The Imperial Guard’s Revenge
Extra Chapter 138 Supreme Power
In the third month of the 26th year of Jiajing, spring had arrived. The grass was growing, and orioles were singing. It was the best time of the year.
But in the capital, the atmosphere clashed abruptly with the bright spring scenery. In the Western Sixth Palace, a eunuch hurried across the threshold and whispered something into the ear of a noblewoman with exquisite make up. Her expression turned into one of suppressed joy, while at the same time, behind the heavy walls in another palace, a woman’s wailing cries began.
News from the palace quickly spread to the powerful families. Before long, the nobles and officials of the capital all knew. Crown Prince Zhu Zaihe was critically ill.
He was formerly the second prince, established as crown prince in the 18th year of Jiajing. This spring, he caught a cold. No one expected that his body would be so weak, he wasn’t going to make it through.
The crown prince was the foundation of the country, especially one who held the position for years and was nearly of age. Many officials staked their careers on him. His sudden illness was not only a blow to the emperor’s long plans, but also a severe loss to many officials.
Those who had bet on the crown prince were thrown into panic, desperately seeking a way out, while bitterly cursing.
That scoundrel Lu Heng. No wonder he refused to let his son become the crown prince’s companion reader and insisted he serve the third prince. Could it be that he had foreseen this disaster?
This suspicion spread widely through the capital, with many privately trying to find out which great seer Lu Heng had consulted. However, this time, Lu Heng was wrongly accused.
The crown prince held his position for years, seemingly secure. Lu Heng deliberately avoided associating with the Eastern Palace to avoid arousing the emperor’s suspicion, so he casually chose the least favored third prince instead. The third prince was neither eldest nor born of the empress, and the least likely successor. Who could have guessed that the crown prince would fall critically ill, and the third prince would suddenly become the next heir?
After the unexpected turn of events, Lu Heng’s blind guess turned out to be right.
At the Lu Mansion, Lu Xuan was studying in his room when a dark shadow suddenly flew through the window. He dodged to the side, and a flamboyant red camellia landed right on his book.
A girl in white silk vest and sky-blue skirt laughed outside the window: “Brother, you’ve been reading yourself silly. I got this close and you didn’t even notice.”
Lu Xuan sighed, how could he not notice her heavy footsteps? He simply didn’t bother to pay attention.
Another little girl, hair in double buns, stumbled into the room and grabbed his sleeve: “Brother…”
Lu Xuan bent down and lifted his three-year-old sister onto his lap: “What are you two doing here?”
The bright, springlike girl, Lu Tang, ran inside. She found a seat on the couch and started picking at the hazelnuts: “It seems like someone came to see Father, so Mother told me to take Azi out to play.”
Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow, unsure which point to address first: “Seems like?”
Lu Tang swung her legs, her skirt fluttering like waves: “People come to see Father every day. Two days ago, it was the Ministry of War, asking about official promotions. Yesterday the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works asked about state funds. Tomorrow it’ll probably be the Minister of Justice, asking about trials. So many people are lining up for Father’s decisions, how should I know who came today?”
Lu Tang was the eldest daughter of Lu Heng, Left Commander of the Rear Military. Although she was only seven years old, she was already showing signs of becoming a stunning beauty. Lu Xuan, the eldest son, was ten. The little girl on his lap was Lu Heng’s second daughter, Lu Zi, age three.
Lu Tang was undoubtedly the one who resembled their mother most with delicate features and fair skin. Everyone said she was a natural born beauty when they saw her. However, her unruly manner had little in common with her beauty.
It was now the 26th year of Jiajing. The emperor had reigned for nearly thirty years and mellowed with age. Like many young emperors, he once aspired to be a wise ruler. But after hitting wall after wall, from the Rites Controversy to the Southern Patrol and pirate wars, he now saw just keeping the country steady as a success.
His early reign was marked by bloodshed and purges. Many officials were ruined by him. He tried many reforms and policies but later realized that maintaining stability was the best form of governance.
The emperor became calm and even lazy. After all, doing anything for twenty-six years would wear down one’s enthusiasm, even if it was being an emperor. The emperor’s ambitions were worn down by reality and the court too, had stabilized without major reshufflings like in the early years.
The court now had two major poles. The government officials followed Head Auxiliary Yan Wei, while Lu Heng stood as the most powerful among the military officials. Lu Heng had risen early and fast, joining the Imperial Guards at age twelve and climbing swiftly through the ranks. His career glowed like a legend. Yan Wei, by contrast, was a late bloomer. He was twenty years older than the emperor and now served like a devoted old steward, helping the emperor pursue Daoist practice.
