History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 337 Connecting "Circles" into Pearls
In May, when the yang energy is high, it is a good time to climb mountains and tombs, visit pavilions and terraces, watch the hibiscus bloom, and listen to the cicadas sing their first songs.

Today, Princess Yuanzhen of Chenliu is hosting a banquet. Since there are not many noble ladies invited, the banquet will be held in the waterside pavilion in the back garden of the residence. In addition to the four unmarried princesses of the palace—Lanling, Yiyang, Nanyang, and Changle—the guests include His Majesty's aunt, Gao Yue'en, and Cui Binyuan of the Cui clan of Boling.

Gao Yueen was widowed at a young age and moved to the capital from Yingzhou last month, where she is temporarily staying at the residence of Yuanzhenjun.

Cui Binyuan's husband was Li Shuyin, the prefect of Nanzhao County. She had always lived in Nanzhao County with her husband. This time, she suddenly came to the capital to find a good marriage for her poor niece, Cui Huihua.

Among all the noblewomen in the capital, Princess Chenliu was the one with the widest network of connections, reliable in arranging marriages, and disdainful of using such connections to extort money. Therefore, Cui Binyuan was the only guest today who had sent an invitation to pay her respects. Yuanzhenjun was too lazy to socialize much, so he simply had Cui Binyuan attend today's banquet. It just so happened that she and Gao Yueen were both in their forties, so she could keep Gao Yueen company and keep her company.

As for the four princesses awaiting marriage, Princess Lanling, Yuan Yao, was the oldest and the Emperor's elder sister. Her marriage was delayed not entirely because of the late Emperor's death, but because she had a violent temper and would often beat and kill palace servants. Noble young men of suitable age preferred to become monks rather than marry this princess.

Yuan Zhenjun is Yuan Yao's elder, and has a more fiery temper, which is why she can keep Princess Yao in check. Today, Yuan Zhenjun was invited to the banquet out of necessity, because she was entrusted by His Majesty to help Yuan Yao socialize more and change the princess's domineering image among the noble ladies of the capital, in order to prepare for her future marriage.

Closer to home.

Now, let's talk about Princess Yiyang, Yuan Lang.

She did not leave the palace with her three sisters. She arrived at the Princess's residence well before the banquet. While the doorman checked the name card and recorded the gifts, the steward who was welcoming guests quickly went to inform the Princess.

Yuan Zhenjun hadn't even finished her makeup when she said irritably, "Why are you here so early!"

Steward: "Shall this maid take Princess Yiyang to the waterside pavilion first?"

Yuan Zhenjun glared at the steward without saying a word, while the maid Fu Zhuang softly reprimanded him: "No banquet has been set up in the waterside pavilion. Where will Princess Yiyang sit? What will people say about the eldest princess if word gets out?"

"This servant will invite Princess Yiyang over immediately."

At this moment, Yuan Lang was slowly walking towards the waterside pavilion with her servants, carrying the box of pearls herself. The lady-in-waiting serving her looked indignant and whispered a reminder: "Princess, are we too early? The servants in this mansion don't know where to take us, so they're deliberately leading the way so slowly."

Yuan Lang spat out two words through gritted teeth: "Shut up."

Nonsense, her status in the palace was as low as her mother's. If she hadn't come earlier, how would she have had the chance to speak with her aunt alone? She didn't have the good fortune of her younger sister, Yuan Ying. If she wanted things to go smoothly, she could only fight, seize, and gamble.

By some stroke of luck, she spelled it correctly.

The steward caught up with Yuan Lang and her servant and brought her before Yuan Zhenjun.

Knowing that the Princess disliked small talk, Yuan Lang paid her respects and then, without saying anything unnecessary, directly opened the pearl box and briefly stated the purpose of her visit.

"Lang'er knows that I am of little talent and have an ordinary appearance, like a grain of sand in the vast ocean. I beg my aunt to help me to form a pearl! If my wish can be fulfilled, I will be eternally grateful to my aunt and will repay your great kindness!"

Is the act of "forming a circle" meant to symbolize a request for "marriage"?
So smart.

