History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 381 Hunting at Jingyang Mountain

Did the Sizhou government arrest Feng Junxing after collecting all the evidence?
If so, then the power of the Feng family should not be underestimated, as they know that Feng Junxing is doomed this time, and the source of the disaster is the Feather King!

Wei Yao couldn't worry about this for the time being. She led the group of palace servants who were delivering the imperial decree northward, avoiding the bustling Tongtuo Street, and entered the palace through the side gate on the west side. When the noise of the street could no longer be heard, she finally had some peace and quiet to think about the clues that Prince Rencheng had revealed to her.

First up is the "date"!
Prince Rencheng took her to see ordinary jujube trees and presented her with jujubes bestowed by the palace. Clearly, Prince Rencheng had made a move that connected the four members of the Gao family—Gao Zhao, Gao Xian, Gao Meng, and Gao Ying—with the fruit "jujube."

Wei Yao couldn't help but recall the day she brought the four members of the Gao family away from the North Palace Garden. Gao Zhao had trampled the ripe winter dates that had fallen to the ground and tried to provoke her by saying, "Even princes and nobles certainly don't care for dates." At that moment, she guessed that he might have heard somewhere about Yuan Xi choking to death on a date in the Hualin Garden. Because jujube trees that could bear fruit in winter were extremely rare, Gao Zhao showed no joy at the sight of this beautiful scene; instead, his expression was one of apprehension.

From this, it can be inferred that the Gao family member who is connected with "dates" is Gao Zhao!
Wei Yao pondered the second clue... the Tree of Immortality.

She used the "tree of immortality" to mention the hermit Zhao Yi, originally intending to use the fortune teller Guo Pu's prediction that Zhao Yi would live to be 500 years old, implying that if the Prince of Rencheng had urgent news in the future and it was inconvenient to contact her, he should contact her father.

Unexpectedly, the Prince of Rencheng mentioned the famous diviner Guo Pu before she did, which means that he had already used "divination" to set a trap and ensnare at least one of the four members of the Gao family.

who can that be?

Wei Yao silently recited the name "Gao Xian".

She went to Gao Zhao's residence several times, but Gao Xian was never there; it seemed he had gone to consult a Taoist priest. Once a person becomes overly devoted to deities, they become a superstitious fool, making them even easier to exploit!
The third clue was what she gave to Prince Rencheng.

She deliberately avoided lingering in the area where the mimosa trees were planted, not only to tell Prince Rencheng that if Duke Gao Meng of Bohai were to marry a princess, it could only be Princess Jinan, but also to remind Prince Rencheng that she would soon be making plans for the widower Gao Zhao and the Gao family's daughter Gao Ying, and that they should not interfere during this period to avoid disrupting her arrangements.

The fourth clue, Wei Yao wasn't sure if she guessed right... The artificial rockery in the center of the Prince's mansion's fishpond, when viewed from a certain spot on the riverbank, resembled the broken wall on the foundation of the Lingtai ruins in the south of the city.

So she stopped at that spot, and just as she began her admonition, she was interrupted by the Prince of Rencheng, which led her to believe that her guess was correct.

Now, in addition to his teachings, her father often sets up a divination stall at the Lingtai ruins. It seems that even if she didn't remind Prince Rencheng to contact her father, he had already thought of it. It is precisely because of this speculation that we can deduce that the clue about the "Tree of Immortality" is not that Prince Rencheng informed her that he would communicate with her father, but rather that he revealed that the Gao family has believers in mystical arts such as immortality.

At that moment, Wei Yao could only think of so much. They had arrived at Dongji Hall, and she went inside to report to the emperor.

The King of Rencheng could certainly have thought of what Wei Yao had deduced, and he had considered it in more detail.

The news of Feng Junxing's arrest and imprisonment in the Sizhou government office gradually spread throughout the court the following day. This man held a low-ranking official position and had consistently performed poorly in his performance evaluations. He had only been able to receive a salary year after year, despite his inaction, because he was the son of the late Grand Tutor Feng Xi.

However, since the passing of Empress Dowager Wenming, the Feng family's power has declined year by year. High-ranking ministers had no time to discuss Feng Junxing's affairs; they were more concerned about the hunting competition held in the North Palace Garden.

The competition will take place at the Jingyang Mountain hunting grounds.

