A Ming Dynasty Adventure

Ding Wu lay on the tattered mat and shouted, "Get back here!"

Wei Caiwei replied without turning her head, "I told you, I'm not some stray dog you can summon and dismiss at will."

Furious and humiliated, Ding Wu was about to shout again when Wu Dianyong quickly stopped him. "Boss Ding, say no more. Doctor Wei is already angry, and with words flying back and forth, it's turned into an argument. Right now you're imprisoned and need her help to get out. Just bear with it."

Hearing this, Ding Wu fell silent.

The jailer came to unlock Wu Dianyong's shackles, and Wu Dianyong hurried over to feed Ding Wu a steamed bun.

Ding Wu shook his head. "I have no appetite. You eat it."

Having driven Wei Caiwei away in anger, there was no telling when the next decent meal would come. With an uncertain future, Wu Dianyong didn't stand on ceremony and ate it himself. "I hate to say it, but right now it's not her begging you—it's you begging her. When you ask for help, you need to act like it. Lower your pride. You can settle all scores after you're out of prison."

Ding Wu said, "It's not that I don't understand that, but women are different from other people. Women need to be tamed—give them ten slaps, then offer a sweet date. You have to belittle them, make them look down on themselves, make everyone around them seem worthless, make them believe they can't live without you and that no one else can be trusted. Only then will they follow you wholeheartedly. If you're too nice to them, they won't trust you."

Ding Wu spoke with confidence. "Don't worry. She's always been like this. She says no, but when she suffers the slightest grievance from a man, she'll come running back to me, crying and calling me 'big brother,' begging for my forgiveness, wanting to return to the days when we only had each other."

"It's been like this for years. She's long been tamed into my plaything. After the couple who raised me died, I've actually been relying on her to support me these past few years, and she still respects me as her big brother. I have to maintain the dignity of an elder brother. If I lose face, she won't trust me anymore."

Wu Dianyong thought to himself: Tsk tsk, this is the pinnacle of mooching—mooching with an attitude. Impressive, truly impressive.

Wei Caiwei left the cell, her expression of disdain immediately shifting to one of melancholy as she went to find Lu Ying. Lu Ying invited her to sit and ordered someone to bring her the ginseng tea her father often drank for health. "You're still sick—I shouldn't have called you here. But this 'bitter flesh' scheme can't be performed without you. Ding Wu's beating would be in vain otherwise, so I had Wang Daxia bring you here to deliver the prison meal, putting on a show for Wu Dianyong."

Wei Caiwei's cold hadn't yet healed, leaving her somewhat haggard. The rosy glow on her cheeks was entirely from rouge. She took a sip of the ginseng tea, and her complexion eased slightly. "This 'bitter flesh' scheme is too risky. He knew I would oppose it, so he only told me after the beating. By then, it was a done deal—my opposition was too late. I had no choice but to play along. Seeing him beaten to a pulp, I—"

Ding Wu's suffering pained Wei Caiwei. "I was heartbroken, but I still had to argue with him. I know Ding Big Brother's temperament—once he makes a decision, he's as stubborn as a rock and won't turn back. Commander Lu, he's already sacrificed so much. Don't let it be in vain."

Lu Ying's heart ached, but her expression remained calm. "We of the Embroidered Uniform Guard will naturally do our utmost to cooperate with his 'downfall and disgrace.' This is only the beginning. There are even more painful trials ahead for him. I hope you're prepared.""And there's more?" Wei Caiwei set the ginseng tea heavily on the table. "He doesn't know martial arts, his injuries have already reached their limit. Any further torture will leave him disabled."

Lu Ying said, "It's not physical punishment, but a stab to the heart. I need you to prepare a medicine that will make Ding Rukui appear to die."

"What?" Wei Caiwei immediately stood up.

Lu Ying explained, "To gain the trust of the White Lotus Sect and Anda Khan, just the ruse of a bitter flesh plan and his fallout with you is far from enough. Ding Wu must lose his last hope of redemption completely, only then will his defection have sufficient justification. This is also a necessary measure to protect him."

