Lady Li Youzhen was dissatisfied with the side chamber prepared for her by the Liu family, using this as an opportunity to cause trouble. She openly accused He Weifang of being incompetent in managing the household in front of Mrs. Liu, which led to the oversight in the assassination attempt during the banquet. Mrs. Liu quickly responded by stating that Liu Zishu does not like He Weifang and that her residence is secluded and inconspicuous, ensuring she would not be a problem. Lady Li Youzhen picked another flaw, demanding that all those who served at today’s flower banquet be punished with eighty lashes, while He Weifang, for her negligence, should receive forty lashes. Liu Zishu, who had just approached and paused upon hearing the county lord’s words, was quite shocked. Mrs. Liu believed that punishing with eighty lashes was excessively harsh and hurriedly pleaded, which only made Lady Li Youzhen more dissatisfied. At this moment, Liu Zishu stepped forward, claiming that he also committed negligence and should be executed alongside them.
Punishing Liu Zishu was not Lady Li Youzhen’s intention. Seeing that Liu Zishu disliked the county lord’s interference in the Liu family’s affairs, Lady Li Youzhen abandoned the idea. Mrs. Liu stood up and left with her servants. Once they were out of sight, Lady Li Youzhen gently touched Liu Zishu’s eyebrow with her hand, completely disregarding the proper etiquette between men and women. When Liu Shen was still serving as an official in the capital, Liu Zishu and Lady Li Youzhen were mutually affectionate. However, Prince Ning despised the Liu family for their low status and unsuitable rank, and he held no favorable attitude toward Liu Zishu, who his daughter liked, forcibly separating the pair of lovebirds. After Liu Shen was demoted and exiled to Luoyang, Lady Li Youzhen remarried, and Liu Zishu married a merchant’s daughter. Three years later, although Lady Li Youzhen verbally expressed that it was for Liu Zishu’s own good, he felt she had become a stranger.
Additionally, Lady Li Youzhen knew that Liu Zishu’s room always hung a portrait of herself. Even though he had been married to He Weifang for three years, he had never been close to her and remained single to this day. Liu Zishu was greatly shocked because these were private matters of the Liu household. Since Lady Li Youzhen was aware of them, she must have sent someone to monitor or had inquired about them. Liu Zishu said no more, stood up, and took his leave. During the evening banquet, countless officials and their sons offered Jiang Changyang land holdings, property deeds, and precious items, openly bribing the Flower and Bird Envoy. Jiang Changyang accepted all without refusal, taking them into his own possession. Upon learning that He Weifang had gone out to the shop, fearing it would disrupt his plan to sell the shop, Liu Shen immediately went over to stop her.
Yu Lu helped He Weifang block Liu Shen’s attendants, buying time for He Weifang to go to the shop. Unexpectedly, Yu Lu was violently pushed into the water, hitting a submerged stone. He Weifang sought help from others without success and, in her desperation, wanted to jump in to save her, but Liu Chang arrived to stop her. He instructed his attendants to rescue Yu Lu, but by the time they pulled her out, she had no breath left. He Weifang knelt down, repeatedly pleading with Liu Shen and Liu Chang for their father and son, but all she received were responses that Yu Lu was already dead. Liu Shen, who tolerated the butler’s unrepentant killing, instead blamed He Weifang for the incident. Liu Chang also advised He Weifang not to act inappropriately for the sake of a servant, which infuriated her to the point of tears, and she retorted sharply. Yu Lu’s death completely awakened He Weifang, and she resolved never to be manipulated by others again.
He Weifang began to inventory her dowry, demanding the return of the dowry items placed in the county lord’s side chamber. The proud Liu Chang did not refuse. In light of He Weifang’s tragic loss of Yu Lu, Liu Chang sent Qiu Shi to deliver a rabbit to her. Midway, Lady Li Youzhen saw this and had Qiu Shi brutally kill the rabbit. Upon learning of this, Liu Chang was shocked and did not accompany Lady Li Youzhen to enjoy the lake in the evening.
