Xing Muzheng raised his head to look at the Emperor, then lowered it again, hesitating. “This minister…”
“This minister what? Hm? When did you learn to stammer and stall? Stand up and answer.”
Xing Muzheng stood, silent, and only let out a heavy sigh.
Seeing this, Emperor Taikang stroked his beard and chuckled. “You brat, could it be…” How could he forget—though this former Grand General had long been battle-hardened, he was still only a man in his twenties, full of hot blood. “Could it be the old saying—even heroes cannot pass the beauty barrier—that you’ve been ensnared by your wife’s charms?”
Xing Muzheng said quickly, “This minister has not.”
The Emperor burst out laughing. Though he was half-detached from worldly matters now, hearing such clumsy denial from his cold-hearted, steel-nerved general stirred a teasing mood. “So you’ve fallen, have you? I’ve been through this myself—do you think I wouldn’t recognize such petty schemes of the heart?”
Xing Muzheng lowered his head and said nothing.
The Emperor finished speaking and realized he had dug himself a hole. If he pushed Xing Muzheng to admit he loved his wife, wouldn’t that make him the villain breaking up a good marriage? So the Emperor quickly changed tack: “When I was young, I too was infatuated with Noble Consort Liu, and later with Noble Consort Zheng, and Noble Consort Liang… You’re captivated by your wife now, but after a while, she won’t seem so novel. Next spring, at the selection of court beauties, I’ll let you choose from my candidates. Pick as many as you like—one as your principal wife, the rest as secondary wives. Will that do?”
“I only want her,” Xing Muzheng said, almost defiantly.
This was bad—he was in deep. The Emperor’s head began to ache. When it came to matters of love, people seemed to turn into completely different creatures. Hang Zhi had been cold-hearted too, yet it was said he’d gone white-haired for his dead wife. Now it was Xing Muzheng’s turn?
“Look at you men, so lacking in composure! It’s only a woman—yet you act as though life and death hang on it, all your prestige gone!” The Emperor couldn’t understand it. Neither of these two men was easy to deal with in any other matter, so why were they so unreasonable in this one? Could it be they were fated for peach-blossom disasters?
Xing Muzheng took out a snake fang and laid it in his palm. “Does Your Majesty know the origin of this tooth?”
The Emperor’s gaze shifted, and his hands stilled. “This… is a snake’s fang, isn’t it?”
“Your Majesty has a keen eye indeed.” Xing Muzheng held it out with both hands. The Emperor stroked the surface of the tooth, nodding repeatedly. “This is indeed a fine fang… Where did you get it?”
“This fang was taken when I and a few men hunted a hundred-year-old serpent in the Wuling Mountains. We lured it out, killed it, and extracted the tooth. The snake was extremely cunning—able to swallow a man whole—and hid deep in the forest. I went through great hardship to get this fang, nearly losing my life in the process.”
“A hundred-year-old serpent indeed! You… risked so much in order to…” Could it be he knew the Emperor was searching everywhere for such a fang to refine into an elixir, and had gone to kill the serpent for that reason?
Xing Muzheng lowered his head and extended both hands toward the Emperor. The Emperor realized he meant to take the fang back; though reluctant, with those hands outstretched he had no choice but to return it. Xing Muzheng took back the fang and tucked it to his chest before saying, “This minister heard from a hermit that the fang of a hundred-year-old serpent has the power to bewitch the heart. If it is ground each day and given for a woman to drink, over time she will be utterly devoted to the man at her side.”
“Nonsense! Sheer superstition!” The Emperor laughed in anger. A hundred-year-old serpent’s fang! There were only a handful in the whole world! Such a rare treasure was clearly known for its power to extend life, yet some charlatan from Mount Mao had spread the absurd rumor that it could be used for love spells!
