"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: ...It has come to our attention that Empress Lin, with her heart set on the fate of the nation and her far-sighted considerations, believes that the inner palace is a model for the entire realm, and its system should evolve with the times. Therefore, we hereby grant permission to reinstate the system of female officials, establishing six bureaus within the palace: Shanggong, Shangyi, Shangfu, Shangshi, Shangqin, and Shanggong, to manage the affairs of the court. Soon, a proclamation will be issued to the world to hold a civil service examination. All women of the Great Liang, regardless of their background, will be selected based solely on their talent. This decree is hereby issued!"
When Gao Fu, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, finished reading the edict—which the Emperor himself had stamped with the imperial seal and which the Empress had personally drafted—in the Golden Palace with his sharp yet melodious voice, the entire court fell into a deathly silence.
If the news a few days ago that "His Majesty is afraid of his wife and the Empress is jealous" was a gossip storm that swept through the capital.
Today, this edict concerning the re-establishment of female officials and the holding of imperial examinations is nothing short of a super earthquake of magnitude twelve, instantly shaking the entire court and the countryside of the Great Liang Dynasty, causing chaos and upheaval!
To... to hold an imperial examination for officials?
Selecting female officials?
They don't even care about background, they only appoint people based on their talent?!
After a brief silence, the Golden Palace was like a calm lake tossed with a boulder, instantly churning up huge waves!
"Absurd! Utterly absurd!"
A furious roar broke the silence.
The elderly minister, Minister of Rites, with his white hair and beard, was the first to rush out of the queue. He knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face, and wailed to Xiao Che on the dragon throne, "Your Majesty! Since ancient times, it has been the natural order for women to manage the household and men to manage external affairs! Now, to allow women to serve as officials and participate in the affairs of the court... this is like a hen crowing at dawn, an act that shakes the very foundation of the nation! Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Your Excellency is absolutely right!" Another censor stepped forward, filled with righteous indignation. "Our Great Liang governs the world with filial piety. Women are expected to follow the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, to be good wives and mothers. This is the proper path! If everyone thinks about showing their faces in public and entering the palace as officials, where will human ethics and moral order be? Where will the dignity of the nation be? If this precedent is set, women all over the world will follow suit, which will inevitably lead to disharmony in families and chaos throughout the land!"
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Your Majesty, please rescind your order! This action violates ancestral rules and is absolutely unacceptable!"
In an instant, the imperial court was filled with cries, remonstrances, and kowtows. Led by the rigid-minded old ministers and conservative officials, more than a third of the court officials knelt on the ground, tearfully begging the emperor to rescind his decree.
They cited classical texts, from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the founding emperor of the current dynasty, repeatedly reiterating the idea that "a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent," and elevating this reform to the level of a "sign of national ruin."
Among these opponents who claimed to be "for the country and the people," the most agitated was undoubtedly Regent Xiao Yuan, who had just "recovered from illness" and returned to court.
He stood there, his face ashen, his whole body trembling slightly. But his trembling wasn't from anger, but from... fear!
Others only saw that "a hen crowing at dawn violates ancestral rules," but he saw through the most fatal move behind this reform, which directly targeted him and the entire aristocratic group behind him!
Meritocracy is the only criterion for promotion! Background matters not!
These eight words were like eight of the sharpest steel knives, piercing deep into the vital points of these powerful families!
Once this system is implemented, the harem, a crucial stronghold they have cultivated for generations, where countless spies and pawns have been planted, will be completely purged! Those palace servants who have been tyrannical in the palace because of their family background will be replaced, and those noble ladies on whom they have placed their hopes will be completely sidelined!
From this day forward, the harem will become Empress Lin Wanwan's independent kingdom! A power core that is impenetrable and obeys only the Emperor and Empress!
This is a radical solution! This is eradicating the root of the problem!
What a vicious scheme! What a cunning Empress Lin Wanwan!
