History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 308 The Young Couple Meets Yuan Yu
Wei Yao and her companion arrived at Fucai Village.

“阜” means abundant, and Fu Cai Li implies that wealthy merchants and people live together here.

The neighborhood had four gates, and at each gate, servants dressed in bright yellow silk robes came and went in a steady stream, indicating that the master was extremely wealthy.

After handing their horses over to their servants, Wei Yao and Yuan Mao walked in through the east gate. Everywhere they looked, there were mansions, each with its own pavilion. However, the crowded plots of land revealed a stark difference between the rich and the poor.

"Clop clop clop!" The sound of horses' hooves rang out.

Seven strong men wearing straw hats came galloping up from behind, causing the people on the street to complain. However, the rider at the front shouted loudly, which made the passers-by stop their complaints and chase after the horses to see what was going on.

"Ah Liang! Have you forgotten me, Wei Ying?"

"Ah Liang, I died unjustly! You didn't let the neighbors know I was dead, you didn't bury me properly, and you just left my body lying around. You lived in my Wei Ying's house and took Xiang Ziji as your husband. I can't rest in peace!"

After hearing this, Wei Yao and Yuan Mao looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Good heavens, is it haunted in broad daylight?" The two quickly grabbed hands and ran, following the crowd to the Wei residence.

The seven men on horseback didn't enter the house; instead, they called out from the gate, "Ah Liang, come out and see Wei Ying! You dare to occupy my house to get married, but you don't dare to come out and meet her?"

They started by one person calling out, then two people called out, and so on, adding one more person at a time, until all seven of them called out together.

The indignant people began throwing mud into the courtyard and helping to shout at Liang: "How wronged must your husband have been for his soul to dare to come to see you under the scorching sun?"

"Liang, if you're still a human being, come out with Xiang Ziji!"

Taking advantage of the crowd and noise, Yuan Mao picked up a long branch and poked a horse, telling Wei Yao, "Whether the person is a ghost or not, the horse is definitely alive."

Wei Yao pinched him and whispered, "It must be Lord Wei's friend who is standing up for him. If Lady Liang were honest, she should have come out long ago."

A man ran up to the pavilion inside the courtyard, drew his bow and arrow, and confronted the seven riders outside the courtyard.

A voice among the people screamed, "He must be the shameless Xiang Ziji!"

"Kill him, kill him!"

A cloud of mud was thrown around.

Liang finally appeared, rushed up to the attic, and dragged away the man who wanted to shoot an arrow.

With a "bang," the gate of the Wei residence was slammed shut by the servants.

At this moment, the neighborhood official arrived with soldiers. The leader of the seven riders shouted into the courtyard: "Listen up, Liang! Considering the past friendship between you and Wei Lang, we came during the day to plead for Wei Lang. If you two do not move out of here, we will make sure you and Xiang Ziji are buried together in the Yellow Springs!"

The seven righteous men rode away on horseback. Some of the government troops went to pursue them, while others kicked open the door of the Wei residence. Before long, they carried out a thin coffin, which must have contained Wei Ying's body.

"How pitiful! Such a wealthy family, yet they couldn't even afford a proper coffin."

"Hmph, I won't be neighbors with such vicious people. If the government doesn't punish the Liang family, I'll throw excrement into their house every day!"

The young couple, Wei Yao and her husband, were not in a hurry. After squeezing out of the crowd, they took a detour to the Embroidery Shop in the direction the seven heroes had fled. By sheer coincidence, they saw the soldiers chasing after the seven men. One of the men had taken off his straw hat. After exchanging a few words, the soldiers released the seven young men and let them leave freely.

This proves that the seven people had connections to the government.

Yuan Mao pondered for a moment and said, "I reckon Liang didn't kill Wei Ying. The authorities can't arrest this woman, and Wei Ying has friends in the government office. This is the only way they can ruin Liang's reputation and make her too ashamed to continue living in Fucai Lane. Yao Yao, what are you thinking about?"

Wei Yao wondered if anyone had buried her after her wrongful death in her previous life. Her ending might have been even more tragic than Wei Ying's. "I'm hoping for the cycle of karma, and that all evil people will be punished a hundredfold."

She said it with a smile, so Yuanmao didn't think much of it.

The two met Li Yin and He Lan, who were coming out of the embroidery shop, at the entrance. Wei Yao and Yuan Mao held official positions, and the latter had to bow to the young couple even if he was unwilling.

