How did Jin Ying transform into the esteemed Junjun of Anda Khan's Khanate Court? And how was she exposed by Ding Wu?
This story begins with the Embroidered Uniform Guard raiding two White Lotus Sect lairs in a single night.
After the sect leader Zhao Quan escaped through an underground passage, White Lotus Sect fishermen assisting his getaway put shoes on their hands and crawled on all fours to a fishing boat by the riverbank. They deliberately left two sets of footprints to lure Lu Ying and her team into chasing the fishing boat.
In reality, the sect leader never boarded the vessel. He immediately changed into commoner's clothes prepared in advance for his escape - wearing a bamboo hat and straw raincoat while carrying a night watchman's clapper. Disguised as a night watchman, he headed east from the Pool of Accumulated Water to a residential house beneath Desheng Bridge at Shichahai.
Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Northern City Military Command had deployed most of their forces around the Pool of Accumulated Water for their operation, there were few soldiers patrolling Shichahai. Disguised as a night watchman, Zhao Quan encountered no military checkpoints along the way.
Instead of knocking on the door, Zhao Quan went to the rear entrance and counted the blue bricks in the courtyard wall until he found a concealed movable brick. Activating the mechanism, a narrow passage barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways appeared in the wall. Removing his bamboo hat, Zhao Quan slipped through like an eel.
This courtyard was the former residence of Jin Ying, the Top Courtesan of Red Sleeve Brothel.
Jin Ying and her fiancé cousin were awakened in the middle of the night to receive Zhao Quan.
Jin Ying was the daughter of Zheheng Aha, chieftain of the Qilagute Tribe, and one of his consorts, Zhuo Luosi. "Zhuo Luosi" meant "Forest People" - they were once royal nobility of the grasslands who had intermarried with Genghis Khan's daughters, making their bloodline particularly prestigious.
Her fiancé was the son of the Ordos Tribe chieftain. Both tribes had sworn allegiance to Anda Khan.
While Central Plains customs permitted only one principal wife, grassland tribal chieftains could take multiple wives of equal status. Tribes frequently intermarried, so according to Central Plains kinship terms, Jin Ying and Duo Si were cousins who had been betrothed since childhood.
Jin Ying grew up in the Qilagute Tribe. Though her mother Zhuo Luosi died early, she received instruction from Central Plains tutors from childhood. Developing strong curiosity about the outside world, she refused to accept the fate of her sisters - becoming just one of multiple wives for some man. She yearned to see the world beyond the grasslands. Coincidentally, another of her father's consorts - who happened to be a daughter of Anda Khan - followed the White Lotus Sect and brought her to listen to the sect leader's sermons, urging her to "Join the sect to avoid disaster."
The White Lotus Sect, originating during the Southern Song Dynasty and continuing through the Yuan and Ming dynasties, maintained continuous followers despite repeated destruction of its main headquarters. Its ability to rapidly regain large numbers of adherents stemmed from its self-created scriptures and complete theoretical system for deceiving commoners, making it exceptionally effective at manipulating minds.
Promoting the concept of apocalyptic calamity represented the White Lotus Sect's most important method. "Calamity" referred to major disasters and cataclysms - apocalyptic tribulations and natural catastrophes. "Disasters" included warfare, famine, fires, plagues, and even difficult childbirths. The only way to confront these calamities, according to the sect, was to join the White Lotus Sect and dedicate oneself and one's wealth to it - this was the so-called "Join the sect to avoid disaster."
If followers survived great dangers, it was attributed to their White Lotus Sect membership. For example, Jin Ying's princess stepmother survived a difficult childbirth and believed the White Lotus Sect had saved her and her child's lives, thus becoming increasingly devout and introducing her favorite stepdaughter Jin Ying to the sect.
If followers died from illness or accidental deaths, they were declared insufficiently devout, having failed to avoid disaster.In short, any good fortune was attributed entirely to the White Lotus Sect, under the guise of "Join the sect to avoid disaster." If misfortune struck, it was always the fault of the followers themselves—due to their lack of piety—and had nothing to do with the White Lotus Sect.
Jin Ying, with her noble status and striking beauty, caught the attention of sect leader Zhao Quan, who sought to leverage her to expand the sect's influence beyond the Great Wall. He deliberately claimed she had a destined connection to the White Lotus Sect, insisting she carried the bloodline of the Supreme Old Mother, and thus appointed her as the White Lotus Sect Saintess.
The White Lotus Sect possessed its own divine cosmology, divided into three tiers. The first tier was the Supreme Old Mother, also known as the Goddess Nüwa. The Precious Scrolls recorded, "The Ancient Buddha appeared to stabilize heaven and earth; the Supreme Old Mother established the primordial beginnings." As Nüwa created humanity, she was also the creator of the world.
The second tier consisted of the Dipamkara Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Maitreya Buddha. These three were regarded as envoys sent by the Supreme Old Mother, i.e., Nüwa, to save humanity. Zhao Quan, the sect leader, arrogantly proclaimed himself the reincarnation of Dipamkara Buddha.
The third tier included figures from Buddhism, Daoism, and even Confucius from Confucianism, as well as mythical characters like Sun Wukong from operas and novels—all relegated to this level of deities.
Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of Buddhist, Daoist, or Confucian teachings could see the absurdity and ludicrousness of the White Lotus Sect's three-tiered divine hierarchy, which crumbled under the slightest scrutiny.
Yet, for the vast majority of illiterate commoners at the bottom rung of society, the sect's doctrines were straightforward and aligned with their imaginings and comprehension of the divine realm. Thus, no matter how fiercely the imperial court suppressed and persecuted them, followers remained steadfast, perpetuating the sect's existence.
Having received a proper education from childhood, Jin Ying naturally dismissed such nonsense as the "Nüwa bloodline" or "joining the sect to avert calamity." She had no interest in the position of White Lotus Sect Saintess, but she could not resist the temptation of having a legitimate reason to see the world beyond.
As a woman of the grasslands, her status was comparable to that of livestock—mere property of the tribe. By becoming the White Lotus Sect Saintess, Jin Ying could serve both the sect and Anda Khan, traveling thousands of miles on missions to spy on the Ming dynasty, thereby delaying her marriage. She refused to end up like her elder sisters, wedded off early to bear children.
At fourteen, Jin Ying arrived at the capital's Red Sleeve Brothel. With a mesmerizing performance of the Sogdian Whirl Dance, she captivated the entire audience and became the Top Courtesan, embarking on her career as a female spy. Her wedding was postponed again and again, until her fiancé from the Ordos tribe could tolerate it no longer and repeatedly went to the White Lotus Sect's headquarters in Fengcheng to demand his betrothed's return.
The Ordos tribe wielded significant power, tracing its lineage back to the era of Genghis Khan of the ancient Golden Family. After Genghis Khan's death, his relics were enshrined in eight white tents—the pronunciation of "white tents" being "Ordos." The Ordos family had guarded these spiritual tents for generations, renowned as the guardians of Genghis Khan's spirit.
Anda Khan, as a descendant of the Golden Family, relied heavily on the support of the Ordos tribe. To placate them, he pressured Zhao Quan to recall his granddaughter Jin Ying immediately.
Caught between these two pressures, Zhao Quan had no choice but to send a Pigeon Post, instructing ** Hall—the madam of the Red Sleeve Brothel—to fabricate a scenario of selling Jin Ying's virginity. This would allow Jin Ying to redeem herself, leave the White Lotus Sect, and hastily return to marry.
Both Jin Ying and the madam were acting out the cruel farce of a ruthless brokeeper forcing the Top Courtesan into prostitution. However, the naive Wang Daxia was unaware of this! What Jin Ying had initially uttered as a jest—a longing for rescue from the brothel life and a feigned desire for freedom—Wang Daxia took at face value. He sold his deceased mother's dowry fields and borrowed money to redeem Jin Ying.The fiancé from the Ordos tribe, worried that the sect leader would find another excuse to delay, traveled thousands of miles to the capital with him to personally take his fiancée away, wanting no further complications—though the steppes did not value female chastity as much as the Central Plains, the fiancé did not want Jin Ying working in a brothel, even as a courtesan who didn’t sell her body!
Thus, the fiancé and the sect leader arrived in the capital almost simultaneously. The fiancé went to Shichahai to find his fiancée Jin Ying and repay the Wang family the redemption money for her freedom. The sect leader, meanwhile, went to the Myriad Goods Trading Company on Toutiao Alley, planning to return with firearms the company had recently smuggled out piecemeal from Wang Gong Factory.
They agreed to travel back to Fengcheng together after completing their tasks. Unexpectedly, the sect leader was targeted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, trapped like a turtle in a jar, and only he managed to escape.
The sect leader sought refuge with Jin Ying and the others, immediately preparing the prearranged Pheasant Robe, farewell letter, and poison for a messenger to deliver to the Red Sleeve Brothel at the Pool of Accumulated Water, ordering the palace to commit suicide. This served two purposes: to sever a limb to save the body, preserving the White Lotus Sect, and to protect Jin Ying’s special status as a county princess of the Khanate Court.
When the deafening explosion echoed at the Pool of Accumulated Water, all those in the know were silenced, and the sect leader knew their group was safe.
The next day, wanted posters for the sect leader were plastered all over the city. But Zhao Quan, disguised as a coarse maidservant, left the city with Jin Ying and the others—the fiancé had entered the city posing as a Western Regions merchant caravan, possessing fully authentic travel documents, so their departure was unimpeded.
Just as the sect leader smoothly exited the city, the Embroidered Uniform Guard were still searching for him in a needle-in-a-haystack style within the capital, unaware that the biggest fish had long since slipped away.
Upon the caravan’s arrival in Fengcheng, the sect leader returned to the White Lotus Sect’s headquarters and resumed his role as leader, simultaneously issuing a kill order for the traitorous Branch Leader strategist Wu Dianyong, who had betrayed the sect. A heavy bounty was announced: whoever killed Wu Dianyong would receive a thousand taels of silver and inherit the position of Branch Leader.
About a month later, someone finally accepted the kill order and brought Wu Dianyong alive to the White Lotus Sect headquarters.
