Chapter Sixty-Two: Analysis

Lu Ying hired a donkey cart to take herself home.

As soon as she entered the alley, she let out a gentle sigh.

The Ping family... the Ping family... She only wished for peace, to live freely with her brother, yet they refused to let her be!

From afar, she saw Lu Ying approaching with a cold expression. Yin Che called out, “Ying?”

Lu Ying paused and turned her head.

Seeing her gaze meet his, her face still bewildered, Yin Che asked with concern, “What’s wrong?” After a moment, he gently added, “Weren’t you visiting your grandmother’s house? Did something happen?”

His voice was gentle, so gentle that, for reasons she couldn’t explain, Lu Ying felt her eyes redden.

Just as she was about to speak, she looked behind Yin Che—two maids hurried toward him, and one cast her a wary, guarded glance. Lu Ying suddenly regained her composure.

She bowed politely to Yin Che and replied in a calm tone, “Thank you for your concern, sir. I am fine.” With that, she turned swiftly and reached her own door.

Inside the house, Lu Ying paced back and forth in the courtyard.

She didn’t know how long she wandered until she heard her brother’s call, “Sister, I’m home!”

“Ah Yun, you’re back?” The moment she heard Lu Yun’s voice, warmth bloomed in her heart. She hurried to open the courtyard gate and welcomed her brother inside.

The siblings returned to their room. As she stoked the fire and boiled water, Lu Ying smiled and asked, “Yun, how was your day?”

“It was great.” Lu Yun paused, then exclaimed, “Sister, when school let out, Second Uncle sent someone to bring me some iron coins. He said you knew about it and told me to accept them.”

Lu Ying looked up.

She gazed at Lu Yun’s handsome, earnest face. After a moment’s thought, she said slowly, “I went to Grandmother’s house today. Some things happened there.”

Something happened? Lu Yun’s heart clenched. He quickly looked up and stared at Lu Ying.

As she busied herself, Lu Ying recounted everything from yesterday: Aunt Huang buying her clothes, and then today, the Ping family’s attitude toward her. She continued, “That maid called Tao suddenly accused me of stealing Fourth Cousin’s betrothal jade. They all clamored to send me to the authorities.”

Though Lu Ying recounted it with an even expression, Lu Yun listened in shock and fear. He cried out angrily, “Sister would never do such a thing. Clearly, they’re framing you!” His teeth ground with rage, and he reached for his coin pouch, intent on throwing away the newly received coins.

Ying stopped him, “Take what’s given, don’t waste it. There’s no need to be angry with money.”

Lu Yun sulkily withdrew his pouch, then grumbled, “Sister, didn’t we agree to ignore that family? Why did you go?”

Lu Ying shook her head. “Let me finish. Later, Grandmother intervened. She rebuked the maid and said she trusted me.”

Lu Yun breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, “Sister, are you very upset?”

Lu Ying sneered, “Yes, I am upset. They slandered and plotted against me—of course I am unhappy.” She moved around the room, cooking and boiling water, and continued, “And now I understand, Yun. Last time, those four thugs who beat you up were sent by the Ping family.”

“What? Why would they do that?” Lu Yun had never doubted his sister’s judgment; his face darkened with anger.

“Because they want to control me—use me to approach that nobleman and, through me, gain riches. In this scheme, you are an extra. Without you, I am easier to manipulate; without someone to rely on, I must depend on them.”

She looked up at her brother, her tone serious. “Yun, why do you think the Ping family accused me of theft, and why did Lady Ping step in to clear my name?”

Facing her brother’s thoughtful silence, Lu Ying explained carefully, “In Chapter 36 of the Dao De Jing, it says: ‘If you wish to remove something, you must first support it; if you wish to seize something, you must first give it; if you wish to destroy something, you must first learn from it.’ In other words, to take, you must first give. Yun, yesterday the Ping family bought me clothes, today they treat me warmly—all to first give. They offer me trust, respect, affection, and intimacy, then abruptly snatch it away. This throws me into confusion and anxiety. When they treat me well again, I will be grateful. If not utterly loyal, at least I will be much more respectful in thought and action.”

Lu Ying always hoped her brother would reach greater heights. So, everything she learned from books, she spared no effort in teaching him.

Only if her brother became strong could she live better herself.

This was a society of scholars, where reading voices echoed through every street and alley. Yet, in most academies, teachers only had students recite the classics over and over until they memorized them, rarely analyzing their meaning in detail. Lu Yun had never realized that the seemingly simple Dao De Jing could be interpreted so profoundly. He bowed his head in contemplation.

After a moment’s thought, Lu Yun looked up at his sister. “Sister, the Ping family won’t give up, will they? They will use every means until you obey them and become that noble’s concubine, just as they wish?”

Lu Ying nodded, answering straightforwardly, “Yes.”

Lu Yun pondered a while longer, then asked, “Sister, what should we do?”

Lu Ying spoke slowly, “So far, there are three ways to respond.”

Lu Yun listened intently as she continued, “First, we could leave Hanyang. But without recommendations or anyone to vouch for us, starting anew in a strange place would interrupt your studies, Yun. You might never progress again. So we cannot leave.”

“Second, I could seek out that noble and ask him to give up on me—or I could find someone else and arrange a marriage immediately.” She pressed her lips together and went on, “Arranging a marriage right away won’t work. And persuading the nobleman is not easy. His interest in me may be fleeting. If I approach him, he might have forgotten me, but my plea could renew his interest.” Even as she said this, Lu Ying herself was skeptical, but Lu Yun nodded repeatedly.

“As for the third method, it’s to make the Ping family abandon this idea. But that’s not easy either. The Ping family has been established in Hanyang for years, always wanting to break free and dominate Chengdu. Their sons have repeatedly failed the filial piety and scholar exams. I, your sister, am a rare opportunity to change their fate. For the sake of their interests, they will not let go.”

Hearing this, Lu Yun paced about the room, muttering, “This won’t work, that won’t work, so must we let them have their way?”

“We will not let them have their way!”

Lu Ying lowered her gaze, her voice icy cold. “Break their wings, sever their limbs, rot their roots. This move is not theirs alone to make.”