History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 53 Returning to the Military Academy
Unbeknownst to the mother and daughter, Wei Maocai had been walking a short distance ahead of them on their way home, leading them all the way to Yingju Bookstore in the eastern part of the city.

Knowing in advance that all the academies of the Book of Poetry would be closed today, Wei Mao had bathed yesterday, changed into brightly colored clothes, wore a two-piece robe with gold and jade buckles, hung three orchid sachets on his waist, and tucked a small bronze mirror into his pocket. After the first class in the morning, he asked for leave and rushed to the west of the city.

He sent his servants to plant the pomegranate trees even earlier. Of course, the area inside and outside the walls of the Cui Academy belonged to the Cui clan, so cutting down the trees was not allowed, and planting them required saying all the right things and paying some money and grain.

Wei Mao guessed that Mrs. Zhao might come to pick up Wei Yao, so when he saw Mrs. Zhao's figure in the distance, he took a detour and left.

Moon stars are rare.

The swallows chirp at dawn.

Every time Wei Yao had a holiday, she would still get up early and recite her lessons for half an hour before the sound of spinning wheels from the neighbors' houses began to play.

Zhao Zhi was woken up by the noise. She first practiced a set of boxing moves before going to the kitchen to wash rice and cook porridge.

The university didn't have a ten-day weekend policy. Wei Yin sat up from his bed, turned around, and went straight to his desk. He reviewed the lessons he was going to teach that day. In the center of his desk, against the wall, were his notes on the *Erya*, which he had borrowed from Cui Weng a few days ago. He had been too busy to look at them yet.

The spinning wheels clattered incessantly. Wei Yao told her mother she was going out to read in Chiyang Lane, but it wasn't exactly quiet outside. Since the weather warmed up, the able-bodied men in the lane had all found ways to support their families: some pulled boats, some unloaded goods, and some carried water and chopped firewood. Those who were weak and frail would take tailoring jobs from the clothing shops or do cleaning and washing for others.

The contrast between her life at the academy and her life of wealth and poverty was stark. This made Wei Yao deeply appreciate the happiness of being able to study, and also made her more grateful to her parents for raising her and fulfilling her wish to study.

After having breakfast, Wei Yin left home.

When Wei Yao went to the main room to look for her notes, she saw the bamboo slips on the desk. Judging from the rope, they were new. Curious, she opened them and her eyes lit up.

Erya!

Zhao Zhi came in briefly, not wanting to disturb her daughter who was engrossed in her book, and then quietly closed the door and left.

When Wei Yao opened the third volume, she noticed something was wrong. The arrangement of two bamboo slips was different, and there was a bamboo slip hidden under each of the notes. She could untie the main rope and take out the two extra bamboo slips without damaging the Erya Notes.

Is this some kind of special recording method?

Or is it a means of further annotating the existing annotations?

Wei Yao took out the two bamboo slips.

One of the slips of paper reads: "不舌、世、殳".

Another slip reads: Shi Luo, Lan, Wei. The fifth character is incomplete, with "sun" on the left and a vertical stroke on the right. Upon closer examination, this vertical stroke seems to have a slight downward stroke.

"A secret letter?" Wei Yao told herself not to panic. She re-tied the knot according to its original curve and then continued to think while looking at her notes.

Based on the last missing character, the neatness of the remaining eight characters, and the cleanliness of the bamboo slip, she first determined that this method of transmitting secret messages had an original message, and this was a copy.

Upon further examination, was this letter addressed to the father?
If so, why didn't Father place it carefully? Did Father check it?
When Wei Yao came out of the main room, she saw that her mother had just brought out all the orchids. After thinking for a moment, Wei Yao asked directly, "Mother, do you know where Father borrowed the bamboo slips on his desk?"

"On the desk? It's... Cui Xueguan! I remember. On the day he sent you to become his apprentice, he went home first to put down all the heavy things, including those few scrolls, before your father went to the university."

