History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 414 Two Assassins
Yu Baoying's heart pounded wildly. She quickly grabbed the emperor's fur robe and stood close to the inner palace entrance to listen. The outer palace was spacious, and she could only hear the eunuch reporting, "Fortunately... the Right Chancellor..."

After several moments of silence outside, she came out, draped a winter robe over the emperor, and only asked, "It's cold," without inquiring about what had happened.

The wooden arrow that had struck Yuan Shao's official hat lay across the desk. Another wooden arrow, issued to the Imperial Guards, was placed next to it for comparison. A servant lit a lamp and approached, and Yuan Ke carefully observed it. Regardless of the specifications of the arrowhead, the material used for the shaft, its length, or its thickness, the two arrows were identical.

After identifying the wooden arrow, Yuan Ke ordered the eunuch to place a lamp on the desk before telling Yu Baoying what had happened: "Just now, Wei Yao and Yuan Shao were assassinated. There were two assassins. Wei Yao dodged the first assassin's arrow, which was a common homemade arrow. This arrow, which is the same as the standard arrows used by the court, was shot by the other assassin and hit Yuan Shao's hair bun."

Yu Baoying: "Your Majesty suspects the assassins were soldiers of the imperial court?"

Yuan Ke gestured for her to be quiet. He stared at the arrows in thought. Every archer in the court was equipped with a certain number of arrows. The number of arrows received each time, the number used, and whether any were lost were all recorded. If they were stolen from the armory, it would be very troublesome to count them.

If Wei Yao suspected the assassin was a soldier of the imperial court, given her prudent nature, she wouldn't have let someone deliver an arrow to the palace in the dead of night after escaping the assassination attempt unscathed. So what was Wei Yao suspecting? What did she deduce from this arrow, but dared not tell him?

Yuan Ke paced back and forth in the hall, continuing to ponder.

Could it be that Wei Yao believes... the assassination attempt won't end because of a mistake, but rather is the beginning of a grand conspiracy? That must be it! Because she was unsure of this speculation and feared that she might exaggerate the consequences, and if it turned out to be false, he would punish her, she sent the arrow to the palace. If he could guess what she was thinking and understand what she was considering, it might be a step in breaking the deadlock.

Yuan Ke stopped in his tracks, staring at the long arrow. What if the assassin had deliberately stolen the arrow and wasn't a soldier of the imperial court? If the assassin who was ordered to kill Wei Yao wasn't a Wei soldier, why would they deliberately expose their weakness by choosing an arrow that met the standards for weapons?

"Intentionally, intentionally..."

Yuan Ke suddenly realized the most important thing: what was the other party's purpose in assassinating Wei Yao?
Understood!
He strode out of Xuanguang Hall and ordered, "Prepare the horses."

"Your Majesty..." Yu Baoying took a few steps after him. The freezing cold outside made her acutely aware, a clarity that brought her embarrassment, grievance, and resentment. It was late. Where was he going to prepare his horse? To visit Wei Yao? Hadn't Wei Yao escaped unharmed? Couldn't they meet at the morning court tomorrow?
Meanwhile, the assassin who had fled from the Qu River climbed onto a moored fishing boat. The boatman, Liu Shun, came to help the assassin aboard and anxiously asked, "How did it go?"

The assassin's face was covered in scars from sores, making him more frightening than a ghost in the moonlight. He was exhausted and took a long time to catch his breath before saying, "She was protected by guards, so we didn't succeed."

Liu Shun: "Then what should we do? Did anyone find you? When you ran away..." His words were cut short as the other person grabbed his throat.

The assassin said fiercely, "You're nothing but Liu the eunuch's dog, how dare you speak to me like that!"

"Brother Xue, spare my life! I will never, ever do it again!" Liu Shun begged for mercy.

The assassin released his grip, gazing at the water's surface, the same color as the night, and murmured regretfully, "If I had known I would go through all this trouble, I should have thrown her and that female official into the well in Pingcheng!"

Another assassin, named Zhao Cao, also escaped the pursuit of the guards and soldiers. He was incredibly bold; he circled around Yijing and then turned back, nimbly climbing up a tall tree on Tongtuo Street to hide.

