History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 390 Wei Yao, Junior Minister of Justice

Regarding the Gao family's affairs, Wei Yao still had her own thoughts, but Wang Xian knew he was not qualified to listen, so he tactfully took his leave.

Wei Yao reported to the emperor: "Gao Meng is leading his clansmen back to their hometown, which is a good time to eliminate bandits on the road. In addition, many prefectures and counties have sent secret reports that famine has caused the corpses of refugees to be exposed in the countryside, which is really unbearable. Therefore, I request Your Majesty to appoint Gao Meng to military command and grant him the authority to mobilize the garrison along the way, to arrest bandits and rescue refugees."

The emperor, who was worried about not having a chance to promote his maternal family, did not hesitate and issued three more decrees.

The first imperial edict appointed Gao Meng as "General of the Northern Army" and granted him the title of Imperial Envoy.

The second imperial edict granted permission for Gongsun Liang, the Minister of Justice, to retire due to old age, and promoted Cui Zhen to the position of Chief Justice.

Thus, Cui Zhenyuan's original official position of "Jingwei Shaoqing" became vacant, so the third imperial edict appointed Wei Yao to concurrently hold this position.

Although the powers of the Court of Justice were not as great as in the Han Dynasty, as the powers of revising laws and penal decrees were separated and transferred to the Department of State Affairs, the power to adjudicate cases and hear the cases of civil and military officials was still firmly in the hands of the Minister of Justice and the Vice Minister of Justice.

When Wei Yao came out of Qinghui Hall, she felt that the sky was high and the clouds were light, but her heart was like a wild horse.

Wang Xian waited for her at Duanmen and exclaimed, "Minister Wei is quite capable. Even if I were to go back to that miscalculation point, I still wouldn't have a way to deal with it."

Wei Yao bowed to the other party and said apologetically, "It's not that I have great skills, it's just that the general is kind and doesn't want to hold it against me."

Wang Xian chuckled, gazing into the distance, his mind expanding with the wind. He said, "I don't intend to return anytime soon. Xiangzhou is vast and rich in resources, which may help me complete the writing of the book 'Prescriptions.' However, His Majesty has been served by me since childhood, and I have been in charge of his diagnosis, prescriptions, and medicine storehouses. How can I suddenly put aside these concerns as I am about to depart?"

Wei Yao asked earnestly, "What does the general think of Cui Yu, the physician of the Court of Judicial Review?"

When the Seventh Prince Yuan Yu was on the verge of death, it was Cui Yu who saved his life with a miraculous acupuncture needle.

Wang Xian nodded: "The 'Dianyu' I wanted to recommend is him. Now that I have left the palace, I will entrust this credit for recommending a worthy person to you."

He casually said, "Come find me the day after tomorrow," and strode away.

Wei Yao thought to herself: It's good that you can think things through, so that you won't become enemies in the future.

Temporary sentimentality could not disturb her mind. She would inform the emperor that it was Wang Xian's idea to recommend Cui Yu as the "Dianyu" official. Otherwise, given Wang Xian's many years of service and hard work, it would surely displease the emperor if he recommended someone else to replace him as soon as he left the capital, making him feel that she was cold-hearted.

Zhongshu Province.

An official spotted Wei Yao approaching from a distance and quickly relayed the message to the various offices: "You scoundrel... no, the Yellow Gate Attendant Wei Yao is here again."

“The Vice Minister is fond of making false accusations; everyone be on your guard.”

The official in charge of the Secretariat was the newly appointed Prince Yuan Yu of Jingzhao. He had a fiery temper and threw official documents at the door, hitting his subordinate in the face, and scolded, "A mere Yellow Gate Attendant, she's here, so what? Do you want me to go and greet her?"

The subordinate cursed inwardly, "This corrupt official doesn't appreciate kindness," then picked up the official document and pretended to hurry away, but in reality, he was gloating and watching the show.

Just as he expected, after Wei Yao arrived, she asked, "Is the Director of the Secretariat on duty?"

The subordinate official pointed to Yuan Yu's office and replied, "It's inside the office."

Just as he expected, Wei Yao had barely approached the door when another half-rolled, half-loose official document was thrown out and hit her.

Wei Yao picked it up and glanced at it. It should be a draft edict written by Yuan Yu. The content tried to quote poems and prose, but none of the ten sentences got to the point.

