The Forbidden City, Palace of Celestial Favor.
Chen Jingji returned in a rain cape to report, "...Doctor Wei stayed at Kunning Palace for half an hour and has safely left the palace. Doctor Wei asked this servant to inform Consort Li that the Empress did not make things difficult for her, so there's no need to worry. Additionally, Doctor Wei said she explicitly told the Empress that harmony between both palaces benefits all, while conflict harms both. She hopes the two palaces can let go of past grievances and reconcile as before."
Li Jiubao sipped warm milk in silence. Reconciliation? Easier said than done! The Empress wanted her dead—how could she possibly let go so easily?
Chen Jingji asked, "How will Your Highness respond next?"
Li Jiubao replied, "We must continue the struggle; we cannot return to being soft targets. If the opponent is weak enough to crush directly, why bother with compromise and cooperation? How can one tolerate others snoring beside their bed? Only when we become strong enough to make the Empress fearful and uncertain of victory will she settle for second best and follow Doctor Wei's suggestion."
"Such is human nature. In this palace, it's survival of the fittest. Only when the other party cannot be chewed, swallowed, or digested will they truly be respected."
Li Jiubao's thinking closely resembled that of Chairman Mao five centuries later: "Peace begged for through peace will perish, while peace sought through struggle will endure." Peace doesn't come easily—one must first fight to a stalemate where neither side can eliminate the other, and continuing would mean mutual destruction, before true peace talks can begin.
As the heavy rain ceased and night fell, Li Jiubao, exhausted, retired early. The Longqing Emperor, having finished state affairs late at night, came to see the recently recovered Li Jiubao, hoping to sow his seeds again soon.
Having become thin as paper and still unable to serve the Emperor, Li Jiubao kept him company in conversation before summoning Lady Wei, who had recently been frequenting the Palace of Celestial Favor to massage her shoulders and legs, to play the flute for entertainment.
Seizing this opportunity, Lady Wei slept with the Emperor that very night. Over the following days, the Longqing Emperor repeatedly summoned her to his bed, showering her with temporary favor and promoting her to Consort Wei.
As palace attendants found tangible benefits in currying favor with Consort Li, they flocked to the Palace of Celestial Favor, leaving Kunning Palace nearly deserted.
Li Jiubao then recommended Consort Qin to the Longqing Emperor, who diligently cultivated this new field. Burdened with state affairs and desperate for heirs, the Emperor often found himself overstretched. Before visiting his consorts, he would invariably take the Red Pill.
Previously, Li Jiubao had advised the Emperor against taking such body-damaging drugs, but now she no longer cared. Since the Emperor didn't cherish her body, she saw no need to overly concern herself with the imperial health.
The Emperor wanted more children, and she had to satisfy him. After all, consorts were lining up to sleep with the Emperor, and Red Pills were plentiful—he could take them as he pleased.
Strangely enough, both Consort Wei and Consort Qin, recommended by Li Jiubao, became pregnant in succession! People began saying Consort Li possessed "pregnancy luck"—a blessed aura of fertility.
The Palace of Celestial Favor grew increasingly lively. Consorts knew that aligning with Consort Li offered opportunities to sleep with the Emperor, gain favor, and with good fortune, even bear children.
Besides consorts, eunuchs seeking promotion also sought to curry favor with Li Jiubao.
One day, Feng Bao, Chief of the Eastern Depot, presented Li Jiubao with a pearl garment made entirely of rare black pearls—priceless and perfect for summer, providing coolness and sweat absorption when worn.Li Jiubao casually handed it to Chen Jingji, "I'm too thin—wearing this feels heavy. Deliver the black pearl garment along with the Western Region honeydew melon that San Niangzi presented as tribute today to Doctor Wei's residence."
Accepting someone's gifts meant undertaking tasks for them—integrity as the foundation, reputation as the priority. In this regard, Li Jiubao bore a striking resemblance to Yan Shifan.
Li Jiubao summoned Depot Director Feng Bao.
