History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 128 Wei Yao and Wei Mao Join Forces
"Huh? Wei Mao, Wei Jing, haha, you two are practicing Cuju here too?"

A group of teenagers came over to say hello, led by Lu Jiayi. The shortest one, Lu Zhengpin, grinned at Wei Yao and said, "I remember you. You're the Wei sister who outshone those bad guys who bullied my sister Baozhen."

The childlike way of addressing her as "elder sister" reminded Wei Yao of how Gao Huan, Gao Loujin's younger brother, addressed her in a letter. She replied to Lu Zhengpin, "I also remember young master Lu."

Just as someone who's about to fall asleep is offered a pillow, Wei Mao kicks the ball to Lu Jiayi, who hooks it with his right toe, trapping it between his toe and calf, then stretches his leg out to the side.

松！
The ball landed, and he kicked it diagonally with his left heel, passing it back to Wei Mao.

This is a popular way for Pingcheng Cuju enthusiasts to greet each other these days.

Wei Mao first praised the other side for their "good skills," and then asked, "Do you dare to send six people to play against our six for free?"

Lu Jiayi burst into laughter, his mouth stretching to his ears in an instant: "Ah, you're asking for trouble! Tell me, how are we going to compete? Upper section, middle section, or lower section? Or all three? What will the loser be punished for?"

In Cuju (ancient Chinese football), "upper body techniques" refers to ball control skills, including those using the back.

The term "interception technique" refers to ball control from the waist and abdomen to the knees, including the knees.

The lower segment is from the calf to the foot.

Simply comparing these three types of techniques will not allow the ball to touch the ground.

Wei Mao: "The losing side will give you all the ball pouches, how about that? You tell us first which six people will participate, and then we'll discuss which method to use."

"Alright!" Lu Jiayi glanced at the thin and weak Wei Yao, and first nominated Lu Zhengpin to participate, to show that he would not underestimate Wei Mao's side.

When he was selecting the rest of his teammates, many students from Cui Academy came from the west city to the east city for Cuju training.

The land in the western part of the city was mostly occupied by the mansions of the powerful and wealthy, and the schools of the powerful and wealthy. In terms of the variety and interest of the goods in the market, the eastern part of the city was the best.

Xi Jiao, Yuan Heng, Yuan Yu, Yuan Zizhi, and Yuan Jingrong, along with their new friend Erzhu Rong, were strolling through the shuttlecock market in Dongsifang when they happened to encounter Cui Shang, Kong Mi, Guo Yun, and Zheng Zun, a student from Zheng Academy. The two groups joined together, along with their entourage and servants, making quite a grand procession. Ordinary passersby would give way to them.

A good football must be of the right weight, and the animal hair stuffing inside must keep the ball round. It is best to avoid it collapsing or breaking after a few rounds of play. Erzhu Rong was the only one among these people who had never played football before. He behaved well along the way, and Guo Yun thought this junior brother was cute and had a pleasing appearance, so he took the initiative to choose an undyed cowhide football for him.

Guo Yun explained, "Don't think it looks bad. You've just started playing. If the colors are too bright, your eyes will be drawn to the ball, and you'll easily lose focus while practicing."

“Okay, I understand. Actually… I just don’t like those brightly colored ones.” Erzhu Rong lowered his voice and shared his preferences with Guo Yun.

Erzhu Maiti, who was standing next to him, could sense that the young master was pretending to be happy. Maiti became more and more worried. The young master was happy for anything for two or three days at most, and then he got tired of it. What should he do? If he got tired of everything and couldn't make any fellow disciples who were willing to befriend him, the young master might secretly run away from Cui Academy one day.

Xi Jiao instructed his servants to reserve a football field at Youmei Garden in advance. After everyone bought a new football bag, they hurried over there.

