In the Forbidden City, at Chengqian Palace.
Chen Jingji returned wearing a rain cape to report, “…Imperial Physician Wei sat in Kunning Palace for half a shichen. She has now safely left the palace. Imperial Physician Wei asked this slave to tell Your Noble Consort that the Empress did not make things difficult for her, so there’s no need to worry. Furthermore, Imperial Physician Wei said she has already made it clear to the Empress that if the two palaces are harmonious, both will win; if they fight, both will lose. She hopes the two palaces can put aside past grievances and reconcile as before.”
Li Jiubao drank warm milk in silence. Shake hands and make peace? How could it be so easy! The Empress wants to put me to death—how could she easily let go?
Chen Jingji asked, “How will Your Ladyship respond next?”
Li Jiubao said, “What needs to be fought still needs to be fought. We cannot return to being soft persimmons as before. If the opponent is weak and can be trampled to death directly, why bother with the trouble of compromising and cooperating? How can one allow others to snore beside one’s couch? Only when we become strong and make the Empress feel apprehensive, when she has no confidence of winning, will she settle for second best and adopt Imperial Physician Wei’s suggestion.”
“Human nature is thus. In this palace, the weak are meat for the strong. Whenever one can swallow the other whole, how would they cooperate? It’s only when they can neither chew it up, when it hurts their teeth, when they can neither swallow nor spit it out, that they will truly respect each other.”
Li Jiubao’s thinking was very similar to that of the Red Army leader Chairman Mao five hundred years later: “To seek peace through peace leads to the death of peace; to seek peace through struggle preserves peace.” Peace does not come easily—one must first fight. Only when forces are evenly matched, when no one can kill the other, when continuing to fight means both will die and both will be harmed, will they talk about peace.
The heavy rain had just stopped and it was already night. Li Jiubao’s body was weary, so she retired early. Emperor Longqing finished handling state affairs in the deep of night and came to see Li Jiubao, who had just recovered from serious illness, looking forward to sowing and reaping again soon.
Li Jiubao had become thin as paper and still could not serve in bed. After accompanying Emperor Longqing in conversation for a while, she summoned Beauty Wei, who had been frequently coming to Chengqian Palace these days to massage shoulders and pound backs to curry favor with her, asking her to play the flute for entertainment.
Beauty Wei seized this opportunity and slept with the Emperor that night. For several consecutive days, Emperor Longqing summoned her to serve in bed, truly favoring her for a time, and promoted her to Wei Zhaoyi.
Palace people saw that currying favor with Noble Consort Li could bring real benefits, so they all flocked to Chengqian Palace, while Kunning Palace became so deserted that one could catch sparrows at its gate.
Li Jiubao also recommended Qin Zhaoyi to Emperor Longqing, and Emperor Longqing went to energetically cultivate this new field. He was busy with state affairs and eager for sons, so he inevitably felt inadequate. Every time he favored a consort, he would take red pills beforehand.
In the past, Li Jiubao would still advise Emperor Longqing not to take such body-harming medicines. Now Li Jiubao no longer cared. Since Emperor Longqing didn’t cherish her body, she had no need to be so concerned about the dragon’s health.
Emperor Longqing wanted more children, and she had to satisfy him. Anyway, these consorts in the palace were scrambling to queue up to sleep with the Emperor. There were plenty of red pills—he could take them as he pleased.
Strangely enough, Wei Zhaoyi and Qin Zhaoyi, both recommended by Li Jiubao, actually became pregnant one after another! Everyone said Noble Consort Li was a person blessed with “pregnancy fortune.”
Chengqian Palace became increasingly lively. The consorts knew that following Noble Consort Li gave them opportunities to sleep with the Emperor, receive favor, and if lucky, even conceive and bear children.
Besides consorts, there were also eunuchs seeking connections for promotion who curried favor with Li Jiubao.
On this day, Eastern Depot Director Eunuch Feng Bao presented Li Jiubao with a pearl shirt. Each pearl was a rare black pearl, priceless and most suitable for summer, cooling and preventing sweat when worn.
Li Jiubao casually gave it to Chen Jingji, “I’m too thin; wearing it feels heavy. Send this black pearl shirt along with the Western Region honeydew melons that Third Madam sent as tribute today to Imperial Physician Wei’s home.”
