History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 44: New Academic Decree

As luck would have it, Qu Rong arrived earlier than usual, and was immediately met with a fierce stare from Wei Mao as soon as she entered. Qu Rong walked nervously with small steps, but after noticing the unusual atmosphere between Young Master Mao and Wei Yao, her unease was gradually replaced by secret delight.

I understand now, Wei Yao has offended Young Master Mao!

Every time Master Duan recited "the gentleman is carefree" in class today, Wei Mao grew annoyed; he wasn't "carefree" at all! As soon as the first class ended, he immediately asked for leave and left.

Unaffected by her emotions, Wei Yao listened to the lecture as usual, took careful notes, and only considered the changes in her relationship with Wei Mao after the entire lesson was finished.

Of all her fellow disciples, the one she most wanted to befriend was Mao! She knew the course of history, knew that His Majesty would pass away next April, and knew that after the new emperor ascended the throne, Mao's father would be promoted to Left General, in charge of the palace guards. Mao himself was even more ambitious, having entered the Censorate early and become a talented individual envied and feared by the younger generation in the capital.

However, friendship can only be built on the basis of mutual benefit; unilateral exploitation is despicable!

Having been through it all, how could she not understand the various tests Wei Mao had taken when they first met? Therefore, after apologizing this morning, she didn't make up lies to coax him. A friendship built on deception was not what she wanted, so she would cut the Gordian knot decisively! Let their relationship return to its initial distance, like in their past life.

Wei Yao was the last to leave the school. At the school gate, a man dressed as a servant bowed to her: "Miss Wei Yao, I have seen you before at Cui School in the bamboo grove. This time, I was sent by Miss Guo Yun to deliver an invitation to you."

Invitation?

When Wei Yao returned home, she still felt a kind of unbelievable joy. Guo Yun, a fellow student at Xunyi Academy, invited her to go to Cui Academy on the afternoon of the 17th to practice singing hymns. This hymn singing activity was no ordinary event; it was in preparation for the "Xingxiang" festival on April 8th.

The Buddhist Image Procession Festival refers to a procession of Buddhist images held annually on April 8th, jointly organized by the government and temples.

When Pingcheng was still the capital, on the day of the Buddha Image Festival, the streets were filled with banners and jeweled canopies. Famous monks, carrying staffs, led the carriages, and monks escorted the Buddha image on foot. The sounds of chanting, mallet striking, and Buddhist music intertwined, creating a deafening din! High-ranking officials and nobles also competed to show off their wealth on that day, spreading felt and scattering flowers on the streets where the monks passed, and burning incense.

The large and small schools were closed all day, and the officials performed horseback archery, dance, poetry recitation, and prose at different intersections designated by the government.

Unfortunately, this festival was interrupted for many years due to the relocation of the capital and the rebellion of princes and ministers. After Pingcheng was no longer the capital of the Great Wei, the people of Hengzhou had long accepted that the city would no longer hold Buddhist processions. However, on the eighth day of the fourth month of this year, the grand occasion will reappear.

Wei Yao knew that this would only happen again in a year. The ambitious and upright Prefect Yuan was transferred to Jingzhou as Prefect shortly after the new emperor ascended the throne. From then on, Pingcheng's status plummeted, and it lost all its legitimacy.

In her previous life, after she went to Luoyang, she happened to hear that there was a requirement for a resume when taking the exam for female officials. All activities supported by the government could be counted as a resume, including the Pingcheng exam in the 22nd year of Taihe.

Upon entering the house, Wei Yao taught her mother to read the words on the letter, then pleaded, "Mother, you and Father must come to see me sing hymns that day, no matter which street I sing on, no matter how far from our house it is, you have to come, okay?"

Zhao Zhi: "That goes without saying. Not to mention that day, you also need to pay attention to reciting poems regularly. I'll ask the old women in the alley to help you make two new clothes these next few days. I'll go—no, this afternoon, I'll go buy some new floral patterns."

"Mmm." Wei Yao nodded happily, which led to the question she really wanted to ask: "Mother, if one day I can participate in the hymn singing held by the Luoyang Xingxiang, will you and Father still be able to come and see me?"

"Haha." Wei Yin entered with a laugh, "You only qualify if you've achieved some academic success."

"Father's back! Are there no classes at the university this afternoon?"

