After the black scab on Lu Ying's right cheek from the cheekbone to the ear root fell off, the black centipede turned into a white centipede. Her skin was a healthy wheat color from long-term martial arts training and exposure to wind and sun, making this newly formed white centipede appear quite conspicuous.
Wei Caiwei took out the pigment she used to darken her complexion when disguising as a man, dyed the white centipede into a gray centipede with a fine brush, then mixed the pigment with her usual white lead powder to create a wheat-colored foundation. Handing Lu Ying the mirror after applying multiple thin layers with a powder puff, she said, "Take a look."
Lu Ying took the mirror and examined her face—it would pass casual inspection unless someone looked closely.
Wei Caiwei taught her the method of makeup application, "Be patient, apply multiple thin layers. Don't pile on too much at once, or it'll look like a mask."
Lu Ying asked, "What if I sweat? Will it turn into a mess?"
Wei Caiwei suddenly remembered it was summer. While the boat was cool and limited movement reduced sweating, once ashore, someone like Lu Ying who was constantly running around while disguised as a man in high-collared clothing would likely be exposed immediately upon going out.
Wei Caiwei nodded, "This can only fool Li Yiren at home. However, with you wearing this scar outside, someone will definitely report it to Li Yiren eventually. We can't keep it hidden."
Lu Ying picked up a handkerchief, dampened it, and wiped off the powder from her face. "Forget it, I'll have to face this sooner or later."
Wei Caiwei suggested, "When we reach the capital, have Wang Daxia escort you home first."
Lu Ying replied, "I need to report to Commander Zhu at the Imperial Guard Office first."
Wei Caiwei clarified, "That's not what I meant. Wang Daxia will go to the office with you. After you've both completed your report, he should escort you home and confess before Li Yiren that your facial scar resulted from his failure to protect you properly, and that he'll take responsibility for it."
"This way, Li Yiren will think that since your appearance is already marred, it would be difficult to find you another marriage match. With Wang Daxia showing such sincerity, the matter will be settled. You'll have at least two and a half years of peace."
At the mention of marriage, Lu Ying frowned. Pressures to marry were more troublesome than dealing with the White Lotus Sect or Japanese Pirates. Yet it was her own mother making these demands, and with her father gone, she couldn't push her mother to desperation—hence this last resort.
However... Lu Ying looked at Wei Caiwei, "You don't mind me using Wang Daxia as a shield, do you?"
Wei Caiwei felt somewhat guilty, "Why would I mind? I'm just his neighbor. This plan was something we came up with together. You're meant to be someone who strikes like an eagle across the sky—how could you be caged by marriage? You've just made dual achievements by dismantling the White Lotus Sect and killing Japanese Pirates. Your future is boundless. I hope Li Yiren will recognize your value and gradually change her perspective, rather than forcing you with threats of suicide."
Lu Ying's piercing gaze left no room for Wei Caiwei to evade, "What if—I'm saying what if—Li Yiren shows no change at all over these two and a half years, and immediately prepares the dowry for me to marry Wang Daxia once my mourning period ends?"
If there had been some subtle ambiguity between Wang Daxia and Wei Caiwei before, this Jiangnan trip had made their mutual interest obvious even to the blind.
Lu Ying wouldn't ruin this couple's relationship for her own future prospects, not even nominally. Besides, now when marriage was mentioned, her first reaction wasn't disgust or avoidance—another person's figure would surface in her mind, and this person was definitely not Wang Daxia.Lu Ying realized that she wasn't afraid of marriage itself, but rather afraid of spending her life with the wrong person. If it were him she'd be sharing her future with, marriage would no longer seem dreadful.
Wei Caiwei was caught off guard by the question. "Well... many things can happen in two and a half years. There's no need to cross the bridge before we come to it. We'll find a way."
Seeing Wei Caiwei's reaction, Lu Ying became more certain of her judgment. "You're right, I'm overthinking this. You and Wang Daxia have borne too much for me. I'll make it up to you both in the future."
