Prince Yu was sitting at home when a mansion fell from the sky. Besides Prince Jing’s luxurious estate, two thousand guards also descended from above, and moreover, he didn’t need to pay for their upkeep—they would be funded through the Embroidered Uniform Guard accounts. This last point was the most crucial.
So Emperor Jiajing was not unaware that Prince Yu was an impoverished prince, nor was he ignorant that Yan Shifan deliberately withheld Prince Yu’s stipend. He knew everything, yet he coldly watched as Prince Yu fell into dire straits.
The Chief Eunuch of the Ceremonial Directorate, Huang Jin, personally came to Prince Yu’s mansion to relay the imperial edict. Upon hearing it, Prince Yu found it hard to believe. Emperor Jiajing had forbidden him from entering the Forbidden City, and he couldn’t even remember when father and son had last met—even his father’s face had become blurred in his memory.
Prince Yu was no fool. After a brief moment of surprise, he quickly understood what was happening.
Father Emperor was using him as a tool to warn Prince Jing, wanting him to stay obediently in his fief and not extend his reach into the capital.
He was merely Father Emperor’s instrument for intimidating others through example.
Prince Yu woodenly performed a full kowtow toward the Forbidden City, saying, “I thank Your Majesty for this gracious favor.”
Prince Yu’s heart was like still water, but Princess Yu felt differently. Not having to pay for a new house herself—what a bargain! After the kowtow, Princess Yu asked Huang Jin, “Old sir, when shall we move?”
Huang Jin replied, “The Imperial Observatory has calculated the date. The day after tomorrow is an auspicious day for relocation. The keys have been delivered to your mansion. All unnecessary items can be moved today.”
After seeing off Huang Jin, Princess Yu fluttered about the house like a butterfly: “…Take down these curtains and pack them away. Remove all the table covers and chair covers and take them with us.”
“Tell the kitchen that starting from lunch today, they need not prepare meals for the craftsmen. You must immediately settle the craftsmen’s wages clearly, have them press their seals, and send them away.”
“Settle for how many days? Of course only until yesterday! Today they haven’t started any work yet they want to collect wages and leave. They even ate a free breakfast this morning and got a free night’s lodging last night. The prince’s mansion has been more than generous to them.”
“Return all that unused paint and lime to the merchants—we won’t need them anyway…”
Even a ruined household has its treasures. Princess Yu had lived two years of tight-fisted days, and now suddenly having an extra mansion, she continued to save where she could and scrimp where possible, never relaxing her frugality.
She even wanted to move the pickle jars from the kitchen. She stripped Prince Yu’s mansion so clean it looked as if it had been licked by tongues.
Prince Yu, as usual, played the hands-off manager, caring about nothing. He went again to Longhua Temple, holding a Buddhist service for his deceased wife and children, even breaking precedent by scrounging up fifty taels of silver to donate as incense money.
Prince Yu felt that his narrow escape from the dogs’ mouths last night was not only due to the full support of Lu Ying, Wang Daxia, and Wei Caiwei, but certainly also because his wife, son, and daughter were protecting him from the netherworld.
Kneeling before the Buddha statue, looking at the Tathagata Buddha whose gold leaf had peeled away, he thought: If… just in case… I will certainly restore Guanghua Temple and re-gild the golden body.
While Prince Yu remained calm and Princess Yu busied herself frantically, Li Jiubao was still lying in bed at this time, tormented by nightmares.
She had been rather unlucky this time—she was the last consort to be dragged out by Lu Ying, inhaling the hallucinogenic black smoke. By the time she was dragged out, she had already lost consciousness.
Wei Caiwei remained at Prince Yu’s mansion to treat her, administering antidotal medicine.
In her delirium, Li Jiubao returned to Horse Market Alley, where cooking smoke drifted up faintly. Her family was poor, and her dinner consisted of thin porridge with pickled vegetables.
Someone knocked at the door. Li Jiubao opened it to find her neighbor Chen Jingji holding a bowl of braised pig’s face. “Grandmother asked me to share this with the neighbors. This is for your family.”
“Thank you so much. Brother Chen, please wait a moment.” Li Jiubao had nothing to give in return, so she opened her pickle jar and scooped out a bowl of pickled radish for Chen Jingji. “I made this myself—good with morning porridge.”
“My grandmother loves your pickled vegetables most of all.” Chen Jingji carefully carried the bowl home as if holding some precious treasure.
