History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 108 No Regrets
Some people are good at understanding, while others have lost the ability to understand.

Zhao Xiu opened his eyes, his gaze filled with the bewilderment of someone newly arrived in this world. "Who am I? Where am I?"

"Oh no!" Chief Clerk Gou signaled the guards on both sides to keep an eye on Attendant Zhao, and he hurriedly came out of the room.

The Prefect Yuan, standing outside the gate, gestured to the Registrar not to speak, as he had already heard Zhao Xiu's words. Officials and clerks, having worked together for a long time, even adopted the same walking posture: one in front of the other, hands behind their backs, slightly hunched, as they reached the courtyard wall.

The registrar said worriedly, "What should we do? He's been beaten senseless."

Yuan Zhi was so angry he wanted to bang his head against the wall: "This guy was so tough yesterday! He's got thick skin. The stick hit his back, making a louder noise than hitting a wild boar, but he was fine! Besides, all the guards present testified that General Zhao only hit Zhao Xiu once, on the back. How could that have made him stupid?"

The registrar rolled his eyes and looked up at the sky, thinking: Look at your anxious face, I didn't say I would hold Zhao Zhi accountable for her mistake.

Yuan Zhishun looked at the wall but saw nothing.

Registrar Gou: "My idea is..."

Yuan Zhi: "Go with your plan. I still have to deal with those people from the Court of Justice, asking them to help investigate old cases. They haven't closed the old ones, and now they've found new ones. This is ridiculous..."

"Ok?"

Zhao Xiu suddenly became enraged, his voice piercing the roof: "Who are you? Who am I? Ah—who are you? Who am I?"

Yuan Zhi hurriedly urged the registrar to return, adding in his haste, "Keep an eye on him, don't let him run out of this courtyard. Sigh!"

Before heading to the prison, Governor Yuan visited the armory at the martial arts training ground, where Zhao Zhi was still hiding, waiting for news. Seeing her touching a large bow, as if reminiscing about something, Yuan Zhi's heart softened instantly. The general had married an ordinary woman—alas, his heart was filled with the deepest resentment!

"Um... Attendant Zhao is alright, you can go home. If you like the bow, take it."

Zhao Zhi put it back: "Now, a bow is not as useful to me as an axe for splitting firewood. Let the warrior use it. Governor Yuan, farewell."

Zhao Zhi walked like the wind, and it only took her a little over half an hour to get back to the East Fourth Ward from the north of the city.

Wei Mao waited at the alley entrance under the scorching sun. When he saw Zhao Zhi, he immediately bowed and said, "Master's wife, Yongning Temple is distributing melons and fruits today. I received some, and they are very fresh."

“My husband doesn’t teach you, so you don’t need to call me ‘teacher’s wife’.”

"Aunt Zhao."

"Call me Master's Wife."

"Madam, I've been waiting for a while. May I come to your house for a drink of water?"

“If you turn that way along this road, the well is right there, and there are buckets and ladles next to it.”

"I have been unable to drink unboiled water since I was a child."

“My stove is broken. If you come with me, you’ll have to drink tap water too.”

"Madam, I've come today because I need your help with something."

"What?" Zhao Zhi picked at her ear. "No, my ears are so sunburned I can't hear. Wei Mao, right? You should go back now, and take the fruits with you. I've never been able to eat these things since I was little."

"division……"

Zhao Zhi clenched her fist, her veins bulging.

Wei Mao wisely shut his mouth, bowed, and led his horse away, pondering: No, I still need to appease Master Wei first; at least Master Wei doesn't hit too hard. Also, I need to quickly send a letter to my two elder brothers, subtly inquiring about which of our family's close elder relatives is childless. This elder shouldn't hold a high official position, nor should their family be too wealthy. Meanwhile, far away in Luoyang, the Gentleman Attendant-in-Ordinary Wei Qingbin pounded his chest. What's wrong with me today? I just can't catch my breath.

After lunch, Zong Yin, Yuan Yi, and Feng Xing left the group of Cui clan students. The three of them were going to travel on their own, and their destination was Woye Town.