As a youth, Yan Wei was a famed prodigy, passing the exams in his twenties and becoming a celebrated poet and scholar. But his career was bumpy, with three rises and three falls. Only seven years ago did he finally defeat Xia Wenjin and gain true power, becoming the seventh Head Auxiliary of Jiajing.
The emperor had a reputation for chewing up his head auxiliaries. When this overly cautious, slick old gentleman became the head of the cabinet, everyone wondered how long he could last. But unexpectedly, Yan Wei broke the cycle. The revolving-door cabinet ended with him, and he held the post steadily to this day.
Yan Wei solidified his position as Head Auxiliary not only because he catered to the emperor’s preferences and wrote beautiful Daoist prayers, but also because he had an excellent son.
Yan Wei was cautious and slick, while his son Yan Qinglou was cunning and shrewd. The father-son duo complemented each other perfectly. Yan Qinglou could deduce the emperor’s wishes from the smallest hints shared by his father. Yan Wei would then enter the palace and use his affable demeanor to serve the emperor with seamless ease. Because of this, the emperor greatly favored the Yan family. The Yans became enormously influential, burning hot with power.
Unfortunately, in the eyes of others, the two were far from virtuous. Yan Wei was enormously corrupt, and Yan Qinglou indulged in every vice imaginable, drinking, gambling, and sleeping around. He kept countless beautiful concubines and would seize any woman he fancied, regardless of who she was.
The Yans acted without restraint, seizing property, bullying men and women alike, and selling official posts, there was nothing they wouldn’t do. The only person they dared not offend was Lu Heng.
Lu Heng served as the emperor’s childhood companion and saved the emperor’s life twice. His significance to the emperor was unparalleled. Even Yan Wei dared not cross him openly. The emperor had long ceased holding court, obsessed as he was with Daoist cultivation. He only concerned himself with high-level decisions, leaving day-to-day matters to his closest officials. There were only two officials who could approach the emperor: one was Yan Wei and the other was Lu Heng.
If something was assigned to Yan Wei, Lu Heng would oversee it. If Lu Heng acted, Yan Wei would keep him in check. This created a delicate balance of power.
That’s why, as Lu Tang had said, everything from the appointment of officials across the Six Ministries to how a single case was judged, would end up on Lu Heng’s desk. An Imperial Guard Commander wielding such power would’ve drawn intense criticism in any other era, but not during Jiajing. Because half the censor officials were Lu Heng’s former students.
And the other half? They were Yan Wei’s.
Thus, Lu Heng and Yan Wei maintained a long-standing and stable rivalry. In practice, the two of them monopolized the court’s power. Most officials saw them far more often than they ever saw the emperor. Both held power just below the throne, but in different ways.
Yan Wei always yielded to the emperor, while Lu Heng occasionally defied imperial orders. Once, an official offended the Yan family. Yan Wei spoke ill of him in the palace and the emperor ordered Lu Heng to kill the man in rage. Lu Heng agreed on the surface but only detained him. Days later, after the emperor’s anger cooled, Lu Heng brought it up again, and the emperor rescinded his original command.
In this way, Lu Heng protected many officials from the Yans. Though he oversaw the dreaded Imperial Guard prisons, he was fair and never framed the innocent, earning respect throughout the court.
Lu Xuan remembered clearly that once, Zhang Xunyan, the censor of the Zhejiang Province boldly criticized the emperor’s obsession with Daoism and attacked Tao Zhongwen. This enraged the emperor, who ordered the Imperial Guards to arrest the madman. But Lu Heng refused. The emperor was furious when he heard this but couldn’t bear to punish Lu Heng, so he docked the entire Imperial Guard’s pay for three months instead.
Later, Guo Tao came to their house to complain, still unsure who exactly the emperor had meant to punish. The whole episode had been so bizarre, Lu Xuan never forgot it.
With a father like this, the Lu children grew up in the eye of a political storm. Lu Xuan himself was the companion reader to Prince Yu, the third prince. Since the age of four, he entered the palace daily and studied beside the Grand Tutor. Lu Tang was only seven this year. While other daughters of officials didn’t even know how to read, she stayed beside her mother and got to learn all the departments of the court just by listening. She was beautiful and articulate. Whenever the Ministers of the Six Departments visited, she’d exchange a few words with each of them, and they all adored her like their own daughter.
