History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 225 The Role of "The Ballad of Mulan"
Wei Yin smiled and reassured the shopkeeper, "I'm showing you the poem because I don't intend to keep it to myself." Then he said, "The one selling the poem is a child with a topknot. He was wandering around Fangqian Street just now. He said that the poem about Mulan was written by his elders and has never been shown to outsiders."

The shopkeeper said, "There must be someone in the mother's family who served in the army, otherwise who would record a woman's military experience with such a grand and detailed account?"

Wei Yin agreed: "That's right. I thought the poem was good, and I couldn't bear to cheat that child, so I gave him all the money I earned from copying books yesterday. Shopkeeper, please take another look at the poem. I think I got a good deal, didn't I?"

The shopkeeper's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!
"What loss? If I remember correctly, you only earned thirty coins yesterday, right?"

Wei Yin: "Is thirty coins too little?"

"Of course..." The shopkeeper realized he'd been tricked and shut up.

Scholars copied books at Nanying Bookstore, and their wages were determined by the grade of the characters. They received one coin for copying a section of "ordinary grade characters", two coins for copying a section of "medium grade characters", and one coin for copying a sentence of "superior grade characters".

The writing implements, ink, and paper were all provided by the bookstore, and the accounts were settled daily.

The shopkeeper rated Wei Yin as "middle grade". Yesterday, Wei Yin received a total of thirty coins and sighed, "The prices in Luoyang are high. Thirty coins can barely support my family's three meals a day."

Then the shopkeeper replied, "Thirty coins is quite a lot, be content."

Staring at the poem "Ballad of Mulan," the shopkeeper decided, "How about this, I'll change it to a superior grade, and you can give the original manuscript to the bookstore, okay?" It wasn't that he was stingy to assign a grade to the calligraphy; the master had a rule that "superior grade calligraphy" could only be assigned to one person, and to prevent encountering someone with exceptionally good calligraphy, this spot was always left vacant.

Wei Yin asked, "The thirty coins I just used to buy the poem?"

"Oh dear, how could I possibly be greedy for this little bit of yours..." The shopkeeper stopped talking and changed his words to warn, "There's something we need to agree on. You can copy the poem and keep it to yourself, but you can't reveal it to anyone before the master promotes 'The Ballad of Mulan'."

"Don't worry, I know the rules."

Once the calligraphy was designated as "superior grade," Wei Yin could have exclusive access to the small study on the second floor to copy books. The shopkeeper came down the stairs and instructed his trusted servant: "Go and walk around the street in front of the shop a few times and look for a child with a topknot. Once you find him, ask him if he has any poems or books to sell. If he does, bring the child to the bookstore."

The result, of course, was that they couldn't find anyone.

Erzhu Rong, with his hair styled in a topknot, saw his friend Xi Yi off. The two little ones were reluctant to part, and Xi Yi even left the house key with Erzhu Rong.

The Ballad of Mulan spread rapidly from the capital region to all corners of the country. As for who wrote it, it wasn't until Yuan Zhi came to the capital to take up his post that he discovered the handwriting of the poem matched that of the "island barbarian scholar"! After much thought, Yuan Zhi finally suspected Wei Yin.

But I'll leave that for later; let's get to the present.

Today, Zhao Zhi was on leave, and Wang Shennian, the steward of the Prince of Rencheng's mansion, sent a guard to drive an oxcart to help Zhao Zhi carry back the heavy reward money.

The Prince of Xianyang also rewarded Zhao Zhi with silk, which he considered more valuable than copper coins. Fortunately, the Imperial Censor knew the hardships of ordinary people's lives, and Zhao Zhi's family could not possibly store so much silk. Therefore, the Imperial Censor converted the silk into money according to the market price.

Including the reward from the Prince of Guangling, it should have been 500,000!
How much money?
For ordinary people, it's a lot! But in the social interactions of officialdom, money becomes worthless.

When leaving the Prince of Rencheng's residence in the afternoon, Chief Secretary Li Xuanmao reminded Zhao Zhi that it would be best to take most of the reward given by the Prince of Xianyang and send it to Liu Xiaogou, the commander of the Prince of Xianyang's residence, as soon as possible.

"Liu Xiaogou has served for many years and not only enjoys the deep trust of Prince Xi, but has also made friends with many officers of the Imperial Guard. This time you saved Prince Xi, and Liu Xiaogou will inevitably be criticized for dereliction of duty. Over time, his gratitude to you may turn into resentment. He himself certainly won't cause trouble for you, but what about those Imperial Guards who are currying favor with him? They will come up with all sorts of dirty tricks, and it will be impossible to guard against them."

