History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Zhao Zhi remained calm and, as if reporting on matters as usual, first answered the second half of the question: "The Prince of Guangling once taught me an ancient saying: 'To serve one's sovereign without wavering is the mark of a loyal minister! A minister's loyalty is only to the ruler of the country, and I will always be Your Majesty's guard!'"

She then went on to describe in detail the capture of Wang Su: "Yesterday, when I was on leave, the Right Minister of Works came to me and told me that a surrendered soldier from an island had secretly reported to Minister Wang that he was colluding with the enemy."

"The Right Minister also said that Minister Wang should know that someone has betrayed him. If we do not make a decisive decision to arrest Minister Wang and bring him to the Court of Justice, either Minister Wang will escape from the capital in the next two days, or he will be harmed by the island spies."

"The Right Minister led me to the Ministry of Personnel to arrest people, so that Minister Wang would think that this action was authorized by His Majesty, thus preventing a fight. When Minister Wang saw me, he indeed did not say a word and followed the Right Minister to the Court of Justice."

“I am not well-educated and I am afraid that Minister Wang may have rebellious intentions, and I am also afraid that I have arrested the wrong person and that it will make Minister Wang lose heart and become disillusioned with the court. Therefore, after leaving the Court of Justice, I immediately went to the offices of the Grand Commandant and the Minister of Works to tell Prince Xi and Prince Xiang about this matter.”

"I know that the Grand Commandant and the Minister of Works often praise Minister Wang, and they will not ignore this matter. If the three princes investigate together, they will surely restore justice to Minister Wang."

"I am still uneasy, and I am circling outside the Court of Justice..."

The emperor corrected her wording: "To linger is not to hover!"

"Yes, I was loitering outside the Court of Justice when I saw the Grand Commandant go in and then take Minister Wang away."

The emperor's mood did not improve after hearing this. Yuan Ke did not suspect that Wang Su dared to rebel, nor did he believe that the Court of Justice would dare to punish Wang Su without prior approval. What Yuan Ke was worried about now was the Grand Commandant's easy control over the Court of Justice.

He continued to ask, "Where did the mansions in the inner city come from?" The Yongkang and Yonghe neighborhoods in the inner city were extremely expensive, so much so that ordinary princes couldn't squeeze in and ordinary high-ranking officials couldn't afford them.

Zhao Zhi explained, "The house was a gift from Prince Qinghe to me, as a reward for my help in saving the Seventh Prince last month."

The Seventh Prince Yuan Ru has been living in the Qinghe Prince's Mansion. Last month, the child suddenly fell ill, and the physicians were helpless. Unfortunately, when the report was sent to the palace, the imperial physician Wang Xian was on leave and not in the palace. Wang Xian's home is quite far from the Qinghe Prince's Mansion. Even if we risked carrying the Seventh Prince there, what if Wang Xian was not at home?

At that time, Zhao Zhi thought of Cui Yu, the physician of the Court of Justice, who was skilled in treating rare diseases, so she quickly went to the Court of Justice, carried Cui Yu on her back, and ran all the way to the Prince of Qinghe's mansion.

Fortunately, Cui Yu's tentative acupuncture treatment actually saved the Seventh Prince's life.

The emperor gave a soft "hmm," and the eunuch Wang Yu immediately understood that the emperor was no longer angry. It seemed that Zhao Changshi had once again escaped impeachment and would not be punished.

Zhao Zhi: "The other house was given to me by the Prince of Guangling. For the past six months, I have been escorting the Prince of Yu to meet with the wife of Assistant Minister Feng every month."

The emperor's breathing became heavier with anger.

"Both residences are in Yan Nian Lane, right next to each other. I remember that the Prince of Guangling said that combining the two residences into one would barely qualify as a mansion. There were quite a few officials with the Prince at the time. Could it be that those people were jealous of me and spread rumors to frame me?"

Of all the neighborhoods in the inner city, only Yan Nian Li had the lowest land price and was where most eunuchs lived.

The emperor frowned slightly, displeased with the two princes' stinginess. Zhao Zhi was illiterate and came from a poor background, but she had already become a fourth-rank military officer. How could she be granted a residence in Yan Nian Li?
The emperor kept only Wang Su's copy of the memorial and gave the other three to Zhao Zhi: "Study the words on them and remember the lesson."

"Yes, Your Majesty. There is a matter in my household that I am hesitant to make a decision about. May I speak of it?"

"explain."

