Mingyi stood in the Realm of Darkness, smiling at Qin Zongyou. “If you can harm a single hair on my head today, I’ll admit that women are inherently weaker than men. Otherwise, you’ll kneel and call me ‘Great-aunt’.”
Qin Zongyou had heard about Mingyi and was reluctant to fight her. But her challenge came so suddenly that he felt he couldn’t back down.
“Women are so impulsive. This is a council meeting. Who wants to fight you? Even if you win, it doesn’t mean other women can win,” he mumbled vaguely.
Mingyi spat out two words contemptuously: “Useless.”
Qin Zongyou’s face flushed with anger. “What did you say?”
“I said all the men of Cangxue are useless. You can’t protect your mothers above or wives and daughters below. You keep saying women are inherently weak, yet you eagerly seek to buy and sell women from other cities. You deny baby girls any chance of survival, then have the audacity to lament the scarcity of women.”
Mingyi continued coldly, “In my Chaoyang City, women are born equal to men. They can study, learn Yuan Power, and serve the Qing Yun Realm alongside men. They are the never-setting sun of Chaoyang. Why should they be forcibly bought and taken to Cangxue to become mere breeding vessels without dignity?”
“You… Chaoyang City is special. I can leave your women out of this,” Qin Zongyou said frantically, looking at the representatives from other cities. “But in other places, we have normal men as city lords. Can’t you understand our situation? Why should we use the laws of one city to constrain the other five?”
Zheng Tiaoxian raised his hand. “Don’t include us from Huahua City. We value beauty in flowers and naturally cherish women. We don’t want our women to be bought and sold as breeding stock.”
“Zhu Yue doesn’t need this kind of money from selling people. We don’t sell women.”
“Mu Xing City was the first to name women as Golden Hairpin Fighters. We naturally don’t agree with Cangxue’s practices.”
The remaining Xin Cao City remained noncommittal, while the other cities stood with Mingyi. If for no other reason, it was because their cities also had few women and ordinary families already struggled to find wives. They had no surplus to trade.
Qin Zongyou was furious. “You, you all. You’re just trying to force Cangxue City to extinction so you can occupy our territory!”
“Lord Qin is mistaken. Now that the six cities are unified under His Majesty, how can we speak of occupation?” Qin Shangwu gave him a warning look.
“I don’t care. I won’t approve this clause,” he said stubbornly, seeing that no one was supporting him.
Mingyi dismissed her Realm of Darkness and sneered, “What character.”
In Cangxue City, no woman would dare speak like this. The veins on Qin Zongyou’s hand bulged as he said in a deep voice, “I thought His Majesty summoned us today to establish laws with the consensus of all six cities. If we’re only listening to one side, why not just issue an edict? Why bother calling us here?”
Seeing that a fight wasn’t going to break out, Ji Bozai sat back in his seat and said calmly, “Laws need to be implemented by each city. If you don’t believe in them, even if I issue them, they’ll be empty frameworks.”
Qin Zongyou finally felt some confidence and glared fiercely at Mingyi.
But before his glare could reach her, Situ Ling stepped in front of her and said coolly, “Our city lord is not wrong. The root cause of the scarcity of women in Cangxue City is that you devalue women. When children are born, boys are treasured while girls are often drowned. Over time, only one in ten adults is a woman.”
“Lord Qin thinks that buying and selling can solve Cangxue’s urgent problem. Indeed, some poor families in each city might sell their daughters to you for money. But what happens after they’re sold? How many women can endure concentrated breeding? They might take their own lives before even giving birth. Cangxue would lose both the money and the people.”
Qin Zongyou’s face darkened as he listened.
Situ Ling had investigated Cangxue’s situation. Each year, over ten thousand women were subjected to concentrated breeding, but only half survived to give birth. Half of these children were female, and most mothers chose to end their lives along with their daughters. In the end, less than 30% survived to raise their male children.
The number of women in concentrated breeding decreased year by year, and so did Cangxue’s population. If this continued, they truly wouldn’t be able to hold onto their city.
“You speak well, but do you have a solution?” he asked gravely.
Situ Ling replied, “The solution isn’t difficult. Stop the concentrated breeding, and let families arrange their marriages. Women should no longer be treated as commodities for people’s use, and the government should stop collectively confiscating women.”
“How can that work? Even with concentrated breeding, the situation worsens yearly. If we allow free marriage, won’t all the women run away?”
Mingyi rolled her eyes impatiently. “If someone locked you up and treated you like livestock, wouldn’t you run? But if someone gives you a home and a comfortable life, why would you want to leave?”
“But Cangxue has many men. If we divide the few girls we have, there won’t be enough to go around. It will cause great conflicts.”
“We’re talking about free marriage. Whether a man can find a wife depends on his abilities. As long as the government doesn’t interfere, the responsibility won’t fall on the government’s shoulders.”
“But…”
“Lord Qin, go back and think it over,” Ji Bozai raised his hand. “You’ll be staying in Chaoyang City for quite some time. You can walk around and see for yourself.”
Mingyi nodded, then added cautiously, “Remember, kidnapping women is a capital offense in our city.”
Qin Zongyou was still angry looking at her – a young girl, giving orders among a group of grown men, so improper.
But he couldn’t help thinking, if his daughter were still alive and could live like her, how proud he would be.
Qin Zongyou also felt that concentrated breeding was cruel. He had a daughter himself, and even deliberately let her escape when she came of age to avoid being captured by officials.
But the city’s customs were deeply ingrained. Changing them was extremely difficult, not something that could be done with just a few words.
He grunted and fell silent.
The meeting continued from evening until late into the night, with a half-hour break.
Ji Bozai touched the scallion pancake he had been keeping warm with his Yuan Power in his pocket, glancing at Mingyi beside him, wondering how to give it to her without seeming obsequious.
However, before he could figure it out, Situ Ling appeared before Mingyi with a bowl of milk with a bird’s nest.
“Sister, please try this. I had it simmered especially for you,” he smiled, showing his small canine teeth. “If it’s not sweet enough, I also prepared some honey.”
Mingyi took it with surprise and tasted it. “This must have been quite troublesome to prepare.”
“Yes, it took some effort. But if it makes sister happy, it’s all worth it.” He watched her eat eagerly, asking, “How is it? Delicious?”
Mingyi nodded with a smile, then looked at the other bowl nearby. “You should try some too.”
Situ Ling’s eyes lit up. He immediately took a sip using her spoon and then handed it back to her. “Mm, sweet.”
Mingyi stared at him in surprise, then looked at her spoon.