A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 30.2

Then, Chen Shuheng mysteriously lifted a corner and lightly pressed it, pulling out a book from a hidden compartment beneath the animal skin.

Chen Liangyu immediately guessed what she was hiding. Upon taking it, it was indeed Discourse on Women (Nü Lun).

“Mother said this is rebellious and against the norm, and forbade me from reading it, so I hid it secretly,” Xun Shuheng winked at her, “Liangyu, you definitely don’t think this is defilement, do you?”

She certainly didn’t think it was defilement. She also knew whose handiwork was behind the sudden surge in the book’s popularity.

The Grand Harmony Temple, in addition to housing the memorial tablets of the imperial family, was also responsible for expounding on scriptures, traveling throughout the land, and propagating virtuous principles.

The temple had a dedicated library for storing sacred texts and classics. Due to the monks traveling across the country, the loss and damage of scrolls were common. After the rise of private printing houses, the Grand Harmony Temple imitated them and established its own carving workshop.

This workshop was not for carving stone or wooden curiosities; it was exclusively for printing the temple’s scriptures, classics, and Buddhist texts.

Princess Jiangning chose the Grand Harmony Temple to observe mourning for her birth mother, instead of the Empress Huixian’s tomb.

“This book is excellent,” Chen Liangyu said.

“You’ve read it too?”

“Of course.”

This version was vastly different from the half-volume Xie Wenjun had shown her before. That half-volume was written in literary language, similar to the style of the Four Books and Five Classics, with concise and profound phrasing, but difficult to read.

The version of Discourse on Women currently popular on the market, however, had been translated into colloquial language, similar to folk story-telling scripts. It didn’t require a teacher to explain word by word; anyone who could read could understand it.

This was one of the reasons why its spread was so effortless, with many people treating it as general reading material.

The Sound of Scorn

The outer wall and the inner courtyard of the Eastern Residence were separated by only a half-wall. The female guests gathered in the inner courtyard’s dressing pavilion. The pavilion was cleverly constructed; from the second floor facing south, one could see the outer courtyard’s long corridors and waterside pavilion, where many young noblemen were conversing.

Chen Liangyu politely declined the Eastern Residence’s aged wine poured by Xun Shuheng’s maid.

Xun Shuheng smiled, “Drinking one goblet won’t hurt. This wine has a mellow and lingering aftertaste, a rare fine product. It’s a shame you’re a military leader, yet you can’t even drink spicy wine and have to drink fruit wine.”

“Why must a military leader necessarily drink alcohol? Who would drink heavily in the military?”

Chen Liangyu countered playfully, “Everyone says the Xun family’s daughter is the most mindful of etiquette and propriety, gentle, virtuous, respectful, and frugal—the paradigm of an aristocratic young lady, possessing the virtue of a national mother and the demeanor of a woodland fairy. Whoever says this has definitely never seen you lifting a jar, drinking heartily, and getting wildly drunk. I, for one, have seen it.”

Her acquaintance with Xun Shuheng began when Xun Shuheng was drinking in Yueyang Tower and got so drunk her face was flushed red. Chen Liangyu was passing by when Xun Shuheng grabbed her and vomited all over her.

She didn’t recognize the woman, but the other party could call out her name. Only after the drunken woman was helped onto the Xun family’s carriage by several personal maids did she realize this was the highly reputed Sixth Miss of the Xun family in Yongdu.

Xun Shuheng looked at her apologetically, her face instantly flushing crimson with shame.

A breeze wafted over from the other side, and the conversations of the young noblemen in the waterside pavilion could be heard clearly in the dressing pavilion.

“Women reading and exposing themselves to the public, how can that be proper?”

“If women read and take exams for official titles, then who will bear children? Without anyone to continue the lineage, who will plant the fields in the future? Who will fight the wars? Who will pay the taxes? Who will build those palaces and temples? Who will support the elderly? How can the society continue?”

“Once women gain power, they will incite more women to disregard norms and behave perversely. If all women go off to study and take the imperial exams, who will manage the household? If no one manages the home, how can we be at peace?”

“This book must be banned! If everyone were to follow that aristocratic exemplar, Chen Liangyu, the world would be turned upside down!”

“They’re talking about you,” Xun Shuheng said.

“I hear them,” Chen Liangyu replied.

These two terms were clearly not meant as praise when applied to her. Instead, Chen Liangyu’s interest was piqued. She perked up her ears, keen to hear what else this group of people could concoct about her.

