History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 186 Wei Mao Leaves the City
Having survived this ordeal, Yuan Zhi truly admires the spirit of this brat Wei Mao. If he could adopt this son, he would dedicate the rest of his life to planning for him!

"Godfather." Wei Mao bandaged several of his godfather's wounds, his eyes red and his voice choked with emotion. "Godfather, please don't work so hard in the future. I still want to take care of you until you're a hundred years old."

Yuan Zhi patted the boy's hand, these words making him feel both bittersweet and exhilarated: "Haha, good, haha!"

Some people were happy, while others were disappointed.

Lu Luo: "Alright, it's windy here. If you stand here any longer, I'll start making sarcastic remarks."

Damn bear! This time, Governor Yuan saved Mao'er's life again. She experienced the whole process and couldn't fake it, so she was extremely annoyed. She was so frustrated and had no way to express it!
Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the first light rain and snow of this winter has brought the whole of Pingcheng into the twelfth lunar month.

Wei Yao hadn't been to Wei Academy for quite some time. After discussions between the two academy directors, Cui and Wei, she decided to go to Wei Academy one last time today to formally bid farewell to Master Song and her fellow students.

The rain and snow were still falling, and the roads were slippery. She and her father went out together at the end of the morning, which was no different from walking at night.

"Another year has passed," Wei Yin sighed.

"Yes, it's another year." She recalled that at this time last year, there were only three or four students in the Shijing dormitory every day, including her. She wondered how many there would be today.

After this month's joint exams are over, due to the decrease in students, the second-year students of the primary school will have to be reassigned to dormitories. This situation is the same as in her previous life. The difference is that no matter how the school changes, it will be irrelevant to her.

As we walked through the market, it was still as dark as night. People on horseback were constantly coming and going on the streets, and caravans were also rushing toward the city gate, waiting to leave the city as soon as the gate opened.

Wei Yao asked, "Father, have you noticed that there are fewer sellers and buyers at the early market this winter than in previous years?"

"Yes, business is slow. I heard that merchants who travel between the border towns and Pingcheng to sell horses can only make a small profit. It would be better to travel more than a thousand miles to sell the horses to the new pastures in Hanoi and Ji County."

The new pasture was planned long before the capital was moved. It was located in the central part of Sili Prefecture, east of Hanoi Commandery and west of Ji Commandery, spanning the Yellow River and covering an area of ​​a thousand li. Before last year, due to the importance of Pingcheng in defending the northern frontier, although the new pasture in Sili Prefecture was built early, it did not have a significant impact on the livestock trade in Pingcheng.

However, the Rouran were embroiled in internal strife, and their military forces withdrew northward. With no battles to fight in Pingcheng and the Six Garrisons, the demand for warhorses and supplies decreased sharply. Merchants engaged in the horse trade moved to Sili, which stimulated other businesses, such as grain and clothing, as well as the rental of carts and boats.

Wei Yao: "This is called 'one move affects the whole board'."

During the hunt, her father learned to play chess from the clerk, Gou, and then taught her the game when they got home.

The father and daughter talked about current events, the weather, and anecdotes from the streets. They walked along the slippery path until they finally arrived at the school.

The courtyard of the Shijing Academy was so quiet that one could hear the sound of rain and snow hitting the trees. The academy door was never locked because the windows were covered in paper in winter. Wei Yao gently pushed it open and saw Wei Mao there. The only light in the room was a single candle on his desk, its dim yellow light not reaching any corner.

"Good morning, Mao Tong." Wei Yao greeted him first, then brushed the mud off her boots and walked over to the desk before asking Wei Mao, "Have you set a time to leave the city?"

"Sit down, I've found you some more 'Shuowen Jiezi' (a dictionary of Chinese characters)."

Wei Yao was delighted and took out the notes she had recently written for him from her book box. The outside of her book box was too wet, and the wooden box containing the notes got some water on it. She was about to find a cloth to wipe it clean before giving it to him when the candle in front of her was blown out.

