History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 275 Wei Yao Helps Yuan Cheng

As the sun sets and the blue sky fades, its magnificent glow paints everything in its path.

When Wei Yao left home in the morning, she left a letter. She would be staying in the palace to work until the end of the month, so there was no need to rush after the monthly assessment. She followed a group of palace officials to see the seven imperial students out of the Xi official residence.

Yuan Ru and his friends were dejected, all pursing their lips and remaining silent. They hadn't come to take the exam; they had voluntarily run into a bandit's den to be robbed!
The bandit is none other than the Prince of Guangling!
And His Majesty... Never mind, I dare not blame His Majesty. Humph, I'll just blame that big liar, Prince Guangling. Prince Guangling must have known all along that the "test for all" would be so strict. The time allotted for answering each question was far less than the amount of dirt under his fingernail!

Hmph, these elders don't act like elders at all, they're just taking advantage of their little kids.

Upon leaving the Xi government office, Yuan Hao was the first to speak to Bai Zheng, saying, "Don't follow us. Let's go back to the Imperial Academy ourselves."

Yuan Yu called out to Wei Yao, "Lecturer Wei, please wait a moment. I have something to tell you."

Bai Zheng, Wang Zhi, and Xu Shushi simultaneously exchanged glances with Wei Yao, who bowed in response, saying "Yes."

She followed beside the Seventh Prince, occasionally glancing at the Imperial Guards officers leading the procession.

After the second round of tests, Wei Yao learned from the Seventh Prince that the military officer was the Prince of Guangling. The reason was that when her mother described the appearances of the various princes, she really only mentioned their appearances.

However, one's appearance reflects one's inner self; a person's appearance changes with their temperament, demeanor, and so on.

In any case, today's Prince of Guangling, in terms of his imposing presence and composure, is just like those thugs in Wuchuan Town, and it's hard to associate him with a prince or important minister.

Yuan Yu was displeased and asked Wei Yao, "I saw you looking at the exam papers just now. Did you see our papers? Did we do better than the palace students?"

The other six children all huddled close to Wei Yao, listening to what she had to say. What she was going to say concerned their pet beast, the precious bow, and the little rhinoceros horn.

Wei Yao: "You all did a slightly worse job on the test this time."

Qi Tong suddenly felt as if the thunderbolt hanging over their heads had finally struck, and sure enough, it struck them.

Just then, the Prince of Guangling turned around and saw seven listless little faces. He was overjoyed and slowed his pace until Yuan Yu and the others caught up with him. Then he said sarcastically, "Don't worry, I'll help you urge the Imperial Academy to produce results as soon as possible so that you can fulfill your bet. Actually, it's good to lose those material possessions, so that you won't become obsessed with them and lose your ambition."

After hearing this, some of the little ones silently wiped away their tears, while others stubbornly turned their heads away, letting the wind dry their tears.

Yuan Yu was infuriating and said again, "Aren't you all regretting not studying harder? What a pity, it's too late."

Wei Yao already knew the whole story of the bet. Whether as a female official or an ordinary citizen of Wei, she should remain silent and not interfere in this matter. However, as a lecturer who teaches children and as a friend of the Seventh Prince, she could not stand idly by!

"I disagree with what the general has said."

Yuan Yan suddenly found someone to rely on and looked at Wei Yao expectantly. He knew that Miss Wei had a way and was willing to help him!
Yuan Yu: "You are Zhao Zhi's daughter. For the sake of Guard Zhao, I will allow you to continue."

The group paused at the foot of the wall of Yongxiang Palace, while the palace maids and eunuchs passing by kept their distance.

Wei Yao bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, General."

Then express yourself calmly.

"The imperial court issued the decree on education in order to promote Confucianism and encourage learning. The most important thing in 'encouraging learning' is learning itself. As long as students know how to learn and are willing to learn, they should be encouraged. Students who are good at learning should be encouraged to be even more diligent, and students who are simple and honest should be encouraged to first understand how to learn well, and then concentrate on their studies."

