History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 232 Sending Gong Ai

On the afternoon of June 16, Wei Yao, Kong Mi, Xi Jiao, and Yuan Heng visited the residence of Guo Zuo, the Minister of Personnel. Guo Zuo came from the Guo clan of Taiyuan. His eldest uncle was Cui Hao, who was executed in the "National History Imprisonment," and his youngest uncle was Cui Hao's younger brother, Cui Tian, ​​who also perished in that catastrophe.

The Guo clan of Taiyuan had been on good terms with the Cui clan of Qinghe since the Western Jin Dynasty. Unfortunately, neither Minister Guo nor Wei Yao knew that they had such a close kinship relationship.

Guo Zuo had just taken over the Ministry of Personnel, and even during his days off, he was extremely busy. Wei Yao and the other three knew this well. After exchanging greetings, Xi Jiao briefly explained that Confucius was coming to Luoyang and would be opening a lecture hall in the south of the city to teach the Erya.

Minister Guo said, "This is a good thing. Luoyang is currently in dire need of a philological institute with a hundred apprentices."

This sentence has achieved the purpose of getting Wei Yao and the others to come and pay their respects.

First, Minister Guo affirmed Confucius's talent and learning, stating that in Luoyang, a city where famous scholars gathered, Kong Wenzhong's research in philology was no less than that of other famous scholars.

Secondly, he cautioned private schools against accepting too many students, limiting them to a maximum of one hundred.

Of course, when Wei Yao and the other three, as disciples of Confucius, left the Guo residence, they were all somewhat disappointed, because Minister Guo did not suggest that they teach in the more prosperous inner city. This shows that Confucius's teaching career required a lot of accumulation before it could be fully realized.

Wei Yao was the first to adjust her mindset and encouraged him, saying, "Confucius said... 'Do not worry about not being known; seek to be worthy of being known.' There are many scholars in Luoyang. It is right for our teacher to seek progress steadily since he has just arrived. As long as we disciples strive to live up to his expectations and continue to work hard on our respective paths to our ideals, our teacher's talent will rise in Luoyang along with our efforts!"

"Well said!" Kong Mi agreed approvingly.

Xi Jiao could only understand the latter part, and nodded emphatically.

Yuan Heng, being simple-minded, nudged Xi Jiao's arm twice and asked, "Jiao, what does that quote from Confucius mean?"

Xi Jiao pushed the other person away. How annoying! Why can't they ask the right question?
Just as Wei Yao was about to explain for Yuan Tongmen, a servant from the Guo residence led Li Biao past the four of them. Li Biao was known for his sternness as an official, and seeing Wei Yao in Guo Zuo's residence, especially since she had clearly visited before him, he gave her a cold look.

Such a cold and sinister gaze was something even high-ranking officials in the court dared not look directly into, let alone Wei Yao, who couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine!
Xi Jiao and Kong Mi stepped forward simultaneously and glared back.

Yuan Heng also said angrily, "Who is he? He's an old man with squinting eyes. Fellow disciple Wei, there's no need to be afraid of him!"

Wei Yao: "I don't know him. Don't worry, senior brother and junior brother, I'm not afraid of him. If he were really that capable, why would Minister Guo have arranged for him to enter the mansion after us?"

Xi Jiao: "That's true, but we still need to be wary of people. I'll find out his background when we get back and tell you."

Wei Yao bowed to thank him, but Xi Jiao could sense her aloofness towards him, and felt uneasy. Just then, he saw a ladybug in the flowerbed, so he caught it in his hand and held it gently until he parted ways with Wei Yao at the city gate. In a fit of anger, he flicked the ladybug into her hair.

Let's talk about Li Biao for now.

He came to Guo Zuo's residence to ask for an official position for his son, Li Zhi.

Of course, I'm not seeking a minor official position! Rather, I'm seeking a "nominal official" position, such as "Fengchaoqing" or a subordinate official of "Zhige". These nominal officials have the opportunity to serve in the Forbidden City and work in front of His Majesty.

In Wei, the way officials rose through the ranks was first determined by their noble title, and then by their family's ancestral home and social standing.

Li Biao currently holds no title or official position, so he can only be judged by his family background. However, his family is from the Li clan of Dunqiu, and has no kinship with the prominent Li clans of Zhaojun and Longxi.