Having accepted someone’s gift, one must do things for them—integrity first, reputation above all. In this point, Li Jiubao was very similar to Yan Shifan.
Li Jiubao summoned Director Eunuch Feng Bao for an audience.
Feng Bao was an old eunuch from the Jiajing era. Like Chen Jingji, he was an outstanding graduate of the Inner Study Hall, writing beautiful characters and possessing vast learning. Li Jiubao, coming from common grassroots origins, naturally admired learned people. She didn’t accept gifts from just anyone—she also looked at the person and whether they could be promoted in the future.
Li Jiubao thought highly of Feng Bao, considering him a greatly useful talent.
After Emperor Longqing’s chief companion Li Fang died, it should have been Feng Bao’s turn to replace Li Fang as the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. However, Chief Minister Gao Gong recommended Chen Hong, the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Imperial Stud, and Feng Bao regrettably lost.
Later, Chen Hong was unable to control his arrogant and domineering subordinates, especially one eunuch who went to Nanjing on official business and falsely claimed the Emperor wanted to select palace maidens in Jiangnan. This frightened many unmarried families in Southern Zhili into hurriedly arranging “street marriages,” quickly marrying off their daughters to avoid selection.
This damned eunuch also extorted bribes from unmarried girls’ families, falsely claiming he would report the girls’ names, using this to threaten wealthy families and rake in silver by the handful.
The defeated Feng Bao was Director of the Eastern Depot with many eyes and ears. He immediately gathered evidence and secretly reported to Emperor Longqing. Emperor Longqing was furious—he most hated people using his name to scrape the fat and blood of the people. He executed this damned eunuch and also removed Chen Hong, who bore supervisory responsibility as Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, sending him to sweep toilets at the Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing.
Feng Bao thought that having brought down Chen Hong, it should be his turn to become Seal-Holding Eunuch.
However, Chief Minister Gao Gong simply disliked Feng Bao. Having recommended Chen Hong last time, this time he recommended Meng Chong, the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Imperial Food Service.
The Imperial Food Service managed palace meals and was among the lower-ranking of the twenty-four departments. Meng Chong was formerly a cook who had never studied at the Inner Study Hall. The characters he recognized were limited to recipe books. According to regulations, eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial must be graduates of the Inner Study Hall, just as Cabinet ministers must be Hanlin Academy scholars.
However, Gao Gong would rather break the rules to support a cook than recommend Feng Bao, who had sufficient qualifications and experience.
The red pills that Emperor Longqing took when favoring his consorts were all procured by the cook Meng Chong, so he was deeply favored by the Emperor. Since Gao Gong was the Emperor’s teacher and a teacher’s words carry weight, Emperor Longqing agreed to have Meng Chong succeed to the position of Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Feng Bao lost again, feeling both resentful and angry, unwilling to be limited to the position of Eastern Depot Director for life. But Gao Gong was Chief Minister, always blocking his path to success, so he could only seek alternative routes.
Feng Bao set his sights on Noble Consort Li, the Crown Prince’s birth mother.
First, Noble Consort Li’s words carried weight—the consorts she recommended all successfully slept with the Emperor. Second, Emperor Longqing had been taking red pills for years with no one daring to advise against it. His health was already somewhat poor. Even if he couldn’t become Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial during the Longqing reign, what about after the Crown Prince ascended the throne? At that time, Noble Consort Li’s words would carry weight.
Feng Bao, well-read in history, knew that throughout all dynasties, when concubine-born crown princes became emperor, no matter how close they had been to their legitimate mother empress or how filial they appeared, they would ultimately be closer to their birth mother empress dowager and listen more to their birth mother than to their legitimate mother dowager.
Therefore, weighing the pros and cons, Feng Bao was willing to place his bet on Noble Consort Li rather than on Empress Chen, who never interfered in political affairs.
Feng Bao gave Li Jiubao a black pearl shirt, Li Jiubao summoned him for audience, and gave him a jade ruyi in return. Ruyi ruyi—may all go as you wish—indicating she had guessed Feng Bao’s intentions. The two thus formed an alliance.
Li Jiubao felt that Feng Bao, controlling the Eastern Depot with well-informed sources, would surely be useful in the future.
