Lu Bing's five hundred cavalrymen surged forward, scooping up nearly half the water from the Goldfish Pond to quickly extinguish the fire.
"You see, we truly came to put out the fire."
After the fire was extinguished, Lu Bing casually took Lu Ying and Wang Daxia away. "Donglou, it's getting late, we won't disturb you further. Tomorrow I'll send a banquet to help settle your nerves."
Yan Shifan, after all his scheming, had unexpectedly stumbled in a gutter and been bested by a few juniors. Unable to confront Lu Ying directly, he called out to Wang Daxia, "Hey, didn't you say you wanted to abandon the darkness for the light and follow me? Why are you leaving with Donghu?"
The dangerous glint in Yan Shifan's eyes made Wang Daxia shiver. Wang Daxia looked at him as if he were a man-eating monster—even ghosts weren't as terrifying as Yan Shifan. How could he continue pretending to be a traitor? He shifted the blame to Lu Ying, saying:
"I've always held Vice Minister Yan in high esteem. Everything that happened tonight was forced upon me by Commander Lu. I had no choice. It's not easy for me to find work—when you eat someone's rice, you have to follow their orders, right? I'm just a nobody, not worth mentioning. Vice Minister Yan has countless talented people around him—one more or less makes no difference. I'd better stick with the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Wang Daxia dared not become Yan Shifan's enemy. Once targeted by him, it meant certain ruin and destruction!
Though Yan Shifan could do nothing about Lu Ying, couldn't he deal with a mere Wang Daxia?
"I happen to be short of someone with your talents," Yan Shifan said to Lu Bing. "I wonder if Donghu would be willing to part with him?"
Then Yan Shifan pointed at the bald man disguised as a monk—the fake Masked Wu. "I'll trade him for Wang Daxia."
This was the man Yan Shifan had tried to lure without success, then killed and replaced.
Yan Shifan's meaning was clear: a life for a life. To avenge Masked Wu, he would exchange him for Wang Daxia.
Wang Daxia trembled in fear and quickly hid behind Lu Ying.
Lu Ying shook her head at her father and whispered, "Wang Daxia is my subordinate in life and my ghost in death."
Lu Bing said, "No trade. Let's each return to our own homes. Though he's useless, I've grown accustomed to him."
The scorned Wang Daxia nodded frantically. For the first time, he felt that being called useless was the finest praise in the world—useless was wonderful!
"Then..." Yan Shifan pointed at Wei Caiwei, who had set the entire courtyard ablaze. "What about her? Will you trade her?"
Before Lu Bing could answer, Wang Daxia, who had been cowering behind Lu Ying, jumped out and shielded Wei Caiwei, saying:
"I've heard Vice Minister Yan has a house full of beautiful concubines, each one a stunning beauty. Why bother with a plain-looking woman like Doctor Wei? Besides, she's a widow—fated to bring misfortune to her husbands. Anyone who gets involved with her is doomed. Vice Minister Yan should take care of your health."
Plain-looking, husband-killer, doomed... Wei Caiwei heard this and once again felt the urge to castrate him.
Lu Bing said, "Donglou, let's keep our affairs between ourselves and not involve these juniors. They know nothing—they simply do as I say."
Yan Shifan simply couldn't swallow this anger. Pointing at the Self-Rain Pavilion, he asked, "Donghu, could we speak privately?"
Lu Bing dismounted and said, "Since Donglou invites, how could I refuse?"
The two entered the Self-Rain Pavilion together, where the sound of falling rain drowned out their conversation.
Yan Shifan said, "I don't understand. You personally fabricated charges against Ding Rukui and had him imprisoned. So why do you bribe palace eunuchs every year to keep his case files buried at the bottom?"Having cleared the air, Lu Bing finally realized the breach had occurred within the palace—none of his trusted aides had betrayed him.
Since Yan Shifan was already privy to this secret, there was no further need for concealment. Lu Bing said, "Ding Rukui was sentenced to death and imprisoned in the Imperial prison solely to take the fall for your father, Grand Secretariat Yan. Donglou, one should always leave room for reconciliation in all matters. Do not push things to the extreme. In light of his sacrifice for Grand Secretariat Yan, spare his life."
Yan Shifan found this utterly ridiculous. "You get to play the virtuous one while I bear the infamy. Even if I were to spare Ding Rukui, do you think he would show mercy to my father and me if he ever had the chance to regain power? Dream on. The Yan family has remained unshaken in court for over thirty years precisely because I never rely on others' leniency. I intend to see this through to the end."
