History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 443 Tianbiao and Tiankui

The jailer then questioned the inscriptions on the urn containing the corpse, and sure enough, they were all carved by Liu Huo. After the jailer finished questioning them, Wei Yao ordered them to take Lu Mu away, separating him from Liu Huo's cell.

At this point, she left only Kou Meng, Gu Kai, and Lu Gongzhi, and continued to ask Liu Huo, "Have you ever heard of a poem called 'Imitation of the Difficulty of Travel'?"

She suspected that the eunuch Chang Shami's recitation of "The Difficulty of Traveling" was a trick to incite murder. Unfortunately, Chang Shami could not find any more soldiers to sing the poem. The harem had been controlled by the Empress's power, and Wei Yao could not make any progress in the short term. She was worried that using Chang Shami as bait would lead to his assassination, so she suspended her investigation in the harem.

Liu Huo's tearful expression was mixed with surprise: "So the lady-in-waiting knows everything. Lady-in-waiting, listen to this tune... Pouring water onto flat ground, each stream flows in its own direction..."

Wei Yao: "Is it this tune? Are poems also a way for the heavens to send you messages?"

"Yes."

"Just one poem?"

"I only know this one."

Wei Yao then asked, "Liu Shun, Sun Tu, Lu Mu, Xue Zhixiao, and Ke Bomao, which of them knows this poem?"

Liu Huo replied, "They probably don't know."

Wei Yao: "What about Cheng Lingqiu, the Grand Minister of Agriculture?"

Liu Huo was puzzled and immediately replied, "I don't know anything about the Grand Minister of Agriculture, really. I wouldn't dare to lie to the female official. I don't even know what the Grand Minister of Agriculture is!"

Wei Yao: "Do you know the novice monk in the palace?"

Liu Huo shook his head: "I don't know either."

Wei Yao: "You said before that Tianbiao threatened your family. Where are your family members?"

Liu Huo: "Actually, he can't be considered family. That person is my apprentice, and he's not in Luoyang."

Enraged, Kou Meng lifted Liu Huo off the ground and sternly rebuked him: "Don't just answer every question Shaoqing asks. Tell me everything you know!"

Liu Huolian said "yes" and quickly explained in detail: "I originally had two apprentices. I taught them all my skills and treated them like family. After Tian Shao targeted and threatened me, I resisted, I tried to escape, and I even thought that we might as well fight to the death, but I could never shake him off. He even killed one of my apprentices. That's why I agreed to work for Tian Shao, but on one condition: that he let my apprentice Liu Huan leave the capital. At that time, my apprentice and I made an agreement that no matter where he went, he was not allowed to return to Luoyang for ten years."

After asking these questions, Wei Yao led Gu Kai and the others to her office. After sitting down, she first reviewed today's statements with Gu Kai. After reviewing them, she asked him, "Do you want to spare Liu Huo's life?"

Gu Kai pleaded tactfully, "This humble official dares not overstep the law, but I feel that this person's illusion magic is superb. He could clearly be helping the government, but he uses his skills for crooked purposes, aiding and abetting evil. It's a pity."

Wei Yao: "The evil deeds of those with great abilities are more terrifying than those of ordinary bandits. This man uses illusion magic to control livestock to harm people, deceiving the authorities and leaving the unjustly killed unable to seek justice or express their suffering. While you lament his abilities, have you asked about the unjustly killed Wu Bo'an? Wu Bo'an was so young; wasn't it a pity he died so tragically? This criminal accurately predicted the time when the livestock would go mad after being poisoned. How many evil deeds do you think he committed to be able to predict so accurately? Were there other 'Wu Bo'ans' who were tortured in this? And do you think that when he confessed, he boasted about his abilities, was he plotting against us officials?"

The reprimands continued, until Gu Kai's face turned red and his head almost touched his knees. He said shamefully, "This humble official knows his mistake. I will go and merge the case files to see if there are any omissions." Wei Yao was displeased and didn't even utter a "hmm." After Gu Kai left, she asked Lu Gongzhi, "You've been involved in the investigation of several murder cases. What are your thoughts? Besides the confessions, what else must be investigated?"

