History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 11 The Servant Gets Slapped (Thanks to the friend who gifted me a monthly pass)

He should have waited a bit longer when choosing horses and teamed up with the other children. Now, everyone else is either riding and practicing in groups or chatting and laughing, but he's being ignored. He's not comfortable following along, but he's not comfortable not following either.

After circling around Wei Yao twice, Wei Zhen felt a surge of desire to gallop.

Wei Yao called out to her, "Run away, I'll come find you later."

"Go ahead." After Wei Mao waved to the other party, Wei Zhen smiled broadly and responded crisply, chasing after the direction that Jing Tongmen and the other two had left in.

Soon, Wei Yao felt she had gotten used to the blue horse, so Wei Mao urged the horse to trot, keeping his hand on the reins to control the horse's speed.

Qu Rong had no choice but to run after him; it was so awkward, he felt like a stable boy!
Under Wei Mao's guidance, Qingma began to accelerate steadily.

How could Wei Yao let the other party continue running? So she said, "I can stop now."

"Okay." Wei Mao let go.

Wei Yao was no longer reserved. She looked around and saw the pasture meeting the azure sky. In the distance, there were gentle hills, and colorful horses and brown camels carrying people dressed in bright colors passed by on both sides, shouting happily.

"Giddy up!" she shouted, her heart growing wilder despite the cold wind blowing against her face!
Sensing her will, the blue horse broke free and carried her toward the hill.

Wei Mao turned around at this moment, and Qu Rong was far behind.

At this moment, Qu Rong felt both hatred and shame. He hated himself for only realizing now that Wei Mao had done it on purpose! He also hated his elder sister for acting on her own initiative, just like their father. It was one thing for her to want to climb the social ladder, but why did she always make him fawn over Wei Mao? Now, those people were his fellow disciples, leaving him behind and ignoring him completely.

What made him even more indignant and embarrassed was that he shamelessly quickened his pace to catch up, only to find that Wei Mao had gotten on someone else's horse!

Riding with Wei Mao was Lu Baozhen, who had also brought her own mount, using the spacious pasture for a ride. Upon spotting Wei Mao, she first called him onto her horse, then asked him why he was standing there. Learning that the girl who had helped her, Wei Yao, was ahead, she happily urged her horse to hurry after them.

As for Wei Yao, she had already run some distance but still hadn't seen any of her fellow disciples, Zhen. She wasn't in a hurry; riding practice should be done at her own pace.

The advantages of the pasture weren't just its vastness; it also housed various wild animals, all captured by Xianbei warriors during their long hunts. She had already spotted the place; many people had stopped there to let their horses drink.

Perhaps Zhen, a fellow disciple, is there too? She adjusted her direction and headed over.

But as soon as they got close, a tiger's roar shook the sky! Many horses were startled, and the blue horse immediately knelt on its front hooves. Wei Yao fell down with the horse's head, and her right wrist, which had been strained too much, suddenly felt a sharp pain.

Those watching the tigers nearby were a group of members of the imperial family and sons of meritorious officials. One cage contained an adult tiger, and another cage contained two cubs, all of which had been transported from Yinshan.

The sudden roar was caused by someone hitting the cubs with a stick, which enraged the mother tiger. As the king of beasts, the tiger would rather die than suffer humiliation; it kept banging against its cage. The state guards ordered everyone to disperse and not further provoke the tiger.

Xi Jiao and his partner Zhou Tai came out of the crowd and saw Wei Yao, who had just gotten up from the ground. She was wiping away tears. Did she see him too? That's why she hurriedly turned her back.

Zhou Tai: "What a coincidence, running into this young lady again. Did she fall and cry?"

Xi Jiao didn't want to concern herself with Wei Yao, but since they had been classmates, she coldly ordered her servant, "Go and ask her if she's hurt."

Feiming sensed his master's displeasure and took the task ahead of the other servants.

Actually, Wei Yao didn't see Xi Jiao. Something got into her eye when she fell from her horse, and she couldn't rub it out no matter what she did. The wind made it even worse, so she turned away from the wind and blinked gently. When Fei Ming came over and asked her, she learned that Xi Jiao was nearby.

