History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 121 The Handkerchief Given Away and Taken Back
In the afternoon, the joint entrance exams ended.

Bu Yanzhen first helped Wei Zhen carry the desk back to the Book of Poetry Room. Both of them had rosy cheeks. It was the season when plum blossoms were in full bloom, and they felt a sweet warmth in their hearts even without saying a word.

Wei Mao, carrying Wei Yao's desk, walked at breakneck speed, overtaking Wei Zhen and Wei Mao. Wei Yao chased after him, calling out, "This is too much of a struggle for you. Let's lift it together!"

"Pfft." Wei Zhen threw down her hands and laughed so hard she squatted down.

Bu Yanzhen asked blankly, "What's wrong?"

"It's alright, it's alright. I didn't use any of my strength, and it even made me seem like she was the one who cared the most about her fellow disciples."

Bu Yanzhen: "Actually, I don't need you to help me carry it. I'm just afraid that if you go and pack something else, I won't be able to see you anymore."

Wei Zhen went over and punched him, whispering, "You're such a chatterbox! You've all gone astray. Yan Zhen, I have something to tell you, and you have to promise me."

"Okay, I agree."

Ah... Wei Zhen wanted to shout that she was happy right now. Her eyes were so happy that they were almost slits. But little did she know that this joyful look was even more fatal to Bu Yanzhen, who was just beginning to fall in love. He even liked this girl so much that he was inexplicably sad.

"Ah Zhen, you say it, I'll agree to anything." He couldn't help but repeat the sentence.

"Our fellow disciple Jing is leaving Pingcheng. On the first day off this month, several of us have made plans to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) at Youmei Garden. Would you like to come with me?"

"Okay, I'll go with you."

In the study, Wei Mao was the first to return. His desk was quite heavy, and he was covered in sweat. Just as he was about to sniff to see if it smelled bad, Wei Yao followed him in. He kept his arm raised, pretending to wipe his sweat.

“I have a handkerchief.” Wei Yao took it out, then immediately regretted it. What was wrong with her? How could she do something so stupid? Knowing that Wei Mao had feelings for her, she still gave him her handkerchief.

Wei Mao tugged at the edge of the handkerchief, but couldn't budge it. He pulled hard, then brushed it lightly against his forehead and stuffed it into his cloth bag.

"Wait, Mao Tong." Wei Yao, with a stern face and the shamelessness she had accumulated in both her past and present lives, snatched the handkerchief back from Wei Mao's bag and urged him seriously, "Let's hurry up and bring your desk back. There are still some odds and ends. Don't let anyone take them by mistake."

Wei Mao was furious. How could someone take back something they'd already given away?

He sat down defiantly, saying, "I'm so hot! The sweat is killing my eyes! I can't walk anymore!"

"Namao, you rest. I'll go over by myself."

Wei Mao punched his chest with his fist, got up and went out, pushing her aside. From that moment until the football match on their day off, the two finally ended their cold war and started talking again.

Leaving aside the fact that after the desk was returned, Wei Mao, Wei Jing, and Wu Ji went to the bookstore and discovered "Island Barbarians Without Roots"'s new work.

At Cui Academy, Zhang Wenzhi had not left the room since returning to the Buddhist hall. Zhang Jiniang would bring her dinner back and leave it at her door.

Zhang Wenzhi stared intently at a thin piece of wood pressed under her pillow. Words were carved on both sides: one side read "Shut up," the other "Escape immediately." Who, and when, sneaked into her room and left this? Was it a warning, or a prank to confuse her?

As darkness fell, the answer Zhang Wenzhi was so eager to know finally arrived.

A subordinate official from the prefecture named Huli Yelang arrived with his troops, saying that the case of Chen Shushi's contempt for the new school magistrate was still unresolved, and that a new witness had provided evidence that Zhang Wenzhi had privately destroyed documents in the Xi government office's warehouse and burned them as firewood. Therefore, he urgently summoned her to the prefectural government office for questioning.

Interrogation? Are they going to torture her?