He Lan thought Wei Yao would ask her about not going to Wenya Academy to study anymore, but Wei Yao went straight into the Embroidery Shop.

Li Yin said dejectedly, "Official status and birth are the same; both can make a person successful. I really didn't take her seriously before, but now it's the other way around."

Here we go again, looking half-dead! He Lan was annoyed, but encouraged her verbally, "If we listen to the Princess's arrangements and study the classics diligently, you'll soon be on par with her again."

"Oh, really?"

"If you don't trust me, don't you trust the Princess? Don't forget, there's Minister Wang! Minister Wang is the prime minister."

"But my elder brother has not yet been appointed to an official post, and I..."

"Don't worry, you siblings have already endured so long, what's another six months?"

Li Yin said sadly, "I am not afraid. I just lament the fickleness of the world. When my father was the Imperial Censor, those people fawned over my family with the most obsequious faces. Now they have all changed their masks, as if they are afraid that I will remember the true appearance of them."

He Lan gripped Li Yin's shoulders and said firmly, "That's why we have to be more ambitious and strive harder. When you also become a female official, adorned with Diao Chan's headdress, we'll see together what kind of masks those villains wear!"

In her heart, she thought: Your father must have done plenty of bullying when he was successful, so isn't it normal for him to be retaliated against when he's down on his luck? Who doesn't seek personal gain in life? Who wants to suffer losses? So no one should be arrogant, and no one should look down on anyone else!
This embroidered clothing store was the most luxurious in Fucai Lane. It was common for dignitaries to come here to pick up their clothes. More than twenty horsemen escorted Prince Yuan Yu of Guangling over. Li Yin and He Lan made way for him in front of the pavilion. Who knew that Yuan Yu would not take the easy way and twist his ankle, almost bumping into He Lan.

Yuan Yu didn't mean it this time. Thick shoes and boots were all the rage in the city lately, and this was the first time he'd worn them. He'd twisted his ankle several times since he left home. Being frivolous by nature, he took the opportunity to peek at He Lan's face and whispered, "You can bump into me once, but if you bump into me again, it means you've taken a liking to me."

He Lan and the other man were both furious, but dared not speak out.

Yuan Yu laughed triumphantly and entered the clothing store.

Immediately afterward, He Lan and the other man heard Deng Tu Zi's loud voice: "Oh? Yuan Mao, Wei Yao, what a coincidence. Hey, no need to reveal my identity, lest all the women fall for me."

Inside the clothing store, Wei Yao and her husband recognized one of the guards of the Prince of Guangling as the "righteous man" who had caused trouble outside the Wei residence earlier.

"It is an honor for my wife and me to meet General Yuan." Yuan Mao was now adept at the polite greetings common in official circles.

Yuan Yu waved his hand: "It's not a coincidence. I specifically asked you to do something for me."

A month later, Wei Yao learned from her mother that Yuan Yu did not know Wei Ying at all, and that helping Wei Ying seek justice was purely a spur-of-the-moment thing. The reason was that when Yuan Yu came to Fucai Lane to wait for the noblewoman he was meeting in secret, he overheard Liang Shi and her lover Xiang Ziji talking about how they had angered the sick Wei Ying to death, and then pretended that Wei Ying was still alive, just chronically ill, so that he and Xiang Ziji could occupy the house and live happily ever after.

After listening patiently, Yuan Yu said, "Who doesn't do bad things in their life? But being completely wicked is no good! If Heaven doesn't punish you two, I will act on behalf of Heaven."

Enough of this digression.

July 25th.

Wang Su's residence was located in Yanxian Lane, south of the city.

Wei Yao and Yuan Mao arrived first at the place where they had agreed to meet the Prince of Guangling. They exchanged greetings with Xie Zhi, the principal wife of Wang Su, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Wei Yao then led Xie Zhi's eldest daughter, Wang Puxian, into the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat's residence, while Yuan Mao took care of Wang Su's eldest son, Wang Shao.

Because only young men and women under the age of fifteen are allowed to enter the Wild Attire Banquet.

The story of Wei Ying's spirit coming to Fucai Village during the day to question his wife Liang about strange tales is recorded in the "Records of Buddhist Temples in Luoyang". Later, Liang and Xiang Ziji left Wei's residence out of fear and donated the house to become a temple called "Kaisan Temple".