Forced to marry, I picked up a young powerful official

Chapter 240: Heart-breaking

Everyone passed the memorial around and saw that it was indeed written by Gu Zhouzun and Hou Xuezheng.

If the women's college has been recognized by the governors and the academic officials of a state, it can naturally be considered legitimate. Everyone was somewhat skeptical about what Shen Nankui had said before, but this last point was indeed exciting.

The palace ladies-in-waiting are people who have served the royal family and are most attentive to etiquette and rules. It would be most appropriate if they could be invited to teach the girls in the boudoir.

It’s a pity that Yongzhou is far away from the capital, and each family is powerless to help.

If the girls' academy could really find such a respected person to preside over it, they might consider sending their daughters and sisters to study there.

The ladies' faces were no longer as resistant as before. Someone asked with a smile, "Madam Gu, what is the third point?"

Shen Nankui smiled and said, "The third one is about fundraising."

"You must be wondering why I only asked you to come here. It's because I want to run a women's academy to benefit women in the world. You are also women, so you can definitely understand my feelings, right?"

"That's true."

Gradually, the crowd began to echo the voices.

Shen Nankui smiled slightly and continued, "There is another reason. I will not hide it from you all. Most of you are the mistresses of the house. You are in charge of the account books and money. So it is easier to invite you to raise funds."

She had a playful smile on her face.

"Don't even think about going back to ask for permission from any masters or young masters. These masters and young masters usually spend hundreds or even thousands of silver just to buy a piece of antique calligraphy or painting, or to hold a wine party or poetry gathering. Now we are gathering together to raise funds to set up an academy. This is a great thing that will benefit the country and the people. Can't we make the decision ourselves?"

Although it was just a joke, it still hurt people's hearts when they heard it.

Yes, when the men in the family spent money, they never cared whether they had any difficulties or not. As soon as they stretched out their hands, they were like debt collectors. But today, they were invited to raise funds, but subconsciously they wanted to go back and ask the men in the family for instructions.

Why?

Didn't someone start this? "That's right, this is a good deed, what's there to ask? I can make the decision myself!"

"That's right. It's just a small matter, but it's worth asking them. It makes people more arrogant!"

Shen Nankui bowed to everyone and said, "Then I would like to thank all the ladies on behalf of the students of the Women's Academy in the future!"

She raised her smiling face and said loudly, "Among you all, I am the youngest and the most junior. I am also the one who initiated the fundraising, so I will be the first to make an impact. I will pledge two thousand taels of silver first."

After clasping his hands together, a maid came in with paper and pen.

Shen Nankui wrote his name and the amount of the donation on the paper, and then placed the silver note that he had prepared long ago on the tray.

She gave out two thousand taels of silver. Everyone was still in shock when someone else spoke up.

"I will donate 1,500 taels."

Everyone was shocked. So many?

It turned out to be Mrs. Zhang.

Everyone curled their lips. Everyone in Yongzhou knew that Zhou Zun and his wife were low-key and didn't like to interact with others, but they treated the Zhang family differently. The two families were as close as if they were wearing the same pair of pants. Since Shen Nankui had initiated the fundraising, the Zhang family would naturally support it wholeheartedly.

Although these thousands of taels of silver are not a lot for each family, it is still an expense. To put it nicely, it is a donation, but no one knows whether this girls' academy can be successful in the end. Giving away this money is like losing it, which is heartbreaking.

But the words have been said, and it is too late to regret now.

A lady said, "Well... we didn't know we were going to collect donations today, so we didn't bring enough money..."

Shen Nankui smiled and said, "It's okay. You just need to write your name and the amount of the donation on the list. I will send someone to go back to the mansion with you to get the money later, so you don't have to make another trip."

"..."

Seeing that they couldn't refuse, everyone had no choice but to donate one thousand taels, eight hundred taels, six hundred taels... one by one.

After filling out all the forms, Shen Nankui took a quick look and saw that there was at least three hundred taels of silver on them.

She was very satisfied with the result.

Seeing that everyone had donated money but their faces were not very good, Shen Nankui smiled and said, "Ladies, I believe you have all heard about the female teacher in Cang County, right?"

“I think I’ve heard of it.”

Shen Nankui continued, "I am that female teacher. I can tell you that in the academy I founded, there are 110 students, 20 of whom passed the Tongshi exam last year. Of the 20, 13 are under the age of 15. Don't think that 20 is not a lot. Of the 110 students in the academy, 27 are female students, and 38 are children who have just started to learn, under the age of 10."

As a result, there were only more than 40 people who could actually take the examination for Tongsheng, and the pass rate was as low as half.

You know, this is a college that was only established last year...

Everyone looked at Shen Nankui with a bit of respect.

Shen Nankui smiled and said, "In fact, I have already left the academy. These achievements are not my credit, but I believe that as long as we can make a good start, we will not worry about not having a good result. The same is true for the Women's Academy. Your Majesty once praised Cang County for its diligence in running schools. It can be seen that this is a good thing that Your Majesty recognizes. The Women's Academy we are going to establish in Yongzhou is the first academy in Tiansheng that is established specifically for women. Even Xiliang and Beiyue do not have it."

"Think about it, everyone. If our girls from Tiansheng go to the academy to study, they will be knowledgeable, sensible, and capable in the future. They will not only be able to create value, but also be able to raise good children. Given time, why worry that Tiansheng's national strength won't be stronger than the other two countries?"

“And now, we are making it happen.”

Shen Nankui's words were powerful. Everyone listened in silence, but they couldn't help but feel excited in their hearts.

They are just women. Can what they are doing now help the country become stronger?

This was something they had never thought of before.

The ladies' faces lightened up a little.

Madam Zhang was the first to applaud and said, "Well said. If we women can stand on our own feet, we can also contribute to the country!"

Shen Nankui smiled and said, "I want to say one more thing here today. When the women's academy is established, all the teachers will be women. So when the time comes, I will publicly recruit talented women in the city to work in the academy, and those of you who have raised funds today will have priority in the selection."

Madam Zhang continued, "This is indeed a good thing. My daughter Qiong has been taught by her father since she was young. I used to think that her learning of poetry and prose was useless, but now it can be put to good use. If she can really become a female teacher, then her reputation will be very loud and it will sound good when spread out. Don't you think so?"