History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 363 Calculating the Chess Game
At the same time, in the Prince of Rencheng's mansion, Yuan Cheng and his chief secretary Zhang Puhui listened to the report from the martial arts soldiers. There were twenty martial arts soldiers standing below the hall, both men and women. They were originally trusted subordinates of Prince Pengcheng, Yuan Xie. Yuan Xie was magnanimous by nature, and when he lent them to Yuan Cheng, he also gave them indentures.

The first to report the mission were three people. They stepped forward, and the one in the middle said, "As the king instructed, we are waiting at the post station in Bingzhou to join the escort team for the Gao family."

"Having survived the perilous journeys of suppressing bandits and risking our lives to protect the Gao family, the three of us first gained the trust of the imperial guards and the Gao family. Then, at the Anping County post station in Sizhou, we bribed the post station official to provide strong liquor during the meal and flattered Gao Zhao, separating him from the rest of the clan. While the guards in the same room were all half-drunk, we told Gao Zhao the strange rumor of the raccoon calling 'date.' We specifically described the North Palace Garden and the Hualin Garden, observing Gao Zhao's expression, and he should have taken it to heart."

Yuan Cheng nodded slightly: "Okay."

The three men retreated, and two others stepped forward, one of whom had a long beard and an air of otherworldly refinement. Their task was to disguise themselves as travelers and fortune-telling Taoist priests on the official road leading from Gaojia to Luoyang.

Wu Yong, disguised as a traveler, reported: "As instructed by the king, after I found the Gao family's group, I traveled with them for a few days to observe Gao Xian's habits. I discovered that he often took a walk alone at the front or back of the group after lunch when he rested."

Next, Wu Yong, dressed as a Taoist priest, recounted the divination process, concluding, "Gao Xian kept listening to me calculate the auspicious and inauspicious divination results. As he listened, he gradually moved closer to the two of us, so he must have taken it all to heart."

After the two returned to their original positions, two ordinary-looking and unremarkable martial artists stepped forward.

These two brave warriors were brothers whose mission was to follow the Gao family's group and keep a close eye on Gao Meng's actions. Their specific method was to choose a time when the Gao family's group camped in the countryside, and when Gao Meng relieved himself at night, the two brothers would change into the uniforms of the imperial guards and make suggestive remarks, implying that if Gao Meng stayed in the capital, the court would force him to marry a princess with a bad reputation.

Finally, two female warriors reported back on their mission.

"We disguised ourselves as vegetable farmers selling vegetables to restaurants and spread the strange tale of 'cutting off noses' outside the restaurants. Several young ladies from the Gao family were only a doorway away from us, so they must have heard it all. However, the king ordered us to tell the story only once and leave after we finished, and not to appear in front of the Gao family again. Therefore, we are not sure who those young ladies are."

Yuan Cheng: "It's alright, you did a great job."

After dismissing Wu Yong, he arranged the small ornaments beside him in the formation of a chess game, sighing, "Although he is in the open and I am in the shadows, in terms of power, he is far stronger than me. Under imperial power, the Legalists and the spies will weave a net across the court and the countryside to gather information for him in a timely manner! Pu Hui, what do you think we can do to break this dominance that is destined to be so great?"

Zhang Puhui imagined himself sweeping across the chessboard, then tucking in his sleeves and replying, "How to break it? Break it head-on!"

Zhang Puhui knew that if he acted so recklessly, his head would fall to the ground at most half a moment later than the various ornaments on his desk.

Staring at the arranged "general, horse, and pawn," he replied, "Even the tightest net has loopholes, let alone the fact that the one who chose the Gao family as the pawn was making a clumsy move."

Yuan Cheng: "Explain in detail."

Zhang Puhui made a move, saying, "This is Gao Xian. The king has already planted the seed of resentment in his heart. In terms of age, he is definitely not as good as his nephew Gao Meng. In his future career, whether he is worse than his brother Gao Zhao or not, his initial official position will definitely be lower than Gao Zhao's."

