History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 26 Run, Run!
Yuan Heng, perched in the tree, was even more annoyed: What's going on? What are those two talking about? I can't hear a thing.

As Wei Yao passed by the servants tending the bird grove, she heard a heavy thud.

Bang—it's that big bird's nest.

It landed firmly upside down on the ground!
Xi Jiao glared angrily, while Yuan Heng, still in shock, stood frozen among the branches.

*Puff puff puff*—Just then, a parrot with blue feathers and a red beak flew in from afar, uttering in a human voice from its beak: "Who did this, huh? Who did this, huh?"

Yuan Heng snapped out of his daze and made a feinting motion toward the talkative parrot. The parrot wasn't frightened, but the servants below were startled.

Wei Yao couldn't leave. She watched as Xi Jiao turned over the bird's nest and found all the eggs broken. It was such a pity, as the eggs were already in the shape of chicks.

Yuan Heng jumped down from the tree and explained, "I didn't expect the branches to suddenly give way."

Boom——

Perhaps out of grief for the people who died tragically in the suburbs, Heaven sent a continuous sleet that lasted for several days, accompanied by a sudden thunderclap, to the depths of the abyss.

Yuan Heng felt his hair and body hair stand on end, and he couldn't help but roar at the sky, "A few eggs, is it really necessary!"

Actually, this wasn't just his feeling; it actually happened. Wei Yao, Xi Jiao, and the servants beside them all had their hair standing on end.

Wei Yao remembered the cold wave at the beginning of the year. She also remembered another incident. It seemed that in the spring of that year, a large beehive in Cui Academy was struck by lightning, causing swarms of ground bees. Some people were stung to death, and many more were stung. Xi Jiao was stung quite badly.

Lightning strike, lightning strike—could it be today?

"My lords, we must leave this place. I heard that lightning strikes where there are tall trees." As she spoke, the dark clouds that had been swirling around for a long time gathered and thickened at a visible speed.

Thunder rumbled again from the depths of the clouds, rolling and rumbling like a herd of celestial beasts charging.

“Let’s go,” Xi Jiao agreed.

The three hurried along, and Wei Yao suddenly remembered the servants. But like birds startled and returning to their nests, they were all running deeper into the bird forest.

Thunder continued, and Wei Yao and her two companions finally saw the main road. Just as the chilling panic subsided, the chattering parrot flew overhead again, leaving behind a string of human-like words: "Run! Run! Something terrible has happened. Who did it? Huh? Run!"

Wei Yao's heart tightened again, and she lied, "I heard that Cui Xueguan's parrot not only understands human speech but also knows things. Let's listen to its advice and run away quickly."

Xi Jiao was half-believing and half-doubting. Seeing Wei Yao run away and then anxiously return to wait for the two of them, he could only coax his companion: "Yuan Heng, if you can catch up with the parrot and see where it flies, I will give you the red sable that I just got."

Yuan Heng's sneer at Wei Yao had barely begun when he heard this, and he took off chasing after the parrot in the direction it had fled.

Leaving aside Wei Yao and the other two, at the other end of this forest path was a side gate of Cui Academy. Those imperial children who had gone to the prefecture to plead for their appointments had just returned. They were all dejected, and some even had injuries, with bruises on their faces or having to walk with support.

what happened?
The reason is brief. This morning at the prefectural capital, Governor Yuan, facing a crowd of aristocratic students filled with righteous indignation, first offered a brief praise of four words: "Spiritual, good." Then he led everyone to the training ground, where several large iron cages were set up, each containing three brown hyenas. Upon seeing the large influx of strangers, the hyenas became even more agitated, scratching at their cages with their claws or opening their mouths wide.

Governor Yuan said, “The Rouran are like these untamed hyenas. We share the same hatred and fear of them. Here’s what we’ll do: whoever dares to enter the cage and fight them will prove that he has the ability to fight the Rouran, and I will allow him to join the state army and leave the city.”

