Rouge and Powder Shop, main store.
Ding Wu came to find his brother-in-law, urging him to tone it down. His flirtatious demeanor had already "successfully" caught San Niangzi's attention, who now wanted to meet this "remarkable woman."
The female undercover agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, disguised as the shopkeeper, blocked the doorway and whispered, "The 'boss' is here today." Wei Caiwei was presenting herself in male attire, while Wang Daxia played the role of the shopkeeper's wife.
Upon hearing that his sister had arrived, Ding Wu's stern gaze, originally meant to reprimand his flirtatious brother-in-law, softened. "Perfect timing. Let our family sit down and discuss this together."
Or rather, sit down and hold a criticism session for the brother-in-law, making sure his sister recognized her husband's true nature—he wasn't forced to dress as a woman; despite his protests of "Oh, there's no other way," he genuinely enjoyed dabbling in cosmetics!
Sister, you really need to keep your husband in check.
The female undercover agent stood guard at the door, refusing to let him pass, and stammered, "Well... absence makes the heart grow fonder. If it's not urgent, could you please wait outside?"
Wang Daxia had become a confidant to women both in public and private, exchanging makeup tips and discussing emotional issues. As the saying goes, one takes on the color of their company. The female agent sympathized with Wang Daxia's abruptly interrupted wedding leave and the couple's separation, naturally siding with him.
Ding Wu, twenty-nine years old, had never been in a relationship himself, nor had he witnessed one up close, but he understood the implication behind the female agent's words. He was itching to burst into the room and drag Wang Daxia out immediately. However... doing so would disrupt his sister's rare visit to Fengcheng, and he didn't want to spoil her mood.
Ding Wu's inner turmoil raged, torn between reprimanding his brother-in-law and caring for his sister's feelings. In the end, the latter prevailed—he was, after all, a soft-hearted person.
"I'll go upstairs for a cup of tea," Ding Wu chose the latter. As the tea grew weaker, the young couple remained busy and showed no sign of emerging. The longer he drank, the more unsettled he felt. He stood up to leave, planning to visit the White Lotus Sect for a game of chess with Li Zixin before returning.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs—Lu Ying had also been "invited" upstairs by the shopkeeper to wait.
Their encounter was awkward; both knew why the other had come upstairs for tea. Meanwhile, the couple who should have been feeling embarrassed were blindfolded and shamelessly engaged in all sorts of indescribable activities.
Ding Wu had been drinking black tea but immediately switched to Longjing, Lu Ying's favorite, using the act of boiling water and brewing tea to ease the tension.
With nothing to occupy her hands and no interest in the cosmetics on display, Lu Ying struggled to make conversation. "The snow in Fengcheng is really heavy," she remarked.
Ding Wu poured the tea. "It's like this every year, lasting until February. Sometimes it even snows in March."
They drank their tea, sinking into another awkward silence, both thinking in unison: Why aren't those two out yet!
Bored, Lu Ying picked up a walnut from the tray and crushed it barehanded with a crack. She focused on shelling walnuts, rubbing off the brown husks and placing the kernels on the plate. "Want some walnuts?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you."
Lu Ying's powerful fingers crushed walnuts effortlessly, while Ding Wu busied himself with boiling water and refilling tea—they had to keep themselves occupied to avoid the overwhelming awkwardness. Just as they were about to burst from all the tea and snacks, Wang Daxia and Wei Caiwei finally finished.
Wei Caiwei radiated contentment, while Wang Daxia's hair was slightly disheveled, a few strands falling over his forehead. His cheeks were flushed, his gaze drifting dreamily toward Wei Caiwei, and he occasionally broke into a foolish grin, like a mouse that had stolen some oil.Ding Wu couldn't stand watching any longer and cleared his throat lightly. "Your reputation has even reached San Niangzi, and she specifically asked to see you."
"I'm not going." Wang Daxia shook his head so vigorously that the hairpins in his bun nearly flew out. "Just tell her I'm sick." My wife is right here - how could I possibly go meet that woman I was rumored with?
Sure enough, the spring breeze vanished from Wei Caiwei's face, replaced by winter's chill. "You should indeed be cautious. You once generously paid her ransom - she must remember you well. She'd recognize you even if you turned to ashes."