"Either don't do it at all, or go all the way—it must be absolutely convincing. Lord Lu has already agreed and informed the Emperor. Since the Emperor didn't object, that means he consents. After Ding Rukui's feigned death, Lord Lu will send him far away to Yunnan, where he'll live under an assumed name, free from prison. Once Ding Wu succeeds in his mission, the Emperor will pardon Ding Rukui's death sentence, allowing father and son to reunite."

The reason Lu Bing agreed to this bold plan wasn't just because of Ding Wu's determination to destroy himself by joining the enemy, but also because of his own repeated strokes and deteriorating health—he could collapse completely at any moment.

Lu Bing was a man who prepared for rainy days. After his first stroke, he immediately had Zhang Tianshi select a burial site for him at Sanlitun, even building sacrificial fields and a sacrificial house nearby. This way, even if his family faced confiscation in the future, his descendants would have a place to shelter, as properties designated for ancestral worship were exempt from seizure.

Yan Shifan had also discovered his annual year-end trick of sparing Ding Rukui during death penalty reviews. Repeating the same tactic this year would likely prove difficult. But if Lu Bing were to die, what would become of Ding Rukui? Yan Shifan could easily have him killed.

However, Ding Wu proactively proposed the plan to destroy his own reputation, infiltrate the enemy camp, achieve merits, and redeem his father's crimes.

Regardless of whether Ding Wu would ultimately succeed, even if he failed later, at least Ding Rukui would have already "died," and wouldn't need to die again. Ding Rukui could escape prison and continue living, no longer threatened by Yan Shifan—because he would already be dead.

Weighing the pros and cons, the advantages clearly outweighed the disadvantages. So Lu Bing secretly memorialized the Jiajing Emperor. The Emperor deeply hated the White Lotus Sect that had nearly caused the Great Ming's restoration. Temporarily sacrificing Ding Wu's reputation and turning Ding Rukui—who had been languishing in prison for ten years as a useless piece—into a dead piece would cost the Ming nothing. It was a profitable deal, so the Jiajing Emperor naturally agreed.

Wei Caiwei hadn't realized the true cruelty of the plan lay here. She shook her head repeatedly, saying, "No, Ding Rukui would never agree to exchange his life at the cost of his son's."

Lu Ying said, "Wang Daxia is currently explaining this to Ding Rukui. To be frank with you, Lord Lu's current condition—his third stroke, half his body paralyzed—wasn't caused by a fall. We don't know how much longer he can hold on. If the worst happens... I don't have the power to protect Ding Rukui myself. After all, even my position in the Embroidered Uniform Guard depends entirely on Lord Lu's patronage."

Faced with such blunt honesty about their difficulties, Wei Caiwei slumped back into her seat. As a physician, she understood all too well how serious the consequences were of Lu Bing suffering three strokes in just three months. Once this powerful protector disappeared, people would abandon them when no longer useful. When that time came, not just Ding Rukui, but even Lu Ying and Wang Daxia might struggle to maintain their positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.In the palace, Chen Jingji was still studying at the Inner Study Hall, Consort Shangshou had yet to enter the palace as a maid, and Li Jiubao had not yet joined Prince Yu's household. Their future allies and protectors were still in their infancy, and it would be a long time before they grew into towering trees capable of providing shelter.

In the dungeon, Ding Rukui immediately objected upon hearing Wang Daxia's explanation. "No, I cannot trade my son's life and reputation for my own survival. I would rather remain here and await death in prison."

Wang Daxia was deeply conflicted, but as a son himself, he understood Ding Wu's desperate gamble. "I too have a father," he said. "My father has never shown me a kind expression, constantly ordering me around and belittling me. Even when I do well or when he acts in my interest, he always uses sarcastic words to put me down, as if he feels uncomfortable without scolding me. I've always found him exasperating."

"But if my father faced the same predicament as you, I would likely make the same choice as Ding Wu. To take that risk—how could I stand by and watch my father await death? If all goes well, we might even atone for past mistakes and snatch life from the jaws of death."