“Sigh—” Wei Yin sighed dramatically, “The curator told us busybodies to pack our clothes, and we have to stay at the academy for the next two nights.”

Wei Yao immediately asked in a low voice, "Has the date for our joint entrance exam been set?"

Wei Yin neither nodded nor shook his head.

"Then I'm going back to my room to study, hee hee." Actually, thinking about the timing of Guo Yun's invitation to sing hymns, I should have guessed that the joint entrance exam was approaching. Only after the exam would I be able to focus on other things.

"Yao'er," Wei Yin called to her, smiling as he answered her earlier question, "As long as you are willing in the future, wherever you go, your father and mother will accompany you."

Wei Yao responded happily, but after entering the house, tears streamed down her face. In her previous life, before she married into Luoyang, she had already argued with her father about Xi Jiao and her insistence on dropping out of school. Her self-pitying words repeatedly broke her parents' hearts. Later…

forget about it.

The deeper Wei Yao delved into her studies, the more she realized the vastness of the world's principles and how time could not cover the unknown. Therefore, she would never waste a single moment of her life. February 13th.

The Weizu Elementary School announced to all elementary school students via posting notices that there were new school regulations.

The monthly joint examinations remain unchanged, but spring, summer, autumn and annual examinations are added. The three quarterly examinations are for ranking all of Pingcheng. Those who rank in the top nine in the quarterly examinations will be rewarded with paper and pen by the government.

The annual examination was conducted within the prefecture, and not all primary school children participated. Only the top nine students from each quarterly examination were combined for a joint examination. For the top nine students in the annual examination, each prefecture would create a student file for them and send it, along with their examination papers, to the Imperial Academy in Luoyang for archiving.

The above is the content of the new educational policy.

The document concludes with the date of this month's joint entrance examination.

"February 15th?!"

"the day after tomorrow?"

A student with a terrible academic record shouted: "Oh no, I should have known better than to wash my hair yesterday!"

Like attracts like. His friend shared the same frustration: "I washed up too! It's all because of that poem I learned these past few days. Why did it have to be called 'A Gentleman's Itch'? Ugh!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Jing burst into laughter, "Oh no, today's new poem is called 'Yang Zhi Shui' (The Water of Yang), hahaha."

Those two are from the fifth section of the Book of Songs.

Wei Yao and Jing Tong walked side by side toward the Book of Poetry Building. She asked, "Has the letter to Gao Lou been sent out yet?"

"I've already sent it. What's wrong?"

Wei Yao shook her head: "I just asked casually, it's nothing." She was very worried that Wei Mao would tear up her letter or throw it into the ditch in his anger.

Wei Jing walked backwards, grinning mischievously, with an expression that said, "Don't think I don't know you and Wei Mao had a fight."

Wei Yao changed the subject, saying, "The joint entrance exam is the day after tomorrow. How's your memorization of the poems going?"

Before Wei Jing could reply, she pointed behind her with joy: "Look, Amao is here."

"I'll go first, you wait for Mao Tong." Wei Yao quickened her pace, glancing at the road as she turned into the courtyard.

As for Wei Mao, he went out of town to ride horses at the ranch yesterday after taking leave. He rode around like crazy all afternoon, and his depression finally dissipated. Just now, he noticed that Wei Yao was avoiding him. He was hesitating about how to take the initiative to talk to her when he heard A Jing say, "I have something to ask you. Actually, it's what Yao wanted to ask, but I asked it for her."

"Enough with the nonsense! What is it?"

"Huh? I guessed right, you two had a fight, didn't you? Why did you fight?"

"What exactly did she want you to ask?" Wei Maohuan wrapped his arms around his partner's neck.

Wei Jing laughed and begged for forgiveness: "I'll tell you, I'll tell you. She made me ask you if you sent the letter to Gao Lou out of the city. I asked her why she asked that, but she wouldn't tell me."

Wei Mao let go of her hand, and the frustration he had finally managed to shake off returned! Why did she ask that? Humph, she herself is as narrow-minded as a pinhole, so she judges him by her own standards, assuming that he only sent out the other two letters and threw away hers!

Tao Tao: A harmonious and joyful appearance.

The mallet: This is what later became known as the wooden fish drum; originally, they came in all sorts of shapes.

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(End of this chapter)