Yan Shifan was a very simple man—as long as you gave him enough money, he would get things done for you. If you didn't pay, he couldn't be bothered to lift a finger, no matter who you were.
Jing Wang was one of his own, but even he had to pay for Yan Shifan to offer strategies and act as his shady advisor. No money, no talk.
Yu Dayou was from the enemy camp of Xu Jie. When he was defeated in battle, Yan Shifan wanted to take the opportunity to have him killed. However, Lu Bing bribed him with a thousand taels of gold, and he immediately went to the palace to plead for Yu Dayou, getting his sentence changed from beheading to exile.
Yan Shifan operated on the principle of integrity; he would absolutely never take money and not do the job. He was an essential, god-tier tool for everything from murder and arson, to framing loyal officials, to getting people out of death row, to pleading for a prince in the fight for the throne.
Eunuch Wei returned to Jing Wang's manor to report, carrying Yan Shifan's ingenious plan. After hearing it, Jing Wang collapsed onto his throne. "So, I still have to go to that godforsaken place, Anlu in Hubei, to take up my fief? I don't want to go."
For the first twenty-three years of his life, Jing Wang had had a smooth journey, believing the position of crown prince was his for the taking. Unexpectedly, his lust had caused his downfall. He was caught by a nobody like Wang Daxia, and one wrong step led to another, even implicating his mother, Lu Jingfei.
Seeing Jing Wang so disheartened, Eunuch Wei quickly encouraged his master. "Although Anlu is remote, it is, after all, a place of imperial origin. It's not just any random fief. His Majesty lived in Anlu for fifteen years and has deep feelings for it, regarding it as his second home. (The Zhu family's ancestral home is in Fengyang Prefecture, the Central Capital.) Whenever Anlu suffers from natural disasters like floods, His Majesty issues decrees for tax exemption and does his utmost to provide relief."
"For His Majesty to send Your Highness to Anlu as your fief means he still holds high hopes for you. After you go to Anlu, you can put on an act of turning over a new leaf and bring blessings to your domain. Even from a thousand li away, His Majesty will still see your good deeds. Your Highness can slowly win back the Emperor's favor. When our Death Warriors who remain in the capital find a chance to eliminate Yu Wang, His Majesty will surely send for you to return from Anlu."
Eunuch Wei's comforting words about a promising future slowly revived Jing Wang, who found a sliver of hope. "Father Emperor won't let me into the palace, and Mother-Consort is under house arrest. I have hit rock bottom. However, Vice Minister Yan is right. The Emperor may despise me now, but he despises Yu Wang just as much. We're both in the same boat, so it's a draw. This all started because of Wang Daxia. He nearly ruined my future."
Jing Wang gritted his teeth. "I must have Wang Daxia torn to pieces to appease the hatred in my heart. When I make my comeback, I will also destroy that arrogant Lu Ying who insisted on protecting him. Isn't she proud and aloof, looking down on all men and thinking she's better than them? When I ascend to the supreme throne, I will take her into my harem, make her wear women's clothes again, and have her vie for my favor with the other women. She's just a woman, what's with the act of being a passionate hero?"
Eunuch Wei listened, obsequiously agreeing. "Wang Daxia is a minor figure; getting rid of him won't be difficult. But Your Highness, the unpleasantness between our manor and Lu Ying this time has offended Lu Bing. Lu Bing is usually impartial toward you and Yu Wang, treating you both equally and never showing his stance. The Emperor also values him highly. This servant advises Your Highness to apologize to Lu Bing. It is better to resolve enmity than to create it. We must not push Lu Bing into Yu Wang's arms."
Currently, between the two princes, Xu Jie's faction supported Yu Wang, while Yan Song and Yan Shifan supported Jing Wang. Jing Wang, the "west wind," had been suppressing Yu Wang, the "east wind." Now the tables had turned. Jing Wang, the west wind, was being driven off to Anlu in Hubei, making the west and east winds evenly matched. If Lu Bing were to support Jing Wang, it would be the first time the east wind would overpower the west wind.
As long as his lust didn't get the better of him, Jing Wang's strategic mind was decent enough. He said, "Lu Bing is Father Emperor's trusted confidant. He is loyal only to Father Emperor and will not get involved in the struggle for the throne. One of his daughters is married to Yan Shifan's son, and the other to Xu Jie's son. Isn't that just to maintain balance? That old fox won't side with Yu Wang just because Lu Ying and I are at odds. However, I must still guard against Yu Wang taking the opportunity to win him over. I can't leave the manor right now. Tomorrow, you will take lavish gifts to the Lu residence and apologize on my behalf."
Eunuch Wei agreed. Early the next morning, he visited the Lu residence. Lu Bing received him warmly, as if the conflict between Jing Wang and Lu Ying had not distanced him from the prince at all.
