History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 395 Chaos at the Prince of Jingzhao's Mansion

The couple returned to Quanxue Lane. When they passed the Sizhou Office, they turned a corner. Unexpectedly, Yuanzhi, who had been out inspecting local affairs, returned. Upon seeing his son and daughter-in-law, Yuanzhi's fatigue vanished instantly. Yuanmao and Weiyao, both filial, cooked milk for their elders together, chatting and laughing as they did so.

Yuan Zhi asked, "How is your second brother, Wei Jin? Is he still unwilling to look at the young lady?"

Since returning from his travels, Wei Jin's heart seemed to have returned to the distant old capital. Even though Pan Chunniang had shaved her head and become a nun, Wei Jin still missed her across the mountains and rivers and tried his best to refuse the marriage arranged for him by his family.

When his father brought up the matter, Yuanmao couldn't help but laugh and replied, "My second brother changed his tactics this time. He pretended to be a Taoist priest who told his fortune, saying that either his wife would be a widow before he married her, or she would become a widow after he married her."

Yuan Zhi slapped his thigh and laughed, "If your Uncle Wei and Aunt Lu believe him, they'll say next... either shave your head before you marry him, or go bald after the wedding."

Yuan Mao: "Good idea, I'll talk to my second brother about it another day."

Wei Yao gently poked her husband's head, telling him to stop talking nonsense.

Boiling cheese requires considerable skill. First, a high-quality iron pot must be selected to ensure rapid heating and prevent it from turning black. What makes a good iron pot? It's the molten iron used in casting; it must be the very first iron melted and smelted. Iron slag must never be used in casting the pot.

Then, "the pot is cleaned".

Yuan Mao lit the dried cow dung, and Wei Yao added water to the pot. After the water was heated, Wei Yao watched the fire, and Yuan Mao used bundles of wormwood to scrub the pot three times. After pouring out the water this time, he dried the remaining water in the pot and wiped the inside of the iron pot with fatty pork.

Wei Yao loved the sizzling sound of fatty pork. Yuan Mao wiped the pot clean, added water, scrubbed it again with wormwood, poured out the water, dried the pot, and then wiped it with a piece of fatty pork, repeating this process several times.

Next was adjusting the sweet, sour, and salty flavor of the buttermilk. Yuanmao knew that his father liked to add roasted wheat flour to the buttermilk, so he adjusted the flavor first and then poured it into hot water.

The pure aroma of butter wafted out, the soup was clear, and there wasn't a trace of rust in the smell.

"Father, have a taste, but be careful, it's hot."

Yuan Mao then served Wei Yao a small bowl, as if to show off his merit.

Wei Yao first wiped the sweat from her husband's forehead, then took the bowl, scooped half a spoonful, and praised, "Delicious, so fragrant."

Seeing his son and daughter-in-law so loving, Yuan Zhi felt gratified but also worried. He wondered: Is Zhao Zhi in Jingzhou or Nanyang County now? In this freezing weather, does she have any hot cheese to warm her up?
Smelling the aroma, Clerk Gou approached with a beaming smile. He was already used to the prefect's pathetic, lovesick look. He asked, "I've had double the New Year's goods prepared. Will the Vice Minister and Young Master Mao go to Quanxue Lane tonight, or return to Yiren Lane?"

These matters were decided by Wei Yao. She replied, "The two of us will return to the school."

The registrar gestured towards the outside, and the guard immediately understood. He then delivered the New Year's goods from Yirenli. After a couple of mouthfuls of cheese, his frozen body warmed up, and he reported the important matter to Yuanzhi: "The Secretariat has been assigned the task of distributing peach wood charms for the New Year. They have too few assistants and are too busy to handle it all. They have allocated a thousand pairs of peach wood charms and a thousand sets of lantern-making supplies to our prefecture. I suggest setting up soup kitchens in the suburbs, entrusting the writing to poor scholars, and the lantern-making to the elderly and women and children."

Yuan Zhi hummed in agreement: "You handle it." Wei Yao asked, "When the head of the Secretariat gave this instruction, did he mention that the auspicious words for the lanterns should also be written by the prefectural government?"

