Back in the main courtyard, Zhulan took the list from her eldest son, and then there was a moment of silence. Girls' names are really simple. Names like Li Sanya's are too common. Names are given according to the ranking in the family. Even if there are literate elders in the family, unless the younger generation is a girl they particularly like, most names are very casual, like code names. To put it bluntly, they don't value girls, and subconsciously believe that girls will belong to other families after they get married.
Boss Zhou asked, "Mom, are you unhappy?"
"No."
Seeing that his mother was still looking at the list, Zhou Laoda said, "The parents of these children asked if you could change their names before they can enroll."
Zhulan felt better, "Okay."
Seeing that his mother looked tired, Boss Zhou stood up and said, "Mom, you should rest first."
"good."
Zhulan lay down for less than half an hour, changed her clothes and washed up, then glanced at the clock and saw that she still had an hour to leave the government office.
Qingxue came over to help comb her hair, "Madam, I have already asked about Miss Wei."
Zhulan looked at herself in the mirror. She looked old and her eyelids were droopy. If she wasn't fat, she would look even older. "What did you find out?"
Qingxue held the comb in her hand, staring at the white hair, and then looked away. "Miss Wei has a good relationship with her two sisters-in-law, and her nephews and nieces are also close to her. Miss Wei also has a dog. She has raised it for five years and takes the dog for a walk every day."
Her good relationship with her brother and sister-in-law shows that Miss Wei has a good personality, likes children, and is loyal.
Some people who raise animals only like them when they are cute when they are young, but they don’t like them anymore when they grow up.
Zhulan asked, "What do you think?"
Qingxue had already combed her hair, "Miss Wei is fine."
Both his temperament and character are good.
Just as Zhulan was about to continue speaking, Changzhong came back with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, "Mom, do you think the flowers are beautiful?"
"It's pretty. Where is it from?"
Chang Zhong said: "I bought it at a foreign flower shop. There were many cut flower branches in the shop, so I picked some and made a bunch."
Zhulan touched the brown paper and said, "It's wrapped very nicely."
"My son made them himself. I heard that foreign merchants rented several farms in the suburbs of Beijing to grow and sell flowers. They opened today and many women came to buy flowers."
Zhulan smelled the fragrance of the flowers and thought to herself that it was almost the same as in a modern flower shop. "Go get a vase from the shelf."
"good."
Zhulan stood up and walked to the small table, asked the maid to bring a pair of scissors, opened the bouquet and prepared to arrange the flowers, and motioned her son to sit opposite her.
Changzhong asked the girl to get another pair of scissors, "Mother, how was the harvest today?"
"It went quite smoothly. Concubine Chen helped me a lot. By the way, your sister brought a young lady for me to see today. I think she is very good."
Changzhong held the flower branch and said, "Mom, I will listen to you. Just tell me if you think it's okay."
Zhu Lan raised her head and said, "Husband and wife are meant to spend their whole lives together, and it still depends on chemistry. Let me tell you about the Wei family, and you'll have an idea of what's going on."
Changzhong believed in his parents' judgment, "Okay, I'm listening to you."
Zhulan told everything she remembered, while Qingxue fixed the gaps.
Changzhong kept it in mind. He was quite curious about the girl that his mother liked.
In a blink of an eye, it was the auspicious day for the academy to open. Zhulan put on the imperial robes. The emperor and the prince would be in person today, and Zhou Shuren would go with them.
Zhou Shuren asked, "Can you tell me now about the surprise you mentioned?"
Zhulan stretched out her fat hand and shook it, "Not yet. I can tell you after school starts."
Zhou Shuren was extremely curious. He had waited so long for school to start, but he still didn't see any surprises. "You really can keep things to yourself."
"My grandpa taught me since I was a child that I must keep my mouth shut."
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "If I could go back, he would be my grandpa."
When Zhulan saw Qingxue coming in with the maid, she changed her words and said, "Let's go."
Zhulan is the dean. Today, all the masters of Zhouhou Mansion are out with their entire family. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren leave first.
Many people went outside the city to witness the event today. When Zhulan and her husband arrived, the emperor and the prince had already arrived. The queen should have appeared as well, but unfortunately she fell ill a few days ago.
The retired emperor and the empress dowager had also arrived and had gone in to rest.
The auspicious time was calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. Many people came to watch. The emperor did not come out and sat in his seat with the empress dowager. The emperor said, "I..."
The speech was a bit long, but to sum it up in one sentence, he hoped to train talents in various industries for the court.
Rongchuan’s speech and proposal made the emperor feel the people’s gratitude towards him, which felt good.
Rongchuan spoke next, followed by Zhulan. Zhulan stood on the stage and felt the gazes of the crowd. The nobles in the capital were okay and had slowly accepted it, but the common people nearby rarely saw the Marquis' wife. When they knew that the dean was the Marquis' wife, there was a lot of discussion when they saw her today.
Some people recognized Zhulan. Several families that Zhulan had visited came today and they all opened their mouths wide.
Zhulan didn't say much, only expressed that she would work hard to run the academy, and didn't say anything else. What else could she say in front of all the powerful people about improving the status of women? She couldn't say it, she could only do it slowly and secretly.
As soon as Zhulan finished speaking, applause broke out, especially loud. She looked over and smiled brightly.
Zhou Shuren didn't care what others thought of him, his eyes were a little red with excitement. After so many years in ancient times, this was the first time his wife stood in front of people openly. His wife was so good!
Zhou Lao Da and his brothers also applauded and felt proud. This was their mother. Not only did they have a powerful father, but they also had an extraordinary mother.
The emperor could not understand Zhou Shuren's excitement. No minister was as tolerant of his wife as Zhou Shuren. Then he smiled. Only such a sincere person was the one he trusted.
The Duke of Yong'an also came. He was speechless after listening to the applause. In his mind, women should be the managers of the household. Only a weirdo like Marquis Zhou would let his wife go.
There were many people who shared the same idea as the Duke. They were dazed by Mrs. Zhou's speech on the stage. They couldn't help but look at the Emperor and could only suppress their thoughts.
There are also dark thoughts that the academy is open but there are no students, just wait and see how Zhou Hou Mansion ends up, after all, husband and wife are one.
Later, when it was time for enrollment, there was a certain distance between the boys' and girls' colleges, so Zhulan and the Queen Mother went to the girls' college.
Also present were Xue Han, the eldest princess and others.
There is no shortage of students in the boys' college and there is nothing interesting to see. On the contrary, everyone in the girls' college wants to go and see what's going on. With the same idea in mind, many people followed Zhulan.
In the carriage, Zhulan sat with the Queen Mother, who said, "I know you have made a lot of efforts to get more students enrolled."
“I just hope that the hard work pays off.”
The Queen Mother had been paying close attention, and seeing Yang was calm, she asked, "Aren't you afraid?"
"Are you afraid of being embarrassed?"
"Um."
"Don't be afraid. My husband said that sometimes you don't have to save face."
The Queen Mother smiled, "You two look alike."
Zhu Lan's eyes were gentle, "We have been husband and wife for many years and have learned from each other. I am like him and he is like me. We have already merged into one and are inseparable."
The Queen Mother envied Yang, "You are very good."
The carriage was not moving fast, and when it arrived at the women's college, people were already lining up to process admission. The long line surprised Zhulan.
The Queen Mother also noticed it, "Huh."