Tie Ci was unaware of the little drama outside the crowd, as Murong Yi shifted his position to completely block any possibility of her seeing Rong Pu.
She added women to the painting – women delivering meals, women praying, women helping remove armor, women preparing food…
People around praised her: “This is excellent.”
“The painting’s scene and meaning are now more complete.”
“All virtuous women…”
Still that timid voice spoke up: “…I think it’s not good…”
Everyone turned their heads in unison and saw Jian Xi again, forever timid yet always having something to say.
“…The women in this painting are all appendages.” She closed her eyes, not looking at the various gazes around her, thus finding courage to say: “I don’t like it…”
Mocking laughter swept through the crowd like wind.
A sharp female voice said: “Seeking attention!”
Tie Ci turned around and saw it was indeed that proud young lady from a distant branch of the Li family.
But some people weren’t laughing. The twins looked thoughtful, Fang Huai’an frowned, and Qi You smiled ambiguously.
Jian Xi pointed at the painting: “Why can’t there be female soldiers and generals? Why can’t the victorious returnees include women? Why must women only wash and starch clothes, tend to the kitchen?”
A moment of silence, then someone said: “Women are naturally weak and should be protected by men. Why must they force themselves to stand out…”
“I don’t know what ‘forcing oneself to stand out’ means.” Jian Xi said. “I only know that when the Crown Princess entered the academy as a commoner, she was initially subjected to much oppression. It was she who used excellent academic performance and powerful fists to subdue the academy bullies, eliminated countless improper hierarchical systems within the academy, uprooted the Xiao family and powerful forces that controlled the academy’s power, restored the reputation of Grand Tutor He and his wife who had been wrongfully accused for years, and finally gave us a clear and fresh academy. I don’t know where she was weak or where she needed protection?”
“How can the Crown Princess be compared to ordinary women…”
“What about the Xiongnu woman Hezhuo and the Yannan female heir who charged ahead during the archery competition attack and academy assault? What about General Di who fought alongside the Crown Princess in Yong Ping, responding to each other and never regretting despite being framed and betrayed by fellow soldiers? And those female students who contributed during the academy reconstruction, the women of the imperial capital who risked danger to receive her when the Crown Princess was blocked outside the city gates, the farming women who protected General Di in their village for a month regardless of life and death during her exile… Are they ordinary or extraordinary?”
Complete silence from the crowd.
The timid woman stood in the center of the crowd, somehow having forgotten to retreat and hide, her pale small face flushed with a light red.
After a long moment, someone applauded – it was the twins.
The two smiled very sincerely, their eyes crescent-shaped.
Tie Ci smiled slightly and walked away.
If this had been a test, the outcome was already decided.
Her mood was somewhat low, involuntarily thinking of certain things and certain people, thinking how time was like a knife that had carved the wrong appearance on someone.
The crowd gradually dispersed. Jian Xi emerged with slight excitement and followed the flow of people toward the dining hall.
The food delivery business was still operating. The dining hall now had a dedicated window for takeout orders to avoid occupying students’ seats during peak dining hours. Some students wearing yellow vests carried uniformly made bamboo boxes containing bamboo food containers for takeout orders, delivering food to the needed dormitories in the shortest time possible.
The academy still had Alpha, Beta, and Gamma halls, with class divisions based on academic performance, but dining had become equal for all.
After touring Yueli’s unique food delivery service and ordering a wild game dinner from a mountain villager delivery worker, Jian Xi followed the crowd to see the library, shot arrows at the training ground, and visited the famous but now empty Room E.
Of the last residents of Room E, besides the Crown Princess herself, Rong Pu had become the youngest dean in history; Qi Yuansi was currently at the border between Xiongnu and Yong Ping, leading a group in water irrigation, land cultivation, and mineral extraction as an honored guest of Xiongnu King Dan Ye; Yang Yixiu had been appointed as a county magistrate; Tian Wu thrived in the Crown Princess’s Nine Guards, selecting a group of skilled riders and archers from the Nine Sui men to join the Nine Guards. Current Commander Xia Houchun was very fond of him and had more than once said he wanted to go to Yong Ping as a live-in son-in-law and hand over the Nine Guards to Fat Tiger.
Not to mention Tie Ci and Murong Yi.
Room E had become legendary.
