History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 295 Abusing Power!

Lord Yuanzhen helped him to sit down in the pavilion next to him.

Wang Su hesitated over his earlier speculation: "No matter what, it is a fact that the Prince of Rencheng harmed me, and it is also a fact that the Grand Commandant and the Minister of Works saved me."

“My lord, you have misunderstood me. I am determined to change your opinion of Prince Rencheng. Yesterday, I even stood up for you and made a scene in front of his mansion.”

"The eldest princess..."

"I don't like you calling me that."

Wang Su wanted to change his mind, but he did not change what he said.

Yuan Zhenjun smiled with satisfaction; his hesitation indicated that he had accepted her feelings.

She continued, "As the saying goes, it's hard to guard against a hidden arrow. You may hate the Prince of Rencheng, but you must never trust the Grand Commandant and the Minister of Works. There's no room for sentimentality in the struggle between regents. The late emperor appointed six regents, and Song Bian is dead, the Prince of Rencheng was dismissed from office, and the Left Minister of Works pretends to be confused and never takes charge. Who's next?"

There's no need to think about this.

Wang Su: "Me."

He suddenly laughed, his eyes brightening. "Zhenjun, thank goodness you woke me up!"

"You may be confused right now, but you'll figure it out sooner or later. I'm eager to enlighten you because I like you and don't want to see you suffer in the slightest."

The maid, Diezhuang, stepped forward with a jewelry box, opened it, and inside was a jade belt hook carved in the shape of a wild goose.

A gentle breeze stirs emotions.

At the same time, it also makes Wang Su's longing for his legal wife Xie Zhi seem distant and insignificant.

When he saw the princess off at her residence, he brought up another worry: "Zhao Zhi relies on the strength of a fierce warrior and acts arrogantly. Unlike the other guards of Your Majesty, she may become a treacherous minister."

Yuan Zhenjun: "I've also noticed this. First there was Zhao Xiu, and now there's Zhao Zhi. There's no peace here. However, now is not the time to get rid of this woman. My lord, please observe for the time being. If Zhao Zhi continues to gain power, I don't believe that the Grand Commandant and the Minister of Works will allow treacherous officials to bully them so brazenly! Speaking of this woman, I forgot to ask you, are you going to give the Wenya Academy a copy of the 'Dialects' notes?"

Wang Su was amazed by the Princess's ability to gather information in the palace. He replied "Yes" and then explained, "In any case, it was Zhao Zhi who delivered the message to the two princes that day. I don't want to owe anyone a favor, so I was planning to send someone over this afternoon or tomorrow."

“I will repay the favor for you, my lord. Could you please give me the notebook? Zhao Zhi is a fierce warrior, and I will find it difficult to find a replacement for her martial prowess in a short time. However… I have found a lady who can replace Wei Yao. Although I cannot deal with Zhao Zhi for the time being, I can at least cause her some trouble.”

The princess had made preparations before her arrival. On her way back to the inner city, she sent a maid with a baggage cart to the Wenya Academy, leaving behind several boxes of poetry collections written by scholars of the Xiao Qi dynasty.

As for Wei Yao, ever since Minister Wang said he would give her a copy of the "Fangyan" notebook, she had been counting down the days with eager anticipation, but what she received instead were several boxes of poetry collections that were even worse than chicken bones!

Fearing that the apprentice might not recognize the person Wang Su sent and would be slighted, she told her master, the other teachers, and her three fellow disciples how happy they were then, and how disappointed they were now.

From what her fellow students said, Wei Yao learned that although the markings on the box belonged to the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the person who delivered the poetry collection was a maid from the residence of Princess Chenliu.

Erzhu Rong angrily said, "Look at these lousy poems! They're all about being sad on a boat, being sad on the road, being sad looking at mountains, being sad gazing at clouds! Bah, what bad luck!" Kong Mi said, "One is the Princess, and the other is the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. They're certain we can only suffer in silence and have to be grateful to them. Junior sister, don't cry. It's not your fault. They have power and influence and can't act openly. The more upset we are, the more successful they will be."

Cui Zhi: "Just seal these poetry collections away and don't read them."

Kong Wenzhong: "Wei Yao, your senior brother is right. We have not suffered any losses. On the contrary, a few boxes of poetry books have helped us to see the good and evil in people's hearts. It was worth it."

