Wang Daxia paced around the room in anger. Finally, he grasped Wei Caiwei’s hand: “I’m sorry, I must break my word this time. I cannot leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard yet. Back when my father was harmed by Yan Shifan, Lu Ying has always been my strong support. Now that she’s in trouble, I cannot stand by and do nothing.”
Wei Caiwei said, “I’ll stay too. Lu Ying is my sister-in-law. Our family must overcome difficulties together.”
Though Wei Caiwei said this, she felt uncertain inside.
Because in her previous life, Eunuch Wang had retired at this very moment, taking Wei Caiwei to Nanjing to serve as a garrison eunuch. Eunuch Wang was young with a bright future ahead—he had hopes of becoming Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Everyone said it was a pity.
But during the succession struggle, Eunuch Wang was severely poisoned protecting Wei Caiwei. Though Wei Caiwei carefully treated him afterward, the residual poison could never be completely eliminated and slowly consumed Eunuch Wang’s life.
Eastern Depot affairs were busy. If he continued working so hard, Eunuch Wang wouldn’t have many years left. Going to Nanjing for recuperation extended Eunuch Wang’s life, and the two lived together happily for over ten years.
Since Wei Caiwei had been in Nanjing, far from the palace and court, she only understood the general situation of political affairs during this period through official gazettes—she knew none of the details.
She only knew that Emperor Longqing died two years later from consuming too many red pills that depleted his vital essence and blood, entrusting the Crown Prince to Chief Minister Gao Gong. Gao Gong continued to wield power in the new dynasty and was very arrogant toward the ten-year-old young emperor. It was Empress Dowager Li, who held court audiences in Qianqing Palace, who joined with Cabinet Minister Zhang Juzheng to bring down Gao Gong.
She only knew these outcomes. In her previous life, the Lu family’s fate was something Eunuch Wang had told her as gossip—at that time, the Lu family were strangers who had nothing to do with Eunuch Wang and Wei Caiwei.
The Lu family was also brought down by Gao Gong. Their property was confiscated, son-in-law Yan Shaoting and the three adult males Lu Yi and Lu Cai were all sent to the Ministry of Justice prison. Lu Yi and Lu Cai, having been pampered since childhood and never suffered hardship, died of illness in prison before their trials ended.
Yan Shaoting, who had experienced his family’s decline, survived. Due to Lu Yi and Lu Cai’s deaths, ministers in court who had received kindness from Lu Bing were dissatisfied with Gao Gong. Eventually, the sole survivor Yan Shaoting was exiled to serve as a soldier in Quanzhou.
As for the Lu family women and children—the female family members, Li Yiren and the girls, were confiscated as government slaves and sent to serve in meritorious families. The boys, including grandsons and maternal grandsons, were all exiled to Tieling.
The crime did not extend to married daughters. The Lu family’s five married daughters were all safe. Lu Bing had good judgment—none of their in-law families mistreated the Lu family women due to their downfall, and all provided what help they could.
The eldest Lu daughter took her second sister into the Duke of Chengguo’s mansion and used money and the Duke’s influence to buy back Li Yiren and the nieces and grand-nieces who had been enslaved, keeping them on her dowry estates.
The boys exiled to Tieling were escorted and cared for along the way by people sent by Wu Peng, one of Lu Yi’s in-laws. They all arrived in Tieling alive and safely survived the cold winter.
Later, Vice Minister Zhang Juzheng brought down Gao Gong and became the new Chief Minister. Zhang Juzheng was Xu Jie’s student. Since Gao Gong had uprooted the Lu family to attack Xu Jie, when Zhang Juzheng rose to power, he immediately vindicated the Lu family, returned their property, freed the women from slavery, brought the boys back to the capital, and reunited the family. After surviving this calamity, the Lu family finally recovered.
Yan Shaoting, exiled to Quanzhou, distinguished himself fighting Japanese pirates and eventually had his original position restored. His son Yan Congyun even passed the military jinshi examination and ultimately reached first rank—the Yan family also revived.