"Your Majesty!" Xiao Yuan could no longer remain silent. He stepped forward abruptly, his eyes bloodshot, and roared in a hoarse voice, "The Empress's actions, seemingly to share the nation's burdens, are in fact harboring treacherous intentions! She intends to seize sole power in the harem, usurp the authority of the six palaces, and deceive Your Majesty! I beg Your Majesty to see clearly and not be misled by treacherous villains, lest you ruin the century-old foundation of our Great Liang!"
His words directly shifted the focus from the "system" itself to an attack on Lin Wanwan's personal character.
The imperial court instantly descended into chaos. Voices of support and opposition clashed fiercely, threatening to rip the roof off the palace.
And this is just the beginning.
...
Inside Cixi Palace.
"Smack!"
With a sharp crack, the Empress Dowager smashed a fine Ru kiln teacup to the ground, shattering it into pieces.
"Good! What a wonderful Lin Wanwan! What a good daughter-in-law of mine!"
The Empress Dowager trembled with rage, her well-preserved face now clouded with anger and fury. She gripped the Buddhist prayer beads tightly in her hands, her knuckles turning white from the force.
She saw through Lin Wanwan's sinister intentions much earlier than those old ministers in the court who only knew classical Chinese.
Empty!
This is clearly an attempt to completely sideline her and the entire clan and aristocratic family she represents within the palace!
Once those female officials who don't care about background and only obey the Empress take office, what use will her nieces and grandnieces, those noble ladies from aristocratic families, who she has placed in various palaces be? Their family backgrounds, which they are usually proud of, will become worthless in the face of the ironclad rule of "appointing only the talented"!
Lin Wanwan was going to cut off her hands and feet, one by one!
"This is outrageous! This is utterly defying the heavens!" The Empress Dowager was furious. "I'm still alive! And she's already extending her reach so far. Is she trying to sideline me as well?!"
The old nanny beside her quickly stepped forward to soothe her, trembling as she advised, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Taking care of your health is of utmost importance..."
"Calm down? How can I calm down!" The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the table. "Immediately send word to all the ladies of the third rank and above in the capital to come to the palace tomorrow and pay their respects to me! I want to see whether Lin Wanwan's imperial decree is more powerful than the family rules and ancestral regulations of the entire court!"
A ruthless glint flashed in her eyes.
Lin Wanwan, don't you want to reform? Then I will unite with all the powerful families in the capital and exert the greatest pressure on you from the inner palace, from public opinion, and from clan etiquette!
I refuse to believe that a mere young girl like you can stand against the old forces of the entire world!
Suddenly, a storm was brewing.
The news that the Empress was going to hold an imperial examination to select female officials was like a tidal wave, violently waking up the old forces of the entire empire from their comfortable corners.
They were furious, they were terrified, and for the first time, they realized with such clarity that the young empress sitting in the Kunning Palace was no longer a pawn they could manipulate at will. She had grown into a terrifying being capable of overturning the entire old order!
And so, they united as never before.
In the imperial court, conservative ministers, led by the regent, submitted memorials daily, each word dripping with veiled grief, vehemently denouncing the "harm" of the female official system.
Within the inner palace, the noblewomen of aristocratic families, with the Empress Dowager at their core, entered the palace one after another, ostensibly to pay their respects, but in reality to exert pressure, their every word revolving around "ancestral rules."
In the city, various rumors and gossip about "a wicked empress causing chaos in politics" and "a hen crowing at dawn foretells the downfall of the nation" began to spread quietly.
A vast net, woven from the imperial court, the harem, and public opinion, tightened its grip on Kunning Palace from all directions.
Everyone thought that, faced with such a massive counterattack from almost the entire old power structure of the empire, the young empress would at least temporarily compromise and postpone its implementation, if not rescind her order.
However, everyone underestimated Lin Wanwan's determination.
At the very heart of this storm, when all the pressure was focused on her alone, Lin Wanwan sat calmly in Kunning Palace, picked up her brush, and wrote a second imperial edict, even more provocative than the first.
She handed the imperial edict to Ruolan and calmly instructed her:
"By imperial decree, this decree shall be posted outside the palace gates to proclaim it to the world."
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