If His Majesty hadn't rejected his request to return to the Secretariat, he would never have come to Guo Zuo to suffer such humiliation. Sure enough, Guo Zuo insisted that the "Dunqiu Li Clan" was an ordinary clan name, not a county name, and that the Ministry of Personnel would not arrange for Li Zhi to enter officialdom.

Li Biao stayed at the Guo residence for a shorter time than Wei Yao and the other three, but in just that short time, he seemed to have aged ten years.

"Heaven wants to destroy me, Li Biao? I refuse to accept it! I will not admit defeat! I will not admit defeat!"

If Li Biao hadn't seen Wei Yao earlier, he might have waited another year or two. Guo Zuo had been recommended to the position of Minister of Personnel by the Prince of Xianyang, and once His Majesty assumed personal rule and revoked the Prince of Xianyang's military power, he might even transfer Guo Zuo out of the Ministry of Personnel out of spite. However, Li Biao was now consumed by anger and couldn't wait any longer! If his son's official career was blocked, then he would first have his daughter, Li Yin, contribute to the Li family of Dunqiu!
Palace school, female teachers... Let Wei Yao become the stepping stone for my daughter's fame!

July 1st, morning.

Wei Yao chose to take a day off today and came to Qili Bridge in the east of the city to see Gong Ai off. The witchcraft case in Xi's office has been fully investigated. The main culprit was executed, and the younger ones, along with some criminals from the state and county prisons, were exiled to Pingzhou to perform hard labor.

The journey was long, and the way the criminals were exiled this time was through the handover at the post stations. That is, the jailers in Luoyang would hand over Gong Ai and others to the soldiers at the next official post station, and the handover of prisoners was done in the same way.

Gong Ai sobbed uncontrollably, "Lecturer, why did you come to see me off? Waaah, I'm not worthy, I'm so useless. You've been so good to me, and I did this. I'm so scared, I'm afraid I'll implicate you, lecturer, waaah..."

Wei Yao lifted the child's shackles slightly; they weren't very heavy, so she was relieved. She whispered, "I've asked someone to help you, but they can only take care of you up to Xiangzhou. After Xiangzhou, you must be vigilant the rest of the way."

Gong Ai sobbed, looking at the lecturer in disbelief.

"Teacher, you..."

The lecturer not only didn't dislike or hate her, but also found someone to take care of her during her exile. How lucky she was to meet such a good lecturer, and how unfortunate she was to never see him again and never be able to repay such a great kindness!

Barred by the shackles, Gong Ai was unable to rush into the lecturer's arms. Her eyes became increasingly blurred with tears as she desperately reached for the shackles with both hands.

Wei Yao grasped the child's hand. "I have never treated you and Xie Yi as palace slaves or pageboys. I have been teaching eighteen disciples."

"Waaah—" Gong Ai burst into tears.

Wei Yao choked up as well: "This case is not your fault. You were deliberately harmed by those vicious accomplices. A'ai, you are only six years old. You have done very well. Remember, stay away from your fellow accomplices in the future. As long as we live, we may meet again."

Gong Ai kept nodding, her chin hitting the wooden cangue with each nod. It hurt, because it was the pain that helped ease her guilt.

The jailer urged them to set off.

Wei Yao instructed again: "Live! Gong Ai, remember, no matter what difficulties you encounter, survive!"

Wei Mao was waiting at the bridgehead not far away. When he saw that Wei Yao's face was streaked with tears, he quickly took out a handkerchief from her bag and wiped it for her. After wiping her face, he casually stuffed the handkerchief into his own bag.

Wei Yao gave her a reproachful look and said, "You spend all your time on this."

"Look at you, you've completely ruined all my hard work studying day and night with just one sentence."

Wei Yao was amused.

Wei Mao: "Yaoyao, I swear to heaven and earth, and to Qili Bridge, you can cry for other people and other things in the future, but I will never let you cry for me."

Wei Yao pinched him: "Who swears an oath in front of Qili Bridge? Why don't you swear an oath in front of the Luoyang County Government?"

"Okay, haha—"

Even though the sun is glaring in the daylight, lovers are happy to bask in it together.

"Do not worry about not being known; strive to be worthy of being known": This comes from the "Li Ren" chapter of the Analects. It means that one should not be afraid of being unknown; one should pursue skills that make others aware of them.

(End of this chapter)