Wei Caiwei wanted to go back to sleep, but Wang Daxia wouldn’t let her sleep, so she wouldn’t let Wang Daxia sleep either. The result was that neither could sleep.
In their silk curtained bed, the couple who had been separated too long after three years of marriage still needed to readjust to each other.
Meanwhile, Lu Ying was seeing off her lover Ding Wu. She who had never taken leave broke all precedent by requesting time off, shocking the Embroidered Uniform Guard office. Commander Zhu Xixiao thought she was ill and sent someone to deliver tonics to the Lu residence to comfort this most capable subordinate, showing care and concern.
Lu Ying’s abilities had made Zhu Xixiao overlook her gender. As one of the masterminds behind crushing the White Lotus sect and the Longqing Peace Treaty, the eleven future trading posts and relationships between the two countries would need maintaining. Plus, Mongolia’s Third Madam was also a woman, making it more convenient for woman to speak with woman. Zhu Xixiao had already assigned Lu Ying to specifically handle relations with the Mongol Tatar tribes.
The head matron of the Lu residence, Li Yiren, was baffled upon receiving the gifts. Her daughter had left early as usual this morning and wasn’t sick at all.
Li Yiren grew suspicious and decided to question her daughter thoroughly when she returned.
Lu Ying had gone to Tianshui Alley early in the morning to see Ding Wu off. Anxious to bring his father back to marry, Ding Wu only carried the simplest travel pack, with a sword case strapped to his back—precisely Lu Ying’s betrothal token to him.
Seeing how he treasured her gift was like eating a jar of honey in the morning—sweet as could be.
Lu Ying tied Ding Wu’s pack to her horse’s back with her bare hands. “I’ll see you out of the city.”
Lu Ying saw Ding Wu to Chaoyang Gate, still unsatisfied. “I’ll see you to the pavilion ahead.”
Outside the long pavilion, beside the post road. Lu Ying still couldn’t bear to part. “I’ll see you to Sanlitun and pay respects to father while I’m at it.” Lu Bing rested eternally at Sanlitun outside Chaoyang Gate.
For some reason, whenever he encountered Lu Ying, the usually silver-tongued Ding Wu became tongue-tied, only able to repeat Lu Ying’s words over and over: “I’ll also pay respects.” Father-in-law above, please accept this son-in-law’s bow!
After paying respects to Lu Bing together, it was time to part, but Lu Ying still couldn’t bear it. “Since we’ve come this far, I might as well see you to Tongzhou to board your boat. The suburban roads aren’t safe—if you encounter highway robbers, I can protect you.”
Ding Wu couldn’t ask for more, though he inquired, “What about Embroidered Uniform Guard duties?”
Lu Ying said, “I took leave today. If anything urgent arises, Wang Daxia can handle it—he’s reliable.”
At that same moment at the Embroidered Uniform Guard office, Wang Daxia who had arrived late saw Lu Ying still hadn’t come, so he simply slapped his rear and went home.
Having already decided to leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Wang Daxia had reverted to his lazy, perfunctory ways from when he first arrived—an activist only for meals and leaving work, doing the bare minimum. Without Lu Ying’s supervision, he not only arrived late but left early too! He’d become the Embroidered Uniform Guard slacker again.
“Captain Wang!” Captain Wu spurred his horse to catch up. “Wait!”
For greatly defeating the White Lotus sect and facilitating the Longqing Peace Treaty, Centurion Wu had been promoted to fifth-rank Captain, Wang Daxia from Captain to fourth-rank Pacification Commissioner, and Lu Ying to fourth-rank Assistant Commander. Everyone had risen one rank.
Wang Daxia’s attempt to slack off failed. “I’ve said it several times—don’t look for me unless it’s important. Just set it aside and wait for Vice Commander Lu to return to handle it. I’m going home. See you tomorrow.”
Captain Wu, afraid Wang Daxia would escape, grabbed his reins. “Has Captain Wang forgotten? Today you’re supposed to teach everyone disguise and transformation techniques.”
Wang Daxia slapped his forehead. “Ah, I really did forget. Just tell them to learn other things first—tracking techniques, pursuit techniques, and so on. I’ll teach disguise tomorrow.”
Captain Wu wouldn’t let go. “Captain Wang said exactly this yesterday, and you’re saying it again today. Tomorrow after tomorrow—how many tomorrows are there? We can’t keep delaying.”
Wang Daxia said, “Let’s talk tomorrow. Look, I’ve already come out.”
Captain Wu physically restrained him and brought out Lu Ying to intimidate Wang Daxia. “If you keep delaying, I’ll tell Vice Commander Lu. We’ve been waiting for you for three days, coming up empty every time.”
If Wang Daxia was the Monkey King, then Lu Ying was the tight-fillet incantation—Captain Wu’s invocation worked immediately.
