Weishao arrived at the east wing. He saw his mother, Madam Zhu, anxiously waiting at the door. Upon seeing him, she immediately came over, exclaiming joyfully, “Zhonglin, you’re finally back! I’ve been so worried these past few days. I’m glad you’ve returned safely. Come in quickly, I’ve prepared dinner for you myself.”
Weishao thanked Madam Zhu and followed her inside, saying, “Mother, you really shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of cooking for me. I feel undeserving.”
“Nonsense!” Madam Zhu laughed, “I wish you would come dine with me every day. How could it be any trouble?”
Weishao glanced at the table.
The dining table was already laden with a sumptuous feast. There were several deer dishes alone – deer sashimi, dried deer meat, and deer meat abalone soup. Besides these, there were chicken, fish, and gourds aplenty, with a jug of wine on the table as well. Weishao was slightly taken aback and couldn’t help but smile wryly.
This spread was enough to satisfy three or four hungry men. It suddenly reminded him of Qiao Nu’s appetite from a few days ago when he had teased and challenged her.
If she were to eat this meal, he thought, even ten Qiao Nus eating for three days probably couldn’t finish it all.
Weishao looked at his mother’s smiling face and ultimately said nothing, taking a seat.
Madam Zhu sat beside him and poured him a cup of wine, saying, “This cup is to celebrate my son’s victorious return from battle.”
As Madam Zhu handed the wine to her son, her gaze was slightly unnatural. But Weishao didn’t notice his mother’s unusual behavior. He thanked her, accepted the cup with both hands and drank it in one gulp. Then he picked up his chopsticks.
Seeing him drink the wine, Madam Zhu let out a small sigh of relief. She urged him to drink more, assuring him not to worry about getting drunk, as there was a room in the east wing where he could stay if needed.
Weishao just smiled without speaking.
Madam Zhu continued to sit with him for a while, pouring him two more cups of wine. After watching him drink them, she finally excused herself and left.
Many days ago, she had secretly visited the Witch’s Temple on Yushan Mountain and obtained a package of the Queen Mother’s Elixir from the Great Witch. The Great Witch had said that this medicine was extremely potent; just a pinch would be enough to take effect, and if taken with wine, the effect would be even more intense.
Madam Zhu, fearing it might harm her son, didn’t dare use too much. But worried it might not be effective enough, she had finally added it to the wine, mixed it well, and served it to her son. After seeing him drink three cups, she finally felt at ease and left as previously planned.
…
Although the dinner in the east wing was sumptuous and well-prepared, Weishao was only there for his mother’s sake. He ate without much appetite and had no interest in drinking. Perhaps it was because he was also somewhat tired, but he only wanted to return to his quarters early. After drinking the few cups of wine Madam Zhu had poured for him, he stopped, picked a few more dishes, and planned to bid farewell to Madam Zhu.
He waited for a while, but Madam Zhu didn’t return. Gradually, he felt a burning sensation in his abdomen, a vague feeling of scorching heat.
Soon, this sensation spread downward.
He naturally knew what this meant. It never occurred to him that his mother had drugged him. He was only puzzled by his sudden, inexplicable reaction, feeling quite uncomfortable and urgently wanting to find relief.
Weishao endured for a moment. Seeing that Madam Zhu still hadn’t returned, he stood up and told a nearby round-faced maid to convey his farewells. As he was about to leave, Wet Nurse Jiang suddenly appeared, anxiously saying that after the Madam had returned to her room, intending to come out again, she had suddenly developed a severe headache. She asked the Young Master to come and check on her.
In all these years, Weishao had never heard of Madam Zhu suffering from headaches. Alarmed, he suppressed the uncomfortable, crawling sensation in his body and hurriedly followed Wet Nurse Jiang. He noticed they weren’t heading towards Madam Zhu’s usual quarters, which confused him slightly, but he didn’t suspect anything, assuming his mother had developed the headache in another room. When they reached the door of a secluded inner chamber, Wet Nurse Jiang pushed it open. Weishao, not thinking much of it, stepped over the threshold.
As soon as he entered, Wet Nurse Jiang closed the door behind him. Concerned about his mother’s condition, Weishao didn’t pay attention to this. He looked around and saw that the room was very deep, with two sections. His mother wasn’t in the outer room, and there weren’t even any serving maids present. Assuming she was in the inner chamber, he strode in quickly, lifting the dividing curtain as he said, “Mother, are you…”
He suddenly stopped.
Madam Zhu wasn’t inside. Directly opposite was a bed. A seductive fragrance filled the air, penetrating his senses. Through a thin gauze curtain, among silken quilts and fragrant pillows, he saw a young woman lying on her side with her back to him. Her black hair was unbound, cascading over the pillow. She wore only a thin crimson silk robe, which had slipped down to her shoulders, revealing a stretch of fair neck and rounded shoulders.
Weishao was stunned.
The woman on the bed slowly sat up. As she rose, her robe slipped further. She raised her hand to press the fallen crimson silk against her chest, but a large expanse of her flesh was already exposed, half-hidden and half-revealed. Any man who saw this would have their blood racing. The burning sensation in Weishao’s body intensified, coursing through him, almost impossible to suppress.
The woman raised her head, her eyes filled with emotion and her face blushing. Seeing Weishao standing motionless, she gently released her hand. The robe slid down, leaving her upper body completely bare, her allure overwhelming.
