History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 394 A Friend's Appointment
"By the way, General," Diao Zheng remembered something and asked, "What should we do with Du Sichong? Kill him or spare his life?"

Du Sichong was a subordinate of Cao Jingzong, a minister of the Xiao Liang dynasty, and also the leader of the scouts who assisted Lü Sengzhen in relaying information about the Huanman tribes. Du Sichong failed to meet Lü Sengzhen at the designated location, so he risked approaching the Huanman tribes to scout, where he was captured alive by soldiers arranged by Diao Zheng.

After being captured, this man could not withstand torture and revealed in detail how many scouts he had under his command, the methods they used, and the routes they took to deliver messages, including what he knew about the lifestyle of Wang Mao, the governor of Yingzhou.

The information Wang Mao received was false, leading him to mistakenly believe that Lü Sengzhen was doing well. As he left the county office, he stepped into Diao Zheng's assassination trap.

Zhao Zhi, exhausted, replied with a single word: "Kill."

Meanwhile, Cao Jingzong, a court official of the Xiao Liang dynasty, was unable to sleep at night. After assisting Xiao Yan in ascending the throne, this meritorious official did not want to stay in Jiankang City, because it was not conducive to him to amass wealth under the emperor's nose. Without amassing wealth, he could not support his army, and he would have high official rank and generous salary but no real power.

Cao Jingzong intended to appoint a prefectural governor to Yingzhou, where Wang Mao was located. Cao Jingzong himself was greedy for money, so he projected his own interests onto others. He was afraid that Wang Mao, who was temporarily in charge of the affairs of the prefecture, would stay in Yingzhou for too long and would petition the emperor to station troops on the border for an extended period of time. Therefore, Cao Jingzong was willing to send one hundred brave soldiers there, and put them under the command of his most trusted confidant, Du Sichong, to take on the important task of relaying messages between Wang Mao and Lü Sengzhen.

However, three days ago, Du Sichong stopped sending secret messages to Jiankang.

This indicates that Du Sichong was in danger and most likely died! It also indicates that one of Lü Sengzhen and Wang Mao had an accident.

Cao Jingzong hesitated because if the ominous divination he had given to Lü Sengzhen a few days ago had come true and Lü Sengzhen was in trouble, then why hadn't Wang Mao sent a message to His Majesty in the past three days?

Could it be that Wang Mao is also in danger?
Cao Jingzong paced at the door, his face darkening with his thoughts. He finally lay back on the warm bed, deciding to delay reporting the news of Du Sichong's accident.

Midwinter, the 26th.

The capital of Wei.

The dawn was magnificent, and the snow had stopped and the sky was clear. The streets and alleys of Luoyang were all swept clean. Wei Yao and her husband Yuan Mao were off duty today, and they arrived early at the Mengsi Pond outside the west wall of the palace to meet their friends, as agreed.

The area around Mengsi Pond has changed. Merchants have set up various banquets using embroidered screens. Charcoal is lit in each place for heating, and mutton can be cooked and roasted. Even before people get close, the aroma of spices and cooked meat fills the air, rich and warm.

Because the areas enclosed by the screens were not large, Wei Yao and the other ladies had to sit separately from Yuan Mao's group at the banquet.

Among the women on Wei Yao's side are Lu Baozhen, Xi Jiao's wife Yang Ran, and Wang Puxian's sister Wang Wenshu. On Yuan Mao's side are Xi Jiao, Pengcheng King's son Yuan Zizhi, Guangyang King Yuan Jia's eldest son Yuan Yuan, and Wang Puxian's younger brother Wang Shao.

Because Wei Yao was busy with official business, she rarely had time to meet with Lu Baozhen. Now that they met, the two women felt awkward with each other. In addition, Wei Yao's bad reputation as a treacherous minister spread, making Wang Wenshu feel shy and unnatural when he smiled at her.

"Take this!" Yuan Mao said mischievously, throwing a snowball at Wei Yao's back just as she was about to step behind the screen.

Wei Yao grabbed a handful of snow to throw back, but the quick-handed bastard threw snow all over her face!
Damn it, my makeup is going to run!
"Yuan Mao!" Despite the snow pelting her face, Wei Yao was determined to smash the snowball she had clenched into her bastard husband.

Lu Baozhen had a lot of snowball fights this winter and had already mastered the speed and strength to make snowballs. She ran to a place with thick snow, made one, and threw it to Wei Yao, shouting in a loud voice, "Yao Yao, throw it at him hard!"

