History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

The Secretariat and the Chancellery had almost equal authority to carry out the emperor's orders. The Secretariat was more confidential because, firstly, the edicts were drafted in advance and the officials in charge were all high-ranking officials such as princes and nobles; secondly, the Secretariat was solely responsible for the administration of the imperial medicine and the emperor's food and drink.

Therefore, Yuan Hui knew that Prince Yuan Yu of Jingzhao would be released from confinement tomorrow and return to his palace, and also knew that His Majesty had not granted Prince Yuan Yu any official position.

Yuan Hui kept the imperial edict, and no one could beat him to the task of delivering it to Hualin Garden, nor was anyone willing to compete with him.

After announcing the decree, as was customary, Yuan Hui was to supervise the Prince of Jingzhao as he left the North Palace Garden. In addition to being allowed to take his personal belongings, the decree also bestowed four palace maids who usually served him upon Yuan Yu as concubines.

Finally, Yuan Yu could leave the North Palace Garden. He stretched his back and loathed the pervasive scent of jujube trees. Stepping out of the garden's threshold, Yuan Hui was about to signal to the Prince of Jingzhao that they could speak privately, but the latter spoke first with a mocking laugh: "I heard His Majesty selected four noble ladies for the harem, and today he bestowed four palace maids upon me. How brotherly! When you return and report... be sure to thank His Majesty for me!"

The last few words he uttered through gritted teeth, along with the suppressed hatred he felt, were used to lightly slap Yuan Hui's face.

Yuan Hui dared not be angry and whispered a reminder: "I am just an object. If the king is willing to care about them, just give them a room so they don't starve to death. The most urgent thing is not to disappoint His Majesty again so that I can be reinstated."

Yuan Yu grabbed Yuan Hui by the collar and yelled, "Reinstate my ass! Are you cursing me to be demoted and banished from the capital?"

If it weren't for wanting to use this guy, Yuan Hui would have loved to scratch his face to pieces! He pretended to be troubled: "Among the officials in the capital, all the ones that the king can think of are occupied. Only the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary in the Secretariat is occupied. Cui Guang has always wanted to resign. I thought that a position of Attendant-in-Ordinary might be vacant soon, and of course it would be left for the king. But the day before yesterday, the female official Wei Yao was arranged to serve as the Vice Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Yellow Gate. As soon as she took office, she impeached all of us Attendants-in-Ordinary. Judging from her attitude, if she wasn't after the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary, how could she be so arrogant?"

Yuan Hui shook his head and sighed again: "His Majesty has pardoned the King, and I naturally wish to sincerely befriend him. However, I am in dire straits myself, and there is very little I can do to help. May your future be bright and may the King have a smooth journey. Farewell."

Prince Jingzhao spat at Yuan Hui's retreating figure. Among the four palace maids was one named Lian Luo, who had served Prince Jingzhao for the shortest time. When she looked sad, she resembled Consort Yang Ao from the past.

Lian Luo pleaded anxiously, "We servants have no ill intentions, Your Majesty, please don't sell us off as objects."

However, no matter how similar the expression was, the moment he spoke, it was no longer the same. The Prince of Jingzhao was immediately annoyed, yet also somewhat reluctant, and with a sigh, he boarded the carriage.

Lian Luo jogged to keep up, but after running only half a street, her pitiful and timid appearance caught the eye of the Prince of Jingzhao, reminding him of his first meeting with Consort Yang. He ordered the coachman to stop and pulled Lian Luo up. "From now on, your surname is Yang, and your name is Yang Lian Luo."

In the harem.

Consort Yu had her palace servants style her hair into the Guizhen bun, which was popular in Luoyang at the time. She looked in the mirror and felt pleased with herself, recalling the scene of her chance encounter with the Prince of Jingzhao during the hunt in the North Palace Garden those two days.

Yu Baoying arrived and ordered all the palace maids to wait outside her bedroom.

"Sister, do you think this hairstyle looks good on me? Can you give me some advice on which hairpin to wear?"

Yu Baoying threw the hairpin back into the makeup box and asked, "It's your turn to be on duty at Jian Shi Hall today, why did you feign illness and not go?"

Yu Baofei pouted and explained coquettishly, "I heard that strange things always happen in Jianshi Palace, so I'm scared."

"How many times have I reminded you? As a female official, you must not listen to or spread rumors!"

Yu Baofei wiped away her tears, feeling wronged: "Why are you being so fierce? You've changed. You're not like my older sister at all anymore."

"When we chose to leave Huai Shuo Town, we should have known what kind of path we had chosen and what kind of people we needed to become."

Immediately afterward, Yu Baoying softened her tone, took a handkerchief to wipe her sister's tears, and earnestly instructed her: "The family sent you to the palace so that you could become famous in Luoyang as a female official in the shortest possible time, not just to rely on me. Only by being strong yourself can your future husband's family truly respect you." "Oh, I understand."

Yu Baoying continued, “I have long understood this principle, but I regret that I am not capable enough. Fortunately, there are many talented female officials in the palace, especially Wei Yao. You should follow me and learn from high-ranking female officials, learning the rules and principles from each and every matter.”

Yu Baofei muttered, "It's Wei Yao again!"

At this moment, the female Minister Wang Sengnan led a group of female officials to announce the imperial decree, which stated that the emperor was bestowing a marriage upon Consort Bao, who would be married to Prince Yuan Yu of Jingzhao, with the wedding to take place on the auspicious day of the sixteenth of next month.

Yuan Yu had just returned to his residence when he received this imperial decree. He stepped into the room where Consort Yang was killed and sat there all night, filled with boundless hatred!

"You old scoundrel Yuan Yu, and Yuan Ke who secretly approved of Yuan Yu's actions, I will not let you get away with this!"

However, the road to revenge is fraught with difficulties and cannot be achieved simply by uttering a few harsh words.

Yuan Yu summoned the chief secretary and ordered, "Find out the movements of the Prince of Guangping carefully."

Prince Guangping, Yuan Huai, was the emperor's younger brother from the same mother, and also held a princely title but no official position. Yuan Yu believed that Prince Guangping's narrow-minded and jealous nature meant he must be jealous of Prince Qinghe's trust in the emperor, and as long as jealousy existed, he would inevitably harbor resentment towards the emperor.

Now, he is not strong enough to deal with the emperor on his own, but he can use the Prince of Guangping to annoy the emperor first and vent his anger!
The military parade ground in the north of the city.

In preparation for the martial arts competition of the Imperial Guards at the end of autumn, different battalions of Imperial Guards practiced formations and hand-to-hand combat skills at the parade ground every day.

Today it's the turn of the Mulan Camp and the Wuya Camp to come to the training ground.

Yuan Yu was the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and he and General Zhao Zhi, who was in charge of the training exercises between the two armies, supervised the competition.

The waiting area for the Mulan Camp's female warriors was in the west. As the valiant women cheered and shouted for their comrades on the field, a group of纨绔 (sons of wealthy families) led a group of servants to rush forward, grab a female warrior, and drag her away.

Among this group of纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) was He Erhun, from the fallen He family in the north of the city.

"She's a maid who escaped from the Prince of Guangping's residence! Anyone who dares to stop us from arresting her is going against the Prince of Guangping!"

Zhao Zhi accompanied Yuan Yu in the eastern camp of the martial arts arena. The Mulan Camp hurriedly sent a military officer to report the situation. The captured female Tiger Warrior was named Lei Luoshan. She used to be a barbarian from the Hebei region. It was uncertain whether she was a runaway maid from the Guangping Prince's Mansion. However, once she was captured and taken to the Prince's Mansion, she probably wouldn't be able to get out, let alone be interrogated.

As Zhao Zhi walked, she asked, "When selecting female Tiger Warriors, aren't there strict requirements regarding their backgrounds? How come there are cases where their backgrounds are unclear?"

Yuan Yu followed, panting, and explained on behalf of the military officer: "That was the original rule when recruiting female Tiger Warriors. Later, when the number of recruits reached two thousand, each family sent people into the camp. Some princes had face to give, so they couldn't refuse."

Zhao Zhi: "Even the Feather King is like this?"

Yuan Yu said matter-of-factly, "Everyone else is stuffing people in, and I'm the General of Chariots and Cavalry, so of course I'm stuffing people in too!"

He then reassured Zhao Zhi, "Just turn a blind eye. All the Imperial Guards and Tiger Guards are like this, so why should the Mulan Guard be an exception?" (End of Chapter)