History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 24 Wei Yao Saved Me

noon the next day.

Wei Yao's guess was right. Wei Jing brought Gao Xiaoniangzi to Cui Academy. Wei Yao knew without asking that it must be that Jing, who hated studying, volunteered to make this trip for Zhen.

Gao Xiaoniangzi, Gao Lou, possessed the tall and slender figure described in the modern poem "Shuoren," even taller than Wei Jing, and her rosy cheeks were a common feature among people from the border town. Upon seeing Wei Yao, Gao Lou immediately broke into a smile, revealing no trace of her sorrow.

Wei Yao opened the book box and cut to the chase: "Miss Gao, I am Wei Yao. The books have been sorted, and you will understand them when you see them. I won't waste your time explaining them one by one." Because the other party was wearing thick clothes and had sheepskin knee pads tightly bound to her legs, it seemed that she would leave the city in the afternoon.

"Thank you, Miss Xie, I will remember this kindness."

Wei Yao shook her head: "I know how you feel. To be honest, I once witnessed Master Du's contemptuous attitude towards female students." She finished speaking and imitated the expression she had described.

In her past life, Du Ling had repeatedly looked down on and ridiculed Wei Yao, which had left her with a deep grudge. How could she possibly imitate him so well?

Gao Lou was all too familiar with this kind of cold stare and sneer. Humiliation welled up in her heart, and she said hatefully, "Yes! That's how he treated me. He only treated me like this in the school dormitory, but no one would believe me if I told them!"

Wei Jing was extremely curious and kept asking Wei Yao, "When did this happen? Does that Master Du really look at people like that?"

There was no need for Wei Yao to continue lying; Gao Lou immediately replied, "Du Ling is just like that; he's not worthy to be my teacher! Actually, the other day when I made a scene... sigh, never mind."

Wei Yao: "Actually, when you made a scene that day, it wasn't because you wanted to continue your studies. You wanted to warn other female students, right? You were worried that if you left, someone else would suffer the same mistreatment as him, right?"

Gao Lou nodded, choking back tears: "Yes, I never thought there would be anyone who understands me. I... I really am... Miss Wei. If only I had known you sooner."

"It's better than not knowing each other at all. We're still young, and we'll definitely meet again someday."

Wei Jing was unusually sensible; he helped Gao Lou carry her luggage and promised Wei Yao that he would definitely take Gao Xiaoniangzi to the North Gate.

Gao Lou's hometown was the border town with the most military settlements in the Yinshan region. Among the six towns in Yinshan, only Huai Shuo Town governed five prefectures and thirteen counties. Therefore, every month, merchants would gather from Pingcheng and head to Huai Shuo to buy and sell grain and horses. Wei Zhen helped him to the end and used her connections to find a merchant caravan that would take Gao Lou, which was already waiting at the city gate.

Wei Jing was familiar with all the roads in the town, so he led Gao Lou along a shortcut. He was a talkative man and couldn't help but chat with her: "There are schools in Huai Shuo Town, right? Will you be able to study there after you go back?"

“There are schools nearby.” There are schools, but no famous teachers; otherwise, why would she have gone to Pingcheng, which is so far away?

Do you have any siblings?

Gao Lou grew increasingly homesick, his heart filled with mixed emotions: "When I left home, my mother was already pregnant, but letters were hard to send, so I didn't know if my family had a younger brother or sister."

Wei Jing was surprised: "Counting the time you've been away from home, it's been two years now, right? How come you haven't sent a single letter home?"

"Yes." This was precisely what troubled Gao Xiaoniangzi. Although her family was not wealthy, her father could surely find someone he knew to send a letter.

Wei Jing sensed her displeasure and changed the subject, asking, "The character 'Lou' in your name is strange. What does it mean?" "It means the Lou constellation." Gao Lou pointed to the sky, and seeing that Wei Jing didn't know about this star, she further explained, "The Lou constellation is a place for raising livestock, offering sacrifices, or gathering troops. The Lou constellation is an auspicious star, belonging to the metal element. So when I left home, my father said that if my mother gave birth to a girl, she would be named Gao Jin, and if she gave birth to a boy, she would be named Gao Huan."