The autumn air in September was crisp and clear, perfect for climbing high to gaze into the distance. Lu Bing invited Eunuch Wei to stroll through the garden, and they went to Moon-Viewing Pavilion. However, they saw that someone was already on the pavilion. Lu Ying, dressed in women's attire, and Wang Daxia were drinking chrysanthemum wine and eating frost-defying spicy rabbit. Lu Ying seemed to have had a bit too much to drink; a crimson cloud graced her cheeks, her gaze was slightly unfocused, and the corners of her lips were curved in a half-smile.
Eunuch Wei had never seen such a gorgeously dressed and shy-looking Lu Ying, and he was momentarily stunned.
Seeing her father and Eunuch Wei approaching, Lu Ying quickly stood up to bow. She was used to wearing men's clothes, and now, walking in women's attire with a pair of high, boat-like platform shoes, she wobbled as if she were a naughty little brother who had secretly worn his older sister's clothes.
Lu Ying wore a gold gauze cap as thin as a cicada's wing, a red brocade jacket with intertwined peony patterns, and a green brocade skirt with a magpie-on-a-plum-branch motif. Underneath, she must have been wearing a horsehair petticoat, which made her skirt flare out like a lotus seed pod.
Horsehair petticoats had been introduced from Goryeo. During the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the harems of the Hongwu and Yongle Emperors had many consorts from Goryeo. They brought the puffy, umbrella-like horsehair petticoats to the Ming, where they became a sensation. Many ministers even liked to wear them under their robes to appear taller and more imposing.
When the lavishly dressed Lu Ying sat still, she looked every bit the part of a high-born lady. But her usual posture, whether walking, sitting, or lying down, was that of a man, and her cover was blown the moment she moved.
Now dressed as a woman and dragging the heavy, puffy horsehair petticoat, she tried her best to walk like a maiden, keeping her legs together and taking small, mincing steps. The result was a bizarre sight, like a green penguin waddling down the steps.
As she stepped off the last stair, Lu Ying's platform shoe caught on her wide hem, and she nearly fell. In that critical moment, she instinctively grabbed the arm of Wang Daxia, who was beside her. With practiced ease, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. "Careful!"
Wang Daxia steadied Lu Ying, and the two exchanged a smile. Wang Daxia's face was still bruised, but it couldn't hide his handsome features. Lu Ying, in her women's clothes, looked like a beauty as long as she wasn't walking. Standing side by side, they looked like a perfect couple.
"Ahem!" Lu Bing truly couldn't bear to watch anymore and let out two soft coughs. That's enough, you two!
The moment Wang Daxia had wrapped his arm around Lu Ying's waist, Lu Bing had wanted to tear him apart with his own hands.
From this day forward, Lu Bing began his daily tripartite self-reflection: Why did I recruit this scourge into the Embroidered Uniform Guard? What's so good about him? Is it too late to regret it now?
"Eunuch Wei," Lu Ying and Wang Daxia bowed in unison, as if the life-and-death struggle on Jade Flower Islet yesterday had never happened.
Their attitude was clear: as long as we're not embarrassed, you're the ones who should be.
A thunderbolt struck Eunuch Wei's mind: No wonder Lu Ying repeatedly risked her life to save Wang Daxia yesterday! She killed more than a dozen of Prince Jin's guards like a desperate woman. It was all to save her lover!
A woman is a woman, after all! Lu Ying was no exception. Like a moth to a flame, she would do anything for love, paying any price to save Wang Daxia!
That explained it. How could there really be a superior officer who would fall out with a prince, stain her hands with blood, and repeatedly enter perilous situations just to protect a subordinate?
So, it was because of love.
Lu Ying said, "I won't disturb Father and Eunuch's elegant pastime. I will take my leave."
Wang Daxia said, "This subordinate takes his leave."
The two descended from Moon-Viewing Pavilion. Going down the hill in a puffy skirt and platform shoes was much harder than going up. The flared skirt obstructed her view. As Lu Ying clumsily made her way down, Wang Daxia frequently reached out to support her, preventing her from falling.
Love truly could change everything. Lu Ying, who only ever wore men's clothes, had actually put on a dress for Wang Daxia.
After returning to Jing Wang's manor, Eunuch Wei recounted everything he had seen to the prince. "...Our Death Warriors cannot touch Wang Daxia yet. Given Lu Ying's relationship with him, she will surely protect him to the end. It's not worth breaking a jade vase just to kill a rat."
Jing Wang had been fantasizing about ascending the throne and taking Lu Ying into his harem. Now that illusion was shattered. Lu Ying and Wang Daxia were a couple!
A sneer appeared on Jing Wang's face. "Lu Ying is eighteen this year, isn't she? She's already an old maid, yet she's fooling around with a pretty boy four years her junior. How shameless."
