History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 425 Confession
Can you read?

This was Wei Yao's first question.

"I can read, but not much," Zhao Sengbiao replied, feigning honesty, while his heart pounded in his throat, guessing that the female official interrogating him was very likely Wei Yao, whom Xiao Liang wanted to assassinate.

Wei Yao: "Do you know martial arts?"

"I know a few moves of boxing, but my skills are not yet proficient. Sir, may I be so bold as to ask, what mistake have I made?"

Wei Yao: "Whether or not a mistake has been made can only be determined after an investigation."

Zhao Sengbiao's chin trembled slightly, his expression showing a mixture of panic and helplessness.

Yuan Yu had seen many people wronged by the government, and they all had this expression when they were powerless to resist. Therefore, this minor official Zhao was either truly innocent or extremely cunning.

Wei Yao continued, "A person from Chang'an?"

Zhao Sengbiao thought he had learned the Luoyang dialect, but he didn't expect the female official to be able to recognize his hometown dialect. He lowered his head and replied, "Yes."

Wei Yao: "Did your whole family move to Luoyang, or is it just you alone?"

"I came alone."

How many years have you been in Beijing?

This is the fifth year.

"Yijiri is a large neighborhood with an excellent location within the inner city. How did you become a gatekeeper of Yijingiri?"

Zhao Sengbiao swallowed hard. Every question the female official asked seemed to be something he could find out by asking around in Yijing, leaving him no room for a lie. "In my second year in the capital, I was recommended as an official by the village head of my temporary residence. Not long after, I made a meritorious contribution by catching thieves and was transferred from a minor official in the outer city to Yijing."

"So, you're serving as a 'night watchman'?"

"Yes."

"Your term of office is only four years. This is your last year as an official. If there is no opportunity for promotion, you will have to find another way to make a living, just like when you first came to Luoyang and were left adrift."

"Yes."

Wei Yao looked directly at him and sighed, "You are both literate and skilled in martial arts. You came to the capital alone, which proves your courage. You did not rely on others for help, and you were appointed to a post in Yijing in a short time, which proves your resourcefulness. However, opportunities do not come often. Your official service will soon end, and you will return to a life of poverty without a house or land. Zhao Sengbiao, are you willing to accept this?"

Zhao Sengbiao's heart pounded. He had no farmland or house, but he had ancient coins, given to him by the Xiao Liang regime, buried in a field outside the city. They were enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life. Sometimes when he felt itchy to gamble, he would go out of the city and secretly dig up a few dozen coins to use.

However, his fear was not that his gambling would be exposed, but rather that when Xiao Liang's spies found him earlier this year and persuaded him to become a spy, their words were almost identical to Wei Yao's lament!
"You flatter me, sir." Zhao Sengbiao replied eloquently without hesitation, "I'm only thinking about making a living, I don't care whether I'm willing or not."

Wei Yao praised, "This is how an official should be."

Then she asked, "Were you on duty at the South Gate the night before last?"

Finally, they asked about that matter! Zhao Sengbiao's heart, clenched with anxiety, had no chance to catch its breath. He remained even more on edge and cautious, replying, "Yes."

Wei Yao: "Upon hearing someone cry out that they have fallen into a well, you immediately go with the other officials to rescue them?"

Zhao Sengbiao said angrily, "Yes, but we've been tricked. No one fell into the well at all!"

Wei Yao asked him curiously, "It's a good thing no one fell into the well, so why are you angry?" Zhao Sengbiao immediately covered up his anger, "The officer is right. I was angry because I heard from the patrolmen that the thieves were tricking us by shouting in order to hide in the well. I was afraid the authorities would hold me accountable, so I was angry that I had been deceived."

Wei Yao comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, having the heart to save people is a merit, not a fault. Alright, now that the questioning is over, I'll have the state soldiers escort you back, praising your merit along the way."

"Do not……"

Zhao Sengbiao opened his mouth wide and managed to utter a single word, "No," before Wei Yao announced an even more frightening "reward."

"There's a post station official position available at Duting. Go back and pack your bags. Set off today on a long mission. When you return, you'll be promoted to a military officer. Since you're from Chang'an, the mission will be... to Chang'an."

