History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Returning to Wei Yao, after the court meeting, she and Prince Qinghe walked towards the Secretariat. Not far from the East Hall, they heard the sound of horses galloping outside the wall.

Wei Yao was puzzled as one horse followed another, raising clouds of dust that had already risen above the wall.

She sent the Imperial Guards to inquire about the situation. A little while later, an infantry captain ran over and told her, "Palace Attendant Yuan Zhao is training the cavalry guards."

The duty of the summoning guards was to summon ministers entering the palace for court meetings and clear the way for them, leading them from the horse path to the imperial road.

Wei Yao asked, "Where is the soldier I asked to inquire about the situation?"

The infantry captain gave a smile that looked more like a grimace and replied, "Officer Yuan said he was disturbing the training and punished him by making him stand for three hours."

Wei Yao said to the Prince of Qinghe, "Listen to this, Yuan Lang Guan is so arrogant. He's not punishing that soldier, he's punishing me."

Prince Qinghe: "Not at all..."

Before she could even utter the word "于", Wei Yao turned and went back to the East Hall.

Prince Qinghe: "Huh?" He guessed that Wei Yao wanted to impeach Yuan Zhao, but he wondered what she could impeach him for in such a short time.
To be honest, working with Wei Yao is very educational, and he quickly followed her.

When the emperor heard from his guards that Wei Yao and the Prince of Qinghe were requesting an audience, he summoned the two men in.

Wei Yao bowed and solemnly said, "I saw that Yuan Zhao, the Palace Attendant, was training the cavalry guards on the horse track. The dust was everywhere, and the Taiji Hall was only a wall away. It really damaged the majesty of the Emperor's travels."

When emperors and ministers have been together for a long time, they can understand each other to some extent just by looking at each other's expressions. The emperor could tell that Wei Yao had come to complain because she was upset, but her words sounded comforting. So the emperor first signaled the palace guards to bring Yuan Zhao over, and then allowed Wei Yao to sit down and talk.

Wei Yao was very polite before the emperor, gesturing for the Prince of Qinghe to sit first before continuing her report: "According to custom, ministers may ride their horses to the imperial road during court discussions, but custom is not always correct. The Book of Rulers and Ministers says... If the way of the ruler is unclear, those who receive orders will be doubtful; if the power and measure are inconsistent, those who uphold righteousness will be confused. The emperor's carriage travels on the imperial road, while ministers ride on horse paths. If the end of the horse path connects with the imperial road, it is equivalent to the emperor and his ministers having no distinction of 'way'."

"The Book of Rulers and Ministers also records that the division of duties between rulers and ministers is called 'reason', and acting in accordance with 'reason' is called 'the Way'."

"Therefore, I request that the 'stopping gate for carriages' be abolished and the old practice of 'calling for passage' be abolished. From now on, except for urgent military matters, no matter how high the official rank of a minister is, he shall enter and leave the palace on foot, just like the other court officials. Only when the emperor establishes his authority can he govern officials and educate the people! Only when the emperor establishes his authority will ministers not dare to let their selfishness turn into wickedness, or to mistake transgression for justice!"

The Prince of Qinghe was furious. If the emperor approved this, he would have to walk a longer distance every time he attended court. That hateful Wei Yao, that damned Yuan Zhao!

"Granted. Let the Ministry of Personnel draft an edict."

Prince Qinghe: It's over. From now on, I'll have to get up at least 2 a.m. every day. I'll be sleeping less than the donkeys in the Prince's mansion.

Wei Yao emerged from the East Hall refreshed, just as Yuan Zhao was heading towards it. As the three passed each other, Yuan Zhao merely clasped his hands in a respectful greeting to the Prince of Qinghe, giving Wei Yao only a haughty glance.

The white-clad guard who relayed the message to Yuan Zhao thought he didn't recognize Wei Yao, so he quickly reminded him: "The person traveling with the Prince of Qinghe is Wei, the Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Secretariat."

"Ah."

The guards were quite surprised by Yuan Zhao's indifference.

Wei Yao and Prince Qinghe arrived at the Ministry of Personnel together. The official in charge, Yuan Xiang, who oversaw the administration of the Ministry of Personnel's thirty-six departments and its 360 external offices, was present. Yuan Xiang was the undisputed prime minister. The two first paid their respects at each other's residences. Having received a reprimand last time, Yuan Xiang, despite his resentment towards Wei Yao, dared not neglect her and asked, "You two, Attendants, do not visit unless it is of utmost importance. Speak, what is His Majesty's decree?"

