History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 112 Confucius Discusses Poetry

Wei Yao retorted weakly, "But this open space belongs to our female students."

"Can I have the candle? I'll borrow your notes and return them to you tomorrow afternoon." Xi Jiao pretended to be serious and walked away with a heavy tone. Then she quickly stepped into the alley next door and peered at Wei Yao a few feet away.

"Hey." Great! After sucking up to her for so many days, I finally got the notebook. Once I get it, I'll "borrow" a new one when I return it to her.

"Uh! This is pretty dark... Xi Jiao, you should find another spot... This place... Uh! I'll take it." Yuan Heng squatted in the shadows, straining his muscles as he spoke.

"Why are you pooping here!" Xi Jiao quickly left this stinky corner.

Yuan Heng also scolded the other party: "You spendthrift, you're too extravagant, using so much toilet paper to poop in the middle of the night."

The next morning.

Cui Zuan presented the detailed account of how the bandit Niu Dalang kidnapped Wei Yin and Wei Mao to the Yuan governor.

Narrator: Wei Mao.

Recorder: Cui Zuan.

The content is as follows... Knowing he didn't have much time, Niu Dalang went inside and asked Wei Yin directly, "Do you know Old Cui, who studies the Erya at Cui Academy?"

Wei Yin replied, "I recognize him; I've borrowed books from him a few times."

Niu Dalang: "Before he died, he kept muttering your name, 'Wei Yin,' every day! What do you owe Old Cui? If you dare to lie, I'll send you to the Yellow Springs to keep him company right now."

Wei Yin retorted, "Are you sure he was muttering my name? And not shouting 'I'm dizzy'?"

The Yuan governor laughed so hard his shoulders trembled when he saw this, and continued reading.

It must be said that Cui Zuan's record is very clear, noting in this column Niu Dalang's "silent for a moment, pacing around the room ten times" and other conflicted behaviors.

Then Niu Dalang said, "I'm sure that Old Cui was calling you by the name 'Wei Yin'."

Wei Mao: "I think you're not sure anymore."

Niu Dalang pulled a feather duster from a pottery jar in the house and threatened Wei Yin: "Everyone says that scholars are cunning and have high moral character, but I know you're not afraid." He grabbed Wei Mao by the throat, "From now on, if you don't answer my questions honestly, I'll beat your student every time I think you're lying! Tell me, besides borrowing books from Old Cui, what other grudges do you have with him?"

Wei Yin: "What kind of skill is it to scare children? Alright, since Old Master Cui has passed away, there's no point in me hiding it anymore, so I'll tell you everything. Old Master Cui had a relationship with a woman in his younger days, and they had a son."

Niu Dalang... remained silent for a moment, then paced around the room five times. "Are that woman and that child still alive?"

Wei Yin: "The woman has already become a nun. If you really care about your father, don't inquire about her."

Niu Dalang: "Where is the child?"

"He was taken to Xiao Qi by that woman's lover."

Niu Dalang angrily slapped Wei Mao: "Where is Xiao Qi? What's her lover's surname? Does the child have a name?"

"His lover's surname is Lu, and he changed the child's surname to Lu Jimo. If I had known he was being sent to Xiao Qi, would I have needed to hide it from Old Master Cui?"

Niu Dalang... cried bitterly for three quarters of an hour. During the process, he saw that Wei Mao was smiling, so he whipped Wei Mao twice.

Upon seeing this, Governor Yuan said with suspicion, "Why do I feel that Wei Yin is making up lies?"

Cui Zuan replied, "That's just making up lies. 'Lu Jimo' is a character from a collection of strange tales compiled by some scholars of the Xiao Qi dynasty, and it's sold in many bookstores."

Governor Yuan continued reading.

After crying, Niu Dalang questioned Wei Yin: "But the old man is about to die, why are you still hiding it from him? Even if you're making up a lie, how can you bear to let him leave with regrets!"

Wei Yin: "This is indeed my fault. Old man, I owe you!" He bowed to the void.

Niu Dalang: "Stop pretending to be kind and righteous!" The last column of the record... Niu Dalang shoved Wei Yin, whose forehead hit the wall and he fainted.

In his oral account of the case, Cui Zuan concluded: "Before Wei Yin woke up, we arrived at the Wei family's house in Chiyang Lane. Also, last night I sent a jailer to Cui's school to inquire about Old Man Cui. Old Man Cui is a eunuch, so it's impossible for him to be with a nun, cough."

