his guards kindly throw him back in.
The two sides fought for about fifteen minutes when Qian, the supervisor of the Imperial Observatory, shouted loudly.
"My stargazing telescope!"
This sound was like a thunderclap in a clear sky, instantly sobering up the arguing officials, some of whom even stole glances at the emperor.
The Emperor wore a half-smile, unsure how he would punish them later.
With a series of thuds, the officials on both sides knelt down.
The surroundings were quiet, except for Qian Jianzheng's crying.
He was holding the observatory, which had been pushed to the ground in the chaos and had its parts picked up and thrown around as weapons. Now only the tube remained, and many of the glass pieces were broken.
Qian Jianzheng was heartbroken, as if a loved one had died, and stared at the kneeling official with eyes wide open, as if he wanted to bite him.
"Sigh!" The Emperor sighed. "Don't cry. The palace has the materials, but they're not cheap. Once these officials have pooled their money to buy them, we'll have the craftsmen from Princess Lin's household make another one for you."
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