History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 445 Speculations about the Powerful Minister's Harem

"Your Highness, I am worried that the Emperor will not easily forgive the King this time, so I have something to ask of you, and I can only do so with Your Highness."

Yuan Xiang had countless concubines, so how could Consort Gao distinguish who was who? However, hearing the woman speak fluently and with a resolute look in her eyes, she raised her hand, and in the blink of an eye, only two stewards and the princess still kneeling on the ground remained in the room.

Shi'er looked directly at Consort Gao and repeatedly pleaded, "Forgive my rudeness, but this matter is confidential and I can only tell Consort Gao."

"Liu, get out." Seeing that her daughter-in-law still looked neither angry nor resentful, the Dowager Consort Gao was furious. Pointing at her back, she scolded, "Look at her, look at her! She's not acting like the mistress of the Prince's mansion at all!"

She turned to examine Shi'er: "These two managers are trustworthy, speak."

Shi'er: "Your Highness, my name is Shi'er. I know martial arts and have some skills in disguise. If the court would allow me to serve the King, I hope Your Highness will arrange for me to go."

Consort Gao understood what she meant. She was first shocked, then furious. She took a deep breath and scolded, "I will not punish you for such foolish words because you are sincere in your love for the King. But if you do it again or talk nonsense to others, I will beat you to death."

Shi'er kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty has been kind to me. The thought that Your Majesty, such a noble person, has fallen into such a state of destitution..."

"Shut up!" Consort Gao swept her sleeve and smashed the teacup on the table onto Shi'er.

Despite the pain, Shi'er cried and said, "In the past, the imperial court would never have sent troops to besiege the Prince's residence. The Dowager Consort must have planned ahead! I swear on my life that if I cannot protect the Prince, then may I wander the Yellow Springs after my death, swim in the River of Forgetfulness, and never be reincarnated..."

Consort Gao scolded the steward: "What are you standing there for? Get this idiot out of here!"

Prince Yuan Xiang of Beihai was not released from the palace that night, and the entire palace was shrouded in gloom.

The Hualin Garden, where Prince Jingzhao was imprisoned and Prince Yuanxi was executed, is now also imprisoning Yuan Xiang. Wei Yao from the Court of Justice, Cui Liang from the Censorate, and Yuan Shao from the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs are all staying at the Hualin Garden tonight to interrogate and record the charges in the impeachment document.

"Yuanxiang, the northern frontier has suffered from drought for years. The commanders of Wuchuan and Huaihuang garrisons have seized paddy fields, causing discontent among their commanders. As the Minister of Revenue, you have been suppressing impeachment documents from the border garrisons, inciting discontent among the soldiers and civilians there towards the court. Do you admit to this crime?"

“Yuanxiang, you accepted bribes from eunuchs and interfered with the court’s personnel appointments. The bribes you received from Chen Saojing alone amounted to… Do you admit to this crime?”

"In the twenty-first year of the Taihe era, you took a fancy to a beautiful woman in the market south of the city. You instructed Zhao Si, a wealthy merchant from the south of the city, to kidnap the woman and her daughter, disfigure the woman's husband, and cause the mother and daughter to hang themselves to death, unable to bear the humiliation. Do you admit to this crime?"

The person who reviewed this charge was Wei Yao, and the victims were the carpenter Lu Mu and his family.

An hour later, Yuan Xiang confessed to all the charges. Wei Yao, Cui Liang, and Yuan Shao suspended the interrogation and moved to the adjacent office to discuss matters.

Wei Yao opened a wooden box, took out the impeachment document inside, and said: "This memorial was submitted by Attendant-in-Ordinary Gao Xian. Attendant-in-Ordinary Gao accused Yuan Xiang and General Ru Hao of forming cliques and bribing the guards of Hualin Garden and the soldiers of Duting with the intention of plotting a rebellion."

The trial just concluded that no matter how many crimes Yuan Xiang committed, given his background and official position, they were not enough to warrant a death sentence.

Cui Liang feigned an "Oh dear," and unfolded the document to read it. His daughter was Consort Cui, and since she entered the palace, his loyalty had only been to the Emperor. Therefore, he knew very well that Yuan Xiang had no chance of turning things around this time. When he passed the document to Yuan Shao, his mind wasn't on the impeachment, but rather on whether the Vice Minister Wei would be promoted again. If she were promoted, would she be able to enter the Ministry of Personnel? If she did enter the Ministry of Personnel, would she be appointed to the long-vacant position of Right Vice Minister, or...? Yuan Shao's voice interrupted Cui Liang's thoughts.

