History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 277 Wei Yao Asks Gao Cong

The merchant laughed loudly: "What's the point of sneaking into the city? The inner city is only for government offices and the neighborhoods where the royal family and nobles live. You can't sneak into those places. Besides, do vagrants have money for food and lodging? Anyone who dares to sleep on the streets will be arrested and made to dig canals! I heard that not long ago, dozens of street ruffians were arrested in Tongtuo Street. It's only been a few days, and some have already died from exhaustion on the canals."

The diner then asked, "Since there are so many government offices in the city, is it much easier to get an official position in Luoyang than in other places?"

The merchant from Hu laughed again: "There are many government offices, but no matter how many vacant positions there are, they are not as numerous as the number of children born to wealthy families."

Another diner warned in a deep voice: "The noisiest sheep gets slaughtered first! You're a butcher, don't you understand this principle?"

Hu Shang quickly pursed his lips into his teeth and got back to work, no longer bothering to utter another word.

Even the most inquisitive diners buried their faces in their bowls to drink the soup.

Gao Cong put down his chopsticks and left, walking and stopping intermittently. He only felt relieved when he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the people at the food stall hadn't moved.

After he walked away, the diner who had warned the Hu merchant stopped eating. This diner was none other than Gu Kai.

When Gu Kai was in Pingcheng, he was just a prison official. After arriving at the Sizhou government office in Luoyang, he was promoted to the position of "Military Advisor in Criminal Justice" by the Prefect Yuan Zhi.

As he walked in the direction Gao Cong had left, peddlers, vegetable farmers, diners, and women carrying sewing baskets followed him from various places. They were all ordinary in appearance and temperament, and were all minor officials and soldiers selected by Gu Kai from the Sizhou Military and Criminal Affairs Departments.

The net to capture the fugitive thief from the prefecture began to close.

Gao Cong walked along, his mind unsettled. He wanted to go check out the training ground to the west. The imperial court had established the Mulan Camp and appointed female Tiger Warriors, a military system never before seen in the Great Wei.

Whether the new military order was the emperor's will or the Grand Commandant's own initiative was very important to him. If it was the new emperor's will, it would show that the emperor not only issued decrees quickly but also executed them decisively.

His swift and decisive methods are just like those of the late emperor!
This young emperor was vastly different from the honest and timid Yuan Ke that Gao Cong had previously met and imagined. Did such a young emperor lack advisors?
As he turned onto a less crowded road, Gao Cong suddenly became alert, realizing he was being followed. He kept his pace at a steady pace, his eyes darting left and right.

A voice rang out from behind him: "The imperial court is apprehending fugitives. Everyone, raise your hands, open your palms, and crouch down. Those on horseback, dismount! Those in carriages, get off!"

The people on the street all looked significantly shorter.

Gao Cong was already preparing to take hostages, but after hearing the last two sentences, he hesitated and did not take out his knife. Instead, he squatted down like the others.

By the time he realized that the person leading the group was the same diner who had warned the foreign merchant at the food stall, it was too late. Ten archers drew their bows, tightened their encirclement around him, and aimed.

Unrelated civilians were all rebuked and driven away by the military officers.

Gao Cong admitted defeat, stretched out his arms, and said with a smile, "Arrest me? I was just worried about not being able to find the yamen..."

Before he could finish arguing with the Prince of Pengcheng, someone attacked him from behind and shoved a lump of wet mud into his mouth.

Gao Cong swiftly grabbed the other man's neck, but unfortunately, he couldn't strangle him, otherwise, in front of everyone, he would be convicted of assaulting an official.

Intelligent people often fail because of overconfidence.

Gao Cong never imagined that the officialdom in Luoyang was so corrupt that it was outrageous! The prestigious Sizhou Prison had become the private prison of the Prefect Yuan Zhi!
He was locked up without a reason or interrogation. In the dark dungeon, he initially tried to keep track of time, but later he realized what use was time. So he stopped thinking about anything and focused on sleeping to build up his strength.

Gao Zei was unaware that the prison was temporarily suspending his trial while waiting for a young woman named Wei Yao to take a break.

Finally, some movement came toward his cell.

