"Wanwan, on this trip to Hezhou, you truly accomplished something extraordinary. Since ancient times, favoring sons over daughters has become a shackle forged by history. I tried every means I could, yet I could not shake the stubborn beliefs in the people's hearts."
"When I ruled from behind the curtain, I even considered kicking the emperor off his throne and becoming empress myself."
"But that would only have fulfilled my own imperial ambitions. It would not have helped the women at the bottom of society whom I sympathized with in the slightest."
"Then, one day, you appeared."
"Sweetheart, do you know how deeply you shook me when you opened your mouth and proposed a law to protect girls?"
"My heart, dormant for so many years, began blazing again from that very moment."
"Because you appeared, your mother's strengths blossomed, and I found more like-minded people, such as Youyan and Li Qian. They have been doing exactly what I wished to do."
"You did wonderfully, wonderfully well in Hezhou. That affair directly influenced the establishment of the law, so I invited you here to have a look."
"Wanwan, look. Aren't their futures as radiant as yours?"
The Empress Dowager's eyes brightened slightly as she pointed at the busy figures outside the window, her gaze filled with hope.
She was no longer far from the world of equality between men and women that she dreamed of.
Xia Wanwan's little face grew solemn as she said slowly, "No, they're not the same!"
"They have their own light. They aren't like me."
As her words fell, clear voices reciting lessons rang out from the courtyard.
"Confucius said: a gentleman who lacks gravity will command no respect, nor will his learning be firmly rooted..."
Women, too, could be gentlemen.
"Ninth Prince's Consort, your learning is