Feng Bao was a veteran eunuch from the Jiajing era who, like Chen Jingji, was an outstanding graduate of the Inner Study Hall. He excelled in calligraphy and was erudite. Coming from humble common origins, Li Jiubao naturally admired learned individuals. She did not accept gifts from just anyone; she assessed people based on their potential for future promotion.
Li Jiubao held Feng Bao in high regard, considering him a talent of great utility.
After the death of Longqing Emperor's childhood companion Li Fang, Feng Bao was next in line to succeed him as the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, Supervising Eunuch. However, Chief Grand Secretary Gao Gong recommended Chen Hong, the Supervising Eunuch of the Directorate of Imperial Horses, leading to Feng Bao's regrettable defeat.
Later, Chen Hong proved incapable of restraining his arrogant subordinates. Particularly, one eunuch on official business in Nanjing falsely claimed the emperor was conducting an Imperial Concubine Selection in Jiangnan. This terrified many families in the Southern Metropolitan Region with unmarried daughters, prompting them to hastily arrange marriages on the streets through "groom grabbing" to evade the selection.
The wretched eunuch also extorted bribes from families with unmarried daughters, threatening to report their names for selection and extorting large sums of silver from wealthy households.
The defeated Feng Bao, as Chief of the Eastern Depot with extensive intelligence networks, immediately gathered evidence and secretly reported it to the Longqing Emperor. Enraged—as he detested anyone exploiting his name to plunder the people—the emperor executed the eunuch by decapitation. He also dismissed Chen Hong from his position as Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, Supervising Eunuch for supervisory negligence, banishing him to clean latrines at the Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing.
Feng Bao assumed that with Chen Hong ousted, it would finally be his turn to become the Supervising Eunuch.
Yet Chief Grand Secretary Gao Gong persistently disliked Feng Bao. Having previously recommended Chen Hong, he now put forward Meng Chong, the Supervising Eunuch of the Directorate of Imperial Provisions.
The Directorate of Imperial Provisions managed palace meals and was among the lower-ranking of the Twenty-Four Offices. Meng Chong had formerly been a cook, never studied at the Inner Study Hall, and his literacy was limited to recipe books. By convention, eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs had to be Inner Study Hall graduates, just as Grand Secretariat ministers had to be Hanlin Academy bachelors.
Nevertheless, Gao Gong preferred breaking protocol to promote a cook rather than recommend the fully qualified and experienced Feng Bao.
Since the Red Pills consumed by the Longqing Emperor's favored consorts were supplied by the cook Meng Chong, he enjoyed deep imperial favor. Gao Gong, being the emperor's tutor, carried significant influence. Thus, the Longqing Emperor approved Meng Chong as the new Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, Supervising Eunuch.
Feng Bao suffered another narrow defeat. Fuming with resentment, he refused to accept lifelong stagnation as Chief of the Eastern Depot. With Gao Gong blocking his path to advancement as chief minister, Feng Bao sought alternative avenues.
He turned his attention to Consort Li, the birth mother of the Crown Prince.
Firstly, Consort Li's recommendations carried weight—every consort she endorsed successfully shared the emperor's bed. Secondly, the Longqing Emperor had long consumed Red Pills with no one daring to dissuade him, and his health was already declining. Even if Feng Bao couldn't become Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, Supervising Eunuch during the Longqing reign, should the Crown Prince ascend the throne... Consort Li's influence would then become decisive.Feng Bao was well-versed in history. Throughout dynasties, regardless of how close a concubine-born crown prince had been to the legitimate empress—no matter how motherly and filial their relationship—once he ascended the throne, he would inevitably grow closer to his birth mother, the empress dowager, and heed her words more than those of the legitimate empress dowager.
Thus, weighing the pros and cons, Feng Bao was willing to place his bet on Consort Li rather than Empress Chen, who never interfered in state affairs.
Feng Bao gifted Li Jiubao a black pearl robe. In return, Li Jiubao summoned him and presented him with a jade ruyi scepter. Ruyi, meaning "as you wish," symbolized that she had already discerned Feng Bao's intentions, and thus, the two formed an alliance.
Li Jiubao believed that Feng Bao, who oversaw the Eastern Depot, was well-informed and would surely prove useful in the future.