Before conveying the imperial decree, Wei Yao bowed in the direction of the Taiji Hall.

Prince Qinghe followed suit with a bow. Yuan Xiang and his subordinates cursed the officials of the Secretariat as sycophants who never missed an opportunity to flatter him! All the officials in the room had no choice but to bow towards the Taiji Hall.

Just as Yuan Xiang was about to sit back down, Wei Yao spoke up: "His Majesty has issued an edict..."

Yuan Xiang stood up straight again.

Wei Yao: "Your Majesty has ordered the Ministry of Personnel to draft an edict to abolish the carriage gate and abolish the old practice of summoning cavalry guards to lead ministers into the palace on horseback or in carriages. From now on, regardless of rank, ministers shall enter the palace on foot at the Changhe and Shenhu gates."

"What?" Yuan Xiang couldn't help but question, "Why was such an important matter not discussed in the morning court, but suddenly an imperial edict was issued?"

Wei Yao: "This matter was caused by Yuan Zhao, the Palace Attendant. He shouldn't have been training the cavalry during the court assembly. Yuan and I have other important matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave."

The Palace Attendant's office, the Palace Attendant's rank, belonged to the Ministry of Works. Yuan Xiang's lips twitched, and he angrily said, "The late emperor was right to scold that fellow. He's stupid, utterly stupid! Where is Yuan Zhao? Summon him here!"

When Wei and Yuan returned to the Secretariat, Zhen Chen was busy, and the other Attendant-in-Ordinary, Gao Xian, was not there. There was no need to ask; Gao Xian must have gone to Chongxu Temple.

Prince Yuan Yi of Qinghe took out the records of Yuan Zhi's investigation yesterday and said, "Yesterday in the Ministry of Personnel, I asked all the ministers of various departments, and they all praised Yuan Zhi for his diligence and never acted recklessly because of his military achievements. They also praised him for his adherence to etiquette, and for keeping his official robes tightly fastened and his official hat upright even in the sweltering heat of June."

Wei Yao carefully examined the record and spoke words of praise in a calm tone: "It's not easy. Among the thirty-six departments of the Ministry of Personnel, not a single person is dissatisfied with him."

Yuan Yi sighed, "Yes."

wrong!

"What does the Attendant-in-Ordinary mean?"

Wei Yao: "I admire General Yuan Zhi very much. I believe I am no less diligent than other officials, yet everyone dislikes and hates me. I really can't figure out how to be an official so that I can be successful among capable officials, yet appear clumsy and avoid the jealousy of mediocre ones? I have been an official for many years, yet I have never had face-to-face contact with Yuan Zhi."

Yuan Yi remained silent, pondering her words.

Wei Yao sealed the records, ground ink, and drafted an edict granting the Lu family father and son their freedom. She also wrote a secret letter, sealed it with glue, and handed it to Yuan Yi, instructing him: "I must go to the Sizhou office and the Tingwei prison. Regarding the matter of summoning the cavalry guards, I trouble you to urge the Chancellery to draft the edict by today. Life is unpredictable. If I am assassinated again and cannot escape, be sure to deliver this secret letter to His Majesty. What is written in the letter concerns the future of others. Do not hand the letter over as soon as I leave the palace."

"Huh?" Yuan Yi thought to himself, "This person is really something. It would be better to just let him bother her all the time, but he has to say such things, which makes his eyes inexplicably sore."

Sizhou Office.

Clerk Gou did not go out today, waiting for Wei Yao to come so he could tell her something.

This morning, he suddenly thought of a possibility: what if the assassin who escaped by swimming was bold enough to return to gather information? The other party was a good swimmer and wanted to quickly find out information about the government offices. If he was discovered by the soldiers, he could jump into the river again to escape. In that case, the place where the other party chose to obtain information would be the breakfast stalls on the Qushui River.

So, Chief Clerk Gou instructed Erzhu Maizhen to take the boatman's record from the previous night and question the breakfast vendors to see if anyone had been on the banks of the canal last night and this morning. They found one!
"This man is called Xue Laizi. He is a fisherman and a local from Luoyang County. His parents and brothers all died of an epidemic three years ago. Only he survived and was left with a face full of scars."

Wei Yao softly uttered the name "Xue Laizi" and asked, "Where is he now?"

"The dungeon." (End of Chapter)