Bringing the Railway to Daming

"Ruoxue was just a bit playful when she was young, but after studying at the Women's Academy for three years, she became fascinated with natural history. She was admitted to the graduate program in natural history at the Capital University, which seemed glorious, but her travels and adventures all over the country were not only arduous but also unsafe."

"When she returned for the New Year, the lady saw her too. She was so tanned. She no longer looked like the daughter of a duke."

"Besides, she's already 23 this year. Even though women in the capital have been marrying later in the last decade, it's inevitable that people will gossip about her if she's still unmarried at 23."

Upon hearing Zhu Huilan mention Liu Ruoxue, Su Caiwei spoke at length with a bitter expression, demonstrating that Liu Ruoxue had indeed become a source of heartache for her.

Zhu Huilan secretly kicked Liu Kuan.

Liu Kuan immediately said, “Caiwei, why are you so worried? You should know that at that age, most people had just graduated from university and were not yet married.”

"Ruoxue is my daughter, and she is also well-educated. She will definitely not be unable to get married in the future. If all else fails, we can find a son-in-law from a poor family to live with us."

Su Caiwei sighed, "Didn't you understand, Master? I'm more worried about Ruoxue's safety—it's too dangerous for her to wander around like this."

"She'll be graduating with her master's degree in another six months, right? Could you possibly arrange a stable job for her in the capital?"

Liu Kuan smiled wryly, "Even if I could arrange it, she would have to be willing to go—you know how resourceful Ruoxue is."

"As for safety, you don't need to worry too much—she is quite skilled in martial arts, has two expert guards, and most of the time she goes into the wild with her companions, so she has enough knowledge of wilderness exploration. It's not as dangerous as you think."

Perhaps to change the subject, Zhu Huilan said, "Speaking of which, of our six children, the four boys, apart from Le'an, are all quite promising and haven't caused us much trouble. On the contrary, the two girls are quite a handful."

"It's all the master's fault. He spoiled and indulged the two girls too much. Not to mention Ruoxue, even if Ruoyue loves music and opera, how could he really let her go to that art academy?"

"Sir, please don't talk about how celebrities are in later generations. In the Ming Dynasty, musicians and actors were not respectable people, and actors were even lower class."

"Besides, don't think I don't know. Even in later generations, those so-called celebrities are only glamorous on the surface, and their status has nothing to do with nobility."

It turns out that Liu Ruoyue and Liu Chang'an are both seventeen years old and were admitted to university one after the other last autumn.

However, Liu Chang'an was admitted to the Imperial University of Peking, majoring in economics and management; while Liu Ruoyue insisted on going to the Imperial Academy of Arts. Zhu Huilan disagreed, and Liu Ruoyue got Liu Kuan's support before she was able to get her wish.

No wonder Zhu Huilan harbored such deep resentment when she brought this up.

However, Liu Kuan's decision to allow Liu Ruoyue to attend art school was not simply out of pure pampering for his daughter.

He smiled and said, "Madam, didn't I already tell you about Ruoyue? Even if she goes to art school, she won't actually become a musician or actor in the future."

"Our Great Ming Dynasty is now thriving in the development of culture and entertainment, and the imperial court is paying more and more attention to this aspect, and has already established relevant management departments."

"After Ruoyue graduates and gets married, she can definitely get a position in this government office and enter the officialdom."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Huilan and Su Caiwei both exclaimed in surprise, "Women can hold official positions?"

Liu Kuan said, “Now that a small number of officials in the Ming Dynasty are women, what is so strange about women becoming officials in the future? His Majesty mentioned this to me. The Ming Dynasty still has a considerable shortage of talent and manpower. It is impossible to leave women, who make up half of the population, unused. Therefore, allowing women to become officials is a reform that must be carried out.”

"Of course, even if a woman becomes an official, she can only hold a few suitable positions and is unlikely to become a high-ranking official."

After regaining her composure, Zhu Huilan couldn't help but ask, "If you, my lord, were to carry out this reform with His Majesty, wouldn't you be afraid of causing controversy in the court and among the people?"

Liu Kuandao said, "Allowing women to serve as officials is just a small reform, and it will be implemented gradually over the next ten years or so."