Feng Bao, receiving the jade ruyi, was delighted and immediately presented Li Jiubao with a “certificate of loyalty”: “Your Ladyship, please remind Imperial Physician Wei that Gao Gong is about to ‘serve’ the Lu family. Have Imperial Physician Wei tell her husband Protector Wang to distance himself from Vice Commissioner Lu early, lest he be implicated.”
The Eastern Depot was responsible for monitoring civil and military officials, with sources more well-informed than the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Moreover, Feng Bao already viewed Gao Gong as a political enemy, so naturally he monitored him even more closely.
Li Jiubao was alarmed: “Is this true? Why would Gao Gong move against the Lu family?”
Feng Bao said, “Absolutely true. Gao Gong is gathering his faction to collect evidence for impeaching the Lu family. Gao Gong deeply resents former Cabinet Chief Minister Xu Jie. When two tigers fought, both were wounded, and both retired to their hometowns. Now that Gao Gong has been recalled by His Majesty and has made a comeback as Cabinet Chief Minister, he naturally wants to thoroughly deal with his old opponent Xu Jie.”
“The Lu family is one of Xu Jie’s in-law families. When the Lu family head, Loyal Earl Lu Bing, served as Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander, he arrested many people and sent them to the imperial prison. Some people were already dissatisfied with Loyal Earl. Now that Loyal Earl has long been dead, only Vice Commissioner Lu of the current Lu generation has amounted to anything in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. But he is still young after all, only knowing to keep his head down and do practical work. He has no factional power in court. When Gao Gong settles accounts with the Lu family and eliminates Xu Jie’s influence, a single Vice Commissioner Lu is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. How can a small vice commissioner contend with a Cabinet Chief Minister?”
“This time the Lu family will surely be finished. This slave knows Your Noble Consort is on good terms with Imperial Physician Wei, and Imperial Physician Wei’s husband Wang Daxia has always followed Vice Commissioner Lu, working diligently for him. But this time, when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer. Given Gao Gong’s thunderous methods in the past, the Lu family is bound to fall. You must remind Wang Daxia to withdraw quickly.”
Li Jiubao knew the situation was urgent. There was no time to summon Wei Caiwei to the palace for detailed discussion. She immediately sent Chen Jingji out of the palace to Wei Caiwei’s home to issue the warning, urging Lu Ying to prepare countermeasures early.
Chen Jingji went to Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia’s residence by Shichahai in the northern city, only to learn that the master had gone to the Embroidered Uniform Guard offices for duty early in the morning, and the mistress had gone to the Ding mansion to supervise renovation work. Neither husband nor wife was home.
The Ding mansion was located in the western city where nobles and dignitaries congregated. Craftsmen at the Ding mansion told Chen Jingji that Wei Caiwei had stayed all afternoon and had just left, reportedly going to the Embroidered Uniform Guard offices to meet her husband after work.
After several twists and turns, Chen Jingji changed course to go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard offices, but arrived a step too late. The guard at the gate said the couple had already gone home.
Chen Jingji thought that with so many people on the streets, finding this couple would be like fishing for a needle in the ocean. Since he was already at the Embroidered Uniform Guard offices anyway, he might as well inform Vice Commissioner Lu first.
Chen Jingji asked, “Is Vice Commissioner Lu in?”
As a workaholic, Lu Ying was naturally staying late to work overtime—he had never gone home on time.
Chen Jingji met with Lu Ying and directly explained his purpose: “…The message has been delivered. Please be extremely careful, Vice Commissioner Lu, and make plans early.”
After hearing this, Lu Ying had no mind left for overtime work. He thanked Chen Jingji and hurried back to the Lu mansion.
In the Lu mansion, Lu Ying’s birth mother Li Yiren, third brother Lu Yi with his wife Wu Shi, fourth brother Lu Cai with his wife, and second son-in-law Yan Shaoting’s family of five who had joined his in-law family six years ago were all sitting together having dinner.
Seeing Lu Ying, everyone felt the sun had risen from the west today—Lu Ying actually wasn’t working overtime and had come home on time.
Li Yiren quickly ordered servants to add another set of bowls, chopsticks, and a chair, placing them right beside herself. “Come sit here. I’ll have the kitchen prepare a few more small dishes you love.”
Looking at the family’s harmonious happiness, completely unaware of the approaching crisis, Lu Ying felt a surge of sourness in his nose and eyes.