Erzhu Rong's cheeks were puffed up with anger. Whenever the teacher scolded someone, he would include him in the conversation, and when praising someone, he would only say "senior brother".

Wei Yao wiped away her tears and said, “Master, rest assured, senior brothers, junior brothers, I know what I should and must endure. I was sad just now because I thought about how my mother had worked hard to secure this opportunity for me, which is why His Majesty allowed me to copy the entire volume of the ‘Dialects’ from the Secretariat and teach it to the people. I was so eager to teach this subject more thoroughly that I was so restless that I didn’t even realize it. As you said, Master, this setback is good. It not only helps us understand the good and evil in people’s hearts, but also makes us cherish the hard-won knowledge even more.”

Kong Wenzhong praised: "Well said!"

The logic is sound, but people don't easily admit defeat when they've been wronged.

The next night, Wei Yao stayed on duty at the Secretariat. Tired from copying books, she was overcome with a stubborn streak. She refused to believe that the Secretariat, with its most complete collection of books in the Great Wei Dynasty, could not find any annotations related to the Fangyan (Regional Dialects)!
She would search carefully, and could use any annotation as a reference.

Think of something and do it immediately!
The clerk is also on duty at the office tonight. She went over to get the key to a storeroom, which is full of notes on basic classics.

In the ninth year of the Taihe reign, Empress Dowager Wenming ordered the establishment of academies specifically for the education of the princes and grandsons of the emperor. These academies were the predecessors of the Imperial Academy. During the academy period, the teachers were not called "Doctors" but only "Teachers" or "Masters".

In the sixteenth year of the Taihe reign, the Imperial Academy was established, and thereafter it was taught by doctors. All the teaching notes from the academy period were no longer used and were sealed in the storeroom. When the capital was moved, the Secretariat, which was moved from the old capital to Luoyang, continued to seal them.

Over the years, Wei Yao was the first official to come in and search for the articles.

The storeroom was quite large, but to prevent leaks, there were no windows on any side. The doors were wide open, and under the moonlight, one could see that the books were piled up in a very messy manner.

She carried a candle in one hand and searched for articles with the other. No, this was too slow. At this rate, she wouldn't have read many by dawn.

Remembering the small lantern she had seen in Ling Shi's office earlier, she had an idea. She locked the door and shamelessly begged Ling Shi again to give her the lantern. She tied it with bamboo poles and hemp rope, finally securing it to hang above her head, thus freeing up her hands.

She sat by the door where there were the most books, quickly unfolding one scroll to read, then tying it back and unfolding it again.

Notes on the Erya, the Book of Poetry, the Analects, and the Classic of Filial Piety—my goodness, so comprehensive!
This place is an absolute treasure trove for Confucian scholars who are just beginning to explore the classics!

Notes on Dialects!
It really exists!
She didn't bother to examine the contents closely, placed the notebook on her lap, and continued reading new books.

After reading through a bunch of things, she moved back a little and continued!

After reading through another pile, I moved back a little... The candle oil ran out, the lantern went out, I took it off to add more oil, my hair came undone and I haphazardly tied it up, and then I continued!
Just as Wei Yao was moving to a different spot, she was startled. When did the Left Attendant Cui Hong come in?

Wei Yao had only met Cui Hong once, on the ninth day of the month, when the Seventh Prince brought guests to her home to present betrothal gifts. Cui Hong was one of the guests. Her mother only knew that he came from the Cui clan of Qinghe, was the nephew of Cui Guang, the Attendant-in-Ordinary, and served as the Left Attendant in the Prince of Pengcheng's residence. Later, Wei Yao inquired with Yuan Mao and learned that Cui Hong was extremely learned, had made a name for himself at a young age, and had always aspired to compile a history of the Sixteen Kingdoms.

This ambition was something Wei Yao never dared to even think about. When Yuan Mao mentioned it, she had only one thought: there are always people better than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding!
Strangely, the low-ranking official robes that Cui Hong is currently wearing belong to the regulations for officials of the outer court of the imperial court, not the regulations for officials of prefectures and kingdoms.

Beside Cui Hong was a younger man, and even more strangely, this man was not wearing official robes! He was very likely a nobleman of royal rank!