I'm a humble concubine. My acting skills are off the charts. You can check my performance.

In the eyes of all the ladies, Zhao Fangyu is now more pleasing than a gold nugget. Even the girls' eyes are flickering and bright when they look at Zhao Fangyu. At this moment, all the unmarried girls who come to play stand up in unison, look at each other, smile at each other, and walk towards Zhao Fangyu tacitly.

Seeing so many young girls going there, the ladies also stood up and followed Zhao Fangyu to join the group of beautiful ladies.

The eldest princess stood up slowly, straightened her clothes, and estimated that the place she was going to next was the more exquisite place that Zhao Fangyu had just mentioned.

"In that case, let's go and have a look. Don't be so ashamed of this small building. Such a good place is still hidden away."

Zhao Fangyu looked around, and the princess didn't wait for her to speak, and pulled her out the door, saying as they walked: "Where did you get all these good ideas, the moisturizing noodles, and these nice houses, and what else, tell me quickly, or I will bring my little one to your house tomorrow to make trouble for you."

Zhao Fangyu looked innocent, his eyes slightly widened, a smile on his lips: "Aunt has seen all the good things, how would I know what these aunts like?"

The eldest princess was concerned that today's banquet was hosted by Zhao Fangyu after all, and she almost wanted to twist Zhao Fangyu's mouth.

Along the way, everyone returned to the fork in the road and walked along the blue-white path again. The white jade lamps on both sides were already emitting warm light, and everyone walked forward little by little along the bluestone road.

There are no flowers or plants on this road, only lush green plants that grow very vigorously, which is pleasing to the eye.

Passing through the moon-shaped gate, one sees a vast open space. There are eighteen types of weapons on the martial arts field, all of which have women's styles. There are also targets, bows and arrows, and sandbags used in ordinary martial arts training, all of which are placed on the shelves.

Everyone took turns touching the weapons. It was rare that one of the ladies had practiced martial arts when she was young, but she did not persist and eventually gave up. However, she had practiced the basic skills when she was young and she still remembered some of them. She could even dance with the sword when she picked it up.

She was so excited that she danced for a while on the spot. Then a little girl came out from behind her. She looked similar to the woman, probably her child. She asked the maids serving around, and she brought out a pipa from the small building and played a song behind her.

Women who practice martial arts are a minority, and even fewer can persist in doing so. People like Zhao Fangyu, who never practiced martial arts when she was young but started practicing after getting married, are even rarer.

"I haven't practiced for a long time, so my hands are rusty."

The lady dancing with the sword was a little shy. She looked around and saw that no one was teasing her. She felt relieved and rushed to the back to pick up her daughter who was accompanying her. She said, "I'm dancing like this, and you're still accompanying me. Are you deliberately trying to make your mother look bad?"

Although Daliang values culture over military affairs, such an elegant event of dancing with swords in hand, accompanied by young girls and good friends meeting each other is indeed a rare opportunity.

Zhao Fangyu stood aside and explained to everyone why she wanted to build this martial arts arena, and she was also trying to prevent people from accusing her of being hypocritical in the future.

The woman's voice was like the sound of a flying spring, and because she was explaining, her voice was deliberately gentle: "I was sickly when I was young, and later the doctor told me to walk more at home on weekdays. When my body is strong, I can drink less medicine."

This saying has been passed down from ancient times to the present day, and no one thinks there is anything wrong with it, but the following words make people feel a little sour: "After meeting the elder sister of the Shen family, the husband asked a female teacher from the Shen family to come."

Being friends with the Shen family was nothing. What was rare was that Zhou Qinghe had found a female martial arts teacher specifically for Zhao Fangyu, and even built a martial arts arena at home that suited a woman's body shape. He also ordered many weapons, some even for men, which, at first glance, had been used by others. I'm afraid the couple practiced martial arts together!

Some people bowed their heads and laughed, while others thought of themselves and felt sad. Zhao Fangyu's original intention was not to show how much love she and Zhou Qinghe had, but just to mention that Zhou Qinghe thought highly of her and secretly improve his impression points.

When people entered the small building and wanted to sit down to rest, they found that this seemed to be just a place where Zhao Fangyu practiced martial arts, and the place downstairs was used for accounting. There were not many tables and chairs upstairs, and even the objects displayed in the Duobao Pavilion were randomly put together, not even as good as the furnishings of a girl in a minor official's home.

