Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

The children didn't stand on ceremony and each took a piece. However, Xiao Tian and Xiao Qi didn't take any, probably because they knew they were wrong. But watching them eat, they couldn't help but swallow.

Upon seeing this, Su Qianrou asked, "Do you know you were wrong?"

"Know".

"If there's a next time, you don't need to come see me anymore, let alone eat with me, do you hear me?"

"I heard it."

"Alright, everyone take one."

The two then smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Qianrou."

Seeing that they were enjoying their meal made Su Qianrou happy too.

Mu Jinchen watched her from the side, lost in thought.

Xiao Hong saw him by chance and asked, "Sister Qianrou, who is this big brother? Is he your husband?"

"No, we're just friends."

Seeing how quickly she explained, Mu Jinchen felt a pang of displeasure, but he said nothing.

"Oh, he's so handsome, just as beautiful as Sister Qianrou."

The other children nodded in agreement.

Su Qianrou looked at Mu Jinchen, who was also looking at her, so their eyes met. "Why are you looking at me?"

"If you don't look at me, how will you know I'm looking at you?"

Su Qianrou didn't want to argue with him, so she looked at Xiao Tian and the others and asked, "Do you want to study?"

"No," they all said without hesitation.

Why?

"I have to cut grass to feed the pigs."

"I need to take care of my younger sister."

"I want to take care of my grandma."

“But you are still just children, this is not something you should be doing.”

"We've grown up."

"Don't you have anything you want to do?"

"I want to play."

"I want to make money, lots and lots of money, so that Grandma can afford medical treatment."

"There's nothing I want to do, but there are things I don't want to do."

"What do you not want to do?"

"I don't want to do farm work."

"Knowledge changes destiny. If you study and learn knowledge, when you grow up, you can do what you want to do. You don't have to stay here to farm. You can go to the city to work."

"Can we really go to the city?"

"Of course, as long as you study hard, it won't be difficult to find a job in the city in the future."

The children couldn't help but start thinking.

Xiao Cui then asked, "Can girls study too?"

"sure".

"But my mother won't let me go to school; I still need to take care of my younger siblings."

"Go back and talk to your family first. If they disagree, then come and tell me, and I'll try to persuade them, okay?"

"it is good".

Then, one by one, they ran home.

Su Qianrou stared at the teacup in front of her, silent, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Mu Jinchen asked.

"I'm thinking about how to persuade their families."

"You're afraid they won't agree."

"Ok".

"I believe you."

"The prince trusts me quite a bit, but I myself am not confident."

Mu Jinchen remained silent.

Su Qianrou then said, "Chunzhu, have Uncle Qi go find their family members and tell them that I have something to say to them."

"Yes".

After their meal, Su Qianrou and Mu Jinchen went to the main house, where many people had gathered, all of them tenants from the estate.

"Miss".

"Miss is here."

"Please sit down, everyone. There's no need to stand."

"You're too kind, Miss. We'll just stand here."

"Yes, we're dirty, let's not get the chairs dirty too."

"Yes, we can just stand."

Su Qianrou didn't insist. She walked over and sat down, then said, "I think you should know why I called you here."

"Yes, the children have told us that Miss wants them to go to school."

"Now that you all know, what are your thoughts?"

"To be honest, Miss, we also want them to go to school, but we don't have any money. There are many people in our family, and we have trouble even feeding them. How can we afford to send them to school?"

"yes".

"You don't need to spend any money. My school is specifically for children from poor families. However, my school is different from private schools. Private schools are for those who want to take the imperial examinations and pursue an official career, while my school is for children to learn to read and write, and at the same time learn a few skills so that they won't go hungry in the future."

Upon hearing this, the tenants began to discuss it amongst themselves.

Su Qianrou didn't stop them and let them discuss it.

Mu Jinchen handed her a cup of tea.

Su Qianrou took the drink, took a sip, and then asked, "What do you all think?"

"Miss, are you sure it doesn't cost money?"

"It's confirmed. And it's not just Xiaotian and his siblings; even their younger brothers and sisters can be sent to the academy when they turn five."

"Miss is of noble character."

"Miss Xie".

"You've agreed to this."

"Being able to study is certainly good, and being able to learn a skill is even better. This is a wonderful thing, and of course we agree."

"Yes, it's like a windfall."

"Exactly, we have no reason to disagree."

"That's settled then. You must take them to the academy on April 18th."

"Um...Miss, could you let Xiao Cui's brother go to school? As for Xiao Cui, forget it. She's just a girl. No matter how much she studies, it's useless. She'd be better off staying home and working."

"Yes, there are no girls who go to school."

"What's wrong with girls? Can't girls go to school? Who decided that?"

"It's not that girls can't study, but for families like ours, it's useless for girls to study."

"Not only is it useless, it also delays things."

"That's right, they've gone to school, so who will do the housework?"

"Do you think daughters are just for doing chores?"

The group then fell silent, but they didn't think they had said anything wrong.

Su Qianrou also knew that this was a concept formed over thousands of years, and changing it would not be something that could be done overnight. Therefore, she could only think of a gradual approach. So she said, "Uncle Qi, take them downstairs to register and write down the children's names and ages so I can make arrangements."

"Yes, miss."

Then, a group of people went outside, and the room instantly became much emptier.

Su Qianrou sighed deeply.

"Don't worry about it. Even in aristocratic families, people still believe that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, let alone in rural areas."

"I know, but someone has to make changes, otherwise sticking to the old ways and being stuck in the past will only lead to social stagnation."

"These ideas are deeply ingrained and will not be easy to change."

"Everything is difficult at the beginning, but as long as I am willing to climb, I refuse to believe that I cannot change them."

Mu Jinchen didn't say anything more.

Su Qianrou looked at him and asked, "Do you also think that women should obey their fathers at home and their husbands after marriage, and therefore do not need to be knowledgeable or talented, as long as they know how to be good wives and mothers?"

"I have never thought that way. In my opinion, there is no difference between women and men."

"real".

"Hmm... In fact, it's not a bad thing for a woman to be intelligent. If everyone could be like you, worrying about the people and thinking about the country, wouldn't that be a blessing for the people and a good thing for the country?"

"Don't flatter me, it makes me feel embarrassed."

Mu Jinchen smiled faintly and said nothing more.