Lu Bing’s remains were delivered to the Lu mansion before dawn.
Earlier, Lu Ying had sent word home. The family head Li Yiren had stayed awake all night anxiously awaiting her husband and daughter’s return, never expecting to receive news of her husband’s sudden death.
Though Li Yiren was a concubine, she was the managing wife of the household. After brief shock, she suppressed her grief to arrange funeral matters overnight. Her husband was only fifty-one years old and had shown no prior signs of illness—Li Yiren was completely unprepared. Family servants knocked on shop doors in the middle of the night to buy gold and silver paper offerings, candles, white cloth drapes, and even hemp mourning garments that had to be made on the spot. It was all too sudden. Despite Li Yiren’s household management skills, she was overwhelmed.
Fortunately, the three married daughters were all noble ladies from wealthy, prominent families. When family members came to report the death at midnight, the in-laws of the eldest daughter—Duke Chengguo’s mansion, the second daughter’s in-laws—Cabinet Minister Xu Jie’s household, and the third daughter’s in-laws—Chief Minister Yan Song’s residence all awakened in alarm. They all sent funeral supplies from their stores to help the Lu family through this urgent crisis.
Especially son-in-law Yan Shifan—he was sleeping soundly with his newly acquired beautiful concubine when he heard the news and rolled off the bed like a ball. “Donghu! Donghu! You hid this so well! Even I was fooled by you!”
Yan Shifan changed into mourning clothes and hurried to the Lu mansion. The capital was still under curfew. Lu Bing’s three other in-laws arrived successively.
Cabinet Minister Xu Jie. Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong. And Minister of Personnel Wu Peng, who had just arranged his children’s marriage.
All four in-laws were unprepared for the shocking news of their relative Lu Bing’s sudden death from stroke recurrence. They observed each other’s expressions to confirm whether the others had also just learned of this.
After confirming through eye contact, everyone was equally ignorant.
The Yan family and Xu Jie were political enemies, but they were also Lu Bing’s in-laws. With Lu Bing’s sudden death, the two set aside political differences to jointly handle Lu Bing’s funeral—Lu Bing’s eldest son Lu Yi was only fourteen years old, having just become engaged to Wu Peng’s daughter. Still a naive youth, he couldn’t yet head the household.
Yan Shifan, usually a miser who never spent money, was unusually generous this time. He brought craftsmen who had built his family gardens and immediately helped the Lu family erect mourning pavilions, hanging white lanterns that lit up like daylight.
Xu Jie had the finest literary skills—he was the Tanhua scholar of the second year of Jiajing’s reign, so he voluntarily undertook writing the epitaph for his in-law. With Xu Jie’s literary talent and political standing, epitaphs written by him were worth their weight in gold.
Wu Peng was Minister of Personnel, called the foremost official in the realm. All civil officials’ appointments, transfers, and evaluations were under his jurisdiction. Lu Bing’s eldest son Lu Yi was his prospective son-in-law, so he personally guided his future son-in-law in receiving and seeing off visitors who came to offer condolences.
Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong was an established noble in the capital, his ancestors having been meritorious officials in the Jingnan Campaign. He was also an accomplished military general, commanding the Divine Engine Camp and supervising the Thirteen Regiment Camp and Five Army Camp, holding half the capital’s defense authority. He received condolences from capital nobles and military families.
Each of Lu Bing’s in-laws was a top-tier figure in their respective circles.
Thus, with strong support from the four in-laws, the unprepared Lu mansion had everything ready when Lu Bing’s remains arrived home—sorrowful but orderly.
At the cry of “begin mourning,” the Lu mansion’s wailing nearly tore through the falling snow.
Emperor Jiajing saw his milk-brother off on his final journey. Too grief-stricken to sleep, he had court painters bring out Lu Bing’s previous portraits, hanging a full-body mounted portrait and a half-length portrait on the wall. He wept silently, then picked up his brush to personally write the edict posthumously enfeoffing Lu Bing as Earl of Loyalty, also bestowing the posthumous title “Wuhui,” praising him for “repelling enemies and bearing insults, serving diligently without selfishness,” and granting sixteen jars of sacrificial offerings—only those with ducal or marquis rank received sixteen jars. The offerings exceeded his posthumous earl status (Note 1).
He granted fifty shi of rice and bolts of hemp cloth, ordering the Ministry of Works to make Lu Bing’s coffin and construct his tomb. During his lifetime, Lu Bing had been the Great Ming’s first official to hold the titles of Grand Preceptor, Grand Protector, Grand Tutor plus Junior Preceptor, Junior Protector, and Junior Tutor. After death, he received these honors.