Even three-year-old Lu Zi knew which officials she could charm and which ones to steer clear of.
Lu Xuan noticed his sister’s clothing and asked: “Why did you change clothes?”
“My good brother, I change clothes every day.” Lu Tang rolled her eyes, “Your sister is so beautiful, did you only just notice it now?”
Lu Xuan had been in and out of the palace since he was a child and was much more mature than his peers. Lu Xuan ignored her sarcasm and asked: “But you never wear such plain colors. Did Mother tell you to change?”
“Mm-hmm.” Lu Tang nodded, then stood and spun once on the floor. Her skirt swirled in blue and green like the breeze of March. “Do I look nice?”
Lu Xuan gave an automatic response, his gaze already drifting, brow furrowed in thought.
The Crown Prince was gravely ill the past few days. The Grand Tutor had given them time off to study at home. Now someone had come to visit, and Mother had suddenly told Lu Tang to wear plainer colors… Could it be the Crown Prince was dying?
Lu Xuan felt a headache when he thought about the situation in the palace. Of the emperor’s sons, only the Crown Prince, Prince Yu, and Prince Jing were still alive. If the Crown Prince died, then only Prince Yu and Prince Jing remained as potential successors. Prince Yu was older but unfavored, and Prince Jing lacked legitimate standing, yet was beloved by the emperor. This was getting messy.
And Lu Xuan was Prince Yu’s companion. His father controlled the Imperial Guards and the Rear Military. Their entire family was too close to Prince Yu. But distancing themselves now might plant a seed of resentment in Prince Yu’s heart.
Just thinking about it gave Lu Xuan a headache. He wished the Grand Tutor would extend their break indefinitely.
Meanwhile, Lu Tang was still twirling, delighted with her dress. When she noticed that Lu Xuan wasn’t paying attention, she snapped: “Brother!”
“You look great, you’re the prettiest girl in the world.” Lu Xuan replied absentmindedly, pulling Lu Zi into his arms and making a face at Lu Tang. “Azi, look, your sister’s being shy.”
Lu Zi giggled. Lu Tang scowled and stomped off: “So annoying, I’m not talking to you anymore.”
Lu Xuan called after her, shouting: “Mother asked you to watch Azi. Is this how a big sister acts, just leaving her behind?”
“Aren’t you here?”
Lu Tang became angry and abandoned Lu Zi. Lu Xuan had no choice but to keep his little sister on his lap and, after the guests left the main hall, personally walked her back.
In the main room, Lu Heng and Wang Yanqing were sitting on the luohan couch in the side chamber, talking. Lu Tang was curled up nearby, playing with a cat’s cradle. When she saw Lu Xuan enter, she huffed coldly and clung to Wang Yanqing’s arm: “Mother, it was him! He said I was ugly just now!”
Lu Xuan glanced at Lu Tang and said: “So in your ears, pretty means ugly? Then Lu Tang, you must be the ugliest of all.”
“What did you say!” Lu Tang shouted angrily. Wang Yanqing, already getting a headache from their bickering, scolded softly: “Enough, both of you. Quiet down.”
The siblings grew quiet. Lu Zi had already climbed onto the footrest and was reaching out to her father, asking him to hold her in a sweet voice. Lu Heng bent down and scooped his youngest daughter into his arms.
Both parents were widely recognized for their good looks. Lu Heng, now over thirty, held power over the entire court. Every gesture was steeped in authority and dignity. His smiling eyes were even more intimidating than his unsmiling ones. Wang Yanqing, with her jet-black hair and fair skin, was gentle and beautiful, with a kind of divine grace. Even after giving birth to three children, her figure remained graceful, and her gaze clear and youthful.
Lu Xuan gave his parents a formal greeting and then asked: “Father, was the visitor just now from the palace?”
Lu Heng nodded faintly, not hiding these matters from his children: “Yes.”
“Was it about the Crown Prince?”
Lu Heng nodded again. Lu Xuan’s guess was confirmed and his expression turned visibly worried.
Lu Heng noticed and said: “Starting today, you are all to wear plain clothes and stay home. Lu Xuan, focus on your studies. The Crown Prince likely only has a few days left. The palace lectures will be suspended for now, so continue studying at home and do not fall behind.”
