History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 328 Flower Festival

The so-called "following the will of Heaven" ultimately means following human will.

First, Zhao Zhi took Erzhu Rong as her disciple, and then Wei Yin introduced Erzhu Maizhen into officialdom. The interests of Erzhu's lineage had long been aligned with those of Wei Yin's family. Therefore, the warriors of the Qihu tribe rode their horses around the clan members and Feng Xing, making it impossible for them to escape death. Moreover, the Qihu warriors took away the six corpses and disposed of them separately.

The clan has committed evil deeds for two generations; they deserve to die without a proper burial.

"Next up is the He family. Who harmed me... He Lan, or He Erhun? You'd better step up your game and start scheming." Wei Yao wasn't in a hurry. She was waiting for the real murderer who killed her in her past life to surface, and then she would retaliate tenfold!
Time flies, and mid-spring has arrived.

Starting this month, rains irrigate the earth, peach blossoms and orioles sing, vegetation flourishes, and the Flower Festival, a festival to worship "Nüyi," the goddess of spring and summer growth, begins.

The wealthy ladies held lavish flower banquets, vying for attention with their exquisite and unique flowers, competing not only for the finest varieties but also for the social standing and background of their guests.

On the second day of the second lunar month, Wei Yao and her husband, who rarely had a day off together, rushed to Yonghe Lane in the inner city to attend the Flower Festival banquet invited by Yuan Chuntuo.

After the emperor officially assumed power last month, Yuan Chuntuo's elder brother, the Prince of Rencheng, was appointed as the governor of Yongzhou. This time, the Prince of Rencheng did not refuse and left the capital immediately after receiving the appointment. At the same time, Yuan Chuntuo's husband, Xing Luan, was appointed as the Minister of Revenue, one of the six ministers, in charge of the grain, silk, gold, jewels, land and housing taxes, and the armory of the Great Wei Dynasty. His actual power was extremely great!
At the north gate of Yonghe Lane, Wei Yao and her husband met with Yuan Zizhi, Xi Jiao, Yang Nulang, Lu Baozhen, Lu Wenfu, and the three siblings Wang Puxian, and together they went to Xing's residence.

The Xing residence was renowned for its extravagance in Luoyang. The wide road in front of the mansion was bustling with carriages and horses, and guests came and went in an endless stream. Wei Yao and her companions first handed their gifts to the gatekeeper, and then followed the maid leading the way to the back of the mansion.

The water from the pond of Dong Zhuo, the Grand Tutor of the Han Dynasty, was diverted into the garden, and the sound of flowing water filled the air, while exotic birds sang to please the guests.

Lu Baozhen, holding Wei Yao's arm, whispered, "Seeing is believing, they really are very generous!"

Wei Yao also asked quietly, "How are things going with Young Master Lu?"

Lu Baozhen curled her lip in disgust and said, "She'd fall over with a shove, and she can't even eat two bowls of rice."

Wei Yao teased her, "Oh no, Young Master Lu heard us."

"Huh?" Lu Baozhen hurriedly turned around and saw Lu Wenfu's doting gaze. Lu Baozhen's heart raced, her cheeks flushed, and she lightly pinched Wei Yao, saying, "You're so annoying."

Yuan Mao, Xi Jiao, and Yuan Zizhi saw Lu Baozhen acting so awkwardly for the first time, and they all deliberately gave her a cold look in her sight.

Lu Baozhen, carrying Lu Wenfu on his back, clenched his fists and bared his teeth at the three of them, a sight that immediately amused Wang Puxian and his siblings.

Wang Wenshu said to his elder sister, "Luoyang is so nice. Even noble ladies don't have to follow so many rules."

The Houde Garden, where the flower banquet was held, was filled with fragrance even before people entered the courtyard. Under the tall paulownia trees, potted plants were planted one after another, and all kinds of flowers made the guests linger. Next to each pot of flowers, there was a maid holding golden scissors, who would cut and pick flowers for the guests to wear in their hair.

Wei Yao chose a small flower for Yuan Mao to wear on the side of his crown, as his naturally fierce appearance was not suitable for wearing large flowers.

Yuan Mao chose a peony for Wei Yao and insisted on putting it in her hair himself. He pretended to be stupid and used his fingers to tease and rub her ears and temples.

Wei Yao both liked and disliked this guy. There was nothing she could do; if she didn't indulge him, he would become even more unruly.

