History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 155 Slave Feiming
Seeing the governor's veiled smile, the registrar, Gou, tentatively asked, "Could it be that the child was born from the lewd behavior of the chief of the Xi officials towards a maid?"

"How can you call it vulgar? I only learned by chance that Xi Jian and his wife Genji were not getting along. Not long after they got married, one of them was arguing about divorcing the other. Genji complained to Empress Dowager Bunmei. Xi Jian was young and hot-blooded at the time. He shouted in front of the Empress Dowager that even beggars and pig-feeding slaves were better than Genji."

Yuan Zhi sipped a cup of Hengshan Laodao tea and guessed, "I guess that's when the slave was born. This Xi Jian, doesn't he realize that when Empress Dowager Wenming gets angry, she even whips His Majesty, so how could she not whip him? Didn't he boast that all women in the world are better than Genji? So the Empress Dowager transferred him to the Divine Department, assigning him tasks every day and not letting him go home."

At this point, Yuan Zhi laughed until his shoulders trembled. "Think about what the Divine Ministry is like. All the witches we rarely see are there. I heard that when Xi Jian went there, the witches chanted spells on him so much that he had nightmares all night long and wore armor day and night, which earned him the nickname 'Panacea Turtle'."

"Hehehe—" Clerk Gou laughed so hard his beard twitched.

"Xi Jian stubbornly persisted for less than two months before he couldn't take it anymore and bowed his head to Genji, admitting his mistake. The couple's relationship was strained for less than two months when Genji discovered that the maid was pregnant. One day, Xi Jian returned home, and Genji told him that she had sold the pregnant maid to a foreign merchant. The couple fought, and Xi Jian was reprimanded by the Empress Dowager and confined to the Divine Department as a tortoise for more than half a year. When he was finally able to return home, he learned that Genji had not sold the maid and that the maid had given birth to a son."

Gou, the registrar, sighed, "Alas, Yuan must be heartbroken." He knew that Xi Guanzhang's first wife had died early, and the current Cui was his second wife.

Yuan Zhi: "I hadn't thought of this incident with the Xi family before. It was the scoundrels arrested in the East City who confessed that the brothel servant who instructed them to spread the rumors was originally Xi Jiao's servant. He was punished in the brothel for offending a nobleman. After a while, this servant will not only return to serve his master, but will also go to Luoyang with his master. Based on my understanding of Xi Jiao, he is ruthless to the wicked and kind to the good. How could a servant who committed such a serious crime be punished so lightly?"

The registrar understood: "It must be that Chief Xi felt guilty towards Genji, so he entrusted the life and death of the servant to Genji and his mother. Genji did not kill that maid in the first place, and he disdained to kill the servant afterward. Xi Jiao inherited his mother's arrogance, and even if the servant committed a serious mistake, Xi Jiao would not let the other party die by his own hand."

"Yes, that should be the case. Regardless of whether this slave is the same one or not, since Cui Xian has accused him, he cannot be spared!"

Clerk Gou: "Xi Jiao came to the government office specifically for this slave, which shows that our guess was correct. I will take Young Master Xi to the dungeon."

"Fine, have Wei Mao come see me while you're at it. Hmph, if Wei Mao didn't know, would the shopkeeper dare to sell erotic books? Did he think that by giving me the sleazy name of 'rootless island barbarians,' I wouldn't pursue the matter?"

"The governor is right. He's so young and already so badly behaved. Don't return the erotic book to him." Registrar Gou left this crucial advice and went to find Xi Jiao immediately.

Wei Mao was led to the backyard by the military officer. This was his first time here. He saw that the courtyard was full of orchids and irises, and the green leaves were lush everywhere. It was truly a place where there were four seasons outside and no cold or heat inside.

"I have met Governor Yuan."

"sit."

As luck would have it, Wei Yi's second letter arrived. Yuan Zhi had a military officer deliver the letter to Wei Mao, saying, "Read it."

"Yes."

Wei Mao took out the letter, only to find the words "Shameless" on a piece of paper! He concealed his confusion and nervousness, first saying dismissively, "Why did my father write this? It's like a riddle." Then his mind raced, wondering how he was supposed to read it.
Got an idea!

He pretended to glance at the paper and read aloud: "When things reach their worst, they turn around but no one can speak; a woman walks north and south in the west; a person looks at the moon but it is slightly to the left; three drops of water fall from a finger."

Yuan Zhi's expression changed, and he flew into a rage! He pulled out the letter from yesterday from the cloth bag, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at Wei Mao.

Wei Mao unfolded it and broke out in a cold sweat. It bore the exact same three words: "Shameless." "You read this one again!"

Before Wei Mao could even sit down properly, he got up again to apologize on behalf of his father, explaining, "My father should have been scolding me. Just before Huangfu's incident, I had sent a letter home to Luoyang."

"You're spouting utter nonsense!"

“This time, the boy is telling the truth.” Faced with Governor Yuan’s rage, Wei Mao immediately recounted his desire to be adopted by someone else. Only with this reason could he shift the blame for being “shameless” onto himself.

“Oh. You deserve to be scolded.” Yuan Zhi’s suspicion that Wei Mao was Wei Yin’s illegitimate son resurfaced, and for a moment he was not angry with Wei Yi at all, but felt a lot of sympathy for him. “I called you here to ask about the matter of the island barbarian Wu Gen. Tell me about this person’s background, and the matter of Yingju Bookstore selling obscene books will be put aside.”

“That person always sends different people to my bookstore to deliver books.”

Yuan Zhi threatened, "People from Luoyang have already come to investigate Huangfu Jing's sudden death. Wei Mao, your father may not care about you, but I can't ignore it."

"I have some guesses about the identity of the island barbarian Wugen, but I am not entirely sure, so I dare not say."

"It's alright, I'll find out."

"I think it's our school's director, Wei Zhenyuan."

Yuan Zhi took a deep breath, looked at the cunning boy, pointed towards the courtyard gate and said, "I'll count to three, if you haven't left by then..."

"I'm leaving now."

Wei Maomai dismounted from the wooden pavilion and ran away. He knew he couldn't go looking for Master Wei right now, so he decided to go back to the bookstore and give the manager a few instructions before returning to the pasture. He rode his horse, his eyes fixed on the distance, and as he approached Zhuji Street, he saw Qu Rong running in a panic.

This morning, Qu Rong told his family he was going to the South City Ranch, but in reality he was going to Dongyue Flower Shop to find Fei Ming. Last time, that fellow servant said some arrogant things to him, and he hesitated for several days. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that what the other party said, "Birds can fly and mice can dig holes," made sense.

It is said that Lord Mengchang was once helped by scoundrels and petty thieves, so perhaps Feiming really has a way to help his family win the Yingju Bookstore.

However, Qu Rong only learned that Fei Ming had been arrested by the government when she arrived at Dongyue Flower Shop! Qu Rong was naturally suspicious, and as she walked around Zhuji Street, she overheard some gossip about Fei Ming. Almost all of these gossips said that Fei Ming was arrested because he incited others to do bad things.

Qu Rong was terrified and immediately ran home, stopping halfway, panting heavily. No, what was he afraid of? He hadn't been swayed by Fei Ming. Thank goodness, thank goodness he had refused him that day! Qu Rong turned around; he was going to the ranch, pretending he knew nothing about Fei Ming and didn't remember him at all!

At this moment, Wei Yao gazed at the Mingtang from the pasture. Her mother had been summoned to the Mingtang by the Emperor. How could she, as her mother's daughter, be weak when her mother was so capable? How could she be helpless as that treacherous servant Fei Ming spread rumors?!

(End of this chapter)