Chapter 440 Power
Even many years later, when he was old, Su Zhengyang still clearly remembered the shock that the order from the Regent and the Prime Minister brought to him and the whole world the day after the night banquet.
I have also dreamed of the prosperous city of Kyoto countless times at midnight, reliving the once magnificent dreamlike scene.
After the night banquet, Huo Gannian and Yun Chen, who were supposed to take a ten-day break before returning to court, seemed to have discussed it beforehand and both declined their leave. Early in the morning, they entered the Regent's Palace and the Prime Minister's Palace in their dignified official uniforms.
That was a palace specially built with the emperor's approval for the two of them to handle government affairs.
Two hours later, a decree jointly implemented by the Regent and Prime Minister Wu was signed by the Emperor, and then polished by Prime Minister Yun Wang and announced to the world.
Suddenly, all the government offices and notice boards in the streets and alleys of Nan Kingdom were covered with the same new law:
"From now on, all women who enter the land of Tamnan will enjoy the same rights as women."
What this means is that, from today onwards, all women standing on the land of my Nan country, regardless of age, will enjoy the same rights as men.
Study, go to school, do business, and become an official.
From small things like showing up in public to go shopping and drinking, to big things like passing the imperial examinations to become an official, or even starting a new business and living alone.
These forbidden areas and rules that women were not allowed to set foot in for hundreds of years were all broken.
This iron-like strict law gave a strong push, pushing every woman out of the secluded boudoir and into the world.
At the same time, the law also respects all women who still insist on staying in seclusion and managing the household.
But the difference is that among the 125 detailed rules attached to the law, it is specifically stated that the husband and family of any daughter who stays at home to manage the household must pay a salary for the housekeeping, and violators will be punished according to the law.
At this point, Su Zhengyang finally understood and was deeply shocked.
These shocking regulations, especially the comprehensive and thoughtful details, could not have been thought up by Huo Gan. It could only be that Yun Chen, who had been disguised as a man for so many years, had deeply experienced the harsh treatment and difficulties faced by women in this world, and had carefully studied them one by one.
It turns out that there are people in this world who have suffered so much, but instead of complaining or hating others, they try to make others suffer more than them.
Instead, he used his own strength to build a spacious house that would shelter all women in the world and bring them joy.
He finally understood that the "power" Yun Chen mentioned was standing in a high position above thousands of people, and kicking open the door of the corrupt ethics with a hard kick.
Soon, after a brief period of shock and confusion across the country, more and more women began to appear on the streets of Kyoto, and women of both talent and virtue began to join all walks of life.
Women who had stayed in seclusion in their homes for decades began to say "no" to forced marriages, and there were many more beautiful women in silk dresses among those who studied late into the night to prepare for fame and fortune.
Girls' schools, girls' workshops, girls' martial arts schools... began to flourish throughout the country of Nan.
The largest of them is naturally the "Lingyun Martial Arts School", which was built and supervised by Yun Chen himself.
On this day, Su Zhengyang accompanied Yun Chen as usual to stroll around the martial arts hall, inspecting the daily training of the female martial artists and walking amid the endless shouts of martial arts practitioners.
Song Qiaoqiao was just like usual, walking with her arm around Yun Chen's arm while reciting a thick volume of "Laws of the Nan Kingdom" in her hand.
Su Zhengyang and Song Qiaoqiao have known each other since childhood. Now, because of Yun Chen, they are more familiar with each other than before. They follow Yun Chen in and out every day, just like two bodyguards.
Seeing that Song Qiaoqiao was reciting very seriously, Su Zhengyang joked:
"Are you really going to take the exam to become a female lawyer and defend people every day? This isn't just a whim."
"Nonsense!" Song Qiaoqiao rolled her eyes at Su Zhengyang, still reciting intently. Yun Chen spoke for her and said with a smile:
"She's determined to become a lawyer. She's been practicing her skills by arguing with her father at home over the "Laws of the Southern Kingdom" every day. Her father's beard is practically blown off his face by the rage, and he's been to see me several times!"
