Wang Daxia hugged her tightly in return. He was still growing, and with exposure to wind and weather while rushing about seeking revenge, he had become terribly thin. His waist and legs were even thinner than Wei Caiwei’s, and the two rows of ribs on his chest were like a washboard, pressing painfully against Wei Caiwei’s chest.
Of course, at this moment Wei Caiwei’s heart ached even more. She caressed Wang Daxia’s spine, where his two protruding shoulder blades were like hidden wings—this past year he must have suffered greatly.
Castrated men’s bodies would be more robust, taller, longer-lived, and they wouldn’t go bald. Therefore, Eunuch Wang from her previous life was much sturdier than the current Wang Daxia, always presenting himself before her as a sheltering figure against wind and rain.
The current Wang Daxia was thin and weak, having just recovered from illness, evoking pity. He had originally planned to go to Jiangxi alone to seek revenge, prepared to bear whatever consequences alone. But when Wei Caiwei said she wouldn’t let him leave, that whatever happened they would bear together, his desperate blood courage and determination instantly melted in her tender embrace.
Like a wounded and weary traveler seeing a bright lamp ahead on a stormy night, drawing near to discover it was exactly his home, with the door already open, welcoming the wanderer’s return.
“It’s Yan Shifan—he’s behind this mischief again.” Wang Daxia’s voice was both hoarse and trembling, his teeth chattering: “He used others as his weapon, and the Japanese pirates were his blade. Striking a snake without killing it leaves endless trouble. This time I won’t let him go.”
Wei Caiwei now understood why Wang Daxia had appeared in Jiangxi: “You want to confront Yan Shifan for revenge. You almost went to the wrong place. His Majesty issued a decree for Prince Jing to go to Mount Wudang to perform sacrifices on his behalf. The Yan father and son, as guests invited by Prince Jing to assist in the ceremonies, are all heading to Mount Wudang. Lu Ying and I are also going to Mount Wudang to investigate the case of the little imperial grandson being deliberately infected with smallpox.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Daxia said angrily: “A den of snakes and rats—they only know such underhanded, despicable tricks!”
Outside the door, neither Lu Ying nor the servant got any response to their knocking. Worried something had happened, Lu Ying simply kicked the door open forcefully.
With a loud bang, they saw Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia embracing tightly on the bed!
Propriety dictated looking away, so Lu Ying quickly turned around. The servant, seeing two men in disheveled clothing embracing, reacted like an innocent maiden from a noble family who had been deceived by a debauched young master: “You… I knew last night you had ill intentions toward my guest! You even used acupuncture as a cover, and now I’ve caught you in the act! How do you explain this!”
This servant was still kind-hearted and responsible. If he hadn’t insisted on calling a doctor, Wang Daxia might have died of illness in a foreign place before achieving his revenge. Wang Daxia said weakly: “It’s not what you think… Actually, we are—”
Wei Caiwei couldn’t reveal her female identity and interrupted: “Actually, we are brothers separated for many years. During last night’s acupuncture treatment, I discovered moles and birthmarks on his body that resembled my younger brother’s, but I couldn’t be certain. Today when he woke up, I asked him about childhood matters, and we recognized each other as brothers and wept with joy.”
Wang Daxia cooperated seamlessly: “That’s right. Next, I’m going to follow my elder brother back to our hometown to pay respects at ancestral graves. I won’t need the boat.”
In the end, the servant took twenty taels of silver as a reward and went home for New Year celebrations. Good deeds bring good rewards—Wei Caiwei’s momentary act of kindness led to an unexpected reunion with her fiancé.
The disguised Imperial Guards carried the weak Wang Daxia onto the boat. When comrades met, there was naturally much sighing. When passing through the Jiujiang section of the Yangtze River where Wang Qianhu had met with misfortune, Wang Daxia struggled to get out of bed and burned incense on the deck, scattering paper money and throwing sacrificial offerings of cattle, sheep, and pigs into the surging river waters.
Everyone dressed in mourning white, burned incense, and bowed three times to bid farewell to their predecessor.
Mount Wudang.
Mount Wudang was a sacred Taoist site and also the ancestral temple of the Ming imperial family. Prince Yan Zhu Di, stationed in the north, launched the Jingnan Campaign. Southern Vermillion Bird, Northern Black Tortoise. Zhu Di’s chief strategist, Master Daoyan, advised the prince to assume the identity of the Xuanwu God. Whenever he went to battle, he would let down his hair and carry a sword, imitating the appearance of Xuanwu God statues, giving divine nature to the rebellious prince and indicating that everything was heaven’s arrangement.
