History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

The garden of the Yarrow Pavilion is full of yarrow cultivated by craftsmen. The wooden house facing south next to the pavilion is the Yarrow Room. If you want to perform a formal divination, you have to burn incense and pay homage to the gods in the Yarrow Room and perform the "divination ceremony" first.

The young woman only performed the most basic fortune-telling, and because she wanted to show off her divination skills, she chose to conduct the divination in a spacious wooden pavilion.

The timing of Wei Yao and Wang Puxian's arrival was perfect. The young woman took out fifty yarrow stalks from the bamboo tube, muttered incantations, and began to recite the incantations for divination.

The onlookers whispered among themselves.

"I've heard that the incantations for divination are the source of the Great Dao, passed down from ancient times to the present. Each lineage has its own version, and the incantations differ, resulting in different spiritual powers for communicating with the gods and spirits."

"Really? I thought divination was all about calculating based on the hexagrams."

When the woman who was playing the game heard this discussion, her friend, the woman named E, explained in a low voice: "Eight parts depend on calculation, and two parts depend on luck. Calculation ability is divided into Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Thunder, Mountain, and Lake. Luck refers to the fortune of the person who is divining, which is what we usually call talent. Only when both calculation ability and luck are present can the result of the divination be fulfilled."

Wei Yao asked the person next to her, "Whose daughter is the diviner in the pavilion?"

"Her surname was You, and her given name was Wujiu. Her father served as 'Zhong Lülang' in the Secretariat, in charge of calendar calculations."

After changing locations several times, Wei Yao learned that the young lady's surname was Changsun, and her great-grandfather was the famous Prince Changsun Daosheng of Shangdang!

Wei Yao understood why the young lady You had provoked her at the garden entrance. You Wujiu's great-grandfather, You Ya, and his eldest grandson, Daosheng, were both court officials who had wrongfully executed her great-grandfather, Cui Hao, in the national history case. A few words of provocation were certainly not You Wujiu's true intention; her purpose was likely to use her own divination as a pretext to test whether she knew divination techniques!
Wei Yao thought to herself, "The You family has really gone to great lengths. I'll just stand here and wait for your trap."

Inside the wooden pavilion.

After reciting the incantation, You Wujiu picked up a yarrow stalk with his left hand and left it unused, symbolizing the state of chaos and unity in the universe before the separation of heaven and earth, which is called "Taiji".

Next, Taiji generates Yin and Yang. You Wujiu randomly divided the remaining forty-nine yarrow stalks in two, holding one in his left hand and one in his right. The left hand symbolized Heaven, and the right hand symbolized Earth. The number of stalks he grasped was the first step in determining his fortune and would affect the interpretation of the hexagrams that followed.

You Wujiu took a yarrow stalk from the yarrow stalks in his right hand and placed it between the little finger and index finger of his left hand. This yarrow stalk symbolized "humanity".

Changsun E excitedly announced to those around her, "We've started calculating! To be honest, what Ayou is calculating now is where one of my lost rare birds is trapped?"

A chorus of surprised exclamations arose!
"What? You can even figure that out? Then you can figure out where my runaway maid is hiding?"

Changsun E: "I think so. We servants are no different from livestock."

Most of the nobles attending the banquet were of Xianbei ethnicity. In their eyes, not only were servants like ants, but ordinary people were the same.

Wei Yao didn't understand divination, but she could tell that the method of calculation was indeed complicated. One moment she saw You Wujiu counting the yarrow stalks in equal quantities and holding the rest between different fingers. The next moment she saw him arranging the yarrow stalks between different fingers according to a certain rule.

During this process, You Wujiu rapidly recited numbers, making them sound even more profound.

After everyone thought You Wujiu had finished his calculations, the woman again divided the yarrow stalks in her left and right hands. However, this time she did not divide the forty-nine stalks, but the yarrow stalks left over from the previous round of calculations.

More and more guests gathered to watch, but no one seemed impatient. Some even tried to learn by observing, their eyes glued to the changing number of yarrow stalks. The more they calculated, the more confused they became, their minds unable to keep up with their fingers. Finally, all the yarrow stalks were arranged and remained still.