Delighted with the jade ruyi, Feng Bao immediately offered Li Jiubao a "pledge of loyalty." "Your Highness," he said, "please warn Doctor Wei that Gao Gong is about to 'present evidence' against the Lu family. Advise Doctor Wei to tell her husband, Commander Wang, to sever ties with Vice Commander Lu as soon as possible to avoid being implicated."
The Eastern Depot was responsible for monitoring civil and military officials, making it even more well-informed than the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Moreover, Feng Bao already regarded Gao Gong as a political rival and had intensified his surveillance accordingly.
Li Jiubao was startled. "Is this true? Why would Gao Gong target the Lu family?"
Feng Bao replied, "Absolutely true. Gao Gong is rallying his faction to gather evidence to impeach the Lu family. He deeply resents the former Grand Secretary Xu Jie. Their rivalry once left both sides wounded, forcing them into retirement and returning to their hometowns. Now that Gao Gong has been reinstated by the Emperor and has risen again as the Grand Secretary, he is determined to thoroughly deal with his old rival Xu Jie."
"The Lu family is one of Xu Jie's in-laws. Back when the head of the Lu family, Loyalty Earl Lu Bing, served as the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he arrested many people and sent them to the Imperial prison. Some have long held grudges against Loyalty Earl. Now that the earl has long passed away, the only promising member of the Lu family in this generation is Vice Commander Lu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. However, she is still young, focused solely on her duties, and lacks any factional influence in the court. For Gao Gong to settle scores with the Lu family and eliminate Xu Jie's influence, a mere vice commander like Lu Ying is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—how could she possibly contend with the Grand Secretary?"
"This time, the Lu family is surely finished. This servant knows that Your Highness is close to Doctor Wei and that her husband, Wang Daxia, has long followed Vice Commander Lu, serving diligently. But when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer. Given Gao Gong's ruthless methods, the Lu family is bound to fall. Warn Wang Daxia to withdraw immediately."
Knowing the urgency of the situation and having no time to summon Wei Caiwei into the palace for a detailed discussion, Li Jiubao immediately sent Chen the Agent out of the palace to Wei Caiwei's home to deliver the warning, urging Lu Ying to prepare a countermeasure.
Chen the Agent went to Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia's residence at Shichahai in the northern city, only to learn that the master of the house had left early for duty at the Imperial Guard Office, while the mistress had gone to the Ding residence to oversee renovations. Neither was home.
The Ding residence was located in the western city, an area densely populated by nobility. The craftsmen at the Ding residence informed Chen the Agent that Wei Caiwei had stayed there all afternoon and had just left, reportedly heading to the Imperial Guard Office to pick up her husband after his shift.
After much trouble, Chen the Agent changed course and went to the Imperial Guard Office, only to arrive a step too late. The guards at the gate said the couple had already returned home.
Chen the Agent thought to himself that finding the couple among the crowds on the streets would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Since he was already at the Imperial Guard Office, he might as well inform Vice Commander Lu first.
Chen the Agent asked, "Is Vice Commander Lu here?"
As a workaholic, Lu Ying naturally stayed behind to work overtime and had never left on time.Chen Jingji met with Lu Ying and directly stated his purpose, "...I've delivered the message. Please be cautious in all matters, Commissioner Lu, and make preparations early."
Upon hearing this, Lu Ying no longer had the heart to work overtime. After thanking Chen Jingji, she hurried back to the Lu residence.
At the Lu residence, Lu Ying's birth mother Li Yiren, third brother Lu Yi and his wife Madam Wu, fourth brother Lu Cai and his wife, along with the family of five consisting of her second sister's husband Yan Shaoting who had sought refuge with his in-laws six years ago, were all gathered for dinner together.
Seeing Lu Ying, everyone felt as if the sun had risen from the west—Lu Ying actually wasn't working overtime and had returned home on time.
Li Yiren promptly instructed servants to add a bowl, chopsticks, and a chair beside her. "Come sit here. I'll have the kitchen prepare some additional dishes you like."
Watching her family enjoying this harmonious atmosphere, completely unaware of the impending crisis, a wave of sorrow washed over Lu Ying, bringing stinging sensations to her nose and eyes.
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