There's such a good thing?
Wang Daxia avoided looking directly at Lu Ying, pretending to be profound as he held his Embroidered Spring Blade, gazing up at the bright moon—no, wait, there was no moon tonight, not even stars. The night sky was like a piece of black cloth draped over everything.
Wang Daxia's attempt at composure failed. Stubbornly staring at the dark sky as if he were blind, he said, "Commander Lu, tell me more. I'll consider it."
Lu Ying said, "My family has been pressuring me to marry, but I have no intention of getting married. Now there's a family that wants to force an engagement on me without my consent. I definitely won't marry them. At worst, I'll run away and wander the world. But running away is the last resort—I don't want to leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard because—"
Lu Ying paused, looking north as if she could see through the darkness to someone, and said, "Because Ding Wu is still undercover in the White Lotus Sect. He vowed not to return until the White Lotus is destroyed. I'm his handler, maintaining secret contact with him, providing coordination and support. If I leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard to wander the world, what will happen to Ding Wu? I can't trust anyone else with his safety."
Wang Daxia pointed at himself, "Not even me?"
Lu Ying said, "I don't trust others, including you. Do you think you're reliable? You nearly died a hundred times today, living day to day without any sense of your own limitations. You're not up to it."
Lu Ying's blunt words left Wang Daxia thoroughly ashamed. There were things he was good at, but this wasn't one of them.
It was true—he could barely protect himself now, relying on Lu Bing and Lu Ying for protection. He was in no position to safeguard Ding Wu.
However, Lu Ying's dedication to Ding Wu and her sense of responsibility ignited Wang Daxia's passion. Forgetting his feigned calm, he thumped his chest and said, "Commander Lu would go through fire and water for her subordinates. I admire that. Whatever you command, I'll follow."
Lu Ying said, "Starting tonight, our relationship will be like mine with Doctor Wei back then—appearing to be an ambiguous couple. We don't need to openly admit it. We just remain silent and let others speculate we're lovers. This way, my family won't force me to marry into the Sun family, and you won't be targeted for revenge by Jing Wang's faction and lose your life. No one would dare touch Lu Ying's man."
Lu Ying, Wei Caiwei, and Wang Daxia—three people who could form three pairs of rumored couples. Two were the kind ordinary people imagined, while the third was what nobles who knew Lu Ying was a woman believed to be a romantic relationship.
Wang Daxia froze again. Thankfully, his Embroidered Spring Blade was hanging at his waist; if it had fallen, it might have chopped off his foot.
What? Am I really this lucky with women?
I lent money to an enemy state's lady to redeem herself, sheltered the White Lotus Sect Saintess when Wei Caiwei first arrived in the capital pretending to be a young widow—just the two of us alone in one room—then later set off fireworks with the emperor's new favorite, Lady Shang, in the bridal chamber, and now my beautiful superior is forcing a scandal on me?
It turns out being too handsome is also a mistake. The common man is innocent, but treasuring jade becomes his crime.
It's all because I'm too handsome—such a bother.
Wang Daxia wallowed in self-pity until Lu Ying urged, "Just give me a straight answer—yes or no? I won't force you."Wang Daxia scratched his head, "It's not impossible, but..." But I have a three-year agreement with Wei Caiwei. The marriage certificate is already written and hidden in the secret locket hanging on my chest.
Lu Ying had saved him many times, and Wang Daxia owed her too much. Besides, Lu Ying was doing this for Ding Wu's safety. Wang Daxia's heart was torn, and he said, "I need to ask someone about this. If she agrees, I agree. Can I give you my answer later?"
Lu Ying nodded, "Alright, but before you give me your reply, you must cooperate with me. Pretend to care about me, but don't make it too obvious. Leave some room, understand?"
Wang Daxia said, "I understand. I just need to act as usual, since whenever I have time, I praise you, flatter you, and butter you up for promotions and wealth." Thinking about it, pleasing a superior was quite like love—blind and passionate.
"But..." Wang Daxia asked, "How long do we have to keep up this act?"
