Outside, chaos reigned with soldiers and horses, and the road to seek medicine (summon reinforcements) was fraught with danger. Wang Daxia and Ding Wu both urgently insisted that Lu Ying take all the Jinyiwei to escort Wei Caiwei out, while the two of them would remain in the city to negotiate with King Ming. Wang Daxia would finally deploy the honey trap strategy to behead King Ming. However, Wei Caiwei was still worried that the two would be isolated and helpless in the city, so she went to persuade Luo Longwen to help. His thirty-odd escort masters from Santong Escort Agency could each take down at least two real wokou.
Wei Caiwei wore the resolute expression of Jing Ke assassinating the King of Qin, and began: “That day when Madam Ximen went to serve King Ming…”
Wei Caiwei struck the table fiercely with her fist, as if cuckolded by King Ming. “That beast King Ming, knowing she was already showing pregnancy, still toyed with her for an entire day.”
Seeing the woman he liked occupied by wokou, Luo Longwen sympathized with Wei Caiwei. “The wokou are just like that—cold-blooded and cruel, without moral conscience, disregarding human ethics. Fortunately, Madam Ximen’s body remained healthy and no life was lost. Just consider it being bitten by a mad dog. You should nurse her body back to health, and when you leave the city in the future, I will definitely help you elope with all my strength. Forget these unpleasant things and live well together afterward.”
Luo Longwen still did not regret cooperating with Hu Zongxian to persuade Xu Hai to surrender, feigning amnesty. Wokou were wokou—there was no need to reason with bandits. When unable to defeat them, accept surrender; when capable of victory, beat them to death.
Wei Caiwei said: “At this point, I won’t hide anything from Boss Zhang. Actually, the day Madam Ximen served King Ming, I had her secretly slip a packet of medicine into the wine… King Ming now suffers from yang deficiency syndrome that has entered his vital organs. He’s even started urinating blood. In desperate illness seeking any doctor, he even summoned me, a wandering physician, to treat him. I lied, claiming I had tianshan snow lotus that could cure all diseases, and left the city to seek medicine for King Ming. In reality, I’m going to summon reinforcements, to tell the imperial army that King Ming is dying soon, that the bandits’ morale will crumble, and to recapture Xinghua City early. Boss Ximen also cannot bear the humiliation of his wife being violated, and is willing to take his subordinates to escort me out of the city to summon reinforcements.”
Luo Longwen was overjoyed: “Is King Ming truly going to die?”
“Absolutely certain.” Wei Caiwei said: “Boss Ximen and I are about to leave the city. King Ming isn’t stupid—worried that we might leak information to the government troops about this top secret, he’s detained Madam Ximen in the camp as a hostage to coerce us.”
Luo Longwen was so angry his joints began aching again. “That beast!”
For the safety of Ding Wu and Wang Daxia, Wei Caiwei unhesitatingly dropped to her knees with a thud. “I know this is difficult for Boss Zhang, but being unfamiliar with people and places, I only know Boss Zhang. Boss Ximen and I will definitely go inform General Qi’s army. When fighting breaks out, please do your utmost to protect Madam Ximen. We no longer dare hope for elopement—we only seek to kill King Ming and avenge Madam Ximen’s humiliation.”
Luo Longwen helped Wei Caiwei up. “Who would have thought that a seemingly gentle and weak wandering physician like you would have Jing Ke’s courage and strategic mind in assassinating the king. I’ve always despised wokou. Last time, outnumbered, I could only watch helplessly as Madam Ximen was violated. This time, no matter what, I cannot stand by and watch. I will fully assist your inside-outside coordinated attack.”
Wei Caiwei said: “Boss Ding is also one of us. He’s recently been moving among the boat masters of Shunfeng and the dozens of merchant ships trapped in Xinghua City. In the future, they will all assist in fighting the wokou and should be able to gather several hundred people. If I can successfully bring General Qi’s army to attack Xinghua City, I’ll set off red lotus fireworks in the sky—that will be the signal to rise up. Then Boss Zhang should lead the escort masters to respond at the city gate, shouting slogans like ‘King Ming is dead, the city gate is broken,’ and the bandit soldiers will surely scatter.”
Initially, when wokou captured Xinghua City, it started with “coming, coming,” which spread by hearsay as “wo coming,” causing the Xinghua City garrison to lose all confidence, their morale collapsed, and they almost fled without fighting, freely delivering Xinghua City to the wokou.
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. This plan sounded quite good?
Luo Longwen sighed: “I’m old. It’s still you young people who have fighting spirit. I’m still here waiting for reinforcements to break the city, while you’ve already poisoned the wokou leader King Ming. The younger generation is formidable indeed. Go ahead and summon reinforcements with peace of mind. Rather than sitting and waiting for death, it’s better to take bold action. I will fully assist you.”
Wei Caiwei not only knew how to use poison but also excelled at united front work, even winning over people from her mortal enemy Yan Shifan to join their cause.
Before leaving the city, Wei Caiwei repeatedly cautioned Wang Daxia: “Restrain yourself a bit. Don’t be too flamboyant or coquettish. Protect yourself well.”
Wang Daxia, raising his orchid finger and vigorously fanning his round fan, urged: “Hurry up and go. Quickly finish this battle. When summer comes, I’ll die of heat.”
The two cotton padding pieces in his chest became heavier each night when removed—because they absorbed sweat.
Wei Caiwei handed him a packet of prickly heat powder. “I added four times the usual amount of ice flakes.”
After applying the special prickly heat powder, Wang Daxia immediately felt a cool breeze under his chest: My wife still loves me most, wuu wuu.