For a moment, the hyena remained arrogant, banging on the cage with a loud clanging sound.

The young men and women, who had been filled with fighting spirit, all fell silent.

Changsun Wuzhuo, sitting in the front row, felt he was being watched by the governor, and reluctantly pleaded, "We're still young, could we switch places..."

“These hyenas are all young.” Governor Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, neither annoyed nor amused.

Hu Ertiao: "Can our women fight just one at a time?"

Governor Yuan said, "The Rouran people kill you indiscriminately, regardless of gender." Hu Yi'ao was also there, glaring at his younger sister.

The governor walked up to Yuan Zizhi and asked in a tone of concern for a younger person, "It seems you led the way at Cui Academy. Did the teacher allow you to come, or did you come on your own?"

Yuan Zizhi dared not lie: "I came without permission."

"You didn't eat breakfast, did you?"

"No."

"Perfect timing, these hyenas haven't eaten either."

Yuan Zizhi was terrified, not daring to lift his eyelids, and spoke in an even softer voice: "We were furious when we first heard the news from the outskirts of the city. We know we were wrong."

"So nobody dares to go into the cage!!!" Governor Yuan suddenly roared in anger, his loud voice startling everyone nearby. "Where's your arrogance from before?! Fine, I'll give you one last chance. Within ten breaths, all of you get out of here! Military officers, prepare to open the cages... and unleash the dogs!"

"No need for ten breaths," he said, and within three breaths the training ground was empty.

Changsun Wuzhuo was the most unlucky. Just then, Lu Baozhen and a group of truant sons of noble officials arrived, bumping right into him. Lu Baozhen shouted to his companions, "That's him! Attack him!"

The largest melee in Pingcheng in the past two years has begun, with the imperial family on one side and the descendants of the eight noble families on the other.

When everyone was exhausted, strange howling sounds rolled across the ground.

"Oh no! Run! The governor has released the hyenas!"

That's the whole story.

When Yuan Zizhi and the others returned to Cui Academy, it was just as dark clouds were gathering and thunder was at its most intense.

Everyone felt inexplicably guilty, and Qiu Ruizhi asked, "Do you think Confucius will punish us?"

Yuan Zizhi: "No, there won't be a large lecture tomorrow."

Changsun Zhi, Hu Ertiao, and several other girls had made up after the brawl. They walked behind, wondering why they couldn't see Yuan Heng.

Yuan Ning sneered: "Why haven't you figured it out yet? Yuan Heng must have guessed that the governor would punish us, so he didn't get lost. He must have been at Cui Academy all morning!"

Haiye Ren, who was at the front, suddenly shook his arm and said, "Quick, help me up! I haven't eaten for two meals, and I'm seeing stars."

"What black star? It's a bumblebee!"

"What's going on? There are so many."

"Oh dear, there are so many! No, they've got them all over me, they're stinging me like crazy!"

"Ah! Look at that black mass! A swarm of bees—such a huge swarm of bees! Oh my god, run—"

Subsequent investigation revealed that a lightning bolt struck and felled a tree in the "Guchang" bird sanctuary. Near the fallen tree were several hornets, and thousands of large hornets, startled, flew out and stung anything that came near them. Those affected weren't just those outside; even elementary school children heard banging on their doors and, thinking someone was knocking, suffered the consequences.

What a close call! When the swarm of bees attacked the courtyard where Wei Yao was, she rushed into the room, closed the door tightly, and then used paper to seal the long gap in the door.

Xi Jiao's lodging was far away, so he had no choice but to rush into a storage room to hide.

Yuan Heng was incredibly fast; he chased the parrot to its owner, Master Liu's, residence, thus escaping a predicament. Master Liu taught at the "Guofeng" Academy and was extremely strict, unafraid of powerful figures. Last month, Lu Baozhen and Changsun Wuzhuo were expelled by him.

(End of this chapter)