History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 340 Consort Gao and her daughter-in-law
The benefit of reading more books is that, regardless of whether you want to do something or not, you can always quote classical allusions and expound on profound principles. Otherwise, why would military officers dislike civil officials?

The Prince of Beihai's Mansion.

The imperial physician was changing the dressing on Consort Gao's nasal sores. Every time the physician cleaned the scabs and pus deep inside her nostrils, Consort Gao was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face. She was suffering to the core.

As soon as the physician said "It's all done," Madam Gao vented her anger on him, grabbing a gold ruyi from the side and slapping it across his face.

"roll!"

A maidservant nearby was so startled by the sudden shout of "Get out!" that she dropped the medicine tray. Madam Gao immediately glared at her, her hideous face, missing most of her nose, resembling a demon. The maidservant knelt down in panic and begged for mercy: "This servant deserves to die. This servant will never dare to make a mistake again."

"There's no going back! Drag this bitch away and chop off her hands!"

As Gao Shi's still angry gaze swept across the bedroom, all the servants trembled with fear.

The screams of the maid outside, whose hand had been chopped off, stopped abruptly. Then, Prince Yuan Xiang of the North Sea wiped the blood from his hands and strode into the inner room.

He was followed by ten burly women.

Yuanxiang helped his mother put a veil over her face and helped her sit down. Only then did the Dowager Consort Gao calm down and ask, "Who are these people?"

"They are servants that I selected for my mother, and they can be used as trusted confidantes."

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager Gao, whose former trusted servants had all been killed by Zhao Zhi, felt much relieved. She asked, "How are the arrangements for killing Wei Yin and his daughter going?"

His mother had urged him about this several times, so Yuanxiang dared not lie anymore and told the truth: "No, killing Wei Yin and Wei Yao is easy, but it will only relieve our anger temporarily. Zhao Zhi only has two families. If either of them is gone, will she still care about being an official? At that time, even the emperor will not be able to control this crazy woman."

Zhao Zhi offended so many court officials, yet none have dared to kill her family to vent their anger, and this is the reason why.

"So you're not going to avenge her for disfiguring me?"

"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer..."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!"

"When the emperor stops protecting her, or can no longer protect her, then let Zhao Zhi's family be torn to pieces in the Guangting Hall. No, before they are torn to pieces, let them be chained in cages and paraded through the long street like Cui Hao was before he died, to be spit on by everyone. That will truly be satisfying."

Consort Gao imagined the scene, feeling increasingly delighted, but unfortunately, her injury prevented her from laughing out loud. She ordered, "My wound is starting to heal; it's time to change the imperial physician."

Yuan Xiang immediately replied, “I understand. Mother, rest assured, the family of the physician in this prefecture has long been under surveillance by the people I sent. Tonight, I will make sure that none of them are left alive, and I guarantee that the extent of your injuries will not be revealed. I have also ordered someone to make a white jade nose. Once your wound is completely healed, you can use thin glue to stick the white jade nose to the wound and apply rouge to cover it up, and your appearance will return to normal.”

When Yuanxiang's wife, Liu, entered the bedroom, she was stopped by a newly arrived servant. Liu, who was used to being submissive, announced to the palace, "Mother, husband, the monk Ciqing from the inner temple has sent a disciple with an invitation."

Yuanxiang gestured to the servants not to stop Liu. He took the invitation and told his mother, "On the fifteenth of this month, Master Ciqing will be giving a Dharma talk at Yaoguang Temple. He invites you and Liu to go together."

Consort Gao hesitated. If she hadn't been disfigured, she certainly wouldn't have dared to offend Empress Dowager Ciqing, but her injuries hadn't fully healed yet...

Liu: "The Dharma Master's disciples said that on the day of the sermon, the princess and four noble ladies from the palace all went and questioned each of the guests on the invitation, informing the court of the conferment of titles upon the noblewomen..."

Consort Gao threw the jade ruyi violently, hitting Lady Liu. "What does the investiture of a noblewoman have to do with our Prince's mansion!"

Liu added what she hadn't finished saying: "We must also teach women virtues, restore the ancient system of wives and concubines, and give away any concubines that are not enough from the palace, while any excess will be confiscated by the Xi government."

