History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 14 A fish slipped through the net
“I’m thinking, Pingcheng is no longer part of the capital region. The tribes that moved with His Majesty are in turmoil, and those who stayed behind are also in turmoil. The troops stationed in the northern garrison of Yinshan will be even more in turmoil. Governor Yuan has ruthless methods; I hope he can restore Pingcheng to its former peace. You are still young; you will gradually understand in the future.” Wei Yin smiled and asked with concern, “Were you afraid when you saw this scene today?”

She shook her head: "I'm not afraid."

"After the start of the semester, your classmates may talk about this. Listen more and say less."

"Yes. Father, don't worry, I understand." Wei Yao looked at her father with admiration. After her rebirth, she felt more and more that her father had profound insights and could analyze the division of power among the tribes in the north and south through the state government's cautious approach to the Bingfang incident.

The fourth day of the lunar month.

All the students at the large and small schools wore new clothes and carried new book boxes to school, including Wei Yao. She no longer wore her hair in braids, but instead wore it in double buns, which made her look even more elegant and graceful, attracting several students from other departments to come and inquire about her.

As soon as Qu Rong entered, he complained, "Fellow disciple Yao seems to be enjoying the peace and quiet. Didn't you see the disciples from the other courtyard blocking the entrance? I almost thought I had gone to the wrong place."

Before Wei Yao could react, the unfamiliar student who had just stepped into the schoolhouse let out a goose-like cry and turned to run outside.

The boy had truly gone to the wrong place. Amidst the uproarious laughter, Qu Rong grew increasingly agitated. The reason was that his elder sister was pregnant, and his father was intensifying his urging him to quickly befriend Young Master Mao. Hmph, quickly befriend him? Didn't he see it clearly at the ranch before the New Year? Wei Mao didn't treat him as a fellow disciple at all!

Around 5:30 a.m., Wei Mao and Wei Jing arrived. The former wore a flat turban, the elegance of which softened the sinister look in his appearance. As he passed Wei Yao, Wei Mao deliberately waved his sleeve, lightly brushing her hair. He then moved the desk and leaned to her side, saying, "Wishing my fellow disciple Yao a peaceful and healthy New Year, and may your comings and goings be free from disaster."

He blew the stray hairs from Wei Yao's sideburns into the wind. She glared at him angrily, gave him a New Year's greeting, and handed him the notebook she owed. Wei Mao smiled smugly, pulled the desk back a bit, and sat down properly.

Master Duan arrived. During his short holiday, his face had more spots and deeper wrinkles, and he spoke with more effort than before: "To consolidate what I have learned, I will first give an exam before I will lecture on poetry."

A student exclaimed in surprise, "They didn't tell us about the exam before the New Year!"

Master Duan said sternly, "Do we need your permission to take the exam? Those who don't want to take it or dare not take it, get out!" After reprimanding him, he covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed violently as if his throat was cracking.

Wei Yao felt a deep sadness, knowing that Master Duan had started coughing up blood. Knowing that his days were numbered, the old man no longer hesitated to acknowledge the sons of prominent families and wanted to do his best to fulfill his duties as a good and strict teacher in his final days.

The exam question was: Recite two poems from each of the four parts of the "Guofeng" (traditional Chinese folk songs) that you have learned, including the poem preface.

Wei Jing raised his hand: "Master, what should I do if I don't have enough paper?"

"Go home and get it?" Master Duan asked back.

A few gloating laughs followed, and Master Duan smacked his ruler as a warning: "Write quickly, or anyone who makes another sound will have to stand outside!"

Such a simple test question, only Wei Yao and Wei Mao were able to answer it completely. Wei Zhen and another student named Wei Puti also did well, except for circling words to replace characters, the rest were correct.

The remaining students were left in a state of disarray.

Master Duan had anticipated this and was not angry. Before the break in class, he announced two things, which aroused the wails of most of the students.

The first thing is that students who did not do well on the test have extra classes in the afternoon. They can only go home after they have recited and written down all the poems they were tested on that day. They cannot circle more than half of the substitute words in each poem.

The second thing is that the holiday on the 11th was changed to the joint examination day in the first month of the lunar calendar, and the results will be announced on the 14th of the first month.

Wu Ji slapped his forehead: "It's over, it's over, we can't celebrate the Lantern Festival."

