Rongyao patted her head. After thinking for a moment, she shook it and said, “Her family has plenty of farmland, so they have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear. It’s just that her parents say there’s no use in studying, so they won’t let her attend school.”
The Chief Grand Secretary’s face filled with indignation. “How narrow-minded! How foolish! Parents like these must never have studied much themselves, which is why they think learning is useless!”
With that, the Chief Grand Secretary turned angrily toward the Emperor and said, “Your Majesty! I respectfully request that you expedite the establishment of county schools! This will surely save many promising young students in Great Zhou from being denied an education. Just as the Princess said, that child’s parents must be ignorant and uneducated themselves, which is why they believe studying is useless and refuse to let their child attend school! If that child never studies, she may come to believe her parents’ words as she grows up and think learning is useless as well. In time, this cycle will repeat endlessly, and who knows how many children will become ignorant and foolish simply because they were unable to study!”
Dantai Ji cast an uncertain glance at the impassioned Chief Grand Secretary, then looked at his innocent daughter. He was growing less and less sure of himself.
“Is that really the case?” he asked hesitantly.
“No, it isn’t!” Rongyao shook her head like a rattle and said in her clear, childish voice, “Her father is a xiucai. He studied before.”
The Chief Grand Secretary froze. Looking down at Rongyao, he tried to confirm it once more. “He studied? And he’s even a xiucai! Then how could he be so narrow-minded as to refuse to let his child study?”
Rongyao shook her head. “I don’t know either.”
The Minister of Revenue suddenly spoke up. “The friend the Princess mentioned—is she a girl?”
Rongyao looked up at him. “Yes. Of course my friend is like me.”
The Chief Grand Secretary, who had been feeling sorrow and outrage over a young boy who wanted to study but was unable to do so, fell silent.
His face flushed hotly. He looked at Rongyao and demanded in embarrassment and indignation, “Why didn’t the Princess tell this old subject sooner that your friend was a girl?”
Rongyao blinked. “Aren’t girls also children of Great Zhou?”
The surroundings fell silent for a moment.
The Chief Grand Secretary’s cheeks burned even more fiercely. Turning his head away, he said stiffly, “It’s different.”
Rongyao tilted her little head. “How is it different? Just now, Chief Grand Secretary, you personally said that any child of Great Zhou could enter a county school.”
The Chief Grand Secretary paused, then said, “This old subject was imprecise. I meant that all boys could enter a county school.”
Rongyao stared straight at the Chief Grand Secretary with her large eyes. She said nothing for a long while.
Under her gaze, the Chief Grand Secretary felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Dantai Ji said, “Yaoyao, you mustn’t be rude to the Chief Grand Secretary.”
Rongyao turned to look at her father, her eyes brimming with tears and confusion. “Do girls not count as children of Great Zhou? Can’t they study?”
Dantai Ji instinctively wanted to avoid his daughter’s gaze. “Yaoyao, don’t be unreasonable! It has always been this way.”
The Chief Grand Secretary cleared his throat. “There are men and women in this world. Men belong outside, while women belong within the household. Women remain in the inner quarters to support their husbands and raise their children, while men provide for the family, defend the nation, and establish careers of their own. Only when yin and yang are in harmony can the world remain peaceful. Studying is indeed not something women ought to pursue.”
Rongyao jumped down from the grand chair and declared in her tender, clear voice, “No! Yaoyao wants to study!”
She spoke so loudly that her words even echoed through the vast hall.
Everyone in the hall froze.
A trace of pity flashed through Dantai Ji’s eyes. In a gentle voice, he explained, “Yaoyao, the Chief Grand Secretary wasn’t talking about you. You are my daughter and the Princess of Great Zhou. Of course you can study.”
Rongyao pressed her lips together, tears glistening in her eyes. “But the Chief Grand Secretary said girls don’t need to study! The county schools won’t even accept girls. If Yaoyao weren’t a princess, would that mean she could never study for her entire life if she lived outside the palace?”
