The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 587
Chapter 587: The Pioneer
“Why oppose it? I won’t ask them for money anymore!”
Lu Chao Chao’s eyes blazed with fury, her small hands firmly planted on her hips.
“This has nothing to do with money.”
“A women’s academy challenges the superiority men have held for centuries. It threatens their status and shakes their foundation of power.”
“They will resist to the death. They will never allow a women’s academy to exist.”
For thousands of years, the belief that men were noble by birth while women were born to be subservient had been ingrained into society.
“In times of famine, families sell their daughters just to survive. But have you ever seen anyone sell their sons?”
Households would pawn everything they owned just to send their sons to study, yet a daughter would not be given even an extra morsel of food.
This was the world they lived in.
If women gained knowledge, they would begin to understand their own oppression, and one day, they would resist.
Lu Chao Chao fell silent.
“In truth, someone once tried to establish a women’s academy before.” Xu Shi Yun paused as she poured a cup of tea for Chao Chao.
“But the incident was buried. Few people know about it…” Shi Yun gave a small nod toward Deng Zhi, who immediately led the servants out of the room.
“It was about a hundred years ago. Northern Zhao was in chaos then, not as stable as it is now.”
“Wars were frequent, and there was a desperate need for talent. At the time, the founding emperor of Northern Zhao issued a decree to recruit the wise and capable. And among those who answered the call was an extraordinary woman.”
“She was learned in astronomy and geography, well-versed in military strategy.”
“She understood music in ways no one else did, composing melodies of unparalleled beauty.”
“With her guidance, Northern Zhao gradually regained stability. She was beloved by the people.”
“The emperor, seeing her rising influence, feared losing control. He sought to bring her into the palace, offering her the title of Imperial Consort.”
At that moment, Lu Chao Chao suddenly recalled the woman who had taken in A-Man.
“Did she enter the palace?” Lu Chao Chao asked anxiously.
“She refused at first, but the emperor promised her that if she did, he would allow her to establish a women’s academy.”
“The day the academy was completed, all the civil and military officials knelt outside the imperial court, refusing to enter. That very day, three elder ministers bashed their heads against the palace gates, dying on the spot. Their blood splattered across the ground…”
“The officials protested so fiercely that the emperor was forced to set the academy aflame with his own hands.”
“From that moment on, no one dared to speak of a women’s academy again.”
Shi Yun let out a deep sigh. She knew the struggles of women all too well. But what power did she alone have to oppose the entire court of Northern Zhao?
“And what happened to that extraordinary woman?” Chao Chao asked.
Shi Yun’s brows knit slightly. “She had the hearts of the people behind her, and the emperor would not release her.”
“But she was unlike ordinary women. She had grand ambitions and refused to be caged in the harem, fighting petty battles with concubines.”
“She pleaded to leave the palace multiple times, only to be denied again and again, until her sharp edges were gradually worn away…”
Shi Yun could only imagine the despair of a woman whose vast dreams were crushed simply because she was born female.
“What happened next? And after that?” Lu Chao Chao pressed eagerly.
Shi Yun shook her head. “She died.”
“She wasted away in the depths of the palace, her spirit broken, until one night, she ended her own life with burning charcoal. From that moment, her name was erased from history. No one spoke of her again. It was as if she had never existed.”
Lu Chao Chao’s voice grew quiet. She sat there, as if lost in thought for a long while.
“I have the power to change the fate of the women in this world now. I want to try.”
“Whether I succeed or fail, I want to pave a path for them…”
“Even if this road is covered in thorns, I will walk it without regret.”
“Someone has to do it, right, Mother?”
She pushed open the door.
Outside, the maids stood with tears brimming in their eyes.
One by one, they dropped to their knees.
Thud.
Thud.
A sea of kneeling figures stretched before her.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation