History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 362 The Four Cowards of the Gao Family

She further advised, "By extension, from now on, when you see Attendant Gao, do not show any signs of being wary of her. Once Attendant Gao enters the palace, she is first and foremost a female official assisting me in managing the Empress's affairs, and only secondly is she His Majesty's aunt, and only then a member of the Gao family."

Yu Baofei was unconvinced and muttered, "But people's hearts are inherently biased."

Yu Baoying: "There are countless female officials and slaves in the harem. Do I have to question them one by one about which side their hearts are on? I am the Empress. I govern the internal affairs with propriety, and I can subdue all the unhealthy tendencies. Alright, from now on, do not come to the palace frequently unless it is important."

"I'll say one last thing: elder sister, you must be wary of Wei Yao. She works in the Secretariat, and I've heard that only officials trusted by His Majesty are allowed to enter the Secretariat..." Before Consort Yu could finish speaking, she was ushered away from Xuanguang Hall by a female official.

Beigongyuan.

The east-west cross street connecting the Changhe and Jianchun city gates separated the Beigongyuan (North Palace Garden), a royal garden, from the palace city to the south. The most beautiful garden in Beigongyuan was called Hualin Garden, and the most important garrison in Hualin Garden was Hualin Duting.

The emperor's fourth maternal uncle Gao Zhao, fifth maternal uncle Gao Xian, eldest maternal uncle's eldest son Gao Meng, and second maternal uncle's second daughter Gao Ying were waiting for Emperor Yuan Ke to arrive in the pavilion.

It was a cold time of year, and the pavilion at the foot of the mountain was right in the wind. All four members of the Gao family were shivering. The man's lips were purple, and the young lady Gao Ying's lips were bluish. Coupled with their trembling and timid appearance, it was hard to associate them with the noble status of the imperial family.

The four were each reflecting on what they had seen and heard on their journey to the capital.

Gao Ying recalled that after they entered Sizhou, they stopped at an inn to rest and overheard two women chatting about strange tales.

One person said, "The Confucian scholars in the capital these days really dare to make up stories! They write about the concubines vying for the emperor's favor in such a frightening way!"

Another person asked, "I love hearing scary things, tell me one quickly."

"The story goes that there was a favorite concubine in the island's royal palace. She was a cousin of the emperor and held a position second only to the empress, even more favored than the empress. The empress appeared very magnanimous in public, but secretly she fed the favorite concubine a love potion. After the favorite concubine fell asleep, she cut off the favorite concubine's nose, turning her into something neither human nor pig."

"Huh? This, this, this, this story isn't from that island barbarian region, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you heard? There was a concubine or princess in the capital who had her nose cut off by an evil spirit at night. She could only go out wearing a veil. I also heard that after her nose was cut off, she couldn't drink water in big gulps, otherwise water would squirt out of the two holes."

"That's why they say all the supernatural tales are made up based on true events."

What Gao Meng was recalling was...

It was a moonless night when he went out of his tent to urinate and overheard two guards talking.

One person said, "I've heard that there's a princess in the palace with a terrible reputation."

The two men both grinned lewdly, clearly indicating that the other warrior knew who the princess being mentioned was.

The man continued, "This princess is well past marriageable age, but which powerful family would dare to marry her! And if they did, how many pillows would be crammed into the bed?"

Another said, "Hey, you reminded me. The local powerful and wealthy people in Luoyang all know that this princess is fond of taking liberties with other people's young men, but the powerful and wealthy people from other places don't know that."

"You mean... hehe."

The two thugs chuckled lewdly at the same time, clearly knowing once again who the "outsider dignitary" they despised was.

"Once we escort this 'concubine with many pillows' to Luoyang, believe it or not, the palace will definitely arrange for someone to deceive him, saying how wonderful this princess is. There are so many princesses in the palace, and he's from the capital, how would he know who's who? Let's trick them into getting married first!"

"Hehe, I never imagined that this unfortunate 'multi-bedroom consort' would find out the truth..."

