History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 227 Wei Yao’s Analysis

The Imperial Guards wore iron armor over their uniforms, so how could the eunuch dare to ask Zhang Longzi to remove it? He could only give Zhang Longzi a perfunctory search and say, "Search complete."

Zhang Longzi glared at the eunuch and brought him back to Liu Teng's side. He then explained to everyone in a loud voice why he had done this: "I did not intentionally interfere with the two eunuchs' investigation! The lecturer—who is not a female official in charge of internal affairs—should have been investigated by my Imperial Guards to determine whether she was a suspect!"

At this point, Wei Yao was basically certain that the other party had come to help her. Sure enough, Zhang Longzi's search of her was as perfunctory as the little eunuch's body search. After searching her, the other party continued, "Let's go, Lecturer Wei. It's not a good place to stay. We'll escort you out of the palace."

Wei Yao performed the full rites, bowing to Su Xingshou, Liu Teng, and several female officials. She did not forget her students, instructing them: "Remember my words. When the palace officials ask you questions, answer whatever you know. I will be back tomorrow morning."

Zhang Longzi and five other Imperial Guards led the way out of the Xi government office and walked along the high wall of Yongxiang. Zhang Longzi slowed his pace, and Wei Yao immediately followed beside him.

"Thank you, Commander Zhang, for saving me."

"You flatter me. You're lucky today. It just so happens that General Yuan, the Left General of the Central Army, was on duty. He heard that there was a murder case at the Xi government office and asked me to come and assist the eunuchs in the investigation."

Wei Yao had already been told by her mother that the Left General of the Central Army, Yuan Song, was the younger brother of Yuan Cheng, the Prince of Rencheng, and that he was also the father of Yuan Shixian. "When Commander Zhang returns to his post, please convey my gratitude to General Yuan for saving my life."

Zhang Longzi recalled the unusual glance Liu Teng gave the young eunuch when he gave instructions earlier and asked, "Do you know Liu Teng, the eunuch from earlier?"

"do not know."

"Then you'll have to be even more careful in the future. The eunuchs are all ruthless people who have survived the knife's edge. There's nothing they won't do to harm others, only things you can't imagine."

Wei Yao: "Yes. I understand the commander's meaning."

"You understand? Okay, tell me, what have you learned from today's murder case?"

Wei Yaoxian said it was obvious: "The commander and the eunuch came back after leaving the Xi official residence, which shows that He Gongnu was not the murderer of Jiang Shunu."

"The female officials who have been ruled out as suspects are Meng Gongren, Yu Cairen, and Dong Cairen. One of them is assisting the eunuchs in the trial, one went to Qianqiu Gate to pick me up early this morning, and the other is temporarily in charge of the palace school in place of Jiang Shunu."

"The other person who has been cleared of suspicion is my page Xie Yi."

Next, Wei Yao said while thinking, "Xie Yi must have told the eunuch about the strange situation of someone shouting for snakes outside the window last night."

"Xie Yi was not interrogated for long. When Meng, the witness, brought her out, I noticed that Meng only showed panic at the addition of another suspicious case and hardly looked at my student."

"Based on the above two points, combined with the fact that Lady He was taken away for interrogation early in the morning and the eunuch returned around noon, I think the eunuch already knows about the snake incident last night from Lady He."

Zhang Longzi then responded with an "Mm".

Wei Yao: "And who is the palace maid who falsely claims there is a snake?"

Zhang Longzi rubs his right thumb against his middle finger. This subconscious little gesture is known only to those who know him well. He rubs his fingers to appear calm when he encounters something surprising.

He hummed in agreement and asked, "Anything else? Go on."

"The commander didn't ask me why I made that guess, which means I was right." You sly fox!

Zhang Longzi: "The torture at Changqiu Temple is so severe that even a person made of iron couldn't endure it. The eunuchs know perfectly well which statements are true and which are fabricated. He Shi is jealous that you are more respected than her at such a young age, having only been at the palace school for a few days. So when she discovered Jiang Shunu's death during her night patrol, she devised a dirty trick to scare your students out of the office. That way, even if you aren't implicated as the murderer, it will still cause you trouble."

Wei Yao: "Thank you for informing me, Commander. Regarding the new mystery, I dare to speculate that it is related to... is that right?" She gestured the words "witchcraft" in her palm, not daring to say them aloud.

