History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 12 Bingfang Peilan
Wei Yao and Lu Baozhen had been watching Wei Mao's movements since he left. When he returned, Lu Baozhen asked in disbelief, "The punishment is over? Just one lash?"

Wei Mao took a deep breath: "Don't worry, I've remembered what happened today."

“Fellow disciples Mao and Baozhen, I will remember your kindness in helping me.”

And so, the two young women, one on horseback and the other on a blue horse driven by Wei Mao, departed. The vast expanse of the pasture quickly dispelled their melancholy, and starting with Wei Mao, the three of them began to sing a ballad in the Xianbei language:

"Mounting his horse, he doesn't grasp the whip, but instead breaks off a willow branch; sitting still, he plays his long flute, causing sorrow to the traveler..."

The singing of Wei Jing and the other two came from the side: "Giving grazing on the two springs, forgetting the tether, carrying the saddle and chasing the horse, how can one see the horse being ridden..."

After the song, he, Wu Ji, and Wei Zhen rode over to meet him. Lu Baozhen bid farewell; she was going to find her companions.

At noon, the five fellow disciples stopped at a food stall, which was the closest rest area to their starting point, but Qu Rong was not there.

Wu Ji went to the toilet.

Wei Zhen saw a familiar face and went over to greet her.

At this point, Wei Jing brought up something: "Does Yao know? Before Qu Rong started school, he asked his elder sister, Qu Tiao, about the people who would be entering our school. When his elder sister mentioned you, Qu Rong asked the most detailed questions. Then he said that since your family has no power or influence, the fact that you were able to enter the 'Classic of Poetry' class shows that the class isn't as good as others say. So his elder sister told him that your father is a teacher at the university, but Qu Rong not only showed disrespect, he humphed and said, 'So what if he's a teacher at the university? He only knows how to pick characters from the poem "Guan Ju" to name his child!'"

Wei Mao nodded: "I heard it in the garden when A Jing and I were leaving the city to find my uncle."

Wei Mao's father served as a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate and was among the first batch of meritorious officials to be transferred to Luoyang. Wei Mao was young, and whenever he wanted to leave Pingcheng, he had to ask his uncle for permission first.

At this moment, Wei Yao felt that in her past life she had lived like a cocoon, only paying attention to her innocent outer shell and not bothering to untangle the messy threads inside!

She asked, "So on the first day of school, Mao Tongmeng wanted to use Master Duan's words to make Qu Rong understand the difference between 'yao' and 'tiao'?"

"Yes."

Wei Jing sighed, "What a pity, you've ruined everything!"

She stood up and bowed to each of them, saying, "Thank you both for standing up for my father." She had made a mistake in her past life, and she would correct it in this one. She would never again judge people by their appearance or assume the worst about Wei Mao.

Because of her wrist injury, Wei Yao returned to the city after lunch. Wei Mao saw her off, while the rest of her fellow disciples stayed at the ranch to continue playing.

Qu Rong lingered at the bustling city gate. He saw Wei Yao and Mao Gongzi pulling her hair. Unlike in the school, she didn't show any anger, but rather a mixture of reproach and laughter.

Qu Rong said with deep contempt: "I thought you were really noble, but it turns out you're secretly flattering and trying to curry favor with those in power."

With the crisp sound of firecrackers, the twenty-first year of the Taihe era has passed.

Many significant events occurred that year. His Majesty appointed Yuan Ke as Crown Prince, ordered the death of the deposed Crown Prince Yuan Xun, appointed Consort Feng as Empress, and in September, personally led the troops of five prefectures of Ji, Ding, Ying, Xiang, and Ji to the south, besieged Xinye, and defeated the Xiao Qi army at the Mian River battlefield.

"Twenty-second year of Taihe." Wei Yao wrote the new year in the bound plain paper notebook, and then wrote "Preface to Bai Zhou and Jiang's oath..." Her wrist injury had healed, and she began to copy notes for Wei Mao. During breaks, she would go to see what her father and mother were busy with.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Wei Yin went out to visit a friend.

When Wei Yao's eyes were tired, she put down her pen and helped her mother tidy up the storage room. The room was narrow, and she noticed that her mother was always walking past the flowerpots, which was in the way, so she said, "I'll move them outside to get some sun."

