Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 866: Well-educated and well-mannered?
Regardless of what the emperor meant, according to what Zhang Shou said to Zhu Ying, he had already succinctly summarized what he had to do as a teacher to the mountain king, which was... nonsense! When Zhu Ying heard this, she laughed so hard that she even ran over to listen in once, and she almost wanted to go every day to listen in.
After all, wasn't she attracted by Zhang Shou's unconventional way of conversation?
However, she herself was not an idle person now, because the six daughters of Goryeo were directly allocated to the women's school by the emperor, so she had to get to know these girls well and arrange them. As a result, as soon as she met them, her blazing fire of vigilance was immediately poured with a basin of cold water.
She had planned and prepared for them as if they were her own age, but in the end... the two oldest were a little younger than her, but the other four were no older than fourteen! The youngest looked so timid that she thought he was just over ten!
After Zhu Ying asked in person, she found that her judgment was correct. The oldest of the six girls from Korea was sixteen years old, two years younger than her, who was one year older than the Spring Festival. The youngest was eleven years old, and she was as young as a child. Even though she had never had any good feelings towards Korean girls, she softened her heart when she saw their aggrieved eyes.
People outside think that Miss Zhu is arrogant and domineering, but in fact, she is always arrogant on the outside but gentle on the inside. This was said by Zhang Shou, but she never thought of herself as gentle. However, at this moment, Zhu Ying finally realized that she couldn't ignore the outsiders whom she thought she should hate and dislike... at least they had nothing to do with her. If this isn't gentleness, what is it?
Well, her heart was really too soft, and no one knew how the Goryeo side was selected, each and every girl looked delicate and timid, and the youngest one was even a little silly. But at this moment, no matter who they were, the posture of bowing deeply was exactly the same.
She took a deep breath and then said with a straight face, "Everyone, raise your heads. This is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, not your place. I don't care what others said when they taught you etiquette, but in a place like the Women's School, the first thing we teach you is to hold your head high and look straight ahead. As a woman, you should be neither humble nor arrogant, and don't always look humble and aggrieved!"
Even during the Han and Tang dynasties when women had the highest status, Ban Zhao wrote "Instructions for Women", not to mention that since the Song Dynasty, when Neo-Confucianism prevailed, more and more shackles were imposed on women. Even though Taizu of this dynasty had strongly condemned foot binding and issued ancestral precepts, there were still perverted people in the folk who practiced it. Therefore, the posture of women lowering their heads and eyes is natural in many families.
As for the Joseon Dynasty, where women had an even lower status, it goes without saying that the etiquette was modified from the Song and Ming dynasties, and some parts that were more in line with national traditions were even added. In addition, the word "early marriage" was implemented more thoroughly than in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Ying disliked the girls who were sent here at this time because they were too young and childish. But she could put them there...
This is a normal marriage age for royal and even aristocratic women. Girls of sixteen are already too old, so the two of them had their marriages delayed due to family matters. They were quite sweet-looking, and the eunuchs who selected them thought they would suit the taste of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, so they were stuffed in just to make up the numbers!
Zhu Ying certainly didn't know that because Emperor Sejong and Emperor Gojong liked cute little girls, the Joseon Dynasty still followed the preferences of the two emperors and selected these young ladies. And because they were young, inexperienced, and not easily frightened, when Zhu Ying put on a stern face and gave them a lecture, they all nodded their heads like crazy.
But when they really wanted to look up, they were trembling with fear, until Zhu Ying scolded them again, and then the frightened little deer stood up in panic and tried to look up to look at Zhu Ying. But when they saw that incomparably beautiful face, some people lowered their heads or avoided her gaze because they felt ashamed. In the end, except for the youngest one, no one dared to look at Zhu Ying.
Faced with such a situation, even though she could understand it in her heart, after all, some of the first batch of girls admitted to the girls' school were afraid of her, but Zhu Ying still couldn't help but feel angry.
