History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 77 Huwu House

Just half a month later, this prophecy came true.

Governor Yuan thought that killing the three palace maids would put an end to the matter of rewarding the spring examination, but rumors started to spread from nowhere.

First, it was said that Wei Yao was talented but lacked courage, and that he didn't dare to lift his head even after entering the old palace for three days. After two nights of wind, the rumor became that the old palace was deserted, and that His Majesty had moved the capital and all the palaces were gone, leaving only a palace wall.

In just two or three days, the things that Governor Yuan least wanted to hear happened... For example, the prefecture did not value the new school order, and the imperial family slapped the face of meritorious officials by rewarding the Wei clan students with a three-day trip to the Xi government office.

"A bunch of petty people who only dare to gossip behind people's backs!" Governor Yuan was so angry that his beard bristled. He ordered his subordinates, "Investigate! First, find out where this rumor started! How dare they question my lack of attention to the new education decree? The registrar will draft an official document ordering an additional joint examination for all schools in Pingcheng in April! Anyone who doesn't achieve an excellent grade..."

"Ahem!" The registrar quickly coughed to remind him... Don't forget your dear nephew!

"Not even reaching the average level..."

"cough!"

"It can't go any lower! Even if that brat Yuan Heng doesn't get into the middle tier, he can forget about participating in any major hunt for a year!"

This is a later story.

Let's go back to the beginning.

Wei Yao and Wei Maocai devised a plan to use Du Tongding to intimidate Du Ling. The next day, the fourteenth, the prefectural primary school expelled Du Tongding.

His seat in the classroom was not available because a new student had been added to the class.

She was a female disciple… surnamed Hu, named Wuwu, from the Hu clan of Anding, only nine years old, younger than most of the students. Hu Wuwu was recommended to the state academy by the magistrate of Pingcheng, and would only study there for half a year. After taking the summer and autumn quarterly exams, Hu Wuwu would continue to travel to other places, eventually going to Luoyang.

Ms. Hu was strikingly beautiful. No matter who curiously stared at her, she remained neither shy nor timid, always responding with a perfectly timed smile. After one class, she proactively struck up a conversation with her fellow students, then asked, "I heard that the old and new campuses have a deep-seated conflict and don't associate with each other. Is that true?"

The word "us" deepened the students' affection for Hu Wuwu, so they told her about the brawl that broke out between the old and new buildings on the day of the spring exam, which forced the exam to be suspended.

"Xi Jiao?" Hu Wuwu made no attempt to hide his curiosity. "I really want to see Young Master Xi. Is he truly a genius in both literature and martial arts?"

"Hmph, that's just an exaggeration." One of the schoolboys was full of sourness, but he couldn't lie through his teeth: "He's just good-looking, and... his riding and archery skills are alright too."

Immediately someone chimed in: "That's right, we're not trying to belittle him. At most, he's arrogant in martial arts, but forget about his academics. He did about the same as us in the last two exams."

"So what if the score is just average? Every time, the last place is picked from our old classroom."

"Hey? There's an exception. Have you heard of Changsun Fuming? He was last in the Erya, but after dropping out of school, he went to Cui Academy to study the Book of Poetry. Is there any justice in this world?"

Hu Wuwu wasn't interested in these things. She changed the subject at the right moment: "Before I came, I heard that your monthly joint exam questions are both obscure and difficult, and there are a lot of questions. It seems that they are much more difficult than the questions in our Jingzhao County."

"Jingzhao Prefecture? Yongzhou? Hutongmen? You've come all the way from so far away to study in Pingcheng!"

"After all, it's an old capital, a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. Seeing it today, it truly is." After praising it, she continued the conversation: "Do you have a fixed setter for the exam questions? Are the questions always set by the state academy?"

"We really don't know about that. The examiners probably aren't fixed. Anyway, the hardest one, 'Testing Everything,' was set by Cui Academy, not even by the most famous Confucius. It almost killed us."

Regarding the "all-test," Hu Wuwu had only heard the Pingcheng magistrate mention it briefly from her father and hadn't had a chance to ask in detail. Now wasn't the time to ask, and she sighed, "Such difficult questions, yet someone can always get first place. It's truly admirable."

