History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 450 Splitting the Grave
On the sixth day of the third lunar month, spring was in full bloom.

Outside the gates of Jinyang City, the sounds of drums and music filled the air at the Prince of Gaoyang's residence. The princes Yuan Jia, Yuan Cheng, Yuan Yu, Yuan Xie, and Yuan Yi, who had been invited by Yuan Yong, arrived together in their carriages, as if they had planned it all along. The steward of the residence hurriedly went to announce their arrival, and the gatekeepers and cavalrymen carried the gifts. Just as they finished carrying them, Yuan Yong's laughter rang out.

"Oh dear, oh dear, it was my rudeness. I got carried away talking with the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Quickly, everyone, come with me to the wine garden. I have prepared Crane Wine and Silver Light Wine brewed using a secret method."

Even the finest Crane Wine had become tiresome for these princes. Instead, they were drawn to the traditional brewing techniques passed down through generations of noble families. Old Prince Yuanjia, still feeling the effects of last night's drinking, immediately showed his craving upon hearing this, saying, "Good Silver Light Wine should not only have a beautiful silvery sheen, but its aroma should also contain the spiciness of ginger, the spiciness of cinnamon, and the sweetness of honey combined with the bitterness of gall. I must have a good taste."

The winery wasn't far away. Wei Yao waited at the entrance of the winery, exchanging greetings with the princes. Yuan Yu hurriedly gave Wei Yao a wink and walked at the very back with her, asking her, "I had a dream last night that your mother killed my big black dog."

Wei Yao deliberately paused to think for a moment, then said, "Dreams can sometimes be accurate."

"You, you, you... Actually, I received some news that someone is trying to curry favor with Gao Xian and plans to petition Gao Xian to transport military supplies to the Baobo County camp."

Wei Yao let out a long breath, knowing that the news must be true! What transport of military supplies? It was clearly an opportunity for Gao Xian to make military achievements. If this idea came from an ordinary official, it wouldn't be a big deal, but what if it was the emperor's idea?
That means her previous schemes were useless. The emperor was disappointed in Gao Xian time and time again, but not disappointed enough, so he still wanted to promote him!
Wei Yao: "A storm is brewing, let's wait and see."

Yuan Yu smiled and said, "As long as you know what's going on." After saying that, he quickened his pace and went to talk to Yuan Yong and the others.

Yuan Xie glanced back at her, and Wei Yao seized the brief opportunity to call out "Grand Tutor" and came to his side to ask, "According to the timeline, Duke Gao Meng of Bohai will be returning to the capital soon. His Majesty should have made arrangements for Gao Meng's official position. However, the two sons of the late Duke Gao Zhao of Pingyuan have no title and no experience in officialdom. I plan to send them to the Ministry of Personnel for training. I wonder what the Grand Tutor thinks?"

The Grand Tutor is the head of all officials, but has no real power. Because of his supreme status, Wei Yao first consulted Yuan Xie's opinion. This seemed normal at first glance, but officials who knew Wei Yao well would definitely be suspicious of her actions, because Wei Yao was the head of the sycophants. As long as the emperor trusted her, she did not need to respect any of her colleagues!

Yuan Xie: "I have been thinking about this matter for a long time, so I had the prefectural official cast a divination. The divination said that Gao Meng has a young son in Pingcheng. This matter is of great importance. I have already sent people to Pingcheng and will send back news soon."

Wei Yao was secretly surprised. Gao Meng had a child but did not inform the emperor. To put it seriously, it was a crime of deceiving the emperor. If this news spread, the emperor would lose face, and the job that had been arranged for Gao Meng would definitely be in jeopardy.

Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she asked, "Gao Xian has few opportunities to make merit in the Secretariat. What do you think if I were to write a memorial to the throne requesting that he be put in charge of the grain transportation of the Qibo County camp?"

Yuan Xie revealed a clear smile of satisfaction and said in a low voice, "We'll discuss this matter in detail after the banquet."

Wei Yao watched the other person's back and smiled. She had guessed correctly! The thing that Prince Guangling, Yuan Yu, had just reminded her of was actually a rumor spread by Prince Pengcheng, Yuan Xie! Gao Xian's going to the battlefield to make meritorious contributions was a scheme set up by Yuan Xie. This prince was going to make a move against Gao Xian's clan.

