Since learning the news of Xuanzhi's death, Shen Yuning had actually pulled herself together. Whenever she had free time, she would go to the Supreme Court to find Xue Yusong and inquire about the matter of women being able to establish their own female households independently.
This former brother - sister pair actually had very similar personalities. Although Xue Yusong remained skeptical in front of Yuning, once he took on a task, he would surely strive to do it well.
He sought out his well - connected colleagues in the court and ran around everywhere for this matter. However, those who agreed with and understood him were extremely rare.
Second Brother Chen got the news and came to find Xue Yusong on his own initiative. "I know you feel sorry for Yuning, but you should also persuade her properly. She has been granted the title of Rural Lady by the Emperor and has independently established a female household. This is already an exception. How many ordinary women have her capabilities and opportunities? We can't grant exceptions to everyone."
Xue Yusong shook his head. "I'm not doing this for Yuning. Instead, she has convinced me. Wenpo, have you ever read the case files of those women? They are burdened by the secular world, and their lives are like those of livestock. Even though we were born into noble families, among noblewomen, where upbringing is highly regarded, there are still cases of abandoning daughters."
He sighed sadly and continued, "You say Yuning is an exception, but there are not just a few pitiful women in the folk. There are actually a great many of them. In order to investigate Miss Cen's case, I visited various places for a full four months. I truly saw how pitiful, ignorant, and helpless the women in the folk are. If we can really legislate for them, then Yuning's case of establishing a female household independently won't be an exception anymore."
Chen Wenpo was stunned for a long time, then patted his friend on the shoulder. "Your plan is to persuade the court officials to jointly petition for women?"
Xue Yusong nodded. "I used to think that the matter of compiling the code should be the responsibility of your Ministry of Justice. I specifically went to find Minister Li, but he always made excuses about being busy and was never available. I plan to..."
Chen Wenpo interrupted him with a half - smile. "Do you really not know or are you pretending not to know? Minister Li was so scared by you that he didn't even dare to go home. He has complained in the ministry several times. Moreover, Minister Li is the most rigid and inflexible person. How could he listen to your advice and legislate specifically for women in the folk?"
Xue Yusong spread his hands helplessly. "I know, but as long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will do it. During the three months I visited the Northeast, I heard so much about the livelihood of the people. I realized how much Yuning had done in the folk. Only then did I discover that we, as officials, are actually not as good as a woman."
"Hey." Chen Wenpo waved his fan in the distance. "Your words seem to show some disregard for women. Moreover, Yuning's intelligence is not comparable to that of ordinary people."
It was a joking remark, but Xue Yusong was not in the mood for joking.
Chen Wenpo put his arm around Xue Yusong's shoulder. "Don't even think about those old fools in the Ministry of Justice. After the court meeting tomorrow, I'll go with you to have an audience with the Emperor. If this matter is to succeed, we still have to pass the Emperor's approval."
"You just seemed to be trying to persuade me not to interfere in this matter. Why? Have you been convinced by me?"
Chen Wenpo pouted. "Although I haven't seen those things with my own eyes like you, I've read quite a few case files since I was a child. In addition, when my younger brother served as a county magistrate a few years ago, he often mentioned these things in his letters. Sometimes I also sigh that the code is not only to ensure that every case has laws to follow, but more importantly, to solve the problems of the people's livelihood. People are constantly progressing in their lives. How much more should there be changes during the dynasties that have passed for hundreds of years?"
In the evening of the next day, Xue Yusong rushed to Yuning's residence and personally told her that the Emperor wanted her to go and present her petition the next day.
Shen Yuning was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Does the heir mean that it's a success?"
Xue Yusong spread his hands helplessly. "How could it be a success? The court is full of stubborn old officials who won't give in at all. Your Second Brother Chen and I racked our brains in front of the Emperor. Finally, we managed to persuade the Emperor to change his tune and agree to see you."
Shen Yuning's eyes curved into a smile. "Thank you, big brother."
Xue Yusong glanced at her. "You used to always call me the heir. After all these days of running around, I finally heard you call me big brother like when we were kids."
The next day, Shen Yuning changed into the proper clothing of a Rural Lady and took a carriage all the way to the palace gate. Then an imperial eunuch led her inside.
She had entered the palace quite a few times when she was a child, so she didn't feel too restricted. However, she had not walked far into the palace when she saw Chen Wenwei following up.
Shen Yuning saluted him. "Lord Chen."
Chen Wenwei returned the salute with a smile. "Lady Shen."
Chen Wenwei was now a Langzhong in the Ministry of Revenue, and the Emperor valued him very much. It seemed that he was even more favored than his older brother Chen Wenpo.
What surprised Shen Yuning was that the Emperor had summoned her today. Why was Chen Wenwei also summoned? After the war ended, Chen Wenwei didn't have many tasks. Could it be that there was something important in the area under his jurisdiction?
After having an audience with the Emperor, Shen Yuning found that Xue Yusong and Chen Wenpo were also there. She was a bit stunned, but then she was happy. The Emperor's action meant that he attached importance to this matter. Did it mean that there was hope for the legislation in the Great Zhou Dynasty allowing women to establish their own female households independently?
However, after Shen Yuning knelt down and kowtowed, the Emperor told her to rise but only let her wait on one side without allowing her to speak. Instead, he asked the other three, Xue Yusong and the others, about other matters.
Xue Yusong discussed the major cases of this year. Besides Miss Cen's case, there were also several major cases from various places. The three judicial departments had been busy with these cases recently.