Feiming: "I met the lady again. Young Master Xi asked me to ask her if she was injured?" "No."

"Since you're not injured, please forgive me for saying this, but a young lady as delicate as you should not practice horseback riding. If you cry at home, no one will know, but if you cry here, people will only laugh at you."

Wei Yao isn't truly young; how could she allow this servant to mock her and leave! "Stop! I've only met you twice, and you've already spoken so presumptuously. I'd like to ask Young Master Xi if he knows about your talkative nature!"

Fei Ming was not afraid at all, and even sneered: "You have quite a temper. Young Master Xi is over there, please."

Regardless of whether it was real or fake, just as Wei Yao was about to rush towards Xi Jiao, Wei Mao and Lu Baozhen ran up and called her name.

Feiming seized the opportunity to slip away, noticing the servant's nervous demeanor as he suppressed his arrogance. She understood then that the scoundrel was taking advantage of her powerlessness; her complaint to his master would be different from Wei Mao's or Lu Baozhen's complaints to their masters.

Wei Mao and his companion dismounted and asked in unison, "What's wrong?"

Wei Yao pretended to suppress her grievances and shook her head without saying a word.

Wei Mao's anger flared up instantly: "Where did you fall or who bullied you?" He had a naturally fierce look, but at this moment he not only showed no concern, but seemed to want to beat Wei Yao up.

Lu Baozhen put her arm around Wei Yao and said, "Let me see, did you hurt your wrist? You can't let your writing hand get sick. I brought some medicine with me. Apply it and the pain will go away soon."

Wei Mao shifted his gaze to the beast cage and asked, "Fellow disciple Yao, I'm the one who brought you out. Whether you're crying because your hand hurts or for something else, it's all my fault. Who was that servant next to you just now? Was it him who spoke nonsense to you?"

Lu Baozhen had been fighting with Changsun Wuzhuo since they were young, and through that fighting, she had also become familiar with the situation of that guy's friends' families, including Xi Jiao's. She told him, "That person is called Feiming, Xi Jiao's servant."

Wei Yao covered her face with her sleeve, and when she lowered it, tear stains were visible. She began to recount, "Just now, the tiger's roar startled the horse, and I fell off, getting something in my eye. I was standing here rubbing my eyes, not bothering anyone, when Young Master Xi's servant came over to mock me. He told me not to practice riding anymore and to go home and cry if I wanted to. I, I... I really did have something in my eye and it hurt before you two came, not because I fell and cried. Besides, why can't I ride horses here? Isn't the state government opening up pastures precisely to encourage people without horses at home to come and practice?"

"Ah—" Lu Baozhen grew angrier and angrier, shouting, "Wei Mao, aren't you going to do anything about this? If you're not going to do anything, then I am!"

"You wait here!" Wei Mao went to Xi Jiao and accused him directly: "Young Master Xi, has my Wei tribe fallen into decline? Whether my tribesmen are worthy of practicing horseback riding on the pasture is up to this scoundrel to decide?!"

Fei Ming knelt down with a thud. At this moment, he dared not argue or play tricks. He quickly admitted his mistake with tears in his eyes: "It was my fault for talking too much. My lord has scolded me before. I will definitely remember the lesson and never dare to do it again. My lord is so magnanimous. I will never dare to offend Miss Wei again. Never again, never again."

Xi Jiao felt a lump in her throat and asked, one word at a time, through clenched teeth, "What did you say to Miss Wei just now?"

Fei Ming: "Slave..."

Xi Jiao lashed out with his whip, and Fei Ming screamed in agony, nearly losing his mind, as the whip tip almost blinded him.

"Did I ask you?" Xi Jiao snapped.

Wei Mao knew this was Xi Jiao's way of apologizing, and he couldn't punish the servant any further. He grinned, revealing his snarling teeth and cold lips, and slapped Fei Ming's head twice: "Talkative servant, if I see you again, you'd better stick close to your master."

Zhou Tai demanded, "Wei Mao, what do you mean?!"

"Whatever you interpret means, that's what it means."

Yinshan: A strategically important military location for the Northern Wei Dynasty.



(End of this chapter)