Yan Shifan spoke the truth. The Jiajing Emperor, having ascended the throne as a collateral relative after the Zhengde Emperor died without an heir, faced an unstable reign. To consolidate power, he frequently instigated political purges under pretexts like the "Succession Controversy," arresting scholar-officials who opposed him. Yet Lu Bing often secretly protected them, "never framing a single person, for which he was widely praised by court officials" (Note 1).
Lu Bing preferred to leave room for maneuver, never resorting to extremes. This was also his approach with Ding Rukui: he personally arrested him and sentenced him to death but provided covert protection and treated him with respect in prison.
"Donglou, why do you persist in this obstinacy?" Lu Bing shook his head repeatedly. "What is thirty years? Let me ask you: throughout history, which powerful minister or faction has remained unshaken forever? We have lived long enough to enjoy every luxury and honor imaginable. At over fifty, we have already lived our fill. If death comes tomorrow, so be it. But—"
He pointed toward Lu Ying, visible through the curtain of rain. "What about the children? If you won’t leave a path for yourself, at least leave one for them."
Yan Shifan retorted, "Haven’t I? I’ve long made arrangements for them. My eldest daughter married Kong Shangxian, the Duke Yansheng, and is now a dignified Duchess. Even if the Yan family were to be executed and our lineage extinguished, she would remain the Duchess. If she bears a son, the Kong bloodline will carry the Yan heritage. Her younger brother married your second daughter—he is your son-in-law. Would your Lu family abandon him in the future?"
"My eldest son married Lady Xu, daughter of the Duke Dingguo. The first Duke Dingguo was the brother of Empress Renxiao Xu. Since the main lineage of the Ming dynasty descends from Empress Xu, even if the Yan family falls, my eldest son can survive relying on his father-in-law’s family..."
Speaking of his children’s marriages, Yan Shifan grew somewhat proud. "I don’t mean to boast, Donghu, but the marriages I arranged for my children surpass those you arranged for your three daughters. I have long secured their future."
From the current perspective, Lu Bing’s children’s marriages indeed paled in status compared to Yan Shifan’s.
Lu Bing’s eldest daughter held the highest noble title as the wife of the heir to the Duke Chengguo. His second daughter married Yan Shifan’s second son, Yan Shaoting. His third daughter married the son of Grand Secretariat minister Xu Jie. Lu Bing’s two sons, Lu Yi and Lu Cai, were still young and not yet of marriageable age.Lu Bing said, "Donglou, you need to take a longer view. Didn't you just say you never place hope in others' tolerance? The goodwill you preserve isn't for yourself, but for your children's future. Yet now you're placing all your hopes on your in-laws' conscience? Isn't that still relying on others' mercy?"
Yan Shifan refused to believe it. "What? Are you saying you won't protect your second son-in-law?"
Lu Bing replied, "Our Lu family will naturally protect our own son-in-law, but I dare not trust other families. Take the Duke Yansheng's Kong family, whom you consider most reliable - do you think marrying your eldest daughter into the Kong family guarantees everything? Haven't the Kongs been involved in plenty of shady affairs? The Duke Yansheng is like a weathervane - when the Mongols destroyed the Song dynasty, the Kongs immediately surrendered and kept their title. When the Yuan dynasty fell, they promptly pledged allegiance to our Ming dynasty and remained Dukes Yansheng."
"How can we rely on such opportunists? If the Yan family truly falls someday, Kong Shangxian will undoubtedly remain Duke Yansheng, but whether your eldest daughter remains his wife - that's far from certain."
"Impossible!" Yan Shifan slammed the table. "The previous Duke Yansheng, Kong Zhengan, was a man of his word. When Kong Zhengan was betrothed to the daughter of Jianchang Marquis Zhang Yanling, the Zhang family fell from grace. Zhang Yanling was imprisoned for thirteen years and executed at the Western Market, yet Kong Zhengan still honored the marriage contract and married Lady Zhang, fathering the current Duke Yansheng Kong Shangxian. With such an honorable father, the son surely won't be worse. How could he divorce his wife just because her family falls from power?"
Jianchang Marquis Zhang Yanling was the maternal uncle of Emperor Zhengde and the younger brother of Grand Empress Dowager Zhang. Since the Jiajing Emperor had ascended the throne precisely because Emperor Zhengde died without an heir, both the Grand Empress Dowager and the Jianchang Marquis had constantly suppressed and restrained the Jiajing Emperor after his accession, attempting to make him obey the Zhang family and become their puppet. But how could the Jiajing Emperor be easily controlled?
