The deep male voice filled his ears. Xie Wanzhou was stunned for a moment, then he made a big salute and said loudly, "My lord, I mean no offense. Your Majesty forgives me!"
Queen Zhu opened her mouth, but she didn't know what to say. She could only roll her eyes at the emperor when no one else saw her.
The emperor took a sip of the soup and said in a low and slow voice, "You openly resist marriage and interfere with political affairs. I only punish you by copying the female commandments five times. Do you have any dissatisfaction?"
Xie Wanzhou shook his head, his expression as usual, "Back to the emperor, I am not dissatisfied. I am willing to accept the punishment."
The emperor hummed lightly, glanced at the palace door, and whispered, "If the method you proposed is effective, I will naturally not be stingy."
Xie Wanzhou frowned and said slowly, "My darling, please be brave and ask for a reward from the emperor after the deed is accomplished."
Queen Zhu's thoughts moved and she lowered her eyes to look at the girl kneeling in the center of the hall.
When the emperor heard this, he became interested and whispered, "What reward do you want?"
Xie Wanzhou narrowed his eyes and said seriously, "I beg the emperor to open a school for girls and allow girls to go to the examination room!"
As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell silent.
Queen Zhu's fingertips trembled and she looked at the little girl in front of her in disbelief.
The emperor was stunned for a moment, then became furious and his face turned livid, "Presumptuous! Do you know what you are talking about?"
Xie Wanzhou had a cold face and could not tell the emotions on his face, "Your Majesty, I am very sober now."
"What a good Xie Wanzhou, what a good Yongcheng Houfu!" The emperor sneered, his eyes without any warmth, "I thought you would beg to marry the Lian family, but I didn't expect that a little girl would have such ambitions. So big!"
Xie Wanzhou raised his eyes and looked at the man sitting in the seat, calmly saying, "Your Majesty, I am not just for myself."
"Throughout the ages, the world has kept women in the inner house and taught them to be filial to their fathers, respect their husbands, and teach their children, as if women were born to do these things."
"But Your Majesty, there are no absolutes in this world."
"Yun Qinghe, the direct daughter of the Grand Tutor, can read a thousand words at the age of five and memorize a hundred poems at the age of seven; Song Huixin, the daughter of General Song, has been practicing martial arts since she was a child. She is only seventeen years old and is already on par with her father..." Xie Wan Zhou raised his eyes and said seriously, "May I ask Your Majesty, how many men in the world can compare to them?"
After finishing speaking, Xie Wanzhou slowly turned his eyes towards Empress Zhu, who had been dumbfounded for a long time, and said softly, "My aunt once told me that before entering the palace, the Empress was at the top of the list of talented women in the capital. She painted a picture at random It will be worth a fortune."
"Can they, who are so talented and beautiful, have to live in the inner house?"
Queen Zhu's breath was stagnant, her heart was shaking, and she looked longingly at the thin and thin girl in the center.
The emperor's eyes moved slightly, and his expression became more terrifying, "I see you have lost your mind!"
Xie Wanzhou bit her lower lip when she heard this, leaned down, and maintained a saluting posture, "I beg the emperor to give all the girls in the world a chance!"
"Even if..." Xie Wanzhou said softly with a hint of grievance in her tone, "Even if it's just to build a girls' school..."
The emperor sneered and smashed the spoon in his hand on the table. Before he could speak, he saw the queen beside him slowly kneeling down.
The emperor frowned even more tightly and murmured, "Queen, what are you doing?"
Queen Zhu's face turned slightly pale, and her tone was soft but firm, "Your Majesty, if Wanzhou's method is feasible, it can guarantee that there will be no war for at least ten years. I beg you, for the sake of her sincerity, to consider this matter as appropriate. "
The emperor gritted his teeth and remained silent.
In front of him, he is riding a tiger and it is difficult to get off. It is not right to reward him, and it is wrong not to reward him!
"emperor……"
At the moment of anxiety, Zhang De opened the heavy curtain and stepped in.
When the emperor heard the voice, he raised his eyes impatiently and said in a deep voice, "What's the matter again!"
