On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

"Xia Zhu," he spoke again, his voice still unhurried, as if discussing philosophy.

"Men have controlled this world, possessing the power of speech and dominance for millennia. Are you, a woman, determined to change this reality simply out of sheer courage and unwillingness? Are you determined to overturn this order that has been established for millennia?"

A huge teardrop fell on the cold floor tiles beside Xia Zhu's hand, spread out, and disappeared silently.

"Sure!"

The voice was hoarse and weak, but extremely stubborn, revealing a determination to perish together with the enemy.

Lin Zhen's hand on her head paused.

A complex and indistinguishable emotion flashed across his deep eyes, as if there was a sigh, confusion, and a very faint... barely perceptible ripple?

He was silent for a moment, and the only sounds in the air were the crackling of the burning candlelight and the broken breathing that Xia Zhu tried hard to control but still leaked out.

"Oh..." A long and complex sigh finally came out of Lin Zhen's mouth, breaking the silence.

There didn't seem to be much sarcasm in that sigh, but rather a sense of vicissitudes and a bit of pity that came from looking down from an absolute height.

"Why are you doing this? If you ultimately succeed, your name, Xia Zhu, will be recorded in history books, passed down through the ages. But if you give everything you have, including these most precious things you're giving up right now, only to find that everything you've done is like an ant trying to shake a tree, a mantis trying to stop a chariot, and that not only does it not change anything, but it will completely crush you and even bring harm to your family. Is such a tragic sacrifice worth it?"

The heavy reality was like a huge mountain pressing down on Xia Zhu's head, almost breaking his arms that were supporting the ground.

She felt suffocated.

After a long moment, extremely suppressed sobs finally escaped from beneath her lowered head, accompanied by intermittent but clear words of persistence: "At least I have fought for the women of this world... I have fought for this ray of light for them. Even if it's just a faint firefly, as long as it can illuminate even one person, I am willing to do it."

Silence fell again.

This time, it lasted longer.

Lin Zhen finally slowly moved his hand away from Xia Zhu's head.

The oppressive pressure suddenly disappeared, but it did not bring any sense of relief.

He sighed deeply again, and that sigh contained too much complexity.

He looked at Xia Zhu, who was still crawling on the ground at his feet, her shoulders heaving with crying and despair. Suddenly, his tone changed very subtly. It was no longer a condescending judgment, but instead carried a barely perceptible sigh and a strange looseness.

"Yan'er is just this stubborn person who won't turn back even if she hits a wall. You and her are really alike."

Xia Zhu's sobbing paused slightly.

Yan'er?

Empress Murong Yan?

Lin Zhen leaned back slightly.

"Changing the world, huh." He twitched his lips in self-mockery. "How easy is that? Ever since ascending the throne, hasn't Yan'er wanted to vigorously promote women and pave a new path for you? But her approach was too drastic, like boiling oil over a raging fire. She only wanted to achieve success overnight, but she didn't realize that too much is as bad as too little. Instead, she provoked a strong backlash from the literati and even the nobles."

His gaze returned to Xia Zhu. "I've said it, but she never listens. The dignity of an emperor makes her unwilling to be roundabout. That's why I chose you."

Xia Zhu's body shook violently!

In a crawling posture, she raised her head very slightly, and looked at Lin Zhen in disbelief through her messy hair soaked and stuck with tears.

"Choice?" she croaked, her voice filled with confusion and shock.

This humiliating deal, this submission that crawled on the ground like a maggot, was actually for another woman?

Then what am I?

"That's right." Lin Zhen admitted frankly, his tone not hiding the slightest bit. "Rather than letting Yan'er get beaten up and bloodied in the court, wasting her energy, why not let you try it locally and find a practical way with less resistance."

"You humiliated me and gave me an official position, all for her?"

"Humiliation? No, everything I asked you to do just now, including your attitude at this moment, is not entirely humiliating. It is the necessary and most effective cornerstone for building the most basic fortress of trust between us. From now on, you can be my woman with peace of mind and do what you should do. I will also fulfill my promise and send you to Wuqing County. There, you can display your ambitions, put your ideas into practice, and prove your abilities."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze blazing, as if to penetrate her chaotic thoughts and forcefully imprint a blueprint for the future upon her: "As long as you can truly govern Wuqing well, ensuring clean governance, a well-stocked treasury, and a peaceful and prosperous life for the people, and as you implement specific policies and guidance to 'improve the status of women,' truly demonstrate their feasibility and the benefits they bring, rather than merely oppressing and competing with men, so that everyone can see not only the governing power of women, but also the possibility of harmony and progress."

"Then, I, Lin Zhen, will mobilize all my power and prestige. I will establish you, Xia Zhu, as a model for women serving as officials and pastoralists in the Great Qian Dynasty! You will become the spark that will ignite the prairie fire! From this point forward, I will promote the system of women participating in the imperial examinations and serving as local officials, and have it take root throughout the land of Qian!"

This resounding promise, with its earth-shaking force, slammed heavily into Xia Zhu's abyss of despair.

Xia Zhu, who was immersed in endless humiliation and grief just now, suddenly raised his head!

What instantly surged across that tear-stained and messy-haired face was not ecstasy, but a brief blankness after an extreme shock!

Those eyes that had long been blurred by despair and tears suddenly burst into an incredible, blazing light in the flickering light of the candlelight, as if they were rekindled from ashes!

Lin Zhen's clear promise was like a long-burning lamp that suddenly lit up in the endless cold night. Although it could not dispel all the coldness immediately, it instantly pierced through the thick fog of despair, and projected an extremely clear and powerful vine for the ideal that was crumbling and about to sink into the abyss!

The actual governance of Wuqing County, the institutional reform of women serving as officials... these real and grand future pictures, like a surging tide, instantly broke through the dam of humiliation she had just built, and a loud "bang" exploded deep in her mind!

It’s not because of Lin Zhen’s identity, but because this path to the ultimate ideal has been clearly outlined for the first time in such a practical and promising way!

She is no longer fighting alone, no longer a rootless duckweed!

A force powerful enough to fight against the entire old order opened its doors to her for the first time!

Even if the price is sacrificing myself...

The hot tears burst out again, but this time, it was no longer pure humiliation and despair, but a mixture of shock, disbelief, surviving the disaster, and a shocking longing for the huge hope!

Her body trembled slightly, and her arms that supported the ground loosened slightly due to the huge impact.

After several breaths, the blank brain barely struggled out of the huge shock and complex emotional vortex.

She opened her mouth slightly, her cracked lips moving, but no clear sound came out.

My throat was choked with sobs.

Lin Zhen's deep eyes in front of him seemed to contain tremendous power under the flickering candlelight.

In the end, she just pressed her forehead deeply against the back of her hand that was supporting the cold ground with great difficulty and great heaviness.

It was a humble but sincere gesture.

A word, so hoarse it was almost inaudible, yet filled with a sense of strength regained after being shattered, floated out with difficulty and clarity from her violently heaving chest and between her lips and teeth pressed against the ground:

"Thank you."

This "thank you" was as heavy as a mountain, containing the shock, sadness, humiliation that she could not express in words at the moment, as well as the glimmer of hope that broke out from the deep valley of despair.

Lin Zhen pulled her.

Xia Zhu stood up obediently and sat on her legs naturally with his strength.

Lin Zhen brushed her cheek with his fingers as the fragrance of her body wafted in. He said, "Now that we've finished our business, it's time to do some more human things."

"Well, I will obey you, my lord."

"Good boy~ Kneel down and open your mouth."