History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 311 Avoiding Doing Good
Huan Daoqing hesitated. The advantage of divination was that it allowed him to prepare in advance and avoid danger as much as possible. The disadvantage was that if the divination result was "bad," even if the diviner did not know divination at all and was just a fraud, he and his family would have to live a miserable life for a while.

You Wujiu and Changsun E exchanged glances. Their two families had painstakingly planned this scheme, and Huan Daoqing was a crucial, foolish pawn. How could they allow this pawn to back down!
You Wujiu nudged Huan Daoqing from behind and said, “I know what Young Master Huan is hesitating about. If she makes a divination and talks nonsense, I will definitely be able to tell. If the result of her divination is not good, I will ask my father to perform another divination for Young Master to break the result of her divination.”

A single word can cause a thousand waves!

"What? Divination techniques can counteract each other?"

"Wouldn't that be like sparring with a master?"

"There are few true masters. Only the You family has real skills in divination, which is why they dare to make such a promise."

Amid the discussions, Huan Daoqing made up his mind and said to Wei Yao, "I dare to calculate!"

"Alright, young master, please state your name, age, and which neighborhood you live in. If you wish to have your elders' fortunes divined, you must also provide their names. If they hold official positions, please state those positions. Only then can the divination be accurate."

“I am diviner! My surname is Huan, my given name is Daoqing, and I live in Wenyi Lane in the north of the city.”

Wei Yao gestured for Wang Puxian to stay outside, then she sat down at the banquet in the pavilion and placed a yarrow stalk on the table.

You Wujiu frowned, about to scold her for not handling the herbs properly, when Wei Yao spoke up: "The divination is over. Young Master Huan has offended a villain. As long as he stays at home for five days and does not go out, he can avoid the danger of being framed by the villain."

An eerie silence fell over the surroundings.

Everyone's opinions were divided into two categories.

Some people thought: Wei Yao's divination skills are amazing!
Others thought: "Are you kidding me? You can calculate faster than throwing a straw!"
You Wujiu: "Lieutenant..."

Wei Yao spoke at the same time as the other person: "I will give you a divination. Within five days, your father will suffer the misfortune of losing a tooth."

After she finished speaking, she threw out a yarrow stalk, deliberately dropping another one, and then looked at Changsun E: "When the yarrow stalks are drawn, the divination will surely be performed. Then I will give Changsun E another divination. Within five days, your father will also suffer the misfortune of losing a tooth."

Huan Daoqing was relieved and revealed a gloating smile.

You Wujiu: "Wei Yao, you are not a diviner at all. You are clearly using your mother's bravery to openly harm my father!"

Wei Yao: "Since you know me, why did you pretend not to know me when you were instigating Huan Langjun?"

You Wujiu: "Enough with the nonsense! Gentlemen and ladies, please bear witness for me: if my father was injured and had his teeth knocked out, it was Wei Yao's family who committed the crime!"

Wei Yao placed the fourth yarrow stalk on the table and said, "Originally, your father only had one calamity, but because of your ignorance and arrogance, you have added the misfortune of broken bones. Eldest granddaughter, I have a fifth divination, which is a lucky one, and can either help your father avoid disaster or turn it into a calamity. Which one do you choose?"

Changsun E dared not risk her father's safety and whispered, "I'll choose the 'Fu' hexagram."

Outside the wooden pavilion.

Princess Yuan Ying first praised, "Indeed clever, she stirred up those two girls with just a few words, but..." Her tone turned displeased, "If Zhao Zhi really harms the officials of the You and Changsun families to avenge her daughter, the people will ultimately blame His Majesty for employing treacherous officials."

The Seventh Prince disagreed: "But it was obvious just now that Lady You and Lady Changsun ganged up to bully Wei Yao. They were allowed to do bad things first, so why shouldn't Wei Yao be allowed to retaliate?"

Yuan Ying admonished, "Wei Yao can take revenge on those two girls, but he must not escalate his personal grudges and damage the dignity of court officials."

The Seventh Prince turned his face away and snorted.

Ignoring her younger brother's tantrum, Yuan Ying stepped into the pavilion.

