Lu Bing’s stroke was top secret, hidden even from the Emperor. If his in-law Yan Shifan learned of it, the matter would spread like snot—who knew where it might end up.
However, Yan Shifan was both a high-ranking official and an in-law. Lu Bing couldn’t simply avoid seeing him, or Yan Shifan would become suspicious.
Lu Ying said: “Just say you went out on business and haven’t returned yet.”
Lu Bing said: “He came straight to the Embroidered Uniform Guard office—he must have confirmed I was here.”
Lu Ying had a sudden inspiration: “Father, why don’t you just say you stayed up late last night, then had military drills at the training ground today, couldn’t withstand the scorching heat, and got heatstroke. Since this matter shouldn’t be publicized to avoid worrying the family and His Majesty, you’re recuperating at the office and will appear publicly once you’ve recovered.”
Lu Bing nodded: “That’s a good plan. It can explain my mobility issues, but this wheelchair absolutely must be hidden—Vice Minister Yan cannot see it.”
Lu Ying said: “I’ll put it in Doctor Wei’s room.”
The trusted aides quickly made arrangements. They placed two ice tanks in the room for cooling, with chilled mung bean soup on top. Doors and windows were tightly closed, and Agastache water for treating heatstroke was sprinkled around the room like Western perfume, filling it with a distinctive medicinal smell.
Lu Bing changed into thin clothing. With the room so cool, Lu Ying still directed the guards: “Remove this string of lanterns—the room is too bright.”
Lu Bing still had some facial paralysis. Dimming the lights could hide the flaw of his lack of facial expressions.
Wang Daxia pushed the wheelchair to Wei Caiwei’s room to hide it. Learning that Yan Shifan was coming, Wei Caiwei’s heart surged with emotion: If it weren’t for Yan Shifan giving Chen Qianhu the idea to frame and slander my father, pouring dirty water on a dead man, my sister and I wouldn’t have become official slaves, and sister wouldn’t have been controlled and humiliated by that beast…
Wei Caiwei’s hands clenched into fists inside her sleeves.
She currently had no plans against Yan Shifan. First, because the gap in their status was like that between weeds and Mount Tai—she couldn’t even approach Yan Shifan, let alone kill him. She was too insignificant.
Second, the Yan Song-Yan Shifan father and son had controlled the court for years, destroying too many officials and making countless enemies. There were far too many people wanting to trip up or even kill the Yan father and son—it wasn’t Wei Caiwei’s turn as an unknown female doctor to act.
Among them was Lu Bing’s other in-law—Chief Minister Xu Jie. Lu family’s Third Miss had married Xu Jie’s son. In the previous life, it was Xu Jie who worked behind the scenes to bring down Chief Minister Yan Song and have Yan Shifan beheaded.
On the day of the execution, the streets were packed. She and Wang Daxia had left the palace together to watch Yan Shifan’s execution. Officials and common people who had been persecuted by the Yan family and lost their homes numbered in the thousands. Compared to their years of suffering, Wei Caiwei’s hatred was just a drop in the ocean.
Starting over in this life, she would encounter him so soon.
“Vice Minister Yan is coming. I heard that when Elder Yan is undecided about political matters, he always listens to Vice Minister Yan’s opinions.” Wang Daxia rubbed his hands together excitedly like a fly, and from the corner of his eye noticed her stiff expression: “Don’t get too excited. High officials are still people, not three-headed, six-armed monsters. This is a rare opportunity—let’s peek through the window crack.”
The Embroidered Uniform Guard office temporarily removed the threshold to allow Yan Shifan’s luxurious five-horse carriage inside. It was more extravagant than Lu Bing’s carriage, with even the horse bridles made of gold.
The carriage stopped only at Lu Bing’s courtyard gate, where Lu Ying waited to receive Yan Shifan.
Yan Shifan stepped down from the carriage with help from two attendants. He was short and fat with pale skin. His neck was naturally short, and being overweight made three layers of double chin hang down, completely covering his short neck. He looked like he had no neck at all—the whole person resembled a round, white dumpling.
Lu Ying thought: Thank goodness my second brother-in-law doesn’t look like his father Vice Minister Yan, but like his grandfather Elder Yan.
