History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 51 Governor Yuan's Reply
Chen Shushi's smile revealed kindness: "Is there anything Miss Wei doesn't understand?"

Wei Yao replied with a childlike smile, "The lady hasn't taught me a single complete line of poetry, so why are you asking me what I don't understand first?"

Kong Mi then realized the situation clearly. It turned out that Chen Shushi's praise of Wei Yao for "standing out from the crowd" was a dirty trick to "shift the blame to Jiangdong," instantly turning the provocative spearhead of Yuan Heng and others towards Wei Yao! Fortunately, Wei Yao noticed it and retaliated by criticizing Chen Shushi's unorthodox way of reciting poetry.

Therefore, it seems that Chen Shushi inquired about the origins of the thirty people before coming to Cui Xueguan.

Since Kong Mi was Wei Yao's senior brother, how could he let Wei Yao suffer such humiliation? So he continued, "Chen Shushi, each time we learn new poems, regardless of their length, we only have six hours in two days. If we use this kind of deliberately mysterious teaching method like that of the female scribe, making us fear the difficulty of poetry before we even start learning, and then become bored, we won't learn a single poem even in sixty hours! I think it's better to have this female official Zhang teach us."

Huh? Why is someone speaking up for Wei Yao? Yuan Heng was about to cause more trouble when Yuan Zizhi stopped him. "Alright, alright, keep your playful antics in check. If you keep this up, this afternoon will be wasted."

"Hmph, I just don't accept it." Yuan Heng whispered a big secret: "Look at how stupid she is, I'm even more unconvinced. Let me tell you, she got first place this time because she also stole the questions."

Changsun Fuming, who had somehow appeared behind the two, stood with his hands in his pockets and said, "Tell me about it."

"You deaf man, get out of here."

While the three of them were talking, Ms. Zhang returned to her position to recite the poem. She began by reciting a chapter of the poem and translating it into vernacular Chinese, and then recited the next chapter and translated it into vernacular Chinese as well.

First, let the students know the general meaning of the poem, then explain it in detail section by section, and reinforce it with references to classical texts. That should suffice. After all, when people like Wei Yao learn the "July" section of the "Bin Feng" poems, they will be taught by truly renowned teachers.

As the setting sun pierced through the bamboo forest, Ms. Zhang had just finished explaining "July." Mr. Chen informed her that they would come here again at this time tomorrow afternoon to first divide into groups and then practice singing the hymns.

The team disbanded.

Wei Yao walked together with Kong Yu, Guo Yun, and Cui Ying, a young woman they had just met.

Backstage, Yuan Heng finally had a moment to share his speculation with Yuan Zizhi and the others: "That day, I came out of Master Liu's courtyard and coincidentally ran into her. Could she not have noticed that I was quite flustered at the time? Think about it, this joint exam was so difficult, how could she be smarter than Cui Zhi? What makes her think she got everything right?"

Yuan Zizhi: "So?"

"So while Master Liu was chasing me away, she went in and stole the real exam questions."

"Didn't you tell your uncle about your suspicions? I heard that Governor Yuan personally reviewed her exam paper."

"I told you! I learned yesterday that this girl came in first place, and I immediately wrote down what happened and had a servant deliver it to the prefectural government. Hmph, just you wait and see, at the latest tomorrow, we'll get a reply!"

In the distance, a servant trotted over, bowed to Yuan Heng, and only then did Yuan Heng remember that the letter had been given to this servant. "Was the letter delivered?"

"Delivered."

"Have you replied?"

"Yes. I replied."

"Give me the letter?!"

The servant looked terrified, stepped back to a safe distance, then turned his back, bent over, and let out a string of foul-smelling farts towards Yuan Heng.

"Dare to fart at me? You dog, you're asking for death!" Yuan Heng stomped his foot, wanting to kick him, but then thought the smell would bother him. Just as he was about to look for a larger rock nearby, the servant knelt down and begged for mercy.

“It was Governor Yuan who made me do this, saying that this is a reply to my lord.” He didn’t dare say that Governor Yuan was afraid he wouldn’t be able to exhale the stench, so he fed him a few croton seeds before he came.

