History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 400 The Temperamental Consort Gao
You Wujiu poured herself another bowl of wine, drinking it in such large gulps that it spilled from her lips. Changsun E, like a ghost, stared at the wine pot in You Wujiu's right hand and said, "Crane Wine, the most famous wine brewed by Liu's Winery. Judging from our seating arrangement, this wine is probably not of the highest quality, otherwise you would definitely be drunk by now."

As You Wujiu watched Wei Yao approach, he responded with an "Mm".

Changsun E: "What you said earlier is right. It is not easy for us to meet Wei Yao. If we miss today, it will be even more difficult to avenge her mother for bullying our elders."

You Wujiu's hand gripping the wine pot tightened.

The maid who was leading the way for Wei Yao and Gao Ying walked past the two women's table first, and You Wujiu's opportunity came. She suddenly stood up.

Changsun E hadn't expected her plan to go so smoothly. She pretended to dissuade her partner, saying that you make friends with the wrong people. You Wujiu was also scheming as he poured the second bowl of wine! Changsun E felt a force on her lower back and was pushed and shoved towards Wei Yao. Wei Yao didn't know martial arts, but she was on guard and easily dodged the clumsy bump.

Changsun E cried out and fell to the ground in a sorry state. Gao Ying jumped over her, narrowly avoiding stepping on her.

"It was You Wujiu who pushed me!"

You Wujiu pointed at the other man's stool and said calmly, "I was at my own banquet seat. You approached me without reason, then bumped into Vice Minister Wei for some unknown reason, and now you're blaming me for making a fool of yourself? Ha—"

Wei Yao clapped her hands lightly: "The variety of entertainment at the Prince's Palace today is truly astounding."

The maid who led the way showed no embarrassment and replied with a smile, "The seats for the Vice Minister and Miss Gao are still a distance away. There are even more wonderful performances there. Please come in."

Gao Ying followed closely behind Wei Yao and asked in a low voice, "Those two girls didn't seem to have any good intentions. Are we just going to let it go like this?"

Wei Yao: "These petty squabbles might result in a fall at most, but they're nothing serious."

Gao Ying bit her lower lip in resentment.

Wei Yao: "When I'm not around, if you fall down, just like a toddler learning to walk, get up from where you fell. If anyone laughs at you, just ask them... who hasn't fallen down in their entire life?"

“A little squabble, nothing to worry about,” Wei Yao repeated, but changed her tone. “The important thing is that you learn from this and don’t let yourself be schemed against in the same way again. The girl who fell just now is called Changsun E, and the other girl is called You Wujiu. When we walked towards them, they sat stiffly, their eyes were glazed over, and their ulterior motives were very obvious. At that time, I could have changed my route and not given them the opportunity to scheme against us, but I thought I couldn’t protect you forever, and because I knew their identities and character, I pretended not to be on guard and let you see the ways noble ladies fight.”

Gao Ying turned around and found that You Wujiu and the other two women were gone. At this moment, more guests gathered from all directions. Gao Ying became nervous and turned back to continue the topic: "Will there be a scary fight today?"

Wei Yao chuckled: "Everyone finds things scary to a different degree. What you find extremely frightening might be something that others face frequently."

When they arrived at their destination, Wei Yao and Gao Ying's seats were not next to each other. As soon as Gao Ying sat down, she noticed that the surface of the stool was uneven. The young lady was still inexperienced in handling things, and because the thick winter clothes were not too uncomfortable, she did not pay much attention to it.

At this moment, Consort Gao finished dressing up and asked her daughter-in-law, Liu, to bring the bronze mirror in front of her face to check one last time whether the fake nose covered by heavy makeup was obvious.

This white jade prosthetic nose had to be glued on tightly every time it was used. It was easy to stick on but difficult to remove, which caused the sides of Consort Gao's nose to always turn red and smelly.

