The Women's Academy
This world was completely different from the one she knew. It was a world built from the author's imagination, in which a transmigrator had become the empress two reigns ago. As a result, women's status had risen: they could attend school and serve as female officials. Technology, too, was somewhat more advanced than in ancient times as recorded in history. Crops such as potatoes and sweet potatoes existed, and cement and glass could also be found.
That empress had also established the Women's Academy. Women who graduated from it not only gained a substantial advantage in the marriage market, but could also use their own abilities to obtain posts at court or in government offices. It gave all women a path to establish themselves and rise in the world.
The head of the Women's Academy in the capital was the current empress. At the provincial, prefectural, and county levels below her, the heads were almost all locally respected women of distinguished birth, or the wives of provincial governors, prefects, and county magistrates.
Because Beining County came under the capital's jurisdiction, the head of its academy was no ordinary person: she was Grand Princess Shangde, the current emperor's younger sister.
Grand Princess Shangde shared the same mother as the current emperor and was his only full sister. Moreover, her husband was a great general who held military command and spent the year stationed at the border. The emperor treated her with particular favor and granted her Beining as her fief, so Grand Princess Shangde became the head of Beining Women's Academy.
If Xu Xi entered the Women's Academy, she would be Grand Princess Shangde's student. The Marquis of Suiping's Residence was a declining noble household, nearly squeezed out of the capital's aristocratic circle. They hardly dared breathe in Grand Princess Shangde's presence, so how would they dare challenge her?
This was the backing Xu Xi intended to find for herself.
It could be said that as long as she entered the academy, she would gain considerable control over her own fate. Moreover, the various kinds of knowledge and skills she had learned in the modern world would have an explanation, so people would not suspect her of being possessed by a ghost and seek to burn her to death.
"But... will the marquis's household allow you not to go back?" Xu Yongyi asked hesitantly.
Xu Xi knew what Xu Yongyi and his wife were worried about.
She could trick the system, but she could not let it cause Xu Yongyi and his wife to worry.
"Uncle, please believe me. I would never harm the Xu family," she said, looking intently at Xu Yongyi. "And for my sake and Fifth Miss's, the marquis's household certainly won't do anything to hurt you, either. I just need a little time. I'll take care of the matter with the marquis's household."
Madam Xie already knew about Xu Xi's predicament. She quickly nudged her husband. "Don't worry about all that. Hurry and tell Miss Xi what you found out."
Xu Yongyi had no choice but to set aside his doubts and begin relating what he had learned.
Their villages belonged to Beining County, which came under the capital's jurisdiction. The county seat was only four or five li away, and from there, another ten li east lay the gates of the capital.
Xu Yongyi was a traveling peddler who went from village to village and through the lanes. He usually bought goods in the capital, then carried them on a shoulder pole to sell throughout the county seat and surrounding villages. He was very familiar with both the capital and the county seat, so it was easy for him to make inquiries.
"There's only one school for girls in the county, an official school run by the government. Only unmarried girls between ten and eighteen can enroll. It's divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. Everyone starts in Class D and gradually moves up. They teach music, chess, calligraphy, painting, embroidery, and the like. Tuition for half a year is two, four, eight, and fifteen taels of silver, respectively. The New Year only just passed. I asked someone, and as long as you pass the exam, you can start studying there right away. Miss Xi, you asked at just the right time. The exam happens to be tomorrow."
When he finished, he added, "But there's a two-hundred-cash registration fee for the exam, and you also have to get a document from the village head to prove your identity."
Hearing the first part, Madam Xie was tempted.
She had only a son and a daughter. Her son, Xu Chongwen, was now studying at a school, but her daughter, Xu Xue, had always stayed at home. Since her eldest uncle, Xu Yongzeng, was a scholar, Xu Xue had studied alongside Xu Xi under him. Madam Xie loved her children, and when she heard that the county had such a school for girls, she thought it would be quite good to send her daughter there to learn some skills.
But when she heard the tuition fees mentioned afterward, Madam Xie immediately gave up the idea.
Their family was not poor. Besides the money Xu Yongyi earned as a peddler, they had more than ten mu of farmland. That income was enough to feed the family, with a little left over to send Xu Chongwen to school, but beyond that, there was hardly any money left at the end of the year.
Although Madam Xie held the monthly rent of one tael of silver from the first branch's house in the city, she had no intention of touching it except to pay for Xu Xi's schooling. If Xu Xi did not return to the marquis's household, the money would go toward her dowry; if she did return, she would take it back with her.
Who knew what things were like in that marquis's household? What if she had to pay people off just to eat a bowl of rice or drink a cup of tea? Wouldn't she be in trouble without money?
Xu Xi nodded and turned to Madam Xie. "Aunt, let Xu Xue come with me tomorrow. At school, she can not only gain knowledge but also make connections. You don't want Xu Xue to spend her whole life in this little village and then marry another villager, do you? She'd spend her life serving her parents-in-law and the rest of the family, running circles around the stove. If she married into a bad family, she'd be beaten and scolded, and live in poverty all her life."
Madam Xie was tempted.
She looked at her husband and mumbled, "But the family has no money."
"Don't you give me half a qian of silver every month? I haven't spent any of it; I've saved it all. If we pass the exam, we'll only be able to enter Class D. Our tuition for half a year will be four taels in total. I have it all, more than enough to cover tuition and brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for Xu Xue and me," Xu Xi said.
Before Madam Xie could speak, Xu Xi raised a hand to stop her. "I know what you want to say. But Xu Xue is my younger sister, and I'm spending this money on her. Aunt, you can't stop me. Besides, she can make money with skills like embroidery, calligraphy, and painting that she learns at school. You can't hold Xu Xue back for life just because you want to save money for me. You heard it just now: the school only accepts unmarried girls up to eighteen. Once Xu Xue is married, they won't take her if she wants to study there. An opportunity must not be missed; once lost, it will not come again."
Madam Xie said no more and only looked at her husband.
Xu Yongyi thought for a moment and nodded. "All right, we'll do that."
He reassured his wife. "Let's treat the money as a loan from Miss Xi. We can pay her back when we have the money. Rather than save up for Miss Xue's dowry, it's better to let her learn some skills at school. A thousand qing of fertile fields at home cannot compare to a skill in hand. With a trade, there's nothing to fear at any time."
Hearing her husband's words, Madam Xie felt relieved and nodded. "All right, we'll do that."
She looked at Xu Xi, her eyes full of gratitude and affection. "Miss Xi, thank you on Miss Xue's behalf."
Xu Xi waved a hand. "What are you thanking me for? She and I are sisters for life."
Had Xu Xi said this before, Xu Yongyi and Madam Xie would only have been gratified: the two sisters were close and could look after each other in the future. But now that Xu Xi had said it, the meaning was different.
What she meant could not have been clearer.
Whether or not she returned to the marquis's household, became its young lady, or married into any particular family, she would always regard Xu Xue as her sister. She would not treat the Xu family with contempt or distance herself from them simply because she had suddenly gained wealth and status.