History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

When Wei Yao came to pay her respects, she had a scepter at her waist and a tablet in her hand. This scene reminded the emperor of an absurd incident in which Prince Yuan Kuang of Guangping impeached Yuan Yu.

Ministers would hold tablets in their hands during court sessions, either to record matters to be discussed or to record daily chores. However, Yuan Yu, the Prince of Guangling, who held the important position of "Situ," always kept his tablet spotless. But on the first day of this month, Yuan Yu filled his tablet with writing. During court sessions, he stared intently at the tablet, occasionally revealing a lewd smile, which was noticed by Yuan Kuang.

After the court session ended, Yuan Kuang saw that Yuan Yu's ivory tablet contained a vulgar supernatural story called "The Bird Demon Encounters the Apricot Blossom Spirit at Night," and he was furious. That very day, he vehemently criticized and reprimanded Yuan Yu.

Yuan Ke had already instructed the eunuch Qin Song on what he needed to do by summoning Wei Yao, and he continued to review the documents.

Qin Song led Wei Yao to the east pavilion corridor, briefly describing the argument between the Prince of Guangling and the princess in the Qinghui Hall. Looking at the two being punished from a distance, Qin Song said with a worried tone, "One is a prince, and the other is a princess. If they are punished lightly, His Majesty will not be satisfied. If they are punished severely, you know the temperament of Prince Yu, he will definitely resign again. Princess Jinan... sigh."

He vaguely conveyed the emperor's message. If Wei Yao's guess was correct, he would also be one of the meritorious individuals and win the emperor's favor. If Wei Yao misunderstood, then it was her own foolishness and the fault lay solely with her!
This is the power struggle between the emperor's trusted ministers! It's something Wei Yao will inevitably have to go through after Zhao Zhi was forced to leave her position as a favored minister.

Unfortunately, Qin Song used the wrong tactic; Wei Yao was most adept at countering this kind of method!

"Is the eunuch Qin not going to finish his sentence, waiting for me to question His Majesty?"

Qin Song showed no anger or nervousness, and replied, "Minister Wei, please don't be impatient. I was just about to say this. The princess and the Duke of Bohai are destined to be together. Now that the matter is settled, His Majesty naturally hopes that the princess and the Duke of Bohai will both have a smooth future. However, the princess is a bit arrogant. If the Duke of Bohai finds out about any bad rumors, I'm afraid the princess will no longer act presumptuously, and the Duke of Bohai will not trust her and will become distant from her."

Wei Yao: "Is the princess that the Qin official is talking about referring to Princess Yuanzhen of Jinan?"

"You're really hard to fool!" Qin Song gritted his teeth and replied, "Yes."

Wei Yao asked again, "Did His Majesty give any other instructions?"

This time, Qin Song told the truth: "There really isn't any left!"

They went up the steps and into the corridor, with Wei Yao leading the way and Qin Song following behind.

"Wei Yao, the Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, pays his respects to the Minister of Works and the Princess." The wind in the hall was as sharp as a razor's blade. Without further ado, Wei Yao asked Yuan Yu directly, "Does the Minister of Works truly intend to kill Feng Junxing?"

“Yes!” Yuan Yu bared his teeth and said fiercely.

The uncle and nephew had already fallen out, and Princess Yuanzhen immediately cursed, "You old thief, don't even dream about it! I won't help you, and I'll tell the Feng family how you plan to kill Feng Junxing!"

Yuan Yu: "I fear you?!"

Wei Yao interrupted the argument: "I'll help Situ kill Feng Junxing!"

His words silenced the corridor.

After a moment of stunned silence, Qin Song quickly wrote down Wei Yao's words.

Yuan Zhen glared fiercely at Wei Yao. This princess was intelligent, but not particularly so. Instead of threatening Wei Yao with the same words, she mocked, "Is Minister Wei trying to curry favor with my fourth uncle because he intends to treat me like a pushover?"

Wei Yao replied seriously, "Yes. If I treat Situ as an easy target, I'm afraid it will backfire and make him happy."

Qin Song wrote furiously, not missing a single word.

"Heh." Yuan Yu was amused and in a good mood. He said to Wei Yao, "I like to be straightforward. Tell me, what do you want to exchange with me?"

Wei Yao: "Regarding the sacrificial ceremony at Taihe Temple at the end of the month, I hope that the Minister of the Interior will assist the Ministry of Divination, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Ceremonies in mobilizing troops and making advance arrangements for the necessary sacrificial rites and road security, so as to avoid any mistakes."