That bowl of braised pig’s face was so fragrant—no delicacy could compare to it.
In her delirium, she wore wedding attire, bound inside a bridal sedan, about to be forced into marriage as the gambling house owner’s concubine.
“Jiubao! Let her go!” Chen Jingji ran to rescue her, blocking the sedan in the street.
A group of thugs dragged him away and beat him up.
Li Jiubao couldn’t move inside the sedan and couldn’t even cry out. Those thugs stomped on Chen Jingji’s lower body with their feet, bright red blood flowing out, turning the entire street red…
Ah!
Li Jiubao finally cried out, and her vision gradually became clear. Points of light, some bright, some dim, assembled into a face—Wei Caiwei’s.
“You’re awake. Perfect timing—drink this medicine.” Wei Caiwei handed her a medicine cup.
Li Jiubao reached out to take it, but her arm wouldn’t obey her, clumsily nearly knocking over the cup.
Wei Caiwei steadied the cup. “You were affected by intoxicating smoke. The residual poison hasn’t cleared, so your body temporarily won’t obey you. Rest well—you’ll be fine in a few days.”
Wei Caiwei fed Li Jiubao the medicine. Li Jiubao cooperatively drank it all down. “Thank you, Doctor Wei. How are His Highness, the princess, and the other consorts?”
Wei Caiwei said, “Prince Yu and the princess are fine. Of the nine consorts, six had light injuries and three were more seriously hurt. Those two woke up at midnight—you were injured most severely.”
Hearing the noisy commotion from the courtyard, Li Jiubao’s body immediately tensed again, her hands trembling continuously.
Wei Caiwei helped her lie down. “Someone used hunting dogs disguised as black demons to harm Prince Yu. The main culprit has been executed. His Majesty has bestowed Prince Jing’s mansion upon Prince Yu. The mansion is moving—you needn’t worry. Just focus on recovering your health.”
With fragments of nightmare still lingering, Li Jiubao stared blankly at the snowy light outside the window, thinking: They say those who survive great disasters are blessed with good fortune. The mansion is moving—could this be the moment when misfortune turns to joy?
Moving from Prince Yu’s mansion to Prince Jing’s mansion—when we move next time, might it be to the Forbidden City?
When Chen Jingji and I next meet, I fear everything will have changed…
Wei Caiwei treated the three consorts and rode the same carriage with Li Jiubao to the new residence to continue treatment.
The “Imperial Prince Jing’s Mansion” plaque above the main gate had already been taken down and stored away to gather dust, replaced with Prince Yu’s mansion nameplate.
Compared to the dilapidated old Prince Yu’s mansion, the new Prince Yu’s mansion was quite impressive indeed!
Premium · Prosperous Grandeur. Located in the golden district of the capital’s western first ring, near the political center of the Forbidden City, a luxurious and spacious 10,000 square meter work and living space. Room enough to house fifty concubines and raise a hundred children, all enjoying private quarters, separated from the Forbidden City by only West An Gate Street! Half a quarter-hour from the mansion to the Forbidden City (on horseback).
Refined · Noble Artistry. Designed by the Ministry of Works’ master craftsmen specifically for the imperial family, with magnificent architecture and elegant, luxurious furnishings—a design exemplar for imperial princes’ mansions. Even the toilet seats were gilded with gold leaf, allowing you to relieve yourself with noble elegance.
Feng Shui · Ascending to Great Heights. The most difficult path in the world is the road to the throne. Living in the new Prince Yu’s mansion puts you on the express lane to imperial power.
New · Prince Yu’s Mansion: sold out upon opening. Don’t hold expectations—you won’t win the lottery anyway.
Prince Yu’s entire family moved into their new home. Prince Yu was his usual self, but Princess Yu was laughing in her sleep from joy. She’d saved the cost of house repairs and gained an almost brand-new luxury mansion for free. After two years as a princess, she was finally going to live like a real princess.
Wei Caiwei stayed at the new Prince Yu’s mansion for five days until all the consorts had recovered, then took her leave.
With money in hand, the princess made up the consorts’ overdue monthly allowances, gave each person two sets of jewelry and hairpieces, and had four outfits made for the New Year.
Everyone was financially comfortable now. The three seriously injured consorts each gave Wei Caiwei half their monthly allowance as medical fees. Li Jiubao, mindful of the other consorts, didn’t give extra—everyone gave the same amount.
