History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 307 Marriage
As for the choice of empress, Yuan Ke indeed preferred General Yu Lie's niece. The reason had nothing to do with love; it was simply that he had no better choice. Yu Lie, the commander of the Imperial Guards, was both intelligent and brave, and was the most loyal and decisive among the military officials. However, he was nearing seventy, and among his children, only his second son, Yu Deng, was outstanding.

From the handling of the Beihai Prince's Mansion incident, Yu Deng repeatedly weighed the pros and cons, lacking the decisiveness of Zhao Zhi, making him unsuitable to take over the heavy responsibility of the Commander-in-Chief. Yuan Ke let out a long sigh; now he had to reconsider transferring Yu Lie's younger brother, Yu Jin, to the capital to strengthen Yu Baoying's support.

As for Princess Chenliu, she left the birthday banquet early and truly regretted it. If she had been by Consort Gao's side when Zhao Zhi stormed the Prince of Beihai's mansion, she would have been able to incite that old hag to shoot Zhao Zhi dead!
Born into royalty, Yuanzhenjun understood treacherous ministers all too well. These kinds of wicked ministers stir up trouble while they are alive, but once they die, they are nothing but worthless rotten fish. The emperor will not hold ministers accountable for such worthless rotten fish; he will only chop them up to vent his anger on the ministers.

Lord Yuanzhen truly regretted this opportunity, and pondered, saying, "With one side gaining at the expense of the other, we can only wait for another opportunity."

Li Yin and He Lan couldn't guess what the princess was talking about, so they didn't dare to reply.

After regaining his senses, Yuan Zhenjun praised them, "You did a good job today. Later this month, I will be hosting a banquet in my residence, inviting only the young noblemen and ladies of the capital. This time, you will have the opportunity to speak with Yu Baoying."

Li Yin only knew that the answer should be "yes".

He Lan added with delight, "If we exchange ideas on poetics with her, it will be natural for us to invite each other to meet in the future."

Yuan Zhenjun tapped her lightly with his fan: "You are a promising young lady."

The next day, after Wang Su returned home, Yuan Zhenjun learned from her husband that Zhao Zhi not only disrespected the Minister of Works, but also beat up Liu Xiaogou, the head of the Grand Commandant's office.

The position of "Zhai Shuai" was very low in the island barbarians, but in the Wei Dynasty, it could not be held by anyone other than a close confidant. So Zhao Zhi was not beating Liu Xiaogou, but beating the Grand Commandant like a dog!

Yuan Zhenjun sighed, "This woman's power is already secured." After her sigh, she became even angrier at the fact that the Prince of Beihai was so weak when he should have been decisive, and also angry that the Grand Commandant was bad at using people, sending such an important task to Liu Xiaogou, who dared not fight back when beaten.

Wang Su was also worried: "I thought there would be a flood of memorials impeaching Zhao Zhi, but there were only a handful this morning."

At this moment, the maid Fu Zhuang rushed in to report: "Wang Yu is dead."

Yuan Zhenjun waved her hand, and after the maid left, she frowned and said, "Wang Yu is useless even if he doesn't die. His Majesty already has a eunuch named Yang Fan to replace him. Yang Fan is the adopted son of Wang Ju, the Duke of Gaoping. His adoptive mother came from the Guo family of Taiyuan. Yang Fan also has some knowledge of pharmacology. In terms of family background and talent, he is no less than Wang Yu."

Wang Su grasped her hand, pulled her into his arms, and leaned close, saying, "Marrying you is my blessing." No matter the intricate relationships between officials in the outer court and those in the inner court, his wife, Yuan Zhenjun, knew everything. Moreover, she could make decisions that would benefit her and avoid harm without his help. If he was only three parts in love with Yuan Zhenjun when they got married, now he was seven parts in love with her.

Wang Yu committed suicide.

Yesterday evening, his wife overheard the servants discussing what had happened after the birthday banquet at the Prince of Beihai's mansion. They said that the imperial guards had stormed into the mansion and arrested several hundred servants.

Wang Yu's wife relayed what she had heard to her husband.

Wang Yu simply said "I understand," then dismissed everyone and stabbed himself to death with a hairpin. Having navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom, he naturally understood that what his servants had relayed was deliberately leaked. The humiliation of the Beihai Prince's Mansion was none of his family's business, but Zhao Zhi's power had solidified, proving that he could never return to the Forbidden City.

