History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 216 The Power of Female Officials
Yu Linbing: "Zhang was too clever. She first said that she had encountered the general of the Imperial Guard and the matter was not accomplished. When Liang asked why, Zhang reminded her to be careful of eavesdroppers. My fellow villager then did not dare to eavesdrop anymore."

Yuan Song: "Because she encountered me, the matter was not accomplished... So the 'matter' she was referring to was not the task of delivering breakfast to the Zhai Palace." It seems that he was not overthinking it; Zhang Shi may very well have wanted to bribe the eunuchs in the Zhai Palace to shift the blame for His Majesty's dissatisfaction with the breakfast's taste onto Wei Yao.

The reason why Zhao Zhi's guards were worried that her daughter, Wei Yao, would get involved in the palace maids' fight was because of a palace maid who had been beaten to death in Xi's office.

The two things have come together.

The Imperial Guard said, "My lover also told her subordinates that Zhang Jia is a woman of Zhang Anji, the head of the Imperial Kitchen. Liang Xuantong is from the same hometown as Zhang Jia. Zhang Anji is over forty years old and was captured and brought to the palace during the Liu Song dynasty."

"Slap!" He belatedly realized he had let something slip and slapped himself across the face.

Yuan Song nodded slightly: "Let's leave it at that. Tell your lover not to inquire any further."

With Yuan Song's abilities, he could have easily killed Zhang and Liang silently, but there was no need for it.

Firstly, Zhang and Liang cannot use the same trick a second time, as Wei Yao has already shielded them from this disaster.

Furthermore, killing Zhang and Liang would bring even greater disaster upon Wei Yao!

The intricate power struggles among the palace ladies were no less complex than the intricate marriage relationships among aristocratic families. The killing of Zhang and Liang would inevitably arouse suspicion from Zhang Anji. Considering how cautious and vigilant Lady Zhang was, how shrewd must Zhang Anji be, having served in the palace for two or three decades and holding a highly trusted position as the Director of the Imperial Kitchen? She must have an even stronger backing!

So whether it's for Wei Yao's sake or Yuan Song's own, this matter should end here today. It's enough to confirm that there are palace maids in the Imperial Kitchen who want to avenge the Liang-surname palace maid who died in the Xi Office.

Imperial Food Supervisor.

Yuan Song was right. The palace maid Zhang Jia checked that there was no suspicious person lingering outside the kitchen before returning a bag of pearls to her companion Liang Xuantong. The pearls were intended to be given to the eunuchs of the Zhai Palace. It was a pity that such a good opportunity was ruined by the Left General of the Palace.

Zhang Jia mentioned that General Yuan's eyes were very sharp, and she always felt as if he could see through her, which made her tremble with fear.

Liang Xuantong: "So it won't work today, and this method can't be used anymore?"

Zhang Jia said sternly, "We can't use it again! If we use it even once more, it will be dereliction of duty on our part, and none of us will be able to work in the Imperial Kitchen."

Liang Xuantong wept: "The jewelry I gave to Jiang Shunu of the palace school was returned, and today this bag of pearls was also not delivered. Will my sister's revenge never come? She was accused of such a serious crime and was beaten to death just because she said one wrong word. I am really not reconciled."

Zhang Jia advised, "I didn't want you to give up. As long as that man surnamed Wei keeps coming and going in the inner palace, we will have a chance to avenge your sister. There will definitely be a chance! Besides, Jiang Shunu returning the jewelry to you doesn't necessarily mean she's refusing to help you. She's aloof and self-reliant by nature. She can't help you in a short time, so of course she wouldn't bother taking your benefits for nothing."

Seeing Liang Xuantong's skepticism, she continued, "That man surnamed Wei has only been lecturing for two days, yet he has already caused your elder sister to be flogged. If you were Jiang Shunu, wouldn't you be afraid of keeping a poisonous snake in front of you? Alas, even if Jiang Shunu is not afraid, aren't the other female officials in the palace academy also afraid and saddened?"

"Yes, you're right. I need to stay calm and plan things more thoroughly in the future!"

The palace school, Qixing Academy. Wei Yao had only been on leave for two days, and all sixteen palace students were injured. Their newly regained confidence had vanished, replaced by the haggard appearance of frightened quails.