Of course, the largest payment came from Princess Yu, who gave fifty taels of silver in an envelope.
With the White Deer Temple completely destroyed, the threat to Wei Caiwei was eliminated. She no longer needed to move to the Lu family’s Shichahai villa and moved back home instead, going back and forth repeatedly.
On this day, which happened to be the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Emperor Jiajing bestowed Laba porridge upon his ministers. Not only that, he also granted Laba porridge to Prince Yu’s mansion.
The last time the mansion had tasted imperially bestowed Laba porridge was the year before the former Princess Yu’s death. Because Prince Yu was dissatisfied with Emperor Jiajing’s meager treatment of his wife and children’s funeral, combined with years-old grievances over Emperor Jiajing forbidding Prince Yu from entering the palace to see his mother-consort one last time in the Cold Palace, “old and new grudges” erupted in father-son conflict with a huge argument. Emperor Jiajing then cut off Prince Yu’s mansion’s Laba porridge.
Now, although Emperor Jiajing still hadn’t rescinded his prohibition on Prince Yu entering the Forbidden City, Prince Yu had “taken over the magpie’s nest” by moving to Prince Jing’s mansion, suddenly gained two thousand guards, and now received Laba porridge again. This made the ministers smell the winds of change, all speculating that father and son were likely to reconcile.
Cabinet ministers like Xu Jie, who had always supported Prince Yu, were overjoyed and wrote memorials again, bringing up the matter of establishing the imperial heir.
Emperor Jiajing still gave no response regarding heir designation, but it was widely rumored throughout court and countryside that this year His Majesty would summon Prince Yu to the palace for New Year.
In previous years, it had always been Prince Jing’s family who accompanied Emperor Jiajing for New Year.
The Lu mansion naturally also received imperially bestowed Laba porridge. They first took it to the ancestral hall to offer to their ancestors. Lu Bing also selected two thousand strong soldiers from the capital’s eighteen guard units as quickly as possible and sent them to Prince Yu’s mansion. After completing this task, Lu Bing entered the palace to report.
Emperor Jiajing was watching Lan Daoxing refine pills.
Regarding the black demon incident at Prince Yu’s mansion, Emperor Jiajing still didn’t suspect the Divine Immortal Lan, believing that assassins had borrowed the legend of palace black demons and used large dogs to impersonate them.
Emperor Jiajing remained firmly convinced about the black demon that had frightened Shang Qinglan.
After listening to Lu Bing’s report, Emperor Jiajing’s gaze never left the pill furnace as he asked, “He accepted the two thousand guards. What did he say to you?”
Lu Bing replied, “Prince Yu didn’t speak with this subject. He only faced the direction of the Forbidden City and bowed three times, thanking Father Emperor for his gracious favor.”
Emperor Jiajing thought darkly: Hmph, keep pretending. I’ll see how long you can keep this up!
Lan Daoxing extinguished the charcoal fire and opened the lid. Instantly, steam rose from the pill furnace like a white dragon, with strange fragrances assaulting the nose.
Lan Daoxing extracted nine superior-quality immortal pills and presented them to Emperor Jiajing.
Emperor Jiajing casually picked up two pills and bestowed them upon Lu Bing. “My milk-brother has worked hard recently. I bestow these immortal pills upon you—take them as good supplements.”
Emperor Jiajing had recently acquired his favored consort Shang Qinglan. Sometimes at night he would be inadequate, but fortunately he had Lan Daoxing’s immortal pills. After taking them, he could perform at will during the night, just like in his youthful newlywed days, avoiding embarrassment before his new favorite.
Good things should naturally be shared with good brothers.
What the sovereign bestows cannot be refused. Lu Bing expressed his thanks and, as usual, picked up the pills and swallowed them with water.
As the immortal pills entered his stomach, Lu Bing felt a warm energy spreading through his internal organs. At first he felt very comfortable, as if floating on clouds, seemingly ten pounds lighter. Then he felt this warm energy rampaging uncontrollably through his body like a frenzied dragon tumbling and turning inside him.
He felt uncomfortable and knew something was wrong. He quickly requested leave to return home and see Imperial Physician Song.
“Your Maj… Maj—” He wanted to say “Your Majesty, this subject wishes to return home for the festival, this subject requests leave.”
But his tongue no longer obeyed him.
Author’s Note: The second shoe has dropped.