There was a bird's nest in the tree, and inside the nest were the flatbread and water that the spy had prepared for him. The water was in a wooden tube with a straw cover, and it was warm when he drank it, which showed that the spy's hiding place was not far from here.

The words "Night Sleep" are pierced through a needle hole on the side of the dough.

This means he should stop taking any further action.

"Aren't you going to kill that woman?" Zhao Cao was both frustrated and confused, unsure whether the officer had other plans or was extremely dissatisfied with his failed assassination attempt.

The rapid sound of hooves broke the silence of the night. He observed from his vantage point and saw dozens of cavalrymen heading south from the direction of the palace. Zhao Cao gasped, a strange tension rising within him. No, he couldn't underestimate the Suo barbarians. He quickly restored the bird's nest to its normal empty state, then climbed down and left. In less than a quarter of an hour, the inner city defenses were mobilized, and questioning began house to house, centered on Yijingli.

Sizhou Office.

Yuan Shao could neither persuade the Prince of Guangling nor do anything about him. Since Li Shixian also didn't know when to stop, he stopped wasting his breath and bid farewell to Yuan Zhi: "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll return to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs now."

Prefect Yuan Zhi looked at his daughter-in-law Wei Yao, who said, "Yuan Zong is here to help me, so I'll go with him."

Yuan Yu: "Then I'll go with you. If anyone tries to assassinate the three of us on the way, we don't need to investigate; it'll be Li Shixian who did it."

Li Shixian turned his head and snorted coldly. He finally understood why the officials of the Ministry of Personnel had nicknamed this Wang Qi "Bird King." He was truly inhuman!

Wei Yao then said to Yuan Zhi, "Uncle, I'll be busy until very late tonight. Do you have any hot pancakes? I'll take some with me."

Yuan Shao also felt hungry. Yuan Zhi saw his expression, laughed, and said, "Wait, I'll have someone prepare two boxes of food."

Before the food was even out of the pot, the palace cavalry arrived.

General Yang Daye cleared the way and relayed the message: "Is the Attendant-in-Ordinary still here? His Majesty has arrived."

Yuan Yu, Yuan Zhi, Yuan Shao, and Li Shixian were greatly surprised!

Wei Yao thought to herself, "Finally, he's here." She stepped forward and bowed to the emperor.

Yuan Ke looked her over with concern and explained his purpose: "I heard that Minister Wei was assassinated and almost hit by an arrow. I am very uneasy. I will not be at ease until I see Minister Wei safe and sound with my own eyes."

Yuan Shao, his hair disheveled, cried out inwardly: It was I who was hit by the arrow, not her!
While Yuan Shao was angry that His Majesty favored Wei Yao too much, he shared the same thought as Yuan Yu and Yuan Zhi: Could it be that Wei Yao's attempt to take food with her earlier was an excuse to delay? Did she know His Majesty would come?
Wei Yao: "I find the assassination attempt suspicious."

Yuan Zhi quickly said, "It's cold outside, Your Majesty, would you like to sit in my quarters for a while?"

The emperor nodded, and Yuan Shao shamelessly followed. Yuan Yu and Li Shixian wisely took their leave. The emperor called Yuan Yu back, and Li Shixian felt even more ashamed. Only then did he remember Yuan Shao's words earlier, advising him to "stop while he's ahead." It turned out that the emperor did not dislike the Prince of Guangling at all!

On the way, the emperor asked Yuan Zhi, "I had Imperial Physician Cui examine you before. He is skilled in acupuncture for difficult and rare diseases. Has your pain been relieved?"

Yuan Zhi: "I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's concern. Imperial Physician Cui is indeed an extraordinary person. I am feeling much better now."

The emperor finally looked at Yuan Shao and praised him: "In chaotic times, virtuous ministers are rejected. You have managed to turn danger into safety and overcome difficulties. You are definitely a blessed and virtuous minister."

Yuan Shao swept his disheveled hair back and said sternly, "This time, it was all thanks to my presence, otherwise Attendant-in-Ordinary would have been in danger."

Wei Yao praised him, saying, "Only in times of trouble do we realize that Right Chancellor Yuan is a righteous man. I will forever remember this kindness."

Only Yuan Yu walked with his head down, wishing that no one would be hypocritical towards him.