Chen Wenpo provided supplementary explanations and detailed these cases. There was also a serious problem of tiger infestations in the Sichuan - Shaanxi area, which was really annoying.
Finally, Chen Wenwei detailed the current situation of the people's livelihood in the Lingcheng jurisdiction.
They discussed for a full half an hour. Then the Emperor looked up at Shen Yuning. "Yuning girl, after hearing all this, do you have any insights?"
Shen Yuning quickly knelt down again. "Your Majesty attends to numerous state affairs every day, and there are countless matters, big and small. Your Majesty's diligence is truly a blessing for the Great Zhou..."
"Enough!" The Emperor interrupted her flattery. "I let you listen to these things to tell you that although the external threats to the Great Zhou are about to be eliminated, there are constant internal troubles. With so many matters still unclear, you still come to cause me trouble?"
Shen Yuning looked up at the majestic Emperor, then lowered her head and gritted her teeth. "This commoner girl thinks that Your Majesty's words are incorrect."
The imperial eunuch beside them gasped. Although the Emperor was amiable, the only person who dared to directly say that the Emperor was wrong was Miss Shen... no, Lady Shen.
The Emperor looked at Shen Yuning curiously. Perhaps because he was too busy with government affairs and it was rare to have such a bold and interesting little girl to talk to, he asked, "Tell me, where am I wrong?"
Shen Yuning quickly said, "Your Majesty is not wrong. It's just that Your Majesty said that this commoner girl is causing you trouble. I feel very innocent. Although there are countless matters, big and small, in the folk, and it's impossible to sort them all out, aren't there so many officials in the court just for the purpose of sorting out these matters? Each department and each division should perform their respective duties and share the burden for Your Majesty and the people."
Seeing that she didn't have any particularly special viewpoints, the Emperor nodded lazily and gave a vague response.
Shen Yuning continued boldly, "However, if there is a mistake at the source, it will be difficult to handle the subsequent matters, which will only increase the burden on the officials of each department. For example, the laws regarding women in our Great Zhou are unreasonable and imperfect. Women are also human beings. In ancient times, when Pangu created the world, there was also Nüwa mending the sky. If there were no women in the world, where would there be men? But the current laws seem to imply that women are born low - class and are restricted everywhere. If women can establish their own female households independently and don't have to rely solely on being born into a family with a conscience, that will be their true liberation."
The Emperor remained silent.
Chen Wenwei immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I second this. Over the years, in order to collect military rations, I have traveled all over the Great Zhou and have seen the situations in various places. Since women are considered low - class from birth, many families are not willing to have daughters. It's very common for those who can't afford to raise them to drown the baby girls as soon as they are born. Even if they don't kill or abandon them, the girls are made to work like cattle and horses from a young age. When they grow up, they are sold for a bride price. Your Majesty, it is precisely because of this that women are born without hope, resulting in fewer and fewer women in the Great Zhou now."
After saying that, he took out a scroll from his sleeve, knelt down, and slowly unfurled it. There were densely written words on it.
Even Shen Yuning was stunned. She didn't expect that Chen Wenwei had made such full preparations today.
The Emperor squinted his eyes and couldn't see clearly. He just asked, "What is this?"
Chen Wenwei said, "Your Majesty, this is the statistics of the male and female household registrations that I have compiled based on the household certificates sent by each prefecture and county in the past two months. Most of the statistics have been completed. Although the situations vary in different places, generally, there are more men and fewer women. Your Majesty, in the past few years, due to frequent wars, the number of male population has already decreased sharply. There should be fewer men and more women."
The Emperor motioned for Father Wu to take the scroll. Chen Wenwei was very meticulous. He had drawn a map of the Great Zhou and marked the number of men and women in each prefecture and county. Some were even detailed to each township.
Normally, one didn't notice it. But now, when looking at it like this, it was really shocking.
Chen Wenwei continued, "Your Majesty, in many poor townships and counties in the Great Zhou now, men can't even marry wives. In the more prosperous areas, they still have to rely on a large bride price to buy a wife. If this continues, the population will only decrease."
After Shen Yuning and Chen Wenwei finished presenting their petitions, the Emperor sat on the chair and didn't say a word for a long time. Finally, he waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
After leaving the palace, Shen Yuning whispered, "Is today's matter a success?"
Chen Wenwei looked at her with gentle eyes. "Don't worry, Sister Yuning. We have done our best. Whether it will succeed depends on the Emperor and the court officials. But I think that as long as we make a breakthrough in this matter, it will surely succeed one day."
Shen Yuning nodded. She was not a person who was eager for quick success. The law that made women dependent on men was a long - standing problem. It would not be eliminated overnight. As long as there were people willing to work hard, there would be a day of success.
She looked up and saw Zhu Bin and Zidu standing not far from them.
When Zhu Bin saw them looking over, he walked over and saluted one by one.
Shen Yuning smiled. "May you two gentlemen be well."
However, these two gentlemen seemed a bit strange today. Zhu Bin just grinned stupidly at Xue Yusong and his words didn't make much sense. Zidu just returned the salute briefly, with his lips tightly pursed, looking as if someone owed him money.
After saluting, Chen Wenwei motioned for Shen Yuning to get on the carriage with him. "Sister Yuning, I'm free today. Let me take you home first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zidu lifted his long leg and stepped in between them. His tightly pursed lips showed even more displeasure. He turned his head to look at Chen Wenwei. The upper half of his face covered by the mask made it hard to see his features, but it made people feel that he was frowning.
"Isn't this inappropriate, Young Master Chen? After all, Lady Shen is a young lady. Don't you know the principle that boys and girls should be separated after the age of seven?"