Wang Daxia reacted as if facing a great enemy. "That's not true at all." He quickly changed the subject. "Commander Lu, the White Lotus Sect followers in Bansheng Land are facing food shortages. Sect Leader Zhao Quan gave most of their grain to Anda Khan. When Li Zixin led them to raid border towns for supplies, their entire force was wiped out. Now the White Lotus Sect members in Bansheng are starting to starve. Yesterday on the street, I saw sect followers begging to survive - when I gave them a handful of sorghum, they knelt in the snow and kowtowed over a dozen times. No one would humble themselves like that for a handful of grain unless they were truly desperate."
Lu Ying said, "That's precisely why I've come. The White Lotus Sect is fracturing due to food shortages. Their so-called 'join the sect to avoid disaster' nonsense is being exposed by hunger. The sect leader's authority is plummeting, and the followers' faith is collapsing. This is the perfect time to spread rumors in Fengcheng and Bansheng about 'leaving the sect to avoid disaster' - telling them that if they abandon the White Lotus Sect and return to their homeland, they can eat their fill this winter and avoid starvation."
"The northwestern border has seen continuous conflicts, leaving many fields abandoned and ownerless. I've petitioned the emperor to distribute these lands to sect followers who desert and return home for refuge. They could farm these unclaimed lands with no taxes for five years."
"While the sect leader can't save them, the court can save them from starvation and give them a way to survive. Faced with reality, I believe the White Lotus Sect's deceptive words will collapse on their own."
Ding Wu was utterly impressed with Lu Ying. "This is a brilliant strategy of cutting the ground from under their feet. This winter's famine is a crisis for Sect Leader Zhao Quan, but a great opportunity for us. It will help those deceived followers see the sect leader's true nature - how he'd rather let his own followers starve and freeze, reduced to begging in the streets, just to curry favor with Anda Khan. What kind of 'joining the sect to avoid disaster' is this? It's clearly 'joining the sect to encounter disaster'."
Wang Daxia said, "I'll immediately print leaflets in the secret room and distribute them secretly at night in Fengcheng and Bansheng Land. We'll spread this great news - that they don't need to beg in the streets or starve to death."
Ding Wu objected. No one understood the White Lotus Sect better than him. "Most followers are illiterate farmers and craftsmen. The upper and middle ranks of the White Lotus Sect don't go hungry - it's these illiterate commoners at the bottom who suffer from cold and hunger. Printed leaflets are useless - like making eyes at the blind. We need word of mouth, some catchy rhymes."
To mobilize the common people, we must follow the mass line. The message must be understandable even to illiterate peasants. Flowery language won't move people. Think of all the easily understood rhymes throughout history: "The Great Chu rises, Chen Sheng becomes king," "The blue heaven is dead, the yellow heaven shall reign; in the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to all," "Equalize nobility and commoners, balance wealth and poverty," "Don't say the stone man has one eye - when this appears, the world will rebel." They all started with simple, popular rhymes.These four individuals came from various social strata: Lu Ying from a wealthy and noble family, Ding Wu a fallen scion of an official household, Wei Caiwei a wandering physician among the common folk, and Wang Daxia a profligate young master. All were well-informed and experienced. They meticulously refined the wording late into the night, finally composing a ballad:
"The White Lotus Sect, devoid of conscience,
Toils all year yet starves with empty hands,
All grain goes to the Great Khan.
Return to the homeland, reclaim wasteland,
No worries for food or drink, surplus grain,
Five years tax-free, no tribute to pay."
With no obscure characters or allusions, it was plainer than opera lyrics, instantly understandable upon hearing.
The undercover agents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard split up, buying candies to coax street children into spreading the song first, then teaching it to homeless vagrants. A single baked naan could buy one mouth—within half a month, the ballad rapidly gained popularity and spread across Bansheng Land.
Hunger torments more cruelly than death, slicing slowly like a blunt knife, gradually harvesting lives. This ballad became the final lifeline.
The promised "join the sect to avoid disaster" proved an illusion. After a year of arduous farming, battling drought, digging wells day and night to irrigate fields, they still faced starvation—their grain gifted away by the sect leader.