Zhang Longzi hissed in surprise, looking at her with a shocked expression.

Wei Yao quickly assured him, "I understand. Matters within the palace must never be publicized outside the palace."

"Good to know. To prevent you from making wild guesses and going astray, tell me, why did you think of it that way?"

“Because I’ve heard of things made from hair…” She quickly wrote the word “curse” in her palm. “Luckily, the commander discovered this mystery, otherwise, if it had dragged on for too long, it might have implicated the other students in my dorm.”

Zhang Longzi secretly rolled his eyes. If he had known that a joke would lead to such an unlucky case, he would never have told that the corpse was holding a hair in its hand.

After seeing Wei Yao off at Qianqiu Gate, Zhang Longzi hurried back to the front hall to find Yuan Song. He recounted the case, Liu Teng's unusual behavior, and Wei Yao's words, and exclaimed, "General, this young lady is really clever! Anyone who listens to her speak will forget her age! I think even if I don't help her, she has a way to avoid suspicion."

Yuan Song asked in confusion, "Why would Liu Teng cause trouble for Wei Yao? Could it be related to the female officials in the Imperial Kitchen last time? They couldn't bribe the eunuchs in the Fasting Palace, so they tried bribing Liu Teng instead? Things haven't been peaceful outside the palace lately, and something has happened inside. You should tell your subordinates to be more vigilant. Especially you! Don't go to the Imperial Kitchen too often!"

"Yes, General. How's the investigation into the assassination attempt on the Minister the other day going?"

"Hmph, just like the murder case at the palace academy today, completely baffling!"

The Court of Justice.

Inside the ice chamber where Yuan Hui and the assassin's bodies were stored, Cui Zuan was watching closely as the prison clerk, who performed the autopsy, extracted and tested the poison.

In the adjacent council chamber, Court Minister Gongsun Liang and Court Vice Minister Cui Zhen were listening to Doctor of Law Chang Jing recount the progress of the case.

Chang Jing: "The poison on the crossbow bolts tested positive for poisonous centipedes, poisonous ants, burnt hair powder, and unknown blood powder. The rest, although extremely difficult to test, are basically confirmed to be poison-making techniques of the Five Plagues Witchcraft."

Cui Zhen came from the Boling Cui clan, a family of legal scholars. Cui Zuan, an outstanding descendant of his clan, had not yet entered officialdom. He said, "The ingredients used for each of the Five Plagues are different, and usually even the poisoner cannot cure it. Judging from the process of the Grand Commandant's guards being shot by arrows and dying, the most terrifying thing after being poisoned is that they talk nonsense! To kill a prime minister in this way is truly vicious."

To put it nicely, it's "nonsense," but in reality, he's revealing whatever he's asked. Imagine if Grand Commandant Yuan Xi were wounded by a poisoned arrow and sent before the Emperor to explain the affairs of state and his final affairs—what would the consequences be? Any disrespect Yuan Xi might have shown towards the Emperor would be exposed! Moreover, under the terrifying onslaught of poison, Yuan Xi might experience hallucinations and exaggerate his arrogance!
Gongsun Liang: "Thanks to that guard Zhao in the Minister's mansion." His Majesty is still far from assuming full power, and no one wants major turmoil to occur in the court in the next two years.

Chang Jing said worriedly, "Because this kind of poison is difficult to control, I'm afraid there will be more assassinations. Should we truthfully remind the Grand Commandant? Also, I suggest encouraging the people to expose those who worship the plague god. Doing so can not only help to catch the villains who abuse witchcraft, but it might also alert the assassins and expose their weaknesses."

Gongsun Liang: "This method is feasible. How is the matter of recruiting prison officials who are good at judging cases progressing? Recently, things have been unsettled inside and outside the city. I have a bad feeling. This is only the beginning of the chaos. The prison is not enough with just Chang Jing and a few others."

Cui Zhen: "I heard Cui Zuan praise the prison officials of Pingcheng. Wei Yu has already gone to Pingcheng. After the handover of affairs there is completed, Yuan Zhi will come to the capital. Among his subordinates, there will definitely be a large number of prison officials. At that time, we can shamelessly ask Governor Yuan for some manpower."

(End of this chapter)