The Taihe Temple in Luoyang was rebuilt after the capital was moved. Yuan Ke ordered its repair after ascending the throne, and it has now been completed. After the sacrificial ceremony at the end of the month, all the ancestral tablets will be moved to the Taihe Temple. During this period, all matters require the cooperation of the Imperial Guards. However, Yuan Yu is lazy and difficult, and officials such as the Ministry of Rites always find him difficult to consult.

Yuan Yu: "This is not difficult. If His Majesty is no longer angry with me, I will return to the Situ residence to handle it." Wei Yao: "Then I will go and report to His Majesty. Situ, please wait a moment."

Princess Jinan panicked: "What about me?"

Wei Yao: "The princess needs to be exposed to the wind before she freezes into a hard persimmon."

"You, you...you just wait!"

"Haha!" Yuan Yu deliberately laughed and mocked his niece.

Because Yuan Yu repeatedly failed to cooperate with them, the Ministry of Rites and other departments submitted countless memorials. Wei Yao resolved the issue, but new problems arose.

The emperor angrily asked her, "You've grown increasingly bold, daring to kill Feng Junxing out of personal favoritism!"

Qin Song, standing behind, lowered his head and eyes, not daring to show the slightest bit of schadenfreude.

Wei Yao: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I would never do anything for personal gain or cause Your Majesty any trouble. I will find all the memorials from the Censorate and Yuan Kuang impeaching Feng Junxing and hand them over to the Sizhou Office to verify their authenticity."

She continued, "Your Majesty, the position of Commander of the Imperial Guards can only be temporarily held by Yuan Yu. Yuan Yu is determined to kill Feng Junxing no matter what. Rather than letting him act recklessly and giving the Feng family a handle to place their people in the Imperial Guards, it is better to fulfill Yuan Yu's wishes. I believe that what Feng Junxing has done is enough to warrant a death sentence!"

After a moment's thought, the emperor instructed, "Tell Yuan Yu that the sacrificial rites and the placement of the divine tablets are of utmost importance and cannot be neglected!"

Wei Yao: "Yes, Your Majesty. I will convey His Majesty's decree to have Yuan Yu return to the Situ Mansion to preside over the affairs of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Ceremonies. He must not delay the affairs of the Ministry of Divine Religion, the Ministry of Ceremonies, and the Ministry of Rites."

After she and Qin Song left again, the emperor read the records of Qin Song's reprimands. When he saw comments such as "easy target," he couldn't help but smile.

In the short time it took for Wei Yao to go and return, Princess Yuanzhen looked pale and was already frozen to the bone.

"Situ may leave now."

Yuan Zhen suddenly became alert! This meant that His Majesty also agreed to kill Feng Junxing. If she dared to leak the news to the Feng family, she would not only be going against Wei Yao and the old thief Yu, but against His Majesty.

"When you have some free time, Vice Minister Wei, you may come to the Situ residence for a chat." Yuan Yu said with a wicked smile, giving his niece a smug look before striding away.

When Wei Yao came to Yuan Zhen's side, fearing that the princess might not understand, she warned her first: "I am working for His Majesty. The princess must not have any further dealings with Feng Junxing to avoid getting involved."

"Do I need your reminder? He's fine now, but what about me? How much longer do I have to stand there as punishment?"

“If the princess doesn’t want to continue to freeze, then listen carefully to what I have to say.” Ignoring the other party’s bad temper, Wei Yao said, “It’s no longer important who is right and who is wrong in your matter with the Duke of Bohai. I will suppress public opinion in the court and the public as soon as possible. Please do not leave the palace for two months and follow the Empress’s arrangements to learn etiquette.”

"Hmph." Yuan Zhen knew that this punishment was too lenient, so although she was unconvinced, she did not dare to act recklessly.

Wei Yao: "If the princess can do this, please give me a clear answer so that I can report back to His Majesty."

Yuanzhen clenched her fists and said through gritted teeth, "I can do it."

Wei Yao turned and left, returning to Qinghui Hall to report to the Emperor: "Yuanzhen is willing to be confined to the inner palace for two months to learn etiquette from the Empress. As for Gao Meng, I will go there now and make sure he doesn't have any concerns about the princess."

Qin Song escorted her out of the palace and asked anxiously, "Why didn't you ask when the princess's punishment of standing in the corner will be lifted?"

Wei Yao feigned a hurry to leave and scolded, "Can't even Qin's eunuch handle such a small matter?" (End of Chapter)