"Yes. Yuan Zhi, the Prefect of Sizhou, proposed marriage to my daughter Wei Yao for his son Yuan Mao. My husband and I are from humble families and dare not presume to marry into such a family, yet we are reluctant to refuse such a good marriage."

The eunuchs and guards in the hall were instantly astonished!
Yuan Mao, the official minister in Zhongsan, asked to marry "Book History" Wei Yao?
Although the female scribes in the inner palace received salaries comparable to those of third-rank officials in the outer court, their actual status and power were far inferior to those of fifth-rank officials.

Not to mention that the Yuan family was the most prestigious royal family in the Great Wei Dynasty!
Every breath in the silent palace seemed exceptionally long.

The emperor is weighing his options. If this marriage were proposed two years later, he would not agree; it would be too damaging to the dignity of the royal family!
However, the next two years will be a critical time for him to hand over nominal military power and actual military affairs to Grand Commandant Yuan Xi and General of the Cavalry Yuan Xie. At that time, there will be many crises, and he must have a fierce and absolutely loyal general by his side!
Yuan Ke complained again: the three-year mourning period was too long. "I hereby bestow marriage upon Yuan Mao and Wei Yao."

Zhao Zhi's eyes were filled with tears as she roared, her voice echoing throughout the palace: "Thank you, Your Majesty! I am deeply grateful! I will repay Your Majesty with my life!"

The following morning, the emperor granted her leave to return home and agree to the marriage proposal.

As Zhao Zhi walked out of the palace, Chen Saojing, the guard in charge of combing the emperor's hair, chased after her and said ingratiatingly, "I know quite a few characters. Shall I teach the attendant the characters used in the memorials?"

"No need," Zhao Zhi refused coldly, and walked through the palace to the Secretariat.

Wei Yao still holds concurrent positions in the outer court and the inner court. She was promoted to the position of "Scribe" in the inner court at the end of last year, and she now has official rank in the outer court. In February, she left the outer province of the Central Secretariat and entered the Secretariat, where she was appointed as a "Proofreader" of the ninth rank.

The duty of the Imperial Librarian was to organize and examine the imperial library's collection of books and records.

The official in charge of Wei Yao was the Secretary Clerk. The specific task assigned to Wei Yao was related to the construction of the Four Gates Elementary School, which involved searching through various ancient texts and classics for records of "Elementary School" and copying them by category.

When the clerk saw Zhao Zhi arrive, he didn't even need Zhao Changshi to say anything. He quickly told Wei Yao to stop working and go home with her mother.

Wei Yao's family owned houses in both the inner city and the eastern part of the outer city, but for the sake of Wei Yin's proximity to the school, they still lived in Quanxue Lane.

To the east of Quanxue Lane is Yanxian Lane, where Wang Su, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, resided. Today, the area is bustling with traffic, and even the two east-west avenues on the north and south sides of Quanxue Lane are completely full of parked cars, which makes the food vendors in the vicinity extremely happy.

After the mother and daughter bought the braised food, Zhao Zhi went to Wenya Jingshe to find Wei Yin, while Wei Yao went home first.

I had just arrived at my doorstep when the neighbor's dog barked.

Immediately afterwards, Xi Jiao came out of the courtyard gate and saw that it was Wei Yao. She came over and asked, "Yuan Mao proposed to you?"

"Yes, my mother said that His Majesty is very kind and wants to grant me and Amao a marriage."

"By imperial decree, the marriage is arranged."

"Thank you for your kind words, fellow disciple Xi."

"Congratulations! My marriage is also arranged."

Wei Yao smiled and inquired, "Indeed, it's a happy occasion. May I ask which lady it is?"

Xi Jiao gazed longingly at the girl before him. This was the last time he would look at her so freely. Only when Wei Yao felt uncomfortable under his gaze did he reply, "Daughter of Yang Guanzhang, the Minister of the Imperial Treasury."

Yang Bo, the Minister of the Imperial Treasury! A noblewoman from the Yang family of Hongnong, she is a perfect match for the Xi family, whose surname is also noble.

Just as Wei Yao was about to praise their marriage, Xi Jiao interrupted, saying, "Wei Yao, I've sold the house to Erzhu Rong, from now on..."

Having been through similar experiences, she knew the other party's restrained feelings. Seeing his unstable emotions and slightly choked voice, she was afraid he would say something he shouldn't. So, for the first time, she interrupted him impolitely, still smiling as she said, "In the future, Fellow Disciple Xi will surely have a bright future. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and Miss Yang in advance and wish you a happy marriage."

She entered the courtyard and casually closed the gate behind her. (End of Chapter)