Wang Daxia had no choice but to turn his horse around. “At most half an hour of teaching. My wife is waiting at home for me to eat.”
Captain Wu immediately exposed Wang Daxia’s lie. “Doctor Wei entered the palace today. No one’s waiting at home for Captain Wang to eat. After you finish teaching disguise techniques, I’ll treat you to drinks—you pick the place.”
Wang Daxia was slippery as an eel, but Captain Wu was determined to catch him today, blocking all escape routes. Wang Daxia had no choice but to return to the office to train his subordinates.
In the Forbidden City, Chengan Palace.
Wei Caiwei was treating Noble Consort Li Jiubao.
Li Jiubao was still beautiful, with an added sense of authority in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. But she had grown thin. After her illness, washed clean of all adornments, without rouge or powder, her face was pale as paper, her lips bloodless. She wore no jewelry, her forehead wrapped in plain silk, her long hair loose around her waist.
Li Jiubao’s body had been destroyed by childbearing. In six years she had given birth five times!
Two boys and three girls, each raised plump and healthy—a miracle of imperial fertility. Li Jiubao’s body had nourished five children, like sugarcane chewed over and over until nearly drained dry.
After taking her pulse, Wei Caiwei said, “Your Majesty has given birth five times in succession, suffering from deficiency of both qi and blood. The situation is not optimistic.”
When Wei Caiwei went to the northwest, she was gone for three years. Of course, the court physicians and female doctors were all outstanding people who did their best to carefully nurse Noble Consort Li’s body, but childbearing was too damaging to the mother’s body. It was like a pond with water channels pouring water in while another opening drained water out.
The outflow was faster than the inflow, so the pond was nearly dried up.
Forget Wei Caiwei—even if immortals came, this would be the situation.
At the end of last year, Li Jiubao gave birth to her fifth child, Princess Rui’an. Her postpartum lochia wouldn’t stop, trickling continuously for three months until spring began this year before improving somewhat—it was like her entire blood supply had been replaced.
Li Jiubao lacked even the strength to leave Chengan Palace, unable to care for or educate her children. Except for the Crown Prince who had already started his studies, the other four children had all been taken by Empress Chen to Kunning Palace for raising.
Li Jiubao was reluctant and had fought for them with Emperor Longqing, but he agreed with Empress Chen’s approach, wanting Li Jiubao to rest and recover without worrying about the children. Once she recovered, she would continue bearing children for the imperial family.
Empress Chen was a virtuous and kind person who carefully looked after the four children. All the best things in the palace were sent to Chengan Palace, afraid of slighting the great contributor Li Jiubao. Chengan Palace was famously the richest place on earth.
Li Jiubao had once eagerly anticipated pregnancy and childbirth, but now she trembled with fear at the mention of “bearing children”!
She had resisted, but it was useless. With the Emperor and Empress pressing down, she had to obey. All clever schemes crumbled before absolute authority.
Chen Jingji was also helpless. He had risen to become a Ceremonial Directorate attendant eunuch, a prominent eunuch who could participate in reviewing memorials and influence political affairs. But regarding Li Jiubao, besides heartache, he was powerless.
Chen Jingji said, “Doctor Wei, to stop the lochia, Her Majesty took medicine for three months—literally drinking medicine like water. Last month it finally stopped, but she’s remained weak and powerless, not even leaving her chamber doors. This month she has no appetite, eating only a bite or two each meal before saying she’s tired and refusing more.”
“If forced to eat a few bites, she can’t digest them, then won’t touch the next meal, only drinking broths. All the court physicians and female doctors have examined her, prescribing digestive and appetite-stimulating medicines without effect. With no other choice, despite Doctor Wei having just returned to the capital from a long journey, we summoned Doctor Wei to examine Her Majesty.”
Li Jiubao lay in bed. She had only said “Rise, no need for ceremony” when Wei Caiwei entered and bowed, then said nothing more. So weak that even speaking was laborious, Chen Jingji conveyed everything for her.
Wei Caiwei examined Li Jiubao’s tongue coating but saw nothing wrong, so she asked Chen Jingji to bring all prescriptions, foods, pastries, fruits, even teas from the past six months since birth—everything that had entered her mouth for examination.
Fortunately, Chen Jingji’s care was extremely meticulous with complete records. Wei Caiwei had Li Jiubao rest first while she moved to a side hall to examine the mountain of prescriptions and food lists. She didn’t leave the palace that day, staying up until midnight, then rising early the next day to continue.
Wei Caiwei gradually discovered some clues. When Li Jiubao’s postpartum lochia was heavy, the discarded cloth pads (like modern sanitary napkins) filled two baskets daily. Three months of bleeding—forget a woman with a weak constitution, even a strong man would collapse from continuous blood loss for three months.