Finally, they're testing him! Lu Gongzhi had already thought of this and immediately replied, "I think Shaoqing's speculation is correct. There are two masterminds in this case. If there is Tianshao, then there is Tiankui."

In the Big Dipper, the first star "Tian Shu" to the fourth star "Tian Quan" are called "Kui," and the remaining three stars of the handle are called "Shao." Who would give up the title of "Kui" and give it the code name "Tian Shao"? There is only one possibility: Tian Shao is openly directing Liu Huo and Liu Shun to do things, while Tian Heng is hidden in the shadows.

Lu Gongzhi's deduction perfectly matched Wei Yao's previous deduction of "yin and yang".

Seeing Wei Yao nod, he continued his analysis: "The evidence against Wu Lin, the servant, can be used to convict him through Liu Huo's confession. But the owner of the fish shop escaped the case. Is he also an accomplice of Tian Shao? If so, I think the fish shop is located in Fuqiao and has another purpose, a purpose more terrifying than assassinating ordinary officials."

Wei Yao: "Yes, that's exactly what I've been thinking about. Fuqiao Fish Market has been operating for two years. That location may not mean much to ministers and nobles, but in the capital, it's a rare place to make money. It's right next to Sitong Market and Siyiguan, with a high concentration of merchants, making it convenient for the transmission of information from all directions."

The Siyiguan (Foreigners' Hall) had only been established recently, so Wei Yao's thoughts paused on "Sitong City." She repeated softly, "Sitong City, Siyi, foreign tribes... The Rouran and Gaoche of the North are not worth worrying about, while the Tuyuhun and Gaochang of the West frequently request to pay tribute to the court..."

Her voice trailed off as she shook her head, contradicting her own thoughts: "Judging from Xue Zhixiao's successful escort into the palace, Tianbiao was short-handed, which drove him to desperation. He had to delegate many actions to Liu Huo. Therefore, Tianbiao was incapable of gathering information about the foreign courts, and even if he did, it wouldn't be of much use. Since it's unrelated to politics, it must be about the people's sentiments."

Lu Gongzhi: "My family has a shop in the south of the city. Once the fish shop resumes business, I will have my servants keep an eye on it."

"Very well." Wei Yao suddenly had another idea and instructed, "It would be best to have servants who understand the dialects of the four barbarians walk around the Sitong market more often to find out if any foreigners are talking about court officials, especially princes. If they hear any talk, whether it is praise or criticism, they should ask for the reason!"

As a light snow fell on Luoyang at night, Yuan Mao, not wanting to wait at home, went to the entrance of the Court of Justice to meet Wei Yao.

The two shared an umbrella. Yuanmao tilted the umbrella and walked along Weiyao's shoulder. The two walked closer and closer to the side of the road. Weiyao pinched his ear and said, "If you keep pushing me, I'll fall into the ditch."

Yuan Mao chuckled, stood on her other side, nuzzled her other shoulder, and asked as they walked, "Am I good to you? Tell me, tell me, am I good to you?"

"Duck, duck, that's all."

Yuan Mao was stunned for a moment before he reacted, then he smiled through gritted teeth. He turned the umbrella around and, under its cover, quickly pecked her frostbitten cheek, exclaiming, "It's so cold, my lips are freezing."

Wei Yao was amused by him again.

Immediately afterwards, he touched her cheek with something in his hand. It was so cold that she almost shivered. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was an ice sculpture of a pomegranate.

Yuan Mao asked, as if to take credit, "I've been carving for a long time, do you like it?"

Of course I like it! Wei Yao felt sorry for him and asked, "It's so cold, you've been holding an ice pomegranate the whole way, you must be freezing!"

Yuan Mao glared at him: "I'm not stupid! I brought it in a metal box."

A single word from someone you admire can bring laughter. As the first snow gradually blankets the ground in white, countless footprints are left behind, blending with the streets and alleys to form a long, ink-wash painting of the Great Wei New Year.