Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters.
Having a daughter makes everything complete. With his daughter substituting for him in accompanying the emperor, Lu Bing could finally relax and rest properly, stealing half a day of leisure from his floating life. But such good days only lasted half a month. Several carrier pigeons arrived successively at the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters, bearing coded messages urgently summoning Lu Bing to Qionghua Island to protect the emperor.
Lu Bing’s first thought was that Emperor Jiajing had encountered danger again, followed by the realization that his daughter was currently serving as the emperor’s “door god” in the palace. If Emperor Jiajing was in danger, wouldn’t his daughter also be in peril?
Lu Bing quickly mounted his golden Ferghana horse and galloped wildly. The beautiful steed was like white lightning in broad daylight, racing down Gulou Street. Passing by Prince Jing’s manor, Lu Bing saw the Eastern Depot surrounding the prince’s residence and speculated: Could Prince Jing be plotting treachery?
Prince Jing was already twenty-three years old, stubbornly remaining in the capital and refusing to go to his fief, harboring intentions for the throne. His ambitions were as obvious as Sima Zhao’s—known to everyone.
The Eastern Depot only obeyed the emperor’s orders. Though they publicly claimed spies had infiltrated the manor, they couldn’t fool an old fox like Lu Bing—this was clearly father guarding against son.
Worthy of being raised on the same wet nurse’s milk, Lu Bing and Emperor Jiajing thought alike.
As Lu Bing rode, at every intersection he shot a red firework into the sky, exploding in colorful clouds. This way, Emperor Jiajing at Guanghan Palace on Qionghua Island could see the red clouds approaching ever closer, giving the emperor a sense of security—his milk-brother was coming, and no matter how chaotic things were, they could be suppressed.
Having isolated himself in the Western Garden for years pursuing immortality, Emperor Jiajing’s dependence on Lu Bing was no less than his dependence on elixirs.
Lu Bing’s Ferghana horse was a symbol of status. Palace gates opened for him in advance as he passed like a golden arrow, encountering no obstacles.
Lu Bing’s horse leaped directly into a small boat on Taiye Pool. The boatman raised the sail, but before reaching shore, Lu Bing spurred his horse to leap off like a divine steed descending from heaven, landing on the dock. Lu Bing rode straight up the winding mountain path to Guanghan Palace.
Then Lu Bing saw two people kneeling in the hall. Most conspicuous was Prince Jing, completely changed from his usual dashing young prince image. His hair was disheveled, clothes dirty, wearing obviously ill-fitting shoes, kneeling rigidly on the hard floor without cushions, crying with snot and tears streaming down.
Prince Jing wept while saying: “…Father Emperor, you must believe your son!”
On the other side knelt Wang Daxia, also disheveled. His flying fish robe was torn to shreds, revealing arms and legs covered in gaping wounds. His hair contained leaves and grass roots—unclear what he had scraped against, though no vital parts were injured.
You again!
What trouble have you caused this time?
Wang Daxia, covered in wounds but kneeling with straight back: “…Your Majesty, what this subject says is absolutely true. I swear, if there’s half a false word, may heaven strike me with lightning and grant me no peaceful death.”
Prince Jing angrily replied: “You slander me—you should indeed die without peace. Speak! Who instructed you from behind?” His implication was that Prince Yu had instructed Wang Daxia to destroy his reputation.
Faced with Prince Jing’s counter-accusations, Wang Daxia yielded no ground: “Prince Jing, this subject receives the court’s salary. As an Embroidered Uniform Guard, protecting His Majesty and the Western Garden’s security is my duty. Everything I’ve done was within my responsibilities. If you insist someone instructed me, it was my superior, Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Lu. Commander Lu teaches me daily to be loyal to the sovereign and love the country, to be a pillar of the Ming Dynasty.”
“This subject has eyes only for His Majesty. As for others, none are objects of my loyalty. Following Commander Lu’s orders, I patrolled Qionghua Island. This happened the day before yesterday—I have no prophetic abilities. How could I know Prince Jing would come to Qionghua Island? I saw the incognito Prince Jing sneakily using a telescope to peep at palace ladies. Palace ladies are destined for the palace—His Majesty’s women. As son and subject, how could one ignore father and sovereign, attempting to defile palace ladies?”