Fortunately, the eldest daughter repeatedly warned herself not to act too hastily, and finally suppressed her anger, but her voice still revealed a bit of dissatisfaction: "Someone tampered with the imperial edict before, so the King of Goryeo sent you here. The emperor wanted to send you back, but your envoy said that if you were sent back, it would be even worse . Now, I ask you..."
"Do you want to go back or stay?" Almost the moment the words fell, Zhu Ying heard a loud voice: "You want to go back!"
However, before she could even praise the youngest girl, a hand suddenly pulled her over, and then another girl covered the little girl's mouth with one hand in panic. Then, the oldest girl bravely opened her arms to block the others.
"She is still young and ignorant, please forgive me. It is impossible for us to go back. Our families are all top-notch families in the country. Our sisters are either married to royal families or married to children of other well-matched families. Even if the imperial edict of the Celestial Empire was really tampered with, if we are sent back, no one will say that it was a mistake before..."
"Instead, they will only say that the Celestial Empire looks down on us! For the sake of our family's reputation, no matter how much our parents loved us in the past, they would not accept us as their daughters. And our brothers and sisters will hate us because of their unsuccessful careers and marriages. So, although I also want to go back, I can't."
Zhu Ying didn't think that people from the same hometown or clan would naturally share the same hatred for the enemy, nor did they think that they would have a unified mindset just because they were in the same situation. Although she didn't read much history, her elder brother liked reading, and Zhang Shou was a person with a lot of messy stories, so she had heard a lot of stories about sisters and friends who were once close turning against each other.
So, seeing this scene at this moment, and seeing the oldest girl trying to look her in the face, she was not angry but happy: "You can argue openly, not bad, you finally have some courage. And the little girl who said she wanted to go back was not bad either. The two who covered their mouths and pulled people away were also good."
Having said this, she glanced at the two girls who were still dumbfounded with some disdain, and said calmly: "Since your envoy said so, and you also think so, then you should just stay here with peace of mind. There is no shortage of people in the palace, and I don't think you are very good at serving others when you are served at home."
"And I don't think you would want to let those senior officials in the court take you home and use you as bed warmers, just like they distribute vegetables and meat."
Seeing that several girls were pale, the oldest one bit her lip and nodded slightly, Zhu Ying continued, "So, the emperor is kind-hearted and after careful consideration, he sent you here. This is a newly built girls' school. The person in charge is Princess Yongping, me, and the talented lady Hong who teaches painting in Ciqing Palace."
They were sent here early in the morning, along with all their luggage. However, the chief envoy, the Minister of Rites, did not give any additional instructions, nor did he explain what was going on. The six girls were originally very worried.
Ever since the news of the death of the second prince of the Celestial Empire came, they felt that the so-called path of entering the palace to become a concubine was completely impossible, and they were only afraid that they would be thrown to those officials to become concubines.
As legitimate daughters, they had watched the humble attitudes of the concubines in their family since they were young, treating their illegitimate brothers and sisters like servants. Who could be willing to end up like this? Therefore, after hearing Zhu Ying's last half of the words, the two oldest ones breathed a sigh of relief, and then they felt their legs a little weak.
However, this one didn't look good. The childish little girl just now broke through the others' mouth-covering attack and shouted, "So are we going to study in a girls' school in the future?"
Zhu Ying never liked people who followed the rules too much - after all, the eldest lady herself didn't like that kind of rules. Moreover, she felt that these six Korean girls were finally a little interesting, so she walked forward with a smile, suddenly reached out and gently pinched the right cheek which still had baby fat, and then she smiled.
"The first batch of students for the women's school has been recruited. Among them are daughters of famous families, beauties from ordinary families, and a few specially selected girls. Firstly, you have not been tested, and secondly, many of you have studied. You can help the female teachers here and be female historians."
Although the title of female historian was very unfamiliar to them, and being an assistant was obviously not a job worthy of attention, the Korean women looked at each other and all felt that this was the best outcome.