It was none other than their acquaintance, Ding Wu.
Though news of Ding Rukui’s death from illness in prison, Ding Wu being suspected of belonging to the White Lotus Sect, his destitution after being abandoned by all, and his mysterious disappearance just before repatriation had reached the White Lotus Sect in Fengcheng, the sect leader initially remained skeptical of the defector Ding Wu.
It was only when Wu Dianyong furiously cursed Ding Wu for being untrustworthy, using him as a patsy, leveraging his multiple hideouts to escape to Fengcheng, only to burn the bridge and betray his friend for personal gain, that the sect leader believed Ding Wu.
Because the defector Ding Wu had relied on Wu Dianyong’s last-resort skills and endured great hardships to reach Fengcheng. Like Sun Wukong’s journey for scriptures, without undergoing eighty-one tribulations, his “sincerity” in defecting would have been insufficient.
Moreover, Ding Wu was the son of the former Minister of War, Ding Rukui. Such a person betraying the Great Ming to join the White Lotus Sect also demonstrated the sect’s persuasive influence. Thus, the sect leader executed Wu Dianyong, using his head to pay tribute to the spirits of the hall and other sect members in heaven, appointed Ding Wu as the new Branch Leader, and brought him to the Khanate Court to claim credit from Anda Khan.
Ding Wu’s defection was undoubtedly a sharp slap to the Great Ming’s face. Anda Khan warmly welcomed Ding Wu, bestowing upon him an official position, a residence, and servants.
Ding Wu knelt in gratitude for the rewards. But upon leaving, he saw Jin Ying entering Anda Khan’s grand tent!Seeing Ding Wu's astonished expression, Sect Leader Zhao Quan proudly revealed Jin Ying's background and her past as a former White Lotus Sect Saintess. "...After the Saintess withdrew and returned to the mortal world to prepare for marriage, you immediately became the new Branch Leader. Our White Lotus Sect is teeming with talent and flourishing endlessly."
Ding Wu was horrified and promptly wrote a secret letter about the matter, instructing the Embroidered Uniform Guard's hidden stakeout in Fengcheng to deliver it immediately to the capital.
Upon reading Ding Wu's secret letter, Wang Daxia felt as if he had been struck hard from a distance. At first, he instinctively denied it: "Impossible! Could it be that they look alike? Or perhaps they're twins? Yes, that's how stories are written—they must be twins separated in childhood."
But Lu Bing's response brought Wang Daxia back to the harsh reality: "Her name is Jin Ying, which actually means 'Golden Eagle.' Eagles are tools used by grassland hunters for hunting. They are hatched from eggs and domesticated from a young age—a process called 'taming the eagle.' A well-trained eagle is released to hunt, and after the hunt, it returns to rest on its master's shoulder, showing absolute loyalty."
"Jin Ying was the Saintess who helped the White Lotus Sect's Hall gather intelligence. As the Top Courtesan of the Red Sleeve Brothel, she has obtained countless pieces of intelligence from the Ming Dynasty over the years. However, due to her special status as a Junjun, she only sold her charm, not her body. Her so-called request to borrow money from you to redeem herself and start anew was merely an excuse to return and fulfill her marriage contract."
"She was an eagle hunting for intelligence, yet you lent her money to buy her freedom. If you hadn't joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard and we didn't know you well, we might have suspected you of colluding with foreign forces or secretly joining the White Lotus Sect."
Whether it was colluding with the enemy or joining the White Lotus Sect, either charge was enough to warrant the confiscation of his family's property and the execution of his clan. Unknowingly, Wang Daxia had narrowly escaped death. While feeling fortunate, a sense of shame from being deceived and humiliated washed over him like a bucket of cold water—he had almost brought about his own destruction.
Seeing him in this state, Lu Bing refrained from further criticism and said, "I believe in you. You originally acted out of kindness to save a fallen woman. Who would have thought it would be like a farmer encountering a snake? Fortunately, the snake didn't have time to bite before we drove it away. Remember this lesson: doing good deeds and accumulating virtue is commendable, but you must first understand the other party's background. I'll cover for you this time, but there must not be a second occurrence. This must be your first and last mistake of this kind."
Author's Note: Anda Khan (borrowing a line from Journey to the West: "If I, Old Sun, call your name, dare you answer?") roughly translates to "Anda." With that explanation, isn't it easier to remember? Anda Khan is simply a tribal alliance leader named Anda.
Additionally, in the previous chapter, Chen Mama appeared. My regular readers know what this means—in the Ming Dynasty, sanitary pads were called "Chen Mama." I didn't consider new readers and failed to add a note below the text, which was my oversight. So, I've added annotations in both this chapter and the previous one to help everyone understand the plot.
Ming Dynasty · Feng Menglong's Tale of Two Heroes: The Boatman's Message: "[Minor Antagonist] There are also two headscarves. [Offstage] They're gone too; they were used as Chen Mama."
Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan* Chapter 65: "Twisting open the third drawer... there were also two or three 'Guangdong affairs,' two pieces of 'Chen Mama,' and a white silk pouch."
Jin Ying infiltrated Ding Wu, and everyone is infiltrating each other.
OpenNovel