Jing Wang conveniently forgot that he was twenty-three and had used a telescope to spy on palace candidates who were, on average, only fourteen years old—nine years his junior.
Those with filthy minds see filth in everyone. Jing Wang said, "That wanton woman Lu Ying must have already taken Wang Daxia into her bed. I have no interest in picking up another man's leftovers. When I ascend to the great throne in the future, I will ensure that wretched pair, Lu Ying and Wang Daxia, die a horrible death."
Eunuch Wei advised, "Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? The Death Warriors raised by the manor should not be wasted on an ant like Wang Daxia, lest we alert the enemy. Eliminating Yu Wang is the priority."
And so, thanks to the rumors of his romance with Lu Ying, Wang Daxia narrowly escaped a fatal ordeal.
The Forbidden City, the Inner Palace.
The master of the Inner Palace, Lu Jingfei, fell from power overnight and was confined to the Palace of Celestial Favor. The Jiajing Emperor decreed that Consort Wenjing would take charge of the Inner Palace.
Consort Wenjing had no children and a gentle, honest temperament (at least on the surface). She had always kept to herself in the palace, never trying to curry favor with Lu Jingfei when she was in power, and lived her days in peace.
The Jiajing Emperor chose her precisely because she had no children and no attachments, so she would not be biased or protective. Her placid nature meant she would not be jealous of the newly favored Beauty Shang.
Consort Wenjing did not disappoint. After receiving the phoenix seal from the Jiajing Emperor, she immediately took action. She had Yu De Palace cleaned up and arranged for Beauty Shang to live there, sending her only the best of everything and calling her "sister" with great affection.
Shang Qinglan was new to imperial favor. Like a delicate begonia blossom, she could not withstand the storm and felt some physical discomfort, so she summoned her old acquaintance Wei Caiwei to examine her.
Wei Caiwei applied a cooling, anti-inflammatory ointment and ordered a palace maid to inform the Recorder of court lady that Beauty Shang could not attend to the emperor for at least three days. After three days, her condition would be reassessed.
Shang Qinglan had an easy-going personality. After the medicine was applied, she couldn't lie still in bed and excitedly pulled Wei Caiwei along for a tour of her new residence.
After settling the emperor's new favorite, Consort Wenjing began to arrange for the palace candidates in the Palace of Gathered Elegance. The Jiajing Emperor's verbal edict was that all candidates were to remain in the palace. Consort Wenjing first arranged for the nine injured candidates to be housed in the Palace of Earthly Honor, ordering the palace female physicians and imperial physicians to consult and treat them well. Then, she met with the remaining thirty-nine candidates, her attitude kind and solicitous as she memorized each one's appearance and personality.
Next was the task of assigning the thirty-nine candidates. Not daring to make the decision herself, Consort Wenjing specifically requested the emperor's instructions. Since the two princes were still without heirs, for the sake of continuing the imperial line, some candidates should be sent to their manors to bear children and extend the imperial lineage. This was her duty as a stepmother.
The Jiajing Emperor grew angry at the mere mention of this. "There's no need for Jing Wang. He is about to depart for his fiefdom. He should be bringing blessings to his people, what's the point of taking so many women with him?"
Consort Wenjing now understood. None for Jing Wang, which meant she could send more to Yu Wang. In any case, many candidates had been selected this time.
But who to choose?
Consort Wenjing looked at the list of candidates. The nine injured ones were out of the question, so she had to choose from the thirty-nine healthy ones.
Consort Wenjing recalled the appearances of the thirty-nine candidates, and the first to come to mind was Li Jiubao. Li Jiubao's looks were the most outstanding, and her elegant and dignified temperament had left a deep impression on Consort Wenjing.
Li Jiubao was also Beauty Shang's roommate. According to Granny Song, the two were very close, like sisters.
But Consort Wenjing had navigated the palace for many years and knew the rules of the game. Now, Beauty Shang alone enjoyed the emperor's favor. With so few resources and so many to share them, it was impossible for any true sisterly affection to exist between women vying for favor.
Li Jiubao was so beautiful. The emperor, seeking novelty, might sleep with her once or twice. She wouldn't receive the same level of favor as Beauty Shang, but Beauty Shang would certainly be unhappy to have some of that favor diverted.
They were roommates. If I keep Li Jiubao here, Beauty Shang might misunderstand and think I'm jealous and deliberately using Li Jiubao to divide the emperor's favor.
I've just taken charge of the Inner Palace and need to win over the new favorite, Beauty Shang. I can't make an enemy right from the start. What if Beauty Shang whispers something in the emperor's ear? Wouldn't I end up just like Lu Jingfei?
Therefore, for the sake of peace in the Inner Palace, Li Jiubao had to be sent away.
And so, Consort Wenjing wrote Li Jiubao's name on the list of candidates to be sent to Yu Wang's manor.
The author has something to say: Fate has returned to the starting point of the previous life.
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