History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 300 Zhao Zhi Beats Wang Yu

The wind was so strong tonight that it drowned out the words, and Wang Yu was certain that even if Zhao Zhi had excellent hearing, she couldn't hear him.

Wang Xianneng, the imperial physician standing on the other side of the emperor, could hear this, but he pretended not to and cheered for the martial arts skills in the arena: "Good!"

Then he instructed Wang Yu: "It's windy, bring His Majesty an outer garment."

Wang Yu knew the other party was making excuses to get rid of him, but there was nothing he could do. At this moment, he felt deeply ashamed of not having an official position.

After the other party entered the hall, Wang Xian leaned close to the emperor's ear and said, "There is something I have been thinking about and I still have to tell Your Majesty. A few days ago, Attendant Zhao asked me to take her pulse. She said that she has always been strong since she was a child, unlike ordinary people, but her strength disappeared for two years after giving birth to her daughter. She asked me if I could treat this strange illness and prevent it from happening again. My medical skills are limited, and I did not find anything wrong with Attendant Zhao."

The last sentence is a double entendre.

Wang Xian was a royal physician, and his freedom of movement inside and outside the palace was easier than that of guards and eunuchs. He had been loyal to his master since Yuan Ke was still a prince. Over the years, he had led a large number of spies and secret guards, not only helping Yuan Ke to contact court officials outside the palace, but also collecting and spreading various kinds of information.

I didn't notice anything wrong with Attendant Zhao... The secret guards have investigated Zhao Zhi, and there's no suspicion that she killed Zhao Xiu.

Yuan Ke nodded slightly.

Wang Xian then reported: "After Zhao Changshi entered the palace as a guard, he took folk remedies for a long time to prevent pregnancy, which not only harmed his health but also could not ensure that he would not get pregnant. So he asked me if there was any medicine that could permanently prevent pregnancy."

Yuan Ke remained silent; he knew of such a medicine. The Xianbei royal family had a system where "the mother dies when the son becomes noble." To survive, the concubines in the harem were deeply afraid of giving birth to the eldest son of the legitimate wife. Over time, various prescriptions for preventing pregnancy were passed down among the concubines, the most potent of which was the "infertility medicine," which could permanently prevent pregnancy after taking it once.

Wang Xian's message was clear: to show her loyalty to her master and to prevent the loss of her special powers from happening again, Zhao Zhi was willing to have only Wei Yao as her daughter from now on.

Yuan Ke: "Give her the medicine."

Next year, when he assumes personal rule, Grand Commandant Yuan Xi is very likely to covet military power and plot against him! Zhao Zhi is a female eagle capable of killing fierce warriors. Of all the guards, only this woman puts his mind at ease; she is the strongest iron shield against assassination attempts!
He also pondered the Grand Marshal Yuan Xie, whose literary and military strategies were extremely outstanding, and the Minister of Works Yuan Xiang, who greedily amassed wealth under various pretexts. How could he be sure that his second uncle did not harbor any rebellious intentions? Did he not dream that after the Grand Commandant fell from power, they would take over military power?
Yuan Ke then instructed Wang Xian: "Reduce the dosage of the medicine to the minimum, so as not to harm Zhao Zhi."

Wang Xiancai replied "yes," and Wang Zhongxing was injured again by Zhao Zhi. This time, both of his arms were dislocated, and Kou Meng helped him reset his shoulder bones.

Wang Yu hurriedly came out of the palace carrying his outer garment. The martial arts competition had already ended, so he had no choice but to follow behind and then return to the palace with the garment in his arms.

At this point, Wang Xian petitioned the emperor: "Just now, Wang Yu mentioned that Zhao Xiu's disappearance was likely caused by a cunning assassin hiding in the capital. I'm sure other court officials share this thought. When Zhao Xiu disappeared, Zhao Zhi was not in court and was serving as the head guard at the Prince of Rencheng's residence. After much deliberation, I request that this case be reinvestigated and resolved to prevent anyone from using Zhao Xiu's case to frame Zhao Zhi and implicate the Prince of Rencheng."

This case certainly cannot be handed over to the Court of Justice for investigation again. Yuan Ke leaned against the couch, pondering which court official should be asked to reinvestigate the case.

Zhao Zhi patted Wang Yu on the shoulder and gestured with her chin towards the outside of the hall.

Wang Yu temporarily suppressed the turmoil in his heart and followed her out, only to be unexpectedly kicked down the steps by Zhao Zhi, landing hard on the hard brick floor.

