History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 148 Wei Yi and Xi Jian

He instructed his elder brothers, Wei Bao and Wei Jin, to secretly inquire about the family's close friends and acquaintances. They could not be from the Yuchi tribe, and they had to be from ordinary families, childless, and eager to adopt a son. Why hadn't they replied yet?
Brother, please don't tell Father!
Furthermore, there was an urgent letter about the sudden death of Empress Fu Jing, a member of the An Ding aristocratic family. After he, Yuan Zizhi, and Xi Jiao each wrote it, they all handed it over to Chief Clerk Gou. It must have been sent by official post, but I don't know if it has reached Luoyang yet.

Wei Mao pondered again that the twenty-odd cavalrymen who left that day went south. Did they go to look for Hu Guozhen and his daughter? Did they find them? If they didn't find them, it would be like letting a tiger return to the mountain. If they did find them, would those cavalrymen, who could cause Huangfu Jing's sudden death, also cause Hu Guozhen and his daughter's sudden death?
Upon considering this possibility, Wei Mao couldn't help but wonder why Governor Yuan and the Hu family had such a deep-seated hatred. But this matter was too strange. If the governor and the Hu family had long ago formed a blood feud, why didn't he take action against the Hu family earlier? Why wait until the Hu family was about to leave Pingcheng before acting hastily?
Wei Mao became more and more confused as he thought about it.

He is still young, and his analysis of a single issue doesn't broaden his thinking; he always focuses on the event itself and what he most wants to investigate is the cause.

But Wei Yi, who received the letter, was not so!

The three urgent letters were indeed sent by the Yuan Prefect through the official post station in order to expedite the process. The letter from Wei Mao reached his father, Wei Yi, only one day later than the previous one.

When the contents of the two letters were combined, Wei Yi misunderstood them and almost died of anger at a young age! Wei Yi was not angry at his youngest son, Wei Mao, but at Yuan Zhi, the governor of Hengzhou.

Last night, Wei Bao, who is usually lively and talkative, became cautious and taciturn, while Wei Jin, who is usually quiet and reserved, became talkative. With the two young men behaving so abnormally, how could Wei Yi not be suspicious?
The third brother had the idea of ​​being adopted out, and Wei Bao and Wei Jin dared not hide it from their father, so they showed him the letter.

To be honest, Wei Yi was angry, but he didn't really take it to heart. First, his youngest son, Wei Mao, had been mischievous since childhood, and he was used to getting angry. Second, Wei Yi felt guilty for leaving his youngest son in Pingcheng, and thought that what Mao said in his letter was just something he said in a fit of pique.

A letter, two pages long. Wei Yi went from being angry to feeling heartache. He read it for most of the night, touching the words as if he were comforting his young son.

But how could the second letter from his youngest son have been sent through the help of Yuan Zhi, the governor of Hengzhou? Wei Yi immediately read the contents and was furious!

Wei Yi didn't care how Huangfu Jing died, as described in the letter, nor did he care about the Hu family's influence in Luoyang. All he knew was that Yuan Zhi was a widower!

It is also known that Yuan Zhi had no sons, only one son left by each of his two deceased elder brothers.

"That damned widower, is he trying to scare my son into supporting him in his old age and seeing him off in his final days?!"

It's no wonder that Wei Yi misunderstood. Yuan Zhi fits all the descriptions Wei Mao mentioned in his first letter: "not from the Yuchi tribe, childless, and eager to adopt a son."

As for the condition of "ordinary family background", in Wei Yi's eyes, who had accumulated wealth over generations, the wealth of a member of the imperial family like Yuan Zhi was indeed ordinary.

When Wei Yi learned that Minister Xi Jian had also received a letter with the same content from his eldest son Xi Jiao, he had already sent three replies scolding Yuan Zhi for being shameless.

Inside and outside the palace, the office that Wei Yi least wanted to go to was the Office of Divine Affairs. When Wei Yi arrived, three female sorceresses were practicing their sacrificial incantations with drums in the courtyard. Wei Yi was afraid of disturbing them and was wondering whether he should continue walking when Xi Jian came out of the office and beckoned to Wei Yi.

Wei Yi entered Xi Jian's office, which consisted of two rooms, an inner and an outer one. The outer room was cluttered with miscellaneous items, as was the inner room. On a large desk, the most eye-catching items were a dozen or so clay or cloth figurines.

"Sit." Xi Jian was dressed in a black robe, taciturn, and as mysterious as the witch in the courtyard. If Wei Yi hadn't been so familiar with this guy, he might have been fooled.

