The Grand Princess was gravely ill and, on her deathbed, kept reminiscing about something from long ago. To let her pass in peace, her son, Lu Shizheng, chose Su Heng to play the daughter she had been separated from many years ago.
They had thought it would be a matter of ten days or half a month at most, after which she could collect her silver and leave. But to their surprise, the Grand Princess's spirits improved so much that she came back from the brink of death. Lu Shizheng and Su Heng had no choice but to grit their teeth and keep up the act.
As if things weren't bad enough, at a banquet, she got drunk and slept with her "older brother," and the real daughter came knocking at the door. Afraid the Grand Princess would fly into a rage and drag her into it, Su Heng took the silver and fled in the dead of night.
*
She saw Lu Shizheng again in the second year after he took up his post in Jiangnan.
Bright red wedding silk hung throughout the courtyard. Wearing a phoenix crown and wedding robes, she was momentarily dazed when she saw the officiant, dressed in light robes and a fur-lined coat. But when she saw his calm expression, she finally felt at ease.
Everything was about to be settled. All that remained was for him to finish reciting the wedding wishes before they bowed to Heaven and Earth. Yet the dignitary, standing tall in his crimson robe, paused with a delicate hand.
"The eighteen articles of the Great Ying laws forbid marrying without one's parents' consent. Those who break the law will be exiled three thousand li."
Looking at the well-matched couple in the hall, he set his teacup down on the table and said in a low voice, "Ah Heng, you have kept your older brother searching for you for a long time."
*
The Lu clan had produced three dukes over four generations. As the heir of the Duke's household, Lu Shizheng had always been disciplined, courteous, noble, and upright, yet he committed three outrageous acts.
First, he found someone to impersonate his long-lost younger sister.
Second, he pretended to get drunk and lose control.
Third, he stole another man's bride at her wedding.
On closer inspection, every one of those acts had something to do with Su Heng.
Theme: Independence and self-reliance