Old Earl Song Lu had no sons, and among his five daughters, he loved Song Qiaoqiao the most.
After the imperial court issued this new law that shocked the world, Song Qiaoqiao was the first to jump out in support.
Although old Earl Song Lu found it difficult to accept these new ideas, he could not persuade his beloved daughter, so he let Song Qiaoqiao go.
Unexpectedly, Song Qiaoqiao was so bold that she wanted to try all of the more than one hundred new things in the regulations.
Sometimes he put on oil paint and sang opera, sometimes he ran a shop to do business, and even thought about opening an elephant house in the capital, challenging the bottom line of the old Earl Song Lu again and again.
Whenever the old Earl Song Lu refused to allow it, Song Qiaoqiao would take out the "Laws of the Southern Kingdom" and seriously accuse him:
"Dad! This is my right as a woman! If you don't allow me, you're breaking the law! I'm going to sue you at the government office!"
Old Earl Song Lu was so angry that he had no choice but to run to Yun Chen to complain, saying that Song Qiaoqiao was almost obsessed with the new law and would not listen to anyone but Yun Chen.
After Yun Chen's advice, Song Qiaoqiao tried various industries and finally decided that she wanted to be a lawyer, and then she stopped struggling.
"Alas, the old Count has had a hard time." Su Zhengyang sighed pretentiously, "When the Countess was pregnant, she should have gone for a fortune-teller. If she had known she would give birth to a lawyer, she would have been prepared and bought some earplugs in advance."
“Hahahaha——” Yun Chen was amused.
Song Qiaoqiao blushed with embarrassment and cursed:
"You bastard! When you get married, I'll tell your wife how hypocritical you are!"
Hearing the words "your wife", Su Zhengyang's expression changed slightly and he said jokingly:
"I'm not inviting you to the wedding banquet. Don't be a bad influence on my wife with your sharp tongue. I can't afford to offend you!"
"Hey, hey—" Song Qiaoqiao was about to roll up her sleeves while speaking, and threatened: "If you don't invite me to your wedding, then I will ask Yun Chen not to go either!"
After Song Qiaoqiao finished speaking, she winked at Yun Chen, who immediately nodded in agreement.
Unexpectedly, when Su Zhengyang heard that Yun Chen was not going, he was not disappointed, but seemed particularly happy. He whispered:
"It's better not to go..."
At this time, Cao Shuyu, the eldest daughter of Duke Cao, saw the three men passing by. She left the team she was training with, and came over to tidy up her martial arts uniform. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve, pointed her delicate jade finger at Su Zhengyang, and said with a smile:
"You're just relying on the fact that you're about to get married and have a wife, so we can't do anything. If you didn't have a wife, Qiaoqiao would definitely scratch your face!"
"That's right!" Song Qiaoqiao kicked Su Zhengyang in the air, then jumped over and took Cao Shuyu's arm, smiling and said:
"Miss Cao, are you free to join us for a drink today? You've broken your promises so many times, and I'm running out of that jar of 'Drunk Thousand Miles' I kept at the mutton restaurant!"
Cao Shuyu was provoked to laugh by Song Qiaoqiao. She pinched Song Qiaoqiao's plump and lovely face, raised her chin towards Yun Chen, and said:
"No, I have special training today and can't go. You three should go, and I'll give my share of wine to Yun Chen!"
"That's possible!" Yun Chen responded with a smile.
The three women were talking and laughing, leaving Su Zhengyang aside for a while.
He looked at Cao Shuyu and found it hard to imagine that this was the eldest daughter of Duke Cao, the most polite lady in the Cao family, who was regarded as a role model by the noble ladies in Beijing. Beneath her dignified and somewhat old-fashioned appearance, she actually had a talent for martial arts.
