History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Before Emperor Xiaowen bestowed a luxurious mansion upon Wang Su, Wang Su had another residence in Yanxianli. Now, Xie Zhi was arranged by Wang Su to live in the old residence. They were so close yet so distant.

Under the candlelight, the silk handkerchief was laid out flat. Xie Zhi sat there blankly for a while, looking at the four resolute lines of poetry on it. Finally, her eyes gradually regained their luster.

When did Samantabhadra arrive?

“You just arrived,” Wang Puxian said, feeling sorry for his mother. He sat down and advised, “I’ve reheated the dinner. Mother, please have some.”

"Alright, I'll eat. But before I do, I want to tell you sisters something." Xie Zhi smiled wryly at Bo Pa and instructed, "For the sake of your father's reputation, I've decided to stay here permanently, but you three siblings shouldn't come to visit me every day. In truth, the eldest princess is also a pitiful person..."

Wang Wenshu said anxiously, “What’s so pitiful about her! What a vicious poem! She uses ‘getting new silk and sewing new clothes’ to mean that her father has ‘gotten a new wife’, and ‘how can she accept the old’ to mean how can she ‘accept the old’? Her father has not rejected her mother yet, which shows that he still cares about you. What makes the princess think that her father would abandon her mother?”

Xie Zhi shook his head and said, "I have known and been married to your father for so many years. As soon as I saw the poem, I knew it was written by him."

"What?!" The Wang sisters were shocked at first, but after a moment's thought, tears welled up in their eyes.

Xie Zhi had come to terms with it and continued to instruct: "Let's not blame the Princess, nor your father. If we have to blame someone, blame the world, blame the rotten Qi dynasty. It's a blessing that I brought you three siblings to Wei safely. From now on, we should live well and cherish the days when we can eat our fill and don't have to run away."

She took her eldest daughter's hand again and said, "Puxian, when you meet with Lady Wei next time, please ask her for me if I can become a female tutor at Wenya Academy."

The fact that their mother had this thought proved that she had truly moved on from romantic resentment, and Wang Puxian and her sister were overjoyed! "Alright, Mother, I will send the invitation to the female official tomorrow."

Suddenly, the doors and windows made a whistling sound as if blown by the wind. The mother and her two daughters looked outside and each thought to themselves, "The wind is picking up."

The wind blows the autumn leaves; autumn has passed.

The wind whips up the fine snow; winter has arrived.

In October, the emperor issued an edict through the Secretariat, stationing 40,000 troops in Shouchun, ordering the Prince of Pengcheng to end his southern campaign and return to Luoyang, and appointing Wang Su as the military commander of Huainan, governor of Yangzhou, and imperial envoy, stationed permanently in the Shouchun military camp.

From this time on, Princess Chenliu no longer stayed at the Minister's residence for long periods, and returned to her own residence for at least half of each month.

In November, Yuan Yi, the Prince of Yangping, who had recommended Zhen Chen to serve as an official in the capital, died while serving in Qingzhou. His son, Yuan Jiong, inherited the title and was transferred back to Luoyang. Yuan Yi and Yuan Cheng, the Prince of Rencheng, were cousins. The emperor, grateful for Yuan Yi's contributions, summoned the Prince of Rencheng again and offered him the position of Prefect of Xiangzhou. The Prince of Rencheng declined the offer again, citing his mother's advanced age.

Because Minister Wang Su was to remain in Shouchun for an extended period, the emperor issued another edict through the Secretariat, ordering Governor Yuan Huai of Yongzhou to come to the capital and enter the Secretariat to assist Prince Pengcheng in handling the affairs of various departments and offices.

Yuan Huai is no simple character. His grandfather was the last ruler of Southern Liang, so Yuan Huai has the power of the former Southern Liang state behind him.

Grand Commandant Yuan Xi and his staff could no longer sit still.

The emperor was young, but his methods were ruthless. He gradually seized control of the government. Yuan Xi wanted to become a rebel, but he soon realized how difficult the first step of rebellion was!
Because Prince Pengcheng was in the capital, Yuan Xie was not only the emperor's most feared figure, but also Yuan Xi's. Even if Yuan Xi held the military mobilization tally, it would be useless, because most of the imperial guards had fought alongside Yuan Xie and were willing to risk their lives. These officers would probably disregard the military tally.

