"Since Teacher Huyan offers no reply, This Princess shall take your silence as consent."
Yun Shu was no fool. She clearly noticed the flicker of hesitation in Huyyan Mingchuan's expression.
But so what?
Words such as offering up Bei Xiang with both hands—who could say whether he spoke in jest or in earnest?
He had already used her name as a pretext to remain in the capital. Was it so wrong to demand a little down payment?
Besides... this man was truly quite curious.
She had given him a mathematics book, and he had genuinely studied it.
If she gave him a few more volumes, would that not serve another purpose? It would keep him too busy to bother her again.
Before he could speak, Yun Shu took charge and settled everything on her own terms.
"The new book shall arrive no later than tomorrow. With Teacher Huyan's brilliance, This Princess believes those will pose no difficulty.
As for future mathematics instruction at Tian Sheng Academy, This Princess shall entrust it to Teacher Huyan."
Huyan Mingchuan: "..."
Damn it. He had clearly wanted to refuse.
But this cursed subject called mathematics had seized upon his thirst for conquest with such precision that he could not utter even a single word of refusal.
What kind of detestable books were these? Infuriating, yes, but once touched, impossible to set down.
Clenching his fists as he watched Yun Shu's departing figure, Huyan Mingchuan gritted his teeth. Yet in the end, he did not step forward to stop her.
…
The Ninth Prince of Bei Xiang remained in the capital, while Cen Yiyi departed with Marquis Wu'an.
Yet neither event stirred much attention among the common folk of the capital.
Everyone was simply busy living their own lives.
Even Yun Shu, who had once made headlines in the Capital Weekly every few days, had grown unusually quiet for a time.
Day by day, she reported to court, reviewed memorials alongside Emperor Xuanwu, and occasionally visited the Ministry of Works.
So well-behaved was she that it left many ministers secretly ill at ease.
This calm persisted until the weather warmed and summer crept in.
After more than three months of silence, Yun Shu broke the stillness once more with an article published in the Capital Weekly—an article that sent ripples through both court and country.
"Your Majesty, it is not that we court officials bear any grudge against the Crown Princess, but rather that Her Highness is making things difficult for us."
"Your Majesty, the Crown Princess never once mentioned that Tian Sheng Academy would reserve equal spots for both boys and girls. How many families are truly willing to send their daughters to school? This is a waste of precious placements!"
"Indeed, Your Majesty! The Crown Princess even added a stipulation refusing to admit any children from families that have, in the past twenty years, abandoned or killed a healthy infant."
"This sort of thing may be rare in the capital, but in more remote regions, it is all too common. Once enrollment begins, families will surely turn to reporting or even slandering one another to secure places."
"At that time, local yamen will be overrun. The normal workings of government will be severely disrupted!"
"Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty!"
"Enough. We have heard nothing but your grievances since dawn."
The chorus of complaints, quacking like hundreds of ducks, grated on the ears.
Emperor Xuanwu's tone grew curt as he waved for silence, then turned his gaze to Yun Shu.
"Crown Princess, what say you?"
"Replying to Father Emperor, Your Daughter must confess herself sorely disappointed by the officials who just now stood to denounce me."
After three months of silence, Yun Shu once again opened fire in court, her words blasting through more than half the hall.
"Over the past months, Your Daughter has had people gather records from every charitable care home throughout Tian Sheng. The numbers show that among the abandoned infants, setting aside those born with illness, over ninety percent were healthy girls.
As for those smothered or drowned shortly after birth—also healthy—the number rises to ninety-nine percent.
Your Daughter had once thought that perhaps the ministers of court, raised in privilege and stationed long in the capital, had simply never seen such suffering.
Yet now it seems... you have always known. You simply deemed it commonplace, unworthy of mention."
"Never have we said such a thing!" came a swift rebuttal.
Those who prided themselves on upright character could hardly bear to be splattered with such filth.
An elder official furrowed his brows in protest. "Your Highness has clearly twisted our meaning."
"You may not have spoken such words, but this is how you have acted." The nail that sticks out gets hammered, and now that one had stepped forward, Yun Shu would not let him off.
She turned on him sharply, her eyes piercing as her voice rose, crisp and unrelenting.
"Very well. If you still claim innocence, then This Princess shall ask you: if someone present today had personally murdered or abandoned their newborn child, would you impeach them?"
"This is..."
The old official tried to reply, but Yun Shu cut him off with a cold bark.
"Answer This Princess. Yes or no!"
"...Yes."
"Good. And would your reason for impeaching him be that his heart is wicked, that he could even lay hands upon his own flesh and blood?"
"...Yes."
"Would you say such an act violates both morality and the laws of Tian Sheng?"
"...Yes."
"Then do you believe he ought to pay a price for his crime?"
"Yes!"
Realizing the questioning could only grow more damning, the elder official forced himself to answer quickly, then rushed to speak over Yun Shu's next words.
"But this is different!
No one here today lacks the means to raise a child. If any among us were to kill their own, it could only stem from cruelty. But the common folk are different! Many act from desperation, from poverty..."
"A fine excuse—poverty."
Yun Shu smiled, though the curve of her lips held not a trace of warmth.
"Then tell This Princess: why is it that the ones they must discard, the ones they choose to drown, are always girls?
Can it be that girls are too expensive to raise, but boys are not?"
"This is merely... merely a matter of choosing the lesser evil. Compared to boys, girls—"
Whatever the elder official intended to say dissolved under Yun Shu's frost-laden gaze.
His words faded into nothingness, swallowed by silence.
"Why do you fall silent now?"
Yun Shu's tone turned mocking as she slowly peeled back the veil they had all used to cover the truth.
"You see? You have always known. Yet none of you cared.
And now that someone does care, you find it troublesome."
You speak of future conflicts, of people reporting one another to the yamen to fight for enrollment. You say it will disrupt normal operations.
But tell This Princess—are not the crimes of infanticide and abandonment precisely the sort of matters the yamen is supposed to handle?
You boast of rising populations as political merit, yet turn a blind eye to the murder of infants as if such atrocities are beneath your notice.
Do you not find yourselves laughable?"