"This is...!"
Yuan Zhao walked silently into her room and lit a candle. The room was immediately filled with light, allowing Shen Qing to see more clearly.
Previously, the room had been dim. The wall - full of precepts and teachings for women hadn't seemed so overwhelming then. Now, with the candle lit, Shen Qing could truly sense how oppressive and suffocating it was.
Apart from Yuan Zhao's small bed, there was only a simple desk and a stool in the room. On the other two walls, there were bookcases that reached up to the beams.
All the books in society were about women's virtues, such as *Admonitions for Women*, *Inner Training*, and *Rules of Women's Virtue*. They were all books that disciplined women.
Moreover, all the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls were of loyal wild geese and words written by the emperor himself.
Each piece of calligraphy was filled with words like "chastity", "heroic woman", and "widowhood".
Yuan Zhao held the candle and scanned each of the books and calligraphy paintings. Her face was numb.
"Shen Qing... Is it also so harsh on women in the Nine Desolation Continent?"
"Women are required to be chaste. If they lose their virginity, they are expected to kill themselves. If a woman is just touched by a man, she is regarded as a slut and will be despised."
"Do you know? These things are in front of me every day. It's as if the emperor is reminding me why my mother died, how much he cared about this and how much he despised my mother!"
"Shen Qing, these things weigh on my heart. I can hardly breathe. What should I do?"
Yuan Zhao stood helplessly in the middle of the room, tears falling like a puppet. Behind her were those suffocating shackles.
Shen Qing was deeply shocked and understood why Yuan Zhao acted so extremely.
Yuan Zhao was not wrong, nor was her mother. The mistake lay in the oppression and discrimination against women in this world.
The so - called "obeying the father at home, the husband after marriage, and the son after the husband's death" was just an attempt to turn women into mindless dolls, making them willing to be trapped in a small courtyard, becoming delicate caged birds or concubines whose only goal in life was to please others.
Yuan Zhao's small body trembled. The gorgeous dress and ornaments she was wearing now seemed like the shackles in a prison, weighing her down.
Sympathy welled up in Shen Qing's eyes, not only for Yuan Zhao's experience but also for all the women in this world.
Shen Qing slowly stepped forward, opened her arms and hugged Yuan Zhao. Yuan Zhao, a small figure, obediently nestled in Shen Qing's arms, her eyes closed as she trembled and cried.
Like soothing a child, Shen Qing gently patted Yuan Zhao's back and said slowly, "None of this is your fault, and your mother is not wrong either."
"I know you want to change all this and pave a bright path for women in this world. But if you are too radical, you may sacrifice yourself. If you can't even protect yourself, how can you protect other women?"
"In the Nine Desolation Continent, the strong are respected, while here, it's power and money. Yuan Zhao, I know you have great ambitions. If the path you choose is just, I believe there will be people to help you."
Yuan Zhao sniffled twice, looked up at Shen Qing with tear - filled eyes, "The path I'm walking is so difficult. Wuwuwu... You don't know how scared I am..."
"It's so hard for me, aaaaaa!"
Suddenly, Yuan Zhao burst into tears, as if releasing all the grievances she had endured over the years.
This was the real Yuan Zhao. She had no mask of pretense, no forced smile. She just let her emotions out freely.
A glint flashed in Shen Qing's eyes. As if thinking of something, she flipped her wrist, and Wu Wang appeared in her hand.
Then, she stuffed Wu Wang into Yuan Zhao's hand and let her hold the sword.
Yuan Zhao stared blankly at the sword, then at Shen Qing, "What does this mean?"
A smile curved on Shen Qing's lips, "Didn't you ask if it's also so harsh on women in the Nine Desolation Continent?"
"Now I tell you, when the sword is in your own hand, whether to draw it or not depends entirely on your own will. If you encounter injustice or have shackles on you, break them with your own strength."
"Just like these things in front of you," Shen Qing said, raising Yuan Zhao's hand and pointing the sword at the books on the bookshelf.
Yuan Zhao's eyes lit up little by little. Looking at the delicate yet heavy sword in her hand, for the first time, she felt as if some emotion was about to burst out of her heart.
"Can I do it? Will this sword in my hand listen to me?"
Yuan Zhao turned around, with a hint of disbelief, but the eagerness in her eyes betrayed her current mood.
Shen Qing nodded seriously, "Whether it's my sword or someone else's, as long as you can use it, control it, utilize it to cut off your own shackles and carve out a way for yourself!"
Hearing this, Yuan Zhao pulled out a big smile. Her round almond eyes were now filled with starlight.
"Okay! Then let me start. I'll cut off all the shackles on women in this world!!"
After saying that, Yuan Zhao struggled to lift the sword and walked towards her bookshelf. The books that she had always feared and avoided over the years now seemed so weak and vulnerable in front of her with the sword in her hand.
She waved the sword and struck the books. The chopped - off books fell to the ground one after another, turning into useless fragments.
With this strike, Yuan Zhao felt extremely exhilarated. The second and third strikes were even smoother.
The books turned into pieces, scattered in the air and on the ground. The mountain that had been weighing on Yuan Zhao finally began to move away as the books were broken.
"Die, die!!"
"What male superiority, women should be submissive and gentle!! It's all bullshit, bullshit!! I can ride a horse, shoot an arrow, and give advice on state affairs. I can't be gentle at all!!"
"What's wrong with me writing policy papers? What's wrong with me caring about the hardships of the people! Why do I have to stay in the boudoir embroidering and studying how to please men!"
"I just like to eat braised pork and pork with preserved vegetables. So what if I gain weight? I'm happy! I don't want to eat only porridge and cabbage every day to maintain that useless slender figure!!"
"Why can women only be used for bearing children, but not participate in politics or business, or show themselves in public? I must tell those men who look down on women that I can do it too!!"
Yuan Zhao's face was full of exhilaration. Shen Qing watched Yuan Zhao's small figure behind her, wielding Wu Wang powerfully.
Moreover, because of the bond with Wu Wang, Shen Qing could clearly feel that Wu Wang was also very happy at this moment.
Infected by Yuan Zhao, Shen Qing couldn't help but clench her fist and cheer for Yuan Zhao, "Good job, Yuan Zhao. Cut them into smaller pieces. Cut all these useless things off!!"
"Okay!! I'll cut all these things off!!"
One was waving the sword to chop the books into pieces, and the other was watching and cheering. For a moment, the small courtyard was full of vitality.
It was not until more than half an hour later that Shen Qing and Yuan Zhao lay on the ground full of fragments and smiled at each other.