History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 312 Wei Yin's First Divination

"Puxian, Shao'er?" After seeing the names clearly, Wang Su's expression was a mixture of surprise and suspicion. He strode over to Qilin Garden to confirm, but realizing his lapse in composure, he turned back and looked at Yuanzhen Jun pleadingly.

Yuan Zhenjun showed no anger. Instead, she took Wang Su's arm and solemnly instructed him, "If they are truly your long-lost children, you must recognize them and not let them wander outside any longer. Rest assured, my husband, I am the eldest princess of the Great Wei. I only hope that you will have many children, each as accomplished in both literature and martial arts as you. I would never harm them. If I had any evil intentions, not only would you not tolerate me, but even His Majesty would not allow it."

Wang Su gently placed his hand on his wife's lips and said, "Don't say anything more, I believe you. Now you are my wife, their legal mother. If we want to reclaim the children, we have to go together."

Yuan Zhenjun smiled tenderly and gently pushed him away. "It's not easy for you to reunite with the children, don't hurt their feelings. Next time, next time I'll be with you again."

As soon as Wang Su left, Yuan Zhenjun's smile became tinged with sarcasm, and his joy was mixed with disappointment.

There were some things that other maids dared not say, but the wet nurse, Dou, dared to say: "Princess, you are wholeheartedly plotting for the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. He should have invited you to go and recognize the children together, but he waited for you to make some promises before he made his decision! Hmph, maybe it's just a coincidence. These two people and their children have the same surname and name on the list."

Yuan Zhenjun: "It can't be a coincidence."

Lady Dou: "Oh dear, could it be that Lady Xie, the former wife of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, has also come to Luoyang?"

Yuan Zhenjun said calmly, "What's there to be afraid of? This marriage was personally bestowed by His Majesty. Not only would Wang Su not dare to divorce me, but even if I begged His Majesty for a divorce, I still wouldn't be able to."

Dou said, "The princess is right. It's actually better that Xie came to Luoyang. After all, you can't fight the dead, it's easier to fight the living."

“Ha,” Yuan Zhenjun sneered, “Me, fight with the Xie family? She’s not worthy! Don’t worry, my husband cherishes his current position more than anyone else. He could abandon the Xie family when he was on the run, and he can do it again now.”

The maid Fu Zhuang entered carrying a bamboo tube and reported, "I have returned from the alms-giving area and arranged for the monks and nuns to leave the mansion. There is only one bamboo slip left for the alms-giving, which is the one that is to be given to Wei Yao."

The poor family recorded on this slip of paper is a group of scoundrels specially found by the Princess's Mansion. Three generations of them are lazy, greedy, and insatiable. Anyone who helps this family even once will be bitten for life!

Yuan Zhenjun angrily threw the bamboo sticks aside: "She didn't even collect them!"

At this banquet, offering good deeds was the only way to deal with Wei Yao. All the guests offered good deeds, so why did this lowly maid avoid accepting them?
Fu Zhuang: "Yes, I asked the nun who was holding the divination box. She said that Wei Yao passed by the alms pavilion and confirmed that she saw all the guests doing good deeds, but Wei Yao... left straight away without even approaching out of curiosity. There is another matter. Wei Yao pretended to use divination skills, but actually relied on her mother's strength to threaten You Wujiu's father, You Shuangfeng, with the disaster of losing teeth and breaking bones. Princess Chang Le stopped her, but unfortunately, when Princess Chang Le reprimanded Wei Yao, she also reprimanded You Wujiu."

Dou clapped her hands happily: "No matter what, Princess Yuan Ying must already be dissatisfied with Wei Yao!"

Yuan Zhenjun: "Don't cause trouble. I know Yuan Ying's temper. If anyone criticizes Wei Yao in front of her, she will suspect them and investigate them secretly. Forget it, if this plan fails, we'll try another way. We must not let Zhao Zhi and her daughter gain power. Fu Zhuang, after the banquet, find out why Wei Yao threatened You Wujiu. Perhaps the You family is worth using."

