In the main hall of the Ji Mansion, Ji Quan stood at the door. He was obviously just a thin old man, but he blocked the entire Ji Mansion like a huge lion.
Mrs. Ji's hair was disheveled and she slumped in a chair, wiping her tears with a silk handkerchief. Her maid gently rubbed her shoulders.
The eldest son of the Ji family was wearing a scholar's uniform and standing beside his mother. He had a gloomy face and looked coldly at his second sister, whom he loved the most.
The second young master of the Ji family was not there. The young master Ji Can was only thirteen years old, but taller than Ji Quan. He held the scabbard in his left hand and the hilt in his right hand, slightly bent over, staring at the second sister in front of him like a ferocious wolf hunting, as if he could draw his sword and kill at any time.
Ji Yue, the second daughter of the Ji family, was over twenty-six years old. She was dressed in a simple light blue skirt, had a round face and narrow eyes, and a dignified appearance. She stood in the main hall with her chest and head held high, looking at her father calmly.
"I will definitely go to the Tongsheng exam on March 15th!" As he spoke, Ji Yue straightened his back a little.
Young Master Ji Can said angrily: "Second sister, tell me honestly, how does father treat you normally?"
"Take good care of me." Ji Yue said.
"After my second brother-in-law died in battle, who was the first to take you home and save you from being humiliated by your in-laws?"
"Yes, Daddy."
"Then, what made you so rebellious and become an unfilial daughter!" Ji Can's eyes flashed with flames of anger.
Ji Yue said fearlessly: "Examining the examination for a Tongsheng does not mean being unfilial. Even if I become a Tongsheng or even a female scholar with a higher literary status, I will always be filial to my father."
Ji Can pointed at Ji Quan who was puffing his beard and glaring, and said, "Is this how you honor your father? You call it honoring your father when you make him so angry?"
Ji Yue bit her lower lip lightly, then gritted her teeth, looked determined, and said slowly: "What is it?"
"You..." Ji Quan, a distinguished Hanlin, pointed at his daughter, his face turned pale, unable to utter a word.
Ji Chan widened his eyes and looked at his sister in disbelief.
Ji Yue's mother was so angry that she rolled her eyes, and the maid behind her hurriedly pressed her back.
"What are you talking about?" involves an allusion from "The Book of Filial Piety", one of the Thirteen Classics.
Zengzi once asked Confucius whether a son could be considered filial only if he absolutely obeyed his father's orders.
Confucius said, "What kind of words are these?" and opposed this view. This is what Ji Yue said, "What kind of words are these?"
Confucius later added that if the monarch does something unjust, the ministers can be called loyal if they advise the monarch, and if the father does something unjust and makes a mistake, the children who advise the father can be called filial sons. If a child blindly obeys his father's orders, how can he be called a filial son
When Ji Yue said these four words, it was equivalent to quoting the entire paragraph following Confucius.
Both Ji Can and his son had read the Book of Filial Piety, and even Ji's mother had read it, but they never expected that she would use the saints' classics to fight back.
Ji Can said angrily: "You have only studied for a few years, but you are so arrogant! Do you think you can use the words of the saints? You say your father is unjust? Come on, tell me, how is your father unjust!"
Ji Yue was silent for a few breaths, then slowly said: "If I tell you, Dad will be angry."
"I swear on behalf of your father that you can say it! I want to see what you can say!" Ji Can said angrily.
Ji Quan seemed slightly displeased, but he did not stop his youngest son, whom he loved the most.
Seeing that her father did not stop her, Ji Yue's eyes flashed with disappointment, and she said decisively: "The human race is facing the crisis of extinction. We continue to expand the number of scholars. As a woman, if I can be promoted to a scholar and serve the human race, is it a righteous act? Fang Sheng is a semi-saint of the human race and commands all the people. He issued a sacred decree to recruit female scholars. We followed his instructions. Is it a righteous act? I know that my father does not like men and women to take the exam together, but I did not hide it. Instead, I took the initiative to beg my father to agree. Is it a righteous act? Little brother, I want to ask, you usually claim to read the books of saints and wise men, why did you become aggressive after knowing that I was going to participate in this year's Tongsheng exam? Where is your previous manly demeanor? Where is your previous scholar's spirit? Is it because you are also participating in the Tongsheng exam this year, afraid that I will steal your limelight?"
"You... you are slandering me! Father, look at my sister, she can't win the argument and she is making trouble again!" Ji Can suddenly turned his head to look at Fang Yun, tears flashing in his eyes.
When Ji Quan saw that his youngest son, who looked most like him, was crying, he flew into a rage and said, "You unfilial daughter, are you trying to piss me off to death?"
Ji Yue saw such a familiar scene, and remembered that every time she and her brother had a conflict, she would be scolded by her father. Tears welled up in her eyes and she asked, "Dad, in your eyes, am I not worthy of studying and being a student?"
When Ji Quan saw his daughter's red eyes, he snorted coldly and said, "If I thought you were unworthy, I wouldn't have taught you to read and write, and I wouldn't have let you fool around with the girls in the Women's Club. It's a rule that girls can't be scholars, and this rule can't be broken now!"
"Who set the rules? Was it Confucius?" Ji Yue asked.
Ji Quan was stunned for a moment and said, "Of course it is Confucius! If Confucius allowed women to become scholars, he would have given talent to women directly. Why only to men? Why did the imperial examination only admit men? This is not only the rule of Confucius, but also the rule of all saints!"
"Now, Saint Fang has established his own rules!" Ji Yue said.
Ji Quan's blood boiled, and he said angrily: "The Ji family cannot mention the name of that murderer! Isn't it enough that he harmed the Ji family, the Qing Kingdom, and the Qing King? If it weren't for him, how could the Qing King die tragically! If it weren't for him, how could the Ji family be ruined like this! Everything in the Ji family is due to him! He will definitely be opposed by all the saints, and his rules should not exist!"
"So Daddy is saying that you can deny the rules of a semi-saint?" Ji Yue asked.
Ji Quan took a sudden step forward, swung his right arm, and slapped Ji Yue in the face.
Ji Yue covered her face and looked at her father in astonishment.
Ji's mother and the eldest son of the Ji family looked at Ji Quan in disbelief, while Ji Can sneered with pride in his eyes.
Ji Quan watched his daughter's tears fall like pearls from a broken string, and suddenly turned around and walked out.
As Ji Quan walked, he said, "Come here, lock up Yue'er with a chain and put her in her boudoir. She is not allowed to leave the Ji family before the 15th! If anyone dares to let her go, I will break your legs! This Qing Kingdom, this Ji family, is not named Fang!"
Ji Can chuckled and said, "Second sister, now you know what it means to not listen to elders and suffer the consequences, right? I've already told you women don't deserve to study, but you wouldn't listen. Now what? Just hide in your boudoir and embroider. When I pass the imperial examination, if you dare to bully me again, I will use my talent to teach you a lesson! Hahahaha..."
Ji Chan strode away.
"Second sister, let's go." The eldest son of the Ji family winked at the servant and pushed and pulled Ji Yue into the boudoir.
Ji Yue sat on the edge of the bed, secretly took out a book from under the mattress and stroked it gently.
New Notes on the Analects
On the morning of the tenth day, the door of the Ji family was suddenly slammed open.
A Jinshi walked in with two Juren.
Before the Ji family knew what was going on, they saw the leading scholar holding up his token and saying loudly, "The Criminal Court has received a report that Ji Quan obstructed the imperial edict and set up a private prison. He must be arrested immediately!"