History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 258 The Painting of Two Deer on the Ruined Wall

The Book of Songs, in the poem "The Rooster Crows," says: "The east is bright, the morning is prosperous."

This means that when the sun rises in the east, it is the time when officials hold court in a prosperous manner. Even as dawn breaks, the main streets leading to the palace gates of Luoyang, frequently used by officials, are already bustling with carriages and horses.

Now, five regents are in charge of the government. In order to alleviate the congestion on the imperial road, starting today, the Grand Commandant will allow the regents to enter and exit the palace separately. Officials who can submit petitions or reply to non-urgent letters at the palace gate will not be allowed to enter the palace.

This move conveniently separated Minister Wang Su and Right Vice Minister Yuan Cheng. The reason for the discord between the two ministers was mainly that the latter was fat and narrow-minded, and always openly and secretly belittled Wang Su as a down-on-his-luck southern scholar.

"I have no complaints about the court placing Wang Su above me in his official position, but my uncle, Prince Guangyang, is a respected senior member of the imperial family. Why should Wang Su be ranked above me?"

King Pang Cheng complained about this to different courtiers every day. Since King Guangyang was always drunk and confused, his lack of rebuttal meant he agreed with the complaint.

Officials familiar with Yuan Cheng now avoid him, because no one wants to take sides among the ministers.

This morning, someone stepped forward. It was Yuan Zhi, the Prefect of Sizhou. He was waiting at the gate of Changhe Palace. He handed the petition to the Prince of Rencheng and briefly explained its contents.

"I'll take a moment to trouble you, Minister. The court has always prioritized the restoration of the rites and system, but since arriving in Luoyang, I've found that the implementation of educational policies in the capital region is lagging behind that of the surrounding prefectures and counties. To uphold Confucianism and Taoism, schools must come first! I know that restoring the construction of the National Academy is not something that can be accomplished in one or two years, so I request that four primary schools be built first. Please forward this request to His Majesty and the Grand Commandant on my behalf."

Yuan Cheng didn't answer, but said with a barbed tone, "I am only the Right Vice Minister assisting the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Minister Wang's official rank is above mine. He is a famous scholar from Jiangdong who was highly regarded by the late emperor, and he is also on good terms with the Grand Commandant. You should submit the petition to Minister Wang."

Yuan Zhi bowed again: "The new educational regulations have always been promoted by Prince Cheng. When I was in Pingcheng, far from the capital, I was fortunate that Prince Cheng always remembered me and even sent educational officials on a long journey to Pingcheng to reward them. I only recognize Prince Cheng, and I ask that Your Majesty help me and all the studious Confucian scholars in Wei!"

Yuan Cheng was delighted and exclaimed, "When the late Emperor was alive, he would always explain the origins of the 'Four Learnings' of the Zhou Rites to us whenever he discussed the Book of Rites with us. I have not forgotten it, and I am glad that you have not forgotten it either. Good, now is the perfect time for you to propose the construction of the Four Elementary Schools. If it were any later, I'm afraid..."

He shook his head, indicating that he didn't need to say everything.

Building a school is not something that can be done immediately by simply planning a location. It also requires following ancient rituals, discussing systems, establishing the curriculum of various classics, selecting civil officials, and so on. If war breaks out during this period, or if Bai Zheng establishes the regulations for carving the Yique Mountain Grottoes, the construction of all the national academies will probably have to be postponed.

Yuan Zhi couldn't resist taking a quick glance at Zhao Zhi by the carriage during the brief moment Ren Cheng Wang shook his head. She hadn't changed; she was in great spirits. But he had grown white hair again.

Yuan Zhi lowered his voice and truthfully told Yuan Cheng his worries: "I know that Grand Chamberlain Bai Zheng has gone to Yique Mountain. Is Luoyang also going to build a grotto on the scale of the old capital? If so, I'm afraid that even if the construction of the Four Gates Elementary School begins, it will be abandoned halfway. So I ask Prince Cheng, which of His Majesty's courtiers is more favored than Bai Zheng? I want to pay him a visit and ask him to put in a good word of advice to His Majesty on the very important matter of the construction of the official school."

"The one who has served His Majesty the longest is the Imperial Physician Wang Xian. However, for the matter of building the school, it is better to ask Sun Huiwei than Wang Xian."