Jingyang Mountain is not a natural mountain, but was built by digging and piling up earth during the reign of Emperor Ming of Cao Wei. It used a large number of white and colorful stones, which were quarried from Taihang Mountain and Gucheng Mountain.

Last night, Wei Yao was on duty at the Secretariat. After discussing state affairs early this morning, she and a group of imperial relatives and ministers accompanied the emperor into the palace. The empress, concubines, princesses, and ladies of noble birth were already waiting at the entrance of Hualin Garden. Everyone rode horses there and received bows and arrows.

All horses were trained at the Royal Horse Farm.

The emperor was skilled in riding and archery. When he saw Wei Yao's posture as she tried to ride and shoot, he knew that her skills were not up to par. So he ordered his guards to bring her over and instructed her: "To get to the hunting grounds, we have to pass through the Hundred Fruit Garden. The mountain road is difficult to travel. You will come with me."

"Yes." Empress Yu Baoying hadn't seen the Emperor for half a month. It would be a lie to say she didn't miss him. She saw the Emperor instructing Wei Yao, and although she knew that the emperor and his minister were definitely innocent, the bitterness and sorrow welling up in her heart were not something she could suppress.

Not long after her younger sister, Consort Yu, married Prince Yuan Yu of Jingzhao, the radiance of her youth had vanished, replaced by a fierce aura.

Consort Yu whispered away from her surroundings, "Empress, I reminded you to be wary of Wei Yao, wasn't I right?"

"I've told you several times, don't mention such things! I only hope that His Majesty has as many trusted ministers as possible."

Consort Yu said sadly, "Ever since my elder sister became empress, she has gradually become accustomed to saying one thing and meaning another. So have I."

The Empress was about to get angry when she heard the last sentence and felt sorry for her sister, saying, "We rarely see each other. No matter what grievances you have suffered, tell me. Just don't mention anything about being wary of Wei Yao."

After speaking, she looked at the emperor again. The emperor was talking with the other ministers, and Wei Yao was talking to the Prince of Guangling. The empress also noticed that Yuan Kuang, the minister who was good at impeaching the prince, was actually very gentle when he was talking to Wei Yao.

Only then did she realize that her resentment towards Wei Yao might not be jealousy, but rather a long-simmering envy. "If I hadn't been born into the Yu family, if I had studied as hard as she did, and become an official..."

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in life. Even if there were, exchanging lives with someone else wouldn't necessarily lead to a happy ending.

Everyone had tried out the horses and the bows and arrows, and the hunt began.

The procession was led by officials of low rank, with the emperor and his favorite ministers in the middle, surrounded by guards on the left and right. Behind them were the remaining members of the imperial family and ministers, followed by the concubines and ladies of the court, and at the very end of the procession were the elite Imperial Guards.

The royal hunting grounds are divided into difficult and easy areas. The easy area is the archery range on the south side of Jingyang Mountain. Outside the archery range, the terrain is either steep and rugged or surrounded by hills.

Vultures circled over Jingyang Mountain. A skilled archer, Wu Chen, drew his bow and fired an arrow into the sky. The vulture that was hit fell into the forest. The arrow bore the mark of the minister. The elite Imperial Guards picked up the vulture and planned to record their achievement at the shooting range.

Wei Yao was truly envious. She only had twenty arrows, and the first arrow had to hit the target immediately. She absolutely could not use a vulture to test her skills.

Suddenly, Yang Daye shouted, "Quick, there's a gray rabbit, Vice Minister Wei..."

The emperor glared at him, and Yang Daye, who had meant well but did something foolish, slapped himself in the face.

To be honest, if the emperor hadn't given the order first, Wei Yao really wanted to catch up with that rabbit, because with so many people going into the mountains, it would be so difficult to encounter a timid wild animal!

She raised her hand slightly to Yang Daye and mouthed to him, "Tell me earlier next time."

It is indeed shameful to only kill mountain rabbits in this kind of hunt, but it is even more shameful to get nothing at all!

Jingyang Mountain truly lives up to its reputation as a royal hunting ground; we encountered foxes, goats, and wild boars as soon as we arrived at the Hundred Fruit Garden.

The Xianbei people were inherently fond of hunting. As the ranks gradually dispersed, Wei Yao aimed at a goat and was about to shoot when someone beat her to it and shot the goat through the neck.

Wei Yao looked at the archer and praised him with a smile: "The Princess Consort of Jingzhao has excellent archery skills."