In ancient times, she gave birth to seven daughters and was divorced by her husband's family.

Old Man Shi was no ordinary farmer.

In his youth, he served as an agricultural official in the Imperial Garden, where he was responsible for cultivating various exotic flowers, rare herbs, and precious fruits and vegetables.

Later, he offended powerful figures and was dismissed from his post and sent back to his hometown.

But he didn't give up his skills in tending the land.

It is said that the rice he grows is plump and fragrant, and is the tribute rice of Qingzhou Prefecture.

The watermelons he cultivated had skins as thin as paper and were as sweet as honey; even the prefect of Qingzhou sent people to buy them at a high price.

More importantly, he knew how to observe the weather, identify soil conditions, improve seeds, and control pests. These skills were exactly what the agricultural courses at the Seven Fairies Girls' Academy needed most.

When Bai Yiyue arrived at Woniu Village, it was already dusk.

The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the entire village in a warm golden hue, and along the ridges of the fields, farmers carrying hoes were returning home.

She found out where Old Man Shi lived; it was an ordinary farmhouse surrounded by a fence.

The courtyard was filled with the fragrance of fruits and vegetables, and lush with greenery, quite unlike any other home.

An elderly man with dark skin and strong bones was squatting by the edge of the field, carefully examining a tomato seedling.

He was Shi Man.

"Greetings, sir." Bai Yiyue stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Shi Man raised his head, his cloudy eyes scanning her up and down, and asked in a muffled voice, "Miss from the city? What do you want with me? All the fruits and vegetables in my family have been sold to the prefect, there are none left."

His attitude carried the simplicity and wariness characteristic of farmers.

"Old man, you misunderstand," Bai Yiyue said with a smile. "This junior is not here to buy fruits and vegetables, but only to seek knowledge."

"Seeking knowledge?" Shi Man chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "What kind of knowledge do you, a delicate young lady, seek from an old man like me who toils in the fields? I don't know any classical Chinese."

"What I seek is precisely the profound knowledge you possess, sir, about making a living from the soil." Bai Yiyue squatted down, looked at the tomato seedling, and asked, "Sir, why are the leaves of this tomato plant slightly yellow and curled? Is it lacking water, or is it diseased?"

She deliberately asked a very specific question.

To deal with a pragmatist like Shi Man, empty talk about ideals is useless; you have to produce something real.

Shi Man became interested and pointed to a few barely visible white spots on the back of the leaf, saying, "It's not due to lack of water or disease. It's infested with aphids."

"Look at the back of these leaves, those little white dots are insect eggs. In two more days, this whole seedling will be ruined."

"Then how should we prevent and treat it?" Bai Yiyue humbly asked for advice.

“There are many ways.” Shi Man became interested and talked more. “You can sprinkle wood ash on the leaves; aphids don’t like the smell. You can also mix chili water with soapberry water and spray it once; it will kill them all.”

"If you want to be more particular, you can plant a few marigolds next to it. The scent of those flowers can naturally repel aphids."

Bai Yiyue nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with admiration: "Your knowledge, sir, has truly broadened my horizons. This knowledge is far more useful than the golden rules in books."

"Hey, what kind of knowledge is this? It's just experience gained from tending to crops." Shi Man waved his hand, a little embarrassed by the praise.

Bai Yiyue seized the opportunity, stood up, and solemnly said, "Old man, I am preparing to open a girls' academy and would like to invite you to come out of retirement and serve as the head instructor of agricultural studies, so that you can pass on your skills to more girls."

The smile on Shi Man's face froze instantly.

He stared at Bai Yiyue in disbelief, as if listening to something divine.

"What? You want me... to be a teacher?"

"Teach...teach a bunch of girls to farm?" He rubbed his ears hard. "Did I hear that right?"

"You heard me right."

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" Shi Man's face flushed red. He slammed his hoe on the ground and roared, "Women are born to stay at home spinning and embroidering. Farming is a man's job!"

"You're making a bunch of girls learn this? Isn't that just ridiculous? It's exhausting!"

His reaction was more intense than that of Song Lian and Liu San Niang.

In his mind, men tilling the fields and women weaving were natural and unchangeable rules.

However, he did not look down on women; on the contrary, he felt that women were too tired from doing heavy work.

