History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

All arrangements were made long ago when she took office at the Sizhou Prefecture. Zhao Zhi solemnly clasped her hands in a fist and bow: "Your subordinate obeys!"

Yuan Yu nodded in satisfaction, then rubbed his hands together and shamelessly revealed his true purpose for coming: "According to custom, before the emperor's sacrifice, the archery skills of the royal princes are tested in the Ze Palace. The princes who fail to hit the target are not allowed to participate in the sacrifice. So starting today, I would like to trouble Military Advisor Zhao to teach me for an hour every day, and make sure that I can hit the target."

Zhao Zhiying replied, "Yes."

She had heard Li Xuanmao say that the Prince of Guangling had been ill since his youth, and it had taken him more than ten years to recover. Because of this, he was much later in life than his peers. The Prince of Guangling was the fourth brother of the late emperor. His lack of skill in riding and archery could be forgiven by the late emperor, but he was a generation removed from the new emperor, so the kinship was naturally weaker.

There was an archery target in the courtyard, standing in a corner of the courtyard wall. Yuan Yu brought a bow. The archery test in Zegong was divided into two parts. The first was the posture of holding the bow. There were rules for advancing, retreating, and maneuvering. Yuan Yu described the rules in detail and demonstrated them.

Every movement was performed very well.

Next... the arrow is fired!
"call out--"

The target was self-pitying, while the wooden arrow scoffed at it; each had its own pride and ignored the other.

The warrior retrieved the arrow, and Zhao Zhi said, "This humble official will try out the bow and arrow."

She tried three times and got the hang of the bow and arrows. She returned the bow to the King of Guangling, stood to his side and slightly behind him, hooked one finger under the King of Guangling's left hand holding the bow, and gently placed her right hand on the back of his hand. Then she adjusted her aim and the pressure of her palm.

The advantage of Zhao Zhi teaching archery is that she doesn't emphasize the rules of archery techniques. She only guides the Prince of Guangling to find the angle and force of the arrow's trajectory at a certain distance and in the right wind.

Repeated time and time again.

She gradually reduced her control through repeated repetitions.

Until the Prince of Guangling was confident that he could leave her.

Zhao Zhi took two steps back.

This time, it was the Prince of Guangling who drew his bow and aimed at the target alone.

Arrow fired!

Hit!

It hit the center of the target!
Yuan Yu's laughter echoed over the courtyard wall, infuriating Yuan Zhi, who was eavesdropping. He couldn't keep eavesdropping, or he'd shorten his lifespan!
He walked quickly back to his office with his hands behind his back. Clerk Gou was waiting there and said anxiously, "Prefect is back. The General of Chariots and Cavalry arrived three quarters of an hour ago and went to the Cavalry Office."

"I know! Ignore him, he's not here for official business."

"Oh, so... the Prefect has met with General Yuan." While observing the official's expression, Clerk Gou tentatively asked, "General Yuan didn't come to inspect the prefectural office? Was it for Military Advisor Zhao?"

Yuan Zhi's words were full of sarcasm: "He doesn't even patrol the Imperial Guards, but he comes to patrol mine? He's using the excuse of learning archery, relying on the power of the Prince, to have Military Advisor Zhao teach him archery!"

Clerk Gou, sensing the sourness in the air, added fuel to the fire, saying, "Military Advisor Zhao is skilled in archery, and even more skilled at teaching it. Her teaching method is different from other archers; she only needs to guide you step by step..."

Yuan Zhi's one eye was blazing with fire.

The registrar shut his mouth, shook his head and sighed as he left the office, thinking to himself: I've only ever heard of concubines vying for favor before, this is the first time I've seen a husband vying for favor.

No, a prefect who only has wishful thinking isn't even qualified to be a husband, so what should he be called? Let's call him "the cheap husband and wife".

Even if a woman were to serve as an official in the outer court, the uproar would only be confined to a small circle, for Luoyang was teeming with influential figures than the autumn leaves swirling in the sky. Unfolding the entire panorama of this bustling capital, one could see throngs of people, each with their own stories and their own pursuit of profit.

In early September, the autumn air was crisp and clear.