"Besides, the number of women graduating from middle school and even university is increasing year by year. Allowing them to serve as some officials is a matter of course and will not cause any controversy." Hearing Liu Kuan say this, Zhu Huilan and Su Caiwei did not discuss the matter much. Although they knew a lot about later events, their thinking was still biased towards the traditional women of the Ming Dynasty at this time, who did not get involved in politics.

Then the three of them continued talking about the other children.

The eldest son, Liu Ping'an, was admitted to the Peking University and studied chemistry. He is now a graduate student at the Daming Academy of Natural Sciences (a three-year program) and will graduate in another year and a half. It is estimated that he will work at the Academy of Natural Sciences after graduation and will likely become a scientific researcher in the future.

The second son, Liu Ding'an, is three years younger than Liu Ping'an. After graduating from high school, he was admitted to the Beijing Naval Academy, where he is now a senior. However, the Naval Academy requires five years of study, and graduates must be at least a naval ensign officer, so Liu Ding'an still needs to study for one more year.

The third son, Liu Chang'an, was also admitted to Peking University, but he is studying economics and management and is currently a freshman. If nothing unexpected happens, he will most likely enter officialdom in the future.

Only his youngest son, Liu Le'an, was quite unruly and didn't care much about his studies, resulting in consistently poor grades. Therefore, Liu Kuan couldn't say what Liu Le'an would become in the future, only hoping that he wouldn't grow up to be the kind of spoiled brat who bullies the kind-hearted.

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Guizhou Province, with its capital in Guiyang.

In the courtyard of an inn, Liu Ruoxue was enjoying local barbecue and rice wine with several companions.

She was wearing a man's hairstyle, a rather tight one, with a blue headband on her head. Her skin, both on her face and hands, was wheat-colored and even slightly rough.

However, her eyes gleamed with a sharp, intimidating light.

In addition, it was still the first month of the lunar calendar, and the weather in Guiyang was quite cold. She was wearing a lot of clothes, so her figure was not prominent. At first glance, she looked like a handsome young man.

As for her companions, there were six people: two women and four men.

One of the men and one of the women were guards that Liu Kuan had specially recruited for her—both of them actually came from the Ming Dynasty's imperial guard system, so their skills were beyond doubt.

As for the other woman and three men, they were her "colleagues," namely, graduate students in natural history or geography at Peking University.

These people, like Liu Ruoxue, were dressed quite smartly, looking like they were about to embark on a long journey.

As they were finishing their meal, one of the men couldn't help but ask, "Ruoxue, are we really going to explore the Maling River Grand Canyon in Puan Prefecture this time?"

Liu Ruoxue threw a half-eaten bone on the table and said, "What, you've already made a plan, but you're chickening out now?"

The word "cowardly" was naturally something Liu Ruoxue learned from Liu Kuan. These people had known her for a year or two, so they understood the meaning of the word.

Upon hearing this, the man blushed slightly and said, "It's not that I'm chickening out, it's just that I suddenly feel there are many strange places in Guizhou. Why should we go to such a far place in the first place?"

"According to the information we gathered yesterday, the area is now inhabited by chieftains, and there are also some uncivilized tribes. What if something happens to us if we go there?"

Liu Ruoxue said, "According to the plan, after we arrive in Puan Prefecture, we will first find the local government and ask them to recommend a reliable chieftain to endorse us. Then we will find a few guides from among the chieftains. As long as we are careful, how can we possibly have any conflicts with the local barbarians?"

Before the man could say anything more, another man with a more rugged face laughed and said, "Xu Xuan, you're so afraid of difficulties and death, you're not suited for natural history—we who study natural history and geography are meant to travel all over the country and explore everywhere. And when it comes to exploration, how can we not encounter any dangers?"

Xu Xuan immediately retorted, "Who said I'm afraid of difficulties and death? I'm just cautious—we need to be more cautious precisely because we're exploring everywhere."

The burly man was about to speak again, but Liu Ruoxue frowned and said, "Alright, stop arguing. Hurry up and eat. We'll set off after we finish eating!"

Liu Ruoxue was not only the leader, but everyone in the group also knew of her identity as the daughter of a duke, so they immediately agreed and stopped arguing. (End of Chapter)