What a Woman Should Do

Su Li watched this family of three from the side, finding the whole scene rather odd.

To enter the Royal Academy of Mathematics, candidates are first carefully selected from local regions, choosing those with the greatest mathematical talent. Even after arriving at the academy, another round of selection takes place.

Martin Wu was apparently chosen from a county near the Capital. According to Su Li's memory of the student roster, Martin Wu was a private mathematics tutor with no official title, very young, but surprisingly managed to pass every round of selection and became Professor Jade Evans's student.

Ordinarily, having a son become Professor Jade Evans's student would be a great honor—especially in a small county, it would make the entire clan proud.

Yet Martin Wu’s parents kept hinting that Martin coming to study here had somehow brought shame upon their family.

Martin Wu and his parents were still at a standoff, and it was clear Martin Wu didn’t want to leave.

Seeing this, Martin Wu’s parents simply decided to drag him away.

Martin Wu’s mother grabbed his sleeve and tugged, saying, “Be good, Hua’er, come home with me!”

Martin Wu’s father hurriedly smiled apologetically at Su Li.

“I’m not leaving! I’m not leaving!” Martin Wu struggled to free his sleeve, but with a loud rip, the sleeve tore off. He fell to the ground, his hat came off, and a cascade of beautiful long hair spilled over his shoulders. Startled, Martin Wu grabbed his hat, looked up, and met Professor Jade Evans’s clear, discerning gaze.

Now, everything made sense.

Lily's Courtyard.

Lily Evans sat across from Martin Wu's parents, while Martin Wu stood dejectedly beside his mother.

"Professor Evans, we’re so sorry. Our daughter is mischievous, it’s our fault for not teaching her properly. We’ll take her home now. It’s outrageous for a girl to study at the academy. Please forgive her this time. We’ll take her home and teach her what a girl should and shouldn’t do, so she can be a good wife and mother and not show herself in public."

Lily Evans looked at the parents, then at the stubborn Martin Wu, and asked, "Martin Wu, as a girl, why did you disguise yourself as a boy and sneak into the academy?"

Martin Wu raised her head and said defiantly, "So what if I’m a girl? I got in on my own merit! Who says I’m not as good as the boys?"

“Silence, you rebellious girl!” Martin Wu’s father interrupted anxiously.

“Let Martin Wu finish,” Lily Evans said.

Seeing Professor Evans speak, Martin Wu’s parents could only keep quiet and let her continue.

Martin Wu seemed to have a lot of grievances bottled up. She poured it all out to Lily Evans: “Professor Evans, my parents are merchants in our county, and our family is fairly well-off. I have a younger brother, five years younger than me. My parents want him to study and become an official, so they hired a tutor for him. My brother is playful, so my parents made me accompany him in his studies. But I realized I’m actually very good at studying, especially in mathematics—I’m not bragging, but the math tutor they hired isn’t as good as me anymore! Recently, there was a notice in our county about Professor Evans’s Royal Academy of Mathematics recruiting math teachers, so I disguised myself as a man to take the exam, claiming to be the Wu family’s private tutor. I passed, and then I sneaked out here to study. Then my parents found out…”