In other words, Yuan Xie was finally going to retaliate against the emperor!
As the harp began to play its melodious tune, several cranes landed in the open space in front of the guests and began to dance on tiptoe. Then, dozens of dancers gracefully entered the venue, and the banquet began.

The uncle and nephew Yuan Yu and Yuan Yi imitated the old patriarch Wang Yuanjia, taking a big gulp of Silver Light Wine. The former choked and quickly spat, while the latter turned red from the spiciness, which made Yuanjia and Yuan Yong laugh. For the second cup of wine, Yuanjia gestured to Wei Yao opposite him.

The ministers all knew that Wei Yao never drank alcohol. She raised her cup of honey water in response, but Yuan Jia was not angry and still drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.

Prince Rencheng, Yuan Cheng, sat next to Yuan Xie. He pulled the wine table closer and asked Yuan Xie, "The twenty warriors you gave me have been borrowed back. What exactly are they being sent to do? Just tell me. Look at me, I haven't been sleeping or eating well these past few days because of this, and I've lost weight." Yuan Xie replied, "They've been sent to Pingcheng."

"Going to Pingcheng?" Prince Rencheng took a small sip of wine, finished it, and asked, "Who in the Gao family is it related to?"

Yuan Xie: "If you get them all drunk today, I'll tell you."

Prince Rencheng narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering only briefly on Wei Yao before he said, "A-Xie, you've become bad."

When Yuan Xie smiled sincerely, there was a rare hint of mischief in his eyes, which made him still show the spirit of a young man at the age of thirty. He said, "Uncle used these twenty people to set a trap for the Gao family and break my loyalty to the emperor. Now I am retaliating in the same way. Why is Uncle still angry?"

"Haha, I'm not angry, I'm actually happy." Yuan Cheng said, then picked up his cup and drank again.

Yuan Xie leaned closer and said, "What I said earlier was a lie to my uncle. I sent those twenty men to Bohai..."

"Cough cough cough!" Yuan Cheng choked in shock.

Yuan Jia scolded him from a distance: "If you dare to pretend you can't hold your liquor, I'll kick you out!"

He was the most senior, and everyone had to listen to him when he reprimanded them.

Yuan Yong, who was standing nearby, quickly pretended to be frightened and covered his head, saying, "The wine is really strong. I was just about to secretly add some water. Uncle, please don't be angry. I won't do it again."

At this moment, Yuan Cheng stopped coughing and asked Yuan Xie in alarm, "Why did you send them to Bohai?"

Yuan Xie slowly poured the wine and said in a low voice, "The Gao family of Dongyi actually wants to impersonate the Gao family of Bohai. If Heaven were to strike down the Gao family's recently moved graves with lightning, what do you think people would say?"

Yuan Cheng blinked three times rapidly and said, "What the world says is not important. What's important is how the aristocratic families use this matter to attack the Gao family, to attack..."

To strike at the emperor who wanted to elevate the Gao family!

Didn't the emperor want to change Gao Xian's family name to the Gao clan from Bohai? If the ancestral graves that were just moved there were struck by lightning, and some other superstitious methods were added, it would show that Heaven was extremely angry at the emperor's deception of the world! Once the rumors reached the capital, the guilty emperor would be eager to clear his name. Not to mention continuing to favor the Gao clan, it would be a miracle if Gao Meng and the others didn't take their anger out on them!
Yuan Xie was very pleased and raised his cup to Wei Yao and his nephew Yuan Yi across from him. The wine was strong, so he took a small sip and reassured Yuan Cheng, who was still in shock: "Uncle, don't worry, this matter is easy to accomplish and won't leave anyone with any leverage against us."

Yuan Cheng's current shock wasn't about why Yuan Xie was so ruthless towards the Gao family, but rather that he realized Yuan Xie was after the emperor. Yuan Cheng had always worried that his nephew, who had ingrained "loyalty" so deeply, might not be recognized by the emperor and could ultimately harm him. But how could Yuan Xie have changed so much in just half a month without any contact?
Having lived two lives, Yuan Xie saw through Yuan Cheng's thoughts at a glance. He repeated his previous words: "Does Uncle think I've changed a lot? Today, Uncle got everyone else drunk, leaving only Wei Yao. I'll satisfy your curiosity, how about it?"

“Alright.” Yuan Cheng patted his round belly and said, “I wouldn’t dare claim to be number one in anything else, but when it comes to drinking capacity, I’m number one in Kyoto.”