He had heard before that Cao Shuyu and Song Qiaoqiao had a big fight over Yun Chen disguising himself as a man.
Now, for some reason, the two girls are as close as one person again.
Looking around at the dozens of halls around, they were all filled with girls who were sweating hard and practicing martial arts, and they were shouting loudly.
Among them were daughters from wealthy and powerful families, and young girls from common families...
All women, regardless of status, are running together on a broader new path.
Su Zhengyang couldn't help but secretly cast his gaze on Yun Chen - this wonderful man who changed the fate of thousands of women.
She had a radiant appearance and a heroic demeanor, and she was beginning to show the calmness and composure of a superior.
Only those eyes remained unchanged from beginning to end, clear and bright, as if containing an all-encompassing light.
Su Zhengyang's heart was throbbing as he watched. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and kept saying to himself, "Just go ahead and get married. You can't covet someone like Yun Chen. It's better for us to be friends for a longer time."
After the three girls finished talking, Cao Shuyu went back to training.
Su Zhengyang invited Yun Chen and Song Qiaoqiao to eat crabs, saying that a fresh crab restaurant had just opened somewhere. The crabs did not need to be steamed or cooked, but could be eaten directly with seasonings, and the taste was extremely delicious.
Song Qiaoqiao was so hooked that her mouth was watering. She said, "See if I don't bankrupt the Su Mansion's treasury today!" and immediately pulled Yun Chen out.
The three of them walked out of the martial arts hall, talking and laughing, and saw Lan Qian, the maid beside Yun Chen, standing in the corner of the door, holding a briefcase in her hand and secretly wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
"Lan Qian, why are you here?" Yun Chen asked.
Lan Qian immediately put away the handkerchief, quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, put on a smile, and walked towards Yun Chen:
"My lady, a messenger from the Wu Cheng Palace has come with a message, saying there are several urgent matters for you to decide. The messenger went to your residence, but you were not there, so I came to look for you."
The Wu Cheng Palace oversees the military affairs of the imperial court, with Rong Yi, Luo Dongdong, and Fu Lin handling daily affairs. Yun Chen gets a headache from seeing those things and rarely goes there.
At the beginning, Rong Yi and Luo Dongdong were still full of confidence. The heroic spirit of the glory in the triumphal hall had not yet dissipated, and they were determined to accomplish great things.
As a result, after staying in Wu Chengdian for less than three days, Rong Yi was the first to back out when faced with the endless mountain of documents.
He rubbed his dizzy eyes and said, "I'm going to the South City Dance Hall to check on the dancers. The dance hall has a serious security problem." He pushed all the documents in his hand to Luo Dongdong and disappeared.
Luo Dongdong cursed his mother, gritted his teeth and persisted for another two hours. Then he followed suit and said, "I can't see the words with one arm." He pushed the document in his hand away and never showed up again.
Now, in the entire Wu Cheng Palace, only Fu Lin is left, guarding the palace day and night with his head on the beam and legs pierced by a needle.
He can handle most matters, but there are some important matters that cannot be bypassed and require Yun Chen's personal approval.
Lan Qian could only look for Yun Chen everywhere, and finally found out about the martial arts school.
Lan Qian handed the box containing the letter to Yun Chen.
Yun Chen took it and casually threw it into Su Zhengyang's arms. Then he reached out and gently lifted Lan Qian's chin. He carefully looked at the faint traces of tears in the corners of her eyes and frowned.
"Who bullied you?"
Lan Qian didn't say anything. She knew that many eyes in the world were now staring at the "Prince Regent and Prime Minister Wu", and she didn't want to cause trouble for Yun Chen.
But when Yun Chen asked her that, her eyes immediately turned red uncontrollably. Just as she was about to force herself to say "it's okay", she heard an extremely vulgar and greasy voice -
"My beautiful Lan Qian, you ran so fast that I couldn't catch up with you. I've been looking for you for so long! When did you go and ask your master to give you to me to warm my bed—"
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