Your Majesty's favor is like bait; there's only so much. If one fish eats it all, the others won't get any, and then the big fish will eat the small fish.

To protect his family from being implicated, he had no choice but to die. On his deathbed, he said bitterly, "You wretched woman, you will suffer the same fate as me sooner or later! I will be waiting for you on the road to the underworld."

Luoyang has produced countless remarkable figures, some of whom have passed away while others have flourished.

July 18th.

Wei Yao and Yuan Mao got married.

The two came from vastly different backgrounds, and to prevent any unforeseen complications from delaying the wedding, they set the date for the nearest auspicious day. As agreed upon by both sets of elders, they would consummate the marriage after Wei Yao turned fifteen. On their wedding night, the young couple sat facing each other, unwrapping gifts. Yuan Mao didn't care for these things; what he longed for was finally being able to look at Yao Yao however he wanted, to lean on her whenever he wanted, and to whisper sweet nothings in her ear and hold her hand.

"Yaoyao, I want to paint your portrait."

"Now?"

"Hmm, you were all smiles tonight. Your smile held me in it, and your eyes spoke volumes. I wanted to write it all down, but I lack the talent for words, so I could only draw it." He murmured softly, gently stroking her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes as he spoke. At that moment, he wanted to kiss her like in the stories, but he was too excited and timid to do so.

Wei Yao felt that they were both too young to understand each other, so it was better for them to mature later. She quickly went to lay out the drawing paper and prepare the paints. After everything was ready, Yuan Mao placed several of the most valuable gifts in front of her, and Wei Yao immediately beamed with joy again.

The young couple treated each other with respect and deference, their love as inseparable as glue.

Poor Xi Jiao stood outside Yiren Lane all night, the mosquitoes biting his eyelids and mouth without any affection. When he got home, he was mocked by his father: "You're useless! You got so worked up at someone else's wedding!"

"From mosquito bites."

Xi Jian loved watching his eldest son pretend to be strong when he was frustrated. He really took after A Yuan in that respect. He took out a portable mirror and looked it in front of his eldest son's face, teasingly saying, "Look."

Xi Jiao looked at herself in the mirror and was furious!
His handsome face was covered in bites! There were two raised bumps above each eyelid and above his lips, forming two "fire" characters, one above the other.

"Haha." Xi Jian laughed until his voice was hoarse, then went to court satisfied.

Yirenli.

The newlyweds had a three-day holiday. Yuanmao couldn't sleep last night and wasn't sleepy this morning, so he went to the kitchen early to instruct the servants to cook, making all of Weiyao's favorite dishes.

When Wei Yao came out of the house, Fei Yan, who had amnesia every morning, rushed at her, but she nimbly dodged it. Wu Cangtou, the servant who raised the geese, caught Fei Yan and locked it in a cage with the goose leader to fight.

Wei Yao loved watching the two birds flapping and fighting, laughing so hard she almost fell over. Yuan Mao came over with a spoon, in which was a piece of freshly cooked meat.

"Taste the saltiness."

Just as Wei Yao was about to bite, Yuan Mao pulled the spoon away. She rubbed her hands together, pretending to hit him. Yuan Mao said, "Okay, okay," and obediently put the spoon to her mouth. When Wei Yao fell for the trick and tried to bite again, he turned the spoon around and put the meat in his own mouth.

The young couple's cheerful chatter in the early morning naturally pleased the household servants, for their master's affairs were going smoothly, and they would receive a steady stream of rewards.

After finishing their meal, the couple rode their horses from the outer city to Fucai Lane in the western part of the city.

Princess Chenliu's residence will hold a "Wild Attire Banquet" on the 25th of this month, and both Wei Yao and Yuan Mao have received invitations.

Wild clothes, as the name suggests, refer to the attire of people from rural areas.

The Wild Attire Banquet naturally requires guests to imitate the attire of wild people.

For aristocratic families to wear rustic clothes is a sign of reverence for antiquity and elegance, but the phrase "reverence for antiquity and elegance" must be interpreted separately. For someone of noble birth to wear ordinary brown straw sandals to a banquet is considered elegant, but if someone of Wei Yao's background were to actually wear plain clothes, she would only be laughed at, not praised for her elegance.