Feeling these weren’t enough, Emperor Jiajing also appointed Lu Bing’s eldest son Lu Yi as Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so he could inherit his father’s career.
Huang Jin said tremblingly: “Your Majesty, with Earl of Loyalty’s sudden passing, the urgent matter now is that the Embroidered Uniform Guard lacks a leader. Lu Yi is only fourteen years old with no experience. As the inheriting eldest son, he must observe three years of mourning. He’s far from ready to command troops.”
Emperor Jiajing sighed: “If only Lu Ying were a man.”
Who should replace milk-brother? He must choose someone who could help the Lu family and would wholeheartedly cultivate and promote Lu Yi as the new Embroidered Uniform Guard commander. Emperor Jiajing pondered and wrote that person’s name.
Zhu Xixiao.
Zhu Xixiao was the younger brother of Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong. Zhu Xizhong was one of Lu Bing’s in-laws—his legitimate eldest son, the ducal heir, had married Lu Bing’s eldest daughter.
The Duke Chengguo was an established noble, and both brothers were capable generals. Considering ability, status, and close relationship with Lu Bing, Zhu Xixiao was most suitable to succeed as Embroidered Uniform Guard commander.
Thus, the edict posthumously enfeoffing Lu Bing as Earl of Loyalty and the edict appointing Zhu Xixiao as Embroidered Uniform Guard commander were issued from the Western Park almost simultaneously.
After writing the edicts, Emperor Jiajing again wept before Lu Bing’s portrait, refusing food and drink until he became haggard. Huang Jin had no choice but to invite favored consort Shang Zhaoyi to persuade him to eat.
Shang Qinglan was indeed capable. Knowing Emperor Jiajing was in poor spirits, she dressed plainly without makeup. Rather than simply urging him to eat, she engaged the old emperor in conversation about Lu Bing.
“Earl of Loyalty was Your Majesty’s childhood playmate. What did you play together as children?”
Emperor Jiajing needed someone to confide in. Seeing young Shang Qinglan reminded him of his youthful times with Lu Bing, their childhood in Anlu, Hubei…
When Huang Jin returned, Emperor Jiajing wasn’t crying. He and Shang Zhaoyi had both removed shoes and outer robes, wearing only undergarments and trousers. Both stood on one leg holding the other foot’s ankle, hopping about and using bent knees to bump each other.
This was a wrestling game called “duiguai” often played by little boys in market alleys. Whoever was first bumped down or lowered their suspended left foot lost.
Though female, Shang Qinglan was clearly a “duiguai” expert, nimbly hopping and dodging Emperor Jiajing’s attacks before jumping behind him for surprise strikes.
Emperor Jiajing was nearly fifty years old and hadn’t eaten, making his stance unstable. When Shang Qinglan bumped him, he quickly released his grip and put his raised left foot down to steady himself, or he would have fallen.
“I won!” Shang Qinglan’s face was sweaty. “Accept defeat graciously—the loser must be punished.”
Emperor Jiajing panted: “What punishment?”
Shang Qinglan said: “The punishment is that Your Majesty must eat a bowl of rice without leaving a single grain.”
Emperor Jiajing actually sat down to eat!
Watching Huang Jin thought: The black demons were fake monsters created by Lan Daoxing. Shang Zhaoyi is the real fox spirit!
Thus, under the healing influence of his youthfully invincible, charmingly naive favored consort Shang Qinglan, Emperor Jiajing gradually accepted life without his milk-brother. He continued pursuing immortality, but no longer touched elixirs or exclusively favored any Taoist priest.
Outside the palace, upon learning that Zhu Xixiao, younger brother of Lu Bing’s in-law Zhu Xizhong, had become the new Embroidered Uniform Guard commander, Wang Daxia immediately told Wei Caiwei: “…Now we don’t need to worry about Lu Ying’s position being taken. His Majesty chose Zhu Xixiao as the new commander not just for his ability, but hoping he’d take good care of the Lu family.”
Wei Caiwei was reborn—she naturally knew who the next commander would be. However, “…His Majesty appointed Lu Ying’s brother Lu Yi as Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, one rank above Lu Ying. This suggests hope that Lu Yi will eventually inherit his father’s career. Moreover, in the edict, His Majesty instructed Zhu Xixiao to care for and promote Lu Yi, not Lu Ying. You still cannot be complacent.”
