History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 91 The Crown Prince's Inner Conflict

The secrets of heaven are the most difficult to fathom.

The new emperor's path to rule in the Great Wei Dynasty took a turn for the worse when Wei Yao untied the four sets of wooden tablets, deviating from her previous life.

Luoyang City, the Crown Prince's Palace.

Yuan Ke looked at the wooden box on the desk and decided to open it anyway.

The four sets of wooden slips inside were written by him in despair when he was a child and was locked in a mud house in the Xi government office by his elder brother Yuan Xun. At that time, Yuan Xun was the crown prince, and he was often suspected by his brother because he was born in the same month and year as his brother and loved reading.

The earthen house was filled with books and bamboo slips. Yuan Xun ordered the palace servants to lock the door and said smugly, "Don't you like reading? This time, don't even think about coming out until you've memorized everything inside!"

So, no one brought him water or food. He shouted and banged on the door, but there was no response. So he resigned himself to his fate and quickly started studying, hoping that his brother would keep his word.

Yuan Ke still remembers that night. It was so long. Insects kept crawling on the ground, as if they could make as many noises as there were words in the book.

The darkness amplified the crawler's fear, and also amplified young Yuan Ke's fear.

What disheartened and pained him at that time was that the next day, no one cared about him or came to his rescue. So, before he could hold on any longer, he wrote his heartfelt resentment on a wooden tablet, but he was afraid of bringing trouble to his mother and was also extremely afraid of Yuan Xun, so this "last words" was not written in a heroic way.

He is no longer the lowly prince struggling to survive in the Pingcheng Palace. As he builds confidence day by day, he must have the courage to face his past in order to truly overcome his fear.

By opening the first set of wooden tablets and following the number of loops of rope, Yuan Ke knew what was written inside...

*Thud!* Yuan Ke slammed the wooden tablet face down on the desk.

Someone has seen it all! His darkness, his wretchedness—who has seen it all?!

He took two deep breaths and rolled over.

The text on the left that says "I'm afraid of my brother" is actually "I'm afraid of my brother".

That's why Yuan Ke mocked himself that year, saying that even though he was prepared to die, he still didn't dare to reveal his true feelings.

The inscription "I'm not afraid anymore" on the wooden tablet on the right is a self-questioning and self-answering, telling himself that he is going to die, and once he dies, he will naturally no longer need to fear his elder brother Yuan Xun.

Now, after the words "I am not afraid anymore" on the wooden tablet, a sentence has been added: "I will kill all those who deceive me."

"Those who deceive me, shall all be killed." Yuan Ke had no palace servants with him. He read it aloud softly, then suddenly smiled. Ah, I must say, adding this line made me feel so relieved!

It was as if I, now grown up, had comforted the young Ake from years ago with the most powerful words.

He then untied the second set of wooden slips.

Just as he had predicted, words were added to his text.

After Little Ake wrote the word "farewell," what was added was... never mind.

"Forget it? Haha." Yuan Ke was amused.

Above the two characters "sleep well" on the other wooden tablet, the words "eat well" were added.

Yuan Ke laughed again, then shook his head: "That's right, you need to be well-fed to sleep well. As for parting, well, never mind. Okay, I'll listen to you, never mind."

He continued to open the third set of wooden slips, and he even hoped that words would be added to them as well.

Great, it really exists.

What he wrote was: "Is it believable that he was reborn after death?"

The lower document: to hide in the surroundings.

Reincarnation after death is something many people have imagined, and Xiao Ake was no exception. He was afraid that he would not be able to reincarnate and would become a wandering ghost, and he was even more afraid that because he died in that earthen house, his soul would be trapped in that earthen house forever, keeping company with insects.

Now, the stranger simply adds the word "King Kong" before "lurking around" to dispel little Ake's fear.

Yuan Ke untied the fourth set of wooden slips. Little A Ke: In the eyes of all living beings, there is no self.

Addendum: From now on, I will be the eyes of all beings!
He slapped the desk and exclaimed, "Wonderful!"
Although Yuan Ke is now the Crown Prince, he does not employ many people in the palace. Therefore, the next day, he still summoned Xue Zhixiao, the Tiger General, to the Crown Prince's Palace.