"You mean Wei Yao from the Wei Clan Academy? Miss Wei is very capable, but I heard she can't ride a horse. Someone saw her fall and cry while practicing." "Hahahaha—"

"I think her talent for poetry is related to her frequent attendance at classes at the Xunyi Academy."

"Isn't that obvious? Let me tell you, the parrots at Cui Academy learn to talk faster than parrots elsewhere."

After half a day, Hu Wuwu had basically figured out the information she wanted to know.

The Hu family moved to Luoyang, and their stay in Pingcheng for a period of time was certainly for a purpose: to establish Hu Wuwu's reputation as a talented woman! The Hu family was not short of money, and to allow Hu Wuwu more time to study, they directly purchased a three-courtyard house opposite the state academy for six months.

This location is excellent, just a 15-minute walk from the state university.

Moreover, when they set off from Chang'an, they hired a tutor to accompany them. In other words, Hu Wuwu did not miss the lessons of the Book of Poetry during the journey, and at the same time, he was also learning the Erya from this tutor.

After school, she returned to the guesthouse, where her father, Hu Guozhen, took out a letter. It had been sent by the Pingcheng magistrate that morning, saying that Chen Shushi, the former palace maid whom the Hu family was looking for, had died suddenly the previous day.

"Sudden death, what a coincidence?" Hu Wuwu, after his initial surprise, said nonchalantly, "Sudden death is sudden death. My aunt was just saying it casually, asking us to take care of her old friend while we were staying in Pingcheng. How can she take care of her now that she's dead?"

Hu Guozhen shook her head. Her daughter's personality was such that she could be extremely sensible when she was being sensible, and extremely indifferent when she was being indifferent.

The joint entrance exam is in two days, and Hu Wuwu is already determined to succeed. This time, she must get into the top three of the state academy. "Father, I'll make sure I get into the top three, but you have to make sure I get to audit classes at Cui Academy. I don't need the training school; any school will do. Father—"

When his daughter begged, Hu Guozhen had to agree to anything. Sigh, he should go visit the magistrate of Pingcheng again.

East City, Yingju Bookstore.

In Wei Mao's small study, Wei Yao and Wei Jing sat side by side at one end of the desk, with Wei Mao opposite them. She tutored Wei Jing, while Wei Mao studied by himself for a while and sometimes listened to her lecture.

"Wait, wait, wait, we're talking too fast here. What's this called, a white silk scarf?" Wei Jing asked, pointing to the character "綦".

"Wait, wait, wait. How about we learn another poem first? There are so many annotations for this poem, 'Leaving the East Gate,' it's so complicated! Um... Yao, please continue." It was the first time Wei Jing had ever seen Wei Yao with such a stern and angry face.

"Wait a moment! Let me first distinguish this note from the one I just wrote... This is like a cloud, none of which are what I think... It is not what I think, nor is it what I think."

Wei Jing, having gotten himself into a daze again, complained angrily, "Were all the ancients crazy?! Could they die without adding '者' and '也'?"

Don't get angry, you can't get angry. Wei Yao took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling repeatedly: "You have to remember it like this..."

"Ah—" Wei Jing yawned.

Wei Mao was amused. At this moment, his servant Yan Qi came up to the second floor and reported something: "My lord, I heard someone spreading bad things about Miss Wei."

As long as it wasn't about studying, Wei Jing was full of energy: "Speak quickly!"

Wei Mao nodded, and Yan Qi said, "Didn't the young master tell me to wander around the school every day? I heard some students in the fifth dormitory talking about Miss Wei. It was about her going to the old palace to copy books a few days ago. The two students said some unpleasant things."

Pingcheng Magistrate: The magistrate of Pingcheng. A county with over 10,000 households was called a "magistrate," while one with fewer than 10,000 households was called a "chief." Pingcheng belonged to Dai Commandery, and the magistrate's superior was the commandery governor. Because including too many officials would affect the reading experience, the novel's Pingcheng phase will focus less on other government offices and officials besides the prefectural government.

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(End of this chapter)