History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 302 A Variety of Activities at a Birthday Banquet (Part Two)
Li Yin and the others dared not look around, munching on their chilled rice cakes and listening to the conversations around them.

A young woman invited her companion: "Let's go to Yuelu Lane another day. The entertainers there have choreographed the Fire Phoenix Dance. I heard that the peacock feathers on the dancers' embroidered skirts are all real."

Her companion said, "Ever since I saw the Ballad of Mulan in the Peach Blossom Pavilion in the music studio, I have lost all interest in other songs and dances."

Another person said, "Do you know Zhao Zhi? She was the only female guard who served close to the emperor. There are rumors that the Mulan in the poem about Mulan was based on Zhao Zhi's military experience."

“I had already heard about it, and I continued to spread the word so that more people would know.”

"why?"

"Regardless of who Mulan is, I hope there really is such a woman, as brave as described in the poem, who can fight on the battlefield and manage the household well. Humph, anyway, I hate those stinky men who say that the poem about Mulan is full of empty talk."

“But Zhao Changshi’s reputation… If we must have a real Mulan, why don’t you all just say I’m Mulan from now on? I don’t have the ability to advance yet, but I do have… half the ability to retreat. I’ll be ‘idle’!”

Her partner immediately said, "You're half as good at getting in, but you're just 'foolish'."

"Ha ha ha ha."

After everyone was amused, the people who were meeting for the first time were no longer reserved and began to exchange names and backgrounds.

Only Yuan Nulang muttered to herself in doubt: "Is Zhao Changshi Mulan? No way, I believe she can kill enemies, I even believe she can kill ten people with one punch, but is she virtuous?" She grinned and made a face.

At this moment, a courtesan beat a drum and sang a section from the popular poem "Mulan" that swept the capital. Her heroic and uplifting voice soared into the sky, chasing away the wind and wild geese!

As soon as the song ended, from the distant pavilion on the opposite bank, more than a dozen musicians played the sheng and xiao, performing "Song of Green Waters." The melody was as melodious as a hundred birds singing, attracting more than ten cranes to fly out from the palace wall of Hualin Garden and land on the grassy beach in the center of Beihai Wangfu Lake to dance gracefully.

The distinguished guests exclaimed in admiration, "A celestial bird paying homage to a birthday celebration—what an auspicious sign!"

A large bamboo raft carrying two beautiful courtesans floated on the lake, playing the harp together. A long, colorful ribbon was tied to the stern of the raft, spreading out in a large fan shape on the lake surface with the current. Fish bait must have been sewn into the ribbon, and the colorful ribbon soon amused the red koi carp to leap.

"He really knows how to enjoy himself." The Prince of Guangling, Yuan Yu, who had just arrived, stopped in the orchard by the lake. He could only see people and scenery with one eye now, and he deeply felt the hardship of Yuan Zhi, the Prefect of Sizhou.

He had almost blinded his right eye before and stayed in the mansion for several days. When the pain finally subsided, he put on an eye patch to cover his injury and decided to come to the Prince of Beihai's mansion on a whim.

As he left, he grabbed a decorative item as a gift. Upon entering the Beihai Prince's Mansion, Yuan Yu lied and claimed to be Yuan Zhi. The gatekeeper happily replied, "Yes," and then recorded in the gift register: "Gift from the Prince of Guangling: a Ruyi scepter made of inferior jade."

Yuan Yu cursed: Damn it, I can't remember who gave him the jade ruyi. How dare they give him inferior jade, and the doorman even recognized it!

The orchard contained pear, crabapple, and jujube trees, varying in height and easily obstructing the view. Yuan Yu squatted down in a grassy area, having decided to relieve himself and then leave. Just as he squatted down, he heard his seventh brother, Yuan Xiang, talking to a woman.

Why is Seventh Brother not by his mother's side to celebrate her birthday? What is he doing in this secluded orchard? Yuan Yu quietly moved to a spot with denser grass and peered in the direction from which the commotion was coming.

OK!

They really know how to pick a day, choosing today for their secret rendezvous!
One eye is such a hindrance! He couldn't see clearly at the crucial moment. Yuan Yu's legs had gone numb from squatting. He lost his balance and fell forward. In the instant the grass parted, he met the eyes of the woman Yuan Xiang was holding.

“Your Majesty, there’s someone over there. He’s half-blind and wears an eye patch at an angle.”