After completing her post at the palace academy, Wei Yao officially began her duties at the provincial offices of the Secretariat. The Secretariat had two offices, one inside the palace and one outside, and officials in the Secretariat often held meetings at the provincial offices.

She had just arrived, and her superiors instructed her to familiarize herself with affairs under the guidance of Shi Shanzhi, the Grand Secretary. Among the civil officials, many were of noble character, but many were also gossipy.

Shan Lingshi belonged to the latter group and had a nickname: "Good Squeaky".

He opened a dusty document storage room, and a rat darted out. Wei Yao, quick as lightning, stepped on the rat's tail. The rat jumped around in fright, and Shan Zhizhi was so startled that he jumped in a circle on the spot.

"Where did this rat come from?"

The door was wide open, and fine dust fell from above. Inside the storeroom, documents were piled up haphazardly. Shan Zhizhi explained, “In the past, the Secretariat had many responsibilities. In addition to what the Vice Minister just told you, it also handled matters such as attendants, tributes from all directions, and memorials from officials and commoners. Later, it was changed, and many of these matters were assigned to the Chancellery and the Western Secretariat, but the old documents and records have always been piled up in our office.”

"The magistrate requires that the documents of the Secretariat and the Western Secretariat be separated before the twelfth lunar month. I have finished organizing the rest of the storerooms. From now on, you will assist me in finishing this last one. Oh, I forgot to ask you, besides the Book of Poetry, have you read any other books?"

Wei Yao replied, "I have also read the Classic of Filial Piety, the Erya, the Analects, and the Book of Rites, but I only skimmed the articles and did not study them in depth."

Shan Zhizhi's ancestors were all warriors; it was only in his generation that they began to study literature. He rubbed his nose and secretly envied: "We're all Xianbei people, how come there's such a big difference?"

He changed the subject and asked, "I heard that your mother was the brave warrior who fought the crossbowmen in the Battle of Tongtuo Street and saved the Grand Commandant and the Right Minister of Works, is that true?"

Wei Yao shook her head: "I didn't see what happened at the time, so I don't know."

"Didn't your mother tell you?"

"My mother only told me to work hard and do more and talk less after I came to the Secretariat."

Shan Zhizhi's eyebrows and eyelids began to droop. He tossed a bunch of keys to Wei Yao and said, "Since you're willing to do more, that's great. Go to the other warehouses and see how the documents are organized and categorized. Do what I've done. I'm going to take care of some urgent matters first, and I'll come back when I'm done."

"Yes."

Wei Yao watched him go until he was gone. The gossipy Shan Lingshi turned back twice, and she smiled and bowed to him each time. Then she tried the key, and after finding the right one, she locked the storeroom and went to check the other storerooms one by one.

There were six rooms in total. The neatly arranged boxes of documents were labeled with the names of the provinces. She casually opened a wooden box, took no rush, and sat down beside the box to carefully examine each scroll of documents.

I spent the whole morning looking at it.

The Central Secretariat and the Sizhou Prefecture were very close. Around noon, her mother came to find her, carrying food cooked by the Sizhou Prefecture's kitchen.

"Have you already been assigned a task?"

Wei Yao smiled and gave a loud "Hmm," excitedly saying, "Let me organize the documents. Mother, guess what I saw? I saw the draft of the 'Education Ordinance'! There's so much content, it's clear that very few of them will be promulgated."

Zhao Zhi only realized how troublesome it was to be in charge of a department after she reached the rank of military advisor. If it was so troublesome for a department, what about a prefecture, a state, or a country! But she didn't say anything discouraging. Instead, she went along with her daughter's wishes and said, "It will all be promulgated in the future."

"Mother thinks so too? Hehe, I think so too. Hmm—the food at the Sizhou government office is really delicious!"

"Then eat more."

"This piece of meat is too big and hard to chew, Mother, you eat it."

Zhao Zhixin was delighted by her daughter's filial piety. Happy times always fly by. After finishing her meal, Zhao Zhixin did not let Wei Yao see her off. When she came out of the government office, she saw a fair-skinned, slender young man bowing to her.

“Military Advisor Zhao, I am Liu Teng, the Assistant Minister of the Changqiu Temple.”

Zhao Zhi returned the greeting: "Is Eunuch Liu looking for me because of Liu Hun?" (End of Chapter)