History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 405 Imperial Prison of the Court of Justice
What to say, and how to say it?
Apart from Yuan Xie, which of the princes didn't amass wealth and form cliques for personal gain? The Censorate had submitted these accusations countless times each year; the princes were long accustomed to them, even competing with each other in this regard. Now, the emperor, under the guise of "admonition," was asking them to confess their crimes. Who knew if it was a trap? Their defenses and apologies, even the mildest ones, would likely not suffice, but a sincere confession was even less likely to work!
Outside the palace, the cold wind swept snowflakes to the ground. Hou Gang, a close attendant, thought about how Zhao Xiu, Wang Yu, Chen Saojing, Ru Hao, and others who had once been trusted by His Majesty were either dead or demoted. It was clear that serving the emperor was like walking on thin ice; one wrong step and one could fall from a high place and have one's family destroyed.

Hou Gang looked at the eunuch Qin Song in the distance. It must have been half a month since the other eunuch had entered the palace to serve. On the other hand, the eunuch Yang Fan, who often fawned over Wei Yao, looked calm and composed. It was obvious that Qin Song had been disliked by His Majesty and probably wouldn't be long before he lost even the right to stand outside the palace to serve.

Hou Gang pondered further: Wei Yao was promoted to Attendant-in-Ordinary, and Yuan Hui was ousted. Did this mean that the Secretariat was about to produce a true Attendant-in-Ordinary?
Suddenly, there was a loud thud of something heavy being thrown to the ground inside the hall, followed by a barely audible reprimand. General Yuan Zhi, who was on duty today, had come despite the snow. This member of the imperial clan was even more robust than the Prince of Rencheng, and his face was very honest, giving people a sense of trust.

Yuan Zhi came to deliver a military report. He heard the emperor's angry voice in the Qinghui Hall, but asked nothing and stood beside Hou Gang to wait.

"Please move ten steps to the outside, General." Hou Gang, true to his name, was very upright. He strictly followed the rules and made a "please" gesture to Yuan Zhi.

Yuan Zhi listened silently, and a flash of ferocity crossed his eyes as his gaze swept across the ground.

When the snow fell heavily, the five princes' ordeal ended, and they came out of Qinghui Hall one after another. Yang Daye took the military report into the hall, and Yuan Zhi waited in vain, without getting the chance to enter the hall to pay his respects.

After the emperor finished reading the military report and approving the urgent government affairs, Wei Yao had just finished writing down the response between the emperor and his ministers, as well as the strategy for punishing the five princes.

The emperor placed the paper on the table, not in a hurry to look at it, and gestured for Wei Yao to accompany him outside to enjoy the snow scene.

Snow covered the world, a vast expanse of white.

Yuan Ke: "We cannot neglect our duties in the Secretariat. We must also familiarize ourselves with the criminal law as soon as possible and read more past cases."

Wei Yao: "Yes. Your Majesty, rest assured, I am studying every day."

"Yuan Yu is utterly useless and has truly disappointed me."

Just now, Yuan Yu not only pushed all the blame onto the officials of the Prince's Palace, but also begged to release his concubine Yang Lianluo. How could Yuan Ke not be angry! He hoped that his younger brothers would help him to resist the princes of the same generation as Yuan Xie, but unfortunately, apart from the Prince of Qinghe who was somewhat capable, the rest were either playboys who only knew how to enjoy themselves or were too young.

Since the emperor had already expressed his worries, how could Wei Yao pretend to be deaf and dumb? She said, "Prince Yu is still young, just like a tree in this snowstorm, constantly swaying in the wind. As long as we help him get rid of the greedy officials and invite a true Confucian teacher to teach him, he will surely grow strong quickly and withstand the cold wind."

Everyone likes to hear nice things, and the emperor was no exception. Yuan Ke further asked, "Yuan Yu is dissatisfied with the Empress's punishment of Lady Yang with flogging. What is your opinion on this matter?"

Wei Yao understood that the emperor's question was whether they should trust Yuan Yu one more time and send Yang Lianluo back to the Prince of Jingzhao's residence, with Yuan Yu sending Yang to live elsewhere. However, doing so might embolden Yuan Yu to become even more unruly and would also damage the empress's authority.

After a moment's thought, Wei Yao said, "The Empress's actions are not wrong. Although Prince Yu's favoritism towards his concubine is against the rules, it is better than being heartless and ungrateful. I think it is not wrong for Prince Yu to want to take his concubine out of the palace and let him arrange for her to leave."

