The Dong Clan's public assassination of Wu Fu in the Imperial Court was like a bolt from the blue, completely trampling on the dignity that the Imperial Court's high-ranking officials held dearer than life itself. This sudden turn of events filled the heart of every high-ranking official with an indescribable unease.
Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and other powerful officials who commanded large armies, felt a surge of fear and unease after witnessing this bloody incident. They knew that the Dong Clan no longer had any scruples, and their power and lives could be threatened at any moment. Thus, they began to secretly plot, covertly moving their families and trusted confidants to safe places to avoid being implicated in the coming storm. After arranging an escape route for their families, their concerns lessened considerably, and they began to plan how to use their military power to engage in a life-and-death struggle with the Dong Clan.
As for the other high-ranking officials in the Imperial Court, they lacked strong military power, but they possessed keen political minds. They knew that their own strength was far from enough and that they had to seek external support. They turned their attention to Ding Yuan's forces outside the city. Ding Yuan commanded a large army, and if they could gain his support, the strength to oppose the Dong Clan would greatly increase. Ding Yuan was a stubborn man; he believed in the supremacy of imperial power and would never easily send troops without an imperial edict and a tiger tally. However, the emperor's whereabouts were currently unknown, and the imperial edict and tiger tally were nowhere to be found, which put the high-ranking officials in a difficult situation. They tried every possible method to persuade Ding Yuan to join their camp, but with little success. Ding Yuan insisted that without a legitimate decree, he could not act on his own, or it would be blasphemy against imperial power. For a time, the high-ranking officials fell into deep helplessness and anxiety, not knowing how to break this stalemate and get Ding Yuan on their side.
At this point, these high-ranking 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 to gain moral authority and confront the Dong Clan. But now, with the emperor missing, they had lost this crucial bargaining chip, and everything they tried felt obstructed and restricted. They began to reflect on their earlier decisions, wondering why they hadn't made full preparations before things escalated to such a point. They realized that in the struggle for power, any small mistake could lead to fatal consequences. Now, they could only struggle in their predicament, searching for a glimmer of hope. But they did not give up; they firmly believed that as long as they found the right method and opportunity, they would surely be able to persuade Ding Yuan to jointly oppose the Dong Clan. They knew that this was not only for their own survival and interests but also for the stability and future of the entire Imperial Court. They had to find a way out of this power struggle, otherwise, endless darkness and destruction awaited them.
The current situation was that the emperor had disappeared, his whereabouts unknown, while the Dong Clan firmly controlled Empress Dowager He. In the imperial palace, the only ones who could truly make decisions and hold authority were the Empress Dowager and Prince Liu Xie. As a result, the Dong Clan, relying on their so-called moral authority, acted with increasing impunity in the Imperial Court, their tyrannical behavior intensifying. Because the initial decision to enthrone Liu Xie as emperor was ultimately rejected and could not be smoothly implemented, and Dong Zhong not only controlled Dong Zhuo but also held the recently victorious West Liang Army. This situation created a one-sided power dynamic throughout the Imperial Court, with almost no one able to contend with them.
They used the pretext of purging Wu Fu's partisans to launch a large-scale elimination of rivals, engaging in extensive factionalism. As the other aristocratic families had previously marginalized He Jin and seized military power, the truly loyal and selfless ministers of the Han Dynasty had long been stripped of their real authority. Therefore, they first targeted those ministers who were loyal to the Han Dynasty but could not be swayed. These ministers were inherently devoted to the Han Dynasty; in their hearts, only the interests of the state and the monarch were supreme, and they would never collude with the Dong Clan for personal gain. The Dong Clan naturally understood this point; they clearly knew that these ministers would not be easily subdued, so they decided to eliminate these loyal Han Dynasty ministers first, lest they become stumbling blocks on their path to power expansion in the future.
In this campaign to eliminate rivals, the Dong Clan displayed their cruel and ruthless side. They completely disregarded the contributions these ministers had made to the state and their prestige among the common people, solely pursuing their own power and interests. They used various means to falsely accuse these ministers of colluding with Wu Fu's partisans, then arrested, interrogated, and even executed them one by one. Many innocent ministers were thus wrongfully killed, their families also implicated, and the entire Imperial Court fell into a state of panic and chaos.
At the same time, the Dong Clan continuously strengthened its control over the Imperial Court. They installed their trusted confidants and partisans into various important positions, seizing military and political power of the state. They also used various means to exploit the common people, enriching themselves, causing the people to live in dire straits. Although the Empress Dowager and Prince Liu Xie were nominally the masters of the imperial palace, they were in fact merely puppets in the hands of the Dong Clan, completely unable to effectively restrain or resist the Dong Clan's actions.
The activities of purging rivals continued unabated, causing widespread discontent in Luoyang, with everyone in a state of fear and unease, and all the ministers were forced to seriously consider their own escape routes.
And Lu Zhi's residence was also controlled by a large number of troops at the first opportune moment, because they believed that Lu Zhi had taken the emperor away with ulterior motives, so Dong Zhong intended to target Lu Zhi's family first. However, Dong Zhuo had previously participated in the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion under Lu Zhi, and there was a certain friendship between them. Additionally, Lu Zhi, after all, had great prestige. Although they portrayed Lu Zhi as a rebel who kidnapped the emperor, they were still somewhat apprehensive. Furthermore, given Lu Zhi's relationship as Ma Chao's master, Dong Zhuo was unwilling to create a direct conflict with Ma Chao over Lu Zhi's family. For these reasons, Dong Zhuo did not follow Dong Zhong's orders, so Lu Zhi's home was tightly guarded by a large number of heavily armed soldiers. In reality, although activities within the residence were restricted, no one actually came to disturb their family. Madam Lu kept Lu Yu and Lu Wan by her side. They were all in a small courtyard, guarded by Dian Wei, who wore his armor all day long. They were completely unable to receive any news from outside and could only live in endless fear.
And Cai Yong also realized that Luoyang was about to fall into great chaos, so he made arrangements in advance, intending to fulfill the marriage contract between Cai Wenji and Wei Zhongdao ahead of schedule, marrying Cai Wenji to the Hedong Wei Clan. The Hedong Wei Clan actually had some dissatisfaction with Cai Wenji because earlier, when covering up the emperor's meeting with Lu Zhi, Cai Wenji was used as a decoy, and rumors spread. They believed that Cai Yong was flattering and currying favor, using Cai Wenji to charm the emperor, and that Cai Wenji had already lost her wifely virtue. Although the Wei Family had objections to this matter, as an aristocratic family, the Hedong Wei Family was unwilling to easily break off the marriage based solely on rumors and conjecture, so they reluctantly took Cai Wenji as a bride. Although Cai Wenji found it difficult to disobey her father's command, even with thousands of grievances in her heart, she could only helplessly comply with her father's wishes.
After Cai Wenji married into the Hedong Wei Family, she did not receive the attention she deserved at all. Wei Zhongdao was already seriously ill, and they also felt that Cai Wenji had lost her wifely virtue and had many criticisms of her, so they did not truly treat her as a daughter-in-law. Wei Zhongdao also did not consummate the marriage with her but coldly set her aside. Cai Wenji merely maintained a normal daily life, and the Wei Family outwardly put on a show, but in reality, they confined her like a caged bird in the mansion, not allowing her to go out at all. Facing such a situation, Cai Wenji could only secretly shed tears and feel sad alone. Of course, these are all later developments, and Cai Wenji's subsequent story will be described in the future.