"I am Princess Yuan Ying of Chang Le, here to ask for a fortune reading for Miss You." The people outside the pavilion dared not linger any longer to watch the spectacle and dispersed in an instant.

Wei Yao, You Wujiu, and Changsun E quickly bowed to the princess.

Wei Yao: "Princess, please forgive me. I am not skilled in divination and have no fortune to offer to the young lady."

The two women have kept their heads down and haven't dared to utter a sound since they bowed.

Yuan Ying: "Whether you know divination or not, don't show off outside anymore. Alright, there are many beautiful sights in the garden. Take a walk and look around to broaden your mind."

After Wei Yao and the others left, Yuan Ying asked Yu Baoying alone, "Do you think Wei Yao's words just now were implied?"

Yu Baoying shook her head thoughtfully: "I can't tell."

"Yes, I couldn't tell either." Yuan Ying looked at Wei Yao's back, feeling both worried and regretful. She was worried that Wei Yao was so cunning at such a young age that it was impossible to guess her thoughts, and she regretted that Wei Yao lacked a noble birth, otherwise she could have entered the palace as a concubine and would have been more suitable to be empress than Yu Baoying.

As Wei Yao and Wang Puxian walked deeper into the garden, they gradually heard the sounds of chanting and striking jade chimes. It turned out that the Princess had invited monks and nuns to set up a shed here to establish Dharma donations and material donations.

Reciting Buddhist scriptures is a form of Dharma giving, which helps one achieve a peaceful state of mind.

Charity donation involves drawing lots from a wishing box. The lots are the wishes of the poor people in the city. Whatever you draw, you do as written on the lot to help them get through their difficulties.

Wang Puxian assumed that Wei Yao would draw lots like the other guests, but Wei Yao only glanced at them curiously before walking past the pavilion.

Wang Puxian was a Buddhist. She turned her head again and saw the nun holding the bamboo tube looking at them. Although the nun was not flustered, Wang Puxian still felt that something was wrong.

She asked Wei Yao, "Miss Wei, may I ask you a question?"

"You want to ask me why, when guests draw lots to make donations here, which can help the people and also build good relations with the Princess, everyone else steps forward, but I avoid it?"

Wang Puxian nodded: "Mm."

Wei Yao: "Back in Pingcheng, a wealthy family did a similar act of charity. After the guests drew lots, they found the family whose house was written on the lot, helped them repair their house, and even cured their sick animals. However, a stormy night came, and the family's roof collapsed. The falling tiles killed the paralyzed old man in the house, and the kind-hearted guests were imprisoned because of this."

Wang Puxian stared in disbelief: "Huh?"

Wei Yao continued, "Therefore, when performing acts of charity, it is best to respond to the government's orders and distribute porridge to the people in permitted areas. If you only want to help one or two households, you must find out the background of the affected families, whether they are good at doing good or evil, before deciding whether to help them or not."

"Yes, you've thought it through. When you do good deeds, you should give away your money, not your brain."

Wei Yao never expected Wang Puxian to say something so amusing. As the two girls chatted and laughed, the initial awkwardness gradually disappeared, and a friendship slowly took root.

Wang Puxian thought to herself, "The people of Qi often mock the Xianbei as barbarians, brave but reckless. This kind of self-righteousness is truly foolish!" She had only been at the banquet for less than an hour when she had already witnessed the intelligence of Wei Yao and Princess Yuan Ying.

"Look, there are so many swings over there."

While Wei Yao and her companion were swinging on the swing, Minister Wang Su entered the mansion.

He entered the bedroom, where Yuanzhenjun was reviewing the guest list. She smiled gently and handed him the list, saying, "My husband must accompany me to the banquet at noon."

Wang Su ignored the list and put it aside, replying to his wife, "I was in a hurry to come back, so of course I have to be with you."

Yuan Zhenjun glared at him and placed the list back in his hands. "When I sent out the invitations, I allowed guests to bring one companion to the banquet. Only Yuan Mao and Wei Yao, husband and wife, brought companions. Husband, please see what their names are?"