readytorunbook Chapter 540 A great shame and humiliation!
Chapter 540 A great shame and humiliation!
After Xiu Niang finished speaking, she couldn't help but smile.
It's not just Grandpa Qing and Xiao Xiao, is it?
Like her, many of them are the same.
Because there is hope to survive and a future to look forward to, life has something to look forward to, and each day is slowly getting better, while also discovering one's unlimited potential.
“Sister,” Xiu Niang tilted her head to look at Lu Yangyang and couldn’t help but say, “I never thought I could say so much.”
She was a talkative and lively girl when she was little, but after her brother was taken away and never came back, she became silent day by day and turned into a well-behaved and quiet girl.
Her mother loved her very much and did everything she could to protect her.
But for a very, very long time, she was so careful that she was afraid even her breathing would be wrong.
Her mother would secretly shed tears, and her father became more and more irritable every day. She not only dared not speak loudly, but also dared not open her mouth easily, for fear of upsetting her parents.
She even wondered if things would be better if she and her brother switched places, and her brother stayed.
Their family had actually fallen apart by then.
All that followed was a process of slow collapse.
She will find the answers she seeks in the future, and she will have her own path to walk. Her mother will also become strong and live a good life. Her father will either live a muddled life or take responsibility for his mistakes and continue to shoulder his duties. They will all have their own lives, which may be good or not so good, but they will never be a family again.
When I was little, I didn't know how to grow up quickly. It turns out that growing up happens overnight.
But she was fortunate enough to be favored and went to even more distant places.
Lu Yangyang pinched her cheek: "You should talk more in the future."
Xiu Niang nodded happily.
People came to see the doctor one after another. Lu Yangyang was busy until there were fewer people on the street. Then she took Xiu Niang to pack up her stall, released some lanterns by the river, and returned to her place.
The next day, Zhu Xiucai went to Jiang Zhiyi early in the morning. Lu Yangyang gave him the mnemonic she had prepared to teach Lu Zhan and the others, and then took Xiu Niang to continue her free clinic.
After finishing her work at the yamen, Wen Qingqing joined their team. Within a few days, almost everyone in Yuzhou knew about the two skilled doctors who were providing free medical consultations on the street. From a small number of people at the beginning, long queues formed every day. Lu Yangyang also took the opportunity to promote their academy, which aroused the curiosity of many people.
Jiang Zhiyi was busy overseeing the renovation of the academy. Taking advantage of the convenience of Tiancheng Trading Company, she connected with merchants traveling to and from Yuzhou and successfully secured several large orders. She also brought Luyao along to open Zhenyanfang, which they had opened in Jiangnan, in Yingzhou, and then opened a weaving workshop in Yuzhou.
She first assigned jobs to the girls, and then after the Lantern Festival, she selected the tentative teachers, and the academy quickly opened.
It was named Mingxin Academy.
The name "Mingxin Academy" was chosen by Lu Yangyang and her friends, and later by Prefect Ling, after they discussed it together. They hoped that everyone who came to Mingxin Academy, and all those who founded it, would first understand their own true nature and then act accordingly. Their purpose in establishing the academy was to help powerless women find their own value and live better lives through their own efforts.
The academy's help to them is ultimately temporary; only by staying true to themselves can they go further.
The people of Yuzhou were filled with curiosity about the academy. After confirming that it didn't restrict social status, quite a few women came to enroll. However, this girls' academy also attracted countless voices of opposition, especially from self-proclaimed orthodox Confucian scholars. Led by the Yuzhou prefectural instructor, they openly marched to the academy's gate, demanding its closure. But just as the disturbance began, Prefect Ling emerged from the gates of Mingxin Academy, ignoring the Confucian scholars and directly addressing the Yuzhou prefectural instructor.
"Instructor Yuan, if you don't come to see me, I'm the one who's going to come to you. I've been in office as the Prefect of Yuzhou for over three months now, and since then, all the officials under my command have either resigned or claimed illness. I haven't received a single visit from them. Instructor Yuan, what's going on with you? Oh, I remember now, you're observing mourning, aren't you? Have you completed a year yet? In the Great Zhao Dynasty, filial piety has always been paramount, and there's absolutely no way to prevent officials from observing mourning. Except for special circumstances where mourning is interrupted, one must remain in mourning for at least a year before being allowed to return to office. Instructor Yuan, instead of observing mourning at home, what are you doing here? As an instructor in this prefecture, responsible for educating the local people, you've openly led students in a disturbance during your mourning period. Is this your way of educating? Then I'll have to submit a memorial to the emperor to ask you about it. What do you think, Instructor Yuan?"
"You, you!" Instructor Yuan never expected that Prefect Ling would not give him any face at all.
She was so angry that she trembled all over. Pointing at Prefect Ling, she cursed, "Women should stay at home to support their husbands and raise their children. As a prefect, you openly encourage the establishment of a girls' academy, which violates the moral order. Where do you place these students who are dedicated to their studies and determined to serve the country? Allowing a bunch of ignorant and stupid women to show their faces in public and attend the academy like them is an utter disgrace!"
Lu Yangyang, standing beside Prefect Ling, clenched her fists upon hearing this.
Prefect Ling stepped forward and shouted, "Insolence!"
The instructor, Yuan, and the students behind him were silenced by the angry shout. Thinking that Prefect Ling was enraged, they became indignant and shouted back.
"Women are fit to attend an academy? This is utterly upside down!"
"Women who don't stay home to support their husbands and raise their children, what's the point of attending academies? Women's academies must be abolished, otherwise we will make the world know what you've done!"
"Abolish the girls' academy!"
"Yes! If women go to the academy, who will manage the household in the future? If no one takes care of the family, how can we concentrate on the imperial examinations, how can we obtain fame and fortune, and how can we repay the emperor's kindness and relieve the people's worries!"
"Immediately abolish the girls' academy!"
"Girls are not allowed to attend school!"
"We absolutely do not agree to allow women to enroll in school!"
Outside Mingxin Academy, shouts suddenly filled the air, attracting a crowd of onlookers who began to discuss the matter. The girls who had been happily waiting to enroll at Mingxin Academy now stood nervously at the entrance, anxiously looking outside.
Prefect Ling frowned, ordered a gong to be struck to quiet the room, and said sternly:
"The late emperor appreciated the talent of Lady Wenren and exceptionally conferred upon her the title of Lady of Huaguo. He ordered her to establish the Taiming Academy in the capital, where all women, from princesses of the imperial family to commoners, could enroll. The late empress also personally served as the head of the Taiming Academy, encouraging women to attend. None of the civil and military officials in the court objected, and they considered it an honor for their daughters to attend the academy."
"Are you all so agitated that you refuse to allow women to attend school? Are you questioning the late Emperor or the current Emperor, thus inflicting this great humiliation upon you?"