Wei Caiwei said, "This has nothing to do with me. I only offered some advice. All the credit belongs to Wang Daxia alone."
Seeing Wei Caiwei stubbornly refusing to admit her involvement, Lu Ying didn't press further and smiled instead. "You're right. Wang Daxia's performance during this Jiangnan trip has been remarkable. Both General Qi and General Yu have praised him extensively. I'll detail his contributions to Commander Zhu. He should be promoted to battalion commander this time."
To become a fifth-rank military officer at fifteen through his own abilities! In this lifetime, Wang Daxia could ascend rapidly without resorting to self-castration. Wei Caiwei was genuinely happy for him.
While the two were discussing how to deal with Li Yiren, the lady of the Lu residence was too preoccupied with her own troubles to care about her fourth daughter's affairs: her second daughter had returned to her maternal home with her child, and her son-in-law Yan Shaoting had sent his wife's dowry chests and belongings along, clearly indicating a long-term stay.
After settling his wife and child, Yan Shaoting knelt and kowtowed to Li Yiren. "There have been some recent matters in my family. I entrust everything to your care, mother. I must return now."
Li Yiren knew exactly what was happening in the Yan family: her third son-in-law Xu Ying's father, Xu Jie, had mobilized censors at court to impeach Yan Shifan, listing three charges:
First, colluding with Japanese Pirates. Yan Shifan had conspired with the pirates, providing them with five thousand taels of gold.
Second, maintaining a private army.
Third, overstepping authority. Building a residence on land with imperial aura, suggesting rebellious intentions.
These three charges seemed somewhat laughable. Yan Shifan's major crimes—accepting bribes, openly selling official positions; framing loyal ministers, driving virtuous officials to death—were not mentioned at all. Yet the Jiajing Emperor had ordered the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard to thoroughly investigate.
This was significant. Previously, when Yan Song and Yan Shifan were impeached, the cases would eventually be shelved and forgotten, especially during the thirty-first year of Jiajing reign when Yang Jisheng, a ministry of justice official, listed ten crimes against Yan Song including "extorting bribes and selling offices, currying favor and gathering followers, envying the virtuous and jealous of the capable, secretly controlling censors, monopolizing favor and harming governance"—all with evidence. Yet Yan Song counterattacked, emerged unscathed, and the Jiajing Emperor even had Yang Jisheng executed.
But this time, with just three charges, the Jiajing Emperor was furious. First, citing Yan Song's failure to maintain family discipline and properly control his son, he ordered the esteemed chief minister to resign voluntarily.
Then, he handed the case to the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard for joint investigation. These two decisions already indicated the Jiajing Emperor's attitude toward the Yan family.
Yan Shifan never expected that the five thousand taels of gold he gave Luo Longwen to pave an escape route for the Yan family would instead become evidence handed directly to his opponents, destroying his own defenses.
Yan Shifan was filled with regret, having visibly lost weight. With the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard searching his study one day and his gardens the next, the Yan household was in chaos, everyone fearing for themselves, feeling as if their great mansion was about to collapse. Yan Shaoting had sent his wife and child to her maternal home to avoid the disaster.After Yan Song was forced to resign, according to the order of precedence in the Grand Secretariat, Xu Jie—the father-in-law of Li Yiren's third daughter—became the new Chief Grand Secretary.
It was a case of in-laws fighting in-laws, and doing so ruthlessly, to the death. Li Yiren was well aware of this but could do nothing. Previously, when her husband Lu Bing had chosen husbands for their daughters, he had explained that marrying their second and third daughters into the Yan and Xu families, respectively, was ultimately to protect the Lu family.
No matter how fiercely the in-laws fought, in the end, regardless of who emerged victorious, the Lu family would remain unharmed, and their daughters would be kept safe.
Li Yiren helped her second son-in-law, Yan Shaoting, to his feet and said, "Go back now. I will take good care of our daughter and grandson. No matter what happens in the future, our Lu family will always welcome you."
