History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 191, Yi Nian Li, Wei Yi's Residence

As long as the change of imperial power does not cause bloodshed or prohibit marriage among the common people, it has almost no impact on the daily lives of ordinary citizens.

"call out--"

Wei Yao wielded the whip, each strike lightly hitting the ox. The ox, annoyed by the tickle, swished its tail and took a few steps to catch up with the supply wagon ahead.

The family was queuing up to exit through the Changhe Gate, heading to the residence of the wealthy and powerful official, Wei Yi.

Leaving the city is much faster than entering it.

Follow the imperial road and enter Yinian Lane.

On both sides, the trees were vigorous and upright, and behind them was a mansion surrounded by a continuous white wall. The mansion's red pillars and flying eaves could not be hidden. The mansion was so vast and magnificent that probably only a few new palaces in the old palace could compare with it in Pingcheng.

In the past, the residence of Prince Yuan Yi of Qinghe was a rather long open space, followed by the residence of Prince Yuan Huai of Guangping. Continuing on, the scale of the residences decreased, but the extravagance of the beautiful trees and flying pavilions was in no way inferior.

We finally found the Weiyi Mansion.

Zhao Zhi and her daughter moved the oxcart to the side of the road, more than three zhang away from the main gate. Wei Yin walked to the gatekeeper, introduced himself, briefly explained why he had come to the capital, and handed over Wei Zhenyuan's letter.

The servants all had smiling faces, and the person in charge's words and actions were even more pleasing. They took the initiative to ask Wei Yin, "Does your family have a place to rest, young master? The head of the family has long established a rule that all scholars who come from afar to seek refuge can temporarily stay in the side courtyard of the pine forest."

Wei Yin smiled and returned the greeting, saying truthfully, "My family of three has just arrived in the city and hasn't found an inn yet."

The head gatekeeper understood, gestured to the youngest gatekeeper, and then said to Wei Yin, "His name is Shut-up Rat. Your family will go with him. Put down your luggage first, and then discuss with your family where to stay. You can ask Shut-up Rat about the situation at the Pine Forest Courtyard."

It turns out that those who are told to "shut up" are the ones who talk too much.

The pine forest courtyard is located on the northwest side of Wei Yi's residence. It is not connected to the main residence. Not only is it separated by a wide road, but it is also planted with extremely tall green bamboo outside the main residence's courtyard wall, completely preventing people in the courtyard from looking into the main residence.

The side courtyard also occupies a considerable area. It was specially used by Wei Yi to house the deceased and his relatives. It is planted with pine trees, orchids and other low-growing plants. Several small courtyards are scattered in a well-organized manner, densely arranged but not chaotic.

As they walked, without Wei Yin even asking, the Silent Rat told them everything: "Our master's rule is that, based on the distance from when all the scholars have come to join us, five of them will visit the study once a month. If the master is satisfied, they will be given good jobs immediately. However, the master doesn't come back to the manor often these days, so you may have to wait a while longer."

"Because many Confucian scholars sought refuge here, whether they lived alone or as a clan or family, they were only allowed to stay for a maximum of six months."

"The villa doesn't provide meals. Don't worry, my lord, all the household items are provided, but you'll have to fetch water and chop firewood yourselves." As he said this, he pointed to the left, "That place with lots of smoke coming out of the stoves over there is the kitchen where you collect firewood."

"No matter what you receive or borrow, you need to show a contract to prove your identity. There's no time for today, but I'll talk to the cook later. Remember to get the contract from the head of this courtyard tomorrow or the day after. The head of the courtyard's surname is Lu, and he lives next door to the cook."

"The contract must be kept safe. Your family can use it to find work in the city or to buy land or houses. Every few days, Luoyang City has strict inspection days. If your family is questioned, the contract will prove that you are a member of the head of the family."

"Don't panic if you lose the contract. Go to the county office to report the loss immediately, and then explain the situation to Manager Lu."