Bai Yiyue was not intimidated by his anger. She calmly asked, "Father-in-law, you just said that wood ash and chili water can be used to control aphids. Do these things require a lot of strength?"

Shi Man was taken aback: "This...this is not necessary."

"You said that marigolds can be planted along the edge of the field to repel insects. Can't women do this kind of work?"

"this......"

"You also said that we need to consider the weather, the soil quality, and select good seeds. Are these things done with physical strength, or with eyes and brains?"

Shi Man was speechless when asked the question.

He had farmed all his life and had never really thought about these issues.

He had always thought that farming was all about physical labor, but after Bai Yiyue broke it down like this, it seemed that many tasks did indeed rely on skill and wisdom, rather than brute force.

Bai Yiyue pressed on, saying, "Old man, do you know the Northern Border? There's constant warfare there, and most of the men in the village have gone to the battlefield."

"If no one cultivates the family's land, the whole family will starve to death."

"Tell me, in times like these, should we let the women starve to death with their children, or should we let them pick up hoes, learn to farm, and support themselves and their families?"

This problem weighed heavily on Shi Man's heart, like a boulder.

He was a simple farmer who had witnessed famine and knew what it was like to go hungry.

“Moreover,” Bai Yiyue’s tone softened, filled with deep respect, “your skills are the true foundation for building a family and establishing a business. If you can pass them on to women, even after they get married, they can help their husbands’ families, improve the land, and double their family’s harvest.”

"If they don't get married, they can support themselves with their few acres of land and don't have to depend on others."

"Isn't this a wonderful thing? Old man, you're teaching me how to survive!"

"The skill of survival..." Shi Man muttered to himself, unconsciously putting down the hoe in his hand.

He looked at his calloused hands, then at the incredibly sincere-looking girl in front of him.

He remained silent for a very long time, until the last rays of sunset had faded away.

"I...I'm illiterate, and I can't speak any profound truths," he finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "All I know is farming. You..."

"You really don't mind that I'm a peasant?"

"The one we invited is none other than you, the grandmaster of this land!" Bai Yiyue smiled, a smile that was incredibly bright. "Ten percent of the academy's annual harvest belongs to you, sir."

"What do you think?"

The land's produce was used to pay the agronomy professor's salary.

This condition was more practical to Shi Man than any amount of gold or silver he was given, and it made him feel more respected.

Tears welled up in Shi Man's cloudy old eyes.

He was a decrepit old man who had been dismissed from his post and returned to his hometown, a peasant who toiled in the fields. Yet one day, he was called a master and was so solemnly invited to be a teacher.

He nodded vigorously, his voice booming like a bell: "Alright! I'll go! As long as you're not afraid that my muddy clothes will dirty your ground, I'll teach them all my secret skills!"

As night deepened, Bai Yiyue, dragging her weary body, finally returned home.

The small house was brightly lit, and the sisters were all anxiously waiting for her.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the undisguised smile on her face.

"Sister! How is it?" Bai Siyue was the first to rush over.

Bai Yiyue recounted to them in detail the events of her visit to the three extraordinary individuals that day.

When they heard about Song Lian's arrogance, Liu San Niang's aloofness, Shi Man's stubbornness, and how they were eventually persuaded one by one, the girls were moved to tears.

"That's wonderful! Mathematics, medicine, and agriculture—the three most important pillars of our academy—have all been established!" Bai San San excitedly wrote the three names heavily on the ledger.

“Yes,” Bai Yiyue took a sip of the hot tea that Liu Yue handed her, feeling much of her fatigue dissipate. “But it’s not enough. We also need a gentleman who is well-versed in the law to teach women how to protect themselves using the law.”

"They also need a gentleman who understands the ways of business to teach them how to manage and operate a business."

"I will continue searching for these people tomorrow."

The next day.

The first person she was to visit today was Du Jiu, a legendary yet infamous figure in Qingzhou City.

Du Jiu, whose real name was Du Siming, was once the youngest and most promising head of the Dali Temple in the capital.

Born into a poor family, he could recite the "Great Laws of Martial Arts" from memory and was a brilliant judge of cases, becoming famous in the capital at a young age.

However, he was too upright and inflexible, with only the law in his eyes and no sense of human relationships.

Three years ago, while handling a case involving the encroachment of fertile land by members of the imperial family, he insisted on bringing the emperor's brother-in-law to justice despite his superiors' repeated hints and obstruction.