The prescriptions for Li Jiubao were fine—all warming, blood-tonifying, and bleeding-stopping medicines. But the foods she consumed were quite interesting.
There’s a theory of “treating like with like”—supplement whatever is deficient. Li Jiubao’s daily diet included hasma oil (female forest frog fallopian tubes) and purple river car (human placenta) almost daily. Later, when Li Jiubao’s appetite worsened, they added pig stomach, beef stomach, and other highly nutritious items.
Wei Caiwei had never believed these foods, especially hasma oil and purple river car, had great benefits, but because they were extremely rare, they became precious tonics. As for pig stomach and other rich meats, they did have nourishing properties, but Li Jiubao’s body was too weak to digest them, actually harming her spleen and stomach. Her appetite grew worse until she could only force down a bite or two per meal.
Yet the imperial kitchen still daily sent hasma oil, purple river car, pig stomach, sheep stomach, and other “like treats like,” rich and greasy foods to Chengan Palace. Each meal cost several times more than the Emperor and Empress’s meals, making her the person with the finest diet in the palace. No one could find fault, but it was actually Li Jiubao’s death warrant.
Having found the root cause, Wei Caiwei told Chen Jingji, “Go to the imperial kitchen and select some trustworthy people to set up a small kitchen at Chengan Palace. Everything Her Majesty consumes, except medicinal broths—all food, pastries, and snacks—make yourselves. I’ve written a food list for Her Majesty of the simplest foods. Have the small kitchen prepare according to this.”
Chen Jingji’s face changed drastically as he whispered, “Is someone trying to harm Her Majesty? Tampering with the food?”
Wei Caiwei shook her head. “The food is all good, but eating too well isn’t always good. People need basic grains. Her Majesty lacks fundamental nourishment. Those rich, greasy foods, especially purple river car—don’t touch such evil things even when well. Wait until I’ve regulated Her Majesty’s spleen and stomach before eating meat again.”
With Chen Jingji’s current connections, arranging this wasn’t difficult. It was implemented that very day.
Based on Li Jiubao’s physical condition, Wei Caiwei personally prepared Asafoetida Pills for reducing accumulation and clearing stagnation, using hawthorn, forsythia, pinellia, and malt, pounding asafoetida into paste, steaming it with vinegar to make pills, supplemented with Er Chen Tang and Si Wu Tang to regulate her body. After two days, Li Jiubao gradually regained appetite and miraculously ate a full bowl of rice porridge with minced meat and pork liver. That evening she ate fish without nausea.
After eating, with a brief rest, Wei Caiwei had palace servants help the weak Li Jiubao walk around. Unless it was windy or rainy, she had Li Jiubao go to Chengan Palace’s small garden for sunshine, not staying indoors all day without seeing daylight.
Half a month later, Li Jiubao could eat half a bowl per meal and walk by herself without constant support.
During this period, Wei Caiwei stayed at Chengan Palace, entrusting the Ding mansion renovations to Wang Daxia.
After teaching disguise techniques at the Embroidered Uniform Guard office, Wang Daxia excitedly returned home only to find his wife gone again, facing another separation.
When would this life end! Wang Daxia had no choice but to follow his wife’s instructions, going daily to his brother-in-law’s house as construction supervisor.
The matter of privately opening a small kitchen at Chengan Palace created an uproar in the Forbidden City. When it reached Empress Chen, she came to Emperor Longqing with red eyes, saying:
“…I’ve wholeheartedly cared for the Noble Consort. The palace’s greatest expenses go to Chengan Palace—I’ve never begrudged money. Yet I don’t know what the Noble Consort means by refusing the imperial kitchen’s food boxes and opening a small kitchen. Forget about the smoke and fire damaging her health—open flames are too dangerous! Once Imperial Consort Shang and the late Emperor played with fireworks in bed, burning Yude Palace to ruins. With this precedent, we can’t be careless. I’m doing this for the Noble Consort’s good.”
The first part was fine—Emperor Longqing didn’t care. Noble Consort Li had borne him five healthy children. With so many consorts in the palace, despite his nightly hard work plowing and sowing, he had no harvest yet. He still hoped for Noble Consort Li to recover so he could plant more dragon seeds in her.
Forget opening a small kitchen—even moving the entire imperial kitchen to Chengan Palace wouldn’t bother Emperor Longqing.
But when Empress Chen mentioned Emperor Jiajing and his favored consort playing with fireworks in bed and burning down Yude Palace, she hit Emperor Longqing’s weak spot—he detested everything Emperor Jiajing had done.
Just as Emperor Longqing was about to order Empress Chen to abolish the dangerous small kitchen, Eunuch Feng Bao hurried in to report: “Your Majesty, Noble Consort requests an audience.”