Terrified, Zhang Wenzhi stammered as she pleaded, "When the capital was moved, the officials told us that all those documents were discarded and to be destroyed. I guarded that place for several years, and it got so cold in the winter that I burned the useless ones for warmth. I burned very little, and I checked them before burning them; they were indeed useless waste paper and bamboo slips." "So you confess?" Huli Yelang then said to the guards beside him, "You all heard what she said. When you return to the government office, tell the jailer the truth."

Zhang Wenzhi bit her lip, not daring to utter another word, only then realizing the profound meaning of the warning "shut up" written on the thin piece of wood. When she came out of the Buddhist hall, she glanced at the food box on the ground, then at Zhang Jiniang's tightly closed door across the way, and felt a chill run down her spine.

She thought to herself, "Zhang Jiniang is such a hypocrite. She does useless good deeds every day, but when it comes to this crucial moment, she doesn't even bother to see me off."

It was pitch black when Zhang Wenzhi followed the official into the darkness.

From then on, the choir only had one teacher, Ms. Zhang.

Chiyang Lane.

After finishing the joint entrance exam, Wei Yin finally returned home tonight. Wei Yao pestered her father, insisting that he tell her the story of being kidnapped by the cattle bandits. When he got to the part where he bumped his forehead and it bled, Wei Yao felt so sorry for him that she burst into tears.

Wei Yin pretended to be dizzy and groped around with his arms. Zhao Zhi quickly caught him, and the couple finally cheered up their tearful daughter.

Wei Yao hated that bandit surnamed Niu to death. Although she wasn't there, she felt that this bandit must be the hunter surnamed Niu who had visited her home twice in her previous life, the strong man who performed "two arrows chasing each other" on the street that night.

"Father, Mother, I will grow up as soon as possible so that you will no longer think of me as a child. Soon, very soon I will be able to face the difficulties of our family with you and get through them together." Wei Yao wiped away her tears and said these words before returning to her room.

She couldn't relax just because the exam was over. She had to preview what she would learn tomorrow and review what she had learned before. In addition, she couldn't just collect and leave the "Shuowen Jiezi" (a dictionary of Chinese characters); she had to read and memorize it. She also had to memorize and study the "Classic of Filial Piety" on her own.

There is so much to learn, and the more you learn, the more you realize your own shortcomings.

The temple bells rang at midnight.

In the open space of the governor's stable, there were three large stone mills. Yuan Langxi, Hai Yeren, Qiu Ruizhi, Hu Ertiao, and other academic underachievers were still grinding under the moonlight. This was a special punishment imposed on them by Governor Yuan for these imperial students.

Since you don't like studying, and since you have plenty of brute force, then grind wheat flour for the donkey. When you're ready to study, then you can go back to Cui's school.

Each millstone has four pushers: one for four students who are bad at studying the Book of Songs, one for four students who are bad at studying the Erya, and one for four students who are bad at studying the Analects.

There were also people who would shovel wheat flour into sacks and carry it into the granary.

Changsun Fuming's deaf ears were exhausted. When he heard Cang Cao Canjun say "take a short rest," he was the first to lie down straight and fall into the pile of sacks.

Some people find studying hard, while others fondly remember the hardships of their school days.

Zhang Wenzhi tonight is a perfect example.

It was pitch black, and she had no idea where she was being led before being shoved into this shabby room. The room was completely bare, and she sat with her knees drawn up against the wall, trying to overcome her fear by recalling the past. In this situation, the only memories she was willing to recall were of the days she spent studying poetry with Chen Shushi at the palace school.

The school was the only place in her bleak life where she truly laughed.

“You taught me to be strong. You told me that one must live before having a chance for revenge. You taught me how to smile in public while never forgetting that I am a citizen of Great Qi. But why didn’t you teach yourself? Why did you act so foolishly, dragging me down even after you’re dead? You’re still dragging me down even after you’re dead, dragging me down…”

With a creak, the door was pushed open.

Just to clarify, the novel is set in the Northern Wei Dynasty, so there's no need to compare the characters to children today. It's a fact that people in the Northern Wei Dynasty married young. Also, the female protagonist died at only nineteen in her previous life, lacking life experience. In this second life, she must constantly improve herself to truly grow.

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(End of this chapter)