"斤" is both a tool and a weapon, and is a homophone for "金" (gold). "欢" represents the joy of the appearance of auspicious stars.

But Wei Jing still didn't quite understand. He said, "Then your mother must give birth to a son. Gao Jin sounds even worse!"

Gao Lou was broad-minded and not angry, and was even amused.

The two arrived at the north city. The servants of the Wei family, who had been waiting there, led the horse forward. Wei Jing was very generous and pushed the horse's head toward Gao Lou: "This is the horse I raised, named 'Big Hoof,' I'm giving it to you to carry your luggage."

"Ah? No, no! It's too precious, I don't want it, besides, it won't have a good life with me."

"How can we not have a good life? There's grass everywhere in the border town, how can it starve to death?" He slapped his forehead and said, "Oh dear, I forgot to tell you, my hometown is Shuozhou, which is very close to Huai Shuo Town. I came to Pingcheng to live with my mother. My father has been in Shuozhou defending against the Rouran people. To be honest, I don't like studying. At the latest, I will definitely go back to Shuozhou the year after next. When I go to Huai Shuo to find you, you can't pretend you don't know me. Then you can return the big hoof to me, hehe. Hey, Gao Lou, everyone says that the girls in the border town are bold and heroic. If you refuse again, it means you don't consider me a friend."

“In that case, I’ll take it.” Gao Lou took the reins and earnestly assured him, “Young Master Wei, you and the two young ladies Wei are friends I want to be with for life. Don’t worry, I will take good care of Da Ti. I’ll wait for you in Huai Shuo. If you don’t come, I’ll come looking for you!”

As the two bid each other a solemn farewell, shouts and the roar of galloping horses could be heard.

"Make way! Make way—"

"Soldiers, come out of the city and make way!"

"Quickly clear the city gate!"

One of the military officers, without stopping his horse, announced to the people in both Han and Xianbei languages: "Rouran barbarians have appeared in the northern suburbs, massacring villages, looting, and killing travelers! The state army is now going to suppress them, and all people should postpone leaving the city... Rouran barbarians have appeared in the northern suburbs... killing travelers... All people should postpone leaving the city..."

At least three hundred elite cavalrymen and axle-drawn grain carts passed by Wei Jing and Gao Lou. The menacing aura frightened Wei Jing. He looked at Gao Lou and said, "With so many troops mobilized, there must be a lot of Rouran invading! Fortunately, your fellow disciple Yao delayed your journey by delivering the letter. If you had left the day before yesterday, you would have been in danger."

Gao Lou was also sweating profusely, her thoughts naturally running even deeper! If she had left the city the day before yesterday and unfortunately encountered the Rouran people, she would surely have met her demise. What would have been the point of all her hard work coming to Pingcheng to study? What would have been the point of her enduring the cold stares of the teachers in the prefectural government? And what would have been the point of her staking her reputation on ruining Du Ling's name as well?
"Yes, it was Wei Yao who saved me." At this moment, Gao Lou felt a sense of hierarchy in the kindness shown to the three Weis. She vowed that if Wei Yao ever encountered difficulties in the future, she would do everything in her power to repay her.

The mobilization of cavalry by the prefectural government was a major event, and the news quickly spread throughout Pingcheng.

The next morning, more than ten members of the imperial family, led by Yuan Zizhi, secretly left Cui Academy to go to the prefecture to request orders to suppress the Rouran. On the way, they joined other nobles who had skipped class, and they were all eager to fight, shouting slogans such as "Fight the Rouran" to inspire each other.

Meanwhile, at Cui Academy, Wei Yao and most of the Han students went to the bamboo grove as usual to listen attentively to Confucius's explanation of "Shuo Ren".

The significance of the poem "Shuoren" lies not only in the fact that it is the earliest ancient poem to describe a woman's beauty, but also in the fact that the completeness of the Qi state's etiquette during Zhuang Jiang's marriage process subtly points to the lack of etiquette of the Wei state's ruler during the wedding procession, thus foreshadowing later events such as Duke Zhuang of Wei favoring his concubine and Zhuang Jiang being bullied for being childless.

(End of this chapter)