Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The Dong family's brazen murder of Wu Fu in the court was a bolt from the blue, completely trampling upon the dignity of life, which the court officials held dear. This sudden change of events filled every one of them with an indescribable sense of unease.

After witnessing this bloody scene, powerful officials like Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu, commanding vast armies, were overwhelmed with fear and unease. They knew the Dong family had lost their composure and their power and lives could be threatened at any moment. Consequently, they began to quietly plot, secretly moving their families and close associates to safer locations to avoid being implicated in future storms. With their families' escape routes secured, their concerns eased, and they began to plot how to leverage their military power to launch a life-or-death struggle against the Dong family.

The other important officials at court, while lacking military might, possessed keen political acumen. They knew their own strength alone was insufficient and that they needed external support. They turned their attention to Ding Yuan's forces outside the city. Ding Yuan commanded a large force, and gaining his support would greatly strengthen their position against the Dong family. Ding Yuan was a stubborn man, believing in the supremacy of imperial power. He would never send troops without an imperial edict and the tiger talisman. However, the emperor's whereabouts were unknown, and neither the edict nor the tiger talisman could be found. This put the important officials in a difficult position. They tried every possible means to persuade Ding Yuan to join their side, but to little avail. Ding Yuan insisted that he could not act without a legitimate imperial edict, as to do so would be a blasphemy against imperial authority. For a time, the important officials were in deep frustration and anxiety, unsure how to break the deadlock and persuade Ding Yuan to side with them.

At this point, these important officials began to regret their actions. They realized that if Liu Bian, the puppet emperor, had still been around, they could have used the emperor's name, arguing for justice, to fight against the Dong family. But now that the emperor had disappeared, they had lost this crucial bargaining chip, and everything they did felt awkward and restricted. They began to reflect on their decisions, wondering why they hadn't made adequate preparations before things escalated to this point. They realized that in the struggle for power, even the slightest misstep could have fatal consequences. Now, they could only struggle in this difficult situation, searching for a glimmer of hope. But they refused to give up. They firmly believed that if they found the right method and opportunity, they could convince Ding Yuan to join them in fighting the Dong family. They knew this was not only for their own survival and interests, but also for the stability and future of the entire court. They had to find a way out of this power struggle, or they would face endless darkness and destruction.

The emperor had vanished, his whereabouts unknown, and the Dong family maintained firm control over Empress Dowager He. Within the imperial palace, the only true masters and decision-makers were the Grand Empress Dowager and the crown prince, Liu Xie. Consequently, the Dong family, relying on their supposed righteousness, acted with increasing impunity within the court, their behavior escalating in severity. The initial decision to enthronize Liu Xie was ultimately rejected, and Dong Zhong controlled not only Dong Zhuo but also the recently victorious Western Liang army. This situation left their power overwhelmingly dominant, virtually unchallenged.

Under the guise of eliminating Wu Fu's followers, they launched a large-scale campaign to eliminate dissidents, engaging in a pattern of forming cliques for personal gain. Since the other aristocratic families had already sidelined He Jin and held military power, those ministers who were truly loyal to the Han Dynasty and had no selfish motives had long been sidelined and stripped of their real power. Therefore, they first targeted those ministers who were loyal to the Han Dynasty but could not be won over. These ministers were already loyal to the Han Dynasty, and in their hearts, the interests of the country and the monarch were supreme. They would never collude with the Dong family for personal gain. The Dong family was naturally well aware of this and knew that these ministers would not be easily subjugated. Therefore, they decided to eliminate these ministers who were loyal to the Han Dynasty first to prevent them from becoming obstacles to their expansion of power.

In this campaign to eliminate dissidents, the Dong family revealed their cruel and ruthless nature. They paid no heed to the contributions these ministers had made to the nation, nor to their prestige among the people, solely pursuing their own power and self-interest. Using various means, they falsely accused these ministers of collusion with Wu Fu's followers, arresting, interrogating, and sometimes executing them. Many innocent ministers were wrongfully murdered, and their families were implicated, plunging the court into panic and chaos.

At the same time, the Dong family continued to strengthen their control over the imperial court. They installed their trusted aides and cronies in key positions, wielding considerable military and political power. They also exploited the people's wealth through various means, enriching themselves and leaving the people living in dire straits. While the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince Liu Xie were nominally the masters of the imperial palace, they were in reality mere puppets of the Dong family, unable to effectively restrain or resist their actions.

The campaign to eliminate dissidents was still ongoing, causing widespread resentment in Luoyang City. Everyone was in a state of panic, and the ministers had to start seriously considering their own retreat.

Lu Zhi's residence was immediately seized by a large force of troops. Believing that Lu Zhi had a hidden agenda in abducting the emperor, Dong Zhong planned to target Lu Zhi's family members. However, Dong Zhuo had previously served under Lu Zhi in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and they had a certain rapport. Furthermore, Lu Zhi held considerable prestige. While Dong Zhuo portrayed him as a traitor who had abducted the emperor, he remained wary of him. Furthermore, Lu Zhi was Ma Chao's mentor, and Dong Zhuo was reluctant to confront Ma Chao over Lu Zhi's family. For these reasons, Dong Zhuo disregarded Dong Zhong's instructions, placing Lu Zhi's residence under heavy security. While movement within the residence was restricted, few came to disturb the family. Madam Lu took Lu Yu and Lu Wan with her, all in a small courtyard, guarded by Dian Wei, who remained in constant armor. They were completely cut off from any news from the outside world and lived in constant fear.

Cai Yong also realized that Luoyang was about to fall into chaos, so he made arrangements in advance, intending to fulfill the engagement between Cai Wenji and Wei Zhongdao in advance and marry Cai Wenji to the Wei family of Hedong. The Wei family of Hedong actually had some resentment towards Cai Wenji. When they had previously used Cai Wenji as a cover to cover up the meeting between the emperor and Lu Zhi, and the rumor had spread, they believed that Cai Yong was flattering and using Cai Wenji to seduce the emperor, and that Cai Wenji had lost her virtue as a woman. Although the Wei family had objections to this matter, as a prominent family in Hedong, they were unwilling to easily break the engagement based on rumors and imagination, so they awkwardly married Cai Wenji back. Although Cai Wenji could not disobey her father's orders, and even though she felt a thousand grievances in her heart, she had no choice but to obey her father's wishes.

After marrying into the Hedong Wei family, Cai Wenji was not given the attention she deserved. Wei Zhongdao was seriously ill, and they felt that Cai Wenji had lost her virtue as a woman, so they had a lot of complaints about her. Therefore, they did not really treat her as a daughter-in-law. Wei Zhongdao also did not consummate the marriage with her, but instead coldly put her aside. Cai Wenji just maintained a normal life every day. The Wei family pretended to be well-mannered, but in fact, they kept her imprisoned in the mansion like a caged bird, not allowing her to go out at all. Faced with such a situation, Cai Wenji could only cry secretly and feel sad alone. Of course, these are all later stories. The specific follow-up of Cai Wenji will be described later.