At that time, Eunuch Wang marveled at Lu Bing’s judgment in choosing in-laws. After their downfall, not one in-law family added insult to injury—it could be said that the in-laws protected most of the Lu family members.
In her previous life, she heard this as a story and occasionally sighed over it. In this life, both she and Wang Daxia had entered Lu Ying’s life—what different outcome would the Lu family have?
The next day, Wei Caiwei requested an audience and entered the palace to see Li Jiubao, while Wang Daxia went to the Embroidered Uniform Guard offices to find Lu Ying to discuss countermeasures.
Lu Ying looked grim: “Both the Duke of Chengguo and Commander Zhu say Gao Gong is difficult to deal with. He is the Emperor’s teacher, and His Majesty trusts him. Since becoming Chief Minister, though his methods are tyrannical and autocratic, his achievements are considerable, making His Majesty value him even more. If they rashly speak out against Gao Gong, they’ll lose the Emperor’s favor and be dismissed. Then they’ll have no power to save us in the future.”
Wang Daxia’s heart sank halfway upon hearing this: “Then what do we do? Just let ourselves be slaughtered?”
Lu Ying said, “Our Lu family has prepared for the worst. We can abandon wealth and official positions—preserving life is what matters. As long as family members are alive and relatives look after each other, we can survive. Gao Gong is already seventy years old—heaven knows how long he can live. Let’s see who can outlast whom.”
As Lu Ying spoke, she handed over all her current affairs to Wang Daxia—communication with Third Madam, northwestern trade, eleven border markets, and other matters: “I’m likely in grave danger this time and will certainly lose my official position. But our peace with the Mongol Tatar tribes was hard-won. After fighting for over two hundred years, we finally have quiet. I entrust the task of maintaining peace to you. I’m sorry—I can’t let you retire early this time. Wait until you train a suitable successor before leaving. I can only entrust this to you—I wouldn’t trust anyone else. After all, you’re most familiar with Third Madam.”
Wang Daxia was incredulous, saying in a low voice, “That ungrateful, foolish ruler in the Forbidden City wants to destroy your family, yet you still think about serving him! If I’d known this would happen, we should have let the black spirits bite him to death back then and not bothered to help.” Emperor Longqing was truly an ungrateful wretch! He’d forgotten who saved him back then!
Lu Ying said, “I’m not doing this for him—I’m doing it for peace. I’ve settled those people who awakened from the White Lotus Sect’s deception on the border, giving them barren land to cultivate. Those lands were once fertile fields that became waste due to years of war.”
“War is too cruel. From the coastal resistance against Japanese pirates to the annual border raids in the northwest—officials and wealthy people can flee to safe places, but common people who depend on heaven for their livelihood suffer too much and can only become refugees begging for food. My previous goal was to crush the White Lotus Sect, which I’ve accomplished. Now I only hope to maintain peace. Whether I’m here or not, there must be peace. Do you understand?”
Lu Ying entrusted him with northwestern border security like a deathbed wish. Wang Daxia felt pained and turned his face away: “I don’t understand! I don’t want to understand! Loyal Earl has been gone ten years, and if you’re not here either, what’s the point of my staying in the Embroidered Uniform Guard!”
Lu Ying said, “You actually do understand—you’re just being stubborn. Since you mention my father, you should understand what kind of person he was. His spirit in heaven would also hope you could accomplish something.”
Wang Daxia had no choice. As a mere assistant commander, his power was too limited. He looked south wistfully: “I don’t know when Ding Wu will return. I only pray he hurries. If you two get married quickly, since crimes don’t extend to married daughters, you’d have the Ding family as backing and wouldn’t have to suffer so much.”
Ding Wu. Lu Ying silently recited her fiancé’s name once: “From Yunnan to the capital, the round trip takes at least four months at fastest. It’s up to fate—whether Gao Gong moves faster or Ding Wu returns faster.”
Lu Ying had also considered this issue. She was the unmarried daughter among the Lu family’s five girls. With the great mansion about to fall, her situation was precarious. Ding Wu would be tremendous support.