Everyone wanted to see the legend with their own eyes, use the desk the dean had used, touch the bow Qi Yuansi had used, sit on the Crown Princess’s bed, and quietly share with companions those unspeakable stories between the dean, the Crown Princess, and Murong Yi.
It was said that academy students now specifically applied to live in Room E.
By the time Jian Xi squeezed out of the crowd, she had nearly lost one shoe.
Yueli’s current popularity was fundamentally due to the Crown Princess’s achievements. The more legendary deeds the Crown Princess had, the brighter the academy’s glory shone. Once ranked last among the three great academies, now Celu and Mingquan were extremely sour about it.
Finally, Jian Xi went to the most lively Wuyu Pool and Liuxiang Lake.
In front of Wuyu Pool stood a sign reading “Liumo’s Sacrifice Site.” Countless students crowded together, competing and laughing as they fed the fish, with hardly any place to stand.
The swan population at Liuxiang Lake had grown even larger, each one so fat they could barely walk. By the lakeside was Liumo’s cenotaph with a delicate small stone tablet bearing an eulogy written personally by former Mountain Chief Zhu for his beloved pet. Students who loved calligraphy lay by the stone tablet making rubbings, and bundles of small wildflowers were piled in front of the tablet.
Jian Xi also offered a bundle of wildflowers, thinking that as a swan roasted and eaten by the Crown Princess, Liumo could be said to have died with honor.
A pair of young men approached, or rather squeezed over. Jian Xi was already quite familiar with the two and smiled in greeting with her eyes, feeling that their expressions looked very strange.
The taller of the two stared at the swans in the lake, murmuring something unknown.
Liuxiang Lake had student patrol teams specifically watching for swan thieves, those picking silk tree flowers, and hammock thieves.
There was no choice – while most people came with an attitude of worship and appreciation, there was always that particular independent group who were obsessed and took imitation as honor, always wanting to steal a goose or fish to roast in the library, or find the legendary hammock the Crown Princess had hidden in the silk tree forest, willing to dig three feet into the ground and destroy vegetation for this purpose.
So upon seeing someone cast improper gazes at the swans, the patrol group immediately nervously reminded: “This senior brother, all things have spirits. Please cherish Liumo’s brothers and sisters and don’t let tragedy repeat itself.”
Instantly, countless condemning gazes shot over in unison.
Someone angrily rebuked: “How undignified!”
Tie Ci: “Pffft.”
Murong Yi: “…”
Swan meat was tough and fishy, requiring many seasonings to stew properly. Where was he coveting it? He was clearly cursing that white lotus scheming man who deliberately showcased Tie Ci’s traces everywhere in this Yueli Academy, desperately promoting Tie Ci to build momentum for her, using the entire academy to curry Tie Ci’s favor – truly the shame of scholars!
Tie Ci hadn’t heard clearly whom he was cursing. She patted the disgruntled Murong Yi’s shoulder and turned to smile at Jian Xi: “What you said earlier was very good. I hope to hear your profound views again on the day of the academic debates.”
Jian Xi’s face reddened slightly, then she restrained her smile and lowered her head: “I… I didn’t submit an application.”
To participate in the Three Academies debates, besides teacher recommendations, one could also apply on their own two days before the grand competition. But if one had neither recommendation nor application, they could naturally only be a spectator.
Tie Ci was surprised: “Why?”
Jian Xi lowered her head without answering.
Originally, she hadn’t even had the opportunity to travel, as travel expenses had to be paid by herself, and the cost from the imperial capital to Haiyou was considerable. Senior Brother Fang, knowing her dream was to visit Yueli, had voluntarily lent her travel money. Afterward, Senior Brother Fang’s professor had specifically sought her out, instructing her to know gratitude – since she had already taken someone’s money, she shouldn’t compete with them for the spotlight.
She felt this was proper and had agreed.
If she went back on her word and participated in the academic competition now, it would be difficult for her to establish herself in the academy afterward.