Wei Yao especially loved her mother's carefree personality; if it were her, she would definitely ask "What's wrong?" at the end of the sentence. "Father used to tell me when he borrowed good books, but he didn't this time. Luckily, I flipped through them myself," Wei Yao said, pretending to be angry and acting coquettishly.

Zhao Zhi chuckled and put her arm around her daughter's shoulder, saying, "The university entrance exams are coming up soon, and your father is busy copying books. That pile of bamboo slips has been sitting there ever since we brought them back. Besides, you only got back yesterday."

Wei Yao smiled sheepishly, feeling much more at ease. As her mother had said, her father probably didn't know the hidden meaning in the bamboo slips. If he did, it would prove that the secret letter was unimportant, or even not a secret letter at all, but merely a riddle posed between scholars.

Concern breeds confusion, and this thought caused her to worry again. If her father was completely unaware of this, it meant that the person who arranged the secret letter had ulterior motives and wanted to drag her father into some secret for some purpose.

Wei Yao didn't presume to take the two bamboo slips; she trusted her father's wisdom, believing he would handle the matter far better than she would. Besides, how could she know that these two bamboo slips hadn't appeared during this period in her previous life?
As evening fell, Wei Yao returned to Cui Academy.

"The 'Great Chariot' satirizes the Zhou official... The great chariot is rickety, and the fur coat is as thick as reeds..."

"In the Hill There Is Hemp, Thinking of the Wise... In the Hill There Is Hemp, He Leaves You with a Sigh, He Leaves You with a Sigh, He Will Come and Spread It Freely..."

One poem, two days; day and night fly by.

On the last day of February, Wei Yao returned to Wei Academy. As for the poetry recitation practice, she was one of the best singers, and Chen Shushi allowed her to return to the team after the joint examination in March.

She left early and was the first to arrive at the school dormitory. Master Duan's desk was very clean, it seemed that his fellow students wiped it every day. Hmm... her desk was also very clean, was it Zhen or Mao who wiped it for her? It couldn't be Jing, because Jing's own desks were always filthy.

It was darker inside the study than outside, so she couldn't read. She cleaned up the place where Zhen was sitting, and then decided to tidy up Jing's place too. Tsk tsk tsk... the ink in the inkstone was so thick! Only the middle of the desk was clean, and all the dozen or so brushes were unwashed!
Finally, wipe Mao's mark.

Qu Rong arrived and felt nauseous at the sight of this scene so early in the morning! He stood at the door and first mocked, "You're wiping Mao's desk now, but he can't see it." Then he came in with a disdainful smile.

"This shows that I do good deeds without expecting anything in return."

"Whether you asked for anything in return or not, you got what you asked for."

“This shows that good deeds are rewarded.” Wei Yao was not fooled; she would not agree with the other party’s words and say, “What did I ask for?”

Qu Rong was momentarily at a loss for words, and her arguing skills reverted to their shameless nature: "Of course you'll be rewarded for your good deeds! You used your academic excellence to pretend to tutor Zhen and Jing, but what happened? Humph, you were the only one who got good grades. Whether it's genuine kindness or hypocrisy, you know best!"

"According to you, I should be able to teach better than the teachers in all the schools to be considered truly good? According to you, if the teachers didn't teach you well, is it their fault? And has nothing to do with your own lack of learning?"

"How am I not studious?" Qu Rong slammed down his book, pointing at Wei Yao: "Explain yourself! How am I not studious?!"

"How much time do you study each day? How many notes have you taken? How many characters can you practice each day? How many times can a bamboo slip be reused? Can you recite texts while walking? Do you chase after your teacher to ask questions you don't understand? Do you chase after your fellow students to ask questions? If you didn't answer a question during an exam, will you try to do it again later? Will you be able to do it all correctly?"

To every question Wei Yao posed, Qu Rong could only silently utter "I," and he retorted without a word. He suddenly remembered the words he had just used to scold her, saying that "she knows best herself."

At that moment, he knew best that he could never answer any of her questions as well as she did.

Cuiyi: the ceremonial robes of a high-ranking official.

菼 (tǎn): newly sprouted green reeds.

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(End of this chapter)