I've been bullied and humiliated for thirteen years; when I wake up, I'll be bloodthirsty.

Chapter 950 Extra: A Young Man's Journey 3

We hit it off immediately.

Love at first sight.

Zhao Yang only remembered that she was busy eating and drinking that day, listening to those talented men say things she couldn't understand. Later, Zong Huai asked someone to invite Wenren Jing to a private room. Lu Jibai had to leave first, and Wenren Jing, Yan Chengyue and Zong Huai chatted from morning until dark.

If it weren't for the palace's restrictions and Zong Huai's strict adherence to rules, they probably would have been planning to have a long talk by candlelight.

Yan Chengyue's eyes were bright all the way back; Zhaoyang had never seen her so happy before.

In her memory, Sister Yue was always quiet and serene. Although the Yan family was a family of generals, Yan Chengyue's mother came from a prominent family and had been very strict with her since childhood. She never showed her emotions. Even regarding her own marriage and the well-deserved marriage of Brother Huai, she did not show any obvious likes or dislikes. Until the day she saw Wenren Jing, Zhaoyang had a strange feeling that Sister Yue had suddenly come back to life.

This description was very strange, and Zhao Yang didn't know why she had such a thought.

From that day on, Yan Chengyue and Wenren Jing became inseparable friends, and Zong Huai would occasionally join them as well. Whenever they got together, they would discuss matters of national importance.

From the merits and demerits of the imperial examination system and the policies of the court to how to regulate the economy and reform taxation, every point of view put forward by Wenren Jing excited Zong Huai and Yan Chengyue.

However, Zong Huai was more concerned about the economy. The Great Zhao had only been established for a little over twenty years, while the Northern Yan was growing stronger day by day. Beset by internal and external troubles, the national treasury was empty year after year. After Emperor Chengde took office, he used talents without being bound by convention, and although things gradually improved, many measures could not produce results in a short time. To this day, there is still a shortage of young talents every year, and the people's taxes have been reduced year after year, but with disasters and hardships everywhere, there has been no significant improvement.

Yan Chengyue, on the other hand, was concerned about whether women could be educated. Yan Chengyue came from a good family and had a mother from a prominent clan. Therefore, in addition to the "Precepts for Women" from a young age, she also studied the Four Books and Five Classics with her mother. Furthermore, because she was the crown princess, she even listened to lectures by great Confucian scholars with Zong Huai.

She also spent a few years in office with her parents and saw people starving and girls her age being sold off like livestock by the roadside. The red handprints on those indenture contracts are an indelible image in her heart to this day.

She was resting by the roadside when her carriage broke down and witnessed the horrific transaction. She even overheard people in the teahouse talking about how those girls were worthless, that a few pounds of millet were enough to get them to put their fingerprints on indentures, and then they would sell them for a few taels of silver each – it was practically a risk-free business.

When she got home, she told her mother about it and naively asked her mother why, even if they really couldn't make ends meet and had to sell their children or themselves, they didn't sign a contract before selling them. They could have sold them for several taels of silver, but in the end they only got a few catties of millet. This was completely illegal. Those girls were living, breathing people. How could they be treated so cheaply?

Her mother patted her head and said, "Of all those people you mentioned, how many of them can read?"

Yan Chengyue was stunned.

The mother continued, saying that they were illiterate and couldn't even read contracts. They couldn't afford to raise their children. Boys were kept at home to carry on the family line and could be strong laborers when they grew up, but girls, once born, were too expensive to raise; they were either drowned or sold. Of course, they wanted money, but often, they just wanted to get rid of a burden. And this was in peaceful times; in times of war and famine, these girls would be among the first food supplies.

Yan Chengyue was terrified, and tears streamed down her face.

Her mother wiped away her tears and comforted her, saying, "So now you understand, it's not that they are so worthless, but that's just how the world is. The world hasn't given them fairness. Even you, who were born into a carefree life, have no choice in the position you're in, or when you need to make sacrifices."

Yan Chengyue shivered and hid in her mother's arms, asking her mother, "What should I do? What should they do?"

My mother said she didn't know. Maybe someone would know, but who would?

That incident, that brief conversation with her mother that day, was something Yan Chengyue remembered for the rest of her life.

After returning to the capital, she became a celebrated noblewoman, the future Crown Princess, and had a gentle and refined fiancé who was almost perfect. Everyone envied her.

She, however, did not envy herself.

She always felt that her soul was trapped by something, that she was stuck in a maze and couldn't get out.

Until she met Wenren Jing.

When Zong Huai was away, Yan Chengyue met with Wenren Jing alone and asked him the question that had troubled her for many years.

Wenren Jing said, "I can't give you an answer either, but I think that if you read more books and learn more characters, things might change."

If one day all women were literate, wouldn't they be able to bargain even when selling themselves? Or, to make matters better, wouldn't they be able to find a way to make a living, a chance to survive, and a chance to live on their own?

Yan Chengyue suddenly understood.

Yes, in the face of the world's predicament, who has the answer to how a woman who is looked down upon should survive? It has been like this for thousands of years, how can we break this rule?

Some people may have tried, but only a handful, and perhaps only a handful were changed.

What if there were just a few more people than this small group?

If women could study like men in the future, wouldn't they be able to break through the monopoly of aristocratic families and gain a chance for survival, just like how poor students could break through the monopoly of aristocratic families in the imperial examinations?

As soon as this thought arose, the sky above Yan Chengyue brightened.

She and Wenren Jing hit it off immediately and decided to establish the first girls' academy in the capital.

It is named Taiming Academy.