Lu Ying replied, "Let's get through this hurdle first. I have no interest at all in that Sun family, the top scholarly family of the Ming imperial examinations. If I marry into their family as a daughter-in-law, given the Sun family's traditions, they would certainly forbid their daughter-in-law from working outside and force me to resign from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Who would then assist Ding Wu?"
"Once Sun Xiang finds another woman to marry, I'll find an excuse to dump you."
Wang Daxia asked, "What excuse?"
Lu Ying looked him over, "With someone like you, full of flaws and always causing trouble, finding an excuse is hardly difficult, is it?"
Wang Daxia thought to himself, I'm not completely worthless. There are women who appreciate me, you know!
Thus, the two agreed to cover for each other.
As they parted, Lu Ying kicked the long staff on the ground into the air, twirling it into a starting stance, and said, "Since we're here and brought weapons, let's spar before leaving."
Woman, what kind of devil are you? We're pretending to be ambiguous, and you still want to fight me?
Just as Wang Daxia was about to refuse, Lu Ying's staff swung toward him. Reluctantly, Wang Daxia drew his sword to defend himself.
With staff and sword in hand, the two actually started fighting on the Moon-Inviting Terrace in the dead of night.
Below the terrace, Lu Ying's maid and Wang Daxia's servant were stunned.
After their sparring session, the two walked side by side down the Moon-Inviting Terrace and bid farewell. Lu Ying tossed the staff to Wang Daxia, "You're injured, get some rest early."
You knew I was injured and still fought me! Wang Daxia caught the staff, "I'll always remember the agreement I made with Commander Lu tonight and won't go back on it."
Lu Ying said, "In my home, you don't need to call me Commander Lu. You can call me... Yingniang."
Wang Daxia: "Goodnight, Yingniang." As soon as he said it, goosebumps rose all over his body. Thankfully, the night was dark, and the lantern light was dim, so his reaction went unnoticed.
Lu Ying: "Goodnight, Daxia."
The two went their separate ways. After walking a few steps, Lu Ying stopped, turned around, and instructed the servant, "Young Master Wang doesn't eat cilantro. Tell the kitchen not to put cilantro in any dishes."
That night, these words reached Li Yiren's ears. Li Yiren tossed and turned, unable to sleep, wishing she could shake Lu Bing awake and ask in detail how far these two children had progressed.
But Lu Bing seemed to be just recovering from a serious illness, so Li Yiren didn't want to disturb him. She kept her thoughts to herself and ended up suffering from insomnia that night.
At the same time, unable to sleep well was Huang Jin, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, Supervising Eunuch of the Moon Palace on Qionghua Island.Huang Jin dozed off in the side hall and asked his subordinate, "Has His Majesty ordered someone to carry Lady Shang out yet?"
Ever since the Renyin Palace Incident nineteen years ago, when the Jiajing Emperor was nearly strangled in his sleep by palace maids using white silk cords, he had never allowed any consort to stay overnight by his side after summoning them for companionship.
Each time, it was a case of "love 'em and leave 'em"—after intimacy, he would order the favored consort to be wrapped in a quilt and carried away. For nineteen years, the Jiajing Emperor had slept alone.
But this night seemed to be an exception. After Lady Shang received his favor in the bath chamber, the Jiajing Emperor, still unsatisfied, carried her to the imperial bed and never called for his new favorite to be removed.
This was highly unusual.
Thus, Huang Jin dared not be careless, asking about it even during his nap.
His subordinate replied, "He hasn’t called for her removal, but he did call for water once."
The old candle had actually been lit twice!
Huang Jin yawned and said, "Arrange more nourishing foods for tomorrow’s meals. Keep an ear out for any movement, in case His Majesty calls for someone." Your Majesty, please take it easy—after all, you’re getting on in years.
Yet, until daybreak, the Jiajing Emperor never called for Lady Shang to be carried away, spending a full night with a woman for the first time in nineteen years.
The next day, Lady Shang was enfeoffed as a Beauty, gaining the Jiajing Emperor’s exclusive favor, outshining all the other beauties in the six palaces. Among three thousand consorts in the harem, all his affection was concentrated on her alone.
