History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 122 Zhang Wenzhi's Death
The tall, muscular figure, backlit by the moonlight, almost blocked the doorway. There are some people whose martial arts skills are superb and whose hearts are as cold as iron, just by looking at their voices.

"Zhang Wenzhi, come out."

“Go…” Zhang Wenzhi was about to ask where to go, but then remembered the “shut up” reminder on the thin wooden tablet, so she swallowed the question back.

She followed the man along a narrow path, then through a secluded corridor with many trees, and the more she thought about it, the more eerie it seemed. No, she was afraid. She began to slow down and distance herself from the person in front of her.

The person in front stopped and asked, "Zhang Wenzhi, after the capital was moved, besides you, who else went to the kitchen of the Xi government office?"

Zhang Wenzhi: "Although I'm the only one who's been there, but..."

"So only you went there. You've been a lady-in-waiting for so many years, you should have learned not to ask me. Don't be nosy." The man let out a soft burp, looking troubled, as if muttering to himself, "I can't bear to, oh well, how should I ask you?"

What does it mean? Zhang Wenzhi, trembling with fear, hurriedly pondered the other two words of reminder on the thin wooden tablet: Escape immediately!
"Shut up, run away..." Was this a reminder that she not only had to shut up, but also had to run away if she could, or she would die? But where was she now? Which way could she run? No, no, no, she definitely couldn't outrun this stranger.

“A wooden tablet with writing on it.” The person in front suddenly turned around and uttered these five abrupt words.

Zhang Wenzhi didn't even have time to think before she gasped! How did this person know about the wooden tablet in her resting room?
"Ah, that's right, it really is you." Xue Zhixiao turned his back to Zhang Wenzhi again, walked out of the narrow corridor, and made a gesture.

Several fierce warriors immediately emerged from the dense foliage and first stuffed mud into Zhang Wenzhi's mouth and nose. Her violent struggles were futile, and she was lifted up and carried to the well in the courtyard.

Plop.

There will never be another Zhang Wenzhi. It's pitiful that she never understood until her death that the wooden slip left in her resting room was a trap to ensnare her, a means to mislead Xue Zhixiao, rather than a warning to save her.

Xue Zhixiao waited patiently until there was no more movement in the well before ordering his trusted guards to hook Zhang Wenzhi's body up. "Go find Governor Yuan and bring him here. Don't say anything more. I'll stand here for a while."

“Zhang Wenzhi, if you want to blame someone, blame me entirely. The more you blame me, the less you'll blame His Highness. As a subject, isn't it our duty to do the dirty work for our master and keep his hands clean?”

In the shadows, Huli Canliao held his breath and eavesdropped, but Xue Zhixiao remained silent after saying those few words.

Soon, Prefect Yuan arrived, and Xue Zhixiao went up to him and said, "Zhang Wenzhi ran away without cause. We tried to intercept her, but she jumped into the well. By the time we pulled her out, it was too late."

Did she say anything before she died?

“We haven’t even taken her to the place where we interrogated her yet, so what did she say! Sigh, it’s as if we forced her to her death. How am I supposed to report back to the Crown Prince when I return to the Eastern Palace? Oh well, I’m going back to Luoyang tomorrow morning. I’ll have to trouble the governor to take good care of Attendant Zhao.”

Zhao Xiuzheng, who was feignedly concerned by Xue Zhixiao, was trapped in a nightmare. In the dream, he walked in Pingcheng Palace, trying to find Xiao Yuanke, but he could not get out of the high walls no matter what he did.

"Your Highness!" He finally woke up. As Zhao Xiu regained consciousness, his lost memories returned to his mind. What was frightening was that he was still confused about what had happened during his time at the governor's mansion. He patted his head a few times, but he could only remember fragments.

He muttered to himself in confusion, "I... went back to the old palace?"

The next morning, Wei Yao went to the academy as usual, attended classes, and recited poems. It wasn't until after the monthly joint exam that she realized Zhang Wenzhi had become her scapegoat.

That's a story for another time, so I won't go into detail now.

Wei Mao, Wei Jing, and Wu Ji arrived at the school together, their eyes dark and swollen, as if they hadn't slept all night. Wei Yao greeted them, but Wei Mao, upon seeing her, immediately remembered the handkerchief from yesterday and angrily ignored her.