"If we prioritize competition and make judgments based on a single good or bad grade, and punish students who are not good at learning, causing them to lose their confidence and perseverance in learning, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

The seven students of the imperial clan nodded like chicks pecking at rice: Yes, that's exactly it!
Yuan Yu smiled. Wei Yao quickly chimed in, "Furthermore, regardless of the type of exam, the examinees are determined first, and then the scope of the exam is defined. How can you do it the other way around, using questions meant for children over seven to test six-year-olds? That's like making a one-year-old race against a two-year-old—it's unfair."

"Mmm-hmm-hmm!" Yuan Yuqi nodded vigorously again.

Yuan Yu looked regretful and said, "What you say makes sense, but this bet was made by the seven of them in front of His Majesty. I didn't force them."

Wei Yao: "Yes, once an agreement is made, it cannot be reneged on."

"Huh?" The children's hearts tightened again.

She changed her tone and asked the seven boys, "Gentlemen, if I may be so bold as to ask, if you had narrowly defeated the palace students this time, do you think General Yuan would have renege on his promise and not given you the seven Guoxia horses? General Yuan was just as lucky as you were, not knowing how difficult the test was. How can it be that if you won, it's your due, and if you lost, it's because you were tricked or wronged?"

Yuan Yu praised, "Well said!"

"It's never wrong to be overly polite," Wei Yao said, bowing again. "I have an idea. The young men didn't do well on the exam this time, so we should keep our promise. However, the new school administrator intends to encourage and promote learning. Could you give the scholars among them a chance? If they do well on the exam next month, they can win back what they lost today with their own abilities. If they still lose to all the palace students next month, they should be punished by having to lose another item to you, General."

Wei Yao looked at Yuan Zhen.

Yuan Heng understood and quickly said, "I want to learn! I want to renew my promise with Uncle Wang. I will definitely study poetry well. Uncle Wang, please promise me."

Yuan Yu: "Alright! What about the six of you? I'm only giving each of you one chance." With that, he continued walking with his hands behind his back.

His clothes were immediately grabbed by little hands, and all the way to the Imperial Academy, the children flattered him non-stop, making Yuan Yu so happy that his lips tingled with joy.

Qi Tong then earnestly invited Wei Yao to the Imperial Academy, pleading with her to repeat to the teachers, including Sun Huiwei and Cui Guang, what she had said to persuade the Prince of Guangling.

And so, Wei Yao met Yuan Mao.

This was their first encounter in the palace. After a brief meeting, they were separated for several more days.

Longing is truly bitter whether you're far away or close.

End of month.

News of the rebellion of Shen Ling, the governor of Nanxu Prefecture, reached the capital in a rapid succession.

Xuzhou is truly plagued by disasters, and is currently experiencing flooding. Because Liu Fang, the Imperial Academy Chancellor, had served as the Grand Justice of Xuzhou in his early years, the imperial court dispatched Liu Fang to Xuzhou to provide relief to the disaster victims.

The construction of the four primary schools could only be entrusted to Sun Huiwei.

On the same day, Lu Yuan, who had served as the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Jingzhao's Palace, recovered from his illness and was appointed as the third-rank "Secretary Supervisor".

The Prince of Jingzhao, who had just recovered from being placed under house arrest at Hualin Garden, fell ill again after overhearing the guards gossiping about the matter.

On the same day, the Luoyang County government closed a case involving Li Biao, a former high-ranking official in the imperial court. The county government determined that Li Biao died from a sudden illness caused by overwork, not from murder as his children believed.

Wei Yao and her mother both took a day off, which was also on this day.

Just then, the Qihu warriors who had left the capital to search for Gong Ai returned, and the news they brought back was very bad!
The female warrior Tie Duohu gave Wei Yao several wanted posters, each with a portrait and a full-body image drawn on it.

These official documents were all damaged to varying degrees, and the handwriting on them was not very clear, so Tie Duohu recounted the story.