My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Almost no one could believe it.

Of the seven children sent to the primary school, six were boys and one was a girl. They all passed the exam and became students of the lowest rank.

On the contrary, most of the students in the school failed the exam.

That's really surprising.

Moreover, the only girl admitted in this batch, Hai Jia Pang Ya, is eleven years old and has a round face. She is also the first girl to take the exam in a mixed-gender format.

Si Muyan was very pleased to hear this and rewarded the teachers and also gave a special bonus to the seven children.

He then said to them, "This time, we let you test the waters, but we succeeded. This shows that our teaching methods and philosophy are sound, and it also means that your hard work and efforts have not been in vain. From now on, let's continue to move forward together. Keep it up!"

He even took Fatty's hand personally and said earnestly, "Fatty, you did a fantastic job. Women can take the imperial examinations too. I hope you can continue to work hard and keep taking the exams, okay?"

The chubby girl blushed with excitement: "I will!"

As for the children in the school, they all fell silent. The teachers couldn't believe that the students they had taught for seven or eight years were not as effective as the children who had only studied in elementary school for three years.

However, it must be said that primary schools completely defeated traditional schools.

This is true not only in this county, but also in other counties.

At the same time, the issue of co-ed exams in Kyoto has also sparked a great deal of discussion.

Last year, my second sister argued strongly for male-female students, but was flatly rejected by Zhang Yuelin, the headmaster of Kyoto Academy, who stated that he would never agree to admit women.

Zhang Yuelin, along with his students, wrote several articles denouncing his second sister for rebelling against the Heavenly Gang and attempting to change the rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty that had been in place for centuries.

In their writings, men should be superior to women. And if a woman dares to resist, it is considered unfair to the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.

Of course, they dared not speak openly of the Empress, but could only gloss over it, saying that a small number of women were great simply because a man lived inside their bodies.

After much commotion, the second sister opened a girls' academy in Kyoto, and invited teachers from the pro-Kyoto faction to teach the courses. Moreover, the Kyoto girls' academy's students were different from the Kyoto Academy's students.

Moreover, Kyoto Academy has always been very strict in its practices.

They categorized the students eligible for admission into different classes based on their family backgrounds, and naturally, the teachers also varied. Students who studied under good teachers received better education.

Furthermore, Kyoto Academy's library is the most extensive in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. However, it is only open to a very small number of students.

Students are proud to have access to the library of Kyoto Gakuin.

However, while Kyoto Women's Academy's library wasn't as extensive as Kyoto Academy's, it was still quite good, and all the books were open to students. Anyone enrolled could read them.

This means women can learn even more.

When Kyoto Girls' Academy was first established, some noble ladies were still hesitant. After all, Zhang Yuelin was the headmaster of Kyoto Academy, a figure of great renown throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.

That truly means having students all over the world.

The first to respond was Du Shangge, who was already a fifth-rank official, but every time she wanted to be promoted, she was suppressed on the grounds that she had not participated in the imperial examinations.

She was unconvinced and vowed to study hard and pass the imperial examination to prove everyone wrong.

This troubled Princess He Ji, who personally went to persuade Du Shangge: "Shangge, you've never liked studying since you were little. Let alone the Four Books and Five Classics, you can't even understand the Thousand Character Classic. If you go to the Kyoto Girls' Academy now, won't you just become a laughingstock?"

Du Shangge puffed out his chest: "Aunt, I was ignorant when I was little, but I've grown up now. I have my own children and I'm an official in the court. Not being able to read the Thousand Character Classic is a thing of the past. What can't I read now?"

She may be impulsive, but she has been proud since childhood, and once she makes up her mind, she will do it.

Working during the day, taking care of the children at night, and still having to find time to study—it's truly hard work.

Her mother-in-law, seeing this, had some complaints. She pulled her youngest son aside and said, "Shangge is a woman who should stay at home to be a wife and mother. It's one thing for her to be out in public all day, serving as an official with so many men, but why does she have to take the imperial examination? What kind of talk is this?"

Fortunately, her husband was a sensible man and said, “Mother, we don’t need her to manage the household. She can do whatever she wants. When I was trying to marry her, I promised her that I would let her become an official in the court. Now she is not just a minor official, but a court official. I am proud of her.”

The mother-in-law glared at her son: "What are you saying? Look at her temper, she takes advantage of you. She's not like a good wife at all. Isn't she just relying on her good family background and her higher official position? If she were wholeheartedly supporting you and made you worry less about the children, wouldn't you be able to get promoted?"

“Mother, how can you say that? Shangge gave birth to two children for me and suffered so much. Under such circumstances, she was still able to become an official. It shows how difficult it was for her. It's one thing if you don't understand her, but how can you encourage me to hold her back?”

The mother-in-law was furious and was about to scold her son for forgetting his mother after marrying a wife when the eldest daughter-in-law arrived.

The eldest daughter-in-law is virtuous and capable, and is the one who pleases her the most. She just smiled and said, "Why do you say that, mother-in-law? In my opinion, it's more appropriate for Shangge to have her own things to do."

The mother-in-law glared at her: "You think so too? Do you also want to go to that girls' college?"

"Mother-in-law, I didn't want to." The eldest daughter-in-law hurriedly stepped forward to help her mother-in-law up, saying, "Mother-in-law, you know Shangge's reputation when she was young. She's the kind of person who can't stand not causing trouble. It's fortunate that she became an official in the court and had some restraint, otherwise, wouldn't our family have been turned upside down by her?"

The mother-in-law thought to herself, "That seems to be true. Besides, the Du family is an earldom, Du Shangge's parents are both generals, and her aunt is a princess. Even if Du Shangge causes a huge uproar, the Du family will be there to protect her. She has no other choice but to lament that she has married a bad daughter-in-law."

The eldest daughter-in-law added, "Besides, Shangge is the highest-ranking female official. Others have to give our family a lot of praise. Furthermore, do you think Shangge is good at teaching children?"

The mother-in-law quickly shook her head: "Her? She's the one teaching the children; she might lead my two grandsons astray!"

The eldest daughter-in-law laughed and said, "That's exactly right. You said she doesn't need to manage the household affairs; I can handle that myself. I don't trust her to raise the children. My third brother is talented and virtuous, so it's better for him to raise the children himself. If she has nothing to do, shouldn't we find something for her to do? Otherwise, wouldn't we be the ones causing trouble?"

Upon hearing this, the mother-in-law immediately nodded: "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right. I misunderstood before. Oh dear, you're the most considerate one. But Shangge has to be both an official and a student, it must be really hard for her. You should give her plenty of nourishment. She doesn't need to worry about the child either. If your third brother can't take care of him, send him to my courtyard. I'm free anyway."