Prince Jing sneered: “Don’t think having Commander Lu as backing allows you to slander me with false accusations. You claim I used a telescope to peep—where’s the evidence? Where’s the telescope? Produce it!”
Prince Jing knew the broken telescope was in his mother Lu Jing’s hands, so he felt confident, daring as the defendant to counter-accuse the plaintiff.
Wang Daxia remained unwavering: “Broken lens fragments at Penglai Pavilion serve as evidence. Moreover, the telescope has a copper body—it couldn’t just vanish. Since Prince Jing claims innocence and demands evidence from me, then let His Majesty decree a search of the entire Qionghua Island and all who landed on it, including Consort Jing. It will surely be found.”
Prince Jing: “What if it’s not found?”
Wang Daxia said: “This subject willingly accepts death! If found, would Prince Jing accept punishment?”
Prince Jing replied: “Why wouldn’t I dare? Use whatever means you have against me—Father Emperor will surely give me justice!”
Lu Ying stood beside them, hand gripping her Embroidered Spring Blade, motionless as a statue, not saying a word.
Lu Bing listened to their argument and generally understood what had transpired.
Emperor Jiajing sat meditating on his throne, eyes closed, supporting his forehead with one hand, looking troubled.
Lu Bing ignored the dispute between Prince Jing and Wang Daxia and didn’t ask his daughter what had actually happened. He went straight forward to bow to Emperor Jiajing: “Your Majesty, this subject has arrived. Are you unharmed?”
Emperor Jiajing finally opened his eyes, looking coldly at Prince Jing and Wang Daxia engaged in verbal battle on the steps below: “You may all withdraw.”
“We respectfully take our leave.” Lu Ying and Wang Daxia departed. Prince Jing still wanted to say something but was stopped by Chief Eunuch Huang Jin: “Your Highness, please go to the side hall and await summons.”
Prince Jing said: “Your son takes leave.”
With everyone gone, the great hall finally returned to peace. Emperor Jiajing said: “Companion Huang, tell Commander Lu about today’s events in detail.”
Huang Jin carefully recounted both plaintiff and defendant’s testimonies, including the conflicts between Lu Ying and Prince Jing with Lu Jing.
Lu Bing listened with heart pounding. Daughter, whose fiery temper did you inherit! Now we’ve made an enemy of Prince Jing.
After Huang Jin finished, Emperor Jiajing wearily asked: “Whom do you believe?”
Of course Lu Bing believed Wang Daxia and his own daughter.
Lu Bing said: “Please forgive my frankness. This subject believes Wang Daxia. Wang Daxia was personally recruited by me into the Embroidered Uniform Guards and carefully cultivated. He only handles matters assigned by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and has never had dealings with any princes or other court officials—his background is clean. Therefore, this subject feels Wang Daxia has no reason to stake his entire family’s lives on slandering Prince Jing.”
“However, my daughter is already involved. As a father, I’m inevitably biased. This matter requires avoiding conflicts of interest. For fairness, my subordinates and the Embroidered Uniform Guards shouldn’t handle this case—let the Eastern Depot investigate. When rushing to Qionghua Island, I already saw the Eastern Depot ‘protecting’ Prince Jing’s manor.”
Regarding the key evidence—the telescope—Lu Bing was one hundred percent certain Lu Jing had hidden it. Lu Jing certainly wouldn’t confess, and the Eastern Depot didn’t dare do anything to her, but they weren’t afraid of the hundred-plus servants attending her.
The Eastern Depot’s interrogation chambers had more techniques than the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ imperial prison. They only needed to pry open one person’s mouth—so while this case seemed complex, investigating it was quite simple.
This old fox Lu Bing spoke of fairness and justice, claiming his words were too subjective and private, asking Emperor Jiajing not to be influenced by him and let the Eastern Depot investigate. But this was tantamount to writing “Prince Jing is lying” on his face.
Emperor Jiajing was suspicious by nature, especially in his later years when various matters exhausted him. He was already wary of his strong, young sons. Lu Bing could claim to believe his daughter, but in the imperial family, as a father, the people he least trusted were his own sons’ words. There are no fathers and sons in gambling halls, much less in imperial power struggles.