**The night was short, and the sun rose high—from then on, the emperor no longer… ahem, anyway, the Jiajing Emperor had already neglected court sessions for over thirty years.
Of course, all this came later.
That night, there was still someone unable to sleep: the unlucky Prince Jing, who had just received orders to proceed immediately to his fief in Anlu, Hubei.
At this moment, Prince Jing secretly ordered Eunuch Wei to deliver chests of gold to Yan Shifan’s residence.
Under surveillance by the Eastern Depot, Prince Jing was confined to his mansion and unable to step outside. The Eastern Depot had already stationed itself at Prince Jing’s residence, urging the household to pack quickly and move to Anlu, Hubei, as soon as possible.
Naturally, Prince Jing was unwilling to spend his life as a mere feudal prince. So, he sent Eunuch Wei to bribe Yan Shifan, seeking his advice on how to regain the emperor’s favor.
Yan Song and Yan Shifan, father and son, had always supported Prince Jing. However, after hearing from Eunuch Wei about how Prince Jing’s lust had ruined his efforts that day, Yan Shifan was deeply disappointed. "There are countless beauties in the world. If you want beautiful women, my residence has plenty—take your pick. Why must you covet the emperor’s woman?"
Eunuch Wei opened all the chests of gold. "Only Vice Minister Yan can save our prince now. We beg for your guidance to find a way out."
At least a thousand taels of gold.
At the sight of the gold, even Yan Shifan’s blind eye seemed almost restored to sight. First, for the sake of the money; second, the Yan family had always supported Prince Jing, while their political rivals, such as Xu Jie and other officials, backed Prince Yu. If Prince Yu were to make a comeback and be designated heir, the Yan family would fall.
The Yan family and Prince Jing were already bound together on the same boat, unable to extricate themselves. Their fates were intertwined: glory for one meant glory for the other, ruin for one meant ruin for both. Besides, Prince Jing had sent so much gold.
Yan Shifan pondered for a moment and said, "It’s not that there’s no way to make amends. It’s never too late to mend the fold after the sheep are lost. Although Prince Jing has lost the emperor’s favor this time, His Majesty has long been displeased with Prince Yu as well. With both sons successively falling out of favor—six of one and half a dozen of the other—and the emperor having only two surviving sons and no grandsons, the future heir must be chosen between Prince Jing and Prince Yu.""If, and I mean if, Prince Yu were no more, Prince Jing would become the sole heir. By then, if Prince Jing feigns remorse, the Emperor would have no choice but to forgive him—after all, he’d be the only son left. The Emperor surely wouldn’t select a collateral branch or a non-blood-related prince to inherit the throne, would he?"
Eunuch Wei’s eyes lit up, making a throat-slitting gesture. "Vice Minister Yan’s plan is truly brilliant! This humble servant will deliver the message at once."
"Wait." Yan Shifan stopped him. "Are you foolish? If Prince Yu is targeted now, the greatest suspicion would fall on Prince Jing. Don’t act rashly. The Emperor is still in good health and has just initiated an Imperial Concubine Selection—what if a new young prince is born? We must avoid arousing the Emperor’s suspicion toward Prince Jing. Tell Prince Jing to calmly proceed to his fief in Hubei. Should anything happen to Prince Yu in the future, being a thousand miles away would clear him of suspicion."
"Then, find an opportunity to eliminate Prince Yu and frame the recently tumultuous White Lotus Sect for it. With no living witnesses, once Prince Yu dies, Prince Jin would be the eldest. Even if a new favorite consort bears a young prince, he would pose no threat to Prince Jing’s position..."
Author’s Note: Nessundorma! Nessundorma! Thank you all for your support. This chapter includes 100 red envelopes as gifts.
The Jiajing Emperor himself ascended the throne by sheer luck—he was originally a prince from a collateral branch. It was only because the Ming imperial lineage had been decimated by two generations of reckless emperors who left no heirs that the throne passed to him.
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