Before Yang Ran could speak, she twisted her waist and cried out in a coquettish voice, "Don't hit my darling, ah!" Before she could finish speaking, her darling threw a snowball at her, almost hitting her in the mouth. Lu Baozhen, with her sharp aim, slammed the snowball into Xi Jiao, avenging Yang Ran, and then anxiously called out to her, "Don't be a mudfish at a time like this."

"Who's acting like a mudfish?" Yang Ran retorted in a soft, coquettish voice. Her next action made Lu Baozhen grimace in disgust. Not to be outdone, Yang Ran grabbed some snow, then shook her hand away, complaining that it was too cold. Her other hand, however, was quite nimble, adjusting her hair bun on the left and then the right, checking if any hairpins had been bent by the impact earlier.

Lu Baozhen couldn't take it anymore and threw a fluffy ball of snow at Yang Ran's two buns, which landed right between them.

"Hahaha—" Lu Baozhen stomped her feet and laughed, but slipped and almost did a split.

At this moment, Wei Yao had already pinned Yuan Mao down and kept stuffing snow into his collar.

Lu Baozhen was a lively person; she threw a snowball at Yuan Zizhi, which was dodged but hit Wang Shao.

Of the two sides, only Wang Wenshu and Yuan Yuan did not participate in the snowball fight.

Yuan Yuan knew the purpose of his visit today. His Majesty, like Emperor Xiaowen, valued the Langya Wang clan. Although Wang Su had died of illness, his eldest daughter was granted the title of "Lady" after entering the palace. Wang Su's younger brother had just come to Wei and was appointed as a Zhongshu Lang.

The slightly reserved Wang Wenshu opposite him was the younger sister of Lady Wang in the palace. If Lady Wang did not dislike him, they would soon be betrothed by His Majesty.

After the snowball fight, everyone laughed and joked, and the barriers between them disappeared. After Yuanmao and his group took their seats, they shared their grievances and learned from each other's experiences in dealing with people.

The ladies were much more refined. The merchants who ran the business here had their servants carry fresh flowers and fruits and vegetables to walk around outside the various banquets. Yang Ran and Wang Wenshu bought a basket of fresh flowers to make rouge, while Wei Yao and Lu Baozhen bought cherries, apricots, and honey to make honey drinks.

Yang Ran was mischievous. Instead of testing the rouge on his own face, he didn't want to bully the honest Wang Wenshu, so he quickly smeared it all over Lu Baozhen's face, making her look like a tabby cat.

Both cherries and apricots are stored in ice cellars after ripening. Merchants, driven by profit, sell the fruit before it has fully thawed, causing Wei Yao and the others to feel nauseous and rush to the outhouse in quick succession after drinking the honeyed beverage.

An even more embarrassing thing happened!
The men's restroom was just two steps away. Prince Yuan Yu of Guangling was supposed to oversee the relocation of the ancestral tablets at Taihe Temple, but after only an hour of work, he slacked off and went to play and eat at Mengsi Pond. The weather was cold, and he felt unwell and went to the outhouse. Hearing the continuous sounds of diarrhea, he deliberately shouted to the servants, "Quickly tell your manager to check if there's an underground spring flowing into the outhouse from Mengsi Pond! Plop, plop, don't let it all spray up and ruin my butt!"

The party ended awkwardly, and the roads were slippery. Yuan Yuan and Yuan Zizhi took Wang Wenshu and her brother, and Lu Baozhen home respectively.

Yang Ran felt so embarrassed today, and kept pouting as if she wanted to cry. Xi Jiao carried her on his back and told her funny stories to coax her, finally making her laugh.

Following the emperor's instructions, Wei Yao, who had facilitated the matchmaking between Yuan Yuan and Wang Wenshu, did not rush to leave. She used a hot water bottle to warm her lower abdomen, and her body no longer felt uncomfortable.

Yuan Mao watched the departing figures of Xi Jiao and his wife and said with a smile, "Xi Jiao used to give a sour face whenever he saw a girl. It turns out he just hadn't met the one he liked."

Wei Yao suddenly felt a draft in her chest. She moved the hot water bottle upwards, then realized it wasn't a draft, but rather that the reborn Yao Yao had always reserved a place for Xi Jiao in her heart. She switched hands to hold the hot water bottle, using her warm hands to tighten her grip on Yuan Mao's hand, and sighed, "So I love you, and it just so happens that you love me too. How lucky we are."

Yuan Mao was overjoyed. He squatted down, carried her on his back, and shouted, "Let's go home!"