"Pfft—" Yuanzi burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha..." Yuan Jingrong understood too, and clutched her stomach with one hand while pointing at Yuan Heng with the other: "Your uncle, your uncle said you're talking nonsense."

Wei Yao and the others only heard laughter and did not turn around.

The five female historians walked in another direction away from the bamboo grove, with Zhang, the female slave of the official in charge of reciting poetry, bringing up the rear, trembling with fear. Chen Shushi still came to her side, but to her surprise, he praised her: "You recited the poetry very well today."

"I, I was..." "Are your eyes still bothering you?"

Zhang shook her head. Some of the mud that the noblemen threw at her had hit her eyes, and it was actually very painful now.

Chen Shushi felt no comfort from the beautiful bamboo forest; instead, she felt the chill of the earth returning after the sunset. She was silent for a moment, then said, "From now on, you have to be the same as you were today."

"History of books?"

“I can’t let you leave the old palace for nothing. You can see that the Han students here are compassionate and willing to help the weak. Lady Zhang, you must seize this opportunity and make sure you get a chance to leave the old palace.”

Zhang looked up with tears in her eyes: "Chen Shushi...I..."

"No need to say more, you are the most promising of the palace maids I have taught. Take this opportunity to find a good way out for yourself. Don't end up like me, only to die in the old palace."

"Chen Shushi, I want to ask you, do you really not hate the Wei people who destroyed our hometown and our family?"

"Hmph, you should ask me whether I hate the Qi army, who don't care about our lives, or the Wei army, who wiped out my family, the most."

That night, Wei Yao recalled the tales of female historians she had heard in her past life, finding it difficult to reconcile them with the five female historians she had met today. Their faded clothes were probably no longer the official robes of the female historians in Luoyang Palace. How many low-ranking female officials like Chen Shushi and Zhang Xiguan were still in the old palace? Were they like the weeds in the old palace's paving stones, neglected and left to fend for themselves?

"Lady... I will never be like them again, never."

February 19th.

The students of the Elementary School of the Book of Songs read aloud: "The vines grow thick and long on the riverbank. My brothers are far away; I call another man my father..."

February 21st.

Let's study the new poem "Gathering Kudzu" again.

"She gathers kudzu; a day without seeing her feels like three months. She gathers artemisia; a day without seeing her feels like three autumns..."

Weizu Academy.

After class, Wei Mao picked some of the more vibrant flowers by the roadside and murmured, "A day apart feels like three years, like three years." Seeing that no one was around, he took out a small bronze mirror, looked at himself, and grinned, "Fierce? Not fierce at all."

Liangcheng County, northwest of Pingcheng.

The warriors sent out by Wei Mao finally caught up with the caravan where Gao Xiaoniangzi was, and delivered two letters to Gao Lou and another letter to the caravan manager.

The samurai said, "Miss Gao, please reply slowly. We'll go for a stroll around Calabash Sea."

The caravan members were all shrewd. After reading the letter, they instructed Gao Lou, "Miss Wei Zhen is worried about you. She insists that we make sure you are delivered to her doorstep. Haha."

After thanking him, Gao Lou continued reading Wei Jinglang's letter. He first told her that Du Ling's reputation at the state academy had already suffered, and then he went to play somewhere on which day, got into an argument with someone, was scolded by his stepmother on which day, and tried to skip class but managed to do so...

Wei Jinglang's handwriting wasn't beautiful, but when pieced together from the small details of life, each character became beautiful and vibrant, bringing her joy.

Gao Lou saved Wei Yao's letter for last because she wanted to read it carefully. When she saw that it was full of ancient poetry notes and nothing else, she understood what Wei Yao wanted to tell her.

"What I learned is what you and I studied together."

"What I know, you and I both know."

Gao Lou looked back towards Pingcheng. Having been to this city, she knew how difficult it was for a girl of ordinary birth to seek instruction from renowned teachers and families. "Wei Yao, I will not give up on my studies, and you must persevere as well. I have a feeling we will meet again, and we will!"

Bin (豳) is an ancient place name.

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(End of this chapter)