Lu Xuan nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked: “Father, no matter how long the break lasts, the palace lectures will resume eventually. But about Prince Yu…”
Lu Heng replied: “You don’t need to do anything. Treat Prince Yu and Prince Jing exactly as you did before. The Crown Prince’s grave illness deeply affected the emperor, and earlier, Tao Zhongwen went to the palace. Tao Zhongwen said that the emperor was in poor health when he emperor first ascended the throne, and even after recovering, his sons keep dying at young ages, so it must be due to clashing dragon veins.”
Lu Xuan frowned, unable to grasp Tao Zhongwen’s intent: “What does that mean?”
Lu Heng didn’t elaborate much. He only said: “Tao Zhongwen said that if the palace is to remain at peace, the two dragons must not meet. If this is true, the Crown Prince’s position may remain uncertain for quite a while. Don’t let outside events influence your attitude toward Prince Yu or Prince Jing. Just follow the Grand Tutor and focus on your studies.”
Lu Xuan still didn’t fully understand the political implications, but from his father’s tone, he could tell the court would not be peaceful in the coming years.
Lu Xuan’s mood grew heavy. Lu Tang and Lu Zi barely understood but could tell something serious was being discussed, so they sensibly quieted down. Wang Yanqing looked at her children beside her. Her eldest son had grown up in the palace, calm, refined, and thoughtful. Her eldest daughter, Lu Tang, was lively, outspoken, quick-witted, and tactful. The youngest was still too young to judge, but Wang Yanqing had a feeling that Lu Zi’s temperament most resembled Lu Heng’s.
After the children left, Wang Yanqing spoke to Lu Heng about the matters: “If the emperor believes that two dragons must not meet, will he really stop seeing both his sons?”
As a parent, Wang Yanqing couldn’t comprehend such thinking. Lu Heng sighed and said: “That’s why they say emperors are the loneliest people. What he’s doing is also for the good of his sons.”
Wang Yanqing raised her brows, finding it hard to agree. Lu Heng wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said: “The two dragons theory may be Tao Zhongwen’s proposal, but it reflects the emperor’s own attitude. If I’m right, in a few days the emperor will make some changes, he’ll push Yan Wei to Prince Jing’s side.”
Wang Yanqing was surprised: “Why? If that happens, one of the princes will surely die in the end. The emperor only has two sons left, doesn’t he care?”
Lu Heng shook his head and smiled, saying nothing more. What use is caring? In a royal household, emotions were the most useless thing of all.
After the Great Rites Controversy, the Japanese pirate crisis, the Yan-Xia faction struggle, and the Gengxu Rebellion, it looked like the struggle for the Crown Prince would become the dominant political theme for the next decade. Let the officials fight and the emperor can focus on cultivating Daoism in peace.
Moreover, with most of his sons dead, the next emperor could only be Prince Yu or Prince Jing. Getting them involved in court power struggles early would prepare them to hold the throne in the future. After all, real experience was the best teacher. Rather than having them learn imperial strategy from others, the emperor preferred to manufacture court factions so they could learn on their own.
Lu Xuan was already Prince Yu’s companion. The Lu family was tied to Prince Yu’s fate. So next, the emperor would surely assign Yan Wei to Prince Jing. This wasn’t about what Yan Wei wanted. What official didn’t know how to cherish their reputation and avoid struggles for the throne? However, if the emperor asked one to side with his son, the officials had no say.
Only if the two sides were evenly matched could a proper battle occur. This was a royal succession struggle between Prince Yu and Prince Jing, and a power struggle between Lu Heng and Yan Wei. It seems that Lu Heng will have to deal with the Yan father and son for the next ten years. The moment a winner was decided between the two families, the next Crown Prince would be determined as well.
Wang Yanqing asked: “With all the shady things the Yan family has done and their terrible reputation, how could the emperor trust him to assist Prince Jing?”
“Is my reputation any better?” Lu Heng laughed. “When the history books are written, I doubt they’ll speak kindly of me either. Human nature leans toward evil. No one who rises to the position of Head Auxiliary remains incorruptible. But the emperor doesn’t care about personal virtue, only about usefulness.”
Yan Wei had broken the cycle of rotating Head Auxiliaries and held his position steadily because he was useful. The emperor had finally found someone who completely fit his needs. Yan Wei continued the land registry reform left unfinished by Zhang Jinggong, but he was slicker and more ruthless, a very effective tool.