Clerk Gou smiled and said, "This is a small matter. What are your thoughts, Vice Minister?"

"The four primary schools have been built, but no officials have submitted a memorial to the throne regarding the construction of the Imperial Academy. If the disaster in the north continues next year, the construction of the Imperial Academy will likely be delayed even further. To get officials to submit a memorial, we must first let them understand the wishes of the people. My idea is... to have the prefectural government gather the sons of noble families to the site of the Imperial Academy to complete the auspicious writing on lanterns, and at the same time widely publicize this good deed. This will surely attract the attention of famous scholars in the court, and then they can submit a memorial to urge the project to be completed."

After the capital was moved, most of the sons of court officials lacked renowned teachers and were not qualified to enter the Four Gates Primary School. If the Imperial Academy were rebuilt, it would provide these sons with another path to education. As for rebuilding the Imperial College, since the beneficiaries were not limited to court officials and aristocratic families, it could only be ranked after the Imperial Academy.

As the year draws to a close, there are many affairs to attend to in the various departments of the prefectural government. Before Yuan Zhi and the chief clerk could finish discussing Wei Yao's suggestion, several assistants came to inquire about miscellaneous matters.

The prison warden, Shi Guanxian, reported: "Feng Junxing attempted suicide by banging his head against the wall in the dungeon but failed. Should we save him or not?"

The Feng family went through numerous connections to ask for help, but they learned that the Prince of Guangling was determined to kill Feng Junxing this time, so they had no choice but to give up. Feng Junxing was living a life of misery in the dungeon, waiting for his family to visit him. He stopped eating and drinking two days ago, hoping to frighten the prison guards with his hunger strike. After two days, he saw that it was not working, so he changed his tactics and started banging his head against the wall.

Yuan Zhi: "Looks like the collision wasn't too serious."

It was Wei Yao's idea to arrest Feng Junxing. When she saw her uncle looking over and letting her make the decision, she said, "Tell the Feng family the truth. Let them send a doctor to the dungeon themselves, but make it clear to them that Feng Junxing committed a capital crime and cannot be given a light sentence. Also tell Feng Junxing the truth, so that he doesn't blame the wrong person before he dies."

Yuan Zhi instructed Guan Xian: "Do it this way!"

The Feng family had already given up on Feng Junxing, so why would they bother to call a doctor to save him? That night, Feng Junxing died in prison, heartbroken and disillusioned.

Tonight, the Prince of Jingzhao's mansion is even worse than the Feng family's. One minute Yuan Yu is chasing after the princess to hit her, and the next minute the princess is tearing his hair and scratching his face. The two of them are taking turns yelling and shouting at each other, making a complete mess of things.

The reason was that Yuan Yu doted on his concubine Yang Lianluo too much. He not only exempted Yang Lianluo from the custom of bowing to the main wife, but also wanted to make her residence, clothing, and food all according to the main wife's level.

Yu Baofei was no match for Yuan Yu's strength. She was shoved to the ground, feeling both pain and shame. Gasping for breath, she cried and cursed, "Fine, since you're determined to be with that vixen, then I'll go to the palace right now! Since you've lost all shame, then forget about it completely! Forget about it forever!"

Yuan Yu's face was covered in crisscrossing bloodstains, but he was too angry to feel any pain. His voice had also changed: "Don't try to scare me with the Empress! Marrying you was the worst thing that could have happened to me in eight lifetimes. What face do I have? I've long since lost it! You should look in the mirror and see if you look like a proper wife..."

Yu Baofei didn't argue with him. She had only reached the main courtyard gate when she saw Yang Lianluo trembling before her, bowing and apologizing: "Your Highness, please don't be angry with the King. It's all my fault..."

Consort Yu wouldn't listen to a concubine's words. She slapped Yang Lianluo across the face, then kicked her aside and went to the stables to lead her horse out of the mansion.

Words spoken in anger are just words spoken in anger. It was so late, how could she possibly go to the palace to complain? And not wanting to worry her parents, she went to her aunt's house to vent her grievances. Conflicts between husband and wife can escalate into major arguments once outsiders get involved, let alone when her aunt, Madam Mu, harbored selfish motives.

(End of this chapter)