My Aloof Lord Ex-Husband Begs for Remarriage
Chapter 413 Argument

Chapter 413: Chapter 413 Argument

If Jici Academy really had dealings with human traffickers, wouldn’t the Empress Dowager be furious?

With this thought, several Noble Ladies’ faces changed color.

If the Empress Dowager’s wrath were to fall upon them, what would they do?

And the Empress Dowager’s expression also changed after hearing Miss Lu’s words.

"Oh? Tell me, is it really as you say?"

Although the Empress Dowager seemed to be questioning Lin Xuanxuan, her gaze was entirely fixed on Chu Nanli.

After all, she was well aware that Chu Nanli was the one in charge of Jici Academy.

"Empress Dowager, the truth is not as people outside have rumored..."

Lin Xuanxuan, anxious to explain, was about to stand up when she was directly held down by Chu Nanli.

Chu Nanli gave her a reassuring look and then rose to reply.

"Empress Dowager, what this young lady has mentioned is not without basis. Some children entering Jici Academy do indeed require their parents to sign an Indenture of Servitude before we accept those children."

Upon hearing Chu Nanli’s words, Miss Lu’s voice suddenly became even sharper.

"Empress Dowager, look, they’ve admitted it themselves!"

"If this continues, won’t Jici Academy become a place for selling children? If they are with their biological parents it’s one thing, but if kidnappers bring stolen children here to dispose of their crime, what then?"

Miss Lu’s considerations were not entirely without reason.

After hearing her words, the Empress Dowager looked at Chu Nanli with a gaze that gained a few layers of meaning.

Ever since she understood Ye Jiuxiao’s intentions, she naturally became more critical when facing Chu Nanli.

The demands she had for Chu Nanli were naturally stricter than before.

If the Jici Academy that Chu Nanli had established ended up as Miss Lu described, it would probably be a case of good intentions leading to bad outcomes.

But the Empress Dowager did not speak at the moment.

Instead, she decided to wait and see how Chu Nanli would explain herself.

Chu Nanli listened calmly until she was finished speaking, then spoke again, "But Miss Lu, do you know what kind of life those children had in their biological parents’ homes?"

Currently, Jici Academy shelters a hundred children or so.

Most of them, like the child who was discarded at the door under cover of night last time, were forced by people arranged by Chu Nanli to sign contracts under duress.

"Most of these children are girls who, at home, had the responsibility for all household chores starting from when they could barely walk, and as they grew older, they had to help with labor in the fields."

"Even so, their families still did not treat them as kin, and once they came of age, they would be married off randomly to other families, merely to exchange them for a dowry to continue supporting their brothers."

Chu Nanli’s words caused the Noble Ladies to fall silent.

They had never imagined that such parents could exist in the world.

Parents who not only did not cherish their own children but could even treat them so harshly.

One of the esteemed Noble Ladies couldn’t help but speak up, "But even so, once those children grow up, can’t they learn to fight back on their own?"

"Fight back? Tell me, how should they fight back?"

There was a time when Lin Xuanxuan was as naïve as she, believing that the misfortune of those people must be because they did not wish to strive for better.

But she had never considered that not everyone is born with the same opportunities as her.

Some people don’t even have the chance to escape.

But after two months at the Jici Academy, she had seen far too much.

"They are not like you and me, born with luxurious clothing and abundant food, with the love and care of both parents. How could they resist?"

Lin Xuanxuan’s remarks successfully silenced all the Noble Ladies who were about to speak.

Putting themselves in their shoes, they indeed could feel the cruelty of the world towards women.

"But, but you still can’t coerce their parents into signing Indentures of Servitude!"

"Those children understand nothing, and you let them sell themselves. Isn’t that condemning them to a lifetime of servitude?"

Seeing the reaction, Miss Lu the Second was still somewhat unwilling to concede.

She always felt that Lin Xuanxuan was not that benevolent.

Moreover, she had heard from others that the Jici Academy was not as good as outsiders claimed it to be.

Some parents flatly disagreed, but still wound up signing the Indenture of Servitude under the pressure of the Jici Academy.

"But if we don’t do this, if we don’t sever the relationship between those children and their parents, what should they do once they grow up and their parents come back, using filial piety to coerce them into returning?"

Chu Nanli admitted that having those people sign the contract was indeed somewhat heartless.

But she did it for the sake of the children’s welfare.

She naturally could teach them to be self-reliant and self-sufficient, but once they grew up and were entangled by their biological parents, without that contract, they could only be coerced.

Miss Lu the Second wanted to speak, but when the words reached her lips, she didn’t know what to say.

She had to admit that what Chu Nanli and Lin Xuanxuan said made a lot of sense.

She was even rendered speechless.

After hearing Chu Nanli’s words, the Empress Dowager’s expression also showed slight movement.

She had originally thought that Chu Nanli established the Jici Academy merely to add glory to her own reputation.

Chu Nanli helping those children must also mean a lot of Silver spent, possibly even resulting in a loss.

But the Empress Dowager did not look favorably upon such expenditure of Silver.

What she didn’t expect was that Chu Nanli’s vision was far more long-term than she had imagined.

"Hmm, not bad. I too believe that you have considered this very thoughtfully."

With the Empress Dowager saying so, Miss Lu the Second naturally did not dare to say anything more.

But in truth, she was already persuaded by Chu Nanli’s earlier words and couldn’t find a reason to refute them.

Even if she were to argue, she feared that her arguments would simply be untenable.

"I believe that all of you should learn from these two, always keeping the common people in your hearts. This could also help your fathers and brothers. Even as women, you don’t have to confine yourselves to the inner courtyard for a lifetime; you should also look at the vast world outside."

With the Empress Dowager saying so, even if someone was jealous of Chu Nanli and Lin Xuanxuan, they wouldn’t choose this time to speak out.

Today, the Empress Dowager summoned these Noble Ladies into the palace, but her actual concern was not with them.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager simply said a few words of encouragement and sent them off to enjoy the flowers in the Imperial Garden.

Chu Nanli, on the other hand, was kept behind by the Empress Dowager alone.

Even though Lin Xuanxuan was worried, she didn’t dare openly defy the Empress Dowager’s wishes and could only look at Chu Nanli with concern several times before leaving under the guidance of a Palace Attendant.

"Do you know why I have kept you here?"

The Empress Dowager feigned severity, furrowing her brow as her gaze landed directly on Chu Nanli’s stomach.