Since she didn’t speak, Tie Ci didn’t press further, only saying: “Earlier hearing your words, you have ambitions and unwillingness in your heart. And you should also be able to see that although the Crown Princess opened new prospects for women throughout the realm, this is merely the initial opening of a path. Now thorns still cover the ground, and people’s concepts, thoughts, and reality all contain much misunderstanding and contempt toward women. This cannot be remedied by any one person turning the tide or reversing the situation – it requires the joint efforts of countless people across one generation or even more generations. If you don’t stand up, and she doesn’t stand up, then in the end, the Female Emperor will only last one generation, and women’s freedom, dignity, status, and power will ultimately be like the moon in a mirror or flowers in water. You, I… all of you will ultimately survive dependent on the charity and gifts of patriarchal society. No one will hear your voices, your weeping, your cries… Remember, voice and strength must be produced by yourselves.”
Without knowing when, the crowd had grown larger and larger, mostly women. When Tie Ci finished speaking, a group of female knights were the first to applaud and cheer.
One woman turned to address someone behind her: “Bastard turtle egg, this old lady has tolerated you for a long time! What are you doing following behind my ass every day? Before, thinking this was a scholarly place in the academy where seeing blood wouldn’t be good and would make this old lady seem uncouth, but now I understand – you’re not being scholarly anymore, so why should I be scholarly?”
Bang! – a punch, a scream of pain. The female knight blew on her fist and said proudly: “How’s that? Loud voice, strong force, right?” She then called to the patrol team: “Someone come help me send this lecher to the authorities. He’s clearly just mixing in here to take advantage of women. Don’t let him continue harming other good girls.”
Tie Ci applauded her.
Looking at Jian Xi again, the girl had her head lowered with sleeves trembling slightly.
Tie Ci said no more and walked away with Murong Yi, who was still thinking about stewing the big goose. She hadn’t expected the academy to be so lively now, nor had she expected her fan base to be so robust. She walked and looked around with a slight smile at the corners of her lips.
After a while, Murong Yi said: “Did you really come here just to select talent?”
“As you think, actually I wanted more to see the women of the academy. Since I gained prestige at the academy, all the major academies have begun accepting female students, and Yueli has also expanded the scale of its women’s academy. This is a good beginning, but merely a good beginning isn’t enough. If women come here only out of curiosity or to gain prestige, if this learning fails to open the door to freedom and dignity for them, if ultimately they still return to family life of marriage and childbearing, then how is the academy different from a bride school for them?”
Murong Yi’s eyes lit up: “Are there such schools?”
Tie Ci, who had been immersed in the great cause of women’s enlightenment, had her mood interrupted and glared at him irritably.
Thinking he was going to suggest she attend such a school, this fellow instead said very longingly: “If there really is such a school, I’d be the first to enroll, learn to be gentle, virtuous, and obedient, and first trick you into bed…”
Tie Ci: “…”
But she immediately smiled.
No matter what, in this patriarchal society, Murong Yi was already one of the rare individuals with no gender prejudice who greatly respected women.
This was related to his special childhood experiences and also to his naturally rebellious personality.
Wasn’t this precisely why she liked him?
Murong Yi’s comment was just a joke, and he immediately changed the subject: “But if you want women to be self-reliant and self-strengthening, you must first remove the current various barriers and restrictions on women. Opening convenient doors for women in academies is far from enough. Can women participate in imperial examinations? Can they enter court as officials? Can they be appointed to key real positions? Can they enter all occupations under heaven? Can they enjoy equal treatment with men? In employment, official appointments, commerce, teaching… can they do all things under heaven together with men?”
Tie Ci tucked her hands in her sleeves, looking at the majestic lecture hall ahead: “This cannot be accomplished overnight. Let’s take it slowly. So I must win, I must become emperor, I must achieve grand unification, I must enjoy supreme prestige, I must have this realm in my hands for decades, moving as if it were my own arm, raising my arm and calling while hearers respond accordingly. Only then will I have the time and ability to slowly let this country change according to my will. But it can’t change too quickly – if the steps are too big, one might tear something. Before that, let’s first see if the reformed academy can bring me some surprises…”
Nearby, a group of young girls hurried past wearing unified uniforms from some unknown academy, their clear laughter falling on everyone’s ears: “After hearing so many stories, I admire the Crown Princess even more. I want to bear children for the Crown Princess!”
“I also want to bear children for the Crown Princess!”
“Pearl, you girls have no shame!”
The laughter faded into the distance. Murong Yi held his chin, murmuring: “This truly is a ‘surprise’…”
…