Twilight descended upon the Governor's estate.
The moment Cheng Ji stepped through the door, Ye Qingqing went to greet him, taking the outer robe he had just shed.
Looking up at his expression, she asked softly, “Husband, how did your discussions with the city's scholars go?”
Cheng Ji sighed and walked straight over to the table to sit down. He picked up his teacup only to set it right back down, his brow furrowed into a tight knot.
“At first, they agreed readily enough. I proposed that the Governor's estate would pay them a regular monthly stipend, and I also mentioned the academy's regulations and student enrollment quotas. They all nodded in approval.”
A hint of anger crept into his voice. “But the moment I mentioned that the academy would teach without discrimination, regardless of wealth, and would accept both boys and girls, every single one of them changed their tune. Some said women shouldn't show their faces in public, others said having men and women in the same classroom violates propriety, and some simply stood up, bowed, and took their leave.”
Ye Qingqing sat down beside him, remaining silent.
Cheng Ji slapped the table, but fearing he might startle Ye Qingqing, he quickly pulled back his strength. “A bunch of short-sighted fools, utterly lacking in vision! The blessings bestowed by the Divine Lady are given based on destiny, treating everyone equally. If we do not teach the common people to read, then even if a blessing is placed right in front of them, they won't be able to grasp it!”
Ye Qingqing said softly, “Do not fret.”
“My dear, how can I not fret?”
Cheng Ji stood up and began pacing back and forth anxiously. “This move by the Divine Lady is likely a test for Yecheng.”
“I tried to sound out Young Master Shen, asking if we could build a Divine Lady Temple in Yecheng to offer worship to her. Young Master Shen told me that the Divine Lady is no ordinary minor deity and does not require mortal offerings. He said the people of Xindu only became her believers after passing several trials to finally earn her recognition.”
Yecheng was not too far from Xindu City.
He had heard rumors about the former Governor of Xindu, Zhao Qian, oppressing the common people. He had even submitted several memorials to the imperial court, subtly raising the issue, but they had all vanished like stones dropped into the ocean.
With such a corrupt official like Zhao Qian in charge, one could easily imagine the sheer misery the people of Xindu had lived in.
Later, when he heard that Zhao Qian had been killed and Xindu was in chaos, he had worried about how Yecheng would accommodate the influx of refugees if the people of Xindu fled there.
Who could have expected that Yecheng would be the one to be struck by a plague first?
What surprised him even more was that, in the end, it was people from Xindu who helped Yecheng survive its brush with death.
And among those who came from Xindu, even an eight- or nine-year-old girl possessed courage far beyond that of ordinary people.
Shen Yu and the others were even more resourceful and brave.
But the most important point of all.
Xindu was able to send troops to deliver so much grain, meaning the people of Xindu surely did not lack food or clothing now. Otherwise, how could they afford to be so generous? That was life-saving food!
Relying solely on mortal strength, it would have been impossible to turn a city filled with starving corpses into a prosperous one in just a few short months.
Everything pointed to a single answer: Xindu City's current prosperity was absolutely inseparable from the Divine Lady's care.
“My dear, the world is currently in chaos, and the imperial court is corrupt and foul. If our Yecheng wants to carve out a path to survival, our only choice is to become believers of the Divine Lady, just like the people of Xindu. Building this academy is our chance to prove our worth.”
Upon hearing this, a look of deep thought flashed in Ye Qingqing's eyes.
She pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, “Husband, if that is the case, we cannot afford to keep wasting time with those scholars.”
“How about this: we split the academy into northern and southern campuses. The southern campus will have female teachers instructing female students, while the northern campus will have male teachers instructing male students. They will teach separately and not interfere with one another. Our intent to teach everyone without discrimination remains unchanged, and those scholars will have no further reason to refuse.”
“My dear, that is an excellent plan!” Cheng Ji grabbed Ye Qingqing's hand, his eyes shining brightly. “Splitting them into northern and southern campuses satisfies all the propriety while keeping our original goal intact!”
Ye Qingqing added, “I have several close female friends. Tomorrow, I will visit them one by one to persuade them to join the academy and teach the female students. What do you think, husband?”
“My dear, thank you for your hard work.”
Cheng Ji looked at Ye Qingqing, his eyes filled with tender concern.
Ye Qingqing shook her head. “If we can become believers of the Divine Lady, anything we do is worthwhile.”
Cheng Ji envied the people of Xindu for being under the Divine Lady's protection, free from the suffering of famine, natural disasters, and war.
But how could she not envy them as well?
That day, when Shen Yu said women could also teach and educate, she had assumed he was just being polite.
It wasn't until yesterday, when she saw Cui He and other women sitting at the same table to discuss matters, that she realized Shen Yu had been telling the truth.
In the eyes of the Divine Lady, all living beings were equal.
Her believers naturally followed her example, making no distinction between noble and common, or male and female. They only looked at a person's capability.
It was said that in Xindu, all official positions were filled by those who were competent.
This was true meritocracy!
...
Over the next three months, everyone in both Yecheng and Xindu was incredibly busy. Cheng Ji and his people were occupied with building the academy, while Shen Yu and the others were busy absorbing and utilizing the blessings they had received.
In short, everyone was working around the clock.
Even Yun Shu and the system were very busy.
To be precise.
The two of them were busy deep in the mountains...
...raising pigs.
Yun Shu had her sleeves rolled up and her skirt tucked into her waistband. She was standing by the pigpen, pouring sweet potato porridge into the feeding trough.
She didn't have much else, but she had sweet potatoes and white porridge in abundance.
“Host!!!”
Inside the crude pigpen, the little fox looked up and wailed on the verge of a breakdown, “When can we go down the mountain? I'm getting sick of looking at pigs! I don't even want to eat braised pork knuckles anymore!”
It remembered it was supposed to be a romance system! Why was it stuck cleaning pigpens every single day?!
“System, be good and bear with it a little longer. We've already spent the last three months like this. What's a few more days?”
Yun Shu set down the wooden feeding bucket and watched the plump, sturdy sow grunting as it devoured its food.
Her eyes were filled with deep satisfaction.
Three months ago, she had used the Love Gu on this sow and fed it the pomegranate seeds from the Multi-Jeweled Pomegranate Branch.
She had pampered it with good food and drink for three solid months.
Calculating the days, it should be giving birth soon. She wondered how many piglets would be in this litter.
In ancient times, a sow usually gave birth to only three to five piglets. If the pomegranate seeds could increase that to ten piglets per litter...
...then they would never have to worry about lacking meat again!
Finally, on the night of the third day, the sow—which usually did nothing but eat and sleep—began to grow restless. It paced back and forth in the pen, repeatedly lying down and standing back up.
“Host, it's definitely giving birth!!!”
The system's voice trembled with excitement. Anyone who didn't know better would think the sow was giving birth to its own offspring.
“Shh, I'm watching.”
Yun Shu reached out and pinched the system's snout shut.
Before long...
...the first piglet slid out, wet and pink. Its eyes were tightly shut as it let out a soft, tiny squeak.
...came the second, the third, the fourth...
One after another, they slid out from the sow's belly in a continuous stream. Squeals filled the air as they huddled beneath the sow, nuzzling around to find milk.
Yun Shu narrowed her eyes and counted. The smile on her face grew wider and wider. “Well done! Twenty babies in one litter!”
This was double what she had expected!
As expected of a system product!
It was a pity she hadn't thought of this earlier. From that Pomegranate Abundance Set, she had only pulled the handheld component.
Once it returned to the prize pool, she would definitely pull for the rest of it!
“Mission accomplished.” She released the system's snout. “It's time for us to go down the mountain and earn some Shock Value.”
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