The emperor frowned, and she continued, "I have an idea. Your Majesty should convey Prince Yu's request to the Empress, and let the Empress deal with Yang Lianluo. When Your Majesty conveys the request, you can remind the Empress that Emperor Xiaowen once issued an edict on the etiquette of wives and concubines. This should inspire the Empress so that she can both continue to punish Yang Lianluo and divert Prince Yu's resentment."

The edict issued by Emperor Xiaowen stated that the etiquette between wives and concubines was similar to that between ruler and subject. It stipulated that any disrespect shown by a concubine to the mistress or by her children to the mistress was considered a violation of the court's rules, and that any violation would be dealt with by the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ke remembered the imperial edict, his brows relaxed, and a smile finally appeared on his face.

But Gai Weiyao frowned, her tone changing, and said, "If the Empress still wants to punish Yang Lianluo herself, or if after Yang goes to the Grand Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, Prince Yu still harbors resentment towards the Empress, or even holds a grudge against His Majesty, then His Majesty should be glad that he used such a small matter to test whether Yuan Yu is loyal or not, rather than ignoring the fact that this tree is crooked yet thriving and deeply rooted." Yuan Ke thought to himself, punishing Yang is such a small matter, the Empress wouldn't take on trouble for herself. However, people's perspectives are different. Two days later, Yang Lianluo not only wasn't released, but also lost her life.

The first step that led the matter astray from the emperor's wishes was that the empress had her maid Gao Yue'en discover that when Yuan Yu was being reprimanded, only Wei Yao remained in Qinghui Hall among the officials of the Secretariat.

The Empress found out, and her younger sister, the Princess Consort of Jingzhao, who visited the palace every day, also found out.

Yu Baofei guessed correctly this time: "Why would you hand over that vile woman Yang to the Imperial Clan Court for punishment? It must be another of Wei Yao's bad ideas! I knew she had ill intentions. If you do this, how can people not gossip?"

The Empress was also very angry!

“She is an official in the outer court and does not want to serve me, which I understand. She really shouldn’t have tried to lay her hands on my inner palace! If this precedent is set, does that mean I can’t punish any woman who violates the rules of conduct between wives and concubines in the future?”

Consort Yu said bitterly, "Yes, isn't the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs in charge of the register of imperial relatives? Wei Yao's actions are clearly a test, an attempt to weaken the Empress's power! Sister, you can't fall for her trick! Sister..."

Her face was cold, and she reminded him again, "Don't you think His Majesty trusts Wei Yao too much? Is this a normal relationship between ruler and subject?"

The Empress remained silent. She also received a message from the eunuch Qin Song: after the Emperor banished the Five Princes, he summoned Wei Yao alone to enjoy the snow scene and spoke with her for a long time.

"I didn't think so before."

Upon hearing the Empress's words, Consort Yu's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately said, "Elder sister, listen to me this time, punish Yang Shi even more severely! Isn't Wei Yao clever? She will surely realize that this time, punishing Yang Shi severely is actually punishing Wei Yao!"

Thus, Yang Lianluo was not only whipped with thorns, but her face was also disfigured by the blows, and her hair was shaved off. She was then taken to a nunnery in the inner temple to copy Buddhist scriptures.

Yang Lianluo was not the ambitious Yang Aofei; that very night, unable to bear the blow, she committed suicide by hitting her head against a wall.

When Wei Yao learned of the news, she was in the imperial prison. The way she found out about it was that Changqiu Temple sent several officials from the inner court who were guarding Yang Lianluo to the imperial prison, where the Court of Justice would handle the case.

Court Minister Cui Zhen, knowing the situation, carefully asked Wei Yao, "This matter involves the affairs of the Prince Zong's family. Should we invite the Prince of Jingzhao and officials from the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs to listen in?"

Wei Yao: "I think it's unnecessary. His Majesty has ordered me to learn how to handle cases as soon as possible. This case is not serious, so it would be better to entrust it to me."

These female officials and eunuchs were sent to take the blame and appease the Prince of Jingzhao. It was a dirty job that Wei Yao had to do, even if she didn't want to.

The only kindness she could muster was to prevent these palace servants from acting foolishly.

Soon, cries for mercy and screams of struggle echoed through the prison. Wei Yao carried a lantern as she walked through the dimly lit and winding passage. This was the beginning of her journey through the Imperial Prison of the Court of Justice. The flame in the lantern seemed to be the only bit of mercy she could hold onto.