This was the first time Yuan Zhenjun had taken a serious look at her niece. Yuan Lang's mother was not favored by the late emperor and was still an ordinary noblewoman when she was sent away from the palace. One can imagine what Yuan Lang's life in the palace was like.

She looked at the pearls again. Given Yuan Lang's status among the princesses, it would have been impossible for her to have such a full box of pearls of uniform quality during the late emperor's reign. It was very likely that after the great victory at Shouchun, His Majesty bestowed them upon all his brothers and sisters as a unified reward.

"I accept the gift. You don't need to be so formal next time." She patted Yuan Lang's hand and said, "You are my niece. Tell me frankly what your requirements are for marriage." "Yes!" Yuan Lang was overjoyed and immediately said, "I want a young man from a good family, with a large age difference between him and me, not a divorcee, his appearance can be ordinary, not too short, too fat, or too thin, he must be educated, but he cannot be capable or ambitious, preferably someone like me who likes the prestigious family name, who is good at eating and playing, and whose family business will not fall."

The maids in the room couldn't help but chuckle.

Yuan Zhenjun was amused by her niece's straightforward demands. Marriage was no child's play, she said, "Have you thought this through? Are you sure you'd be interested in a man without ability and ambition?"

Yuan Lang nodded: "As long as I live a good life, that's fine. If I can find someone who suits my taste, how could I not be happy?"

"Alright, I will definitely find you a match."

Having obtained what he asked for, Yuan Lang left his bedroom and no longer disturbed his aunt while she was getting ready.

Upon reaching the waterside pavilion, a banquet and flower arrangements had just been set out. Yuan Lang's trusted maidservant, feigning to point out fish on the water's edge, avoided the servants of the Princess's residence. The maidservant asked, "Didn't the Princess hear that the Princess dislikes Zhao Zhi and her daughter? Why didn't you casually mention yesterday's official documents and then criticize Wei Yao a bit? Wouldn't that have pleased the Princess more?"

Yuan Lang wanted to roll her eyes in disgust, but she had to teach her own maid. She said, "How can you believe all the rumors! If my aunt asks me what I think after I tell her about this, what should I say? Even if my aunt dislikes Wei Yao, will she join me in criticizing her? What if she praises Wei Yao? Should I praise her too? Even if I don't get what I want, I won't mention it."

Maid: "Oh, I've learned something."

Yuan Lang: "Didn't Wei Yao manage to get all the female officials to refer to themselves as officials? From now on, stop calling me 'maid' or 'maid,' it's embarrassing for me."

The maidservant responded loudly, "Yes, the female slave of the official, Liu Cunnu, has learned it."

In an instant, the eyes of the master and servant glared at each other, bulging even more than the eyes of two fish fighting for food in the water.

Inside the eldest princess's bedroom.

After Yuanzhen finished combing her hair, she picked up a pearl and became slightly lost in thought.

The nanny, Dou, tried to comfort her, saying, "Ever since the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat narrowly escaped assassination at the Shouchun camp, the princess has not sent any letters after learning that he was safe. Your separation from him will probably last for another year or two. Relying solely on letters might weaken your bond. Why don't you go to Shouchun to visit him?"

Yuan Zhenjun: "My relationship with him has long since faded."

She put the pearl back, and the feeling on her fingers reminded her of the last vestiges of affection she had when she touched his cheek. She threw the pearl back, closed the box, and thus severed her last lingering attachment!

Yuan Zhenjun instructed Fu Zhuang, who was meticulous in his work: "After you have checked each pearl, send them to Wang Wenshu in the south of the city."

The Princess's residence carefully examines any gifts given by others, whether they are kept or resold, not because it suspects Princess Yiyang.

Fu Zhuang: "It's almost time to return to the Minister's residence in the latter half of the month. Isn't the princess coming back?"

“I’m not going back. I felt uncomfortable seeing his children, and those two kids felt even more uncomfortable seeing me. Why make things difficult for each other and let irrelevant bystanders make fun of us?”

Fu Zhuang boldly voiced what she had been thinking: "The fact that Wei Yao has added duties to the inner palace might be at His Majesty's behest, but in any case, it has nothing to do with the Eldest Princess. I reckon Princess Ying will bring this up at today's banquet, and the Eldest Princess needs to think of an excuse to avoid it."