Half-blind? Yuan Zhi, the Prefect of Sizhou?! Yuan Xiang instantly hatched a wicked plan. He grabbed the woman's head and slammed it against a tree, then released the corpse and walked towards the densest part of the grass, saying, "Kill someone and run? You think you can hide?"

Yuan Yu gritted his teeth and strained, frantically chanting in his mind: Go, slow, down! Finish pooping soon.

Across the river from their spot was a viewing pavilion, three interconnected pavilions where the most important guests, including princes and princesses, were seated. The kitchen was on a pleasure boat beside the pavilion, where butchers demonstrated their knife skills, preparing a variety of delicacies.

Consort Gao sat at the head of the table. She was not yet fifty years old, and even when she smiled, there was a fierce look in her eyes. She glanced at the princesses and did not see the one she was looking forward to. Instead, the one sitting in that position was the one she least wanted to come to and the one she hated the most, Prince Yuan Yu of Jingzhao.

Consort Gao asked, "Where is Yuan Ying?"

Princess Chang Le, Yuan Ying, was the emperor's half-sister, and was therefore more noble than other princesses.

Before the banquet was to begin, Yuan Yu had already drunk so much that he could barely speak. His sarcastic voice was the loudest: "Don't worry, Chang Le is here."

Consort Gao instructed her maid to quickly find Princess Chang Le and bring her back.

The garden where the birthday banquet is held is too big; it's not easy to find one in a short time.

Yuan Xiang's only son, Yuan Hao, and his friends ran over, bickering and arguing. Yuan Hao was born out of wedlock, and Consort Gao disliked his mother, Lady Fan, but she loved her grandson.

Among these teenagers, the Sixth Prince Yuan Yue had the strangest temper. He felt that Yuan Hao had surpassed him, so he sped up and stretched out his leg. Yuan Hao fell hard and got a cut on his lip and a tooth.

Princess Chenliu was close to Consort Gao and saw that the other party had a long face. She quickly beckoned Yuan Yue to come over and pretended to scold her: "How many times have I told you to get rid of your habit of slouching when you run? You just won't change. Look, you tripped your younger brother."

The Seventh Prince, Yuan Yi, left his seat to check on Yuan Hao's injuries. Yuan Hao rinsed his mouth clean, pointed at Yuan Huai, and asked Yuan Yi, "From now on, if you play with me, you can't play with him! Whether he's around or not..."

On an auspicious birthday, it is taboo to make oaths or oaths. His nanny quickly grabbed a golden dove cart to coax him: "Look, Haolang, this was made for you by a goldsmith at the behest of the Dowager."

Yuan Hao loved playing with the dove-drawn carriage. He waved his arm, and a group of children ran outside again. Yuan Hao called out, "You guys play first. I remember my grandmother has a colorful cloth doll in her room; we'll let the doll ride the dove-drawn carriage later..."

With a smile on her face, Consort Gao sent a maid to fetch it for Hao'er. With just these few words, she glanced at all the distinguished guests to see if anyone looked amiss.

Prince Yuan Yu of Jingzhao laughed loudly: "A flowery cloth puppet? It can't be... a puppet that curses people, can it?"

"Yuan Yu!!"

Several shouts yelled at the man to shut up, including from the prince, the princess, and the prince's family.

Princess Chenliu leisurely fanned herself with a round fan, her mood, which had been depressed for several days, now slightly relieved. If that good-for-nothing eunuch Wang Yu had been crippled a couple of days earlier, she wouldn't have needed to send a birthday greeting to the Prince of Beihai's residence.

Even a cripple has his uses. She bribed the servants of Wang Yu's household, thinking that Zhao Zhi, who had committed such a heinous crime, should at least come to see Wang Yu. She planned to kill Wang Yu and pin the blame on Zhao Zhi, so that Zhao Zhi would be impeached by the court officials again.

But Zhao Zhizhen is so arrogant that she doesn't even bother with a perfunctory visit!
However, it seems everyone has their own troubles. It's bad enough that the Prince of Beihai had a brainless, good-for-nothing illegitimate son, but Consort Gao is also foolish, cursing someone without even knowing to hide the doll. Those who just scolded Yuan Yu are even more foolish. What, did they regret shouting it out afterward?

A steward rushed in to report: "Your Highness, someone from the palace has arrived!"

At the same time, in the orchard across the lake, Beihai King Yuanxiang approached the grassy nest and was filled with regret!