Lu Wei is the second lady of the Lu residence. She is not the illegitimate daughter or the daughter of the concubine. In fact she is the niece of court historian Lu Ke. When he saw the opportunity, where emperor was against a strong marriage tie for his nephew, he pounced on it by presenting both his own daughter as well as his niece. This tie will help him gain favour from his in-laws to ascend in the court. Lu ke was the complete opposite of his sister Lu Lian who was gentle, smart, resourceful and independent.
Lu Lian was the elder sister of Lu Ke. Lu family wasn't very wealthy. The parents had enough to make their children's life comfortable. Sister Lian worked at a wealthy silk merchant's workshop, while Lu ke studied for imperial exams. Lu ke couldn't pass the imperial exams. But with the connections made in the capital, he got himself a job of a surveyor. When he was posted in the city of me Lin'an as the record keeper for trade goods and taxation, it is during this period that he met an old wealthy merchant whom he pulled a favour for and in return he was married to his daughter. Lu ke married before his elder sister. To not cause any bad rumor about his brother, Lian decided not to attend their wedding. But send an exquisite silk hand fan to her to be sister-in-law. After seeing the gift, Hua used it for the matrimonial ceremony replacing the fan she had initially made with the wedding attire.
The next year while working in the silk merchants workshop one of the racks broke, a local carpenter was brought to fix it. The local carpenter was called Wei Xian. This chance encounter entwined the red threads between Lu Lian and Wei Xian. The sericulturist grew fond of this young gentlemen. Soon enough they were to be married, and at the same time Lu Hua wife of Lu Ke was pregnant. Therefore Lian went to meet her sister-in-law for the first time. When she told about her wedding with Wei Xuan, her brother refused to acknowledge it. He would rather have her marry a wealthy man. Lu Lian did not marry at the marriageable age due to their father incurred a disease. She worked to make ends meet, neither Lu Ke was capable of providing help. Lian refused to marry as a concubine to one of Lu Ke's beneficiary, this lead to the brother and sister fall out. Lian and Xian wed in the same year; Lu ke and Lu hua had their first, born a daughter. Next year, a beautiful baby girl was born to Lu Lian and Wei Xian. But sadly enough the same year mercenary were called for battle. Young healthy men of any profession were required by the decree to join war against the kingdom of Shenzhou. So Wei Xian had to leave his wife and his newborn daughter.
With the baby's father away and them being away from the father's ancestry. As the war raged, city walls held curfew, therefore Lu Lian registered her daughter under her family name Lu and named her Wei from her father's family name. Lu Wei was three, when her father returned from the war. He did not return because the war was over but due to his injury, Wie Xian was incapacitated. He lost his non-dominate left arm, nevertheless, the small family of two were eagerly waiting for him. Xian was happy just to be alive, to see his family again. With war still continuing and the trade markets suffering, many employees were removed from work including Lu Lian. The family decided to migrate to the Wuyi mountains. Lu Lian worked at the tea estate as a tea picker, she also did other menial jobs such as helping in farm, and weaving baskets. While Wei Xian took over household chores, taking care of little Wei Wei. Despite his lost limb Xian still continued carpentry with his other hand. He would make small trinkets of wood; toys, jewellery and cravings. The wood would be played on a pedestal, affixed in order to prevent the wood from skidding. Xian also took in an apprentice who was studying to be a scholar.
At age seven, little Wei Wei would accompany her mother to pick teas. Her father never let her near his workshop, often telling her to practice an art that does not make her hands rough and unpleasant. Because her father was very cautions of holding his own daughter fearing his rough hands would harm his daughters soft as petal cheeks. But to little Wei Wei those rough hands were the warmest in the world. It was her father's apprentice Feng who taught Wei Wei to write and to paint. She developed her skills in painting, especially painting in minute and delicate details. She would use grass blade to paint, this medium helped in creating the thinest stroke those enabling to make very detailed oriented imagery.
Wei Xuan died when Wei Wei was ten. Lu ke was living in the Lin'an in his wife's house basking in his father-in-law's influence. That is when rumours of his sister spread within the city. The rumours painted Lu Ke as an unkind heartless brother who left his widowed sister with a child, to fend for for herself. This rumour was damaging the reputation and Lu Ke wanted to be in his father-in-laws's good books, as his sponsorship was crucial for Lu Ke's career. Lu Ke convinced his sister to live with him at the wife's house, so that the rumours about him die out.
Naturally they weren't welcomed. Mother Lian explained to little Wei Wei, not to cause trouble in another household. Mother and Wei Wei were in their own quarters they rarely visited any social events and stayed quietly, as if they did not exist. Mother Lian incurred a disease soon after, that was slowly killing her, she became bed ridden. Madame Lu Hua wife of Lu Ke assisted and provided for the medicine. She came by everyday to check on her sisiter-in-law's condition. Little Wei Wei would look after her mother's sickness and took the role of the caretaker. She would brew the medicine, change sheets and clothes; despite having servants assigned for this, little Wei Wei could not trust them with her mother as they were often neglected. At age twelve Lu Wei lost her mother. The family shifted to Dongling, as Lu ke got the post of recorder for judicial administration and then landed the post of court historian. Five years, Lu Wei spent in the Lu house silently, without having a personal maid assigned, quietly in her own quarters, honing her skills in the painting. Lu Wei was eighteen and Lu Mei was nineteen when the marriage decree was made.