“This minister believes it is not without truth. Because of this divorce decree, my wife thought I was behind it and became disheartened, cutting me off in her heart. But now that I have ground down one whole fang and secretly given it to her…”
The Emperor sucked in a sharp breath. “You’ve already ground one?” Heaven above—such waste! His heart ached with regret; if only he hadn’t meddled by issuing that decree, both fangs could have been his!
“Yes, I ground it. And strangely enough, these past days she has indeed been kinder to me. I am sure that if I grind down this remaining fang, she will completely come back to me. To be frank, this fang is now the treasure of my palm, the flesh of my flesh—if anyone tries to take it from me, I will fight them to the death.” Xing Muzheng’s tone was calm, but carried a deadly edge, as though if anyone touched it, he really would tear them limb from limb.
“You…” The Emperor choked on his words. This fellow had gone so far—if he asked for the fang now, it would be tantamount to provoking rebellion. And as an Emperor who wished to live as long as heaven and earth, he could not risk stirring up trouble at such a critical time. If he killed Xing Muzheng outright, who would guard the borders should enemies invade again?
Xing Muzheng’s voice grew low again. “This matter began with me, and it is all my fault. I should not trouble Your Majesty further. I only ask for a little more time—once I have finished grinding this fang and my wife is utterly devoted to me, I will obey the decree and divorce her, hiding her away under another name in my residence.”
“Wait!” The Emperor pointed at him with the pestle. “Don’t you go doing anything reckless!”
Xing Muzheng’s eyes lit up. “Your Majesty is willing to think of a way for me, then?”
If Qian Jiaoniang were here, she would probably be dumbfounded at how good XIng Muzheng was at putting on an act.
The Taikang Emperor felt like a dumb man forced to swallow bitter herbs. It wasn’t that he wanted to help him think of a way—he just couldn’t bear to see him take such a priceless treasure and waste it on useless things! But if he didn’t help him, then this elixir of immortality…
Xing Muzheng dropped to his knees and knocked his head on the ground three times with force. “Your Majesty, I have only one wish in this life—to join hands with my wife, of the Qian family, and grow old together. I beg Your Majesty to grant it! I will devote my life to Your Majesty, even unto smashing my body to pieces or spilling my brain and blood.”
“Beloved Minister Xing, you’re putting me in a difficult spot!” The Taikang Emperor clasped his hands behind his back and strode up to him with heavy sighs.
Xing Muzheng kept his forehead pressed to the ground, silently pleading.
The Taikang Emperor paced back and forth several times before reaching down to help Xing Muzheng up. “Go back for now, and let me think this over!”
“As Your Majesty commands.” Xing Muzheng, hearing this, did not linger, but withdrew with proper ceremony. Just as he reached the door, the Taikang Emperor called him back. “That snake fang—don’t grind it anymore.”
Xing Muzheng actually hesitated. “This…”
The Taikang Emperor glared in urgency. “That’s an imperial order! Until I’ve made up my mind, you are not to grind that snake fang again!”
At last Xing Muzheng accepted the decree and left. Daoist Niu entered from a side door, and the Taikang Emperor, sighing, told him the whole matter. “Daoist Niu, tell me, am I not bringing trouble on myself? Such a fine snake fang, and that boy, blinded by foolishness, wastes it like this! My heart aches—it feels like it’s on fire.”
Daoist Niu consoled him, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. We only need one snake fang for our purpose.”
“But even if he is my minister, I cannot simply seize it by force. And I did, in fact, issue a decree earlier—my golden words cannot just be taken back. I… I’m in a bind!”
Daoist Niu stroked his goatee, fell silent for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. Leaning in close, he whispered a few words in the emperor’s ear.
The Taikang Emperor listened, hesitating. “This… is it proper?”
“Since Your Majesty hasn’t revealed anything yet, of course it’s proper,” Daoist Niu said with a smile. “It’s far better than altering an imperial decree, wouldn’t you say?”
The Taikang Emperor thought it over, clenched his teeth, and nodded. “The Daoist speaks sense. Let’s do it that way.”