"You carry the lighter one." Zhao Zhi held two flowerpots in one arm and lifted the heaviest one with the other.

Wei Yao chuckled to herself. If her father were home, he would surely be anxiously following behind her mother, reminding her to "be careful." The light outside was bright, and she noticed that the leaves of a potted orchid were turning yellow, so she squatted down in front of it to examine it closely.

Zhao Zhi: "You said these orchids grow perfectly well in the wild without anyone taking care of them? But if you take good care of them, they won't grow well."

"I remember this orchid is...heh, I overwatered it."

This pot of Eupatorium fortunei is not the common Eupatorium fortunei outside the city, but Eupatorium fortunei bought from the "Bingfang" flower shop. When Wei Yao took it from her father, she accidentally chipped the bottom of the pot.

However, what she remembered was something else about Bingfang Flower Shop. In her previous life, the prefectural government had successively shut down several flower shops starting in the first month of this year, including Bingfang. She gradually learned after arriving in Luoyang that such arrests were usually related to espionage cases.

Wei Yao moved the pot of agastache to her room and stared at it blankly. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, evenly cutting the surrounding light and shadow into small diamond-shaped pieces, like a net of interwoven light and shadow.

Wei Yao hesitated. If she were to become a lady-in-waiting in the palace in the future, she would have to face countless webs of cunning and treachery, just like this pot of orchids, and would inevitably have to deal with all kinds of spies. Why not take advantage of her young age in the Bingfang Flower Market incident, put herself in the shoes of others, observe the clues, and test her courage and attentiveness?
This is an excellent opportunity to train!
And so she made her decision.

Wei Yao imagined herself as the official in charge of arresting spies, so the first step was to find out how spies passed messages. She first took the orchid and its soil out of the ceramic pot. The inner wall of the pot had the two characters "Bing Fang" engraved on it when the pottery was fired, just like the other empty pots she had seen in the flower shop before, with no abnormalities.

She carefully removed the loose soil and examined the orchid's roots; there were no signs of pruning. What a swindler! The roots rotted because the soil inside was all clay, the exact opposite of the soil suitable for orchids. No wonder it wouldn't survive even with normal watering.

The brief investigation ended. Wei Yao, still feeling unsatisfied, repotted the orchid and placed it on a corner of her desk. She swept the floor clean, then packed her notes on several poems from the "Yong Feng" section of the Book of Songs, along with her reflections on reading the "Classic of Filial Piety," into her book box. She came out of the room and told her mother, "I'm going to Yingju Bookstore to deliver these notes to Wei Mao."

"Go ahead, go have fun."

After leaving the house, Wei Yao thought about it more and more and felt that her mother was good. She wouldn't ask questions like "Can't you give me the notes at the school tomorrow?" Then she turned back to the courtyard, hugged her mother, and said coquettishly, "I'll be back at noon."

Spring has truly arrived, and Zhao Zhi felt a warm glow in her heart: "Okay, Mother has cooked dinner and is waiting for you."

Many shops in Dongsi Ward were closed, and most of the people coming and going in the market were going to various temples to offer incense and pray for blessings. Wei Yao looked at the camels for a while, and then at the smartly dressed warriors riding in carriages and on horseback. The sounds of camel bells and cart wheels mingled in her ears, and the distant sound of Buddhist bells rang out, which made her tense mood relax unconsciously.

On her way to Yingju Bookstore, she passed Bingfang Flower Shop. She was almost there. At this moment, she was completely calm. To passersby, she was just an inconspicuous little girl in terms of clothing and behavior. However, in the "Dongyue" ink shop opposite the flower shop, Xi Jiao glanced casually at the street and spotted Wei Yao in the crowd first.

Flower shops generally open immediately after the New Year, and Bingfang was no exception. Various flowers were displayed on both sides of the shop. Among them were orchids, chrysanthemums, and roses that could be cultivated, and ornamental flowers such as vigorous plum branches and golden winter oranges. Wei Yao and another boy lingered by the plum branches, and then went one after the other to the orange tree pot.

The folk song in this chapter is called "The Song of Breaking the Willow Branches," a folk song from the Northern Dynasties. Through the description of riding horses at full gallop, it reflects the grassland people's yearning for freedom and happiness.

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(End of this chapter)