She entered the office, let go, and the nonsensical draft edict fell to Yuan Yu's feet. Just as he was about to get angry, she said, "His Majesty ordered the Secretariat to draft an edict." "You..." Yuan Yu gritted his teeth and changed his words: "Tell me, what edict should be drafted?" Not only did he take back his words of insult, but he also had to get up and pretend to imitate her, bowing towards the emperor's position.

Wei Yao calmly surveyed the messy office. Just as the "dog" behind her was about to lose his temper, she said with dissatisfaction, "Why haven't you laid out the paper and ground the ink yet?"

Yuan Yu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in hatred. With a "whoosh," he sat down, his clothes billowing in the wind, and ground the ink as if it were a treacherous minister, making a squeaking sound.

"Rip—" He tore the paper in his big motion, and, being used to taking his anger out on others, glared at Wei Yao.

Wei Yao calmly looked back.

Yuan Yu thought to herself: You just wait!

After the paper was laid out again, Wei Yao recounted the several imperial edicts in one go, without stopping.

Yuan Yu slammed down his pen after writing only a few words and asked, "Wei Yao, what do you mean? You're talking so fast, how am I supposed to write?"

Wei Yao shook her head and sighed: "It seems that the Director of the Secretariat really doesn't know that the power to draft imperial edicts should be exclusively held by the 'Secretaries of the Secretariat'."

"Bang!" Yuan Yu slammed her hand on the desk in anger, yelling, "What are you doing... Waaah, waaah!"

The Grand Secretary Liu Fang rushed in, covered Yuan Yu's mouth tightly, and said to Wei Yao, "I would like to trouble Vice Minister Wei to tell me His Majesty's decree. Don't worry, Vice Minister, whichever decree you need urgently, I will instruct the Grand Secretary to draft it first."

Drafting a proposal first allows for discussion, followed by early review and announcement.

Liu Fang had always been an official who advocated for the implementation of the new educational decrees. Wei Yao respected this Grand Secretary very much and explained the decrees again. After she left, Liu Fang's palms were bitten until they bled by Yuan Yu.

Yuan Yu was furious. He kicked over his desk and shouted, "I am the Director of the Imperial Secretariat. Why can't I draft imperial edicts?"

Liu Fang explained tactfully, "It's not that it's impossible; one still needs to learn how to draft edicts and decrees. However, the court does have rules: the actual work of drafting edicts can only be handled by the Secretariat Drafters." He observed Yuan Yu's expression and inwardly groaned. Hadn't he made himself clear enough? The position of Secretariat Drafter was essentially a sinecure for princes! They were meant to be idle, supervising their subordinates' work! They weren't to interfere in actual affairs!
Yuan Yu: "What nonsense are you spouting? I don't understand a word! Wait, what did that man surnamed Wei just say? What official position was she granted?"

"Minister of Justice," Liu Fang earnestly advised, "Minister Wei enjoys His Majesty's deep trust and now also serves as the Vice Minister of the Court of Justice. Wang and Minister Wei have no enmity whatsoever; why risk antagonizing her for a moment's glory? However..."

Yuan Yu was persuaded. He had been neglected by the emperor for a long time and had finally regained an official position, so he quickly asked, "But what?"

Liu Fang truthfully replied, "The Vice Minister Wei I know is not the type to cause trouble without cause. Did the King offend her before?"

Yuan Yu's expression changed; he remembered!

When he was leaving Jingyang Mountain after the hunt, the old thief Yuan Yu attacked him, saying that his queen had deliberately lured a tiger into the mountains and nearly killed the other party, his seventh brother, and Wei Yao.

"Yu Baofei! You brainless idiot, all you do is cause trouble for me!" Yuan Yu couldn't hide his feelings any longer, and in a fit of rage, he stormed back to the mansion and got into a fight with Yu Baofei.

The next day, a report of victory rushed in from Nanyang County, which shocked the imperial court!

After identification by Grand Tutor Yuan Xie and nobles such as the Pei family who surrendered to the court, it was confirmed that the Liang general in the painting who was killed by the elite troops sent to conquer the barbarians was Lü Sengzhen.

The emperor was both pleased and worried. He was pleased that one of Xiao Yan's top generals had been eliminated, but worried that Zhao Zhi had made great contributions in a short time and that even after leaving the palace, her prestige still surpassed that of the imperial family.

As the court session ended, a snowstorm descended upon the Central Plains, changing the color of countless buildings and households. The Great Wei Dynasty was like a new scroll painting, about to embark on a new journey.