Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Chapter 350 Girls Who Want to Change Their Fate

A spring breeze swept through the garden, and pink and white apricot blossoms fluttered down, adding a touch of poetry to this gathering of young ladies.

Lin Chuying felt the burning gazes of her sisters, her cheeks flushed slightly, and her slender fingers unconsciously twisted her handkerchief.

"Stop staring at me!"

Her voice was soft, but her gaze was firm as she met the crowd's eyes.

"This Miss Shi has been personally appointed by His Majesty and is seeking insightful individuals to jointly build a new government office."

"I've been struggling to find a suitable candidate lately, so I called a few of my girlfriends over to ask if anyone has any recommendations."

Before the words were even finished, Princess Ninghua had already come running over, lifting her skirt, the gold-embroidered butterfly pattern shimmering in the sunlight.

The sixteen-year-old princess's eyes gleamed with an unusual light, and her voice was several decibels higher than usual: "Sister-in-law, I want to go!"

She turned to Shi Wanxia and, disregarding etiquette, grabbed the other woman's wrist.

"Lord Shi, although I am a princess, I admire you from the bottom of my heart! I also want to become someone like you who serves the country and its people!"

Shi Wanxia was slightly taken aback. Today, she was wearing an indigo official robe, which made her stand out among the group of elegantly dressed young ladies.

Looking at the blushing girl before her, she suddenly recalled herself when she first entered the capital—she too had knelt before the emperor, desperately pleading for a chance to prove her feminine talents.

"Your Highness,"

Shi Wanxia gently withdrew her hand and took out a stack of plain paper from her sleeve. "Then let me test your math skills first."

Princess Ninghua's radiance dimmed slightly. She bit her lower lip, her fingers unconsciously stroking the jade pendant at her waist—a gift from her father at her coming-of-age ceremony last year, engraved with the four characters "Shu Shen Xian Ming" (meaning "virtuous, prudent, and wise"), as if reminding her of her duties as a princess.

At the stone table not far away, Cui Yashu gently put down her teacup.

As the daughter of the Cui family of Qinghe, she studied the "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" with her third uncle from a young age and was particularly proficient in accounting.

She noticed Shi Wanxia's gaze sweeping over everyone present, and immediately straightened her back.

Ladies,

Shi Wanxia raised her voice, "I have a few questions here. Whoever can solve them, I will recommend her to His Majesty first."

This sentence is like a pebble thrown into a still lake, creating ripples.

The young ladies who had been admiring the flowers in the distance gathered around, and even the usually reserved Wang Shiwan, the eldest daughter of the Wang family, quickly approached, her skirt brushing against the fallen flowers without her noticing.

As summer drew to a close, three sheets of Xuan paper were laid out. The brush was dipped in ink, and with a light flick of the wrist, three questions appeared on the paper:

"Firstly, three women returning home at a time: There are three women. The eldest returns home every five days, the second every four days, and the youngest every three days. When will the three women meet again?"

"Secondly, the mountain-sealing and surrounding plank roads: there are currently 325 li of mountain-sealing and surrounding plank roads..."

Thirdly, three people are on night duty: the inner camp is now 720 paces in circumference...

As soon as the last stroke was made, Princess Ninghua stamped her foot in frustration: "This, this question..."

She had studied "Admonitions for Women" and "Inner Teachings" since childhood; how could she have ever been exposed to such mathematics?

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Cui Yashu's eyes lit up, and she immediately took the counting rods from the maid and started fiddling with them on the ground.

Her technique was skillful; the ebony counting rods made a crisp clinking sound on the bluestone slab.

Her third uncle had said that for this type of problem, you need to find the least common multiple... She did some mental calculations for a moment and wrote down the word "sixty" on the paper.

Wang Shiwan took a different approach.

She picked up an apricot branch and drew three concentric circles on the muddy ground, labeling them "five, four, and three" respectively.

Then, by connecting the intersections with tree branches, the problem was solved using a diagrammatic method.

The falling petals drifted onto her dark blue hair, but she was completely unaware.

The other young ladies were either squatting or kneeling, some biting their handkerchiefs in deep thought, others discussing in hushed tones.

Li Yuan, the daughter of a high-ranking official who usually pays the most attention to her appearance, even sat directly on the stone steps, not caring that her skirt was covered in dust.

Princess Ninghua looked at everyone and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

She took off the gold hairpin from her hair and carved five, four, and three marks on the stone slab. Then, using the hairpin as a ruler, she looked for common points.

Although the method was clumsy, it allowed her to vaguely grasp the key points.

"Princess..."

The personal maid whispered a reminder, "This is against the rules..."

"rule?"

Ning Hua smiled wryly, pointing to the towering palace walls in the distance.

"How many 'rules' are there in there, turning living, breathing people into puppets?"

Her voice was very soft, but it sent a jolt through Shi Wanxia's heart.

Cui Yashu was the first to hand in her paper, with neat and rigorous answers; Wang Shiwan followed closely behind, with a novel and unique solution.

Surprisingly, Princess Ninghua also wrote the correct answer, albeit in a crooked and messy manner.

Shi Wanxia examined them one by one, and had already made up her mind. She looked up at the faces that were either expectant or apprehensive, and suddenly bowed deeply: "You ladies have impressed me greatly today."

“I originally thought…” she paused, “I originally thought that women confined to their chambers were mostly confined to poetry, books, and needlework, but I never imagined they possessed such talent.”

Tears welled up in Lin Chuying's eyes.

She recalled the time she was punished by her mother for secretly reading her brother's math books, and her father's words, "A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent," whenever she expressed her political views.

"Lord Shi,"

Cui Yashu suddenly stepped forward.

"The Cui family library in Qinghe contains complete copies of the *Zhoubi Suanjing* and the *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*. If the new government office needs them..."

Her voice trembled slightly, but she continued firmly, "I'm willing to give it all."

Wang Shiwan also stepped forward: "Although I am not good at mathematics, I am good at drawing and record-keeping. If the new government office needs to compile documents..."

"I...I don't know many words,"

Princess Ninghua was so anxious she was incoherent, "But I can learn! Really!"

Looking at the light in the eyes of these women, Shi Wanxia seemed to see the hope for the future of women in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

She took a deep breath: "Sisters, I know that none of you want to be bound by your gender or identity, and you want to prove that women are no less capable than men."

"Alright then! It's already late today. Tomorrow morning I will be waiting in my residence for the young lady who is willing to serve the country and the people, who is willing to seek the well-being of all people, and who is willing to bear the infamy and suffering."

"If your family does not agree to you coming out, then I will announce that tomorrow, whether you are a noble lady or a commoner, you can come to my residence to be tested by me."

"Once approved, I will recommend him in court to serve as an official in the Ministry of Finance."

A murmur rippled through the crowd. Lin Chuying's fan fell to the ground with a thud.

"The new government office needs women with diverse talents."

Shi Wanxia's gaze was intense.

"Miss Cui is skilled in calculation, Miss Wang is good at drawing, and Her Highness the Princess... has perseverance that surpasses that of ordinary people."

"As for the other girls..." she glanced around, "those who dared to stand up today are already extraordinary."

The garden suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of the wind blowing the falling flowers.

Princess Ninghua's tears finally fell, but they reflected a rainbow-like brilliance in the sunlight.

She recalled her mother's words: "Women are born to be pawns in political marriages."

But at this moment, she seemed to have touched the edge of the chessboard and seen the possibility of becoming a player.