Yuan Ke asked, "When you entered the former palace servants' quarters, were there many palace servants coming and going there?"

"Not many. The old palace is very desolate, and the storeroom of the Xi official's office is even worse, managed only by a Xi official's female slave surnamed Zhang." Although Xue Zhixiao came and went in a hurry with the wooden tablet, he asked about everything he could find out.

"When I entered the old palace, Zhang Xiguan was no longer there. She had been hired by the Cui family academy in Qinghe, Pingcheng, to serve as a female teacher. There was only one female scribe in charge of Zhang Xiguan, surnamed Chen. Since the capital was moved, this scribe Chen rarely went to Xiguan's office, and when she did, she would just stay for a short while and then leave. According to the other palace staff, the day before I entered the old palace, scribe Chen opened the only bookstore, went in for a short while, and then left."

"Furthermore, when I entered the old palace, it was right after the first spring examination of the new school magistrate. The reward that the top student of the spring examination was given by Governor Yuan Zhi of Hengzhou was to copy books in the old palace library for three days. Strangely, this student was taken by Chen Shushi to the abandoned library of the former Xi government office."

"On the day I entered the palace, this student happened to be leaving, so none of us saw her. She was a female student."

Yuan Ke listened patiently, and then instructed: "Go to the Imperial Academy and find the official document of the new education decree of Hengzhou, and make a copy of it."

Wei Yao, far away on the border of Beizhou, was galloping towards Junji Mountain.

Today is the tenth day of the fifth lunar month. The setbacks, fears, and final struggles experienced during the military exercise have all become a thing of the past as we leave Wuchuan Town.

Young people need not fear hardships in their growth!
“Alas—” Senior Brother Wei Daozi surpassed Wei Yao and Wei Mao.

That night, after the military exercise, Wei Yao and Mao Tong met. The marks on his neck from being strangled didn't get worse until the next day, and he couldn't speak for two days.

But now...

“I’ve taught you so many times, but look at your feet. You’ll kick a wild horse to death before you even reach Junji Mountain.”

"You don't need to shake the reins so frequently..."

"It's shaking again."

Wei Yao said angrily, "You're so annoying!"

"So what if I'm annoying you? Go ahead and dump me if you dare."

Guo Yun called out from behind, "Ayao, you're riding too fast! Wait for me!"

Wei Yao rode her horse backward.

Wei Mao had no choice but to slow down his horse. Alas, each one was slower than the last. When would they be able to reach the heart of Junji Mountain?

These days, the hunting parties have spread out, not for hunting animals, but only to calculate their hunting results based on the number of Rouran prisoners they capture. The real animal hunting competition will take place on the return to Pingcheng, in a three-day contest at Baideng Mountain, the same mountain forest where Zhao Zhi hunted the bear.

Therefore, the route taken by the knights ahead meant that those who rode slowly like Wei Yao had almost no chance of encountering Rouran people again.

Among the warriors who ventured deep into Junji Mountain were Zhao Zhi, Yuan Zhi, Yuan Zhenjiang, and other fierce warriors carefully selected by various officials.

As for Erzhu Xinxing and his son, they returned to Beixiurong with their own tribe's warriors, and decided to send Erzhu Rong to Cui Academy to study poetry after autumn.

The mountains were high and the vegetation was lush. Zhao Zhi and the two Yuan clan officials followed the military map and climbed on foot to the top of the eastern mountain range of Junji Mountain. Looking down, they could see many felt tents of the Rouran people.

Yuan Zhen snorted, "They've got some nerve. I'd estimate there are over a hundred of them."

Zhao Zhi, with her keen eye, said, "There are forty-six felt tents in total. Assuming four people per household, that's about..."

Governor Yuan quickly replied, "Yes. The Rouran people are prolific. If each household has four people, there are definitely more than two hundred."

Yuan Zhen praised Zhao Zhi, saying, "Actually, it's already quite impressive that you can count the number of felt tents."

Crunch... Two pebbles were slowly rubbed together in Zhao Zhi's palm, until they were covered in dust.

Liutai: An institution established in Luoyang to handle government affairs while the emperor was away on military campaigns.

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(End of this chapter)