The two stood somewhat farther back. Lan Tian recognized them as the young generals Luo Tong and Lu Ju.
Luo Tong's early surrender came as no surprise, but Lu Ju had only just suffered the pain of losing his father. Lu Fan lay buried by the riverbank where he had cut his own throat, his bones not yet cold. Not only could Lan Tian not understand it—even the surrendered Jiangdong generals found it incomprehensible. Had he thrown away even his face just to stay alive?
In truth, they did not understand Lu Ju's difficulties, nor the immense pressure resting on his shoulders. Though Lu Fan had been a founding minister and pillar of Jiangdong, his status long second only to Sun Quan's, and though he appeared glorious and influential, he was in fact a powerful minister with very few friends.
The Huaisi Faction envied his high rank and authority, while the Jiangdong Faction resented his closeness to Sun Quan. On the surface, they were harmonious and respectful, but in secret, not one of them spoke to him from the heart. Such was the drawback of being a favored solitary minister.
Eastern Wu was now shaken to its foundations. Lu Fan had suffered defeat and taken his own life to preserve his honor, while Lu Ju had suppressed the grief of losing his father and risen to volunteer for service. He did so to dispel Lan Tian's suspicions, so that the Lu Clan—without friends to support them—could pass steadily through the changing of regimes. That was why he did not care in the slightest for the contempt in others' eyes.
The more the Eastern Wu generals had once revered and feared the Lu Clan, the more they now despised Lu Ju. The turning of cause and effect was displayed here in