History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 34 Dare to Bet?

As for Feiming, he had been on tenterhooks all morning. He had just been secretly pleased that the young master of Weishi had forgotten about the ranch incident before the New Year, but when he saw the dagger sweep across his face, he was terrified. The other party had no intention of letting him go! What should he do? What should he do? Would he even live to serve the young master on his journey to Luoyang?
In despair, the servant couldn't understand it. Young Master Wei was a nobleman; was it really worth holding a grudge against a mere servant? He dared to peek at the person speaking to Young Master Wei and realized—it was her who resented him! Was it really worth it for a few words to tell her not to embarrass herself on the ranch? Besides, he had already been whipped by the young master, nearly losing an eye; wasn't that enough to appease her anger?!
To take out one's fear and anxiety on innocent people who dare to vent it on those who are strong is a spineless and self-righteous act, just like Qu Rong's.

Wei Yao had no eyes in the back of her head, and she never expected to be targeted by a shrewish servant for no reason. Soon, she sat down with everyone who had participated in the literary contest and listened attentively as the four students from the Justice Department explained the rules.

"The exam will begin at noon. Based on what you have all studied, the four of us will divide the literary contest into three parts: the Book of Poetry, the Analects, and the Erya. Most of you are studying the Book of Poetry, so there will be the most questions on the Book of Poetry. There is no restriction on which subject you take the literary contest. If you have studied all three subjects, you can participate in all of them."

"For each subject's answers, the four of us will select the best performers, and Head Coach Changsun and Head Coach Lu cannot interfere. The three best performers will then compete in a final contest. As for how the final contest will be conducted... I will not disclose that information for now, so as not to distract you from thinking too much."

"Regardless of whether it's the *Classic of Poetry*, the *Analects*, or the *Erya*, the answering method is writing. Please follow the rules of the joint examination, do not communicate with each other during the writing process, and do not disturb others. Raise your hand when you finish writing in each round, and the four of us will collect the questions. Because there are many people taking the *Classic of Poetry* exam, we will use a separate elimination rule for each round. Those who are eliminated do not need to wait until the end of the exam; please leave the examination area in time."

"Those who are not participating in the literary contest must not make noise during the exam, and even more so, must not say anything related to the exam content. For each instance of doing so intentionally, one person from your team will be eliminated from the exam."

That's all for now. Any further details will have to wait until the specific questions are released.

There's no need to elaborate on the eating and drinking activities. Lu Baozhen instructed Lu Jiayi and the others to go home later to avoid being tricked by Changsun's side during the literary competition, which could cause trouble and eliminate Wei Mao and Wei Yao, ruining everything.

The opponents didn't need to worry about this; the only one who wouldn't participate in the literary contest was Qiu Ruizhi, who had lost the battle of wits. Ironically, Qiu Ruizhi was busier than everyone else. He spotted several spots, chased away his seated companions Yuan Zizhi and Hai Yeren, and even took over their food tables, piecing them together to make a painting table, intending to paint the scenes of the literary contest one by one.

Yuan Zizhi knows his friend's "drawing skills" best, and offered suggestions from the side: "I think drawing one picture is enough. Draw all the people first, and then black out each person you eliminate."

"Why paint it black?" This gave Changsun Wuzhuo another opportunity to be cheeky. He raised his right hand to Lu Baozhen, then picked at the holes with his index and middle fingers and shouted, "It'll save you a lot of effort to make two holes. Then this painting can be named... I'm so eager to see it!"

Those who finally understood either burst into laughter and slapped their thighs in celebration, or laughed until tears streamed down their faces.

"Hahaha—you're something else, look at them, Wei Chuan, hahaha, they just happen to be two people with the surname Wei... Hey Wei Mao, you're asking for it!"

It turned out that Wei Mao had thrown a porcelain cup, which hit the person who was laughing the loudest.

Lu Baozhen, Wei Jing, and He Rong all stood up immediately.

Wei Mao wasn't about to let his companions take the blame for him; he dared to provoke them and was willing to bear the consequences! His fierce gaze swept over everyone opposite him as he said, "I'm adding a wager to the literary contest! Do you dare to bet? If we don't win first place, I'll stand still and let each of you smash me three times. If you lose to the two of you, Qiu Ruizhi will finish the painting, then we'll gouge out all of you, and together we'll carry the tattered painting from one end of the street to the other, pointing out to curious passersby which hole is yours. How about it? Dare to bet?!"

While these words were being spoken, Xi Jiao felt uneasy. He didn't know why, but he looked at Wei Yao, who was sitting obediently. Unfortunately, before he could think about it, his companions around him started yelling, blocking his view.

"bet--"

"Why don't you dare!"

"Sign a gambling contract to prevent him from denying it later!"

Let's gamble then.

The literary contest begins.

The servants used several large screens to enclose the examination area, preventing interference from irrelevant diners. Although Lu Baozhen was the team leader, he was not qualified to take the exam and had to wait outside the screens.

The four students from the impartial side sat down at the front and asked the crowd, "Which subject should we take first? You may choose."

"Erya, please." "The Analects will also work."

Erya...

The Analects...

Zheng Zun and the other three understood that as long as they weren't tested on the Book of Poetry first, it would be fine.

Wang Ji gestured for Zheng Zun to go first, and the latter then set the order: "Let's start with the Erya. I will set the questions, three in total. Those who are taking this test, please come forward and sit down."

Three people in Changsun's group studied the Erya: two were members of Changsun Ji's clan, and the other was Hu Yi'ao.

Wei Yao got up and followed.

Wei Mao was taken aback, then delighted.

The rest of the people around...

The three people walking in front sensed something was wrong, turned around, and looked at Wu Zhuo together: Weren't the three of them the only ones studying the Erya? Why are there others?

How could Changsun Wuzhuo have known!
Zheng Zun: "Young master, young lady, please sit down. To be fair, all the questions I have set are within the scope of the first chapter of the Erya, 'Shigu,' and are all lessons that have already been taught in various schools."

He held up a piece of paper with the character "大" (big) written on it, mainly to show to Wei Yao and the other three. "Please listen to the first question: write down at least twenty characters that describe the meaning of '大' (big), and then choose ten of them to prove, using classical Chinese language, that they describe the meaning of '大' (big)."

Those who hadn't studied the Erya were all very serious at this moment, because they were completely confused about what the exam was about.

The gist, twenty words?
Choose ten characters, their general meaning?
WTF!

Is this question easy or difficult?

Why does the young lady seem so capable? She's been writing ever since she heard the question.
But Hu Yi'ao wrote fewer words than he scratched his head. Didn't he always say that he was full of refined knowledge?
Also, does Changsun Chu, who's sitting on the left, even know what he's here for? His eyes were glued to the test questions, and they're still glued to the screen now. And he's picking his nose again!
Fortunately, the other young master, Changsun Fuming, also started writing as soon as he heard the question. He sat upright, and his writing movements were neat and composed—definitely not scribbling. Look, he's writing faster and faster!

The imperial princes awaiting the exam breathed a sigh of relief.

Excellent! Changsun Fuming raises his hand and hands in his paper first!
Changsun Chu snapped out of his daze and raised his hand.

Wei Yao handed in her scroll.

A little over a quarter of an hour later, Hu Yi'ao, his hair disheveled like a bird's nest, handed in his paper.

It seems that the Erya is not easy to learn; the test on just one character, "大" (big), is so agonizing.

Zheng Zun glanced at it quickly, then immediately put Wei Yao's paper on top, otherwise his eyes would hurt. Then he wrote the character "寿" (longevity) on the paper and showed it to Wei Yao and the other three.

(End of this chapter)