History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

I think about it every day and dream about it at night.

As darkness fell, Yu Baofei quickly became sleepy and fell asleep. She dreamed that she had finally changed out of her third-rank female official's uniform and was wearing a riding outfit that was different from everyone else's, galloping ahead on horseback across the grassland.

The dream shifted frequently. She entered the mountains and forests, hunting birds and beasts, and none of her companions could match her skill. She was truly carefree and happy. However, the scene changed again, and she was no longer outstanding among the other women. She was dressed in ordinary female official's clothes, serving in a position that was neither too far back nor too far forward.

She took a step forward angrily, looking at her elder sister who was being fawned over by everyone, and at Wei Yao, the head of the female officials. All sorts of injustices in her heart burst forth like a ball of fire!
"My background is the same as my elder sister's. Why should I only be able to enter the palace as a servant to you? If you can become the empress, even if I am inferior to you, I can still marry the king and become a queen!"

"Wei Yao, what are you so smug about! You think you can win the emperor's favor by playing some tricks? Dream on! Your family has no noble lineage, and being a lady-in-waiting your whole life is your good fortune. If you really dare to seduce His Majesty and compete with my Yu family for power, I will punish you severely for the ancient rules of wives and concubines that you proposed! At that time, my elder sister will be the empress, and she can smash your face and shave your head with a flick of her finger, making you suffer the consequences of your evil deeds!"

What I encountered during the day, I recall in the quiet of the night.

Yu Baoying dismissed the palace servants who were attending her, then looked in the mirror and tried to imitate Wei Yao's confident demeanor when threatening the Princess of Beihai. If once wasn't enough, and twice she was still hesitant and her voice trembled, then she would continue practicing! With such a brilliant example before her, if she couldn't even imitate it properly, how could she possibly become Empress in the future!

After learning enough, Yu Baoying then replaced the Princess of Beihai with the Dowager Consort Gao for admonishment.

"The imperial court has decreed... that your royal residence can only be permitted for one more day..."

"My matters are minor... but if the Dowager Consort considers them to be major issues..."

Yu E's voice suddenly rang out from the doorway: "Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine Bao is talking in her sleep..."

"Get out!" Yu Baoying shouted angrily, a kind of pressure she had never shown before, which frightened Yu E to kneel down, and at the same time surprised Baoying herself, who was then satisfied and pleased.

Inside Princess Chang Le's bedroom.

Yuan Ying was also repeatedly considering Wei Yao's way of doing things.

She silently concluded in her heart: "First of all, Master Ciqing rarely leaves the palace, and Wei Yao can only invite the Master once or twice at most. So the role the Master played today must not be as simple as just holding back Consort Gao. At that time, Wei Yao only asked me to invite Consort Yu to Yaoguang Temple... I understand! The purpose of Master Ciqing's appearance was to let the noblewomen know that the Master also supports the Yu family and is Consort Yu's support in securing her position as Empress."

"The whispered words between Wei Yao and the Princess of Beihai were at most four or five sentences. What exactly did they say? Whatever they said, the words she advised the Princess after the whispered words were definitely not as simple as telling the Princess to go back and persuade the Prince of Beihai not to be greedy for beauty."

"Today, Wei Yao only did one thing, which shows that she cares a lot about the Beihai Prince's Mansion and harbors ill will towards the Beihai Prince and Consort Gao. Is Wei Yao trying to use official business and the Princess Consort to cause chaos in the Beihai Prince's Mansion, or... is it all His Majesty's will?"

"Even if Wei Yao and her mother both harbor ambitions, they wouldn't be so arrogant as to dare to leap to the top and confront the Prince of Beihai, who holds the position of Grand Tutor. What if His Majesty wanted to deal with the Prince of Beihai?"

The caged parrot suddenly squawked, "Little Beauty, aren't you asleep yet?"

Startled and lost in thought, Yuan Ying snapped out of it and went to the cage to play with the parrot. Yuan Ying never told the parrot her worries or secrets, so even after raising it for so long, the bird only called her "Little Beauty" and knew her name when it was restless and wouldn't sleep, and only knew how to urge it to sleep.

The Eastern Hall in the southern part of the palace. As long as the emperor doesn't rest, the officials below him have to be as alert and busy as during the day.