But the next moment, the little girl who had been giving people a headache from the beginning spoke again: "I have read books, but I don't know many words. Why can't I read? Sisters, have you read a lot of books?"
Seeing that each girl wanted to lower her head as low as possible, as if she wanted to crawl into the ground, Zhu Ying was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly burst into laughter.
She was laughed at for being unlearned, so she could never get along with talented ladies like Princess Yongping. She was really worried before that if there were any talented ladies among the Goryeo tribute girls, they would be arrogant because of their talents. As a result, it was this outspoken little girl who exposed the lies of the Goryeo envoys with her voice!
She couldn't help but pinch the other's cheek affectionately again, and asked casually: "What books have you read, and how many words do you know?"
"I've read the Thousand Character Classic! I know about four or five hundred characters in it, but I can't really write them."
The little girl's answer was straightforward, but it also fully exposed her knowledge. However, she didn't notice the miserable expressions of others, and continued to say excitedly, "I really want to study, but my father said that it doesn't matter if girls don't need to study. My elder brother and younger brother can study."
Seeing that Zhu Ying did not scold them, the other Korean women looked at each other and told each other what they had learned. Thus, the true nature of the daughter of a noble family who was said to be well-educated and carefully selected by the Minister of Rites was revealed.
Half of them can read but not very well write, and as for the other half... that is, three people in total, they can't even recognize Chinese characters!
If Zhang Shou were here, facing this delicate situation, he would definitely smile and think it was very normal. The most basic education, reading and recognizing characters, was only truly popularized in the world he came from. In history, no matter which dynasty, even the Song and Ming dynasties, it was not much better. Even in the so-called scholarly and official families, not all women could read.
As for that poor country on the Korean Peninsula...even the so-called wealthy families can't make all their girls learn to read and write?
Although Zhu Ying once again lowered her opinion of these Korean women, she felt that the youngest girl was quite interesting and had no pretense. She said casually, "How about this, I'll take you to the study first. Those who can recognize the titles of the books will be the female historians who organize the study. As for the rest of you... I'll think about what you can do."
No one dared to object to this arrangement. In fact, they were already embarrassed enough to have their so-called well-educated and well-mannered true colors exposed by the youngest girl.
However, in the past, tribute girls were all sent to the palace, and whether or not they could read was secondary. The most important thing was whether or not they could please the emperor. Therefore, even if they were exposed, it was no big deal. But after this series of events, they were all afraid of being held accountable for this.
Now that they had put down the heavy stone in their hearts, as they followed Zhu Ying out, the oldest Korean girl asked cautiously, "We will serve in the girls' school from now on, and we will naturally obey your orders, but I don't know if you, the noble lady, are..."
Zhu Ying was married now, so she naturally wore her hair in a bun, so when she heard the word "noble lady", she was stunned for a while, but then she laughed. Seeing that everyone except the youngest maid was silent, she stopped and said calmly: "You can put away the word "noble lady", I am not from the palace."
"Your Majesty is like half a father to me. I am Zhu Ying, the wife of Zhang Jiuzhang, the lecturer of the Eastern Palace, and the daughter of Duke Zhao. So when you see me in the future, you can call me Supervisor Zhu, or you can address me as Yi Ren. Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't address me with a respectful title. Didn't you all come here this way just now?"
The oldest woman responded hastily. Even though she could only read roughly, before coming to Ming Dynasty, someone had urgently taught them some of the most necessary things, such as what kind of title the Duke was, and what levels the ladies in the inner and outer courts had. So, she was a little surprised that Zhu Ying, who was born in the Duke's Mansion, actually put her husband, who obviously had a low official rank, in front.
But this was someone else's business after all, so she just kept it in mind. When she followed Zhu Ying to the so-called study, as soon as she entered the door, she saw the tall bookshelves on the four walls that were almost as tall as the sky , and the neatly arranged low bookshelves in the middle. While she was amazed, she couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of herself.
Zhu Ying glanced at them and then said with a smile: "Okay, pick ten books by yourself and read the titles!"