Many followers awakened amid hunger, seeing through sect leader Zhao Quan's true nature. Families fled together, singing the ballad, seeking life-saving grain in their homeland.
Daily in Bansheng Land, followers who received no rations fled hunger. Households emptied one by one, the fifty thousand adherents rapidly dwindling. Sect leader Zhao Quan grew more panicked than ever, convening subordinates to discuss countermeasures—in desperation, he even summoned the most detested Ding Wu!
Zhao Quan asked his followers, "Recently, devotees abandon our faith and flee inside the passes. What strategies do you propose?"
Li Zixin, the White Lotus Sect's second-in-command, had his back sores healed by the divine medicine from the Central Plains physician (my sister's) gifted by Ding Wu, but psychological wounds remained. Learning from his previous failure of leading troops to seize grain—ending in total annihilation and bearing blame—he remained silent.
More action, more mistakes; less action, fewer mistakes; no action, no mistakes. This was Li Zixin's hard-won lesson from defeat. Look at Ding Wu—since joining the White Lotus Sect, he'd done nothing yet remained unscathed, even gaining San Niangzi's favor.
When Li Zixin stayed silent, Zhao Quan pointedly demanded his response, "You're the deputy leader. Propose a solution."
Li Zixin felt no urgency—after all, the three hundred households he'd deceived from his hometown had sufficient grain. These were his "inner circle," and he could support them with his capabilities.
Li Zixin said, "Ultimately, it's insufficient food that drives people away. Solve the grain problem, and followers will remain in Bansheng."
This statement was tautological—everyone knew grain was the issue. Controlling his temper, Zhao Quan pressed, "How do we solve the food shortage?"
Li Zixin replied, "Acquire some grain."
Zhao Quan: "How?"
"I don't know." Li Zixin spread his hands. "You're the sect leader, immensely powerful and well-connected. You'll surely find a way. I have faith in you.""What use is confidence? Can you eat it?" Unable to squeeze even a drop of oil from the slippery Li Zixin, Zhao Quan turned his target to Ding Wu. "Branch Leader Ding, our White Lotus Sect previously lent forty thousand dan of grain to Anda Khan. Now the sect is truly in dire straits—many farmers have fled due to starvation. Go ask Anda Khan for some grain back, so we can at least survive this winter. Only then will there be people to continue farming for Anda Khan come spring."
Ding Wu outright refused, "This... isn’t appropriate. The grain wasn’t lent out by me, so it’s not my place to ask for it back."
Zhao Quan said, "Ask San Niangzi to put in a good word. She’s kind-hearted and was once the sect’s Holy Maiden—she has a duty to protect the followers."
Ding Wu refused again, "San Niangzi is pregnant and should avoid stress. For her sake, Anda Khan didn’t even lead the southern hunting expedition himself this time. I dare not trouble San Niangzi; if anything goes wrong, I’ll lose my head."
Zhao Quan furiously overturned the table. "This won’t work, that won’t work—what use are you all?! Each of you must contribute one thousand jin of grain, to be handed over within three days for emergency relief. If you fail to deliver... I’ll convene the altar and publicly expel you from the White Lotus Sect. Don’t tell me you don’t have it—I know your backgrounds best. You’ve all amassed considerable wealth over the years; it’s time to give back to the Sacred Sect."
Zhao Quan was certain none of them had any way out—each was a collaborator, wanted by the Ming dynasty. The court might accept low-level followers, allocating them land, but it would never forgive those who guided Tartar armies to plunder their own hometowns.
As for Ding Wu, though he had never acted as a guide, his reputation in the Ming was even worse than the collaborators’.
After the meeting adjourned, Li Zixin asked Ding Wu, "Will you pay?"
Ding Wu replied, "If we pay, everyone pays; if we don’t, no one does. As the saying goes, the law doesn’t punish the masses. If none of us pay, the sect leader can’t expel us all from the Sacred Sect. He can’t sustain the entire White Lotus Sect alone. Besides, in terms of wealth, our combined resources don’t match the sect leader’s. If he won’t contribute and relies entirely on us, that’s unacceptable."
Three days later, Zhao Quan waited at the main altar to collect the grain. By nightfall, not a single grain had appeared.
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