"This courtyard will do. There are two empty rooms in the east wing. After you settle in, I'll talk to the manager and we won't assign any more people to this courtyard. After you unload your luggage, if the oxen and cart are your own, you can store them in the livestock shed in the northwest corner. If they are rented, return them as soon as possible, otherwise you'll have to pay for the fodder every day."

Wei Yao smiled and thanked the girl who bowed respectfully. The servant had never seen such an elegant and graceful bow, especially from a young woman bowing to him. So he added a word of advice: "With so many people around, and you being new here, please don't argue or fight with anyone. Steward Lu hates noisy people the most. If he gets annoyed by you and keeps delaying the order in which the young master pays respects to the head of the family, then there will be trouble."

While Wei Yao's family was cleaning the house and tidying up the utensils, Wei Mao went out of the mansion with his two elder brothers. The three brothers were going to the martial arts training ground in the north of the city to watch the Imperial Guards practice throwing halberds and swords. They would not be back until the day after tomorrow at the earliest.

Wei Bao remembered something and asked, "A Mao, it's been a long time since I've heard you mention Bu Yanzhen. Has he returned to Pingcheng?"

"Yes, I'm going back."

"Cheer up. When we get to the martial arts arena, I'll introduce you to some new friends. Now, to tell you the truth, your father withheld several of your letters, but your mother got hold of them all and sent them to the Pingcheng Prefectural Governor's Office."

Wei Mao already harbored some genuine fatherly affection for Governor Yuan, and seeing a sparrow with an injured eye fall from the sky the other day only added to his distress. Most importantly, his adoptive father understood his feelings and would surely hint at Wei Yao's situation in his reply.

Little did he know that the person he longed for was right there at the Pine Forest Villa.

By this time, Wei Yao's family had already moved all their belongings into the house. The two rooms in the east wing were not large, nor was the courtyard.

During the moving process, the scholars living in the north room and the west wing all came out once and introduced themselves. The scholar in the north room was over forty years old and surnamed Wei, while the scholar in the west wing was at most twenty years old and surnamed Lu.

Neither of them intends to develop a deep relationship, which is fine, as it saves them the trouble of putting in effort to be perfunctory.

There were too many things to put away, so Wei Yao and her mother drove the oxcart to the livestock shed to pay for a day's fodder. Fortunately, it only cost one copper coin per ox. Then Wei Yao went back to the courtyard to check on the house, her father went to find Steward Lu, and her mother went to the kitchen to get firewood and ask about cooking and other things.

Her father had just cleaned all the cobwebs from both rooms. Wei Yao found the straw mat and felt from her sleeping quarters and stood them outside the house to dry. After sweeping the floor, she slowly put away the clutter.

Kitchen.

This place provides food for the servants, including some of the servants in the mansion. There are five large firewood sheds with stacks of rough wood, and the people walking back and forth are all stewards. They have different jobs: some are in charge of firewood, some are in charge of the stove, and some are in charge of cooking.

The woman in charge of the firewood, surnamed Xue, didn't have time to say much to Zhao Zhi: "Chop it yourself, take as much as you can." She then turned to look for people while scolding them, "I've told you several times that the roof is leaking, why hasn't it been repaired yet? Where are two of the laborers who were chopping firewood today? Where did they go?"

Manager Xue walked in and out of the kitchens, and when he returned to the leaky woodshed, he exclaimed in surprise, "Oh!"

In such a short time, Zhao Zhi chopped a whole pile of fine firewood. Each piece of firewood was almost the same size. Since there was no limit to the amount, and she had brought a rope with her, Zhao Zhi decided to chop even more.

"Hey? Was that you just now? You just came from Pingcheng? I have a bad memory, what's your surname..."

"Zhao".

"Mrs. Zhao, I know you're chopping wood to cook dinner. Let's make a deal: if you chop a few more pieces of thick wood for me, I'll pack you some cakes and hot soup so you don't have to go back and do all that work. Is that alright?"

"Okay. How many should I chop?"

Manager Xue hadn't expected it to be so easy to negotiate, and he clapped his hands in delight: "You keep chopping, I'll go pack the cakes for you."

(End of this chapter)