"Therefore, the initial appointment of the officials was tantamount to causing the Gao brothers to fall apart once again. Furthermore, the officials from prominent families in Luoyang who looked down on the Gao family would not tolerate the brothers working together!"

After Rencheng Wang made his move, Zhang Puhui pushed his pawn forward and said, "This is Gao Meng. I guess the king's intention is to put the infamous Princess Jinan and Gao Meng together?"

Yuan Cheng: "This step is crucial. The worst thing is that person only cares about the throne and doesn't care about brotherhood. He's even willing to sacrifice Princess Chang Le, Yuan Ying, to support the Gao family." Zhang Puhui pondered: "It's not difficult to get through this hurdle, but we have to use despicable means."

Yuan Cheng: "This king is of noble character..."

Zhang Puhui pointed in the direction of the Guangling Prince's Mansion next door: "If we can get the Feather Prince's help, things will probably be half as easy."

He moved his pawn for the third time and said, "One of the Gao family's daughters must be selected for the harem. It seems that His Majesty is interested in Gao Ying. Given the Gao family's status as relatives of the emperor, they will surely be able to find out about the Empress Dowager Gao's nose removal and disfigurement."

Zhang Puhui pushed the pawn forward slowly and said slowly, "Regardless of how Consort Gao lost her nose, let's first confirm that the strange tales that the Gao family's daughter heard were true. Even as a consort, she would suffer in the process of vying for power in the royal family."

"The Empress has been established, and now that she's established, strict rules must be followed. As long as the Gao family's daughters fear the Empress, and that fear breeds resentment and hatred, it will distract her. This is a long and arduous process; let's wait and see."

"As for Gao Zhao," Zhang Puhui frowned and said frankly, "I'm afraid I can't think of a solution. We can only wait and see what Zhao Zhi does next, and then we'll deal with whatever comes our way."

Yuan Cheng suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Which trusted minister do you think His Majesty will bring with him when he meets Gao Zhao and Gao Xian?"

Zhang Puhui let out a soft sigh: "Does Your Majesty mean... that Your Majesty won't bring many officials? Whom will Your Majesty bring to see Gao Zhao and Gao Xian? That person is someone Your Majesty has arranged to help the Gao family quickly establish themselves in the court?"

Yuan Cheng: "That's my guess. Of course, whether it's true or not depends on the message sent from the palace."

Zhang Puhui: "If that's the case, would it be Attendant Yuan Hui? Zhen Chen? It's definitely not Imperial Physician Wang Xian, Wang Xian's abilities are insufficient! Could it be Ru Hao? Ru Hao was just ordered to build the North Palace Garden, and the Gao family has just arrived in the capital and been arranged to work in the North Palace Garden. Could it be that Ru Hao's appointment is not because His Majesty doesn't trust him, but because of today's plans?"

He suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "I almost forgot someone, the king's brother-in-law Xing Luan! He is the Imperial Censor, in charge of supervising all officials, and has offended many members of the imperial family and ministers. It would be perfect for him to befriend the Gao family!"

The gain or loss of power often causes family ties to turn against each other, especially since the Prince of Rencheng's brother-in-law was a divorcee.

Yuan Cheng: "That makes sense. If His Majesty entrusts the task of helping the Gao family to Xing Luan, it will cause a lot of trouble."

Zhang Puhui slapped his forehead again: "I'm confused, I'm confused! There's something even more troublesome!"

Yuan Cheng asked in surprise, "Who?"

Zhang Puhui stood up anxiously and reminded him, "Your Majesty has forgotten what the officials have been saying in private... Zhao Zhi is impeached by all the officials every month, but there is a minister from the imperial clan who does the opposite, impeaching all the officials every month! This minister does not serve in the Censorate, but he is better than anyone else in the Censorate! And he especially likes to impeach princes!"

Yuan Cheng huffed, "I know! That damned Yuan Kuang! He's impeached me countless times!"

However, neither the shrewd and calculating emperor nor his clerk could guess correctly who the emperor would bring to meet the Gao family.