History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 404 Impeachment
The carriages and horses left the gates of Qingyang City and headed straight east.

The next place where Wei Yao read out the imperial edict was the Guangping Prince's Mansion.

In the past two years, a trend has emerged in Luoyang where all kinds of grand banquets must be held at the Prince of Beihai's residence first, and only then can other powerful and noble families begin theirs at a lower level. Prince Yuan Huai of Guangping is the emperor's half-brother. He dares not compete with his seventh uncle, Yuan Xiang, but he will never be second to any other powerful and noble family. He has chosen to hold the Crane Wine Banquet tomorrow. Therefore, when the imperial edict procession arrived, Yuan Huai was tasting the fine wine and was already quite drunk.

Wei Yao, Gao Xian, and Yang Fan walked up to him, and only then did he raise his eyes amidst the urging of his advisors. This young prince was the epitome of a playboy, his wicked character even surpassing that of Yuan Yu. He reached out to embrace Wei Yao, teasingly saying, "Dancing in official robes, whose idea was that? There's a reward."

Yuan Huai was usually violent and unpredictable. None of the officials or trusted servants in his household dared to cover his mouth. In a moment of quick thinking, the official poured wine into Yuan Huai's mouth to stop him from continuing his nonsense, but it was too late. Wei Yao waved her hand and ordered, "Imperial Guards, quickly make Yuan Huai sober up and receive the imperial decree!"

Two large basins of cold water were splashed in opposite directions.

Yuan Huai, who was cursing incessantly, was forced to bow and receive the imperial edict by two soldiers. He didn't even hear the contents of the edict. The soldiers then lifted him off the ground, dragged him out of the palace, and threw him into an oxcart.

“Surname, Wei… Ah—fa, fa, ah!” He reached out to push the door open, but his fingers were caught in the rapidly closing carriage door.

Yuan Huai finally sobered up completely. He sucked on his injured finger and stared at the other three people in the oxcart, still shaken. "Sixth Uncle, Seventh Uncle, what a coincidence."

He was self-aware enough to know that his two uncles didn't want to talk to him, so he shrank back to his third brother, Yuan Yu, and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Where are we being taken?"

Yuan Yu looked at his younger brother as if he were a fool and asked, "Didn't Wei Yao read the imperial edict to you?"

"I read it, but I didn't hear it clearly. Oh, tell me quickly!"

The carriages and horses returned to the inner city from Qingyang City Gate. After the imperial edicts were proclaimed to four princes in succession, Duke Gao Xian of Chengcheng was no longer so nervous. He rode his horse, looking down at the travelers coming and going at the city gate, and at the top of the oxcarts, carefully savoring the ambition burning in his heart.

We've arrived at the Situ residence.

This place inevitably reminded Gao Xian of the day he first arrived in Luoyang and left Hualin Garden. It was on this very street that he and Wei Yao yielded to Situ Yuanyu. At that time, he was so uneasy that he dared not raise his head. How humble he was! Fortunately, his humble days did not last long. Today, it was his turn to be high above, and he was the one to witness how uneasy Yuanyu would be in a little while.

Gao Xian is overthinking it.

Yuan Yu happily accepted the imperial decree, even pushing his foolish nephew aside from the carriage window, and chatted with Wei Yao until they reached the palace gate. Next, Wei Yao led the five princes to the Qinghui Hall for a formal audience. This made Gao Xian realize that although he was the emperor's uncle, his favor was far less than Wei Yao's, and he didn't even have the right to observe the interaction between the emperor and his ministers.

Yang Fan also stopped outside the palace.

Just then, Zhen Chen, another Attendant-in-Ordinary from the Secretariat, came out of Qinghui Hall and saw Gao Xian there. He quickly bowed with a smile.

Yang Fan scoffed. Zhen and Gao were both Attendants of the same rank, but the former had made his ugly behavior of currying favor with the latter very obvious, which was truly despicable.

When people are jealous, their wisdom grows crooked. Gao Xian and Zhen Chen returned to the Secretariat together. He carefully crafted his words to sow discord: "Wei Shiwen is well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge, and remains calm and cautious in all matters. No wonder he enjoys His Majesty's trust. Today, even you cannot remain in Qinghui Hall." Zhen Chen replied: "The capable are often burdened with more responsibilities. The princes who are being reprimanded this time are either officials in charge of general affairs or generals commanding the imperial guards of the capital. Anyone who listens or takes notes will be disliked by the five princes. It is His Majesty's favor that you and I were able to avoid this task."

