History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

This bottle of medicine is indeed poison, but it's not the one Yang Fan took last night. It was the one that Grand Tutor Yuan Xie forced Wang Xian to make during his interrogation. Later, when Wang Xian's head was sent to the capital, Yuan Xie sent another spy to give Wei Yao ten bottles of poison as a gift.

As for Song Wei, he was ambitious but lacked talent. Only Prince Yuan Yi, remembering Song Bian's past service to the country, gave Song Wei an official position.

Song Wei's ingratitude was discovered by Lu Gongzhi's father, Lu Kai. Lu Kai had been working at the Prince of Guangping's residence and had recently seen Song Wei entering and leaving the residence suspiciously. He then informed Lu Gongzhi of this, who was a confidant of Wei Yao and naturally relayed the information to her immediately.

Therefore, Song Wei cannot withstand investigation!

If the story doesn't stand up to scrutiny, Yuan Yi will let his imagination run wild and believe whatever she says.

"I won't wrong Song Wei because of what you said. I will investigate."

Wei Yao: "Then I'm relieved."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yi was momentarily distracted, and his slight dissatisfaction with Wei Yao vanished in an instant. He pondered carefully: had Wei Yao, who bore the bad reputation of a treacherous minister, really done anything to frame a loyal minister?

No, never!
Yuan Yi: "By the way, Uncle, I didn't have a chance to ask you last night why you tore up that document?"

Yuan Cheng: "Because what is recorded above is not Wang Xian's crime, but a mistake His Majesty made when he was young, which is related to the death of Empress Wenzhao on the way to move the capital. The Grand Tutor wanted to use this secret to ask His Majesty for military power in Yangzhou. His Majesty suspected that we were colluding with the Grand Tutor and that we knew about this secret beforehand, which is why he made us read it. Alas, the ruler made a mistake first, and instead of correcting it, he used the secret as a knife to test his subjects."

Yuan Yi looked at the three people opposite him. By now, Wei Yao, Yuan Cheng, and Yuan Yu had all expressed their dissatisfaction with the emperor. He understood that they were trying to force him to join them, using the power of high-ranking officials to blind and deafen the emperor, and to completely squeeze him out of the court! If he pretended to be confused, would he end up like a dead fish in a jar?
When Wei Yao saw Yuan Yi glance at the fish tank, she couldn't help but smile: "Prince Yi, what are you thinking about?"

Yuan Yi calmed his breathing and asked, "I'm thinking about the current problem. His Majesty insists on recalling the Grand Tutor. If I don't go to Yangzhou, who will?"

Wei Yao: "I'm not going to anyone."

Three days later, the eunuch from the Shiqian Palace came to inquire about the Yangzhou matter. Wei Yao declined to discuss it until the next day. The emperor sent someone to urge him again, but then received a collective memorial from the Ministry of Personnel, the Secretariat, and the Chancellery. The content was: "The court is currently engaged in military campaigns. We should conscript soldiers and mobilize the masses to build fortifications on the outskirts and advance southward!"
Please follow up with advice... How many of Emperor Xiaowen's brothers are left? A ruler should cultivate clear governance and education; how can he be so hot-blooded and suspicious of a wise king, delaying important military and national affairs!

Inside the Shiqian Hall, the emperor suffered a splitting headache and clenched his fist, slamming it onto the memorial.

"Summon Wei Yao to see me."

The eunuch left in a hurry and returned in a hurry, reporting: "Duke Mu Liang of Dunqiu County has passed away in his residence. The Minister of the Imperial Guard has gone to Mu's residence to offer condolences."

"Then let's find Yuan Yu!"

The eunuch went to deliver the order again, and returned with a grim expression, reporting: "The Minister of Works is not in the West Cypress Hall."

The emperor's headache worsened, and he was so angry that his fingers trembled: "Where is Yang Daye?"

"General Yang is not in the palace. If Your Majesty has any matters to attend to, please give me your instructions." Zhao Zhi entered the hall.

At this time, the person the emperor least wanted to see was Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi made him very uneasy!
In the short time since her return to the capital, she has quickly taken control of the Imperial Guards, leaving the Central Commander Wang Zhongxing and the Palace Attendant General Yang Daye with fewer and fewer soldiers at their disposal. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't seen Yuan Chang and Yuan Shouxing for two days; they must have been stopped outside the palace by Zhao Zhi.

Emperor: "Can you relieve my worries?"

Zhao Zhi: "Your Majesty, I will obey your orders."

"With the Grand Tutor in Yangzhou, I cannot eat or sleep in peace. What is the solution?" Yuan Ke's eyes were filled with undisguised murderous intent. In such a predicament, there was no use in hiding it.