Prince Yan Zhu Di became the first and only person in history to successfully rebel as a vassal prince and ascend the throne, seizing the imperial position from his nephew Zhu Yunwen and becoming emperor with the reign name Yongle.
To consolidate his power, Emperor Yongle used Taoism as a means, simply declaring the Xuanwu God as the nation’s protective deity and sending Prince Consort Mu Xin to Mount Wudang to extensively build Taoist temples and imperial structures to demonstrate his legitimate status.
Prince Consort Mu Xin was a clever man who understood his father-in-law Emperor Yongle’s thoughts. When carving the Xuanwu God statue, he deliberately incorporated Emperor Yongle’s features into the divine image, making it three parts similar to the emperor—a unity of god and man, representing the divine mandate of imperial power.
In her time, Empress Wu Zetian of the Great Zhou had done something similar, incorporating her own features into Buddhist statues. The Buddha statues in the Longmen Grottoes resembled her by three parts. These were all conventional methods of deifying “usurpation.”
Emperor Yongle’s lineage thus became the rulers of the Great Ming. Thereafter, whenever emperors ascended the throne, they would send imperial commissioners to Mount Wudang to sacrifice to the True Martial God, demonstrating their heavenly mandate to inherit ancestral achievements. So Mount Wudang, beyond Taoism, possessed political status that other Taoist sacred sites lacked.
By Emperor Jiajing’s time, he spent years in the West Garden practicing immortality and alchemy—he was essentially a Taoist priest himself, worshipping divine objects even more than his ancestor Emperor Yongle. He again sent ministers to repair temples and palaces. Within a hundred li of Mount Wudang, everything was sacred ground, with a hermitage every five li and a palace every ten li—over five hundred buildings large and small, with more than twenty thousand rooms!
Know that Beijing’s Forbidden City had only about eight thousand rooms—Mount Wudang was more than twice the size of the Forbidden City.
Now, Mount Wudang had over five hundred Taoist priests, plus more than ten thousand craftsmen, soldiers, and religious followers. Pilgrims came to Mount Wudang continuously each day—it was like a fairyland city hidden in the mountains.
Mount Wudang, Tianzhu Peak, Taihe Palace, Golden Hall—this was Mount Wudang’s highest peak. At this time, Mount Wudang was covered in white snow with occasional swirling clouds and mist, making Taihe Palace look like a celestial residence.
In the center of the Golden Hall stood a bronze gilt sculpture of the Xuanwu God, vaguely bearing three parts resemblance to Emperor Yongle in the Fengxian Hall of the Forbidden City.
Prince Jing stared at the Xuanwu God statue in fascination and asked Yan Shifan beside him: “Do I look like the Xuanwu God statue?”
Yan Shifan flattered him: “Yes! Extremely similar! At least five parts resemblance!”
Having been enfeoffed in Anlu, Hubei for four years, not needing to constantly read his father’s expressions in the capital or rack his brains to please his father while scheming against his brother Prince Yu, Prince Jing had been eating well with nothing to occupy his mind. Though only twenty-eight years old this year, his figure was already slightly plump.
With his round face and eyes clouded from years of indulging in women to continue his lineage, Prince Jing’s spirit and energy were far inferior to his brother Prince Yu. Where was the domineering aura of the Xuanwu God?
Prince Jing said modestly: “I dare not claim five parts resemblance. My ancestor Emperor Shizong only had three parts resemblance. As for me, two parts resemblance is sufficient!”
Yan Shifan said: “Emperor Shizong, as a vassal prince, raised troops in the Jingnan Campaign and conquered the Great Ming realm. This minister sees Your Highness resembles Emperor Shizong even more.”
Prince Jing nearly had the word “usurp” written on his forehead, his expression immediately turning gloomy: “Unfortunately, despite all our scheming this time, that little bastard of Prince Yu’s is still living well, blocking my path.”
Yan Shifan said: “This time we lacked some luck. However, Your Highness will soon hold your own son. After Your Highness pays respects to the Xuanwu God, the child will be born just in time—this child will be a gift from the Xuanwu God.”
