History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 60 A Teacher and Student with a Shared Bond
The six people arrived at the examination hall for the Book of Songs.

There are so many schoolchildren here! Looking around, I see more strangers than acquaintances, which suggests there are quite a few small private schools around. Laborers and laborers are carrying out final repairs, some helping students straighten their desks—a bustling and lively scene.

When Wei Jing first came over, he saw Bu Yanzhen. The other man hadn't left and was still there. He quickly pointed him out to Wei Zhen: "Look over there."

With feelings already stirring, Wei Zhen pretended not to care and urged, "Alright, alright, let's put these things down first."

Suddenly, a voice called out from the side: "Bu Yanzhen—"

"Cough." Wei Zhen's legs stopped moving.

Other schools also provide their own desks, and the best spots are always reserved for the students from the Wei clan. Bu Yanzhen stayed here because he was cautious and checked whether there were any leaks above the examination seats of each of his fellow students.

"Bu Yanzhen—"

His fellow students called him over to help carry the basket, which contained bamboo slips for answering questions prepared for them by the Bu family academy.

He walked past Wei Zhen, his eyes still sparkling as when he first met her, but he didn't look at her and just passed by!
Wei Jing laughed so hard he stomped his feet, while Wei Zhen pouted.

The fifteen seats in the first room of the Book of Poetry were not arranged in a centralized manner. They should have been occupied by whoever claimed them first. Since Master Du came, it was normal for him to make the arrangements.

What's unusual is that when Wei Mao and the others first came, they placed Wei Yao and Wei Zhen's desks at the very back. As a result, their seats were moved, one to the back and the other to the edge.

Master Du's explanation was grand and respectable: "It was only requested by the academy that the examination papers of the three students, Chen Yu, Bao Rongzi, and Gou Qiyin, be moved to the middle, next to you."

Wei Maoquan knew the three students Du Ling mentioned; they were the top students from the fifth, second, and third dormitories, with Chen Yu being the best. Therefore, he immediately questioned, "Wasn't the school's intention to have the best students sit in the middle so they could hear the questions more easily? Why did the teacher move our best student from our own dormitory to the very edge?"

Wei Mao then pointed to Qu Rong, who was hiding behind the teacher: "And him! He came late, so why is he also positioned further inside than Wei Yao?"

Knowing he couldn't afford to offend this devil, Du Ling personally switched Wei Yao and Qu Rong's positions, smiling as he asked, "Is it alright now? Then each of you check if the ground is level and if your desks are stable. Once you're sure everything is fine, you can go home. The quarterly exams are more important than the monthly joint exams, so you should all go to bed early tonight and come early tomorrow morning. Nobody should be late."

As he left, he swept his wide sleeves behind his back and brushed Qu Rong aside.

Qu Rong was afraid of being watched by Young Master Mao, so she quickly kicked the cushion under the desk and went to chase after the teacher.

Wei Yao wiped the dust off the desk. Wei Mao, unconcerned about the dirt, sat down opposite her and said, "I won't switch with you yet. Let's see how it goes tomorrow morning. If you can't hear the questions clearly here, I'll switch with you during the afternoon exam."

"I'm already very grateful to you for standing up for me. Don't worry, my hearing is excellent; I can hear things from far away." Wei Yao felt a warmth in her heart, and her swollen eyes narrowed, appearing to Wei Mao like two wet flower petals.

"Qu Rong got involved in a lot of things today. Let's see how I deal with him after the exam tomorrow!"

Wei Yao shook her head slightly: "You can mess with him for anything, but you can't include me in the reason. Otherwise, I'll feel like I've already lost the moment you make a move. By the way, I haven't had a chance to ask you yet, how did you do on the joint entrance exam?"

“It’s much better than last time, let me tell you,” he lowered his voice, “I memorized a lot of the answers from last time, such as the answer to ‘期我乎桑中’, and the answer to the following question was ‘嗟我怀人’, so there were loopholes in this joint exam.”

Wei Yao awkwardly told him, "The exam questions are indeed all the same as last time, but... the order has changed." At this moment, Qu Rong arrived at the Confucius Courtyard. The place where Master Du lived was the place where Master Duan used to live.

"Master, it's all my fault. I've caused you trouble."

"Hehe, what trouble is this? As long as you all make progress in your studies, nothing else is trouble."

The music was deeply moving! The Master's heart is truly magnanimous!

Du Ling continued, "Perfect timing. I need to point out your flaws while I'm at it: you're too insecure! You must change that."

"Yes. I will definitely change."

"Come, sit down. Qu Rong, the biggest reason for your poor grades is not that you are stupid or slow at memorizing poems, but that you can't write them down after memorizing them. From the most difficult stage of learning to read, no one taught you carefully and patiently, which is why you can't take complete notes or write complete poems. The responsibility is not yours, so why are you feeling inferior?"

"That's right! Master, actually I can memorize every poem very quickly!"

"Yes, I know. Take Wei Yao for example, she is intelligent, but is she truly exceptionally intelligent? Is it because her father understood poetry and taught her from a young age?"

Of course! Qu Rong had thought about this question long ago. If he and Wei Yao switched families, he could also get first place in every exam.

Du Ling continued, "If you want to improve your studies, you must first improve your mindset. You can't always focus on where you are inferior to others; you have to see your strengths."

"Master, I..." Qu Rong was filled with sorrow. His elder sister was a concubine, his family was poor, he was illiterate, and he could not use good writing materials. His mother was ignorant, and his father was also ignorant and talkative. So what advantages did he have?

Du Ling smiled kindly, as if comforting her younger self: "You must learn to find your strengths, start with the simplest ones. You are a young man, and in this alone, you are a hundred times better than Wei Yao! You come from humble beginnings, but with enough ambition, you have the opportunity to achieve great things! But she couldn't. What use is it for an ordinary girl without power or influence to master the Book of Poetry? Being good at the Book of Poetry doesn't mean you can master the Erya or the Analects. The world is vast, and there are many girls who are a hundred times better off than her..."

The young woman, Wei Yao, whom the congenial teacher and student had used as a comparison, had already left the school and was walking in the opposite direction from Chi Yang Lane.

The other disciples did not travel with her.

When Wei Mao learned that he had failed the exam again, and even worse than last time, he was in a bad mood. However, he had to suppress his unhappiness and go to the archery field with Wei Jing to practice the "Five Weapons" dance.

Wei Zhen, still sulking, pretended she had never seen Bu Yanzhen and that she had misunderstood his gaze that day. But when she witnessed the head servant refusing to address the hole in the thatched shed that Bu Yanzhen had discovered and even making sarcastic remarks about him, Wei Zhen could no longer ignore it.

She was furious, her temper like that of a young tiger, and accused the person in charge: "Everyone saw the hole, couldn't you see it? Is patching it difficult? This person, this one, and him..." She pointed out three laborers in a row, "These three have walked back and forth empty-handed several times, without doing anything, are they all your relatives!"

After the argument, she turned around and saw the boy's burning gaze and his blushing face. He mustered his courage and bowed to her, saying, "My name is Bu Yanzhen."

Hexi Street.

The earliest inhabitants of this street were all Confucian scholars who moved here after the Great Wei destroyed the Northern Liang. Wei Yao was on her way to Master Duan's house, and had to pass by several music and entertainment venues. Unexpectedly, Duan Dalang, who had recently lost his father, was lingering in front of these venues!

Wei Yao hid to observe the other party. Duan Dalang was not an unfilial son. Was he just waiting for someone at this location by chance, or was he looking for a musician?
(End of this chapter)