History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 239 Yang Aofei, Hu Wuwu

Yuan Yu said coldly, "To others, it's an excellent official position, but it's not what I'm looking for."

"This morning in the Zhai Palace, His Majesty poured out his longing for his brother after our separation, comforting me with every word, telling me to stay in the capital in peace and not to rush into anything, and instructing me to keep in touch with the Grand Commandant and the Right Minister. He really wants to pretend to trust me, but at the same time, he's wary of me gaining power. Look at what happened today, the Prince of Guangling's guards killed my guards, just like that, they were killed for nothing!"

Yuan Yu had always had a violent temper. During the day, he tried to tell himself to be patient, but he couldn't hold back any longer. He got up, paced back and forth in the room, grabbed a nearby ornament, smashed it against the wall, and cursed, "I'm not angry about the death of a few guards! It's that if this gets out, all those old dogs will dare to challenge my authority! I have a title but no official position, and I can't live in Luoyang for a single day without peace of mind!"

"No, it's those old dogs Yuan Xi and Yuan Yu who won't let me rest easy! They've only just returned to Luoyang and they're already bullying me!"

He went on a rampage, throwing and smashing everything within reach to vent his uncontrollable rage before lying back down, staring at the dark ceiling and muttering, "Yuan Xi is one thing; he was appointed prime minister by my father before his death, so I had to swallow my anger. But Yuan Yu... a dissolute scoundrel who habitually consorts with married women, why is he appointed General of Chariots and Cavalry?"

"So I don't need to feel guilty about taking action against him tonight."

Upon hearing this, Yang Aofei dared not speak, but gently leaned closer to listen.

Tonight's operation to kill the Prince's uncle is the first thing Yuan Yu has personally planned. If it succeeds, he might be able to seize military power and rival the Grand Commandant in a short period of time! He's only twelve, how could he not be nervous and excited to do something so important!
Of course, there was also panic.

"Does Consort Ao still remember when we found three enormous black centipedes in the backyard of the Xuzhou mansion?"

"I remember, I felt it must be poisonous, and I'm still terrified when I think about it now."

Yuan Yu said happily, "I tested it on the lowly people, and it is indeed poisonous! The most wonderful thing is that within two zhang, no matter how far they crawl, they will always return to the piece of rotten wood where they live. It is as if the heavens have helped me to discover such a spiritual poisonous insect just as I was leaving Xuzhou! So I had someone bring them to Luoyang in advance, and wedged that piece of rotten wood under a stool in the Peach Fragrance Pavilion of the Tuoyinli."

"Ha, now you should be able to catch Yuan Yu, right?" His heart was so tense that his laughter trembled. "It doesn't matter if you can't catch him, I still have a backup plan. The husband of the woman he was having an affair with is the son of the former Grand Tutor Feng! As long as Feng Junxing captures them alive and reports it to His Majesty, Yuan Yu will have to leave Luoyang to avoid trouble."

"With his departure, the position of General of Chariots and Cavalry will be vacant. Who is more capable of taking on this role than me?"

Consort Yang pressed closer to him and said, "Then please allow me to be so bold as to call upon the General of Chariots and Cavalry in advance. But after the General takes office, could you please help me find my benefactor, Sengzhi?"

Yuan Yu wanted to tell his bedmate that he had found out about Seng Zhi in the evening. This nun had committed a crime and was executed last October. The dozen or so nuns at her "Zhenbao" nunnery who had committed no crimes had all disappeared without a trace. It would take a lot of effort to find them one by one.

"I can't forget her." He felt sorry for his beautiful concubine and gently patted her to sleep.

After a long day of running around, Yuan Yu drifted off to sleep in a few breaths.

In his dream, he was like a wandering ghost. He saw that Prince Yuan Yu of Guangling was indeed caught and beaten to death by Feng Junxing. He also saw a man who looked similar to himself but was older being called "Emperor" by a group of court officials. Yuan Yu suspected that the "Emperor" on the throne was himself. When the fog in the dream dissipated and Empress Yang Aofei was revealed next to the emperor's throne, Yuan Yu was finally able to confirm it!

The emperor is no longer Yuan Ke!
He, Yuan Yu, became the emperor!