Wei Puti: "I have an idea for you. Go find Jing Tongmen that day and stay at his house to celebrate the festival."

Wu Ji praised, "Great idea! That's a good idea!"

Wei Jing retorted angrily, "So you can watch me get beaten up while you're at it?"

Wei Yao was amused by their conversation, but then she noticed Wei Zhen slumped over her desk, sighing. Was she sick? She was about to go over and ask when Wei Mao kicked the cushion from behind.

She moved back slightly, and Wei Mao leaned over to tell her, "Zhen's aunt and the young master of the Mu family are on good terms, but when it came time to discuss marriage, the Mu family proposed to the Lu family instead."

The Lu family, of course, refers to the Lu family of Fanyang, one of the Four Noble Families. Wei Yao nodded.

Wei Mao further explained: "The noble families in Luoyang have all begun to form marriage alliances with the powerful Han families, and some have even demoted their wives to concubines. The Mu clan is the head of the meritorious officials, so naturally they are the most in line with the court's trend."

Wei Yao nodded again, and immediately saw that the other party was about to change her expression because she felt that her attitude was perfunctory, so she quickly said, "I understand. Fellow disciple Zhen is troubled and I cannot persuade her."

"What do you know about sorrow at such a young age?"

"You're old."

The master returned, and the two stopped arguing. The other disciples also returned to their respective places.

Today's poem was "Ding Zhi Fang Zhong." The commentary on this poem is quite extensive, and the students recited it with their teachers until their mouths were dry. As a result, they forgot the earlier parts after reciting the later ones. For the first time, Master Duan extended the class time to noon. He then had the servants bring wheat cakes and vegetable soup, but the students couldn't eat. They realized that the master had planned ahead, and the afternoon class was definitely being made up.

The next day, Qu Rong arrived at the schoolhouse earliest.

Wei Yao and Wei Zhen met at the courtyard gate and came in together. The latter saw Wei Yao put down her book box and then wipe the teacher's desk, and couldn't help but ask, "Does fellow disciple Yao do this every day?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll do it when I come early from now on."

"it is good."

Qu Rong remained expressionless, not participating in their conversation. Ever since the ranch incident, everything Wei Yao did and said seemed hypocritical and deliberate to him. Humph, wiping the teacher's desk every day? To put it bluntly, wasn't she just waiting to be discovered by her fellow disciples like today so they could praise her?

Wei Puti arrived, followed by Wu Ji.

Wei Puti suppressed a laugh and asked, "Fellow disciple Wu, where's your book box?"

Wu Ji frowned and wrinkled his nose, then realized, "Ah! I forgot to take it!"

"Ha ha--"

"What should I do? Does anyone have extra pen, ink, and paper to lend me? Even bamboo slips will do." He bowed to Wei Yao, Wei Zhen, and Wei Puti with a pained expression.

Qu Rong had already opened the pencil case to lend it to the other person, but seeing that he was ignored, she didn't know whether to be angry at the other person or at herself.

Fortunately, Wu Ji didn't usually bring his inkstone home. He gathered all his writing supplies and said with great enthusiasm, "Have you heard? The 'Jiji Flower Shop' in the East Second Ward was raided by the prefectural government yesterday at noon. A lot of people were arrested, and some even fought with the prefectural soldiers. Sigh, if school had ended like usual yesterday, I could have seen it." He loved watching the excitement and shook his head regretfully.

Wei Puti: "Coincidentally, a flower shop in Dongsifang was also shut down. I heard it was related to bandits, and everyone who bought flowers there was taken away."

Qu Rong was truly thankful; he had finally caught Wei Yao red-handed. He kept his tone steady and jokingly asked, "Then wouldn't our fellow disciple Wei Yao have slipped through the net?"

"What do you mean?" the three people except Wei Yao asked in unison.

"The flower shop in Dongsi Ward that was sealed off was called Bingfang. On the morning of the third day, I passed by there and saw my fellow student Yao looking at flowers at Bingfang. Not long after, the garrison soldiers surrounded it."

A double-bun hairstyle. A bun is a type of looped hairstyle.

Pingjinze (平巾帻): A relatively stiff crown that can only cover the hair bun; also called a small crown.

Concubine (yìnɡ): refers to a concubine.

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(End of this chapter)