"I see." Gao Xian felt relieved. He happened to have something to ask Zhen Chen: "I want to recommend someone as a Doctor of Immortality. How should I make the recommendation?"

Zhen Chen inwardly groaned. This Duke of Chengcheng had only been an official for a few days, yet he already wanted to appoint his cronies at will. However, he didn't show it on his face and still smiled as he replied, "It's a small matter. Just write your petition and give it to me, Duke. I'll put it in the petition box. That's one of the advantages of our Secretariat; petitions can be submitted directly to the Emperor."

Gao Xian tried to provoke and test the waters again, asking, "Shouldn't Wei Yao take a look first?"

The four Attendants-in-Ordinary of the Secretariat are Wei Yao, Yuan Yi, Zhen Chen, and Gao Xian. According to custom, one of the four Attendants-in-Ordinary must be selected or recognized as the head of the Attendants-in-Ordinary. Since Prince Yuan Yi of Qinghe is not interested in power, the other three will definitely compete for the position of head of the Attendants-in-Ordinary.

Zhen Chen responded tactfully once again: "Attendant Wei is cautious. Since he came to serve in the Secretariat, every time before the memorial box is presented to His Majesty, Attendant Wei has checked the documents in the box with Yuan Hui. As you are just beginning to learn about affairs, it is best for you to follow Attendant Wei's example and be cautious in everything you do. It is better to do things repeatedly than to be negligent and miss anything."

At this moment, Qinghui Hall was quiet and oppressive.

Yuan Xie, Yuan Xiang, Yuan Yu, Yuan Yu, and Yuan Huaiquan reviewed the memorials impeaching them submitted by the Censorate over three months. The fewest impeachments were against Yuan Xie, while the latter three received numerous, making it difficult to determine their relative merits.

Only one civil official remained in the palace, Wei Yao, who was responsible for recording the responses between the emperor and his ministers. The two military officials who remained were Li Chong and Yang Daye, both of whom were fierce warriors. One held a whip and served the emperor on his left, while the other held a knife and served the emperor on his right.

Yuan Xie's loyalty was betrayed by Prince Rencheng, as if a pearl had been covered in dust. When he saw the charge against him for failing to properly discipline the military officers in the Prince's mansion, he lost his former righteous indignation. His first thought was to consider whether Prince Rencheng had been careful in directing those twenty warriors and whether he had left any evidence against them.
Suddenly, Yuan Xie slightly raised his eyelids and met the gaze of Wei Yao, who was staring at him. Wei Yao's gaze was undisguised and scrutinizing; she was scrutinizing Yuan Xie, seemingly completely unaware that the emperor was glancing at her.

That one glance was enough for the emperor to trust Wei Yao once again. She always knew what he knew, thought what he thought, and took the initiative to bear the thoughts he couldn't express. It was also that one glance that led the emperor to make a decision after a long period of deliberation... He needed Wei Yao as one of his close advisors.

The emperor focused most of his attention on Yuan Xiang.

Yuan Xiang replaced the impeachment memorial with another one, read through it several times, and broke out in a cold sweat! This memorial actually accused him of colluding with border generals, accepting bribes, and selling government grain at low prices, with the intention of plotting a rebellion!

Who was trying to frame him? Yuan Xiang didn't think he was wrong for violating the law; he only wondered which of his trusted confidants was a suspect. Furthermore, which official should he pin the blame on to dispel the emperor's suspicions? Or should he claim that a border general had tried to bribe him but failed and was now framing him? But how much of that explanation would the emperor believe?

Yuan Xiang then submitted another memorial, this time impeaching him for seizing dozens of fishermen's houses in the south of the city, causing the people to lose their homes before winter, and for arresting the fishermen who cried out for justice on various charges and enslaving them in the Prince's estate.

Damn it! He really did do it!

Wei Yao's gaze swept over the Prince of Jingzhao and the Prince of Guangping. These two young princes really had poor self-control. They had a cowardly heart beneath their evil intentions. If they were to be interrogated, they would probably confess everything before they even had to be tortured.

Half an hour passed.

The emperor spoke up: "Now that you've read it all, tell me what you think."