Chapter 938 - 940 Bai Family Adds a New Member_1
As someone who had once spoken under the national flag and delivered a freshman speech as a top student, Bai Ruozhu didn’t think much of public speaking and promptly agreed to do it.
Her second brother was also selected as the speaker for the team, which suddenly brought the Bai Family more attention from the people of Beiyu City.
Qin Kaichang, who had been staying with the Bai family, had recovered quite a bit. After Bai Ruozhu’s treatment over this period, he gradually remembered many things, although his vision was still a bit blurry, seemingly due to a blood clot affecting his optic nerve.
In private, Guizhi had a talk with Qin Kaichang, and Bai Ruozhu didn’t inquire too much about the details. However, by looking at Guizhi’s expression when returning to the Hot Spring Mansion, it was clear that the talk did not go well.
Thinking about Guizhi’s difficult love life, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but sigh.
Soon the school year began, and Bai Ruozhu went to the Beiyu Study Palace with her second brother. Bai Zepei cherished this opportunity to give an opening speech, as he had the Rural Examination to attend in a month. If he passed, he could leave the Beiyu Study Palace and study at the Imperial Academy, so this might be his last time here.
The opening ceremony of the Beiyu Study Palace wasn’t particularly elaborate, but because they had won second place in the recent Competition, everyone was proud. Therefore, when Bai Zepei took the stage to speak, he received a great deal of cheers and applause.
Watching her second brother’s composed demeanor on stage, Bai Ruozhu felt especially heartened. Truly, her brother possessed a maturity beyond his peers.
Once Bai Zepei finished speaking, the Dean of Literature stepped forward and said, "There is another great contributor to our success in the Competition who might not be familiar to everyone. She is the wife of Officer Jiang, Bai Ruozhu, who is also Bai Zepei’s younger sister. During the Eight Academy Competition, Bai Ruozhu earned a considerable number of points for us, and as a result, the Study Palace will establish women’s education this year. Any woman who passes the assessment can enter to study, regardless of her status or marital situation."
The crowd cheered, and some even declared they would definitely send their own sisters to take the exam, hoping they too would one day bring honor to the Study Palace like Bai Ruozhu.
Amid the applause, Bai Ruozhu was called onto the stage and began her speech.
"I am extremely humbled by the Dean of Literature’s praise. It’s my trip to Jiangnan that showed me a world of women proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, enlightening me that there are heavens beyond our own sky and people beyond ourselves. I may have some strengths, but I cannot compare to those women who have long been nurtured in literature and arts," Bai Ruozhu started her speech.
"The most significant revelation for me is the regret of not learning more from a young age, and I’ve often thought to myself that if I have a daughter in the future, I will provide her with the best education. Not for her to stand out, but to offer her a life filled with extraordinary experiences. Perhaps many people in the Northland still believe that women need not pursue an education, but our recent trip to Jiangnan taught us a great lesson."
"Shall we be outdone by Chengshui Country and lack their female scholars? The benefits of women’s education are not limited to the individuals themselves. Take Jiangnan’s top scholar, Tang Feng, whom the delegation witnessed in the Competition, for example. His mother is the renowned female scholar of Jiangnan, Lianluo, and it was his mother’s nurturing that shaped today’s Tang Feng."
Bai Ruozhu smiled at the crowd, "So the importance of women’s education is self-evident. For our families and for our descendants, it’s time for women’s education to be embraced."
Everyone nodded in agreement, not to mention the allure of marrying a woman of literary grace and learning. Perhaps their children could also become figures like Tang Feng in the future.
Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Bai Ruozhu said a few more words and then bowed and stepped down from the stage.
In her heart, she was chuckling. Tang Feng’s excellence was mostly due to his being a transmigrated individual like herself, not as hyperbolic as she had implied, though Lianluo did have some influence on him.
After the opening ceremony, the smiling Dean of Literature said to Bai Ruozhu, "Ruozhu, the women’s academy is bound to be inundated with applicants this year. What do you think is the best way to assess them?"
Bai Ruozhu was stunned. How could he ask her about the assessment standards? She was just a nominal student, after all.
But facing the sincere gaze of the Academy Director, Bai Ruozhu thought for a moment and said, "The exams should include music, chess, calligraphy, painting, horse riding, archery, and arithmetic. It would be even better if cooking and domestic management could be added."
She felt that women’s education should be more comprehensively developed to serve the future of women. Simply mastering music, chess, calligraphy, and painting was too artistically inclined and not practical. They should also understand things about daily life.
Upon hearing this, the Academy Director stroked his beard and said, "Alright, we’ll do as you suggest."
In the days that followed, Bai Zepei and Qin Kaichang went to the Study Palace for their education. Qin Kaichang did not propose leaving the Bai Family, while the number of times Guizhi returned home decreased. Bai Ruozhu didn’t try to persuade Guizhi; she thought that if Guizhi could draw a clear line with Qin Kaichang from now on, it might not be such a bad thing after all.
The Mid-Autumn Festival arrived on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, just as the Bai Family was preparing to celebrate. At this time, Wan Caiyue’s belly finally reacted. Bai Ruozhu and Lin Ping’er stayed up with her all night, and in the early hours of the following morning, when the sky was still dim, Wan Caiyue gave birth to a baby girl.
The baby girl was chubby and even a bit heavier than Dengdeng was at birth. Her cries were particularly loud the moment she came into the world, which made Bai Yihong smile so hard that his face was crinkled with joy. He excitedly said, "This little girl of our family is going to be extraordinary, just listening to her cries reassures me."
Lin Ping’er was also overjoyed. She already had a grandson, and now she had a granddaughter; it couldn’t be more perfect. Happily, she took the little granddaughter to clean her up, while Bai Ruozhu stayed to observe Wan Caiyue’s condition.
"Sister-in-law, are you not very happy?" Bai Ruozhu saw that Wan Caiyue was frowning slightly and couldn’t help but ask.
"Ruozhu, do you think father and mother might be a bit disappointed?" Wan Caiyue’s voice was very quiet, and she asked cautiously.
Bai Ruozhu chuckled and replied, "Sister-in-law, I can’t guarantee for other families, but our family definitely won’t be disappointed. Just look at how much our parents dote on me; you can tell they like boys and girls just the same. Besides, mother even told me before that if we had another baby girl in our family, it would be even more fun."
Having heard this, Wan Caiyue let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she was oversensitive; it was just that back in the Back Mountain Village, if a woman’s firstborn was a girl, the in-laws would show their displeasure. And if the second child was also a girl, then the frowns would be even more pronounced.
She pressed her lips together, feeling fortunate that she had married into the Bai Family.
Bai Zehao also came into the room to talk with Wan Caiyue, so Bai Ruozhu quietly stepped aside. If it weren’t for checking on Wan Caiyue’s condition after childbirth, she wouldn’t want to be the third wheel.
After a while, the baby girl was brought back wrapped up snugly. Although her eyes were still closed, one could already tell that her skin was fair, and she was sure to grow into a beauty.
Today, Bai Yihong was particularly excited and said to Lin Ping’er, "Our granddaughter was born as the day was dawning, why don’t we call her Chenxi?"
Lin Ping’er chuckled to herself, thinking that Bai Yihong had been reading books and came up with quite a nice name.
And so, the Bai Family’s newly born baby girl was named Bai Chenxi.
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