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
Looking at his hurt and bewildered daughter, Dantai Ji suddenly felt lost.
The county schools proposed by the Chief Grand Secretary would accept all children of the appropriate age. There was no need for him to explain further—everyone knew that he meant boys.
Only Yaoyao did not know that. That was why she had excitedly asked the Chief Grand Secretary so many questions.
Just moments ago, she had been delighted that her friend would be able to study. But now…
Indeed, why shouldn’t girls need to study?
Did girls truly have no need for an education? Reading and learning helped people understand propriety. Surely it was useful for anyone, regardless of gender.
Which daughter of a noble family in the capital could not read?
Dantai Ji had a daughter himself, so he knew that women were no worse than men in any respect. But…
Dantai Ji looked at his sad and bewildered daughter, then at the Chief Grand Secretary’s unpleasant expression and the other ministers, who had lowered their heads as though deep in thought. He asked, “Do any of you have daughters at home?”
The Chief Grand Secretary frowned and raised his head. “Naturally.”
The Minister of Revenue and the others also answered that they did.
Dantai Ji asked, “Do they all know how to read?”
This time, the Minister of Revenue answered first. “They have studied writing alongside their brothers since childhood. Girls who can read are also able to understand propriety.”
Dantai Ji nodded. “Exactly. The Chief Grand Secretary said that studying teaches one propriety. As long as a person studies, regardless of whether they are male or female, they will surely come to understand some principles of life. Chief Grand Secretary, would you disagree?”
The Chief Grand Secretary’s eyes darkened. “This subject does not understand what Your Majesty is implying.”
Dantai Ji said, “Women remain at home to support their husbands and raise their children. If women also understand and observe propriety, then having studied, they can raise the children in their households well. Since you have proposed establishing county schools, Chief Grand Secretary, do not be so bound by the distinction between boys and girls. Would it not be better to allow all children of the appropriate age to enter the county schools, regardless of gender?”
The hall fell silent at first. Then the Chief Grand Secretary dropped to his knees with a thud and cried out, “Your Majesty, think this over carefully!”
The other ministers also knelt and said, “Your Majesty, think this over carefully! If girls are allowed to study, does that mean they will be allowed to take the imperial examinations in the future as well? This will surely throw the entire realm into chaos!”
“Your Majesty, do not be rash! The county schools can only accommodate a limited number of students. There will not even be enough places for all the boys. How can we allow girls to take those spots?”
“That’s right. The county schools do not charge tuition. If both boys and girls rush to enroll, how will we decide who gets in?”
Dantai Ji frowned. “They will take an entrance examination, and the best candidates will be admitted.”
The Minister of Revenue said, “If women are placed on equal footing with men, the entire realm will likely descend into chaos!”
Dantai Ji’s expression darkened. He looked at the ministers kneeling before him, then at his daughter, who was gazing at him expectantly. Finally, he said in a deep voice, “Then they shall pay tuition. Boys may enter the county schools without paying tuition, while girls must pay half a shi of grain. Will that satisfy you, my ministers?”
After the Emperor said this, the ministers opened and closed their mouths, but none of them could find anything to refute.
Requiring girls to pay tuition had already effectively barred them from the schools.
“Father, can girls enter the county schools now?” the tiny Princess suddenly asked from within the hall.
The Emperor answered hoarsely, “They can.”
Princess Fuxi exclaimed excitedly, “That’s wonderful!”
The ministers stared blankly for a moment, assuming that the Princess had not understood.
The Emperor said, “However, girls who enter the county schools will have to pay tuition.”
Princess Fuxi hesitated for a moment, then straightened her small body and declared, “Yaoyao has money! I can pay their tuition for them!”
The Emperor let out a soft laugh. “Where would you get that much money? It would probably cost a thousand taels every year.”
Princess Fuxi tilted her little head, seemingly lost in thought. Before long, she raised her head again and spoke with firm resolve.
“There will always be a way!”
