Chapter 238: Collapsed

Chapter 238: The Downfall

A week later, Zhu Yun finally met the Chairwoman of Tianqiong Group, who also presided over the Sky Foundation.

This was her first in-person meeting with the other woman.

From the moment she stepped through the gate, Zhu Yun could feel the tight security of the private villa; patrolling bodyguards openly carried firearms.

This didn't surprise Zhu Yun.

As far as she knew, extreme men's rights organizations had placed a 200-million-gold bounty on Zhou Fanyi's head on the dark web. Then there were the former members of Huangtian, whose lives Tianqiong had ruined, and competitors whose markets Tianqiong had seized. Many people wanted her dead, so caution was always warranted.

In a way, their enemies were the same.

Zhu Yun had long sought an opportunity to speak with Chi Jing.

"Chairwoman Zhou."

"Chairwoman Zhu."

The tall woman standing before the floor-to-ceiling window turned, revealing a somewhat aloof face with delicate, sharp features. A polite, fleeting smile touched the corners of her lips.

The two shook hands, then settled into opposing armchairs.

"Actually, I've always been very interested in your party's platform. Otherwise, I wouldn't have invited you to join the foundation in the first place. Of course, I also understand your reservations—after all, I am a businesswoman, and one who dreams of controlling politics."

Chi Jing spoke directly, her gaze fixed on Zhu Yun, her ambition unconcealed.

Zhu Yun was momentarily surprised. She had expected a lengthy dance of words to uncover Chi Jing's true intentions, not such frankness.

Given this, she saw no need to hide her own agenda. "What are the conditions for receiving Chairwoman Zhou's support?"

As long as the terms weren't too outrageous, she could compromise.

After all, the Feminist Party was already fracturing internally. If she couldn't secure new funding, she would have no choice but to accept being completely shut out of the political arena.

Zhu Yun lowered her gaze, her fist resting on the sofa's edge tightening slightly.

"Conditions?" Chi Jing's voice grew cool.

After a pause, she replied, "How about establishing an all-female government?"

Zhu Yun froze. "What?"

In a country with a thousand-year history of all-male governments, an all-female government was considered by almost everyone to be an impossibility.

The Feminist Party merely advocated for gender equality, equal pay, and a 50% female representation in government. Even that had been slammed as "too radical."

"Hasn't women's status already risen enough? I don't see any inequality."

"Feminism just wants privileges to dominate men, right? How is that any different from what men do?"

These were the milder comments.

Zhu Yun's personal social media inbox received hundreds, sometimes thousands, of vile private messages daily.

Even now, she vividly remembered the first time she appeared in the political arena, standing on the podium, advocating for women's rights and severe penalties for domestic violence and sexual crimes. The response was a torrent of obscene abuse.

"Where's her man? Who gave her the right to speak here?"

"Drag her down and f*** her to death!"

"..."

Contrary to her expectations, these words didn't come from uneducated, low-class men, but from educated individuals, even professors and high-ranking politicians.

Yet, when dealing with female competitors, they resorted to the same age-old tactics.

She stood on stage, barely able to utter a few words before being interrupted. Not a single man was willing to listen. A barrage of verbal attacks, humiliation, and malice overwhelmed her, nearly crushing her physically, leaving her teetering.

The crowd roared with mocking laughter, watching her as if she were a joke, full of contempt and disdain.

In the end, she fled the stage in disgrace.

The men exchanged knowing smiles. "As expected, women aren't cut out for politics."

Over twenty years had passed, and Zhu Yun had forgotten the depth of her sadness and discouragement then. Only the anger remained, an unquenchable flame burning steadily, if not grandly.

Compared to that time, the situation had improved.

More and more women had entered politics, and men's attitudes toward them had softened, even becoming accommodating.

But every woman who rose to a high position, without exception, spoke with the same tongue, discussing only topics within safe parameters.

"Women must balance career and family."

"She can be both an outstanding female general and a great mother."

"..."

Women had finally entered politics, but no one dared to say that gender discrimination still existed.

Because they were no longer starting from nothing. Compared to risking their positions and opportunities for promotion by taking a stand, it was undoubtedly better to conform to the existing system and maintain their current status, right?

This was also why Zhu Yun was unwilling to merge the Feminist Party with the B Party.

Even if such a concession would grant party members access to the political arena, they would simultaneously lose the right to speak freely.

However, establishing an all-female government was still a bit too far-fetched.

Reality wasn't an empowerment fantasy; there was no such thing as overnight success. Every small step forward required a thousand times more effort, but regression could happen in an instant.

Zhu Yun curved her lips into a gentle smile. "Chairwoman Zhou, you must be joking. But after seeing so much harsh reality, it's nice to occasionally hear about optimistic visions."

After all, hope was truly precious for women in their era.

Chi Jing looked at Zhu Yun, her aloof eyes revealing a trace of a bitter, helpless smile. "You're not the first person to say I'm joking, but I never joke."