This was Wei Yao's first experience of what a prison was like. Walking ahead of her were her mother, Zhao Zhi, and Gu Kai, the prison officer.

Yuan Mao stayed by her side, carrying a candle, and would occasionally turn his head to look at her, staring at her until she blushed before he restrained himself slightly.

The further you go into the dungeon, the more uneven the ground becomes.

She didn't refuse Yuan Mao's shameless outstretched hand. The rubbing of her fingertips against his fingertips, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, sometimes intertwined, made their longing for each other burn even more intensely.

Yuan Mao secretly regretted that this stretch of road was too short; they had arrived at their destination.

The criminal Gao Cong's feet were chained to the inner wall with thick iron chains, the length of which prevented him from reaching the outer iron fence. He changed to a sitting position against the wall and silently watched the person who came.

Without wasting time, Wei Yao asked directly, "Gao Cong, you encountered a group of criminals being exiled to the north in the western suburbs of Wuyi County in Jizhou, right?"

"Whatever you say goes," he replied calmly.

Wei Yao was not angry and said, "Alright. You came to Luoyang with a purpose, hoping to find an opportunity to return to officialdom. The person who can help you is the former Imperial Censor Li Biao?"

Gao Cong gave a mocking "humph," but the shock inside him was overwhelming!

Who was it that deduced he had a connection with Li Biao?
Wei Yao: "You're surprised that you and Li Biao have been secretly communicating, and both of you are very cautious. Who knows your secret? And how did they find out?"

Then she continued her story: "Actually, these things are not hard to guess. Li Biao came from a poor family and could not afford to go to school, so he first befriended Gao Yue, who came from the Gao family of Yuyang. While borrowing Gao Yue's books to accumulate knowledge, he also combined his own reputation with Gao Yue's."

This tactic is similar to elevating the reputation of his daughter Li Yin's poetry.

"After Li Biao became famous in the prefecture, he went to Pingcheng, the capital at the time, and befriended Gao Yue's elder brother, Gao Lü."

"Gao Lü's literary talent was on par with that of Gao Linggong, and they were praised as the 'Two Gaos' at the time."

"You, Gao Cong, were born in Bohai. You were favored by your clansman, Gao Linggong, who raised you as his grandson. For a period of time, Gao Linggong and Gao Lü jointly held power in the court. It was around that time that you met Li Biao."

"Two scheming scoundrels, both adept at currying favor, how could they possibly let go of an opportunity to befriend them?"

Gao Cong remained unhurried: "It seems that Li Biao and I are both unlucky; after being dismissed from office, we did not return to the court."

Wei Yao: "You don't need to test me. I'm telling you now, Li Biao is dead. People who are good at currying favor will climb whichever branch is higher. You risked being a fugitive to come to Luoyang; you wouldn't put your future entirely on Li Biao's shoulders. I guess you're only looking for Li Biao to try and climb up to... which eunuch from the former Eastern Palace? Ultimately, you want to climb up to His Majesty, don't you?"

Gao Cong smiled calmly: "As I just said, whatever you say goes."

Wei Yao took out the thick paper she had brought, rolled it into long tubes, and connected them together. Zhao Zhi gestured for Gu Kai and Yuan Mao to stand further away. Wei Yao said to the thief in the cell, "I have something to say to you, only to you. Do you dare to listen?"

Gao Cong turned to the side and put his ear to the other end of the long paper tube.

Wei Yao whispered, "You've been relying on His Majesty's support to devise a plan to eliminate several ministers, haven't you?"

Gao Cong held his breath for a moment, as if struck by lightning!

Yes, he foresaw that the new emperor was young, and the late emperor would definitely leave several princes to assist him until the new emperor finished his mourning period and assumed personal rule. He also foresaw that the Prince of Pengcheng's achievements were too great and would voluntarily relinquish his military power to avoid trouble and leave the capital. At the same time, he foresaw that military power would most likely be given to the Prince of Xianyang, Yuan Xi!
The new emperor was wary of even his loyal sixth uncle, the Prince of Pengcheng, let alone his arrogant and domineering second uncle, Yuanxi.

So he rushed back to Luoyang, wanting to be a tool for the new emperor, helping him get rid of several of his uncles, especially Yuan Xi!