History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 201 Prince Rencheng Demands People

The faces of the children below immediately tightened, and many wept in humiliation.

The student burst into tears, and without Wei Yao needing to tell her to leave, she took the initiative to leave her seat. However, the palace student was still unconvinced, and as she approached the door, she cried out in a sorrowful voice, "You have never experienced how cruel war is, what right do you have to look down on our cowardice?"

Wei Yao stood up angrily and pointed at the other person, asking, "Have you ever been to the battlefield?"

"Although I didn't..."

"Then shut up! I've been on the battlefield. I was in the Junji Mountain where we killed the son of the Rouran Khan! I'll ask you again, and all of you, when the enemy outnumbers you and is stronger than you, would you dare to go forward and fight? I would! Even if all I had at my disposal were stones!"

As the three female officials at the gate hesitated whether to record these words, they saw the noble person approaching. Most of the lower-ranking female officials in the palace had no chance to recognize the noble person and could only distinguish them by their clothing and the rank of the accompanying eunuchs and guards.

When the palace maids were stopped from talking, Yuan Shixian heard what sounded like an argument inside the room and immediately became wide awake. He and the Seventh Prince moved closer to listen.

Wei Yao: "I ask you three questions: If it weren't for my Wei army guarding the western border of the Gobi Desert, if Wei and Qi were in different positions, would you still be able to survive the hardships at home? Would you be sitting in the brightly lit schoolhouse studying poetry?"

Two more palace students stood up at the same time, one of them shouting to Wei Yao, "Of course!"

The other shouted even louder, "What makes you think it's impossible? What makes you think it is?!"

Wei Yao: "The Qi army surrendered without a fight after only engaging my Wei army. Where do you get the courage to talk about being attacked from both sides?! Doesn't your Xiao Qi royal family have a long-standing folk song... 'First, a son kills his father; later, a brother kills his brother'? Judging from your expressions, I am not wrong. What I see today is that the island barbarians are indeed not rulers, not ministers, not teachers, not disciples! From top to bottom, they violate etiquette and morality! Their ugly behavior is passed down from generation to generation!"

Several palace students covered their ears and cried out, "Stop talking! Stop talking!"

Wei Yao looked around at everyone, put away her reprimanding tone, and said earnestly, "The duty of a lecturer is to teach and instruct. What is 'teaching'? It is what superiors impart and inferiors follow. It is to teach with words and then awaken. As long as you repent and correct your mistakes, respect your teachers and elders, and are willing to continue your studies, then sit down and listen to me continue explaining 'The Method of Fixing Things.' You, go out."

The palace student, who had been lingering by the door, turned away in shame and indignation. Upon seeing the nobleman present, he turned ashen-faced with fright.

After finishing her lesson, Wei Yao learned that the Seventh Prince had arrived. She quickly came out and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Yesterday, she encountered him again in the orchard and frankly admitted that she already knew his identity. She also mentioned that she would be going to the palace to lecture on poetry today and tomorrow, so she couldn't teach him for the time being. Now that the Seventh Prince has come to the Xi official residence, he must be worried that her lectures are not going well, and he has come to support her.

"He is my fellow disciple Yuan Shixian."

Wei Yao bowed and said, "Young Master Yuan."

Yuan Shixian: "You're very fierce."

Unable to respond to that, Wei Yao lowered her head.

Yuan Shixian: "Could you copy down all the things you said during the argument and give them to me? I'll memorize them and use them to insult others."

Wei Yao lowered her head even further.

To be honest, Yuan Yan also thought that Miss Wei was quite good at arguing, but he was more curious about two things, so he asked, "Did you also participate in the battle to kill Fu Tu?"

Wei Yao replied softly, "I'm here to clean up the battlefield."

Yuan Heng lowered his voice and asked, "Then you're going to fight the Rouran with stones?"

Wei Yao explained truthfully: "At that time, the Rouran troops had already been captured and were tied up with long ropes, so I threw several stones at them."

The two children couldn't help but laugh.

Wei Yao had to teach one more lesson, so she bowed to bid farewell to the seven princes and returned to the school. Yuan Yu, on the other hand, took Yuan Shixian to the palace to say goodbye to the emperor. The emperor had just finished reading a batch of official documents and took the opportunity to briefly test the two children's studies. Upon hearing this test, he flew into a rage!
The two children were severely reprimanded and left the palace crying.

