History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Do you like Chapter 13? Yes.
A servant in the shop stared at the two children and shouted, "Look, but don't touch them!"

Upon hearing this, the boy said "Just touch it," flicked an orange off the ground, grabbed another one, and ran away.

"Hey kid, stop right there!" The waiter chased after him with a flower branch.

While everyone else was watching the spectacle, Wei Yao went into the shop. Inside, there were orchids everywhere, as well as colorful orchid sachets and many neatly folded brocade handkerchiefs, all embroidered with orchids, showing that people at the time especially loved orchids.

There was no shopkeeper in the store. She peeked at the stairs and then heard heavy breathing behind her. She immediately turned around and went out past the servant who had just returned from chasing someone.

Back outside the shop, she stood in the orchid section, puzzled: "Aren't these wild orchids? How can they be sold like this?"

The servant, thinking she was in cahoots with the boy who had destroyed the orange tree, followed closely behind and scolded, "What do you know at such a young age? What grows in the wild outside the city is Eupatorium fortunei, and this pot is Eupatorium tectorum!"

"Na Pei... ah?" Before Wei Yao could finish speaking, someone yanked the book box on her back and pulled her backwards until she was on the road before letting go. She twisted around awkwardly, surprised to find that the person who had pulled her was Xi Jiao.

"Young Master Xi?"

Xi Jiao didn't want to talk to her. He pointed to Dongyue Ink Pavilion, indicating that she should follow him. Then he said, "Wait here," and went about choosing ink on his own.

The other party wouldn't do this for no reason. Wei Yao's mind raced, and she quickly picked out the most crucial piece of information from her past memories... Xi Jiao's uncle was on good terms with Governor Yuan!

Could it be that Bingfang Flower Shop was shut down today?

At that very moment, the sounds of horses' hooves and soldiers running and shouting converged from both sides of the street!
Wei Yao looked across the street and saw that all the people who were looking at and buying flowers had been surrounded. The shop's servants had all been gagged and tied up in oxcarts. Then, the government soldiers moved the flowers and miscellaneous goods and emptied the shop inside and out.

After the seal was affixed, a Xianbei soldier who spoke broken Chinese announced to the surrounding people: "Bingfang Flower Shop is harboring serious criminals and has now been sealed off by the state government. No one is allowed to break the seal or enter this building without authorization!"

The flower buyers were outraged and protested, "What does this have to do with us?"

"I was just passing by, let me go!"

The military officer in charge shouted "Silence!" and dozens of soldiers immediately drew their guns, silencing the cacophony of voices.

The same soldier recounted, "This case is of great importance and involves many people! Not only are you suspects, but so are those who used to come to Bingfang to buy flowers! If you want to clear your name, report any clues related to the murderer." He then looked at the crowd of onlookers, "Anyone can report clues, and the prefecture will reward those who provide the most important information."

Someone asked, "What kind of things count as clues?"

Military officer: "Who does Bingfang's manager usually talk to alone? Who has been to the second floor of the flower shop? Who often comes to buy the same kind of orchid? Are there any unusual flowers or plants hanging or placed in prominent positions at the entrance? On which day did the shop close without reason? Who did the servants argue with? These are all clues."

Wei Yao listened attentively, visualizing in her mind the various scenarios of Manager Bingfang meeting with the spy with each sentence. By the end, she frowned. Her brief conversation with the servant not long ago, tempted by the reward, might have been used as a clue and reported. If the guards investigated her later, she might not be able to explain herself clearly.

She had an idea! She immediately decided to take advantage of the servant's absence before he was taken away and go over to kick him while he was down, mocking him.

But Xi Jiao brought her here precisely because he knew about the state government's operation in advance, so that she wouldn't be in Bingfang Brothel during the arrest. He spoke up to stop her: "Don't go out yet."

"I was at the brothel just now..."

"If I'm not here now, it won't affect you."

In promising protection, he also explained why he brought her to the Ink Pavilion.

