RPAGF Chapter 521 Ordinary Woman
Chapter 521 Ordinary Woman
The carriage slowly drove into the most prosperous street in Suzhou.
This is Zhongjie, which is divided into four urban areas with Zhongjie as the center.
There are shops lining both sides of the street, and the wine shops and teahouses are packed with guests, making it very lively.
The people of Suzhou are open-minded, and there are quite a few women on the streets. Some of them even argue with scholars in teahouses, which is quite interesting.
"Pull the carriage to the side and let us get off and take a walk." Shen Sui'an ordered.
If you want to understand a place, you have to start from the teahouses and restaurants where people come and go.
"Princess, the prince has fallen asleep." Ningshuang said in a low voice.
Chaoger, who was lively and noisy the moment before, is now sleeping like a piglet in his wet nurse's arms.
"Send him back to the palace first. Ningshuang and Fuqiu will accompany me." Shen Suian waved his hand and asked others to send Chao Ge'er back first.
Anyway, it’s not far from here to the palace.
Shen Suian was only wearing a half-worn light gray and purple long skirt with a dark lotus pattern today. There was no sign that she was the Regent Princess. Others just thought she was an ordinary woman who came out to drink tea and have fun.
"Madam, this way." Ningshuang found a seat by the window so that she could hear the discussions of the students around her while avoiding the attention of others.
"Have you heard? Our Suzhou is already the fiefdom of the Regent. Now that the Regent has arrived, we don't know whether the policies and orders of Suzhou will be changed." A student said worriedly.
"The regent was raised as a bastard in the Yong Dynasty. He must be shallow-minded and narrow-minded. How can he govern Suzhou? I think he should just be a rich and noble prince here and not issue any decrees casually."
"You are so brave to say such words."
"That's right, I'm not afraid of being beheaded."
"Don't forget, the Regent is also the Commander of the Pacification Bureau. You know what the Pacification Bureau does, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the students who had just been discussing the regent's lack of knowledge all changed their expressions.
"We are just having a normal debate and we are not slandering each other. If the regent cannot even tolerate our words, how can he govern Suzhou?"
"We Suzhou people are frank and straightforward. We can't learn from those people in the royal capital who are pedantic and say half the same thing."
A clear and pleasant voice sounded. Although the other party deliberately suppressed his throat, it was still possible to tell that the person speaking was a woman.
Shen Sui'an glanced over and saw that the person who was speaking was a young man wearing a crescent-shaped white scholar's uniform, apparently a girl dressed as a boy. She sat among the students, holding a fan in one hand and talking freely.
"Brother Li Chu, what you said makes sense. We are students of Suzhou Academy. In student debates, we can say anything."
"Then tell me, what will be the biggest impact of the Regent coming to Suzhou?" Li Chu held the teacup in his hand but did not move.
"What else could it be? The Regent hasn't arrived yet, and our Eagle Bay is almost being razed to the ground. I'm afraid there will be big changes in the future."
Li Chu smiled and said, "The Suzhou government has always been run by the noble families who recommended their children. Since Suzhou became the fiefdom of the regent, the important management has been appointed by the cabinet. Is there still a position for the children of the Suzhou noble families?"
“If the Regent wants to change the policy, it may be difficult for us to serve the court in the future.” Li Chu said with a smile.
"Why?" Shen Sui'an asked with a smile.
"You are all well-read scholars. If you cannot be recommended by the nobles to become officials, then you can take the imperial examination. Could it be that you enjoy resources that the children of poor families do not have, but you cannot even pass the imperial examination as well as them?"
When everyone heard this, they all turned their heads to look in the direction of Shen Sui'an.
Li Chu frowned, "Who is the madam?"
"I'm just an ordinary woman. I came here to have a cup of tea. I heard you all talking and couldn't help but interrupt you. It's not right, so you don't have to take it to heart." Shen Suian smiled faintly.
She didn't go to see the woman named Li Chu.
If the woman's words had not been so obviously provocative, she would definitely not have opened her mouth to refute.
In the Southern Dynasties, the status difference between the aristocracy and the common people was very large. The previous emperor was determined to abolish the aristocratic recommendation system and did not want the royal family to be controlled by the aristocracy, so he implemented the imperial examination system.
However, the imperial examination system had not yet been perfected, and there were still very few common people who could take part in the examination.
But the imperial examination system already exists and will sooner or later replace the aristocratic recommendation system.
Li Chu suddenly brought up this topic and involved Fu Jinyuan in an attempt to sow discord between the students and Fu Jinyuan.
"Hmph, we have had good teachers teaching us since we were young. How can we be compared to the poor boys? Even in the imperial examinations, we can still do better than them." Someone snorted.
Shen Sui'an smiled, "This is the confidence of a child of an aristocratic family."
"I'm thirsty now. Bye." Shen Sui'an didn't want to say more to them. He put down his teacup and stood up to say goodbye.
Li Chu asked his followers to stop Shen Sui'an.
Her follower was also a servant dressed as a maid. How could he be a match for Fuqiu? He was so painful that his face turned pale after being twisted slightly.
Shen Sui'an gave Li Chu a faint smile and walked away.
"Sir, her maid is a martial artist." Li Chu's maid whispered.
"He looks unfamiliar. He is not from Suzhou." Li Chu's face turned grim after vaguely guessing Shen Sui'an's identity.
"walk home."
Shen Sui'an, who was in the carriage, watched Li Chu come out of the teahouse angrily and said calmly, "Let someone check her identity."
"Princess, the students from Suzhou are so bold that they dare to criticize the prince in public." Ningshuang said.
If the princess hadn't stopped her, she would have torn the mouths of those scholars apart.
Shen Sui'an said, "Those who can study in Suzhou Academy are all children of officials from several generations, and they are never afraid of debate."
The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, which makes them speak without restraint.
"What the guy named Li Chu said just now was definitely not accidental. He was trying to instigate us with his words." Shen Suian frowned. Fu Jinyuan had never offended the nobles in Suzhou.
Who is so hostile to her?
Shen Suian returned to the palace. Fu Jinyuan was lying in a rocking chair holding his son. Chao Ge'er was standing on his legs, rocking with the rocking chair.
Chao Ge'er called out to his mother incoherently.
"Good son." Shen Sui'an kissed him on the cheek.
Fu Jinyuan raised his eyebrows and looked at her sullenly.
Shen Sui'an's cheeks were slightly hot, and he quickly kissed the corner of his lips, "You still think you are Chao Ge'er."
"Naturally, I am closer to you." Fu Jinyuan said with satisfaction.
"Did everything go well today?" Shen Sui'an asked with a smile.
Fu Jinyuan: "The road ahead is long and arduous, and the Suzhou clan is a bit troublesome."
Shen Sui'an said, "What a coincidence. I also heard a debate in the teahouse today. It was related to the aristocratic families."
"What do you mean?" Fu Jinyuan sat up straight.
Shen Sui'an told him about the conversation between the scholars, "...This Li Chu is a girl. I'm curious about where she comes from."
"The late emperor did a lot of stupid things, but the only right thing he did was to promote the imperial examination system," Fu Jinyuan said slowly.
Unfortunately, the determination to promote the imperial examination system was not firm enough and was selfish, so it did not succeed.