The marriage of Yang Ran and Xi Jiao is also approaching. Yang Ran noticed the deep affection between Wei Yao and her husband and couldn't help but smile. At the same time, she also envied the relationship between Lu Baozhen and Lu Wenfu, unlike her and Xi Jiao, who had only met a few times and whose relationship was shallower than that of friends and more like strangers.

As Yang Ran was deep in thought, two orchids appeared before her eyes. She looked up, her heart pounding. It was Xi Jiao!

Xi Jiao gently took her wrist and led her to the stone stool next to them. With a soft gasp of surprise, he lifted her up and sat her on the stool. Despite the intimate gesture, his words were infuriating: "You shorty, come on, help me put it on first."

Yang Ran pouted, gave a coquettish "humph," and turned her head to the side.

He gently touched her hair, and Xi Jiao put an orchid in her hair, saying, "Can you help me now?" "Yes," Yang Ran replied, blushing.

Don't let the young lady's shy and quiet demeanor fool you; inside she's laughing hysterically: Ah... this young man is hers, he's hers! Looking closer at the proud young man, he's even more handsome!
Xi Jiao's initiative resulted in a noisy banquet from beginning to end. He was deceived by Yang Ran's appearance; she turned out to be such an outgoing and lively girl.

“My love, I want to wear this one in my hair.”

"I want this one too."

"This one...this one, this one."

Before they even reached the place where the Flower Goddess of the Yi people was worshipped, Yang Ran had already run out of hair to put a hairpin in.

Lu Baozhen pointed at Yang Ran's head, clutching her stomach and laughing until tears streamed down her face. "Your hair is completely covering your face, so at first glance it looks like a duck egg."

These words startled Lu Wenfu, who quickly covered her mouth.

Yang Ran: "So what? My darling likes me to dress up. Don't you think so?"

"Yes." Xi Jiao had already figured out the other person's temper, so she had to go along with it, otherwise her ears would be ringing from all the noise.

At this moment, Wei Yao and the Wang sisters were admiring the flowers and chatting. Yuan Mao introduced Wang Shao to Yuan Zizhi. When Lu Baozhen made fun of Yang Ran's face, which looked like a duck egg, Yuan Mao heard it and was worried that Lu Baozhen's unrestrained words would offend Yang Ran. Fortunately, Yang Ran did not seem to be narrow-minded.

Suddenly, a strange scene from Yuan Mao's past dream surfaced in his mind. He had dreamt of a woman with no facial features, adorned with hairpins and ornaments, leaving only an oval face.

Yuan Zizhi: "A-Mao, what are you thinking about?"

Yuan Mao snapped out of his reverie, no longer dwelling on the absurd dream, and said, "Seeing your fellow disciples gradually gathering in the capital, I wonder when we will be able to meet again at the Wei Academy. More and more prefectures and counties are suffering from disasters, cutting off correspondence and transportation."

“Sigh.” Yuan Zi sighed and offered a suggestion: “Where do you want to send letters and food? I’ve been going to the Qinghe Prince’s residence often lately. Let me suggest to the Qinghe Prince that we see if we can mobilize the caravan in the name of the Prince’s residence.”

Yuan Mao: "In Shuozhou, I lost contact with Wei Jing. Now only large merchant caravans and grain convoys with many guards dare to travel long distances."

Wang Shao asked, "Can I participate in distributing grain?"

Yuan Zizhi replied, "Of course. After the date is set, I will have my page go to your residence to inform you."

Yuan Mao asked Yuan Zizhi, "Just now outside the Xing residence, I saw you bring a baggage cart."

"Yes. I have to leave the flower banquet early to deliver spring clothes and quilts to Yuanxi's family on my father's orders."

Yuan Mao sighed, "The criminals should be grateful for His Majesty's benevolence and for Grand Tutor Xu's assistance."

Yuan Zizhi's father, Yuan Xie, was just appointed Grand Tutor by His Majesty, and the original position of Minister of Works was taken over by Prince Guangling, Yuan Yu.

Yuan Mao couldn't take his attention away from Wei Yao for long; he had to check on her every few moments to see where she was and what she was doing.
He saw several young women exchange greetings with Wei Yao, and after a few brief words, they went elsewhere.

Yuan Zizhi: "That young lady... is she the niece of Commander Yu of the Imperial Guard? She studied at the state academy in Pingcheng."

Yuan Mao gave his friend a meaningful look, and Yuan Zizhi immediately knew that his suspicions and intuition were correct: Wei Yao was intentionally distancing herself and did not want to associate with the young woman.