History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 189 Leaving Pingcheng
Wei Yao decided to answer the call, so she bid farewell to her mentor, friends and fellow disciples in advance. There was no need to be sad or reluctant to part, as she believed that she would soon reunite with her mentor and fellow disciples in Luoyang.

At the same time, Wei Yin resigned from his position as tutor and received a letter from the headmaster, Wei Zhenyuan, filled with praise for him. This letter was very important; once he arrived in Luoyang, he would give it to his head of household, Wei Yi, so that Wei Yin could find a new job there.

Zhao Zhi was the busiest. She didn't realize how many jars and pots there were at home until she was sorting through them and realized she couldn't bear to leave anything behind.

If you leave one behind, you'll have to buy a new one when you get to Luoyang.

Fortunately, having connections in the government made things easier.

Every year, Hengzhou had to hire a large number of oxcarts from the people to transport grain, cloth and other goods to Luoyang. Merchants who often cooperated with the government naturally did not care about a few oxcarts, so they lent them to Wei Yao's family for free use and even bought her family's house at the normal market price. After Wei Yao's family settled down in Luoyang, they could simply return the oxcarts to the merchant's branch store in Luoyang.

The seventeenth day of the first lunar month.

With everything ready, the Lantern Festival ended and the schools closed for the holidays, and Wei Yao's family set off.

Erzhu Rong skipped class and waited outside the south gate early in the morning. He looked up at Zhao Zhi with reluctance.

Zhao Zhi comforted her disciple: "No matter how far apart we are, the bond between master and disciple cannot be severed. May Arong be as strong as a pine tree in the cold wind, with a bright future ahead."

Wei Yao thought that such elegant farewell words must have been taught to her by her father and mother.

Erzhu Rong pouted: "But in my future, I want my master to always lead the way. I don't want to wait until the time to travel and study before going to Luoyang. I want to go with my master now."

Zhao Zhi nodded, scaring the tutor half to death!

“That won’t do! Young Master, think about it. Once Cui Xueguan discovers you’re missing, he’ll definitely report it to the authorities. Even if he finds you, you’re still young, so at most he’ll just be punished by writing some characters. But what about Master Zhao? And if Cui Xueguan tells the chief about this, and the chief gets angry and takes you back to Xiurongchuan, then the day we can see Master Zhao again will be even further away!”

And so, Erzhu Rong was half-dragged and half-coaxed away by the teacher who bought the questions.

At the short pavilion five li away, Xi Jiao stood inside, unfazed by the cold, letting his clothes flutter in the wind. Xi Jiao didn't know why he had crossed half the city to come here. He couldn't help but observe the departing caravan, and when Wei Yao appeared in his sight, his heart was in turmoil.

It turned out he wanted to see her off.

If Wei Yao knew Xi Jiao was in the pavilion, she wouldn't have even glanced in that direction. Now, she has to greet her and exchange a few perfunctory words of farewell.

"Fellow disciple Wei." Xi Jiao produced a letter. He had been writing it for several days, constantly torn between tearing it up or not. Luckily, he hadn't, and luckily he had brought it with him this morning. "If you encounter any difficulties after arriving in the capital, take this letter to Xi Jian's residence in Yinian Lane in the west of the city to find my father. Here!" He shoved it into his hand, then bowed to Wei Yin and Zhao Zhi, and rode off first.

On the official road with the ten-mile-long pavilion, Yuan Zhi led a group of personal guards back and forth several times before finally spotting Zhao Zhi's family.

He spurred his horse forward and said, "What a coincidence! I just returned from my inspection tour outside the city and happened to run into the general's family. Haha."

Zhao Zhi clasped her hands in a respectful bow and said, "No matter how far apart we are, our friendship forged in adversity cannot be severed. I hope that you, Brother Yuan, will be as strong as a pine tree in the cold wind and have a bright future ahead of you."

Yuan Zhi was extremely distressed. At this moment, he really wanted to put Wei Yin on his horse and go to Luoyang with Zhao Zhi!
"Alas—" All the unspeakable thoughts eventually turned into a sigh, which was blown away by the wind.

On this day, Wei Mao arrived in Luoyang.

