History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 270 Reap the consequences
Yuan Yu smiled as he watched the departing carriage. His chief clerk, Deng Gongbo, reported, "General, the warriors we sent out have returned with news that they saw Yuan Cha carrying two cartloads of gifts into the Prince of Jingzhao's residence. They haven't sent back any new information yet, so it's very likely that the Prince of Jingzhao has kept Yuan Cha in the residence to serve."

"So fast? Stupidity upon stupidity, they've caught me completely off guard." After making sarcastic remarks, Yuan Yu changed his mind about dealing with the Prince of Jingzhao and said, "No need to keep an eye on them anymore. You come with me to the Court of Justice."

"Yes." Chief Secretary Deng understood the general's intention after a moment's thought. The assassination attempt on Tongtuo Street was terrifying not only because the assassin was skilled with crossbows, but also because of the strange poison on the arrows. If the poison was not applied to a vital organ, one would not die immediately, but would lose one's mind and talk nonsense. Who doesn't have some dark thoughts in their heart? They would answer whatever was asked, which was terrifying!

Zuinilin confessed that she had prepared a very small amount of the strange poison, and that she had personally witnessed the assassins applying it all to the crossbow bolts. It's possible that Yuanji and his son, driven by greed, scraped off some of the poison powder to test their own preparations; this is not impossible. Therefore, although the case was closed, the Court of Justice remained suspicious of the strange poison.

Yuan Ji and his son Yuan Cha were punished and reduced to commoners, powerless and without influence. It was not a big deal that they had a little bit of rare poison, but it was a big deal that they sought refuge with the Prince of Jingzhao. If another case of rare poison occurred in the capital one day, Yuan Cha and other criminals would not be spared, but the Prince of Jingzhao was of noble status. What if he was implicated?
After getting into the car, Yuan Yu sighed, "I am his uncle. How can I just stand by and watch him be blamed for everything? I have to clean up every nook and cranny of his house."

Chief Secretary Deng immediately praised, "General, you are benevolent and righteous!"

Inside the carriage of the Prince of Rencheng.

The important matter that Li Biao was presenting was related to Wang Su, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

"When Minister Wang suffered a family tragedy, his father and brothers were almost all executed by Emperor Wu of Xiao Qi. His wife, Lady Xie, and their children were all alive and were in Jiankang City. Lady Xie came from a prestigious family and was the daughter of Xie Zhuang, a prominent official of the former Liu Song dynasty. She must have known that Minister Wang was settled in Luoyang and was said to be trying to find her husband."

The Prince of Rencheng was displeased: "You should tell Minister Wang about his family affairs."

Li Biao: "I knew about Minister Wang's predicament, which is why I came to ask the Minister for help without his knowledge. If Minister Wang were to contact Jiankang, people would suspect that he was colluding with the Southern rebels and wanted to return to his homeland. Among the princes in the court who are capable of helping Minister Wang, who will not be suspected by His Majesty of colluding with the Southern rebels, and who are willing to meet with me, a commoner, and listen to my story, the only one is the Minister."

Prince Rencheng knocked on the carriage door, the carriage stopped, and he leaned back and closed his eyes as if exhausted.

Li Biao knew this was a way of getting him off the bus, but he performed all the proper courtesies and, after getting off, still only bowed to Li Xuanmao.

The carriage started up again, and the Prince of Rencheng's eyes were full of cold sneer.

It was no secret among the powerful figures in Luoyang that Princess Chenliu harbored feelings for Wang Su, and that Wang Su's wife was in the Xiao Qi dynasty. It was also no secret that Li Biao, who had been promoted by Li Chong when he served as an official, later betrayed him and caused Li Chong's death. And it was certainly no secret that Yuan Cheng had recently fallen out with Wang Su!

Therefore, Li Biao's statements and requests should be interpreted in reverse.

Li Biao did not intend to help Wang Su, but rather to demonstrate his ability to use the matter of Wang Su's wife's visit to Luoyang to create animosity between Wang Su and Princess Chenliu.

The Prince of Rencheng sighed with disgust: "Some people are getting worse as they get older. They even exploit innocent women and children in order to get official positions for their sons. Who knows how many troubles such insidious people will cause if they live another day?"

Zhao Zhi shouted, "Your subordinate obeys! I will eliminate this threat immediately!"

Li Xuanmao was startled. When he saw that Wang hadn't stopped him, he realized that Wang had deliberately said it to Zhao Huwei. After realizing this, he felt uneasy. As the chief secretary, how could he be qualified to assist his superior if he couldn't even know his superior's thoughts in time?