Wang, the steward of the Minister's office, received news from all sides. Upon learning that his master was looking for Wang Puxian and Wang Shao, he led the way to find Wang Puxian first.

Because when families were separated, only Wang Puxian remembered the events most clearly.

In the corner of the swing, where Wei Yao had just pushed Wang Puxian to swing, the two had now switched places. The joyful scene of Wang Puxian pushing Wei Yao appeared to Wang Su as his daughter being wronged and forcing a smile!

Family ties are always intertwined in the unseen realm.

Wang Puxian suddenly felt something and turned her head to look at the tall and handsome man walking towards her.

Wei Yao stopped swaying with both feet on the ground and bowed, saying, "This humble official pays respects to the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat." "Hmm." Wang Su carefully examined Wang Puxian's appearance and said in a low voice, "Follow me."

Wei Yao gently swayed on the swing again, gazing at Wang Puxian's back. Wang Puxian turned back every few steps, and both girls smiled, one offering encouragement and the other secretly thinking, "Don't worry."

Wang Su had dreamt of reuniting with his wife and children countless times, but when they actually did, he realized that he couldn't remember what his children looked like at all.

He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he was afraid that any one of them would hurt his eldest daughter's feelings.

Tears welled up in Wang Puxian's eyes, and he spoke first in his hometown accent: "Father, it is Puxian. Mother brought us all to Luoyang, and we are all doing well. Shaodi has also come to the banquet, and Wenshu is with Mother at the guest house. Father, it is so good to see you again."

The last few words brought tears to my eyes.

After the luncheon, Wei Yao and Yuan Mao left the Minister's residence, while Wang Puxian and her siblings stayed behind. That same day, Wang Su sent a steward to the guesthouse where Xie Zhi was staying to fetch the Second Queen Wenshu. He was worried that Yuan Zhenjun might overthink things, so he had his eldest daughter, Puxian, write the letter to Xie Zhi.

Wei Yao and her husband are staying at Quanxue Lane tonight.

Wei Yao was picking yarrow at the Minister's residence because top-quality yarrow was hard to find and couldn't be bought at the market. Her father, Wei Yin, had already thoroughly studied the Book of Changes and needed yarrow to try his hand at divination.

Wei Yin recited the incantation: "If your divination is regular, if your words are regular, Wei Yin seeks divination tonight... Where is the five-colored crane that Changsun Cheng, the Seventh Soldier, has tamed within five days? I ask the gods and spirits about my doubts, good and bad fortune, gains and losses, regrets and worries. Only you, the gods, can tell me clearly."

The total number of yarrow stalks held by Wei Yin was not fifty, but fifty-five.

After the mnemonic, it's time to divide the yarrow stalks.

First, take out six sticks and set them aside; these six sticks symbolize "the six lines of the hexagram".

Using only the remaining forty-nine yarrow stalks for divination, Wei Yin was trying divination for the first time. To prevent his fingers from becoming clumsy, he laid all the yarrow stalks on the table to perform the calculations.

Forty-nine grass stalks were randomly divided in two, placed on top and bottom, with the yarrow stalks on top representing heaven and the pile below representing earth.

The original text and commentary of the Book of Changes that Wei Yin learned, including the ancient divination formulas, were all memorized by Wei Yao from the Secretariat and then passed down orally. There were no written records of this, and he would never have learned an incorrect version.

The pheasant is rare and difficult to tame. Many officials in the capital knew that Changsun Chenggui possessed this rare bird, and Yuan Mao also knew it. He drew a picture of the rare bird before consulting the oracle.

The painting entered his eyes and then his heart. As the divination was performed, the colorful eagle gradually came to life in Wei Yin's mind, flying and crying out, its eagle eyes fierce!

Wei Yao and Yuan Mao waited quietly. Wei Yao was filled with anticipation and trepidation. She hadn't told him about the divination result that You Wujiu had calculated during the day. If only her father could have predicted that the pheasant would fall into the Hongchi Swamp in three days.

The incense wafted upwards in wisps from the bronze incense burner.

Time passed little by little as the yarrow stalks were arranged.