All those generals, cavalry commanders, grand marshals, and ministers of work—kill them all! Kill them all! Kill them all!!

"Heh, heh, only I am worthy to be the ruler of Wei. This world belongs to me, it all belongs to me, heh—"

Yuan Yu suddenly woke up with a start, her heart pounding wildly!
Oh no, he seems to be talking in his sleep, he seems to be talking treasonous and rebellious nonsense in his sleep.

He gently shifted his position, moving closer to Yang Aofei beside him, to listen to her heartbeat. He was conflicted and struggled, but he made a firm decision in his heart: if her heartbeat was abnormal, it meant she wasn't asleep and had heard him talking in his sleep.

Even if he liked this beautiful concubine very much, he would still kill her! Fortunately, the concubine's breathing was shallow and even, and her heartbeat was so light that it was almost inaudible.

After Yuan Yu fell asleep again, and was fast asleep, Yang Aofei slowly opened her eyes, relieved that she had escaped a disaster.

Her eyesight quickly adapted to the darkness, just as she herself was able to adapt to any hardship and the ups and downs of life from a young age. In order to survive, she could speak human language to human beings and ghost language to ghosts. The only true sincerity in her short life was given to her benefactors, Sengzhi and Miaoguang.

But Miaoguang died.

In this world, the only person she could repay the kindness of was Sengzhi.

Yang Aofei recalled that last September, she and many other female slaves were taken to the slave market south of the Luo River in this city to be sold. They were not treated as human beings by the merchants and were tied together with cattle and sheep. They both hoped to be bought and were afraid that their situation would be even worse after they were bought.

At this moment, two nuns came over. The older nun's Dharma name was Sengzhi, and the younger one was Sengzhi's disciple, with the Dharma name Miaoguang.

Among the many female slaves, Sengzhi walked only towards her and told her in a compassionate voice, "Child, your suffering is over."

At the time, she certainly didn't believe it. Sure enough, Sengzhi wanted to train her to become a substitute for the other party's niece, "Huwuwu." A substitute it was, she studied poetry and Buddhist scriptures as required by the other party. After only a few days of studying, Zhenbao Nunnery was investigated by the government.

She didn't expect that when the monk Zhi was taken away, he said to the soldiers, "She is a servant I just bought. She is still a child and doesn't know anything. Please don't make things difficult for her."

However, she was still arrested and imprisoned in Luoyang County along with other nuns such as Miaoguang, Linli, and Linyin.

Because of her young age, she was the only one who escaped torture. What made her feel once again that Sengzhi had a compassionate heart was that all the disciples remembered his instructions and told the jailer that she was a lowly female slave.

Soon, the county jail released her, along with Miaoguang.

Sengzhi first repeated the words to her: "Child, your suffering is over."

Then, Sengzhi instructed Miaoguang: "If the government convicts me, I am a sinner. From now on, we are no longer master and disciple. You should leave Luoyang. If you can take care of Consort Yang, take her with you."

Recalling this, Yang Aofei closed her eyes and asked Sengzhi in the darkness, "Master, are you still alive?"

“If you were alive, Yuan Yu would know about you with just a few inquiries, given your reputation and status. But he was just giving me the runaround. I know that means you are no longer in this world.”

"Don't worry, Master. Miaoguang took me to Xuzhou. We begged for food all the way. Miaoguang always managed to find a way to get food and gave me all the good food, eating what was left over. It was a really tough journey, but because of Miaoguang's care, I didn't feel it was tough."

"After arriving in Xuzhou, Miaoguang fell ill and suffered until last month when she finally succumbed to her illness. Only on her deathbed did she tell me about the massacre that had befallen the monk's family."

"Rest assured, Master, I will not let Yuan Zhi go, nor will I let Wei Yao, the female student who had a dispute with Hu Wuwu, go."

"Rest assured, Master, Miaoguang has taught me all her skills in raising centipede gu. Even the three small centipedes she raised in Xuzhou, I have made the most of them and have not wasted Miaoguang's efforts."

“Master Sengzhi, your suffering is over. Reincarnate in peace. From now on, I am both Yang Aofei and Hu Wuwu.”

(End of this chapter)