The individuals in the waterside pavilion were unaware that their conversation was being overheard on the other side of the white wall and gray tiles. Chen Liangyu had surprisingly become the target for their condemnation and censure.

Just as the crowd was worked up, a person appeared, “May I ask, gentlemen, what does discussing the matter of women’s education have to do with Chen Liangyu?”

As he stepped into the waterside pavilion, the voices on the other side lowered.

This was not because the newcomer was of particularly high rank, but because his appearance was too striking, making him stand out like a crane among a flock of chickens, even amidst the distinguished air of the other noble families.

He wore a simple, moon-white robe, standing tall and refined.

The moment he appeared in the sight of the crowd, the young women and noblewomen in the dressing pavilion exclaimed in surprise. The wives with daughters couldn’t help but inquire, “Whose young master is that? He looks unfamiliar.”

He spoke again, “Opening the imperial exams to all women and enlightening the populace is a good thing.”

This time, both inside and outside the wall fell silent, listening intently.

Everyone implicitly wanted to hear his profound reasoning. What benefits could there be to such an unorthodox view?

“Blindly keeping the populace ignorant is not a benevolent path. Even with the imperial exams open, can everyone become a prime minister? Not so. What this book advocates is simply giving women throughout the realm a choice—allowing the ambitious to voice their aspirations, the capable to display their talents, and the virtuous to implement their wisdom. This is a great good! Selecting talent for the nation has nothing to do with gender. When the time comes, the court will utilize all their talents, and the rest will remain as they are—the mediocre will still be mediocre, and the foolish will still be foolish. Chen Liangyu holds a high position in the court because His Majesty has the foresight to recognize heroes and personally bestowed her titles. What dissatisfaction do you gentlemen have?”

One person in the waterside pavilion was indignant and said, “It’s because she first acted out of line and corrupted the atmosphere! Women should cultivate virtue, speech, appearance, and work; find a good husband and raise children dutifully. Why should they practice martial arts and fight battles? If she had properly cultivated her virtue and read more of the Admonitions for Women, she wouldn’t have had to ask for an imperial marriage only to be rejected by His Royal Highness Prince Shen.”

Chen Liangyu descended the dressing pavilion without a word and circled around to that area. Afterward, she could no longer hear those derogatory voices.

The Transformed Young Master

Two or three years had passed, and Chen Luan had shot up like a rapidly growing plant. Looking at him face to face, Chen Liangyu actually had to look up.

His cheeks had filled out a little, his facial contours were still distinct, and his body was still lean compared to ordinary people, but he had completely transformed from a refugee fleeing famine into a refined and handsome young gentleman.

Chen Liangyu tugged at him, looking him up and down, her disbelief evident on her face. She hadn’t realized her second brother was such a handsome specimen.

Unlike Chen Linjun’s imposing and unrestrained handsomeness, Chen Luan carried a sense of delicate frailty. He had cultivated a righteous aura at the Han Hong Academy. This conflicting combination made people unable to look away once they saw him.

A peerless, stunning beauty!

His deep and proper features overlapped with the image of the person leisurely seated in a rattan chair on Bow Ridge in Chen Liangyu’s memory.

“Teacher Qi came to pay his respects to the Old Dowager. I returned to Yongdu with my teacher. I originally wanted to go home first to greet Mother and Father, but Teacher Qi said that since it’s the Old Dowager’s birthday today, you and Mother would definitely come to the Eastern Residence, so I came here with my teacher first.” Chen Luan said.

The Teacher Qi he mentioned was Qi Xiu.

Who was also Yao Ji Feng, under a changed identity and name.

Return of the Princess

When Chen Liangyu returned to the dressing pavilion, Xun Shuheng had already gone with the Prime Minister’s wife to pay respects to the Old Dowager.

She sat alone.

The area around the Old Dowager was a showcase for various aristocratic young women. It was better for an infamous example like her not to go, as her mother had her sister-in-law to accompany her anyway.

“A-Li.”

Before Chen Liangyu could turn around, the entire dressing pavilion was already kneeling.

The female guests collectively greeted the Princess, “Long live Princess Jiangning.”

Xie Wenjun wore a jade-colored, high-waisted iris-patterned dress, with a shoulder wrap draped over her. The gentle breeze and the glorious sun were behind her. She extended her hand, palm open, “I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

Chen Liangyu watched her walk step by step until she stood shoulder to shoulder with her, and for a moment, she felt a string had snapped.

She had always felt that three years was a short time, incapable of changing anything.

Only today did she realize that time flies like a white steed, and many people and things change without one’s notice.