At the same time, the garrison commander of Woye Town, Yu Jin, "obtained" some crucial intelligence and rushed to Pingcheng to discuss the authenticity of the intelligence with the Yuan governor.

In the afternoon, dark clouds appeared on the horizon, and the wind picked up.

Several mounted warriors from Cui Academy hurriedly arrived at the outskirts of the field. They were acting on the orders of the academy's director to bring Cui Zhi back to the academy. As the rain began to fall, Wei Yao learned from Shang Tongmen why Cui Zhi was in such a hurry to return to Pingcheng.

Cui Zhi had been studying the Erya (a classical Chinese dictionary) under an elder in his clan. The old man fell ill for a short time, but unexpectedly, his minor ailment worsened, and within three days, his condition became critical. Having been teacher and student for so long, the curator asked Cui Zhi to return home to bid farewell to the old man.

Before the city gates closed, Cui Zhi entered the city and arrived at Cui Weng's residence. The young man could hardly recognize the withered body in the bedding as the handsome, silver-haired old man who had been urging him to study just a few days ago.

Only Director Cui and his page E Xun were in the room.

"Old man?" Cui Zhi sat down closer and gently brushed Cui's dull, messy hair behind his ears. The young man choked back tears as he called out, "Old man, it's me, Zhi. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling so unwell? I should have known better than to travel so far."

“Ah Zhi,” Cui Weng said, his eyes half-open, “you’re back so quickly.”

"Yes, I'm back, Uncle. Shall I feed you your medicine?"

"To Zhi, I wanted to talk to you while I'm feeling a bit better..."

Director Cui sat down and interrupted, "Sir, Cui Zhi is an outstanding young man. It's thanks to your dedicated guidance over the years that he's achieved this. You can share your advice about his future with him."

"Ha." The words were taken in reverse, and the last burst of energy that Cui Weng had mustered vanished.

He straightened his body, no longer looking at anyone, and murmured softly to himself, as if conversing with nothingness: "I have failed you, I have failed you. I have searched for decades, and I still have to carry this regret... still carry this regret..."

Director Cui covered him with a blanket, tears welling in his eyes as he comforted him, saying, "No regrets. Grandpa, no regrets."

A glimmer of light returned to Old Cui's eyes: "What did you say?"

“There are some things that those who should know already know, but they just dare not let you know,” Director Cui whispered in the old man’s ear.

“Ah—” Cui Weng’s throat made a sound, his face a mixture of crying and laughing, his lips moving as he tried to open and close: “For decades, I have worked so hard, thinking I was keeping it a secret, but it turns out, I have become what you see as a madman.”

Cui Zhi couldn't hear anything. He was about to lean over when the curator stopped him. "Let Weng go in peace."

Despite wearing a straw raincoat on his way back to the city, Cui Zhi still caught a chill, and witnessing Old Man Cui die before his eyes made him tremble uncontrollably. He tried to keep his voice steady as he asked, "Curator, what regrets were you talking about just now?"

"Who dies without regrets?" Director Cui stood up, his reprimand tinged with concern: "Go back and wash away the chill! If you're weak, you have to take extra care of yourself, otherwise what's the use of reading so many books? E Xun, change the old man's clothes."

That night, Niulangjun knelt outside the small door and kowtowed several times. "Old man, it's my fault. I didn't have time to find Wei Yin, causing you to leave with regrets. Old man, you saved me, and I will repay you with my life. Even if you're gone, I will find out whether you owe Wei Yin or Wei Yin owes you!"

After the torrential rain of the night, the countryside was cool and refreshing, and the scent of flowers and grass was invigorating. Only Hu Wuwu's mood remained as gloomy as yesterday.

Feng Xing, the new partner she was looking for, left. She tried to reconcile with Xing Hang, but he wouldn't say a word to her.

What left Hu Wuwu feeling most helpless was that last night she overheard the formal disciples chatting and learned that there was a complete set of notes on the "Zheng Feng" written by Confucius. If she had known this earlier, why did she bother to get close to Wei Yao and the other students, and even fall out with Liu Zhenzhu and the others?

(End of this chapter)