Chapter 865 - 867: It Turns Out to Be the Holy Decree_1
Bai Ruozhu blinked her eyes, making sure she wasn’t seeing things, and quickly glanced at the team beside her; the team next to Xuanlang Academy was from Nanyang Academy, and sure enough, there were also two female students.
Tu Ying also noticed this issue and gently tugged at Bai Ruozhu’s sleeve, asking, "Why are there women in their team, could they be female students?"
Bai Ruozhu looked again; there were a few teams that had a handful of women, but only the Beiyu Academy, Tianfu Academy, and Baoqing Academy’s teams had no women. Even Chang’an Academy had two women standing in their team, who they hadn’t encountered even during the conflict the day before.
"How come I’ve never heard of female students participating in the competition? Could the rules of the competition have changed?" Bai Ruozhu also looked confused. Could it be that Danliang Country was especially progressive now, allowing women to study alongside men?
It seemed that the conversation between the two had been overheard by those nearby, as a petite Jiangnan woman covered her mouth and chuckled, asking, "Don’t women from the North read?"
This question was rather impolite. What did she mean by suggesting that Northern women don’t read? While it’s true that Jiangnan was culturally advanced, surely that didn’t give her the right to look down on others? And it wasn’t just the forthright Tu Ying who was upset—Bai Ruozhu also felt quite offended.
"Look at what this sister is saying. Even ordinary village girls in the North read and write. How could we not study?" Bai Ruozhu subtly pulled Tu Ying, signaling her not to start a conflict here.
"Then what’s there to fuss about? Nowadays, His Majesty approves of women studying, so what’s wrong with women participating in the competition? Does your team not have any women?" The speaking woman laughed again, with dimples on her cheeks, looking exceptionally sweet, but her words were even more piercing.
Bai Ruozhu looked up at the stage and indeed saw that the faces of the academic officials were very unhappy. The Beiyu City region was a remote area in the Northwest; they didn’t have as many scholarly women as the South, and even the officials from the academic institutions didn’t know that women could participate in this competition.
Indeed, the dean from Chang’an Academy looked over and burst into laughter, even patting Wen Xize on the shoulder, saying, "Dean Wen, you’re falling behind. Not having a single female student who is presentable, not to mention, does your Beiyu Academy not even have a school for women?"
Dean Wen’s face turned red, then white, feeling very embarrassed. Indeed, they were behind in this area. During last year’s competition, they didn’t have any female students, but it was only at the beginning of the year during the palace banquet that the Emperor had said, "Women, even if they don’t need to sit for official examinations, can still enter the academies to study, and let our Danliang Country have more female scholars, so we wouldn’t lose to Chengshui Country."
Afterward, women’s schools started popping up everywhere, including in Beiyu City, but the Northwest was still somewhat backward, and Beiyu Academy hadn’t specifically set up schools for women. The appearance of female members in the competition teams was clearly meant to impress the Emperor; although the rules didn’t require women, it was still a way to stand out. As for teams without female members, they would naturally be considered from backward regions.
Dean Wen’s face went through shades of red and white, cursing in his heart at Zhang Xiuquan for always kicking someone when they were down, yet he was at a loss for words.
The masters from Beiyu Academy on the stage all turned red in the face. Master Zhang, having been injured before, started coughing from agitation. Suddenly, his eyes lit up—how could he have forgotten about those two?
"Dean Zhang, there’s no need to worry about us. Who said we didn’t have female team members? Didn’t you see them when you came to cause trouble yesterday? It’s just that they encountered assassins on the way and were frightened, so they didn’t show up today," Master Zhang said loudly.
Dean Wen’s eyes widened as he looked at Master Zhang. This was not something to be disputed over pride, but he quickly thought it might work. Even if Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help in the competition, Tu Ying could still make a showing.
With this in mind, Dean Wen calmed down and said with a chuckle, "Yes, Dean Zhang, you worry too much."
Zhang Xiuquan glared, "You’re not talking about Madam Jiang, are you? How can you have the nerve to just throw anyone into the count?" No sooner had he finished speaking than he felt a malicious gaze sweep over him. He shivered involuntarily and saw Jiang Yichun glaring fiercely at him.
He had also heard some of Jiang Yichun’s past, that he used to work in the Tongzheng Department, having killed countless people. Thinking of this, Zhang Xiuquan cursed himself for provoking such a grim reaper.
"What’s wrong with Madam Jiang being there? In the Northwest, we allow women under the age of twenty to enroll, don’t you have the same rules at Chang’an Academy?" Wen Xize still wore a smiling face.
At the palace banquet earlier in the year, His Majesty had advocated for female education but hadn’t specified which women could enter it, therefore different regions had their own rules.
Zhang Xiuquan was somewhat unconvinced and muttered, "Once a woman is married, shouldn’t she stay at home to support her husband and educate her children instead of muddling through at the Study Palace?"
This time, it was Jiang Yichun who spoke. He stared at Zhang Xiuquan and said coldly, "What’s wrong with a woman having more knowledge? It’s also beneficial for the education of her offspring. It seems that President Zhang has not truly understood His Majesty’s intention."
As the esteemed president of the Chang’an Academy, yet you cannot comprehend the imperial will, can you still sit securely in your position? Zhang Xiuquan felt both anger and fear, ultimately letting out a cold snort before retaking his seat.
The stage was not far from the audience, and while the presidents above engaged in their war of words, the students below could hear everything clearly. In the Xuanlang Academy’s team, a scholarly-looking student spoke in a sardonic tone, "So Beiyu Academy didn’t bring anyone and just picked up anyone to make up numbers? The Western women are known for their fierceness but lack of education, utterly incomparable to the talents of our Jiangnan women."
Guo Xing, upon hearing this, was furious. Staring at the speaker, he retorted, "Nonsense, both the Empress and the Dowager Empress are from the North. By looking down upon Northern women, what exactly is your intention?"
"Hey, don’t disrupt the facts. I was specifically talking about the women from the Northwest," the speaker protested.
Bai Zepei spoke in a steady voice, "Enough, there’s no need for a battle of words. Truth will be known in the actual competition."
"Fine, just don’t cry on your way back," the speaker retorted, bursting into loud laughter.
Everyone from Beiyu Academy was extremely angry, itching to drag their opponents out and give them a good beating. However, they soon calmed down, secretly resolving to persuade Bai Ruozhu and Tu Ying to join the competition later.
Bai Ruozhu, sitting in the front row with exceptional hearing, had clearly caught every word of the discussion between the stage and the teams below. Even though she had transmigrated and not joined the girls’ education, she felt a surge of defiance in her heart, determined to give these judgemental people a face-slapping.
With that thought, she felt the opening ceremony had lost its appeal. She tugged at Tu Ying and quietly slipped away from the VIP seats. The Jiangnan woman who had made the sarcastic remark just now sneered softly, whispering to the woman beside her, "Those two barbarians from the North have run off, probably feeling too ashamed to stay."
The surrounding women covered their mouths and snickered, but one lady frowned and said, "Whether from Jiangnan or the Northland, aren’t we all people from Danliang Country? Is there really a need to draw such a clear line?"