The princess saw the books on the shelf, and there were titles like Madam Hongyu on them, which were obviously the names of storybooks. She immediately wanted to see what storybooks Zhao Fangyu usually read. But once she opened the books, she was attracted by the contents that were completely different from those of ordinary storybooks. She didn't even bother to talk, and started reading right away.

After seeing this, they were deeply immersed in it. The ladies who were originally watching the fun on the side were chatting and laughing. Many of them were still thinking about doing business with Zhao Fangyu, so they were still inadvertently flattering him in various subtle ways.

The eldest princess was fascinated by the book. She only followed the book to read it when she knew someone had noticed something was wrong with her. But as soon as she took a look, she was also attracted by Pei Hongyu's deeds in the book and couldn't stop reading.

So much so that the envoys, the ladies and the young ladies, who were only a stick of incense away, all held a book in their hands.

Zhao Fangyu also took a book from inside and looked at it casually. The little maid silently brought him an embroidered stool, hot tea, snacks and fruits.

Zhao Fangyu ordered people to open all the windows, and a fresh breeze blew through the hall. Zhao Fangyu took the opportunity to light a burner of incense. The incense had a hint of the scent of wintersweet, and a little bit of an indescribable bitterness.

With bare hands, the incense was ignited. The sparks devoured the incense bit by bit, releasing a soothing and peaceful fragrance. The breeze spread the fragrance to every corner of the small building. The curtains swayed gently, but could not shake the hearts of the people present. Everyone looked quietly at the notebooks in their hands, looking at the life stories of the women written therein, looking at those women who tried little by little to survive and live a better life in hardship.

Some of these contents were contrary to women's virtues and precepts, but Zhao Fangyu was still reading. She wanted to plant an anchor in these people's hearts before the restraints trapped all the women.

Not all suffering is worth celebrating.

There is always someone who should do something, and if there is no one, then she will be the first to do it.

There was silence in the small building for a long time. Some people cried because of the experience of the woman in the book, while others were happy because of her liberation. Finally, someone saw the woman's complete life, not just the one that she showed, which seemed to be a good life.

A woman's life lasts for several decades. She takes root in her mother's family, blossoms and bears fruit in her husband's family, and eventually exhausts herself for her children.

It won't take a thousand years, just two hundred years and no one will remember it.

Every word and sentence refers to the ancients, but it also refers to the women who are reading the book today.

The plight of women cannot be changed overnight, nor is it formed overnight.

For thousands of years, suffering has been invisibly equated with glory, to the point that some foolish people absurdly torture themselves, their families, and everything they can control in exchange for a frivolous compliment from others, whether it is sincere or sarcastic.

Zhao Fangyu didn’t know whether what she did was out of line or not, but since she was in this world, she had to leave something behind.

She is still trapped by rules and the world. She herself is bound by these rules and regulations. How can she break the shackles of the world on women?

All she could do was to preserve some sparks for future generations.

A single spark can start a prairie fire, and one day, this fire will burn away all the injustice in the world.

She couldn't wait for that day, but when the flames burned all over the earth, she died a worthy death.

The fragrance of wintersweet spread to every corner of the small building. Zhao Fangyu slowly picked up his book and flipped through the story he had written.

Many of these stories are derived from later legends, such as the woman who was captured by the enemy and had her hands and feet chopped off and turned into a human pig, or the poor woman who was framed by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law for killing her husband...

Women are not weak, it's just that many people cut off their opportunities to learn from the moment they are born, so they are weak, and when faced with difficulties, they are powerless and unable to resist.

Zhao Fangyu sat in the courtyard for quite a while, halfway through the book in his hand, when suddenly a mournful cry was heard in the house, which woke everyone up.

Turning around, she saw that the book "Biography of Lady Hongyu" that the eldest princess had read earlier had been passed to a sentimental lady. The lady was heartbroken by the experience of Pei Hongyu in the book, so she cried sadly.

Seeing everyone looking at her, she was a little at a loss.

"Don't be ashamed. When you grow older like us, you won't be able to cry even if you want to."

The young lady then burst into laughter, and then looked up and looked around the room, finally stopping in front of the shabby-looking Duobao Pavilion. She looked at Zhao Fangyu with a look of surprise, uncertainty and an expectation that she herself did not know what it was. She opened and closed her cherry lips, and finally asked:

"Could this be the camellia hairpin made by Madam Hongyu herself as mentioned in the book?"

