Through Wang Daxia’s mediation, Lu Bing was finally able to rest peacefully in Sanli Village without being exhumed and torn to pieces.
Lu Yi and Lu Cai went to Tieling for frontier military service, experiencing exactly the same fate as Ding Wu had years ago. Lu Yi’s father-in-law was former Minister of Personnel Wu Peng, who had the closest relationship with Lu Bing. Wu Peng’s youngest son had married Lu Bing’s youngest daughter, Fifth Miss Lu, making the two families doubly connected through marriage.
Wu Peng sent people to accompany and care for his son-in-law and Lu Cai all the way to Tieling, where they lived in the former residence of Ding Wu and Wei Caiwei. The house that had been vacant for ten years once again had cooking smoke rising from its chimney, beginning a new cycle.
Yan Shaoting went to Quanzhou for military service. Second Miss Lu, with deep marital affection, couldn’t bear to let him suffer alone, so she took her children and two nephews to settle in Quanzhou as well. From then on, Yan Shaoting abandoned literature for martial arts. Though middle-aged, he remarkably started learning boxing and martial skills from scratch, never complaining. He actually achieved some success and even gained merit by killing Japanese pirates, washing away his exile status to become a commoner and eventually rising to military officer rank.
For Yan Shifan to produce such a son of excellent character and strong will was truly like a golden phoenix flying from a chicken coop.
Lady Li and her grandchildren remained safe, continuing to live peacefully in the ancestral house. Lu Ying wanted to bring her mother and nephews and nieces to live in a suburban villa, but Lady Li refused, saying:
“Your father arranged all his posthumous affairs early on. Though our Lu family has fallen, we still have the ancestral house and ceremonial fields that were spared from confiscation. We can live comfortably without depending on you married daughters. Besides, it’s good for children to experience some hardships while young. I see your fourth son-in-law Ding Wu went through this—he was exiled to Tieling at age ten, and all these years of suffering weren’t in vain. I’m not being partial, but among my five sons-in-law, I like him most.”
Better to arrive at the right time than early—Lady Li had given birth to five daughters but most appreciated the latest-arriving fourth son-in-law, Ding Wu.
Unable to persuade her mother, Lu Ying frequently visited her relatives in Sanli Village.
The Lu family case finally settled like dust when snow began falling at year’s end.
Gao Gong hadn’t expected that Meng Chong would disobey him this time and actually defend the Lu family. Accustomed to acting arbitrarily, Gao Gong flew into a rage at Meng Chong: “…You ruined my plans!”
Even clay figures have some earth nature, let alone Meng Chong, who was the legitimate Chief Eunuch of the Ceremonial Directorate. Meng Chong wiped away the spittle Gao Gong had sprayed on his face and said coldly: “Minister Gao has sat in this position so long he seems to have forgotten who brought him from his hometown to here. I am Minister Gao’s benefactor, not your puppet. Why should everything be as you say?”
People who wield power too long think themselves omnipotent. Gao Gong said: “You also seem to have forgotten who strongly recommended you, bringing you from the kitchen to the Ceremonial Directorate. Ask your conscience—do you think you deserve this? You never studied at the Inner Academy and barely recognize a few characters. I faced enormous pressure to insist you sit in this position. You show no gratitude and even mock me in return, wanting to burn bridges—it’s not that easy.”
Gao Gong threatened Meng Chong: “You must obey from now on. You’re not allowed to reject any of my draft proposals. Otherwise… however I lifted you up, I can bring you down the same way.”
With these words, Gao Gong stormed off in a huff. Meng Chong turned pale with anger. What could he do? Apart from cooking and presenting red pills, eunuchs from the Inner Academy and even ordinary palace servants in all twenty-four departments looked down on him. He was the most pathetic Chief Eunuch of the Ceremonial Directorate in history. Without clinging to the emperor’s teacher Gao Gong, he had no other way to secure this position.
Meng Chong felt unwilling but helpless. Wang Daxia kept his promise and returned the fake imperial warrant. Meng Chong immediately threw this deadly item into the fire basin and burned it.
With the transaction complete, Wang Daxia refused to leave. “Old master, this cooperation was pleasant. Shall we go out for a drink to celebrate?”
Having just been threatened by Gao Gong, Meng Chong was in no mood for socializing. He served tea to dismiss his guest: “I still have business. Please feel free to leave.”
Wang Daxia was thick-skinned and ignored the dismissal, lingering there. “Old master seems in a bad mood. Shall I take you out for some entertainment?”
Once bitten, twice shy. Meng Chong said warily: “Then you’ll catch me in another compromising situation for blackmail? I won’t repeat old mistakes. Commander Wang, please return.”
Wang Daxia physically dragged him along: “Come play with me. There’s a new opera called ‘The Phoenix Cry’ about Xia Yan and Yang Jisheng fighting the great villain Yan Song. It uses real names and sounds thrilling. The theater is packed with people sitting on the ground. I got a private box—let’s feast our ears.”
“The Phoenix Cry” was written by Wang Shizhen, who held advanced degrees. Logically, such political struggle dramas would be banned by the court. However, in this play, Emperor Jiajing was portrayed as a foolish ruler who couldn’t distinguish loyalty from treachery. Emperor Longqing enjoyed seeing his father criticized, so he didn’t ban it. Instead, he promoted it as anti-corruption theater, making it wildly popular throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Daxia knew how to have fun. After dragging Meng Chong to the theater box, he flattered him extensively. Meng Chong forgot his frustrations with Gao Gong and became cheerful.