"What's there to be afraid of? I dare to imagine! The princess will give birth to his children every year, and the biological fathers will all be next door, haha!" Gao Xian recalled...

On the official road near Luoyang, one would often encounter Taoist priests. One traveler stopped a Taoist priest on his way and begged him to divine the fortune of his future.

The Taoist priest said, "Did you receive a letter from an elder or brother asking you to return to your ancestral home to inherit the family business?"

The traveler was astonished and immediately said, "Yes, it was my brother who told me to go home. How could he have known that?"

The Taoist priest nodded: "Hmm, I have calculated that you have an elder brother who is smarter than you and a nephew who is stronger than you. If you leave their home, although you will not be as wealthy as them at first, in ten or eight years you will grow into a towering tree, accumulating virtue for generations, so that your descendants can settle down peacefully in their hometown. If you choose to go to the capital, you can move into a mansion immediately, but your elder brother and nephew are more outstanding than you. They will always be the gold and jade in front of others, while you will always be compared to a broken tile by them."

The traveler muttered dejectedly, "Broken tile, broken tile?"

The Taoist priest left alone, saying, "A broken tile like this is destined to return to dust; it's an ominous sign!"

Gao Zhao was recalling...

The imperial court sent warriors to escort the Gao family. After entering Sizhou, the dangers along the way had probably passed. When they stayed at the post station, the warriors began to drink and, fueled by the alcohol, talked about things they wouldn't normally dare to say.

"When I left Luoyang, I heard a rumor that every night, near the North Palace Garden, there were civets meowing. The cries sounded like something was stuck in their throats, and if you listened carefully, it sounded like they were shouting 'Zao—Zao—'. It was extremely eerie and terrifying!"

"Could it really be a vengeful spirit possessing a raccoon dog?"

"There's a saying about raccoon dogs summoning spirits. And I actually know that there are indeed many raccoon dogs around the palace walls at night!"

"It seems that people in the palace are noble. Even in death, they are different from ordinary people. Their souls can even possess a raccoon dog. My poor old father died and that was it. He didn't even leave me a dream."

"What are you envious of! They must have died a terrible death, unable to be reincarnated, to have their soul possess a beast. Humph, let me tell you something, so you can broaden your horizons! There are craftsmen in the palace who are skilled at growing jujube trees, especially in that place called Hualin Garden, where there are fresh jujubes all year round. Do you know why the jujube trees can grow so well? Because the soil is buried with corpses, nourished by human blood! How could the jujubes not be red?"

"Oh my, what you said matches the 'date' sound that a raccoon dog makes!"

"Stop talking, it's too scary. I'll never eat dates again. Let's drink, let's drink."

Several palace servants carried over food trays, interrupting the thoughts of the four members of the Gao family in the pavilion. The trays contained dried fruit and freshly picked and washed dates. Gao Zhao glanced at them and saw how red the dates were! He felt a chill run through him, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.

Gao Ying sniffed and asked quietly, "Uncle, we've been standing here for so long, when is His Majesty coming?"

Gao Xian remained silent.

Gao Zhao: "How would I know?"

Gao Meng: "Uncle, when you meet His Majesty, could you ask him how many princesses there are in the palace?"

Gao Xian glanced at his nephew and asked, "Why are you asking about this? What, you want to marry the princess?"

Gao Meng: "I didn't ask my fifth uncle for me, I asked my fourth uncle to find out for me."

The scene that Gao Xian had just recalled instantly flooded back into his mind... You have an older brother who is smarter than you, and a nephew who is stronger than you.

In the distance, a procession of carriages slowly made its way toward the pavilion.

A squad of elite imperial guards ran over to remind the Gao family: "The Emperor is arriving soon, prepare to welcome him!"

Thank you to Q阅's friend "天地兮同寿" and "日月兮同光" for the generous donation. Because the friend's username is too long, the thank you message can only be written in the author's comments.