But milk-brother Lu Bing was different—the man who had twice rescued him from crisis. His every word came from the heart. Emperor Jiajing trusted Lu Bing and therefore trusted Lu Bing’s judgment.
Emperor Jiajing asked: “Am I old?”
So old that even son Prince Jing attempted to defile his women!
Lu Bing smiled: “This subject is three years older than Your Majesty. I still feel I can serve Your Majesty for at least ten more years. I dare not speak of being old—how could Your Majesty be old? Your Majesty will always be younger than me.”
Emperor Jiajing stared blankly at Lu Bing. From his earliest memories, milk-brother Lu Bing had accompanied him. Back then they were still at the remote Anlu Prince’s manor in Hubei. Father died early, and the Imperial Clan Court often delayed or underpaid their stipends. To outsiders, it seemed like an orphaned mother and child struggling to maintain the prince’s manor.
But young Jiajing didn’t feel bitter—rather, those days growing up with his milk-brother at the prince’s manor were his only happy times. He never imagined he’d become emperor. From the moment he ascended the dragon throne, he had no happiness—palace intrigue with Grand Empress Dowager Zhang, political battles with court ministers. At merely sixteen, he was already well-versed in imperial tactics, firmly grasping imperial power.
He wasn’t Grand Empress Dowager Zhang’s puppet, nor the ministers’ puppet—he was an absolute monarch whose word was law. To secure his position as emperor, Lu Bing’s hands were stained with many people’s blood, willingly becoming the sharpest blade in his grasp.
Emperor Jiajing said: “What would I do without you? I forbid you to age.”
Lu Bing replied: “This subject obeys the decree.”
That evening, Lu Bing dined with Emperor Jiajing. Chief Eunuch Huang Jin also served as Eastern Depot Director. Following Lu Bing’s suggestion, Emperor Jiajing assigned the case to the Eastern Depot. Having climbed to his current position, Huang Jin had both means and cunning. He cut through the complexity quickly, knowing that though this matter had countless threads, finding the telescope would solve everything.
It was already dark—searching the entire island was difficult and prone to oversights. Huang Jin started with people first, imprisoning Prince Jing’s few remaining guards and Lu Jing’s hundred-plus attendants in Eastern Depot interrogation chambers. After ghostly wailing and crying for parents, clues immediately emerged.
Huang Jin led Eastern Depot personnel to the rear hall’s eastern quarters of Guanghan Palace, where Lu Jing was under house arrest, attended only by Western Garden personnel—Huang Jin’s trusted subordinates.
Seeing Huang Jin, Lu Jing said coldly: “Does the old sir intend to torture this consort for confession?”
The worst outcome had arrived. The emperor was always harsh and ungrateful to his harem, having deposed two empresses and burned the third, Empress Fang, to death.
Once the emperor was enraged, past favor became fleeting clouds.
Lu Jing felt the emperor was capable of torturing a favored consort. In the emperor’s eyes were only the throne, no love. Anyone threatening his life and position would receive merciless punishment.
When enraged, the emperor wouldn’t even spare offspring. Pregnant Empress Chen was despised and deposed, ultimately dying in miscarriage. Empress Zhang was deposed and died suddenly in the cold palace. Empress Fang died most tragically in his arson.
Now it’s my turn.
With three empresses’ tragic fates as precedent, Lu Jing held no illusions about Emperor Jiajing. She secretly resolved that if Huang Jin laid hands on her, she’d simply pierce her throat with a hairpin to protect her son Prince Jing.
She absolutely wouldn’t confess.
Huang Jin said: “Your Majesty overthinks.”
Having spoken, Huang Jin continued into the rear hall, where there was a pool with two stone pillars above it. From the pillars emerged two stone-carved dragon heads spouting clear springs into the pool. The pool contained artificial mountains and duckweed, with heart-shaped water lily pads growing white water lilies, while red koi swam among the lily lamps.
Huang Jin ordered his men to jump into the pool and search beneath the water lily pads. Soon, a brass Western telescope was retrieved—no lenses, only the tube, bearing an eagle pattern.
Seeing this, Lu Jing immediately turned ashen and collapsed unconscious.
Author’s Note: Prince Yu may become the biggest winner. For readers who didn’t get yesterday’s red packets, this chapter offers 100 red packets as consolation, but you must wake up early!