Wei Yao didn't take his coldness to heart. Before the teacher came, the students in the schoolhouse always whispered among themselves. Originally, only Wei Yao cherished this time to practice calligraphy or memorize, but now Wei Mao, Wei Zhen, and Wei Puti all did the same.

Wu Ji yawned, glanced at Qu Rong's empty seat, remembered something, and asked Wei Mao, "Are you going to have another cousin soon?"

Qu Rong arrived just then, and a servant followed closely behind him, beaming as he said to Wei Mao, "Young master, Military Advisor Wei has sent someone to invite you back. The Military Advisor has a new son, a younger cousin."

"Oh?" Wei Mao shook off his fatigue from staying up all night, tossed the pine soot ink he had just put in the inkstone to Wu Ji, praised him with a "good tongue," got up happily, threw a "please ask for leave for me" to Wei Jing, and walked away ahead of Guan Nu.

Wei Jing then threw down the words "Tell us we're on leave" to Wu Ji and chased after Wei Mao.

Qu Rong's emotions were turbulent. When he learned that his elder sister had given birth to a boy, he was overjoyed. But even though it was his own sister who had given birth, he had no right to visit her. General Wei hadn't even thought to have Guan Nu tell him. How ridiculous!

They considered General Wei their brother-in-law, but he never treated them as relatives. This was the fate of a concubine; with such a concubine in the family, the whole family was degraded!

Master Song arrived at 1:15 AM. After learning that Wei Mao and Wei Jing had asked for leave, he began his lesson early when all the other disciples had arrived: "Today we will learn the poem 'Jianjia'. Wei Yao will recite the poem, and those who know it can recite it after him."

After Wei Yao acknowledged "yes," he began the poem with the preface: "The Reeds and Rushes is a satire of Duke Xiang..."

Wei Zhen and Wei Puti recited in unison: "If one fails to follow the rites of Zhou, one will have no way to secure one's country. The reeds are green, the white dew is like frost..."

Many schoolchildren didn't know the preface to this poem, but almost none didn't know the poem itself. The children recited in unison: "The one I long for is on the other side of the water..."

After the first class, Wu Ji and his two friends, Wei Jian and Wei Jiezhi, whispered to each other as they went to the outhouse. When they returned, the three of them cheekily called out to Wei Yao and Wei Zhen respectively: "The one I long for, Wei Yao—Wei Zhen—"

Qu Rong scoffed, "Zhen, a fellow disciple, is worthy of being called 'that person,' while Wei Yao is nothing! Master Du predicted her fate long ago; the better she studies, the more destined she is to be a concubine. Just wait, once Wei Yao becomes a concubine, her entire family will be dragged down by her and reduced to lowly status!"
At lunchtime, after school, Wei Zhen and Wei Yao walked in the same direction. Wei Yao asked, "Are you going to the market?"

“No.” Wei Zhen pouted playfully, unable to stop smiling, and took Wei Yao’s arm, saying, “I’ll go to Lixue Street and see if I can find some fragments of ancient books.”

Lixue Street was often frequented by impoverished students from the Imperial Academy who would set up stalls to sell their essays. The prices were much cheaper than on Zhuji Street, but the downside was that they were prone to containing typos, grammatical errors, or corrections.

Wei Yao understood. She checked to make sure no one was behind her before asking, "You're going with Bu Xuezi, aren't you?"

Wei Zhen nodded: "But my family has a shop near the Imperial Academy, and I'm afraid some gossip might see it."

Wei Yao patted her chest triumphantly, shook her little head, and said, "Sigh, then I'll reluctantly accompany you."

"Oh, Ayao, you're so kind."

“You and Bu Xuezi aren’t just playing around, so of course I’m willing to accompany you. Besides, I also enjoy searching for ancient books and fragments.”

Wei Zhen gently tapped Wei Yao's forehead with her own: "I understand what you mean. Don't worry, I won't just sit by his side and study hard. It's only real skill to acquire knowledge that you can master yourself."

Some people find joy in learning, while others feel that as long as they don't have to study, everything else is happiness.

(End of this chapter)