Imperial Physician Wang Xian entered the palace carrying his medicine chest.

The only trusted confidant whom the emperor did not promote after assuming personal rule was Wang Xian. This was to minimize Wang Xian's chances of being envied, while also allowing him free access to the palace as a royal physician. When the emperor and his ministers conspired to eliminate Yuan Xi, Yuan Ke was able to frequently contact Commander Yu Lie without arousing suspicion from Yuan Xi's spies by using Wang Xian's medical consultations to relay messages.

Wang Xian reported, "The rumors circulating in the inner palace about Wei Yao have been investigated and it was Zhang Anji, the head of the Imperial Kitchen, who instigated them."

Yuan Ke exclaimed in surprise: "Imperial Kitchen?"

Wang Xian: "Yes. Zhang Anji was captured and brought to the palace during the Liu Song dynasty. She heavily relied on a female official named Liang Xuantong. Liang Xuantong had an older sister who was beaten to death in the Xi office for committing a crime. Liang Xuantong believed that his sister's death was caused by Wei Yao, who was teaching at the palace school at the time. At the end of winter two years ago, Liang Xuantong was found dead in a corner of Yongxiang. Zhang Anji had always suspected that Wei Yao or Zhao Zhi had killed Liang Xuantong. She was a cunning and patient person. She waited until the noble lady entered the palace before tentatively spreading such rumors."

Fortunately, the rumors are currently only spreading around the residence of the important person.

“The Imperial Food Supervisor has direct access to His Majesty’s food. I dare not allow such a person to manage the Imperial Food. Therefore, I arrested Zhang Anji. However, Liang Xuantong was murdered too long ago, so it is estimated that it will be difficult to find the murderer.”

Yuan Ke: "This matter has nothing to do with Zhao Zhi."

Wang Xian quickly echoed, "I think so too. Zhao Zhi has a strong hand. If she were to strike, Liang Xuantong would not have a complete corpse."

He then reported another matter he had just discovered: "During the investigation of Consort Yu's palace servants, according to their confessions, Consort Yu's younger sister, Consort Yu Bao, often overstepped her bounds in her words and actions. After returning from Yaoguang Temple, Consort Yu Bao encouraged Consort Yu to invite Princess Chang Le to go hunting in the North Palace Garden."

Wang Xian then recounted the family affairs of Yu Baoying and her sister: "After Yu Jin's family came to the capital, they heard compliments on many occasions, especially after Consort Yu was selected to enter the palace. The powerful and noble people in the capital praised Consort Yu Baoying as a princess. Since His Majesty has allowed the Prince of Jingzhao to go hunting in Jingyang Mountain, and Consort Yu Baoying also wants to go, and the Yu Jin family intends to remarry their daughter into the Prince's mansion, why doesn't His Majesty listen to the will of Heaven and facilitate the marriage? In this way, the Prince of Jingzhao's complaints can be silenced, and he can be given a princess with a distinguished family background and a virtuous reputation."

Yuan Ke pondered that, given Consort Yu's poor manners even in the palace, marrying Yuan Yu would surely cause chaos in the Prince of Jingzhao's mansion. Thus, the Yu family would become sworn enemies with Yuan Yu through marriage, and Yuan Yu's reputation would be tarnished by Consort Yu, his infamy spreading even further.

"Alright. You take care of this matter."

Strategists must anticipate His Majesty's thoughts to be valued. Wang Xian gladly accepted the order, but a new idea arose in his mind: he would find several women in the countryside who resembled Consort Yang and send them to the Prince of Jingzhao as concubines. No, this matter cannot be delayed. First, he would find a suitable palace maid in the Xi government office and send her to Hualin Garden to serve the Prince of Jingzhao.

The offices of the Secretariat.

The bells of the inner temple of the palace rang, and amidst the noise, Wei Yao temporarily put down her official documents and set aside everything she had read.

As the bells tolled, she rose and paced, taking a moment to ponder His Majesty's arrangement for her aunt, Gao Yue'en, to serve as a "Lady Attendant." A strategist, if he only thinks three moves ahead, will sooner or later fall victim to another strategist's scheme!
"Gao Yue'en... the Gao family... relatives by marriage..." (End of Chapter)