Fang Ge Yin Longhu was the most decisive among the advisors. He suggested, "If we don't rebel now, it will be even more difficult in the future! Your Majesty, let's rebel! We will capture Jinyong City tonight. Jinyong City is extremely fortified. It has a hundred-foot tower that can be used to observe the movements of the palace. Moreover, it is adjacent to the Daxia Gate of the north city wall and the Chengming Gate of the west city wall. It has wide roads for advancing and retreating, and can also divide the troops into two waterways to the west and north. It is the most difficult to attack and the easiest to defend!"

Chief Secretary Feng said, "No, you said it's easy to defend and difficult to attack. What if the Imperial Guards surround us and we haven't even made it into Jinyong City? We'll be attacked from both sides and be shot into a pincushion by the Prince of Pengcheng!"

Commander Liu Xiaogou: "Chief Secretary Feng is right. We can't rush into anything. Don't forget that besides the Prince of Pengcheng, we also have to be wary of the elusive Zhao Zhi! I have a more reliable plan. First, we'll create chaos and massacre the Prince of Beihai's mansion west of the North Palace Garden. This will cause all the nearby imperial guards to rush into the Prince of Xiang's residence to help him. At the same time, we'll shoot arrows soaked in oil at the location where the Prince of Jingzhao is imprisoned. Then, our main force will make contact with our spies in Jinyong City, and we'll take advantage of the chaos to open a gate and seize Jinyong City."

Yuan Xi's head was buzzing. He watched his advisors' mouths open and close, silently refuting each suggestion in his mind, finding them inadequate and unfeasible. He vaguely realized that he lacked the courage to rebel. He was afraid; he felt the emperor was difficult to deal with; he feared that a failed rebellion would result in a gruesome death. At this moment, as his advisors all looked at him, waiting for his immediate decision, he even thought that if he obediently relinquished his military power and became a mere Grand Commandant, it wouldn't be so bad.

Suddenly, a guard outside exclaimed, "Who's there?"

Then came the howling of hunting dogs, near and far.

"There is an assassin—"

The advisors who were discussing matters inside the house escorted Yuanxi out. When they heard the guards report that a dark figure had indeed flown directly from the roof over the courtyard wall and escaped to the neighboring courtyard, Yuanxi could no longer pretend to be calm.

"It must be Zhao Zhi!"

"Grand Commandant, we can't hesitate any longer."

"If we don't rebel, we're just sitting here waiting to die!"

The guards rushed over, but they couldn't find the shadowy figure in the neighboring courtyard or any courtyard further away.

Liu Xiaogou shouted in a shrill voice, "Who can evade the hounds' hearing? It's Zhao Zhi without a doubt!"

Yin Longhu's eyelids twitched, and he pointed to the courtyard wall, ordering, "Quickly, what's that thing protruding from the wall? Take it down immediately!"

The guard took a cloth bag off the wall, opened it, and found a few green and red dates inside.

In an instant, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

In the Hualin Garden, where Prince Yuan Yu of Jingzhao was imprisoned, there were jujube trees carefully cultivated by craftsmen, which bore fruit even in winter.

This was deliberately left by the shadowy figure to show that the other party had long seen through Liu Xiaogou's feint attack strategy, and that if they still wanted to use the Prince of Jingzhao, they would only fall into the trap that the other party had laid.

Yuanxi's legs went weak: "It's over."

Yin Longhu muttered to himself, "No, this can't be the end. Grand Commandant, we've already staked our lives on this. Advancing doesn't guarantee death, but retreating means certain death! We have no way out."

Chief Secretary Feng stammered, "But...but as long as we don't rebel, as long as we stubbornly refuse to admit it..."

"If someone is falsely accused, how can you and I avoid disaster by denying it?" Yin Longhu angrily rebuked. Among those present, he was the most skilled in martial arts. At this critical moment, there was no need to hide anything. Once the might of a warrior was unleashed, his murderous aura alone was enough to make those around him afraid to look him in the eye. He was even more fearsome than Yuan Xi.

He grabbed Yuanxi's arm, almost threateningly: "Prince Xi, there's no time like the present, let's rebel!"

At the same time, Zhao Zhi, the shadowy figure, ran faster than tigers and leopards, scaling walls and eaves as if walking on flat ground. She first met with her personal guards, and when she used her token to leave the Great Xia city gate, she replaced all the soldiers guarding that gate. Then, she entered through the retreat gate on the north side of Jinyong City, went up to the Hundred-Foot Tower, and took her seat as the chief general.

At this moment, Zhao Zhi took out the last jujube and silently said in her heart: Rebel, Yuanxi, I'm waiting for you. (End of this chapter)