As she spoke the last word, her expression turned extremely serious and earnest, leaving Zhu Yun completely stunned.

Perhaps Chairwoman Zhou was an idealist. Idealists always had some grand visions—that made sense.

But recalling the things the other party had done through the foundation, Zhu Yun quickly dismissed that guess.

Based on these actions, it was clear that the other party was a results-oriented pragmatist.

Then it must be a misunderstanding of the actual situation. She decided to emphasize the difficulty of this matter to Chi Jing.

"Chairwoman Zhou, you must be aware of how Zhang Quanming won against his competitor Lin Anna and was elected as the leader in the general election three years ago, right?"

"I didn't pay much attention to politics back then."

Zhu Yun sighed softly, just as she thought. She briefly recounted the situation at the time.

Lin Anna was the only woman in the empire who had reached such a high position and was even able to compete with Zhang Quanming, a supporter of the A Party. However, unlike Zhang Quanming, who came from a humble background but had strong capital backing, Lin Anna had a privileged background and held a moderate, practical stance.

This put her in an awkward position: her gender made it difficult to gain support from male voters, while her moderate attitude failed to win over female voters.

"She clearly had power, yet she never did anything for women. Why should women support someone like that?"

"So you'd rather support Zhang Quanmin?"

"At least I wouldn't support an unqualified candidate just because of their gender."

The reality was far more complicated, but the reasons for Lin Anna's defeat could be seen in the voters' remarks.

And so, Lin Anna, who had climbed higher than any other woman, fell just one step away from the peak of power.

Lin Anna subsequently withdrew from politics.

At the time, Zhu Yun, who had failed to even pass the primaries due to a lack of support from major parties, had hoped to see a glimmer of hope in Lin Anna.

But her crushing defeat dealt Zhu Yun a heavy blow.

Reality was far less optimistic than she had imagined. The ideology of male supremacy remained deeply rooted like a stubborn disease in the minds of the vast majority of people.

Through Lin Anna's downfall, Zhu Yun saw the bleak future of the women's rights party. Grief, anger, regret—a mix of complex emotions overwhelmed her.

How much longer would it take for women to truly step onto the political stage?

She stood in the fog, calling out and feeling her way forward, unable to see even a glimmer of light.

"...I know you're very wealthy, Chairwoman Zhou, and you possess cutting-edge technology. But money can't solve everything. We can't achieve everything overnight. Instead of aiming for an all-female government, wouldn't it be more practical to first strive for half female representation in government departments?" Zhu Yun said calmly.

As a representative of the radical faction, she never imagined she would one day be advising someone else not to be too radical.

Chi Jing smiled. "You know, I'm a businesswoman. The only reason I'd propose an all-female government is because it aligns with my interests."

What interests? Zhu Yun couldn't figure it out.

Under Zhu Yun's slightly puzzled gaze, Chi Jing took out a document and pushed it toward her.

"This is the experimental report on the internal transplantation of an artificial uterus. Animal trials have already succeeded, and we've already contacted death row volunteers. If all goes well, it could soon be put into practical use."

"But... who would want to get this transplant?"

"Men, of course. In fact, I've always supported gender equality and fully endorse men's right to reproduce. Now that the Material Machine has solved the issue of obtaining eggs and sperm, combined with artificial womb technology, men can achieve independent reproduction. Wouldn't that remove the need for men and women to live together? In that case, wouldn't it be natural for women to have an all-female government?"

Zhu Yun's eyes widened. The idea sounded absurd at first, but upon closer thought, it somehow made sense.

"This is just your hypothesis. Men probably wouldn't want to transplant a uterus—they don't even want to get vasectomies."

"They might avoid vasectomies, but sex change surgery is an option. Don't underestimate what a businessperson can do. If there's a product, there will always be buyers."

Chi Jing looked at Zhu Yun and asked with a smile, "So, what do you think, Chairwoman Zhu? Interested in collaborating?"

Zhu Yun remained silent. After a long pause, she let out a soft sigh.

"I really hope I'm not losing my mind."

————

"The First Lady asked for me specifically for the interview?" Liu Ming stared at her supervisor in disbelief, almost doubting her own ears.

After Li Qiren of Birch Capital was imprisoned, Liu Ming, who had inside information, wrote an in-depth investigative report exposing his despicable deeds. His crimes became known to the world, and the name "Li Qiren" was firmly nailed to the pillar of shame.

Liu Ming turned misfortune into opportunity, as it allowed her to join a major national newspaper.

But she never expected that the important assignment of interviewing the First Lady would fall to a newcomer like her.

After all, every other reporter at the newspaper had more established backgrounds—either officials or politicians. By any reasonable measure, it shouldn't have been her turn.

Liu Ming frowned. "There must be some mistake. The First Lady shouldn't even know me. Why would she specifically ask for me?"