Assessing the situation, Wei Yao abandoned her own plan. She could tell from Xi Jiao's coldness and wisely remained silent. Actually, this was for the best; she didn't want to have any entanglement with him in this life.

Soon, all the people opposite were escorted away. She said goodbye, "Thank you for your help today, Mr. Xi. I'm leaving now."

Xi Jiao ground and tested the ink, not looking at her. Unfortunately, she couldn't leave for the time being. A dozen or so soldiers arrived outside the ink shop, among them a child, the very one who had flicked the orange away and run away earlier.

With such a large entourage, and considering the child's behavior of stealing the oranges, Wei Yao guessed a name: Yuan Yu.

In her previous life, she had never met Yuan Yu. She only knew that he was the cousin of Governor Yuan and had a strange habit of stealing things when he was young. The year before she was hit and killed by a carriage, she heard Zong Yin mention that Yuan Yu had entered the Censorate and served as the Imperial Censor.

The visitor is not good.

She stepped back to Xi Jiao's side.

Yuan Yu entered the ink hall with a smile, and Xi Jiao greeted him with a smile as well. One addressed him as brother, and the other as younger brother. Then Yuan Yu pointed to Wei Yao and said without wasting words, "I have a few questions for her."

Xi Jiao: "She is a member of the Wei tribe and studied with me for a few days. If Yu Di is asking about the matter on the other side, I will vouch for her."

Yuan Yu looked surprised and nodded: "Then let's ask privately. Just one question: does the young lady like orchids?"

Wei Yao knew that saying she liked him or disliked him would cause trouble, and running away was even worse! So she shyly glanced at the orchid sachet tied around Xi Jiao's waist, recalling the scene when they were mutually attracted. In a breath, her face turned red, and her voice trembled slightly as she answered, "I like him."

The once quiet inkstone room was inexplicably hot.

Yuan Yu paused for a moment before saying, "It's alright, I'll arrange to meet Brother Xi for riding and archery another day." He quickly stepped out, dispelling any suspicion he might have about the young lady.

Wei Yao then left, still heading to Yingju Bookstore. Wei Mao wasn't there, so, as is the norm, she took another route home in a hurry. The potted orchid was still sitting in a corner of her desk. She stared at it intently, starting to unravel the mystery from Yuan Yu's question, "Do you like orchids?"

First of all, the incident at Bingfang Flower Shop should be related to orchids, and not to other items such as orchid sachets or orchid handkerchiefs.

Secondly, the sudden large-scale siege by the state government is most likely due to accurate intelligence provided by someone, such as... a special "flower buyer" appearing at Bingfang Flower Shop at some point today. This "flower buyer" is either a bandit widely publicized by the state government, or a spy as she suspects.

Furthermore, besides factors such as his young age, inconspicuousness, and Governor Yuan's desire to train his nephew, were there any other reasons why Yuan Yu disguised himself as an ordinary child and mingled in the brothel?

"Could it be..." Wei Yao murmured a possibility: "Among the intelligence obtained by the prefecture, there are spies around my age?"

The final question is, the shopkeeper isn't here today! Has he been arrested? Or did he get wind of the operation and escape? Or perhaps… one of the servants was the one who relayed the information, and the shopkeeper betrayed him?

Further speculation is pointless. In any case, today's experience taught her a lot, and she was also pleased that she dared to adapt to changing circumstances without panicking or being timid.

She calmed down and read the Classic of Filial Piety.

As evening approached, Wei Yin returned from visiting a friend.

When Wei Yao and her father went to the storeroom to check on the orchids as usual, they casually mentioned the matter of Bingfang Flower Shop.

Wei Yin pondered for a moment and then hummed in agreement.

Wei Yao asked, "What are you thinking about, Father?"

Ying (瀛): refers to Yingzhou, Hejian City, Hebei Province.

Yu (瑀): A beautiful stone resembling jade.

The Imperial Censor in Charge of Books: Like the Inspector Censor mentioned above, he was a subordinate official of the Censorate.

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(End of this chapter)