The steward in charge of the garden in the front yard cautiously entered to report: "The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Wei Yao, has come to the banquet with Gao Ying, the niece of the Duke of Chengcheng. The five noble ladies arranged by the Princess Consort... were ridiculed by Vice Minister Wei." Anxiety about her appearance made the Dowager Consort Gao extremely irritable. She grabbed the edge of a bronze mirror and smashed it on the ground. Even Princess Consort Liu Nian's kneeling down with a "thud" could not quell the Dowager Consort Gao's anger. The Dowager Consort Gao grabbed a jade ruyi from the dressing table and struck her daughter-in-law twice on the back.

"Useless! Idiot!"

Liu Nian endured the pain. She couldn't admit her mistake now, or she would be beaten even more. She said, "Don't worry, Aunt Jun. I've told those girls to only verbally abuse Gao Ying and not to get entangled with Wei Yao."

Consort Gao asked in a shrill voice, "Did you finish the insults?"

Liu Nian lowered his head.

Using a jade ruyi to strike would easily cripple someone, so Consort Gao switched to a thorn cane, gritting her teeth as she whipped Liu Nian, cursing, "What kind of princess are you? Instead of advising your husband to worry about state affairs, you indulge him in bringing women into the inner quarters all day long. There are more sluts in each of his mansions than in the bustling city of the west! Are you blind or deaf? Even his lowly concubine knows about his affair with Goryeo maids, and what about you? You just sit there like a block of wood, chanting Buddhist prayers! How could my son have married such a useless person like you? You can't help with anything, and you never show any concern for him. Looking at you now, did my Beihai Prince's Mansion mistreat you, or did I owe you something in my past life!"

After a dozen or so lashes, the back of Liu Nianhan's clothes was torn. Finally, the Empress Dowager Gao had vented her anger and ordered, "Change your clothes and put on your makeup again!"

"Yes."

The room was filled with people attending to Consort Gao as she left, leaving Liu Nian alone to apply the ointment. A soft knock sounded at the door, and Yuan Xiang's eldest son, Yuan Hao, stood outside the curtain, calling softly, "Mother? Mother?"

Liu Nian straightened her collar, hastily covered her tear stains with powder, and came over to ask, "Hao'er, what's wrong?"

Yuan Hao, who was not yet nine years old, knelt down on both knees, his eyes pleading resolutely: "Mother, let me take you away while there are many guests today."

Liu Nian helped the child up, trying to smile naturally and calmly, and said, "You really are a tiger cub. I am your mother. I have to face all the storms in front of you. How can I run away and leave the storms to you?"

Yuan Hao was courageous, but he was still a child at heart. His courage faltered quickly, and he wiped away his tears, saying, "My birth mother died in the Prince's mansion, and I'm afraid my mother will also..."

Liu Nian patted his back and said, "No, I promise you, it won't happen. Go and help your father host the banquet. Remember what your mother taught you: observe more, listen more, and restrain your recklessness."

After Yuan Hao left, Yuan Xiang's favorite concubine, Shi'er, came in. When she saw Liu Nian applying thick powder to her face, she knew that she had been beaten by that noseless old demon again.

"It's because I'm useless. Does it hurt?"

"It hurts." Liu Nian didn't lie to his confidant.

It wasn't easy for them to avoid the sight of Consort Gao and her son, so Shi'er didn't dare waste any time and quickly explained her purpose: "The old witch found out that Gao Fang's husband is also a member of the imperial family, named Yuan Xie. So the old witch scolded her son again, forbidding Prince Bie from having any contact with Gao Fang. I want to ask, with so much evidence we've given Minister Wei, do we still need to encourage Prince Bie to secretly invite Gao Fang?"

Liu Nian: "Hmm. I had Yuan Xiang and the Gao family girl connected for another purpose, to add another piece to the evidence of his treason. This matter cannot be explained in a few words. I have to go and attend to the banquet. You go back first. Remember, it's better to do nothing than to take risks."