Wang Daxia kept mentioning how his wife Wei Caiwei enjoyed favor with Imperial Consort Li, hinting he could use Imperial Consort Li’s connections. This made Meng Chong’s heart itch, thinking: Gao Gong, don’t be too smug. Besides you, I can also rely on Imperial Consort Li as my backing.
The two had mutual interests and began associating, becoming “good” friends through mutual exploitation.
At Chenggan Palace, Li Jiubao’s health finally fully recovered. Emperor Longqing couldn’t wait to have the palace historians arrange for her to attend his bedchamber.
Wei Caiwei smuggled the contraceptive medicine she’d prepared for Li Jiubao into the palace, hidden in wax pills marked as Black Chicken White Phoenix Pills. She dissolved it and gave it to Li Jiubao: “Your Consort, consider carefully. Once you drink this medicine, it’s like the Abortion Spring in the Daughter Kingdom from ‘Journey to the West’—once drunk, there’s no turning back.”
Li Jiubao drained the medicine completely: “Six years, five pregnancies—that’s enough.”
Children’s playful voices came from the courtyard. Looking through the window, Wei Caiwei saw princes and princesses building snowmen. She asked in surprise: “The Empress sent all the children here?”
“She sent three.” Li Jiubao was half sweet, half melancholy: “The youngest, Princess Rui’an, is very distant with me. She cried when Empress Chen left and wouldn’t let me hold her. This child was raised by the Empress from birth and is close to her like mother and daughter. I, her birth mother, must step back. But having three children return—what more could I want? People shouldn’t be too greedy.”
Wei Caiwei said: “It seems the Empress has thought things through, extending an olive branch and no longer opposing Your Consort.”
Imperial Consort Li said: “Why should women make things difficult for each other? Since she sent the children over, I won’t hold past grievances against her. Let’s wipe the slate clean.”
Women’s mutual support was the palace struggle outcome Wei Caiwei most wanted to see, rather than mutual slaughter over the tiny bit of favor a man might bestow, fighting to the death.
As Wei Caiwei left the palace, she looked back at the Forbidden City in the heavy snow—so quiet, dignified, and beautiful. The heavy snow covered the dirty frozen mud underfoot, just as the Forbidden City used its unique power to cover countless broken hearts.
It was snowing. Some things needed to be resolved quickly. Otherwise, when spring flowers bloomed, those “dirty things” would have nowhere to hide and would re-emerge to disgust people.
Gao Gong was stubborn, arrogant, and tyrannical—those who obeyed him prospered, those who opposed him perished. Though the Lu family had escaped death, Gao Gong would certainly turn to attacking other Lu family relatives, like the Duke of Chengguo, Ding Rukui, Wu Peng, and others. They couldn’t always passively wait for Gao Gong’s attacks and wearily respond. Now it was time to take the initiative.
Gao Gong’s position was rock solid because Emperor Longqing supported him. When the skin is gone, where can the hair attach? So…
Wei Caiwei took one of the red pills Meng Chong had presented to Emperor Longqing and entered her medicine room, beginning seclusion. For the entire winter, except for sleeping, she barely emerged, even eating meals in the medicine room.
When spring arrived, Wei Caiwei emerged from seclusion with a box of pills identical to the red pills in color, size, and smell.
Wei Caiwei handed one pill to Wang Daxia: “See if there’s any difference from the red pills Meng Chong presented?”
Wang Daxia refused to take it, looking resentfully at his wife: “I don’t need this stuff. My equipment works perfectly well—you know that! Unfortunately, a hero has no battlefield. For three whole months, I only used it twice—what a waste of talent!”
During Wei Caiwei’s seclusion, she was single-mindedly focused. The two times happened only because Wang Daxia begged and pleaded.
Wei Caiwei said: “It’s not for you to eat—it’s to replace the red pills Meng Chong presents. I added some things inside and named it ‘Withered to the Bone.’ Anyone who takes Withered to the Bone will have their kidney essence depleted within three months and die from exhaustion.”
“A beautiful eighteen-year-old woman is soft as silk, with a sword at her waist to slay foolish men; openly no heads are seen to fall, secretly making lords’ bones and marrow wither.”
Wang Daxia shuddered with fear! Thank goodness I don’t use this stuff! What if I took the wrong medicine…
Wei Caiwei was a decisive person. Within three days of rebirth, she had killed all her enemies, then focused on winning over Wang Daxia, preserving the root and changing his life.
Now Wei Caiwei was tired of endless, prolonged political struggles. Without resolving Gao Gong, Wang Daxia could never escape and retire, and Lu Ying could never return to the Imperial Guard to protect border peace.
Over these six months, though Lu Ying loved Ding Wu, she was quite fed up with being a wealthy noble lady. Such an outstanding woman shouldn’t be confined to the inner quarters.
Wang Daxia was also tired of political struggles. The couple agreed and began taking action.
Wang Daxia used his recent good relationship with Meng Chong, bringing fine wine to get Meng Chong drunk and replacing the red pills with Withered to the Bone.
Meng Chong presented the red pills to Emperor Longqing.
Emperor Longqing had taken red pills for six years to produce heirs. Though imperial physicians continuously provided tonics, the rate of pouring water could never keep up with the rate of draining it. Emperor Longqing’s body had been hollowed out by his consorts.
Withered to the Bone was such a fierce medicine that it didn’t even take three months. After just one month, Emperor Longqing fell ill. He suddenly collapsed from atop a beauty while being intimate, losing consciousness.
This illness lasted two months. Emperor Longqing was bedridden, and the ten-year-old Crown Prince supervised the state.