Hearing his seventh brother's cries, the emperor's heart softened again. He summoned Wang Zhongxing, a close attendant, to inquire about Yuan Yu's visit to the Xi government office. After hearing that a palace student had disrespectfully recited the lecturer's words and was being reprimanded by the newly arrived lecturer, the emperor thought for a moment and then ordered the eunuch Wang Yu to go to the Xi government office again: "Bring me the lecture records from Qixing Academy."

It was almost noon.

Wei Yi and several colleagues came to the Zhiche Gate to take a break. Just as they found a shady spot, the troublemaking fat Prince Rencheng arrived, and the officials scattered in panic.

The King of Rencheng called out, "Wei Yi."

"What is it now?" Wei Yi stepped forward with a smile.

Prince Rencheng: "Your mouth, if you don't want to smile, then don't smile. It's curved like a winnowing basket. I want to ask you for a household benefactor. The man is called Wei Yin, Yin as in Yinqi, and his wife is called Zhao Zhi... What, is there anything special about this household benefactor?"

“It is indeed special. If the Minister wanted other households, let alone one, even ten or twenty, I would agree immediately. Please forgive me, Minister, but this household is not an option.”

Prince Rencheng: "It seems to be an old friend with whom we have a long-standing bond?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll make a deal with you. Let Zhao Zhi serve as my bodyguard for a short period of time. You should know about my assassination attempt some time ago. Once we get through this crisis, I'll return her immediately. By the way, your eldest son, Wei Bao, has come of age and it's time to prepare him for official service."

How could Wei Yi not be tempted? He had been serving as an assistant minister for many years, accumulating seniority and experience, but then the late emperor passed away, and all his previous merits in the emperor's court had to be erased and he had to start all over again. If he couldn't be promoted, Bao'er's starting official position would also be low.

But the forces that dared to assassinate Prince Rencheng must also be powerful, risking Yi Gu's safety for Leopard's future...

Wei Yi said with difficulty, "I need to explain this matter to Wei Yin's family. As long as Zhao Zhi is willing, I will not interfere."

"Alright!" Prince Rencheng believed that Zhao Zhi would agree. Times had changed. Zhao Zhi used to not care about fame and fortune, but now she had brought her whole family to the capital. From her warning to the assassin, it was clear that this woman was willing to use her martial arts skills to advance her career.

“Waaah—” At this moment, the two little children, their faces red and eyes swollen from crying, were carried by Ru Hao, one on his back and the other by his hand, to the car door.

"Hiccup." Yuan Shixian saw his uncle and hiccuped in fright, trying to hide on the other side of Ru Hao to avoid being caught.

To everyone's surprise, Yuan Yu was too honest. Pointing at the Prince of Rencheng, he called out to his companion, "Yuan Shixian, your uncle, oh—"

This time, Yuan Shixian pulled Ru Hao hard, and Ru Hao looked around in three directions, but wouldn't look in the direction where his uncle was: "Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? Where is he..."

When the Prince of Rencheng saw Wei Yi laughing, he was furious and deliberately brought up a matter: "Recently, the court received an official document from Yuan Zhi, the governor of Hengzhou, requesting to be transferred to the south. Haha, I didn't expect that your youngest son, Wei Mao, is Yuan Zhi's adopted son." After saying this, he left with his hands behind his back, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Wei Yi gritted his teeth: "Yuan the Widower!" He didn't even need to look for the official document to guess what Yuan the Widower had written. He must have been crying bitterly because he was unwell and missed his adopted son in Sizhou. He wanted to be transferred back to a post near Sizhou.

Otherwise, how could the Prince of Rencheng know so much?

Noon.

Wei Yao followed two young palace maids out of Qianqiu Gate. Wei Yin, Zhao Zhi, and Wei Mao all nervously observed her first, then Wei Yin asked his daughter with concern, "How did it go? Was it alright?"

"Father and Mother, rest assured, both of you gentlemen, but whether I can continue as a lecturer depends on teaching the whole poem tomorrow."

Wei Bao glanced at his third brother without showing any emotion, thinking to himself: Something's not right. Anyway, I wouldn't be this nervous about my female fellow disciples.

(End of this chapter)