Governor Yuan exclaimed, "This Master Wei is quite interesting. If you say he's cowardly, he's been deceiving the bandits and stalling for time from beginning to end. If you say he's brave, he faints at the sight of blood. At home, his wife has to do the work of killing a chicken."

Cui Zuan said earnestly, "The Wei family doesn't have a chicken coop."

"Yuanzhi! Yuanzhi, how long are you going to hide from me?" Yu Jin, the town's general, called out from outside the hall.

Yuan Zhi came out, grabbed Yu Jin's wrist, and pulled him along while laughing: "Let's go to the training ground. Years ago, I competed in martial arts with your brother, General Yu Lie. Today, I'll make up for the defeat I suffered back then with you."

Yu Jin asked anxiously, "Did you take what I told you yesterday to heart?"

"You mean the news of the Rouran army's unusual movements?"

"Yes, what else?"

“I noticed it earlier than you; I estimate that the official in Luoyang has already received this letter.”

"That's good. There's something else. I only heard after I entered Pingcheng... Did the Crown Prince send any servants?"

"hold head high."

"Could you introduce me to someone?"

“Of course I can, but…” Yuan Zhi’s tone changed, “I have to get through this month’s joint examination. Since you’ve heard that someone from the Crown Prince’s Palace has come, you should also have heard about the Prince of Rencheng’s commendation of the new school decree.”

Yuanzhi knew that night owls only came to the house when they had nothing to do!
It seems that Chief Clerk Gou guessed correctly. The Crown Prince wanted to use Zhao Xiu's misdeeds to send a message to the powerful figures in the north that the Crown Prince was in dire need of personnel. Yu Jin's arrival now must mean that he knew in advance that the Crown Prince had sent someone to Pingcheng. And the only person who could have informed Yu Jin of such an important matter in advance and who had the ability to obtain the information beforehand could only be Yu Jin's elder brother, General Yu Lie.

Yuan Zhi, considering the contents of the letters unearthed from the Crown Prince's former residence, dared not delve any deeper. Was the Yu family's surrender to the Crown Prince due to General Yu Lie's being ostracized at court, leading him to intend to surrender? Or was it the Crown Prince himself secretly giving them a push?
Evening, Yonggu County.

Xi Jiao seemed to have forgotten his promise to return the notebook last night. Wei Yao was unwilling to take the initiative to contact him, let alone urge him.

Yonggu County had been established for less than ten years, and its population was much smaller than that of Gaoliu County. Consequently, there were fewer schools. Therefore, when the Cui clan teachers and students arrived, men, women, and children from all over the county came to listen to their lessons, just like celebrating the New Year with a variety of performances.

Kong Wenzhong was deeply moved and personally lectured on the poem, specifically the first poem in the "Xiao Ya" section, "Lu Ming".

"The deer cry 'yoyo,' as they graze on the wild duckweed. I have guests, so I play the zither and the sheng. I play the sheng and the reed pipe, carrying baskets of offerings. Those who are kind to me show me the way..."

This was a lesson the students hadn't learned beforehand, and the teacher hadn't mentioned it in advance. Fortunately, most of the students had brought their bags and pens, so they quickly listened and took notes.

Xi Jiao searched for Wei Yao's position and squeezed to the side behind her.

This spot belonged to Hu Wuwu. She looked down on Wei Yao's background, but she couldn't help but admire the poor girl's speed in writing notes and her remarkable memory. So when she heard that Confucius was lecturing on poems from the "Minor Odes," she immediately squeezed her way to this spot.

Xi Jiao said coldly, "Make way."

"Young Master Xi, first come, first served... Ah!" Someone grabbed her by the collar from behind Hu Wu's house and pulled her backward. This time she was really frightened, and she hurriedly grabbed her collar.

This person was Yuan Ning, whose face had a strange, sarcastic expression, and who immediately said, "Get lost."

Wei Yao tightened her shoulders and back. She remembered clearly that during the first large class in the Youdao Bamboo Forest, Yuan Ning had also bullied her because of her seating arrangement.

Hu Wuwu had no choice but to swallow his anger and move two places to the side.

However, Yuan Ning didn't cause trouble for Wei Yao this time. His goal was the same as Xi Jiao's: to copy her notes.

Crown Prince Yuan Ke's first empress was the daughter of Yu Jin and the niece of Yu Lie.

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(End of this chapter)