Just outside the market was a narrow street. Xi Jiao saw a short scholar carrying a large book chest and suddenly remembered a painting he had seen in his grandfather's study. The painting depicted a traveler hurrying along, his back to the camera, with the chest obscuring most of his body. Xi Jiao couldn't help but look at it a few more times. He had always wondered why his grandfather, who preferred martial arts to literature, treasured a painting of a scholar on the road. But his grandfather was no longer alive, and Xi Jiao had never seen that painting again.

Schoolchildren who come to the East City on their days off come not only to join in the fun and browse the market, but also to seek opportunities to socialize. Hu Wuwu is one such example. Of course, she wouldn't come alone; she invited Xu Jiaoqing, the daughter of the Pingcheng magistrate, and Xin Chun, who had just made up after a fight.

Stepping out of the academy, the three women felt refreshed. They were no longer servants; outside, they were true noblewomen, no longer inferior to others.

Xu Jiaoqing was familiar with Pingcheng. She said, "Let's go to Youmei Garden in the east of the city. It's next to Huangjiu Temple and not far from Yongning Temple. It's the most lively garden in Pingcheng."

Indeed, as she said, with the unfolding of various Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competitions, the venues for Youmei Garden will become increasingly scarce. In addition, some people prefer to watch Cuju training sessions, finding them more interesting than the official matches. As a result, the lively atmosphere in the garden is even more bustling than in the market.

At this moment, Lu Jiayi had selected six contestants: himself, Lu Zhengpin, Lu Fashan, Lu Tuikuan, He Shutong, and Mu Yuan.

He Shutong was He Rong's cousin, and Mu Yuan was Mu Dai's cousin; both knew Wei Mao.

The agreed-upon challenge for both sides was a double-attack combination. The detailed rules were as follows: Teammate A stood inside a fixed circle and could only use either upper or middle interception techniques to receive the ball and demonstrate their ball control skills. Each set of moves had to be performed completely, and one set of moves could not be repeated with the next set.

When the ball falls, teammate B can only use a tackling technique to catch and control the ball, and then within five ball-controlling actions, kick the ball back to teammate A.

Teammate B can go in or out of the circle, but teammate A must stay inside the circle.

Wei Zhen was in a dilemma. Who should she team up with? Bu Yanzhen was someone she brought along, the only person he knew, and his ball skills were poor. If she didn't team up with Yanzhen, he would definitely be disliked by his teammates later. But Yao, her fellow student, might not be as good as Bu Yanzhen!
Little did Wei Zhen know that someone had been leading Lu Jiayi around, waiting for this moment!
Wei Mao directly assigned teammates: "I'll team up with Yao, Zhen and Bu, and you'll team up with Wu Ji."

Since it concerned the competition, Wei Yao and the others also felt that this grouping was the most appropriate.

Lu Jiayi's side has the weakest member, Lu Zhengpin, so both sides agreed to practice separately first.

How long should you practice?

Lu Jiayi had an idea. He spoke loudly, almost shouting, and pointed to the practice field next door: "Once one of those idiots scores a goal, we'll start the match, how about it?"

A group of more than a dozen teenagers from the next room swarmed over and demanded, "Who just farted?"

Bu Yanzhen, who had never caused trouble outside before, was suddenly frightened. He didn't even realize that he had taken a step and shielded Wei Zhen behind him. He only turned around when he felt an itch on his lower back and saw Wei Zhen laughing and tickling him.

Wei Mao, Lu Jiayi, Lu Fashan, He Shutong, and Mu Yuan stood at the front. Just as Lu Jiayi was about to retort, Wei Mao refuted the group of boys with reason: "The football field is all about football skills. If you think our words are unpleasant, then you should score a goal!"

"Haha, yes, it was me who farted, so why don't you score a goal!" Lu Jiayi laughed.

Wei Jing, He Shutong, and the others were trembling with suppressed laughter, while Wei Yao also lowered her head, trying to hold back her laughter while thinking about sad things. This Lu Jiayi was a complete waste of Wei Mao's efforts to save the day.

(End of this chapter)