Yes, after four years of Prince Jing’s diligent cultivation, a concubine had finally successfully conceived. However, Emperor Jiajing had always disliked hearing such news, so Prince Jing had never found a suitable opportunity to tell his father.
Yan Shifan devised a strategy, secretly having court allies use Emperor Jiajing’s illness as an excuse for Prince Jing to come to Mount Wudang on his father’s behalf to pay respects to the Xuanwu God, praying for the Xuanwu God’s blessing for Emperor Jiajing’s speedy recovery and longevity.
After the heavenly sacrifice, the concubine would be about to give birth. Prince Jing would then find an excuse, claiming the Xuanwu God had sent the child in a dream, using this opportunity to legitimize the child.
Originally, according to the planned scheme, Prince Yu’s mansion’s little imperial grandson would die from smallpox, Prince Jing would have a son, and he would gain the upper hand.
Then he would find an opportunity to kill Prince Yu, making it look like he couldn’t bear the grief of losing his son and died of illness. As the only remaining son who had produced the only grandson, the dragon throne could only belong to Prince Jing.
Unfortunately, heaven did not comply with human wishes. That little bastard was lucky and actually escaped the calamity.
The concubine hadn’t given birth yet, and they didn’t know if it would be a boy or girl, but doctors and midwives examining her belly all said it was a boy.
It must be a boy!
Prince Jing had secretly prepared several pregnant women about to give birth. As long as they bore sons, even if his concubine gave birth to a girl, he would take a son and claim it was twins, first securing an heir eligible to inherit the throne.
It didn’t matter if it was fake—in the future, when Prince Jing had his own son, he had a hundred ways to kill that previous “bastard”!
Prince Jing had already calculated even the bridge-burning part.
If Shizong could transform from vassal prince to emperor, so can I.
Prince Jing knelt devoutly before the Xuanwu God in prayer, hoping the deity would bless him to replicate his ancestor’s success. He had even fantasized that after his enthronement, he would definitely reshape the Xuanwu God statue, incorporating his own features into the divine image—just carve it according to my appearance!
Prince Jing had already forgotten to pray for his father’s recovery. At this moment, his heart contained only himself.
After completing the prayers and sacrificial rites, the next step was a seven-day and seven-night grand ceremony before the ritual would be complete.
Prince Jing stood up from the prayer mat and said to Yan Shifan: “Call over that assassin who failed at the smallpox mission. I want to properly ‘reward’ him.”
The assassins Prince Jing had left in the capital were basically all Taoist priests from White Deer Temple. These priests had used the White Lotus Society and palace black magic incidents as cover, attempting to kill Prince Yu through borrowed blade tactics, but Wei Caiwei, Wang Daxia, and Lu Ying had exposed their schemes and turned danger into safety. To protect Prince Jing, the White Deer Temple priests all self-destructed to die for their master, leaving no evidence—they all died.
This time, the person who disguised himself as a merchant and pretended to lose the jade Guanyin to Li Wei at the Huaqing Pool gambling house was an assassin raised by Yan Shifan.
After completing his mission, the assassin immediately left the capital without leaving traces. He had expected to hear the good news of Prince Yu’s mansion’s little imperial grandson’s death on the road, then arrive at Mount Wudang to claim credit and receive rewards. But such a meticulous and secret plan still had flaws.
Yan Shifan said: “This minister will have him come up immediately.”
Prince Jing looked at the misty cliff below his feet. Standing on Mount Wudang’s highest peak, pushing someone down would certainly smash them to pieces, then wild beasts would devour them. What a perfect place for murder and silencing witnesses—he wouldn’t even need to dirty his own hands!
When his subordinate went to deliver the message, all four guards in the meditation room had fallen to the ground, foaming at the mouth. There were half-eaten food and wine on the dining table. The assassin they were guarding had disappeared, the window was open, and there was half a footprint on the windowsill.
The assassin disguised as a Taoist priest hurried down Tianzhu Peak and disappeared into the clouds and mist…
Author’s Note: This time we’ll clean out the entire den of snakes and rats. The section about Prince Consort Mu Xin building Mount Wudang in Emperor Yongle’s name was something I wrote about in detail in “Hu Shanwei” before, so this time I just skimmed over it. “Hu Shanwei” was already a work from two years ago—time really flies. It feels like it just finished yesterday.