Duan Yazhu pursed his lips and said, " How..can I know about acupuncture? I didn't study that. "
" Exactly. You can't do that. Because you didn't learn that. But I can tell what you were talking about earlier. I know about business better than you and I am telling you that you're just looting the royal treasury for your own benefit." She said without batting an eye.
Duan Yazhu gritted his teeth upon hearing her words. How can she say something so outrageous?
" What? Your Majesty, what do you know about business? You never even touched a book then how can you tell about business?" He asked sarcastically while looking at Zhao Ming with ridicule.
She scoffed when she heard his words.
" Mr. Duan, you need to correct yourself. It's not that I didn't study, I just couldn't study. Because of the so-called norms of the society which does not allow women to study. So don't say that I didn't study because I wasn't given any choice."
" Also, my father was not orthodox like you, that's why he has given me the education that was deprived of other women. And about business, I think His Majesty can tell if I know about it or not."
Ji Cheng nodded as he remembered the way she uncovered Yu Kang who used to work at Wen Ru's shop.
She is good at these things better than some of his ministers.
Duan Yazhu gritted his teeth and glared at Zhao Ming as if he could burn her with his gaze.
" You are challenging the norms of society now? Your Majesty, don't forget that the whole country works because of these norms. It is true that women only belong to the kitchen and home."
" You're also sitting here between men because you're the wife of the Emperor of the country. Otherwise, you are nothing." He spurted as he was triggered by her words.
"Duan Yazhu how dare you talk to the Empress of the Ji Dynasty like this? Seems like you're forgetting your place. My grandfather was the one who made you head of the school, but it seems like you have forgotten to be grateful towards the royal family."
" Because without the support of the royal family, you're nothing as well. " Ji Cheng roared as his patience left when he heard his words.
" And what the Empress said was right. Your school only serves the noble and rich families, then why do you need so much money from the royal treasury? You just want to maintain your elite status in schools while using the royal budget in the name of education of the children."
Duan Yazhu was surprised when he saw Ji Cheng's burst out. If not for Zhao Ming, things wouldn't have turned this way.
…..
Zhao Ming pursed her lips and stared at the men in the room who were staring at her with their questionable gazes.
They were looking down on her for not being talented but for being a woman.
" Hah. It's crazy."
Ji Cheng was about to order Feng Ju to throw Duan Yazhu out of the room but before he could say anything, he heard Zhao Ming's chuckle
He turned to look at her and saw her sarcastic smile. He was startled for a moment seeing the change in her attitude.
" You think I am nothing? I don't have any identity other than being Ji Cheng's wife? Mr. Duan, it seems that you don't know me very well. Let me introduce myself, I am Zhao Ming, the daughter of the great doctor Zhao Bai."
" I have spent my whole childhood moving from one village to another, from one place to another to treat people. At the age of 8 when other students from your noble families entered your school and must be playing, I treated my first patient and that too myself." She said with a confident smile.
" At that tender age when I was supposed to play, I was working hard to treat the people of the Ji Dynasty. I have been working as a doctor since I was only 11 years old. Can you do that? Do you think that I am still nothing?"
" Even though I lost my charm since I got married into the palace, however, if I haven't got married early and was not bound by the palace walls, I might be the first female official doctor of this era by now."
Since she has Zhao Ming's memories, she realized how amazing she was as a woman. Even she has to acknowledge that Zhao Ming is so capable at such a young age.
Zhao Ming was only 17 when she got married to Ji cheng. In this world, the legal age to get married for women is 15 years old.
And now it's been two years since she has gotten married to Ji Cheng and was only 19 years old when she died.
There is a three years gap between them as Xie Ming was 22 years old when she died. However, her achievements in those 22 years of life were incomparable to Zhao Ming.
Duan Yazhu's mouth was shut when he heard Zhao Ming's words. He has heard about her that she is the daughter of a military doctor but he doesn't know much about her.
But now when he heard her words, he was speechless.
Ji Cheng was also in awe when he heard her words. He knows that she is different from other women and used to practice medicine with her father, but it was also his first time to hear these words.
" But even though you know a bit about medicine, you can't make decisions about the business. Medicine and business are different. How can you say that...I am wasting money?" The head of the school was a little baffled and his tone became softer after listening to the self-introduction given by Zhao Ming.
Her lips curled up in a smile as she with a sneer said, " You should use those donations for the works such as maintenance and new equipment. Also, I suggest that rather than spending on the luxurious life of them, please focus on their personality build-up and mental growth."
" Money should not be counted for their education, it's correct. But we should also focus on their education more than superficial things."
" If you had asked this budget to use for the education of those students whose parents cannot afford their education, I would have passed it without any thought. But your request just doesn't make any sense."
Duan Yazhu pursed his lips as he was embarrassed upon hearing Zhao Ming's words.
By now, no one has talked to him like this. But today not only Zhao Ming but Ji Cheng has scolded her because of her.
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