Wang Daxia was more optimistic: “Lu Ying is a woman, and officially still Earl of Loyalty’s illegitimate son. So His Majesty couldn’t explicitly mention her in the edict, but Zhu Xixiao certainly knows—how can he not understand how he got this position? How would he dare offend Lu Ying?”
“You don’t understand.” Wei Caiwei said: “Society has different expectations for men and women. Being good to a man means paving his way, helping him rise to success, achieving promotion and wealth. So His Majesty specifically named the new commander Zhu Xixiao to properly cultivate Lu Yi in the edict. But women? Society believes being good to a woman has nothing to do with her own promotion and wealth—it means marrying her to a man who can achieve promotion and wealth.”
Wei Caiwei moved a pot of narcissus flowers closer to the brazier to help them bloom earlier. “Society believes women are vines or dodder flowers that must cling to tall trees to reach the sky, unlike men who can succeed through self-reliance. Those self-righteous men think Lu Ying marrying a good man and finding a so-called good destination would make her happier than achieving merit and establishing a career herself. So whether Zhu Xixiao as commander is good or bad for Lu Ying remains unknown.”
“What I worry about is that they’ll self-righteously act ‘for your own good,’ persuading her to abandon her career and return to family life. After completing three years of mourning, they’ll find her a good man and marry her off with great fanfare.”
“‘All for your own good’—hmph, how many girls’ futures have been ruined under this pretense.”
Honestly, if half a year ago Wang Daxia hadn’t met Wei Caiwei or understood Lu Ying’s decisive, subordinate-caring character, he too would have thought like those around him—that women were virtuous when untalented, that studying and martial arts were useless, and that quickly finding a good in-law family for lifelong security was the best outcome.
Now Wang Daxia’s views on women had quietly changed. He crossed his arms: “I don’t care. I only listen to Lu Ying. As long as Lu Ying returns to the Embroidered Uniform Guard office, we’ll follow her orders. Until then, no one should think of touching her position.”
Seeing determined Wang Daxia, Wei Caiwei was moved: “I hope you and Lu Ying can mutually fulfill each other.”
After fifteen days of lying in state, Lu Bing was buried in his chosen family cemetery at Sanlitun outside Chaoyangmen, where he would rest eternally. From then on, clear winds and bright moon would be his companions.
This was precisely Wang Daxia’s deceased mother’s dowry land, where Li Jiubao’s father and brothers had participated in building the sacrificial houses and ancestral hall. In the mysterious workings of fate, all things have their causes and effects.
After handling the funeral, New Year arrived. Due to Lu Bing’s death, this New Year passed hastily without any festive joy. Even outsiders like Wei Caiwei had no mood to celebrate—she only put up paper window decorations and couplets, setting off a string of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s morning.
Only after the fifteenth day of the first month was New Year considered complete.
On the sixteenth day of the first month, major government offices in the capital would unseal their official seals and resume work.
Before dawn, Lu Ying rose early, bound her chest, washed, combed her hair in masculine style, wore plain clothes, and took her embroidered spring knife as she left her chamber.
“Stop.” Her mother Li Yiren called out. “Your father is gone. How can you, a girl, continue working at the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Even your brother must study and practice martial arts at Sanlitun, observing mourning for three years to express grief. You haven’t even finished heavy mourning—are you going out to show your face in public?”
Lu Ying said: “Will my enemies refrain from causing trouble because I’m in mourning? The White Lotus sect has new developments. I must go out to work.”
Author’s Note: The Defense Battle lottery event began in September. We’re randomly selecting 1000 readers with subscription rates above 90% to share 50,000 Jinjiang coins! Drawing on the 18th.
Note 1: From Xu Jie’s “Shijingtang Collection·Epitaph of the Late Grand Protector and Junior Grand Tutor, Left Commander of the Rear Army Governor-General’s Office, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Posthumously Enfeoffed as Earl of Loyalty with Posthumous Title Wuhui, Lord Donghu Lu”: …Therefore the Emperor issued an edict saying: “Bing was My loyal minister, posthumously enfeoff him as Earl of Loyalty with posthumous title Wuhui. Grant sacrificial offerings of sixteen jars, fifty shi of rice and bolts of hemp cloth. Command the Ministry of Works to prepare coffin and construct tomb, the Ministry of War to grant hereditary position to his son Yi as Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.” Later, considering Yi’s youth, he commanded Commander Zhu to oversee him and manage his family affairs.
This means Emperor Jiajing entrusted Lu Yi to Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Zhu Xixiao as an orphan.