History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 267 Wei Yaoxu's Historical Talk

Yuan Yu perked up: "Explain in detail."

"Yes. This plan is related to the near assassination of Prince Xi and Prince Cheng in Tongtuo Street. It is said that the assassin's crossbow skills are not scary, but the crossbow bolts are coated with a strange poison."

Yuan Yu scoffed, "What utter nonsense, 'it is said'!"
Yuan Cha continued in detail: "In Yongkangli, everyone knows that there is a Buddhist shrine in my family's residence. The nun Lin Yin took advantage of my father's kindness and infiltrated my family's temple to plot an assassination. Fortunately, one of the servants became frightened before the assassination and scraped off some of the poison from the arrowhead."

Yuan Yu angrily interrupted, "Shut up! No need to say anything more! You Yuan Yacha, you're not giving me advice, you're clearly trying to pin your own mess on me!"

"Your Majesty, let me explain. The terrifying aspect of this extraordinary poison lies not in its ability to kill, but in its ability to bewitch people's minds, causing them to reveal all their delusions and fantasies regardless of the occasion!"

Yuan Yu was skeptical.

Yuan Cha quickly continued, "My plan is to use this poison on one of the Guangling King's lovers, causing her to become confused and reveal her scandalous affair with the Guangling King. This woman's husband's family must be descendants of meritorious and important officials. In this way, this family will lose all face among the nobles in Luoyang, and they will have no choice but to seek revenge against the Guangling King!"

Yuan Cha noticed that Yuan Yu's brows and eyes relaxed, so he was relieved and finally said, "This plan is called 'sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight,' which will definitely not implicate the king. We only need to trouble the king to find a capable person and a good opportunity to let that woman smell the poison powder for more than three breaths. In this way, we can avoid harming her life, and she will answer whatever we ask her."

"Haha, this plan is brilliant! It's definitely foolproof!" Yuan Yu praised, then asked, "Where is the poison powder?"

Yuan Cha: "There's only a small amount of poison powder in the corner of the little book box I brought; it's only enough for one use."

Yuan Yu became angry again: "Can't we try? What if it doesn't work?"

"If this doesn't work, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Several flowers bloom, representing the main branch.

Palace Academy.

Today, Wei Yao did not go directly to the academy. She handed the six long scrolls of exam questions to Xu Shushi and assured him, "None of the questions in the question bank exceed the coursework of the various 'Classic of Poetry' academies."

Xu Shushi smiled and said, "Lecturer Wei is so thoughtful." She had heard the gossipy Zhang Gongren complain before that after Wei Yao finished her own class, she would always walk back and forth to the gates of other schools, apparently to find out which poems were taught in the other schools.

Despite trusting Wei Yao, Xu Shushi still carefully reviewed each question, then nodded with even greater confidence, saying, "Hmm, not difficult."

Wei Yao then handed over another set of rules for "testing all".

Xu Shushi glanced at the two columns and his smile vanished. He wanted to take back his earlier comment that it was "not difficult." Alas, the foolish Hong Shunu praised Wei Yao for heeding the advice to "relax by three points." If the exam were conducted according to the method described on the paper, no matter how simple the questions were, most of the students in the palace would fail this month's exam.

“The testing method is fine.” Xu Shushi agreed first, then gently reminded him, “I believe that Instructor Wei has done the questions himself according to this testing method, but Instructor, don’t forget that you are the teacher and those children are the students. They can only learn about 80% of your knowledge at most. Is it too harsh to make them take the exam based on your accumulated knowledge?”

Wei Yao bowed again and said solemnly, "Please forgive me, sir, but I do not agree with this statement. The Book of Rites says... A good learner, the teacher can be at ease and the student will achieve twice the results, and will even attribute the credit to the teacher. A bad learner, the teacher may be diligent but the student will only achieve half the results, and will even resent the teacher."

Wei Yao: "The Book of Rites also says... 'Learning makes one aware of one's deficiencies; teaching makes one aware of one's difficulties; knowing one's deficiencies allows one to reflect on oneself; knowing one's difficulties allows one to strengthen oneself.' Hence the saying, 'Teaching and learning complement each other.'"

This means that students discover their own shortcomings through learning, while teachers also discover their own unresolved questions through teaching. Only when both sides are aware of their shortcomings and questions can they strive to improve and become more self-reliant. Therefore, "teaching and learning are mutually reinforcing."

Wei Yao summarized: "The transmission of knowledge cannot be achieved by one-sided efforts. It requires both teachers to teach well and students to learn well. Since I became a lecturer, I have often observed the strengths and weaknesses of my students. Instead of criticizing them, I help them develop their strengths and correct their weaknesses. At the same time, I have never been satisfied with my own learning. Every day, I read and search for classical texts and exegesis related to poetics, take notes, and then teach them to my students."

"I have done my best to teach my students everything I know. I believe this is the responsibility of a teacher! If students like Pei Shen only learn eight-tenths of what I have learned, what will become of them as teachers? Will the next generation of disciples only learn eight-tenths of what Pei Shen and his classmates have learned? If that's the case, what will be left of poetry after several generations?"

Wei Yao bowed for the third time, pleading, "Palace students are different from other students. For every person studying in sheltered houses, there are countless palace maids performing labor for them. If the palace students do not cherish their sheltered lives, why not let those who do so have the opportunity to learn? The same applies to the female tutors! Scribe, please grant Wei Yao's request. If this offends anyone, Wei Yao is not afraid and is willing to bear the consequences!"

When Xu Shushi heard the question "What is left of poetics?", he was deeply moved, and his eyes welled up with tears.

She replied firmly, "Fine, this month's assessment is yours. You can decide how to conduct it, and you can suggest how many female officials you need to cooperate with. After this assessment, whoever I offend, tell them to come to me, Xu Jiti, first!"

Wei Yao: "Thank you, sir! To prevent any suspicion of cheating, I request that the exam be conducted now."

Xu Shushi stood up briskly: "Then let's hurry up."

Wei Yao presented the question and followed her out of the office.

Inside the Qixing Academy, Pei Shen and sixteen other palace students whispered among themselves, wondering why the lecturer hadn't arrived yet, even though it was already half past dawn.

A quarter of an hour later, Xie Yi jogged into the dormitory and quickly announced, "Today is the monthly assessment! The exam will be held in the book-drying area. The instructor wants everyone to carry their desks there now. Only bring your pens, inkstones, and a bucket for washing pens."

She helped the thinnest Deng carry the load, explaining in detail along the way: "This monthly exam is different from the past. It's called a 'joint exam,' where two dormitories will be combined and take the exam at the same time. We haven't said which dorm we'll be combined with yet, but it's already decided that you'll be ranked first."

Pei Shen asked, "Didn't the lecturer say anything else?"

"Nothing."

Pei Shenlu thought for a moment and said to his fellow disciples, "Tell each other to stay alert. Just like when we take every exam, don't be too nervous, but don't be too relaxed either."

Those who heard her words shared and encouraged each other.

All the students from the other dormitories also came out, except for the students from the neighboring Xuanhu dormitory who were moving desks. Pei Shen and the others immediately understood that they were taking the exam together with the other side.

"Yaksha" is the smaller form of "Yuancha".