"I'm afraid Yuan Xiang won't admit to treason. If he tries to deny it, the case will be delayed and things could change."

Wei Yao: "The Grand Clan Minister is indeed wise, reminding me of something. Even if Yuan Xiang confesses, given his high rank, it will definitely need to be reviewed. But if something unexpected happens... if a force tries to abduct Yuan Xiang, then the charge of treason can be confirmed!"

Yuan Shao's breathing became noticeably longer, his lips pressed tightly together, inwardly cursing Wei Yao's wickedness. Had he reminded her? Had she already planned this, yet she had let him get away with it! Who knew how many rebels Yuan Xiang had bribed within Hualin Garden? If today's discussions reached the ears of those rebels, would they kill Yuan Shao to vent their anger when they abducted Yuan Xiang from the capital?

Wei Yao: "Oh, right..."

Yuan Shao and Cui Liang's hearts skipped a beat at the same time.

What follows "that's right" is the main thing that was planned and intended to be said in advance!

Wei Yao, thick-skinned, ignored the expressions of Yuan and Cui and said, "Before Yuan Xiang is convicted, he is still His Majesty's seventh uncle. He cannot be without servants to serve him. Please ask the Grand Master of Ceremonies to go to the Prince's residence and inform him of the news about his relatives. It is said that soon the court will build a villa outside the palace and move the Prince of Beihai to the villa for confinement. Tell Consort Gao to prepare and send ten honest servants to serve the Prince of Beihai."

She added, "Grand Master Lao should also tell Consort Gao that the war is tense and the national treasury is short of funds. If she wants to build the villa as soon as possible, she should not be reluctant to spend her family's wealth."

After she finished speaking, she left first.

Yuan Shao and Cui Liang exchanged a glance, both thinking that if building the villa to confine Yuan Xiang was Wei Yao's idea, then she would be rewarded again. If the court were to raid the Beihai Prince's residence now, the commotion would be too great, and Yuan Xiang's supporters would surely submit petitions one after another, leading to a breakdown in the court's order and everyone living in fear.

Using the pretext of building a villa to get the Prince of Beihai's mansion to voluntarily contribute money and grain would be a different story. Those desperate traitors would definitely pause their actions and continue to observe the court's direction. During this period, the court would dismiss Yuan Xiang's faction from office and strip them of their titles, attacking them one by one. When Yuan Xiang was finally executed, it would not affect the court's order.

A storm was brewing in the imperial court, and the inner palace was not peaceful either.

Before the New Year, the Emperor's cousin, Gao Ying, entered the palace and was given the title of "Noble Lady," one of the three consorts. Usually, when the Emperor came to the inner palace, he would stay in the Empress's palace, but tonight he went to Lady Gao's palace. Empress Yu always felt that the Emperor's actions were a sign of dissatisfaction with the Yu family.

Her trusted lady-in-waiting, Yu E, advised, "Madam Gao still can't even learn proper etiquette. Is it too much of an honor for the Empress to be so wary of her?"

Previously, Yu E could offer advice to Yu Baoying, but now Yu E's insight is insufficient and her perspective on things is not far-reaching enough. Therefore, after saying these words, Empress Yu shook her head, wrote a letter to her family, and instructed: "Tomorrow you should leave the palace and give this letter to your aunt."

Yu E was overjoyed and agreed, unaware that the letter contained a marriage proposal for her, meaning she would never be able to return to the palace.

Empress Yu was wary of Lady Gao, not of Gao Ying herself, but of her uncle, Gao Xian, the Grand Secretary of the Secretariat. Once Gao Xian seized the opportunity of Yuan Xiang's downfall to rise in rank, the entire Gao family would become truly powerful and influential.

What puzzled Empress Yu was that if the emperor really wanted to quickly elevate the Gao family, why didn't he bestow upon Gao Ying the title of "Noble Consort," the head of the three consorts? Did the emperor dislike both the Yu family and the Gao family?
So, after Yuan Xiang was dismissed from his post, who benefited the most?

Yu Baoying softly uttered a name: "Wei Yao. As a woman, can you really win the position of prime minister?"