"I understand." Yuan Zhi watched Yuan Cheng enter the palace gate. Unfortunately, the staff and guards of the Prince of Rencheng's mansion were all there. He dared not look at Zhao Zhi any longer and could only get into his carriage and leave.

Inside the carriage, the two officials were certain that Wei Yin had not misunderstood their warnings from a few days ago. At least he had done one thing right: he hadn't spoken carelessly to the Prince of Rencheng and hadn't revealed the construction of the Four Gates Elementary School in advance.

That afternoon.

A group of Qihu warriors left Luoyang and sped towards Pingzhou. They were entrusted by the family of the young master's mentor to inquire about the whereabouts of the exile of the convict Gong Ai. Wei Yao left the palace at noon and was still thinking about this matter on her way to the Wenya Abode.

Last night, she touched the red string that Gong Ai had left her, feeling uneasy. She couldn't explain where the unease came from. Wei Yao didn't let the unease go unchecked. Early the next morning, she left home to go next door to find her junior brother Rong. She even drew the design of the red string and gave it to her junior brother to help the warriors find Gong Ai.

Now that the rebels inside and outside the city have been quelled, Wei Yao has resumed her former solitary ways. When she passed by the ruins of the Imperial Academy, she slowed down and pondered whether the court was discussing the matter of finding the Three-Character Stone Classic.
Every year this matter is delayed, the more difficult it becomes to find the items.

A toddler of about five years old ran past her to a dilapidated wall and started scribbling on it with pebbles.

Memories of the past rushed towards Wei Yao like water, causing the scenes of her past life to overlap with what she was witnessing now.

The child drew a pair of deer.

In her previous life, Wei Yao married into Luoyang. She could skip other places, but visiting the ruins of the Imperial Academy was a must. Right there, in front of the crumbling wall where Xiao Tong is now standing, at roughly the same height and position, she had seen the painted traces of a pair of deer back then.

Wei Yao could remember the graffiti so clearly because the two deer on the wall looked exactly like the last double deer knot she had woven on the string of grass beads she gave to Xi Jiao in her previous life.

When she came to Luoyang this year, she made a special trip to see this ruined wall, but there was no trace of the painting of the two deer.

Unexpectedly, Wei Yao was able to witness the origin of the graffiti firsthand today. She found fate quite amusing.

The little boy was clearly mischievous. After finishing his drawing, he giggled to himself. He ran past Wei Yao, whose gaze followed him. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Xi Jiao right behind her!
The child stopped in front of Xi Jiao and held out his hand: "I've finished drawing. Is it correct?"

"Yes." Xi Jiao gave the child a handful of candy as a reward, and the child ran off happily.

She looked at Xi Jiao, then at the scribbles on the wall, and thought to herself: Could it be that the two deer in this place in her previous life were also left behind by him at the behest of the children?
Impossible! He had long since stopped liking her by then and had coldly left her life. He wouldn't do something so childish.

Xi Jiao walked over, her ears turning red, but she deliberately explained in a cold tone, "I recently dreamed of a pair of deer, and I happened to see that child craving candy and pestering his mother to buy it for him. I didn't want him to experience getting something for nothing at such a young age, so I had him draw a deer and rewarded him with candy."

After Xi Jiao finished speaking, her heart pounded even harder: Oh no, why did I explain so much? Will it make it seem like I want to talk to her? She mustn't ask him what he was doing at the Imperial Academy ruins. It doesn't matter if he asks; he can come here whenever he wants, it's not like he came here to gamble on meeting her.

Wei Yao gave a perfunctory "hmm," not asking how the other person got here. She could maintain a distant, familiar relationship with the other person as fellow disciples. As for other matters, even if some mysteries from their past lives were revealed, there was no need to be curious, much less ask.

"I'm going to the hermitage. Goodbye."

Xi Jiao stopped her: "I still have something to tell you. I met that Zong Yin here before. He didn't look like he was here to copy the stone scriptures."

Wei Yao bowed and said, "Thank you for reminding me, fellow disciple Xi."

Xi Jiao watched her retreating figure, muttering angrily, "Thank you, fellow disciple Xi, thank you, fellow disciple Xi... You always just say thank you without any real commitment, humph!"