Darkness instantly enveloped their vision.

Wei Mao grabbed her left wrist!
The wooden box fell to the ground.

"Fellow disciple Mao?" Wei Yao struggled, but the other party's strength was too great, and she raised her right hand to hit him.

Wei Mao leaned over the desk, his expectant breath brushing against her face: "Yaoyao, hit me."

As he spoke, he grabbed her right hand with his other hand and slapped her across the face.

"You're crazy, let go of me!"

"Let me say a few words to you! Yaoyao, my mother is waiting for me at the city gate. I will leave Pingcheng soon as you wish."

"Let me go first, let me go." "So you really want me to leave Pingcheng?"

"Wei Mao!!" Wei Yao was afraid that a fellow disciple would enter the courtyard at this moment. She raised her voice, then lowered it again. This guy had gone mad; she couldn't provoke him any further. "We are fellow disciples, and we have never had any grudges against each other. Why would I want you to leave the city?"

"Would you be willing to listen to a few words from my heart?"

"You said."

Wei Mao pulled her left hand to his body: "Touch me..."

"You scoundrel!" Wei Yao exclaimed in a fit of anger, reaching out from under the desk to kick the man.

His kicking strength had increased. Wei Mao, enduring the kicks, pressed her hand to his chest: "Feel my heart, it beats faster every time I see you!"

"Hurry up and finish what you're saying!" Wei Yao stopped kicking, panting heavily. She was so embarrassed; she thought the other person wanted her to touch him...

Wei Mao was extremely pleased with himself; time was of the essence. "Yaoyao, I've always wanted to ask you, do you dislike me? I'm not as good-looking as those pale-faced boys, and my personality isn't pleasing. Do you dislike me because of that?"

"We are from the same sect..."

"Don't say the rest. Hey, I can tell you don't hate me."

Wei Yao retorted angrily, "Do you have anything else to say? Can you loosen your grip a little?"

"Relax." Wei Mao let go as he said. He struck the flint to relight the candle, placed the candlestick on her desk, picked up the wooden box containing the notes, and carefully straightened her tilted book box.

He stood there watching her stubbornly purse her lips in anger, and a sudden wave of heartache washed over him as he thought about how he would never see her again for a long time to come. "At most a year and a half, I'll change my surname."

Wei Yao remained silent, her hands clenched tightly.

Wei Mao nudged her cushion with his foot and then walked towards the door. "Yaoyao, I'll let you know I'm safe."

The door creaked open and closed, leaving the room completely silent.

Wei Yao slowly looked towards the door. He was leaving this city from now on. If she didn't go to Luoyang, she would never see this guy again, just like in her previous life.

"Wei Mao, take care." Wei Yao murmured to herself. She couldn't deny that she was worried about him. She walked to the door and opened it.

hateful!

She slammed the door shut.

Wei Mao, who had almost been bumped in the nose, laughed and said through the door, "I forgot to tell you, Bu Yanzhen is going to Luoyang with me. Yaoyao, I'll be waiting for you in Luoyang. If you're not going, then I'll come back."

This time, he really left.

Wei Yao first wiped the teacher's desk clean, then opened the wooden box that Wei Mao had left for her. Inside was a copy of the "Shuowen Jiezi" that he had copied himself, with each character neat and without a single mistake, showing how seriously he had taken the writing.

When Wei Yao put the wooden box into the bookcase, she noticed that the handkerchief tucked in the side of the bookcase was gone, and a pomegranate had appeared instead.

Without a doubt, Wei Mao replaced it when he straightened her book box.

She picked up the pomegranate and, by touch, noticed that the skin was covered with tiny holes. Holding it up to the candlelight, she realized that the holes had been pierced with a needle and formed five characters: "Parting is bittersweet."

As she got closer to the candlestick, she noticed that there were words on the base of the candlestick as well... "Academic success."

(End of this chapter)