Zhao Zhi said to her husband and daughter, "So there are only 350,000 left."

They gave Liu Xiaogou 150,000 yuan all at once!
Wei Yao wiped away tears, furious: "It's not that I'm heartbroken about the money, but that money was earned by my mother with her life on the line! 150,000 yuan, what a heartless bastard! Mother, you have to be careful, this kind of person doesn't necessarily know how to be respectful, be careful he doesn't take the money and still cause trouble. Waaah—"

Wei Yao suddenly understood, covered her face and cried, "Mother is afraid that Guard Liu will cause trouble for me!"

How could Wei Yin not feel pain when his daughter cried? Besides, he loved his wife even more than his daughter loved his mother. But at this moment, no matter how painful it was, he had to hold back and encourage her: "If you don't stand out, it's like you've come to Luoyang for nothing. If you stand out too much, you'll inevitably attract jealousy. From now on, such things will be as common as eating and drinking. Yao'er, you have to get used to it. Azhi, you have to get used to it too."

Neither mother nor daughter quite understood his words. Wei Yin looked at his wife and said, "Your skills are only suitable for serving as a guard in the Prince's mansion, which is a waste of your talents. Moreover, after His Majesty assumes personal rule, the Prince of Rencheng may not be able to stay in Luoyang. Yao'er is too young, and at the beginning of her career, she needs someone to help and protect her. It's better to rely on family than on others."

"Today I delivered the Ballad of Mulan to Nanying Bookstore. I believe that before long, the legend of the female general's meritorious service will be widely spread. Riding on this wave of fame, Azhi should regain her former spirit and soar like a roc! She should enter the court and serve as an official just like the men!"

“Master, Master—” Erzhu Rong has arrived.

The Wei family put aside their previous topic for the time being. Zhao Zhi's gentleness was only revealed in front of her family. After leaving the main house, she tested Er Zhu Rong's skills without saying a word.

The tutor had just reminded the young master to "be careful" when Zhao Zhi grabbed his arm, pulled and shoved him, causing him to fall flat on his face.

"Neither of you has improved your martial arts skills."

Erzhu Rong pouted, sulking.

Zhao Zhi asked, "Would you like to come with me to the Prince of Rencheng's Mansion tomorrow?"

"Yes!" Erzhu Rong immediately jumped up with joy.

June 13th.

Zhao Zhi and her daughter, along with Erzhu Rong, traveled along the official road outside the city. They first escorted Wei Yao to the Changhe City Gate. The three of them ate breakfast at a food stall outside the city gate. The passage into the city had been suspended for caravans, and only the Yaoguang Temple caravans carrying soil, timber, and flowers were allowed to pass.

After finishing their meal, they parted ways at the city gate, with Wei Yao heading alone towards Qianqiu Gate. Last night, she had learned from her mother the reason for the tense atmosphere in the city these past two days and the increased number of imperial guards, and she also knew that Wei Mao had experienced a short period of this.

Thinking of him, I saw him.

Wei Maozheng and others were standing in a prominent spot on Qianqiu Gate Street, with Kong Mi, Yuan Heng and Xi Jiao beside him.

All academic underachievers have the same problem: they yawn constantly early in the morning.

Yuan Heng's voice was nasal with sleepiness: "Giving lectures isn't an easy job. You had to get up very early to get here from the south of the city."

Wei Yao threatened him, "If you're late, you'll be beheaded."

"Huh?!" Yuan Heng's drowsiness vanished instantly.

Who knew Kong Mi would take it seriously, asking, "Really?"

Upon seeing Wei Yaole, he realized he had been tricked and said, "Junior sister is naughty. We came this morning because Minister Guo agreed to see us. He lives in the east of the city, and the visit is scheduled for the afternoon of the sixteenth. When you finish your lecture, come out of Qianqiu Gate, and we will pick you up and take you to the Minister's residence together."

"Yes."

Wei Mao deeply felt the elegance in the manners of the Han aristocratic youths, as if it were engraved in their bones, carrying just the right amount of sincerity. This scholarly demeanor had nothing to do with appearance, and people inexplicably began to trust them.

Such innate good character is rare among the Xianbei people, especially at a young age, but Wei Yao is an exception among the Xianbei sons.

Wei Yao rushed into the palace, exchanging only a glance with Wei Mao before hurriedly saying goodbye. It was that glance that completely reassured Wei Mao: "Thank goodness, Madam Zhao is safe and sound."

The story in "The Ballad of Mulan" is a fictional one written by Wei Yin and should not be taken literally.

(End of this chapter)