The result can be imagined.

The case was eventually dropped. The emperor's brother-in-law was unharmed, while Du Siming was accused of abusing torture and framing a member of the imperial clan. He was dismissed from his post and never to be employed again. In the end, he returned to his ancestral home of Qingzhou in a sorry state.

After returning to Qingzhou, his personality changed drastically.

The former legal genius has become a quack who spends his days in teahouses and taverns, writing legal documents and offering advice to others.

He specializes in taking cases that others dare not or are unwilling to take. As long as you pay, he treats everyone the same, whether they are local thugs or ordinary people.

With his legal expertise, he often managed to turn black into white and the dead into the living, leaving behind countless troublesome cases in the Qingzhou government.

Therefore, respectable scholars despised him and called him a parasite of the law.

Those ordinary people who had benefited from his kindness privately called him Du Qingtian (a name implying justice and integrity).

When Bai Yiyue found Du Jiu, he was in the storytelling area of ​​Yuelai Teahouse, the largest teahouse in Qingzhou.

He didn't sit in a private room, but instead mingled among a group of peddlers and laborers, occupying a greasy eight-immortal table in the corner.

In front of him was a pot of the cheapest coarse tea and a dish of fennel beans. He looked to be in his early thirties, with a handsome face, but his brows carried a cynical and decadent air.

He was listening intently to the storyteller on stage.

Bai Yiyue walked straight to his desk and curtsied: "Are you Mr. Du?"

The surrounding tea drinkers immediately fell silent, casting curious glances their way.

Why would such a refined and elegant young lady from a prominent family come to seek out Du Jiu, a notorious litigator?

Du Jiu lazily raised his eyelids, glanced at her, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth: "Miss, you've got the wrong person. There's no Mr. Du here, just a lazy bum named Du Jiu."

"What, are you trying to complain? Did your maid steal your jewelry, or has your fiancé fallen for someone else?"

"Tell me about it, the price is negotiable."

His words were flippant and rude, deliberately intended to provoke her and make her back down.

Bai Yiyue didn't seem to care. She calmly sat down opposite Du Jiu, poured herself a cup of tea, and said softly, "No, that's not it. I just want to ask Mr. Du a question."

"Oh?" Du Jiu became interested. "Go ahead and speak. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll answer your questions for free."

Bai Yiyue looked at him and slowly said, "The 'Great Martial Law - Household and Marriage' states that if a woman remains faithful after her husband's death, she may inherit one-fifth of her husband's family property for support."

"Furthermore, the Miscellaneous Chapters of the Great Law on Martial Arts stipulate that if a woman is unmarried, the land and private property under her name belong to her personally, and her parents and brothers shall not seize them."

"May I ask, Mr. Du, how much of these two laws are true in Qingzhou today?"

The smile on Du Jiu's face slowly froze.

The law is clearly written in black and white, but in reality, it is common for widows' support fields to be seized by their clans, and for unmarried women's private property to be seized by their brothers and sisters-in-law.

When complaints are brought to the authorities, officials often try to smooth things over by saying things like "family matters should not be publicized" or "it is inconvenient for women to manage the household."

The law, in the face of powerful clan and secular ideas, is as fragile as a sheet of paper.

The tea drinkers around them began to whisper among themselves.

Among them, perhaps some are sisters or sisters-in-law experiencing such injustice.

Du Jiu was silent for a moment, then picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said in a cold voice, "Why is Miss asking this? This is the law of the imperial court, so it is naturally true. If you don't believe me, you can go to the government office and ask Lord Sun."

“I believe the law is real, but I don’t believe the people who enforce it.” Bai Yiyue looked directly into his eyes. “Three years ago, there was a Master Du in the capital who also believed the law was real. He wanted the law to become real in the life of a prince’s brother-in-law.”

"The results of it?"

"Snapped!"

Du Jiu slammed the teacup he was holding onto the table, splashing tea everywhere.

He stared intently at Bai Yiyue.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" His voice was suppressed.

"My name is Bai Yiyue." Bai Yiyue introduced herself, her tone becoming incredibly sincere. "I've come to ask Mr. Du to teach women everywhere how to use the law as a weapon to protect what rightfully belongs to them!"

She stood up and bowed deeply to Du Jiu.