The fall left him with tears streaming down his face and his tailbone going numb; he nearly lost half his life.

The Imperial Guards, including Kou Meng, who were on duty, were completely dumbfounded.

Chen Saojing hadn't even washed off the stench of excrement when Wang Yu got kicked by Zhao Changshi again!
When the people inside the hall heard the commotion and came out to see what was happening, Zhao Zhi lifted Wang Yu up like a chick, her right fist hovering in front of his face, threatening, "You dare to harm me, you worthless teapot? Watch me smash your teapot backside to pieces!"

The emperor angrily pointed his finger and shouted, "Get them away! Zhao Zhi! I didn't beat you enough last month. You still dare to act wildly in front of the palace. Wang Zhongxing, take the cane and beat her right here. Give this uncouth woman fifty strokes!" Wang Zhongxing, whose arms were swollen like jars, was on the verge of tears. The sound of fifty strokes was as light as rain.

After the news of Wang Yu being severely injured by Zhao Changshi spread out of the palace, officials, noblewomen, monks and nuns came to visit him every day, which shows how much good karma he had accumulated!
On the contrary, memorials praising Zhao Zhi for her arrogance and abuse of power, which were piled up like snowflakes on the emperor's desk.

Yuan Ke pointed to the stacks of memorials and scolded, "Look at this!"

Zhao Zhi nervously unfolded the scroll. Fortunately, she recognized a few characters. She turned the upside-down memorial right-side up and recognized the characters "Yuan Xiang". She then realized that His Majesty was truly worried because the Minister of Works had also impeached her.

"Your Majesty, please save me."

Yuan Ke kept a straight face, thinking to himself: If I hadn't saved you, you would have died eight hundred times over!

If he had to personally write down and reject all these memorials, he wouldn't be able to do anything all day! Yuan Ke leaned against the armrest in annoyance, once again feeling that he lacked a trusted confidant who was proficient in government affairs. Whether it was Wang Xian, Ru Hao, or his confidants such as Zhao Zhi and Wang Zhongxing, none of them were talented in this area. As he pondered, he actually remembered someone.

"Find the document from Yuan Yi, the governor of Qingzhou, recommending his subordinates."

Zhao Zhi lowered her head; this task was none of her concern.

Ru Hao replied "Yes," and after receiving the order, he quickly returned with the documents, showing that he had made preparations in advance by placing the documents recommending talented people from various prefectures separately.

Yuan Ke read the name on the paper aloud: "Zhen Chen".

Zhen Chen served as a scholar in the Imperial Secretariat in his early years. He was appreciated by the late emperor and was appointed as a Gentleman Attendant. Later, he served as the Chief Secretary in the household of Prince Yuan Yi of Yangping. Therefore, he was both literate and had experience as a court official and a local official, which met his expectations.

Imperial Physician Wang Xian, who was supposed to be on leave today, suddenly came to the Zhai Palace and reported: "This morning, Consort Gao and the deposed Empress Feng Cixing both went to Wang Yu's residence."

Yuan Ke first instructed Ru Hao: "Have the Secretariat draft an imperial edict summoning Zhen Chen to the capital."

He then ordered Wang Xian: "Among these officials who impeached Zhao Changshi, find those who have committed illegal acts and report the information to the Censorate."

The best way to deal with impeachment is to use the same methods against them.

Wang Xian called Zhao Zhi out of the palace and gave her advice: "You should also go and visit Wang Yu at his residence, otherwise someone will definitely report you again for not being repentant!"

Zhao Zhi: "I'm not going! What if he dies when I get there?"

"You... never mind, that makes sense."

The guard Xu Yigong came over and called to Zhao Zhi: "His Majesty has something to tell you."

Yuan Ke had just remembered and told Zhao Zhi, "The third day of next month is Consort Gao's birthday. I will send a female official to deliver birthday gifts to Consort Gao, with Wei Yao accompanying her. You should tell her to go to Yaoguang Temple more often and learn etiquette from the monk Zheng Daoan."

He then ordered Xu Yigong: "Have Grand Chamberlain Bai reorganize the position of Wei Yao, the former 'Scribe' position, and change it to 'Female Scribe' position, in charge of the delivery of documents between the inner palace and the outer court."

Xu Yigong had just received the order when Yuan Ke added, "Add a sable hairpin to Wei Yao's headdress."