From beginning to end, Lu Ying never wavered in her trust of Ding Wu. Regardless of her circumstances, she believed Ding Wu would keep his promise.
Lu Ying had always been this confident—she trusted herself and she trusted Ding Wu.
Soon, Gao Gong made his move, but not against the Lu family—against the Lu family’s in-law Xu Jie. Of course, Gao Gong wouldn’t personally suppress the former Chief Minister. He used the strategy of killing with a borrowed knife, bringing information about how Xu Jie’s sons and household slaves were committing wrongdoing and seizing land in their Jiangning hometown in Songjiang Prefecture to Hai Rui, who was famous throughout the Ming Dynasty for his integrity.
Hai Rui was Governor of Yingtian Prefecture. Upright and unbending, he didn’t care that Xu Jie was a former Chief Minister—he arrested the offending Xu family members and threw them into Yingtian Prefecture jail.
Court censors rushed to impeach Xu Jie for poor family management. Xu Jie had no choice but to raise thirty thousand taels of silver to smooth relations. Taking advantage of Xu Jie’s inability to defend himself, Gao Gong moved against the Lu family.
Gao Gong instructed Censor Zhang Shouyue to impeach the deceased Loyal Earl Lu Bing, saying: “During the previous emperor’s time, he formed connections with Yan Shifan, usurped authority, spread evil and poison—his crimes number ten. Though Shifan has been executed, Bing kept his head and heavily rewarded his sons and nephews. His corpse should be posthumously executed, his sons Yi and nephew Xu arrested for trial, along with his household assistants, and his family property confiscated.” (Note 1)
This meant that Lu Bing had colluded with Yan Shifan and formed an in-law relationship. After Yan Shifan’s death, the Lu family took in and sheltered Yan family children.
Zhang Shouyue suggested digging Lu Bing’s remains from his grave to mutilate the corpse! He also proposed confiscating the Lu family’s property and arresting Lu family members for trial.
As soon as these words were spoken, in-law Duke of Chengguo Zhu Xizhong was the first to stand up and refute: “It’s true that Loyal Earl formed an in-law relationship with Yan Shifan, but does marrying into the Yan family make one a Yan faction member? According to your logic, Yan Shifan’s daughter was once married to the Duke of Yan Sheng—does that make the Kong family of the Duke of Yan Sheng also traitors? Yan Shifan’s son was the Duke of Dingguo’s grandson-in-law—is the Duke of Dingguo also a traitor? Furthermore, you all know I’m an in-law with Loyal Earl—are you going to accuse me of being Yan faction too?”
The Duke of Dingguo’s ancestor was Xu Zengshou, second son of founding hero Xu Da and brother of Virtuous Empress Xu. All emperors of the old Zhu family had Xu family bloodlines. The Duke of Dingguo was the most established noble family of the Ming Dynasty.
As soon as Duke of Chengguo made this improvised speech, he forced the Duke of Dingguo and Duke of Yan Sheng, who had wanted to stay out of it, to step forward and clarify that they were absolutely not Yan faction members.
This was the power of marriage connections—deeply intertwined roots where touching one part affected the whole body.
Seeing this line of attack refuted by several noble families, Zhang Shouyue found a second reason: “When Yan Shaoting fled to the Lu family, he brought Yan family wealth. At that time, the Yan family had already been raided, and all Yan family property should have been turned over to the national treasury. The Lu family knew these were stolen goods yet helped hide them. These stolen goods are in the Lu mansion, privately swallowed by the Lu mansion. A raid will reveal this.”
Indeed, Gao Gong still used Yan Shaoting to attack the Lu mansion, saying: “This case involves national treasury property and should be thoroughly investigated.”
Seeing his teacher support a thorough investigation of the Lu family, Emperor Longqing said: “Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Zhu Xixiao is a Lu family relative and should recuse himself. This case will be handled by the Ministry of Justice.”
The Ministry of Justice was Gao Gong’s territory. Whatever Gao Gong pointed at, they attacked. Soldiers were immediately ordered to surround the Lu mansion and begin raiding it to search for Yan family “stolen goods” hidden in the Lu mansion.