Jianchang Marquis Zhang Yanling was himself a man steeped in wickedness, whose greed and cruelty rivaled even Yan Shifan's. After consolidating his power, the Jiajing Emperor ordered his milk-brother Lu Bing to gather evidence of Zhang Yanling's crimes, strip him of his nobility, and imprison him in the Imperial prison - though Lu Bing indeed kept Zhang Yanling well-treated and prevented his death.
Only after Grand Empress Dowager Zhang's death did the Jiajing Emperor become completely unrestrained, issuing an edict for Zhang Yanling's execution at the Western Market.
The marriage arrangement between Lady Zhang and Duke Yansheng Kong Zhengan had been made during the Zhang family's peak. After Zhang Yanling's execution, everyone expected Kong Zhengan to find excuses to break the engagement and marry elsewhere. Yet Kong Zhengan still honored the marriage contract and married Lady Zhang, which became widely praised at the time.
As the Jiajing Emperor's milk-brother, Lu Bing had witnessed the entire process of the Zhang family's rise from arrogant dominance - so powerful they even disrespected the Jiajing Emperor - to their decline, with titles stripped, properties confiscated, imprisonment in the Imperial prison, and public execution.
Truly, he had seen the Zhang family build their towering mansion, then watched it collapse.
Thus Lu Bing saw through the vanity fair of officialdom and developed strong crisis awareness. His efforts to protect imprisoned scholar-officials were all about accumulating goodwill widely, leaving a potential escape route for future generations.The Yan family was indeed formidable, standing firm for over thirty years without falling. But back in the day, the Zhang family remained influential throughout both the Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns, spanning more than forty years without decline—because Emperor Hongzhi had no concubines in his harem, sharing a lifelong monogamous bond with Lady Zhang, who bore him his only son, Emperor Zhengde. As maternal relatives spanning two dynasties, the Zhang family naturally enjoyed far greater glory than the Yan family.
Hearing Yan Shifan’s unwavering trust in the current Duke Yansheng, Lu Bing shook his head repeatedly. "Even the finest bamboo can produce rotten shoots. Now that you, Donglou, hold power and influence, your son-in-law the Duke naturally treats you with reverence, even gifting you the Kong family’s Goldfish Pond Villa to reside in. Yet one can know a person’s face but not their heart. Rather than pinning your hopes on the Duke’s character, it’s better to accumulate favors yourself to use for your children in the future. Let it go—at your age, how can you not see the simplest truth that no flower stays red for a hundred days?"
Lu Bing continued, "Donglou, you just mentioned how Kong Zhengan married Lady Zhang as promised, which became a celebrated tale. Why? Precisely because such gentlemen who do not abandon those from fallen families are exceedingly rare, hence it becomes a beautiful story. If most people acted this way, it would be too commonplace—how could it be celebrated? The vast majority in this world are snobbish; character is the least reliable thing to gamble on. Donglou, do not place too much trust in the Duke."
Yan Shifan was a treacherous minister who harmed loyal officials, a prodigious talent, a trusted official of the emperor, and the son of Chief Grand Secretary Yan Song.
But he had another identity: a father.
In this role, he undoubtedly excelled, educating all his sons to become accomplished men who married daughters of noble families; his only daughter was also arranged the best possible fate—to become the wife of the Duke Yansheng.
Yan Shifan gave the very best to his children.
Yet his in-law Lu Bing spoke bluntly, advising him not to trust his in-laws too much, for relying on others is never as secure as relying on oneself.
Yan Shifan sank deeply into contradiction.
Seeing that he seemed to be taking it to heart, Lu Bing said, "You are an exceedingly clever man. Everything I just said comes from the bottom of my heart as your in-law, without a single false word. Consider it carefully. Know when to let go; do not push things to extremes—if only for the sake of your children."
Author’s Note: Yan Shifan has set up quite the flag hahaha, and raising flags in the story is precisely for the sake of slapping faces later.
Note 1: "The Biography of Lu Bing in the History of Ming," as mentioned in that question—everyone should still remember it, right?
Additionally, this story is not strictly based on history. For example, Lu Bing’s fifth daughter and Yan Shifan’s second daughter respectively married the two sons of the Ministry of Personnel Vice Minister Wu Peng, making the Lu and Yan families sisters-in-law, indicating that Lu Bing and Yan Shifan had a rather solid relationship.
However, these two daughters serve no purpose in the plot—not even as NPCs—so Lan Zhou has written them out. Also, Lu Bing’s fourth wife, Zhao Shi, did not die in real history and lived a long life, but due to space constraints and lack of plot relevance, she was simply written off without making an appearance.
In short, this is largely fictional, merely borrowing the shell of historical culture and social context. Everyone must not take it as history—it would mislead you.
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