When the carriage arrived at Yongkangli, Li Xuanmao was still unsettled. The Prince of Rencheng, understanding his predicament, smiled and comforted him: "His Majesty and the Grand Commandant have already granted my request to recommend you for the position of Grand Master of the Palace. Now go and take over from Master Wang."

Li Xuanmao was moved to tears. After being dismissed from office for more than ten years, he finally returned to the court. According to the newly formulated regulations, the Grand Master of the Palace was a third-rank official.

The person who succeeded Rencheng Prince's Palace Chief Secretary was Zhang Puhui.

The conversation is divided into two parts.

People were coming and going at the gate of Dongyang City. Li Biao looked back at the crowd again and did not notice anyone following him. However, his panic was getting stronger and stronger. So after leaving the city gate, he still walked towards the place with more people.

Zhao Zhi quickened her pace.

She didn't want to kill Li Biao in the inner city, which is why she followed him here. Now is the time!

A flick of the finger strikes the opponent's left shoulder, aiming directly at their heart.

Passing Li Biao.

Walk into the crowd.

In the blink of an eye, Li Biao's back became even more hunched, he couldn't lift his arms to point at people, and he couldn't utter the words to grab the woman in front of him. It felt as if half of his life had been suddenly taken away.

Was it Yuan Cheng who ordered this woman to do it? Or did this woman act on her own initiative to harm him? Li Biao didn't have time to think about it. He staggered to a wall, leaned against it, and sat down. Once he sat down, he never got up again.

Meanwhile, on the side of Prince Yuan Yu of Guangling, he brought his military officers from his chariot and cavalry office, while Gongsun Tingwei brought his military officers from the Tingwei Office, and they all joined the Prince of Jingzhao's residence.

Such a grand and imposing sight terrified the people of the Prince of Jingzhao's mansion; not only did they not try to stop them from entering, but no one even dared to voice their doubts.

It was not yet noon, and Yuan Yu and Yuan Cha were both drunk. The officer kicked open the door and first pinned Yuan Cha down.

Yuan Yu was impulsive by nature, and fueled by alcohol, he started cursing. Yuan Yu ordered the military officers not to harm the other party and to begin the search from the main house.

As it turns out, Yuan Yu once again overestimated his foolish nephew.

The box of poison powder that Yuan Cha brought was placed in the most conspicuous place in the room, and it was even labeled with the word "poison".

“Good nephew, let’s go. Come with me and Gongsun Tingwei to the palace to see the emperor.”

Yuan Yu glared fiercely, and with a sudden burst of strength, broke free from the military officer who was trying to snatch the wooden box.

Yuan Yu accidentally threw poison powder onto Yuan Yu's face.

Everyone in the room was stunned, and even Yuan Cha stopped wailing.

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Yuan Yu grinned, and a string of words that could be sentenced to death burst from his mouth: "Yuan Yu, you old dog, which emperor are you going to see?"

"I am the rightful ruler of Wei!"

Gongsun Liang quickly ordered, "Gag Prince Yu!"

"I am the true emperor! Waaah... Who dares to rebel? Waaah, waaah—"

When a person's luck runs out, even drinking cold water can cause problems. The Prince of Jingzhao's residence was very close to the palace. After Yuan Yu was carried into the Zhai Palace, he still had the energy to spout nonsense. The emperor only heard one sentence before ordering his men to continue gagging him.

Imperial Physician Wang Xian carefully examined the pulse and reported, "As long as the poison in the nose is expelled quickly, there will be no danger to your life."

The Emperor said, "Drag him outside and beat him until the poison is neutralized."

The wooden cane struck Yuan Yu repeatedly on his fleshy parts. His mouth was gagged, so he couldn't scream. He was in so much pain that blood seeped from his face, and tears and snot streamed down his face.

The poison stuck in his nostrils quickly flowed out.

Inside the palace, Yuan Yu and Gongsun Liang stood silently, the emperor remaining silent, not daring to utter a sound.

After Ru Hao came in to report that the Prince of Jingzhao had fainted, the Emperor finally spoke: "Yuan Ji and Yuan Cha shall be executed."

Gongsun Liang immediately replied, "Yes."

"Yuan Yu's madness was all due to the strange poison that had clouded his mind. We took him to Hualin Garden for treatment. After he recovered, we ordered the Hualin Generals to keep a close watch on him and not allow him to leave the villa without an imperial decree."

Ru Hao and the imperial physician Wang Xian both said "Yes".

These people all obeyed and left, while Yuan Yu lowered his head even further.