Zhang De timidly entered the room and glanced at Queen Zhu and Xie Wanzhou who were kneeling on the ground. He clamped his tail tightly, not daring to anger the person above him, "Go back to the emperor, Madam Yongcheng is here."
When the emperor heard this, he sneered coldly, raised his eyebrows, and raised his voice, "When did the palace become a place where others can come just by asking?"
Zhang De was startled and knelt down quickly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Madam Hou Yongcheng missed her daughter very much. Seeing that Miss Xie had not returned for a long time, and with the Queen's instructions, she entered the palace to look for her... In addition... Mrs. Hou also brought some a message."
The emperor held his forehead, his expression was extremely grim, and he slowly uttered one word, "Say."
Zhang De swallowed his saliva and whispered, "The Shao family who was engaged to the Ninth Princess insisted on breaking off the engagement. It has spread outside the palace. People all know that the Ninth Princess is free. Now all the ministers who have daughters... "
With a bang, the fine green-glazed porcelain cup fell next to Xie Wanzhou.
"Your Majesty!" Queen Zhu was shocked and stretched out her hand to stop her, "Wan Zhou is just a child, why does Your Majesty bother to argue with her?"
Xie Wanzhou seemed to be frightened and froze, daring not to move.
"What a Yongcheng Houfu!" The emperor suddenly stood up with an angry look on his face, "You mother and daughter have been scheming and scheming, how dare you blame me!"
Xie Wanzhou came to his senses and responded hurriedly, "This matter has nothing to do with my mother. I hope your Majesty will understand it clearly!"
The emperor stood in front of the throne with a smile on his face, "She brought this news just because she wanted to tell me that she should either let her daughter go or marry Yuan Mi!"
"You family dare to threaten me because you think I can't do anything to you?"
"Your Majesty, think twice!" Queen Zhu's heartbeat was beating fast and her tone was a little more impatient. "Yongcheng will die fighting for his country. With this feeling in mind, Your Majesty, please spare them once!"
"Mrs. Marquis Yongcheng also loves her daughter very much, so she took this step because she had no other choice!"
Zhang De also knelt down and shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Your Majesty, please calm down! It's really not Mrs. Hou who got in the way. It was the Shao family that was greedy and secretly sent their son to the examination room. Now that the incident has been revealed, they can no longer escape." I am afraid of being imprisoned and causing trouble again if I involve the Ninth Princess, so I am determined to break off the engagement!"
The emperor closed his eyes, suppressed his anger, and whispered, "Get out of here."
After hearing this, Queen Zhu hurriedly stood up and glanced at Xie Wanzhou.
Xie Wanzhou was unwilling, but had to follow him out of the hall.
Seeing the frustrated look on her face, Queen Zhu couldn't help but smile. She gently raised her hand and patted her shoulder, saying quietly, "Don't take this matter to your heart. The emperor didn't mention the issue of girls' school again. It means he will consider it.”
"It's not a final result, don't be discouraged." Empress Zhu tucked a strand of hair from her temples behind her ear and coaxed softly.
Xie Wanzhou seemed to have not recovered, his face was still pale, and he nodded silently.
Queen Zhu looked at her and couldn't help laughing, "There is an old saying that goes well, accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. If you can't survive these storms, how can you gain a foothold in the court?"
Xie Wanzhou looked at her blankly, his eyes suddenly brightened.
Queen Zhu lowered her head and smiled softly, and whispered, "The heart of the king is the hardest to understand. One moment he was chatting and laughing with you, but the next moment he can throw you into a prison."
After saying that, Queen Zhu curled her lips in dissatisfaction and whispered, "The face-changing trick can't change his face faster!"
Xie Wanzhou was a little stunned and murmured, "The Queen...don't you think what I said is a fantasy?"
Queen Zhu stopped, looked sideways at her, smiled and said, "I am also a woman, and I expect more than anyone else that women can gain a foothold in this world."
"My only wish is to see all kinds of flowers blooming all over Yanjing in my lifetime."
Queen Zhu extended her index finger and tapped the tip of Xie Wanzhou's nose with a gentle smile, "And you are the one I look forward to most."
(End of chapter)