Zhao Sengbiao's chin trembled a few times; this time, his fear was genuine!
Good heavens! The Sizhou government is praising him, how could the Xiao Liang spies not suspect that he betrayed the information about the assassination operation the night before? Unfortunately, he has no chance to explain. If he leaves Luoyang today, it will confirm that he is a treacherous villain who has repeatedly betrayed his country. Moreover, his destination is Chang'an. If he is intercepted by the Xiao Liang people on the way, he will have no way to explain himself no matter how hard he tries.

"Thump." Zhao Sengbiao knelt down, his face trembling uncontrollably, and said, "Sir, I...I..."

Wei Yao remained calm and asked, "Have you figured it out? The other night, there was such a big disturbance in front of Yijing Lane. Who assigned you to be on duty at the South Gate?"

"I accept it, I accept it..." Zhao Sengbiao made a last-ditch effort. Treason was not an ordinary serious crime; it would implicate one's entire family!
Wei Yao's next words completely shattered his pretense!
"The gatekeepers on duty are all appointed by the neighborhood head. What, what are you thinking?"

A dejected "gurgle" came from Zhao Sengbiao's throat. It was over, completely over. His mind was in turmoil, and he couldn't make up a lie. "I...I confess."

At this moment, Wei Yao's tone turned stern: "I'm a patient person. Don't repeat what I've already asked!"

"Yes. At the beginning of last year, I was targeted by Xiao Liang's spies at a gambling den in the south of the city. They set a trap to make me lose money and persuaded me..."

“I was forced to take their money, otherwise they would have killed me! I lived in constant fear, and I was glad that they hadn’t come looking for me. I even thought that the spy who threatened me back then was dead. But five days ago, Xiao Liang’s people appeared. It wasn’t the one who threatened me to join them. I only knew that his surname was Du. He told me that I had to be on duty at the South Gate that night and be ready to meet an assassin at any time.”

“I met him twice in total. The first time was to tell him about the plan, and the second time was the evening before yesterday. He disguised himself as a traveler from out of town who came to Beijing. He pretended to be resting by the well and gave me a bag of food, asking me to put the food in an empty bird's nest in a big tree on Tongtuo Street when it got dark.”

Wei Yao interrupted the other party's statement and asked, "Did you open that bag?"

Zhao Sengbiao shook his head: "I don't. I'm afraid the more I know, the faster I'll die."

He glanced at Wei Yao's expression and, seeing that she didn't intend to ask any more questions, continued to confess: "I really didn't do anything else bad. This noon I heard that the soldiers were cleaning up the bird nests on Tongtuo Street. I was worried that the assassins hadn't taken the food from the bird nests, so I made up an excuse to leave the neighborhood and go to the street to see."

In reality, he was more worried about the assassin, or that the spy surnamed Du might have the same idea as him and also appeared on Tongtuo Street. If they encountered each other, he would have to remind the spy to get away quickly so as not to be discovered by the government troops.

Of course, if he also revealed his dog-like thoughts of recognizing a thief as his father, he would truly have no way out.

After Zhao Sengbiao was interrogated, Guan Xian's son, Guan Zhenkuan, arrived. In addition to spreading rumors about Zhao Xiu in the city, he was also responsible for passing on the information that Hu Sou had found to Wei Yao.

This morning, Hu Sou was tracking a suspicious traveler, but was discovered and had to give up. Afterwards, based on the traveler's physique and martial arts skills, he wrote down a list of military officers.

It would be too time-consuming and labor-intensive to investigate each of the dozen or so officials mentioned in the letter, and the suspicious individuals might not even be on the list.

Therefore, this matter cannot be rushed.

Wei Yao handed the list to Yuan Yu and instructed him: "These officials have something in common in their appearance. You have met many officials since you came to the capital. Add those with similar appearances and extremely high martial arts skills to the list."

She took a few steps, thought of someone, took back the list, and added one person to her name with her pen... Yu Zhong.

Yuan Yu was surprised!

The Yu Zhong mentioned by the sister-in-law was the Empress's cousin, who was observing mourning for the deceased General Yu Lie.