This is the hexagram.

This time, You Wujiu only moved his fingers slightly, without uttering a word, and began to make calculations based on the divination.

Outside the pavilion, Changsun E gestured to those around her not to make any noise. Her gaze swept over Wei Yao, and seeing that Wei Yao was cutting yarrow stalks, she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.

Great! The fish are biting on their own, so there's no need to bother with baiting!

You Wujiu said, "I've figured it out! A'e, your rare bird that flies away will land in the Hongchi Swamp in the east of the city in three days."

Changsun E clasped her hands together and said with delight, "That's wonderful! If we can find it, I will definitely spread your fame throughout the city."

You Wujiu sighed and refused: "Don't publicize it. I can only do two divinations a day at most. If everyone comes to me for help, who should I help and who should I not help?"

Huan Daoqing, who was almost standing in the pavilion, couldn't wait any longer. He stepped into the pavilion and demanded, "Since you can tell two divinations a day, tell me the second one today! I have two maids who have conspired to escape. Tell me whether they are dead or alive, and where they are hiding!"

Huan Daoqing was born into the Wuhuan clan. His father held the military position of "Yulinzhuangjiang" and was in charge of the Yulie Cao. Although he was not a high-ranking official, he had real power and was naturally arrogant in his speech and actions.

You Wujiu re-scented the fifty yarrow stalks, put them back into the bamboo tube, and then bowed and explained, "It's not that I don't want to tell your fortune, but I already did one at home this morning before I left. The number of divinations is already full. If I were to force myself to tell your fortune now, I would only make a mistake. In the end, your family would waste their efforts searching for the runaway slave, and you would become a laughingstock. You would resent me even more."

Changsun E: "Yes, Wujiu and I are good friends. I guarantee she won't lie to you." After saying that, she subtly gestured to You Wujiu.

You Wujiu exclaimed in surprise, pointing at Wei Yao and saying, "That woman over there is cutting yarrow stalks. It seems she also knows divination, and she hasn't completed her daily divination. Since you're in such a hurry, why don't you ask her to help you with the divination?"

This is due to the difference in the source of the information.

The higher the rank of the imperial relatives or princes, the more they knew of Zhao Zhi's prowess. Most of the young men attending the banquet today were not even qualified to attend the last birthday banquet of Consort Gao. They had no idea who Zhao Zhi and her daughter were, or had never even heard of them.

Princess Chang Le, Yuan Ying, and the Seventh Prince Yuan Yu arrived at the wooden pavilion. Accompanying them were Xing Xun, son of the Imperial Censor Xing Luan; Yuan Shixian, son of the Left General of the Palace Guard Yuan Song; Yu Baoying, niece of the Imperial Guard Commander Yu Lie; and Pei Tan, a member of the Pei family who had recently surrendered to Wei.

They just happened to see Huan Daoqing imperiously ordering Wei Yao: "You, yes, you! Did you hear what I said to Miss You just now? If you know divination, help me calculate it. If you don't, don't waste your time picking yarrow stalks from the Minister's mansion! Also, don't give me that nonsense about the divination being full!"

The chubby Seventh Prince was about to go over to support Wei Yao when Princess Yuan Ying stopped him, saying, "I've only heard that Wei Yao is calm and collected in the face of adversity and often uses reason to leave others speechless. Brother, don't rush to help her. Let's see if the rumors are true or false."

Yu Baoying is not competitive in anything, but when she meets Wei Yao, a outstanding young lady from her hometown, she has to compete! "I believe in Lady Wei's talent. That arrogant fellow will soon become the unlucky guy in the new rumors."

Yuan Ying raised an eyebrow, becoming even more interested in Wei Yao, who had managed to bring out the bold and forthright nature of the usually quiet Yu Baoying.

Wei Yao hadn't counted how many yarrow stalks she'd cut, and the stalks were all of uneven length. Holding the yarrow stalks, she stood up calmly and said, "I can only predict the fortune of you or your family members when you're traveling. If you dare to have it done, I can; if not, get out of the way!" (End of Chapter)