Some of the injuries were inflicted by the stewards, while others were inflicted by palace maids who harbored resentment towards them. Because of their experiences over the past two days, the palace students understood even more the significance of studying here—not only could they continue their studies, but they could also save their lives.

However, to completely escape the misfortune of the labor service bureau, it is not enough to rely solely on the lecturer and the many female officials to fight against them; they must save themselves!
The first way to save themselves is through their studies. They must work hard and pass the female officials' assessments every month, ensuring that the poetry level of Qixing Academy reaches the highest among all academies in the "Guofeng" section! Secondly, they must be vigilant about their surroundings. If they discover anyone trying to harm Instructor Wei, they must immediately inform him and work together to deal with those malicious people!
Today, Wei Yao added a small test during the break between the two classes. When the next class started, the servant boy Xie Yi took the graded test papers to Jiang Shunu.

Jiang Wenqian's calligraphy practice was interrupted. For the first time, he couldn't maintain his aloof attitude and scolded, "Didn't I say that you don't need to send me the test papers for this kind of small test!"

Xie Yi's voice trembled with fright as he stammered, "Lecturer Wei said that everything said verbally is unreliable, and we must keep evidence to prevent future..."

"go out!!"

Xie Yi placed the exam paper on the desk beside him, his head almost touching his feet as he waited. To determine the length of the labor service exemption, he needed proof, which required Jiang Shunu to write the exemption document, affix the official seal, and submit it to Zhen, the female official in charge of the labor service area.

Jiang Wenqian was annoyed. Other schools had already followed Wei Yao's example. If everyone did this, she wouldn't have to do anything but write exemption documents every day!
On Xie Yi's way to the labor camp, Jiang Wenqian's maid, Madam He, followed him from a distance and returned to the office to report: "Xie Yi was quite well-behaved and did not commit any record-keeping offenses."

“She’s a palace slave, yet she dares to record the daily affairs of female officials. I don’t have to get my hands dirty. All the female officials in the Xi’an Office will not let her off the hook.”

"But does that mean we can just let Wei Yao use the excuse of implementing the new school regulations to record whoever's words and actions as she pleases?"

Jiang Shunu: "Let her do whatever she wants, it's a good thing, don't you understand? The female officials of the palace school are often ridiculed by the illiterate and lowest-ranking female servants of the Xi officials. Why is that? Because female officials like me have official titles but no real power. Why do we have no real power? Because the court values ​​the Xi officials for their labor, not for the students of the palace school."

She changed her tone: "Wei Yao is different. She doesn't belong to the inner palace. She can support the court's new educational decree as a Confucian scholar. No matter how high-ranking the official in the Xi Bureau is, they all belong to the inner palace. Would they dare to be enemies with Confucian scholars outside? Confucian scholars are used to using their pens as swords. Who would dare to stick their head out to test their swords?"

"Therefore, having someone like Wei Yao can elevate the status of the Imperial Academy, and in the long run, we will all benefit. Let's not talk about her anymore. You should leave now and not disturb my calligraphy practice."

Madam He came out with a respectful expression. It was almost noon, and she went to inspect the school. She "coincidentally" ran into the female official Meng Gongren, who asked in a low voice, "How did it go? Did you tell Jiang Shunu what you taught her?"

"I already told you, don't mention it again." Madam He told Meng Gongren everything that Madam Jiang had just said, without embellishing it. Meng Gongren was so angry that his teeth were twisted!

"That bitch Jiang Wenqian! She's only a junior scribe, temporarily filling in for a scribe. Of course, she'd love for the palace school's status to be elevated so she can be promoted to a scribe and rightfully manage the school! What can we fourth-rank female officials get? We'll all become stepping stones! I don't even dare to fart in front of that bitch Wei Yao now, for fear she'll draw a few wisps of smoke on paper and accuse me of 'smelling out the new school magistrate'!"

“You…” Madam He gestured for the other person to lower their voice, “It’s not that serious, Instructor Wei didn’t take notes these past two days, did he?”

"Are you kidding me? She took a day off yesterday and the day before!" Meng Gongren's anger stopped abruptly. Oh no, Wei Yao had finished her class and was walking towards them.

(End of this chapter)