Wei Yi's residence was located in Yinianli, west of the city. The residents of Yinianli were either meritorious officials and nobles or members of the imperial family.

Wei Mao's two elder brothers, Wei Bao and Wei Jin, were both at home. Lu Luo was worried that the three brothers might be a little estranged after being separated for so long, but she was worried for nothing. Just like when they were young, Mao jumped directly onto his elder brother's back.

"Eldest brother, second brother, I miss you!" Wei Jin had particularly delicate eyes, like Lu Luo's. He smiled affectionately at his mother and said, "There have been several strong winds in Luoyang. Mother and third brother must have had an even colder and more difficult journey."

Wei Mao looked around the house, and his elder brother Wei Bao said, "I know you want to see everything. No rush. Let's have some hot soup and food first, and once you're warm, I'll take you on a careful tour."

Feeling something amiss, Wei Yi took leave in the afternoon and returned home early. Family reunion was a joyous occasion, but he really shouldn't have mentioned the Prefect of Hengzhou, reminding Lu Luo of something. "Mao'er, when you left Pingcheng, didn't Prefect Yuan give you a painting and ask you to give it to your father?"

“Yes.” Wei Mao took out the painting and opened it.

At first glance, this is a picture of a flock of eagles tearing each other apart.

On the left side of the scroll are two large eagles, and behind them are two slightly shorter eagles.

On the right is a one-eyed eagle with a blindfold, its feathers disheveled, looking both desolate and lonely.

Two large eagles and a one-eyed eagle are fighting over a baby eagle with outstretched wings. Feathers are falling from the baby eagle's wings, and there is a feeling of breaking at the base of its wings.

If you look closely, the one-eyed eagle looks reluctant; it's not trying to snatch the eaglet, but rather choosing to loosen its grip and let go.

Needless to say, the one-eyed eagle represents Yuan Zhi himself.

The stolen eagle was Wei Mao.

"You old widower! You're playing me for fools!" Wei Yi was furious. He grabbed the painting and threw it at Sanlang's face, but immediately regretted throwing it away. It was too late.

Wei Mao's eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice was nasal: "If Father doesn't like me, he doesn't need to bring me here."

Wei Yi was trying to think of something to ease the tension, but instead of helping to comfort Sanlang, his wife made things worse!

Lu Luo grabbed Wei Mao and strode outside, yelling, "Let's go back to Pingcheng! You muddle-headed old man, you must have been cursed by the witches of the Divine Department!" She continued cursing, still feeling unsatisfied, and grabbed something to throw at Wei Yi. Then, pointing at Wei Yi, she continued her tirade, "How dare you accuse Yuan Zhi of playing tricks on you? Was his drawing wrong? What kind of father are you? Sanlang just returned and you're already throwing a tantrum and hitting him! Go ahead and hit that one-eyed widower if you dare!"

Wei Mao shook off his mother's hand: "I'll go back to Pingcheng myself. Then you can all curse my godfather, and I won't have to be caught in the middle."

Lu Luo grabbed something and hit Wei Mao on the back as he left, then grabbed something else and hit the other two men: "Are you two idiots! Why aren't you bringing Mao back!" Then she glared at her husband, who was standing like a quail.

Wei Yi slowly shuffled his steps, then with lightning speed grabbed the copper basin and slammed it onto his face.

With a loud bang, it blocked the shoe that was about to hit it.

On the twenty-first day of the first month, Wei Yao and her family left Hengzhou and entered Sizhou.

The long journey was very arduous. Like her mother, Wei Yao was reluctant to throw anything away. The three oxcarts were packed full of household items. It was just right that each person could drive one oxcart, with her mother in the front and her father in the back.

In the past, this area of ​​the prefecture was sparsely populated and the people were free to choose good land and cultivate it. However, this was considered as the government lending land to the people for farming. If the amount of land cultivated exceeded the equal-field system, the government would take away the excess land and give it to the new people when more people moved to this area.

Government orders may be reasonable, but their implementation is often unreasonable.

As Wei Yao's family was passing by, a group of people were fighting, brandishing hoes.

(End of this chapter)