The emperor implemented his policies through Yan Wei’s hand. Yan Wei was adept at handling the practical issues that arose during implementation, and if problems couldn’t be solved, he’d eliminate those who opposed. If a policy succeeded, the credit went to the emperor’s wisdom, if it failed, the blame fell on the traitor Yan Wei.
Wang Yanqing instinctively said: “You’re not like that.”
“How so?”
“Because during the Gengxu Incident, you went against the tide to let the refugees into the city. To me, you’ll always be different. She wrapped her arms around his waist. Though they had been married for years, resting against his shoulder still gave her the same sense of safety she felt at first. Thinking of the palace struggles, Wang Yanqing sighed: “If it were me, I could never choose between my own children. That’s why I’ll only ever be an ordinary person.”
“What’s wrong with being ordinary?” Lu Heng cradled his beautiful, fair-skinned, graceful wife in his arms and said, “A general fights a hundred battles, an official schemes a thousand plots, isn’t it all to protect the common folk. In my view, it’s the ordinary life that is worth the most.”
Wang Yanqing raised an eyebrow: “Worth?”
“I misspoke. The life that Qing Qing and I have is priceless.” Lu Heng smiled as he tightened his hold around Wang Yanqing’s waist. In this position, they were tightly dependent on each other, intimate and close, the softness of her body was completely leaning on Lu Heng. He soaked in this feeling then suddenly remarked: “Qing Qing, I think your breasts have gotten bigger.”
Wang Yanqing was stunned. Just moments ago, they’d been discussing national affairs, and now he blurted out something like this. Flushed and flustered, she scolded: “Shut up. Let go, I’m leaving.”
But Lu Heng wasn’t about to let go. He leaned in, pushing her down with a smirk: “You pity the emperor, but what about me? At least he has two sons, I only have one.”
“You blame me for that?”
“I’m blame myself.” Lu Heng said as he swiftly slipped off her outer robe. Leaning down, his breath warm against her ear, he whispered teasingly, “How about we try a different position tonight?”
Wang Yanqing’s cheeks turned crimson, but in the end, she didn’t resist.
After the deaths of Guo Xun and Fu Tingzhou, the court no longer saw the same level of fierce open conflict. But under the surface, the currents never subsided. The long struggle over the crown prince’s position was bound to be turbulent.
Still, regardless of the storms outside, as long as the family stayed together, hardships never felt too hard to bear.
Lu Heng was promoted to Left Commander of the Rear Military, the highest rank an official could reach. Later, he achieved further merit, and with no room for higher rank, the emperor could only appoint him as the Grand Tutor and Perceptor to the Crown Prince. Later, he was named Grand Tutor and Junior Preceptor, while he continued to lead the Imperial Guards. Historically, there had never been an official who held all these titles simultaneously, so the emperor issued a special decree to make it possible, setting a precedent for future officials.
Even the arrogant and vicious Yan Qinglou once said that only three people in the world were worth acknowledging, himself, Yang Bo, and Lu Heng.
Lu Heng led the Imperial Guards for over thirty years. In his early years, he wielded them to instigate several major purges, defeating every opponent who challenged him: Yang Yingning, Zhang Jinggong, Xia Wenjin, Guo Xun, Fu Tingzhou, the palace eunuchs… and even the all-powerful Head Auxiliary Yan Wei eventually fell by his hand.
Famous figures rose and fell, head auxiliaries came and went, but the Commander of the Imperial Guards remained the same.
After reaching the peak of his power, Lu Heng began reforming the Imperial Guards, cutting back on unneccessary staff, excessive spending, and misconduct. He also wrote a petition to the emperor listing the burden of labor on commoners, proposing equalizing the labor service, abolishing hereditary shop managers, and fair compensation. He repeatedly saved people from execution by imperial order. In an era of intense factional struggles and fierce men running rampant, Lu Heng protected the true men of virtue, showed humility to scholars, and never once framed the innocent. He was praised throughout the court and public.
In the 16th year of Zhengde, he followed his father from Anlu, escorting the sickly Prince of Xing to the capital. When he stepped into the Ming Dynasty Gate, he also stepped into a brilliant and perilous life.
He was undefeated in all power struggles, connected to powerful relatives by marriage, and was always honored. As both, one of the three highest Dukes and Solitaires in the country, he had great power over the government and the country, a rare feat throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Holding the titles of Senior Official for Glorious Service, Pillar of the Country, Grand Tutor and Junior Preceptor, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Guards, and Left Commander of the Rear Military — he was Lu Heng.