Opposing women’s entry into academies to participate in imperial examinations and serve as officials—what difference was there between this and opposing Bai Qingyan’s ascension to the throne as a woman?

The Great Zhou officials dared not oppose it, but this decree stirred up tremendous waves in the hearts of the Great Yan envoys, Xiao Rongyan, the Xiliang envoys, and Li Zhijie.

Li Zhijie’s palms tightened. In Xiliang… women’s status was higher than that of Jin women, but even so, after their Xiliang Empress ascended the throne, she had not dared to defy universal convention… to have such thoughts of employing women as officials.

For Bai Qingyan to dare make such a move immediately upon ascending the throne, to have such boldness—was she truly confident of victory, or… was she acting on impulse, thinking that becoming Great Zhou’s Empress meant she could challenge established protocols?

Xiao Rongyan, standing behind the “Great Yan Ninth Prince,” calmly surveyed his surroundings and saw that nearly half of Great Zhou’s court officials had rather unpleasant expressions. He secretly broke into a cold sweat for Bai Qingyan.

Bai Qingyan was being too hasty in employing women as officials…

Haste was not a good thing. Once, Xiao Rongyan’s mother, Empress Ji, had also wanted to elevate women’s status and allow women to serve in court, but it ultimately led to opposition from Yan scholars, even resulting in scholars gathering at the palace gates to remonstrate unto death, angrily cursing his mother as an enchantress who misled the nation.

Prince Hedong lowered his eyelids, his lips curving slightly upward. Indeed… Bai Qingyan had still moved to employ women as officials.

With this, the efforts he had spent these days having people work among the scholars had not been in vain—he could make an issue of this matter.

The proclamation concluded, and all Great Zhou officials knelt in gratitude.

“We thank Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Great Zhou!”

The coronation ceremony concluded amid the shock of envoys from various nations.

After the grand ceremony came the banquet to entertain envoys from various countries. The female relatives of important families had already entered the palace and arrived at Xuanming Hall, where the palace banquet was arranged. They sat properly in the seats assigned by attendants, chatting quietly with those beside them.

Some well-educated women from noble families, upon hearing that Bai Qingyan had issued a decree today to establish women’s academies, allow women to participate in imperial examinations, and permit women to serve in court, were so excited that their hands trembled. Years of good upbringing and restraint made them suppress their surging emotions as they sat smiling in their seats, imagining themselves serving in court alongside their fathers, making their fathers proud.

The noble ladies were all knowledgeable and understood that Bai Qingyan intended to elevate women’s status, which was reasonable given that Bai Qingyan herself was a woman.

The entire Xuanming Hall was discussing Bai Qingyan’s new policies and the matter of allowing women to take examinations and serve as officials.

Previously, among the new policies was one encouraging widows to remarry: if a widowed woman had children and did not remarry, her clan could not forcibly seize her deceased husband’s property; if a widow’s parents-in-law were still alive and the woman remarried with her children, she must give half of her husband’s property to her in-laws, not counting her dowry; if a woman left her children behind to remarry alone, not counting her dowry, she must leave her husband’s property to the children. When this new policy was announced, it was angrily denounced by countless scholars as violating the Three Bonds and Five Constants, and it stirred up tremendous waves among the common people.

But those in office knew that Bai Qingyan’s move was to increase the nation’s population. After all, with constant warfare between nations and soldiers dying on battlefields, how many had been left widowed?

Women had to both raise children and manage farming—how many families, lacking labor due to the loss of their men, had left good farmland to waste?

How many women, after their husbands’ deaths, had their property seized by their clans and were driven out, leaving widowed mothers and young children to starve in the streets? Even the Bai family, such a noble house, had nearly suffered this fate.

Each of Bai Qingyan’s decrees was a challenge to old customs, truly earth-shaking.

Li Mingrui personally explained to commoners that encouraging widow remarriage was to help widows and young children maintain their livelihood. Everyone understood the reasoning, but how many men in the world would be willing to have their wives take their children and property to remarry after their death?

In the great hall, women discussed heatedly, all eager to try the imperial examinations to see if they could achieve good rankings.

Among the Bai clan was a widowed woman who attended today’s palace banquet as imperial family. She kept wringing the handkerchief in her hands, her heart pounding as she lowered her eyes.

When the new policy encouraging widow remarriage was announced, she had thought it was just thunder with little rain, but today Bai Qingyan immediately, upon ascending, established women’s academies, allowed women to participate in examinations, and would employ women as officials—it seemed she was serious. Should she take this opportunity… to leave the Bai family? Her cousin had not remarried since losing his wife, waiting for her. If she could marry her cousin… it would fulfill their years of regret.

Mrs. Bai’s hands were covered in sweat. She wiped them with her handkerchief, telling herself not to be hasty… this matter must be certain before she could propose it.

Soon, envoys from various countries and ministers entered the hall. The noble ladies covered half their faces with round fans, revealing only their eyes as they curiously gazed at the masked Great Yan Ninth Prince and the Rongdi Ghost-faced Prince.

Their interest in the Great Yan Ninth Prince was because they had seen the peerlessly handsome Yan Emperor Murong Yu. So far… these noble ladies had never seen a more ethereally beautiful man than Murong Yu. They wanted to know if this masked Great Yan Ninth Prince was as outstanding in appearance as his brother.

Their interest in the Rongdi Ghost-faced Prince was because they had heard he was extremely ugly. Curiosity drove these unworldly noble ladies to all want to see just how ugly it was beneath the Ghost-faced Prince’s mask.

As for Li Zhijie, most of the noble ladies who could attend Xuanming Hall today had already seen him, so they weren’t particularly curious.

Li Zhijie, using the pretext that Great Yan had previously shown Xiliang their alliance treaty with Rongdi, tried to curry favor with the Great Yan Ninth Prince, discussing Great Zhou Empress Bai Qingyan’s new policies with him.

“This Great Zhou Empress has just ascended the throne, and every new policy she’s announced challenges conventional etiquette and threatens aristocratic interests. Too radical, without considering the whole picture. If not for military power in hand… she’d probably have trouble keeping her position secure!” Li Zhijie knelt before his low table, opening and closing his iron-ribbed folding fan casually.

The masked Great Yan Ninth Prince sat upright, speaking slowly: “Which emperor’s throne is not secured through military power? During the chaos in Yunjing… if Prince Yan had not brought troops to protect her, the Xiliang Empress probably couldn’t have kept her throne secure either.”

Li Zhijie chuckled softly, his gaze turning to Xiao Rongyan seated behind the Great Yan Ninth Prince: “I’ve heard… this Mr. Xiao has a marriage engagement with the Great Zhou Empress. Today, the Ninth Prince brought Mr. Xiao here—do you have thoughts of allying through marriage? If so, why… not have the Yan Emperor confer a title upon Mr. Xiao to elevate his status and seal the friendship between our two nations?”

Li Zhijie deliberately tried to ingratiate himself with Xiao Rongyan, smiling and nodding toward him.