History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 256 Lonely Ghost
The last sentence means that ordinary scholars and common people cannot build temples, because their ancestors are called "ghosts" after they die.

The explanation of "庙" (miao) is actually unnecessary to include this sentence.

Wei Yao did it on purpose.

As the young nobleman tried to destroy her exam paper, amidst the shouts of those around her trying to stop him, Wei Yao confirmed the man's identity: the Prince of Jingzhao, the emperor's eldest brother. At home, her mother had spoken of the Prince of Jingzhao's actions, and Wei Yao and her father had analyzed his character based on those absurd behaviors.

Tyrannical! Arrogant! Holding a high position yet lacking virtue, his heart is like that of a jackal.

After returning to the capital from the Prince of Jingzhao, Wei Yao's family was not granted official positions by the emperor. Given that the family had a feud with the Prince of Guangling, it can be inferred that the Prince of Jingzhao must harbor resentment, fear, and anxiety.

Because there were too many princes in the Great Wei, once they were disliked or demoted by the emperor, they would become "commoners" in her examination papers.

After the Prince of Jingzhao caused such a scene at the Imperial Academy and threatened her, she made a wish that he would see her answer to the question, and that the words "death is a ghost" would surely plant seeds of resentment and sorrow in his heart.

A person with the heart of a wolf, who takes a concubine during the mourning period, will not worry about the ancestral sacrifices; he will only worry that after his death he will become a ghost without descendants to offer sacrifices!

The conversation is divided into two parts.

Yuan Yu was brought to the palace. Lang Yu stepped forward, followed by Yuan Mao. He was a minor official with no specific duties, but His Majesty had ordered him to follow Lang Yu and learn how to do things during this period.

Yu Deng announced: "Yuan Yu, you have disobeyed the Emperor's will and disrupted the rules of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. His Majesty hereby punishes you to reflect on your mistakes in front of the palace."

Yuan Yu had already prepared himself for punishment on his way here, and he honestly replied, "Yes."

At first, he was able to stand upright with his back straight, but as the number of eunuchs and officials coming and going increased, and as the sun rose higher, he found that there was no shade from the trees where he was standing. He began to sweat, feel anxious, and resentful!
He is the king.

He was the emperor's younger brother.

The late emperor personally bestowed upon him the title of "Jingzhao".

He should be second only to the emperor, above all others, the most esteemed king among all the princes!

But his elder brother in the palace disregarded his dignity and forgot their father's instructions, punishing him by making him stand in the courtyard in front of the palace to embarrass himself over the trivial matter.

So, is it the Prince of Guangling who looks down on him? No, first the Emperor looks down on him! In the future, not only the Prince of Guangling, but also the Han aristocrats like Lu Yuan will soon know the Emperor's will and will all look down on him!!
At this moment, Yuan Yu realized even more deeply that no title or noble rank was of any use; no matter how prestigious, it was all an illusion, and could all be stripped away by that so-called "imperial edict" spoken lightly by the person in the hall.

Yuan Yu stood there until the afternoon, until the Chamberlain Cui Guang brought over Wei Yao's examination paper. His brothers came over at the same time: Prince Qinghe Yuan Yi, Prince Guangping Yuan Huai, the unappointed sixth prince Yuan Yue, and the seventh prince Yuan Yu.

As Yuan Huai passed by, he made a sarcastic remark to him: "Oh, still standing there?"

Yuan Huai was His Majesty's only younger brother from the same mother, and Yuan Yu was somewhat wary of him. Moreover, when he caused trouble at the Imperial Clan Academy, only Yuan Heng was present to witness it, so he rushed towards Yuan Heng and angrily said: "Shut up, or I'll cut your lips!"

Yuan Yi was the most sensible, holding his younger brother's hand to protect him.

The princes and nobles entered the inner palace and bowed to the emperor in unison, saying, "Your humble servants pay their respects to Your Majesty."

This bow forces all arrogance and humility from anyone who is overbearing, and all swagger and arrogance to restrain themselves.

Yuan Yu was finally relieved of his punishment and summoned to the palace.

Emperor Yuan Ke reviewed nine examination papers, and the only sound in the hall was the slight movement of the papers unfolding and closing.

Grades—All A's!!