With Wang Daxia feeling comfortable, he served King Ming his medicine cup with a beaming smile, his body fragrant and fluttering like a flower butterfly.
King Ming lay in bed, able to look but not touch, truly uncomfortable, so he reached out to grope.
Wang Daxia turned aside to avoid him, saying coquettishly: “Not now.”
King Ming said: “My that thing doesn’t work now, but my hands can. Just let me touch a little.”
Wang Daxia thrust out his belly: “It’s not that King Ming doesn’t work—it’s that this slave doesn’t work—this slave is pregnant.”
King Ming was so shocked he spat out his medicine on the spot: “No way, so fast? Only a little over a month and you’re already pregnant? It’s not mine, is it?”
“This slave’s husband is injured and has never touched this slave. Besides King Ming, who else could it be?” Wang Daxia gently caressed his small belly. “King Ming was so vigorous that day, striking target with one shot. This slave also found it suspicious when this month’s menstruation was delayed, and asked Doctor He to feel my pulse. He detected a pregnancy pulse.”
King Ming set down his medicine cup: “Does your husband know?”
Wang Daxia nodded: “She naturally knows. When Doctor He diagnosed the pregnancy pulse, she was also present. She said when the child is born, if the child resembles her, everything continues as normal. If the child resembles King Ming, she’ll divorce me and let me and the child seek refuge with King Ming. Actually, the child isn’t hers at all. But since she and Doctor He are going out to seek immortal medicine for King Ming, I worried she might harbor resentment, so I didn’t tell her the truth.”
Upon hearing this, King Ming was wildly overjoyed. He had no heirs and previously felt indifferent about it. In the future, when he rules as king in the south or even attacks the capital to become emperor, what women wouldn’t he have? The finest women in the world would bear children for him.
Now, after this serious illness with uncertain life and death ahead, though he pretended to be calm, he was actually panicking inside.
Suddenly learning he was to become a father, King Ming felt this was an auspicious omen of fortune after misfortune. He quickly had Wang Daxia sit down: “Now that you’re with child, don’t do menial tasks like serving tea and water anymore. You can read and calculate—help me manage the sect’s affairs. Your belly carries my flesh and blood, making you the person I trust most. In the future, whether the child is male or female, they shall be named Tailai. After misfortune comes fortune. When Doctor He obtains the immortal medicine for me, I will surely regain my virility. Then I will officially marry you as my King Ming Consort.”
Wang Daxia was deeply in character: “When the husband prospers, the wife is honored. This slave’s and Tailai’s entire lives depend on King Ming. King Ming must recover soon.”
Because Wang Daxia was pregnant, King Ming developed three parts respect for him, no longer groping and treating him as a plaything, even entrusting him with the official seal.
When Little Tie Niu was in severe pain, he lay in bed bellowing like an ox, his eyes blurred with pain. All military and financial affairs were dictated by Wang Daxia while he made decisions, with Wang Daxia transcribing and stamping with the great seal before passing them down.
Thus, Wang Daxia became completely familiar with King Ming’s defensive lines inside and outside Xinghua City, ships on various sea routes, and so forth.
Wang Daxia firmly controlled the White Lotus Sect. King Ming’s condition continued deteriorating—from the egg-sized swelling when Wei Caiwei left, it had now swollen to two purple eggplants.
Even worse, Little Tie Niu had also swollen up like an iron rod, standing erect day and night.
Tireless and unwavering—except for the swelling pain, this was exactly what King Ming had dreamed of. But he couldn’t use it. Forget sleeping with women—even lightly touching it with a finger caused pain like being stabbed with a knife.
King Ming flew into a rage and ordered the doctors dragged away for beating.
Wang Daxia didn’t want to implicate the innocent. Holding a quilt, he walked out of the courtyard and told the wokou administering punishment: “King Ming is momentarily angry. If you beat them badly, there’ll be no one to treat King Ming. Then King Ming will blame you all. Can you cure illnesses? So please be merciful and make it look good. Doctors, please cooperate too—cry when you should cry, wail when you should wail, and let King Ming vent his anger.”
The wokou, hearing this logic, raised their sticks to beat the quilt, producing muffled sounds very similar to beating buttocks. The doctors wailed and howled, calling for their fathers and mothers as if truly being beaten.
King Ming lay in bed unable to wear pants, a gossamer-thin gauze sheet held up high, unable to move. Naturally, he couldn’t see what was happening outside and thought it was real beating.
Wang Daxia brought over a bowl of medicine: “King Ming is in pain and hasn’t slept all night, inevitably becoming irritable. This medicine contains sleep aids. After King Ming drinks it, he can sleep peacefully.”
King Ming knew that drinking it would render him unconscious, but the constant piercing pain was unbearable. He could only use unconsciousness to combat the pain. He summoned his subordinates, placed a screen below his head, and said: “I accidentally broke my leg a few days ago and must rest in bed for several days. During this time, everyone must obey my wife without exception.”
Everyone could only see King Ming’s face, not the embarrassment below his neck. Though somewhat suspicious, King Ming’s authority remained, so none dared disobey and all withdrew to follow orders.
Wang Daxia, “honored by his child,” had remarkably become the wokou leader.
Having gained power, Wang Daxia’s first action was to strengthen defenses as justification for transferring the sailors from major merchant ships like Shunfeng, Luo Longwen’s Santong Escort Agency masters, and others into the wokou lair and key positions like city towers and arrow towers, waiting for Wei Caiwei and Lu Ying to bring General Qi’s army for coordinated inside-outside attack.
Author’s Note: Could clearly win by force, yet chose to triumph through beauty.