Chapter 6 - History

Wei Liuying spent the entire day reading the books. She didn't have any embroidery equipment because her mother would keep it away and only handed her those books. After all, Feng Chun wished for her daughter to help her son in his study in order to surpass the older brother.

"Miss, have you done studying? It's already late," Xiao Qing informed from outside.

"I'm done. You can come in."

Xiao Qing pushed the door open. Seeing the bamboo scroll neatly on Wei Liuying's table, Xiao Qing knew that her Miss had already finished summarizing the key points of the book. This was Wei Liuying's daily work, summarizing everything for Wei Hong Zheng to help him in his study.

"Send this to Servant Huo," Wei Liuying said simply. Huo is her brother's closest servant and also the one who arranged everything for Wei Hong Zheng.

"Miss, is it not a waste to give this to him?" Xiao Qing looked at the writing and pouted. It was so neat and organized.

Wei Liuying shook her head. "I don't have any use for the note anymore. Besides, what's the use of women to have this kind of knowledge?"

"That's…"

"Give it to Huo and ask Xiao Yu to bring food. I'm going to eat dinner."

"Yes, Miss."

Wei Liuying stood up and stretched her body while Xiao Yu entered with the tray of food. The latter smiled. "Miss has a good figure."

"You can also have a better figure if you train," Wei Liuying said.

Xiao Yu pouted. "But training is so hard. I don't want to have my body covered in sweat after all day long."

"You little," Xiao Qing poked Xiao Yu forehead. "You're so lazy. Why don't you start to learn how to clean the entire quarter to practice your arms?"

"Ah, please have mercy."

The quarter was quite big. If she had to be the one to clean up the entire quarter, she would end up with aching bodies.

Wei Liuying shook her head as a faint smile was formed on the corner of her lips. "Just help me to stitch the clothes, Xiao Yu. Some parts are ripped after my practice with Second Brother."

"Yes, Miss."

Seeing that Wei Liuying could smile again, the two of them heaved a sigh of relief. It was rare to see their Miss could relax her expression in the residence, so they always tried to lift up her mood whenever it was possible.

As Xiao Yu served the dinner, Xiao Qing took the bamboo scroll and silently left the room. She headed to the kitchen to inform Xiao Yu before delivering the bamboo scroll. Internally, she was truly tempted to just throw it away because she didn't wish to see Wei Hong Zheng use it. However, doing that would simply aggravate the situation.

With no other choice, she could only deliver the bamboo scroll as she was tasked.

Wei Hong Zheng was inside his room, reading the book with his teacher helping him. The teacher, Teacher Luo, was already feeling exasperated when he saw Wei Hong Zheng's progress. He could barely understand everything that he taught even though he had deliberately slowed down his teaching.

"Teacher Luo, I still don't understand," Wei Hong Zheng said weakly.

Teacher Luo was a middle-aged man in his forties. His hair was mostly white, and there were already a lot of wrinkles in his face. When he heard Wei Hong Zheng's words, he felt like smacking this boy's head several times.

"Which part?" Teacher Luo asked in a low tone.

They were only learning history, but Wei Hong Zheng seemed to be slow when it came to analyzing everything that was written there.

Wei Hong Zheng's face was white, but he continued to ask. "This… before Emperor Xuan's era, it was Emperor Gao's era, and it's said that he had already vanquished the enemy in the north, but why is the war still ongoing?"

Teacher Luo sighed. This was one of the most common topics because the war against Xiong still continued to last. However, most nobles already knew how hard it was to fight against Xiong Tribes because they were all nomadic, meaning that they always moved from one place to another.

"There are still a lot of Xiong Tribe's people spread in the north. They don't have fixed residence because they keep on moving. When it's Winter, they often come to the South and raze the cities because they need food in order to survive."

"Then why is it said that the war is Emperor Gao's win?"

"That's because Emperor Gao managed to force the Xiong back and make an agreement that they'll not come back again."

"But the fight still continued," Wei Hong Zheng complained.

Teacher Luo sighed. "That's simply because when Emperor Xuan ascended the throne, there are countless people who are dissatisfied with him. The agreement is seen as void, so there's no other choice but to send more people to guard the north area. So far, the forces between the Han Shi Kingdom and Xiong Tribe are on par, so it was difficult to reach an agreement now."

Wei Hong Zheng fell into deep contemplation while Teacher Luo resisted the urge to sigh for the nth time. This was already the fifth time Wei Hong Zheng asked the same question over and over.

When Wei Hong Zheng raised his head, the question he asked didn't differ that much. "But Teacher, I'm still confused about why we can't reach an agreement. Isn't it easier if we can just end the war and annihilate Xiong Tribe?"

Teacher Luo: "…" it's not possible.

He rubbed his temple and tried to think for a way to explain more to Wei Hong Zheng when the door was knocked.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in."

A young man in servant clothes walked in. He looked fairly ordinary, but his neat clothing and also the different colored robe signified that he held a greater position in this residence.

"Young Master," the servant greeted while bowing down.

Wei Hong Zheng arched his eyebrows. "What is it, Huo?"

"The notes for today's lesson are here."

"It's late," Wei Hong Zheng complained, but he still took the bamboo scrolls. Looking at the neat writing, he began to read carefully with Teacher Luo looking from the side. Everything was written neatly and properly. He conveniently peered at the last bamboo stick and read the content.

'Year 1 Emperor Xuan's reign, Xiong Tribe had started to show their dissatisfaction with the agreement that was made in his father's reign. There have been several warnings issued from both sides such as….'

Teacher Luo sighed when he read the content and placed it down. He came here because Wei Hong wanted him to become the teacher for both of his sons, especially Wei Hong Zheng who was quite slow. As he was also friends with Feng Chun, he didn't really have any reason to refuse.

He knew that Feng Chun had great ambition. However, the Heaven didn't grant her wishes according to the way she wanted it. She had two children, one boy and one girl. But the Heaven has a different plan for them.

Wei Hong Zheng was fairly ordinary in terms of study and learning. There were a lot more people who were far smarter and quick-witted compared to him. Even his father noticed it. On the contrary, it was Wei Liuying who's a fast learner and capable of learning so many things in a short period of time. When he found out about that, he was thoroughly surprised.

But in this era, where women were not allowed to freely choose their occupation, the knowledge was useless.

She had no way of using it for her own benefit. All she could do was to use the knowledge that she had gained to help her brother while neglecting her own study because it was simply impossible to study so many things all at once.

It was truly unfair as the gifted one couldn't even use her talent.

"Teacher, is this correct?" Wei Hong Zheng asked as he pointed to the lines on the bamboo scroll.

Teacher Luo peered and nodded. "Yes, it is."

"I see. It's easier to understand this way."

"It's good that you can understand."

Teacher Luo continued to teach Wei Hong Zheng by making use of the notes that Wei Liuying had sent them. Internally, he still lamented the sibling's situation in this place. It was truly a pity.