Those who had read the book immediately looked towards Duobao Pavilion. They thought it was just a storybook, but who would have thought that it was actually a real person and that there were relics left in the world.

When they thought of what they saw, those women who grew up in misery, when they thought that they were not just characters in novels but real people, many people couldn't help but change their faces.

Someone immediately pointed at the pieced-together porcelain vase and said, "This... is the carved porcelain made by Madam Miaoshou?"

There were not many objects on it, and those whose origins could be found were placed in the front row. The ladies picked those from the upper layer and took them, and then took turns reading. These stories were not long, and two or three could be read in an hour. The story of Hong Yu Niang was discovered first, and two people read it together, and it had already been passed to the fifth person.

"Are these... all true?"

The eldest princess didn't believe it. She didn't believe that there really were so many good women, but she couldn't find any information about them.

Zhao Fangyu didn't say anything, but her eyes couldn't lie. Her eyes were filled with unspeakable compassion and helplessness, but more of it was emotion.

She walked forward slowly, daring only to touch the wood on the Duobao Pavilion with her fingertips. She gently tapped the corresponding position, pointed at the items placed in the pavilion, and explained to everyone.

Zhao Fangyu at this moment was different from the one just now in Qunfang Garden. The Zhao Fangyu just now was in charge of the overall situation, with no emotion visible on his face, and he looked friendly and kind.

Today, it is still that face, that person, her fingertips like carved snow jade and her voice, drawing everyone's attention little by little.

Everything displayed in the Duobao Pavilion has a history.

"Most of these people and these events are true, but now they are forgotten, which is a pity. Although the relics left are not rare, they still have their spirit and character."

"So I put it here to inspire myself. Don't forget it, don't delay it. Also leave it to the girls in my family in the future. Don't be incapable of withstanding anything. You must learn from them. They are strong despite all the hardships. No matter which direction the wind blows, they will remain strong."

Then he took out the camellia hairpin that the ladies had pointed out before and said:

"This is indeed a camellia hairpin made by Madam Hongyu herself. It's a pity that a hundred years have passed and it no longer has the same brilliance as before."

"This is Madam Dieyi's carved porcelain. After Madam Dieyi's death, the last inheritor of this craft passed away, and no one in the world can make carved porcelain anymore. This remnant is only made from a few fragments of Madam Dieyi's carved porcelain."

As each item was introduced one by one, the women in the book seemed to come alive and, through these relics that had survived into the world, had a brief eye contact with the ladies present.

The surroundings were still extremely quiet, with only Zhao Fangyu's fingertips moving slowly across. Among all the people present, the eldest princess was probably the most touched.

Others might not think of it, but the eldest princess would not, because her daughter Afu, whom she gave birth to with great effort, is now going through a storm.

It is not a good thing to be at peace with the ancients. If one person can bring peace to millions of people, then that person must bear the suffering of millions of people to offset it.

The tassels on the eldest princess's temples swayed slowly, and her eyes involuntarily looked elsewhere.

The ladies around looked at Zhao Fangyu, looked at the books, and looked at the stories written in black and white. It was as if something was emerging from the bottom of their hearts, gathering into a thick and sticky feeling, swelling and even wanting to slowly spread out from their mouths.

Everyone was extremely unfamiliar with this feeling, and the items in the Duobao Pavilion passed by one by one.

The moment Zhao Fangyu finished speaking, someone in the crowd asked in a trembling voice:

"These...are all true?"

Zhao Fangyu picked up a book at random with a calm expression on her face. She had read these stories countless times, and reading them now could no longer arouse her emotions.

"Mostly, yes. For some, there are no witness testimonies. There are only vague rumors in the countryside. They are not recorded by later generations, so they are inevitably biased."

Everyone nodded in agreement when they heard this. These stories, like the story of Master Hands, where her entire family died out and even her apprentice couldn't find anyone to take over, were so wonderful that how could someone have happened to witness it with their own eyes and have it recorded and spread throughout the world to praise it?

"Originally, the banquet was for everyone to enjoy the flowers and drink tea, but now it has only made the ladies feel sad."

"There are countless extraordinary women in the world, and I am just one of them. Ladies, don't be sad. Thousands of years later, there may be people who won't recognize us."

“Being a good person, doing good deeds, having a clear conscience, and benefiting the people are the best things in the world.”