Yan Song had been a handsome man in his youth and remained a thin, distinguished old gentleman in his old age.
After Yan Shifan alighted from his carriage, Lu Ying approached and performed family courtesy, addressing Yan Shifan with family terms: “Uncle Yan, you’ve arrived.”
It was already dark. Yan Shifan turned his left face toward her, using the lantern light to examine Lu Ying.
Looking at people sideways naturally violated etiquette, but Yan Shifan had weak vision in his right eye, nearly half-blind, so when looking at people he unconsciously closed his right eye and used his left eye.
Yan Shifan smiled: “Oh my, not seeing you for half a year, little Ying has grown into a big… young man.”
He had originally wanted to say “young lady,” but since Lu Ying was disguised as a man, it wouldn’t be appropriate to reveal her female identity publicly. He accepted her as Lu Bing’s illegitimate son Lu Ying.
Lu Ying smiled: “Yes, Uncle Yan looks younger and younger.”
Yan Shifan had recently acquired a beautiful concubine and was feeling rejuvenated in his old age, so Lu Ying’s words pleased him greatly. However, he hadn’t come today to hear flattery from a junior: “Your father is harder to meet than the Emperor himself. He’s been very busy lately, not even going home.”
Yan Shifan’s face was as big as a basin and he cared greatly about face. Previously, Lu Bing would personally come to greet him, but today it was just a junior. Yan Shifan was naturally displeased.
Lu Ying maintained a smiling face, pretending not to hear the sarcasm, and made an inviting gesture: “Father has prepared good tea and is waiting for Uncle Yan.”
Yan Shifan entered the courtyard.
In the guest room, both Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia were peering through the window crack. They saw a rotund fat man walking on short legs while Lu Ying respectfully maintained a position half a shoulder behind him.
Wang Daxia widened his eyes and whispered: “Tsk tsk, Vice Minister Yan is truly a person from a book.”
Wei Caiwei looked at the “rolling ball” on the path and seriously doubted that Wang Daxia had eaten too much meat at dinner, so much that the meat had blocked his vision, causing him to say such things: “A person from a book? Vice Minister Yan? Are you sure?”
“Person from a book” was used to describe someone extremely beautiful. Her fourteen-year-old deceased husband was both flirtatious and shameless, and somewhat—to use Tieling dialect—cheap and annoying. She hadn’t expected that besides these “excellent” qualities, he was also blind.
Wang Daxia nodded seriously: “Yes, Vice Minister Yan is a person from a book—it’s like Wu Dalang from ‘Water Margin’ has walked out of the pages.”
“Water Margin” was written in the early Ming period and became wildly popular throughout the Ming Dynasty. It was once a banned book, but couldn’t be stopped from being loved by everyone from officials to common people. Eventually it was unbanned and became the best-selling storybook. The story of Wu Dalang, Pan Jinlian, Wu Song, and Ximen Qing was most widely circulated. Wu Dalang, naturally deformed and short and fat, was called “three-inch nail” and was known to all.
Hearing this, Wei Caiwei couldn’t help but laugh, covering her mouth while lying on the windowsill. Wang Daxia’s humor lightened her sadness.
Seeing her change from tense to happy, Wang Daxia felt very proud: See, I told you she likes dashing, understanding, witty, and humorous handsome young men like me. How could that old-fashioned Lu Ying, who can’t even fart after three beatings, catch her eye?
Wang Daxia’s self-healing ability was extraordinary, and he immediately recovered his usual confidence.
Yan Shifan entered the study and was almost “killed” by the cool air inside.
It was incredibly cool. Two large water tanks full of ice piled into small mountains weren’t enough—there were also several ice basins in the corners, sparkling like an ice and snow world.
However, Yan Shifan was a big fat man who feared heat, so he quite liked this temperature.
Lu Bing, sitting in a rose chair, supported himself on the table and barely managed to stand up on his own strength: “Dong Lou, you’ve come to see me.”
Standing alone was currently Lu Bing’s limit. He needed help walking or he would fall.
Yan Shifan’s courtesy name was Dong Lou.
Seeing Lu Bing’s sickly appearance, Yan Shifan was startled. The white flesh on his cheeks bounced like a basin of jelly not yet cut into strips: “Dong Hu, what’s wrong with you?”