Wei Yi sat opposite the desk and immediately noticed that all the dolls were covered with countless needle holes.

Ugh, what bad luck!
This is why he didn't want to come to the Divine Department. The witchcraft and sorcery that others dared not even mention were all handed over to the Divine Department after they were discovered. Seeing even one of them would make one's eyes water, but he ended up seeing a whole bunch! "I still have to go to Xuanji Hall this afternoon. If you have something to say, say it quickly."

Xi Jian smiled, draped a black cloth over the puppets, and asked, "Did you receive an urgent letter from Hengzhou?"

"You received it too?" Xi Jian nodded, then asked, "Did your letter mention Wu Shibo?"

Both being intelligent people, Wei Yi said directly: "Emperor Wu Shi, Hu Guozhen, previously lived in Chang'an and wanted to move his whole family to Luoyang. I checked and found that Hu Guozhen's younger sister came to Luoyang two years ago. She is a Buddhist nun with the Dharma name Sengzhi and has connections with many nobles inside and outside the palace."

"Then have you found out that Sengzhi has asked Yuan Chuntuo, the sister of Prince Rencheng, to find out which section of the road Hu Guozhen's family is on?"

"Which road? Hmph, the entire Wu family is probably on their way to the Yellow Springs."

Xi Jian pondered for a moment, then habitually picked up a rag doll. Of all the rag dolls, this one was the scariest, with a blood-red mouth embroidered with red thread. He rubbed the rag doll between his two hands, and the little braid on the doll's head swung back and forth.

What bad luck! Wei Yi avoided looking at the doll.

Xi Jian complained, "This Yuan Zhi is too audacious. Doesn't he realize that this kind of thing can withstand close scrutiny?"

Wei Yiyue didn't want to look at the puppets, but Yu Guangyue couldn't help but glance at them. He suddenly remembered a question that had been on his mind for a long time: "Between the nun and the witch, one is striking the chime and the other is striking the drum, whose magic is more powerful?"

"Witch."

There really is an answer? "Why?"

"Isn't that obvious? A witch who eats meat every day can't beat someone who eats vegetables every day?"

"Haha, now you're talking like yourself." After teasing her, Wei Yi got back to business: "Yuan Chun Tuo, wife of Xing Luan, a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate. Sigh, this nun really knows how to pull strings."

The Attendant Gentleman of the Palace managed the "Six Attendants Gentleman of the Palace," which included the position of Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, held by Wei Yi. In other words, Xing Luan was Wei Yi's superior.

Xi Jian: "So Yuan Zhi's actions are infuriating, but he's lucky! You know Yuan Chun Tuo better than I do. Think of a way to find her some proper work and reduce her contact with those meddlesome nuns."

"I know Yuan Chun... You can't just say things like that!"

Tap tap tap tap tap! Xi Jian started rubbing the doll again.

Unable to bear the commotion, Wei Yi quickly offered his suggestion: "Your Majesty asked yesterday which places in the city are good to visit. I have an idea. Why don't you suggest that Your Majesty take a walk in the East City? My cousin Wei Yu has a mansion in the East City, surrounded by catalpa, locust, paulownia and poplar trees. It is very magnificent. Next door to his is the residence of Attendant Xing. Xing's residence is so spacious that it is comparable to a palace."

Xi Jian smiled, finally stopping the kneading of the puppets. His Majesty is always frugal, dressed simply and eating plain food. Although His Majesty doesn't usually concern himself with the extravagance of his ministers' clothing, food, housing, and transportation, excessive extravagance would certainly displease him. How could Xing Changshi have the wealth and audacity to build such a luxurious mansion? It must be that Yuan Chun Tuo is used to such things and can control her husband.

As long as His Majesty inquires about the Xing residence, Yuan Chun Tuo will have more to think about and will naturally have no time to attend to Seng Zhi's family affairs.

After seeing Wei Yi off, Xi Jian returned to his office and realized he had forgotten to ask Wei Yi about someone. "Never mind," he thought, "it's nothing urgent. I'll ask next time we meet."

The "Xiufan Temple" chapter of the "Records of Buddhist Temples in Luoyang" states: North of the temple is Yonghe Lane, the residence of Dong Zhuo, the Grand Tutor of the Han Dynasty. There are ponds on both the north and south sides of the lane... They still have water today, which never dries up in winter or summer... The six residences of Xing Luan, Minister of Personnel... Wei Chengxing (also known as Wenzhong Wei Yu), Governor of Liangzhou, etc., are all grand and magnificent... At that time, Xing Luan's family often dug up cinnabar and hundreds of thousands of coins.

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(End of this chapter)