[4] Lu Yi passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi (進士) class in 886, during the reign of Emperor Xuānzong's grandson Emperor Xizong, and later in the year was part of Emperor Xuānzong's procession to Xingyuan (興元, in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi)[1] when Emperor Xuānzong fled there from the imperial capital Chang'an due to a military confrontation between the powerful eunuch Tian Lingzi and Tian's allies Zhu Mei the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi) and Li Changfu the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) on one side, and the warlords Wang Chongrong the military governor of Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) and Li Keyong, the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) on the other.
Thereafter, he was made Zuo Shiyi (左拾遺), an advisory official at the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng), as well as a scholar at Jixian Pavilion (集賢院).
In 891, he was made an imperial scholar (翰林學士, Hanlin Xueshi) as well as Tuntian Yuanwailang (屯田員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of public works (工部, Gongbu).
In 892, he was made Cibu Langzhong (祠部郎中), a supervisory official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu) and put in charge of drafting edicts.
In 895, he was made the deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, Bingbu Shilang); he was also given the honorary title of Yinqing Guanglu Daifu (銀青光祿大夫) and created the Baron of Jiaxing.
His elevation to chancellorship was intended to replace Cui Yin, and was carried out at a time when Emperor Zhaozong and the imperial officials had fled Chang'an and gone to Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi) to flee an attack that Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit was carrying out against Chang'an; once they got to Zhenguo, Zhenguo's military governor Han Jian, with the emperor under his physical control, instigated Cui's removal and exile (to be the military governor of Wu'an Circuit (武安, headquartered in modern Changsha, Hunan)).
He was subsequently made Menxia Shilang (門下侍郎) — deputy head of the examination bureau — and put in charge of editing the imperial histories.
[9] In 903, with Fengxiang in desperate straits, Li Maozhen killed Han, Zhang, and their supporters, and turned Emperor Zhaozong over to Zhu to sue for peace.
[1] In 904, after Zhu Quanzhong killed Cui Yin and forced Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital to Luoyang,[11] Lu Yi was made the minister of civil service affairs (吏部尚書, Libu Shangshu) and restored to the rank of Tejin, but was not again chancellor.
In 905, Zhu, at the advice of his close associates Liu Can and Li Zhen, began demoting and killing Tang aristocrats en masse, and Lu was first demoted to be the census officer at Pu Prefecture (濮州, in modern Heze, Shandong), and then ordered to commit suicide at Baima Station (白馬驛, in modern Anyang, Henan), with fellow former chancellors Pei Shu, Dugu Sun, Cui Yuan, Wang Pu, as well as the officials Zhao Chong (趙崇) and Wang Zan (王贊).