Li Yiren made it clear: her son-in-law could seek refuge with the Lu family, and the Lu family’s influence was more than enough to protect one son-in-law. However, aside from her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson, the Lu family could not extend their protection to the rest of the Yan family.
Yan Shaoting also knew that after his father-in-law’s death, the Lu residence had been on the decline. When he brought his wife and child to his in-laws’ home this time, he had held some hope. Yet Li Yiren’s seemingly comforting words shattered his illusions completely.
Suppressing his disappointment, Yan Shaoting bid farewell to his mother-in-law.
"Shaoting!" The second Lu daughter, holding her child, hurried after him. Their son had just learned to walk and, like his grandfather, was fair and chubby, utterly adorable.
As a husband, Yan Shaoting was quite good. The second Lu daughter had married from one prominent family into another. Unmarried, she had obeyed her father; married, she obeyed her husband. Her father, Lu Bing, had used his children’s political marriages to safeguard the family, but for the second Lu daughter, marriage was not a strategy—it was her entire life.
Others might see Yan Shaoting as the son of a treacherous official, but to her, he was simply her husband.
Yan Shaoting said, "The heat outside is intense. Take the child back inside. Once things at home settle down, I will come to fetch you."
With that, Yan Shaoting fled as if escaping. He bore the Yan surname, and at a time like this, he could not hide at his in-laws’ home. He had to face the challenges alongside his father and grandfather.
The second Lu daughter tried to chase after him, but carrying the child, how could she catch up? Li Yiren and the unmarried fifth Lu daughter stopped her. Overwhelmed, the second Lu daughter threw herself into Li Yiren’s arms and wept.
Sensing the tension, the child began to wail. The fifth Lu daughter took her little nephew to the garden to soothe him.
The second Lu daughter cried, "Mother, could you… could you… lend a hand to the Yan family?"
Li Yiren, after all, was a lady who managed the household and understood that some matters must never be touched. Given the emperor’s current attitude toward the Yan family, any involvement risked dragging the Lu family down as well. Steeling her heart, she replied, "How dare women interfere in court affairs? Rest assured, as long as the Lu family has food to eat, your little family will never go hungry."
The second Lu daughter sobbed, "If that’s the case, why did you marry me into the Yan family in the first place? Had I known I would suffer such parting pains today, I would have remained unmarried all my life, shaved my head, and become a nun for a life of peace and quiet."
Holding her daughter, Li Yiren felt both anguish and confusion. Wasn’t it a woman’s destiny to marry? Since she had to marry anyway, and at that time the Yan family was at the peak of its power, everyone had said it was an excellent match. Had they, as parents, made a mistake?
Faced with her daughter’s suffering, Li Yiren was powerless to help.The Second Miss Lu clutched Li Yiren’s hand as if grasping a lifeline. "Mother, please go and plead with Third Sister. She is a member of the Xu family—she must beg her father-in-law, Grand Secretary Xu, for mercy. All three charges against my father-in-law were exacerbated by Grand Secretary Xu’s influence. Please ask him to show leniency and spare my father-in-law."
Both were her own daughters, and Li Yiren found herself torn. "No, your sister is the Xu family’s daughter-in-law. How can she interfere with her father-in-law’s political stance? I cannot put her in such a difficult position."
The Second Miss Lu insisted, "Mother, how can you know without trying? Consider this my debt to her. Even Fourth Sister—that is, Lu Ying—such a strong-willed person, was persuaded by you to agree to marry. Please go and speak to Second Sister. Both are your flesh and blood—I beg you, Mother, to have pity on your daughter."
At this moment, Li Yiren truly understood how Lu Ying must have felt when she had pressured her with threats of suicide. It was like being trapped in a steamer—flames below, steam above—with nowhere to escape, no way out, and no solution in sight.
Author’s Note: The effects of risk hedging have arrived.
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