Lu Bing’s courtesy name was Wenming, and his alias was Dong Hu. Since both had the character “Dong” (east), Yan Shifan usually called his in-law “Dong Hu” to show intimacy.
“Serve tea,” Lu Bing said as he sat down, sighing: “Getting old—drinking and staying up late makes the body very tired. Today I also insisted on drilling troops under the scorching sun and ended up with heatstroke. It’s not life-threatening, just makes the body feel weak and powerless. Afraid of worrying the family and His Majesty, I haven’t spread this news and am recuperating at the office until I recover.”
Yan Shifan smelled a faint scent of Agastache, confirming Lu Bing’s words weren’t false.
Lu Ying said: “Father originally planned to greet Uncle Yan at the gate, but the night air is humid and hot, so I stopped father. Please forgive us, Uncle.”
Yan Shifan waved his hand: “Given the circumstances, health comes first. Why worry about etiquette? You’re a filial child. Dong Hu, while official duties and social obligations are important, you can’t work yourself to death like this. You’re just over fifty, His Majesty needs you, and there are many days ahead—you must take care of your health. With my body, I rarely go out in summer, afraid of suffering from the heat. Heatstroke can kill people too.”
“Your two sons Lu Yi and Lu Cai are still young and can’t help you yet, but this daughter of yours—” Yan Shifan pointed at Lu Ying, “—is skilled in martial arts, a heroine among women, superior to many men. Leave training ground drills to the young people.”
Lu Bing said: “I understand. I won’t be stubborn anymore. At fifty, one must accept age.”
Changing the topic: “Summer is hot and Dong Lou rarely goes out. What brings you to see me today?”
Yan Shifan said: “Recently, some people at court have submitted memorials crying injustice for Ding Rukui, wanting to overturn his case.”
Ding Rukui was the perfect scapegoat Yan Shifan had found for his father Yan Song, to take the blame for Yan Song. If Ding Rukui was innocent, then the guilty one would be Yan Song.
If Yan Song fell, when the skin is gone, how can the hair remain attached? The Yan family and all the Yan family’s dependents would fall too. That’s why Yan Shifan, who usually stayed home all summer, would brave the heat to seek out Lu Bing.
Lu Bing said: “Ding Rukui was formerly Minister of War after all. Some people at court were promoted by him and remember his kindness. Such memorials come every year, but His Majesty always keeps them and doesn’t respond—nothing to worry about. Dong Lou shouldn’t overthink it.”
Yan Shifan sighed: “He was sentenced to death ten years ago. Lucky for him, every year during review his name wasn’t on the list—escaping His Majesty’s red brush year after year. Sentenced for ten years and still not dead—I’m afraid of what might happen if this drags on.”
It was me who did it—I pay money every year to put his file at the bottom so His Majesty never gets to it. Lu Bing said: “He’s imprisoned here with me, aged beyond recognition—people die naturally, not necessarily by execution.”
Hinting that Ding Rukui would die of old age in prison.
Yan Shifan whispered: “Could it be earlier—” He made a throat-slitting gesture with his fingers: “People do die—besides execution and old age, they can also fall ill.”
This wasn’t about falling ill—clearly he wanted Lu Bing to find a way to kill Ding Rukui.
Lu Bing understood perfectly and said: “His Majesty reviews death row prisoners every year and never uses his red brush to cross out names. What does this indicate? His Majesty doesn’t want him to die. I dare not go against His Majesty’s wishes.”
Between in-laws and the Emperor, of course the Emperor was supreme.
Yan Shifan said: “This year there are especially many memorials about Ding Rukui. This hidden danger is growing. I’m used to preparing for rainy days and solving obstacles for father. Dong Hu, I want to see Ding Rukui with my own eyes. Is that possible?”
Lu Bing was greatly alarmed inwardly but remained calm outwardly: “We’re in-laws—such a small matter is nothing. It’s just that the imperial prison’s death row is too chaotic and unsightly. I’m afraid it might offend your distinguished person. Ying’er, go make arrangements quickly.”
Lu Ying understood: “Yes, father.”
Lu Ying rushed to find Wei Caiwei: “Do you have any way to make a healthy person look half-dead?”
Author’s Note:
Caiwei: This kind of request too?