After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

In the days that followed, Shen Jingque went to school as usual.

That day, Shen Jingque entered the room carrying a box of books. He Lanqing was already sitting down, with two notebooks spread out in front of him.

Seeing her approach, he pushed the portion on the right towards her.

"The key points that the Master spoke about yesterday..."

Shen Jingque's eyes lit up, and she cupped her face in her fists.

"Helan Qing, you are my savior."

She simply couldn't absorb a single word of the Four Books and Five Classics; every day in class, she would either doze off or draw turtles.

She was able to answer the teacher's questions in class entirely thanks to He Lanqing taking notes for her.

He Lanqing blushed again and lowered her head to tidy up the pen holder.

"I... I just did it on a whim."

Shen Jingque stuffed a small oil paper package into the corner of his table.

"It's only fair to reciprocate, this is mung bean cake."

He Lanqing looked at the package of pastries, her ears turning bright red.

"Thank you so much."

A loud groan came from the back row.

Shen Jingque knew who it was without even turning around.

Wang Jichuan.

They really do say that enemies often meet on a narrow road.

She only found out on her second day of school that the boy with the missing tooth was actually Wang Huaijin's grandson and Wang Changhe's nephew.

Ever since she learned his identity, every time Shen Jingque looked at him, she felt that four big characters were written between his dark teeth.

An inherited trait of being disliked.

However, she also promised her father that the first principle of studying at the academy was to avoid causing trouble if possible.

Master Cen stepped into the lecture hall and began his lecture. Today's topic was the Analects.

Confucius said, “Women and petty men are the most difficult to deal with. If you get too close to them, they become disrespectful; if you keep them at a distance, they resent you.”

"Do any of you have any insights into this sentence?"

Shen Jingque was certainly not a good student who actively answered questions; she just kept her head down and pretended to be flipping through a book.

A voice came from the back row.

"The students believe that the words of the sages are the most reasonable, and that women are by nature impulsive, unreasonable, and not good at studying, which is why they are said to be difficult to raise."

Whispers filled the classroom.

He paused, then changed the subject, his gaze sweeping brightly towards Shen Jingque, Xu Wanying, and the other female students.

"In the students' opinion, some people should be at home learning needlework and embroidery, but they insist on coming to study with us men, wasting the academy's spots."

Shen Jingque:?

No, bro.

Instead of studying properly, you're just creating conflict, aren't you?

Xu Wanying, who was sitting in front of Shen Jingque, turned her head, her round face full of urge to punch someone, but Shen Jingque pressed her down.

Master Cen frowned slightly. "Wang Jichuan, when discussing scholarship and philosophy, one should not involve classmates."

Wang Jichuan cupped his hands and said, "Master, please forgive me. I was merely stating the facts."

Shen Jingque raised her hand.

Master Cen glanced at her and nodded.

"Shen Jingque, you tell us."

Shen Jingque said, "Master, I think there's a big problem with Wang's understanding."

Wang Jichuan scoffed, "I'm interpreting it according to the sage's original text, what's the problem?"

Shen Jingque: "The word 'woman' here should be understood as a pampered concubine, an evaluation of a specific type of person, not a general term for all women in the world."

"Taking things out of context and attributing them to all women is probably not the sage's original intention."

The schoolroom suddenly became noisy.

One student whispered, "Is that how it can be interpreted?"

Another person chimed in quietly, "I've also heard my elders mention that in ancient books, the term for a woman should be '汝子,' which means 'you all.'"

Wang Jichuan's face darkened.

"As a woman, you should naturally defend women."

"The sage clearly wrote the word 'woman,' how can you still call black white?"

Shen Jingque looked at his missing front tooth and held back her laughter.

"Wang Jichuan, when reading, you must connect the text with the context and consider the linguistic context."

"If you see a book that says 'a gentleman is not a vessel,' do you really interpret a gentleman as something like pots and pans?"

Someone in the front row chuckled.

Xu Wanying lay on the table, her shoulders shaking.

Wang Jichuan's face flushed red. "Stop making trouble."

Shen Jingque glanced at him. "It was the teacher who asked everyone to express their opinions. How come yours is considered a personal opinion, while my opinion is just sophistry?"

Wang Jichuan gritted his teeth, "Because every word you utter is sophistry! Women are inherently less likely to achieve great things. Throughout history, how many women have governed and brought peace to their countries?"

Shen Jingque looked up at him.

"Let's not talk about anything too far ahead."

"The current dynasty's Princess Zhenguo guarded the border for more than ten years, commanding a large army to protect the people of Dayong and ensure their peaceful and prosperous lives."

"So, according to you, the Eldest Princess is also one of those difficult women you described?"

The classroom fell silent.

The achievements of the eldest princess are a fact that no one in the court can ignore.

No one dared to say that the eldest princess was only fit to stay at home and embroider.

Wang Jichuan held back for a long time, then retorted, "What kind of skill is it to use the Eldest Princess to intimidate others? That's an exception!"

"When it comes to reading and learning, women are inferior to men."

Just as Shen Jingque was about to speak, He Lanqing stood up beside her, "This...this claim is completely unfounded."

Whenever he spoke, Wang Jichuan would habitually mimic and mock him.

"This, this, this...is this some kind of 'dharma'?"

This time, He Lanqing remained calm and composed, expressing herself clearly.

"There were no female scholars because women were prohibited from participating in scientific expeditions, not because women were incapable of learning."

"How can we determine who is better before they've even competed?"

"If women are not allowed to pursue education, yet people are mocked for being unlearned."

"Isn't this...isn't this the talk of a robber?"

Shen Jingque applauded him wildly in her heart.

it is good.

Although the future censor's speech is still a bit slurred, his logic is clear and his ability to analyze issues dialectically far surpasses that of his peers.

Wang Jichuan couldn't think of a rebuttal to Helan Qing's words, his face turning as red as a ripe persimmon. "You, you, you..."

Master Cen raised his hand, stopping the argument.

He stroked his beard, his gaze sweeping over the group of people, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke.

"Just now, the students each had their own arguments and their own reasons."

"Since that's the case, let's set out a lesson today."

Write an essay on the topic of this sentence.

"One must cite classical texts and evidence, and not just make empty claims."

"Return the lesson plan to me after class tomorrow."

A low wail suddenly filled the school.

Shen Jingque also wore a pained expression.

Seriously? An argument turned into an essay?

That's such a huge loss.

After class, Xu Wanying grabbed Shen Jingque's shoulder, her face flushed with excitement.

"Little Sparrow, you're amazing!"

Shen Jingque looked like she was about to cry.

Xu Wanying exclaimed in alarm, "Little Sparrow, what's wrong?"

"Yingying... Yingying, my shoulder is going to break."

Xu Wanying quickly let go and chuckled.

"I'm just happy. You made that guy with the missing tooth so speechless."

Shen Jingque rubbed her shoulder, which was still sore from being pinched, and asked, "By the way, how do you plan to write that article tomorrow?"

Xu Wanying's smile froze on her face, and she scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

"I don't know. My dad said my handwriting is uglier than a chicken scratch."

Shen Jingque took a deep breath.

What a coincidence, she's the same.

The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously turned their gaze to Helan Qing.

Helan Qing shuddered: Huh? Me?