It should be noted that Sun Huiwei, the one who set the questions, was granted the title of "Imperial Imperial Physician" by the late emperor at the beginning of the Taihe era. Wei Yao's ability to answer all the questions is sufficient proof of his profound mastery of the *Classic of Poetry*. Another remarkable point is that Wei Yao's handwriting is neat and tidy; there are no mistakes or corrections on any of the nine scrolls, and each character is elegant and vigorous, demonstrating his diligent study. Yuan Ke then spoke: "Previously, the court recruited lecturers in exegesis and classical studies from the prefectures and counties. This *Classic of Poetry* examination paper was answered by one of these lecturers, who is ten years old. Pass it around among yourselves and compare it with your own work."

Yuan Mao was very diligent and immediately helped Sun Huiwei and Cui Shizhong deliver the examination papers to the princes.

Unfortunately, the emperor's good intentions were in vain. Only the Prince of Qinghe was seriously reading the questions, while the others were all feeling guilty. Rather than reading the questions, they were silently memorizing Wei Yao's answers, fearing that His Majesty would test them later.

Yuan Yu puffed out his chubby cheeks. There were many characters he didn't recognize. When Cui Shizhong noticed the Seventh Prince's expression, he showed him the simplest exam paper, "The Wind."

What a coincidence! The exam paper that Yuan Mao gave to the Prince of Jingzhao was the one with the inscription "Death is a Ghost"!
Wei Yao almost overestimated this king. Yuan Yu only started to ponder the contents of the exam paper he had memorized after returning to the mansion.

"Commoners and ordinary people have no temples, and when they die, they are called ghosts?"

"Death is called ghost?"

During the day, Yuan Yu was punished by being made to stand and suffered mistreatment. In the Zhai Palace, he was scolded for stuttering while reciting his texts, which made him drowsy and fall asleep. He had a nightmare of being a wandering ghost with no one to rely on.

In his dream, he saw all his brothers transformed into Buddha statues, sitting upright in the temple, receiving incense offerings. Whenever he tried to drift into a temple, he was chased away by the Buddha statues.

He was reduced to a beggar in the wilderness.

In his desperate situation, Yang Aofei, also a wandering ghost, drifted over, weeping and calling out to him: "I'm innocent, I'm innocent—"

Yuan Yu was startled awake.

To dream of becoming a wandering ghost is already terrifying enough, but what about encountering it in real life?

A clear moon shines over three provinces.

In the desolate wilderness bordering Dingzhou, Yingzhou, and Jizhou, a group of convicts being exiled to Pingzhou were ordered to stop their journey. The post station officials escorting them sat down on the spot and decided to rest there for the night.

Gong Ai, Wei Yao's disciple, was the youngest among the slaves. At this moment, she was covered in filth and her hair was disheveled and knotted, making it impossible to tell whether she was a boy or a girl.

The two slaves sitting opposite Gong Ai were both eight years old, named Xiao Zhuozhuo and Yang Miaoqian respectively. They were also involved in the "lice and poison" case at the Xi government office.

Xiao Zhuozhuo seemed to have been terrified before his exile, never uttering a word the entire way, even when bullied. Yang Miaoqian was so thirsty her throat was about to burst, and only dared to crawl towards the water pit after the strong male criminals had drunk their fill.

Because of the long journey, each slave wore wooden shackles only on their hands. Yang Miaoqian took a few sips of water and then held out her cup to give some to Xiao Zhuozhuo.

She turned around and was horrified to see a huge shadow hanging upside down from a tree branch in the distance.

Is it a monster?
Gong Ai followed Yang Miaoqian's gaze and saw it too. She immediately called out to the post station official, "Sir, look quickly, what's that over there?"

Two couriers went together to investigate the situation.

As a result, one of them suddenly collapsed to the ground, and the other, in his attempt to run, only managed to shout once before the large shadow leaped down from the tree, pounced on him, and fell silent instantly.

Then the enormous shadow ran into the depths of the forest.

The remaining post station officials left a small number of them to guard the convicted slaves, while the rest went to pursue the mysterious murderer.

Gong Ai hurried to reunite with the adult slaves, calling out to Yang Miaoqian, "Come here, come quickly, don't stay alone."

Yang Miaoqian couldn't pull Xiao Zhuozhuo away and was about to cry in desperation when suddenly someone among the adult slaves shouted, "Run! Pingzhou is no place for humans. If you don't run now, you'll never have another chance!"