"What?!" Consort Gao and her son exclaimed in unison, filled with indignation.

A gleam of pleasure flickered in Liu's lowered eyes. June 15th, Yaoguang Temple.

Ciqing is coming to Yaoguang Temple to preach today. Many prominent families have already heard the news and have sent their daughters to wait at the temple. If they can catch the eye of the Dharma Master and receive a word or two of praise, their marriage or other matters will go much more smoothly.

The nuns in the temple were also informed by the palace and were all ordered to leave their quarters to await Ciqing's arrival.

The disciples of the deposed Empress Feng Cixing were very dissatisfied with this arrangement and whispered to the other disciples: "I heard that although Cixing is old, she has not been practicing Buddhism for very long. She probably has difficulty even reading through the Buddhist scriptures, yet she dares to preach in public."

Another disciple said, "Even if she's wrong, who dares to question her?"

"Will she come to worship Buddha often in the future, and when her reputation for Buddhist scriptures and commentaries spreads far and wide, will she be granted the official title of 'Grand Master' by the imperial court?"

"It's hard to say. Look, that veiled noblewoman is so imposing, bringing so many servants into the temple on a day like this."

The noblewoman being discussed by the nuns was none other than Consort Gao.

The two young ladies accompanying Consort Gao are Princess Jinan on the left and Feng Linghua, the daughter of the late Grand Tutor Feng Xi, on the right.

Feng Linghua was the person recommended by both the Feng clan and Consort Gao to compete for the position of "Female Attendant".

Princess Yuanzhen of Jinan attached herself to Consort Gao for the sake of marriage. She was older than Princess Yiyang and should have been engaged long ago. Since princesses could not leave the palace at will, she originally asked someone to find out that Lu Daoqian, the fourth son of Lu Yuan, the Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, was talented and handsome and quite to her liking. However, before she even had time to consider it, her aunt, Yuan Zhenjun, acted as matchmaker and gave the marriage to her younger sister, Yuan Lang.

Only when something is lost do you realize its value. Yuanzhen did not blame herself, but only loathed her aunt. So she sent lavish gifts to Consort Gao and relied on the power of the Prince of Beihai’s mansion, vowing to find a better man than Lu Daoqian.

Consort Gao and Feng Cixing exchanged glances but said nothing.

The highest-ranking nun in the temple was Zheng Dao'an, the mother of the Seventh Prince. Zheng Dao'an greeted Consort Gao and they went to the south gate of the temple together.

A long felt mat was laid out at the south gate today, and nuns stood solemnly on both sides. One nun on one side held a tall bottle filled with fragrant dew, while the other nun carried a bamboo basket filled with flower petals picked in the middle of the night.

Zheng Daoan respectfully placed Consort Gao at the head of the welcoming procession, but Consort Gao was not pleased and even harbored resentment! She thought to herself that Ciqing was just an ordinary palace maid, but just because she had raised the emperor, she had become some kind of noble person and a highly accomplished Taoist priest!

She couldn't help but spit out a "pui!" sound. Her daughter-in-law, Liu, offered her a small spittoon she always carried with her and asked, "Mother, do you want to spit?"

Consort Gao suppressed the urge to whip her foolish daughter-in-law, glared angrily at Liu, her eyes full of curses: Did you do this on purpose?

Liu respectfully placed the spittoon back at her waist, thinking to herself: "You witch, I did it on purpose."

The nun with the deepest understanding of Buddhist scriptures in Yaoguang Temple was Jifo. Jifo came with only one disciple and stood opposite Consort Gao and Zheng Daoan.

Ji Fo was so beautiful that even her nun's robes and hat couldn't conceal her extraordinary beauty. When Consort Gao saw her at a glance, she asked Zheng Dao'an, "Who is she?"

“To the Buddhist Master Jifo”.

Feng Linghua whispered, "Her name before she became a nun was Xie Fanjing."

Consort Gao asked in surprise, "Could it be... Xie Fanjing, the missing official from the Liu Song dynasty?"

Feng Linghua looked at Zheng Daoan, who smiled and replied, "I only know about Ji Fo's life after she became a nun; I haven't asked about her past in the secular world."

At this moment, the crowd erupted in commotion!

Ciqing and her entourage have arrived.