Wang Daxia spoke from the heart.

In his previous life, Wang Daxia had witnessed his father, Wang Commander, lose both legs in a White Lotus Sect explosion, suffer severe back burns, and bear sole responsibility for the incident. Stripped of his position and title, their family was evicted from their centuries-old ancestral home during a heavy snowstorm. One midnight, Wang Daxia watched helplessly as his father succumbed to untreatable wounds, dying in agony. Overwhelmed by grief and fury, he castrated himself and took the shortcut of becoming a eunuch to enter the palace—his original intent being to redress his father's failures and eradicate the White Lotus Sect.

In the tragic incident where Toutiao Alley was reduced to ashes overnight and four people burned to death, both Wang Commander and the then-Embroidered Uniform Guard's Thousand Household Chen bore responsibility. Thousand Household Chen once again bribed Yan Shifan, shifting all blame onto Wang Commander. The Wang family faced utter ruin, and Wang Daxia later exacted revenge on Thousand Household Chen, joining the movement to overthrow the Yan family and becoming a key figure in their downfall.

Such was the relationship between Wang Commander and Wang Daxia—seemingly perpetually on the verge of collapse, yet in reality, as solid as rock, no less profound than the bond between Ding Rukui and Ding Wu.

For his father, Wang Daxia had castrated himself in his previous life; in this life, Ding Wu defamed himself and joined the enemy, sacrificing his reputation.

Being a father is difficult, but being a son is no easier.

Just as Ding Wu had taken a perilous gamble in this life, Wang Daxia had done the same in his past life. Though the Wang family in this lifetime had not faced utter ruin, forcing him to resort to self-castration and desperate measures, old habits die hard. He naturally understood Ding Wu's difficult choice and admired his courage to seek rebirth through destruction.

Hoping for Ding Wu's plan to succeed swiftly, Wang Daxia volunteered to persuade Ding Rukui in the dungeon. "...If not for yourself, do it for Ding Wu's sake. Denied the imperial examinations and an official career, he calls himself a commoner and never speaks of it, but deep down, he is filled with regret."

Under Wang Daxia's persuasion, Ding Rukui finally agreed to cooperate in faking his death.

Meanwhile, in the prison cell, Wu Dianyong applied ointment to Ding Wu daily. Wei Caiwei's ointment possessed miraculous healing properties, and within ten days, Ding Wu could turn over and even take a few steps.

However, since their falling out with Wei Caiwei, she no longer delivered prison meals herself, entrusting Wang Daxia with only two jars of ointment and oral medications. Though Ding Wu's wounds healed rapidly, he grew thinner surviving on tasteless prison food without a drop of oil.Ding Wu wore the smug expression of someone trying to maintain appearances despite being humiliated, boasting to Wu Dianyong, "See? I told you she wouldn’t really abandon me."

Wu Dianyong, still counting on him to secure his own release, chimed in, "Boss Ding, your skill in managing people is truly admirable."

The next day, Wang Daxia arrived and ordered the jailer to unlock the cell. "The White Lotus Sect member who falsely accused you has retracted their statement. You’re innocent and free to go."

Ding Wu felt deeply wronged. "I told you I wasn’t guilty! But none of you would listen! I endured physical torment, wasted days in this prison, and ate food even dogs wouldn’t touch—and now it’s just over? Shouldn’t the Embroidered Uniform Guard compensate me somehow?"

Wu Dianyong hurried over and interjected, "And what about me? Sir Wang, you remember me, right? I’ve confessed everything I know. When can I leave with Boss Ding?"

Wang Daxia shot him a glare. "Your case requires Commander Lu’s approval. I have no say in it." He then handed Ding Wu a set of plain white mourning clothes. "Doctor Wei asked me to prepare these for you. Change quickly—your father has passed away. It’s time to see him off on his final journey."

Author’s Note: Ding Liye: I clearly delivered an award-worthy performance, yet all you care about is how big Banxia’s feet are... I can’t help feeling a bit resentful!