However, even though he was somewhat prepared for this, seeing Zhao Zhi looking at him coldly and not obeying orders for the first time, remaining silent, his heart sank again.

That night, the emperor was in a daze and dreamed that he had asked Xue Zhixiao to investigate the addition of words on the wooden slip. In the dream, Xue Zhixiao replied to the task: "It has been found out. The one who wrote on the wooden slip was not the female official Zhang Wenzhi, but Wei Yao, who copied books in Pingcheng Palace for the past three days."

After waking up, the emperor sat for a long time, lost in thought.

May 10th.

A reshuffle occurred within the palace guards. Zhao Zhi, the commander of the Imperial Guards, and Situ Yuanyu transferred away nobles and military officers to escort Yuan Xie, who had been traveling day and night from Yangzhou back to the capital, into the palace. Only two close attendants, Hou Gang and Yang Fan, served the ailing emperor before his bed in the Shiqian Hall. They helped him to sit down at his desk.

"Sixth Uncle, have you finally given up and tried to seize my throne?"

Yuan Xie sat down opposite him and said, “When you were young, you suffered from a strange illness that took many years to cure. You blame the late emperor for neglecting you and letting your illness drag on for so many years, but you never considered that if the late emperor hadn’t entrusted Wang Xian with the task of treating you, how could you have recovered? You were young then and didn’t understand the ways of survival in the palace, but Wang Xian did. Yet he allowed you to speculate, fueling your hatred. Tell me, shouldn’t he have been killed?”

Yuan Ke's laughter rose from his throat to his lips, his face appearing rather sinister in the dim candlelight of the hall.

“Wang Xian was wrong, but only he could cure my old ailment. So, did Sixth Uncle kill him for my own good, or did he want my life?”

Yuan Xie: "To me, Emperor Xiaowen is both an elder brother and a father. I will see him sooner or later. If I kill you, how will I have the face to talk about brotherhood with him in the future?"

His eyes glistened with tears, and Yuan Ke's eyes were also red-rimmed.

Yuan Ke immediately gritted his teeth and swallowed his heartache.

Yuan Xie then stood up and said, "I came back so that you would know that if I had any intention of seizing the throne, you would be no match for me."

He had barely stepped out of the inner room when he heard Yuan Ke shoving the table and smashing objects, followed by shouting, "Where is Wei Yao? That traitor dares not see me!"

In fact, if Wei Yao hadn't received the letter from Consort Gao Ying, she would have accompanied Yuan Xie to Shiqian Palace tonight.

Now, Wei Yao has arrived at the entrance of Yongxiang at the appointed time.

Through the door, Gao Ying burst into tears, expressing her panic and grievances: "Wei Yao, there are rumors in the harem that I poisoned the Empress. How could I have the guts to kill the Empress? Waaah... I can't even get into Xianyang Palace. Waaah... Sister Wei, please save me. I don't want to stay in the palace anymore. It's too scary."

Wei Yao asked, "Have you investigated who spread the rumors?"

Gao Ying shook her head: "No, how can you find out who started a rumor?"

Wei Yao sighed, "The Gao family has no smart members. It's all because of the emperor's selfishness that they've been pushed into the power struggle in Luoyang Palace."

The rumors were, of course, spread by the emperor's orders. Since the Gao family was no longer of any use to the emperor, and Empress Yu died suddenly, the historical records would certainly leave room for doubt. They couldn't just write that the emperor did it, so they pinned the blame on Gao Ying.

Gao Ying sobbed, "Sister Wei, if His Majesty believes the rumors, will he kill me to avenge the Empress?"

Wei Yao: "No. Just live your life peacefully, don't cause trouble, and you'll be safe."

Three days later, Emperor Yuan Ke fell seriously ill, and even Imperial Physician Cui was helpless.

"I have something to ask Yu Yao."

Wei Yao was already waiting outside the palace. This was the first time she had ever been so impolite. She ran up to the emperor, but before she could even speak, her guilt was already evident.

"Your Majesty, I am here."

Yuan Ke gave a desolate smile. He could no longer sit up. He turned to look at her and said, "Whether you believe it or not, I want to be your subject for life."

"Your subject believes," Wei Yao choked back tears.

Yuan Ke took out the wooden tablet that was under the quilt, pointed to the words "From now on I am the eyes of all people," and asked, "Tell me, do these words have anything to do with you?"

Wei Yao wept bitterly: "This is the first time I have seen this."

"Heh." Yuan Ke's breath caught in that laugh.

Imperial Physician Cui took the emperor's pulse and shook his head. Wei Yao rose, wiping away tears, and announced, "The Emperor has passed away—" (End of Chapter)