Chapter 1177: Convince

Chapter 1177: Convince

Li Jinghua suddenly thought of the academy that Little Treasure and Little Bear had been running. She couldn’t help but put a hand over her chest and ask, “The Treasure-Bear Academy also accepts female students. Don’t tell me you thought about this ten years ago?”

Mu Yangling shook her head. “I wasn’t that far-sighted. At that time, I just felt that those young ladies were pitiful and felt that if they became literate and learned some math skills, their lives would improve. That’s why I suggested that Little Treasure and Little Bear take in female students.”

Li Jinghua heaved a sigh of relief upon knowing that she was still the Ah Ling she knew.

“I started thinking about this when I started the girls’ school.” Mu Yangling looked at Li Jinghua carefully and said guiltily, “All these years, I’ve been supporting the creation of more girls’ schools and thinking of ways to find jobs for poor students who graduated from the girls’ school, in order to build a good foundation. I’ve also given women priority to any suitable jobs in the factories, grain stores, and farms that are owned by the King’s estate.”

Seeing that she had sacrificed so much for this illusory matter and had persisted for so many years, Li Jinghua could not help but sigh and ask, “Does Fourth Brother know about this?”

Mu Yangling chuckled. Of course, Qi Haoran knew. After all, he had to deal with Fan Zijin.

Seeing her expression, Li Jinghua raised her eyebrows and asked, “Does Zijin know?”

Mu Yangling immediately shook her head. “He doesn’t know.”

If he knew, he would certainly make a fuss about it. He already had a problem with her monopolizing Qi Haoran, and would tempt Qi Haoran to take concubines every other day. If he knew that she wanted to stir up feminism, he would definitely chase out all the female workers she recommended.

Li Jinghua doubted Qi Haoran’s ability to keep secrets. “Can Fourth Brother hide it from him?”

“Definitely.” Mu Yangling patted her chest and said, “If he is determined to hide something from others, no one can pry his mouth open.”

Li Jinghua said nervously, “Then I won’t tell His Majesty about this either. You and your husband have to keep it a secret.”

Mu Yangling nodded fiercely and hugged Li Jinghua’s arm. “Sister-in-law, I know you’re the best. Then, what about the Publisher of The Lily Times?”

Li Jinghua was helpless. “Since you’ve already put it this way, how can I refuse?”

Mu Yangling was so happy that she almost jumped up from the ground.

Seeing her act like a child, Li Jinghua felt even more helpless. She only reminded her cautiously, “Don’t let anyone else know about this. If the ministers find out, both of us will have to bear the consequences. You have to know that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics…”

Extremely worried, Li Jinghua rambled on. There was no choice. If she raised the status of women, the first thing Qi Xiuyuan would think of was probably the harem interfering in politics. The second thing he would think of was the example of Empress Wu. Whether it was the former or the latter, there were dire consequences.

The two sisters-in-law decided on a plan just like that. Even Little Madam Xia didn’t know about this. Only Qi Haoran was lucky enough to know the gist of it from Mu Yangling.

Mu Yang threatened him while pressing upon him. “You must not tell Big Brother about this. Do you understand? You have to hide it from them like you hid it from Zijin.”

Qi Haoran cried bitterly. “Then why did you tell me? Can’t you hide it from me too?”

He really didn’t want to know this secret!

“No, how can I hide it from you when I still need to rely on your opinion and suggestions? Tell me honestly, by agreeing to become the Publisher of The Lily Times, is Royal Sister-in-law agreeing to my long-term goal?”

Qi Haoran shook his head. “I think Sister-in-law only reluctantly agreed because she was afraid that you would get into trouble by shouting about this. Ah Ling, don’t think about equality between men and women. This matter is way too complicated. Since time immemorial, men have always been superior to women, even when Wu Zhao was the Empress. How can achieving equality between men and women be so easy?”

Mu Yangling glanced at him and didn’t say anything. At least in her previous life, although there still wasn’t gender equality in some places and domains, men and women were equal at least in the eyes of the law and the general environment.

Mu Yangling did not expect Great Qi to achieve that so quickly because that meant change, and change meant bloodshed and sacrifice. What she wanted was subtle influence.

It was too hard for women in this era. It was fine if she didn’t have the ability to do something about it, but the key was that she had the ability, time, money, and power now. What was wrong with doing something for women?

Mu Yangling said to Qi Haoran, “If you don’t let me do it, I’ll be bored. I like to torture people when I’m bored. Tiger Head and Little Lion have to go to school every day now, and Little Leopard and Baozhu are away playing with Little Fu all day…”

Mu Yangling looked at Qi Haoran faintly.

Qi Haoran immediately changed his words. “I think your goal is not bad. Tell me if you need anything. Do you want me to tell Zijin to hire more female workers?”

Mu Yangling snorted and said, “There’s no need for that for the time being. I’ll let you know when I need your help.”

Qi Haoran heaved a sigh of relief. He felt that Ah Ling was really too dangerous now.

After Mu Yangling successfully convinced the Empress to be the Publisher, she felt more confident and straightened her back.

She bought the premises beside the newspaper office of The Great Qi Times as a base for The Lily Times. Only then did she send out invitations to invite everyone to the King’s Residence as guests.

Mu Yangling still had to choose two Deputy Publishers and a few editors from among these noble ladies. These people had to be talented women without exception before she would consider their personalities and characters.

Mu Yangling didn’t know much about the noble ladies in the capital, but Little Madam Xia did. Hence, based on her comments, Mu Yangling made a list. After inspecting them, she could visit them to convince them.

When Little Madam Xia saw the name list she had drawn up, she asked in surprise, “Aren’t you going to be the Deputy Publisher? Then how are you going to manage the newspaper office?”

“Well, I’m the boss.”

Little Madam Xia couldn’t help but laugh. She tapped her forehead and said, “Geez, you’re so smart usually, but you’re being silly this time. Their status can’t compare to yours, but what about the Empress? If she’s the Publisher and you’re the boss, doesn’t that mean that your position is higher than the Empress’s?”

Mu Yangling really hadn’t noticed this. She immediately corrected herself. “You’re right. Then I’ll be the Deputy Publisher. Still, I need one more Deputy Publisher. In addition to being all things to all people, she has to be intelligent, have a good character and not be pedantic.”

She was not good at management, so she had to choose someone who was good at management.

As the Lily Times had just been set up, someone needed to take charge. Therefore, she could not lack a Deputy Publisher for the time being.

“The position of the Publisher will be up for consideration every three years. While she can be re-elected, she can’t serve more than three terms.” This meant that the maximum time a person could serve in that position was nine years, preventing dictatorship.

After fine-tuning the rules and regulations, Mu Yangling looked at Little Madam Xia eagerly and asked, “Who do you think is suitable for the position of Deputy Publisher?”

Little Madam Xia really wanted to do it herself, but she knew that she was gentle and not domineering enough. She definitely could not control those people, so she could only hold the list and think hard. “You can consider Madam Hua, the wife of the Imperial Guards’ deputy general, Hua Yuan. Hailing from the Lu Clan from Shanyin, she was already famous for her talents before she got married. She’s dignified, generous, opinionated, and highly capable. Madam Lin—Lin Weide’s wife—is not bad either. For her to be able to debate with Teacher Lin in the bamboo forest, it can be seen that she’s talented and not arrogant. All the young ladies and daughters-in-law love to consult her…”

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