“Cousin…” she called out softly.
Weishao fully understood the situation now.
He swept his eyes over the woman’s body, a heavy shadow passing through his gaze, even overshadowing the original desire in his pupils. He turned and left.
Zheng Chuyu hadn’t expected that in such a situation, Weishao would simply turn and leave. After a moment of shock, she hurriedly grabbed her robe, hastily covering her chest, and ran out barefoot. She quickly caught up to Weishao, embracing his legs from behind and sliding to her knees. Tearfully, she said, “Cousin, Aunt insisted on this. I had no choice, but Chuyu is willing to help ease your discomfort.”
Weishao stopped and looked down at Zheng Chuyu. She knelt behind him, her round shoulders trembling, looking up at him with tears glistening in her eyes, her posture pitiful.
Weishao forcefully suppressed the swelling sensation that seemed to have spread throughout his body’s blood vessels. He jerked his foot away from Zheng Chuyu and strode towards the door. When he reached it, he pulled a couple of times before realizing it had been locked from the outside. Enraged, he raised his foot and kicked it. The extremely sturdy red sandalwood door was kicked off its hinges and crashed to the ground outside with a thunderous bang.
“Cousin—” Zheng Chuyu’s tearful cry came from behind.
Weishao ignored her, his expression tense as he stepped over the threshold, treading on the fallen door and striding away.
After luring Weishao into the room, Wet Nurse Jiang quietly locked the door and then hid nearby with Madam Zhu, who had come upon hearing the news. They were fully confident that this time the plan would succeed. They never expected that he would kick the door flying out just moments after entering. Seeing him walk out with an angry expression, they looked at each other in dismay and hurriedly emerged from their hiding place.
“Young Master, where are you going…” Wet Nurse Jiang foolishly tried to stop Weishao. As soon as her hand touched his arm, Weishao raised his foot and kicked her. His kick landed squarely on her thigh. In his fury, how could Wet Nurse Jiang possibly withstand his strength? With a scream of pain, she was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the corner of the wall. Her thigh was in agony, the bone already broken.
Wet Nurse Jiang fainted on the spot.
Madam Zhu had raised Weishao, and in all these years, he had always been respectful and filial towards her. Even when occasionally displeased, he would never directly confront her. She had never seen her son look so furious. Terrified, her hands and feet turned cold. Glancing at Wet Nurse Jiang, who lay motionless in the corner, she didn’t dare approach. With a pale face and trembling voice, she said, “Zhonglin, how could you treat…”
Weishao suddenly turned his head. Madam Zhu saw his face was ashen, his eyes bloodshot, and she was startled into silence.
“Mother, what a fine thing you’ve done! Conspiring with that wench to do this to your son!” Weishao said through gritted teeth, each word distinct, before turning and striding away.
Madam Zhu’s heart pounded wildly, unable to utter a word. She stood there until his figure disappeared. After a long while, Madam Zhu finally came to her senses. She saw that maids and servants had gathered, drawn by the commotion, but they didn’t dare approach. They all crowded in the corridor, their expressions uncertain and fearful. In the corner, her confidante Wet Nurse Jiang lay with eyes tightly shut, her face deathly pale, looking as if she might be dead. Finally, Madam Zhu tremblingly called out, ordering someone to carry Wet Nurse Jiang away for medical treatment.
Hearing their mistress speak, the servants hurriedly ran in, lifting Wet Nurse Jiang and carrying her away.
Madam Zhu stood rooted to the spot, her legs still weak. After a moment, she suddenly remembered Zheng Chuyu in the room. She turned and made her way back, supporting herself against the wall. As she entered, she heard faint sobbing. She went in and found her niece sprawled on the bed, clothes disheveled, crying heartbrokenly. She went over and held her shoulders, but before she could ask what had happened, Zheng Chuyu threw herself into her arms, crying and complaining, “Aunt, what kind of good medicine did you use? It had no effect at all! Even when I was like that, Cousin didn’t react… It’s your fault for coming up with such an idea. How can I ever face anyone again…”
Remembering the shameful scene from earlier, she was, after all, an unmarried maiden. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she turned and flung herself back onto the bed, pulling the quilt over her head and sobbing loudly.
Madam Zhu’s mind was in chaos. She thought the Queen Mother’s Elixir had truly been ineffective. After a while of comforting Zheng Chuyu, she suddenly had a thought. She gathered herself and went out, sternly ordering all the maids and servants not to breathe a word about tonight’s events.
“Earlier, I merely argued with the Young Master, and he left in displeasure. If I find out that any of you have spoken a single word about this outside, I’ll have you beaten to death without mercy.”
The maids and servants didn’t dare raise their heads, all hurriedly agreeing.
…
Upon leaving the east wing, Weishao immediately bent over by a cluster of flowers and forced himself to vomit, continuing until he had expelled all the remaining contents of his stomach, finally left with only acid water. He steadied himself before continuing towards the west wing.
However, the drug Madam Zhu had obtained from the Great Witch was indeed extremely potent. Although he had only drunk three cups of wine initially and had forced himself to vomit, emptying his stomach, his entire body still felt unbearably hot. It was as if countless tiny needles were pricking under his skin, and his lower body was as hard as an iron pestle, even more swollen than when he was in Zheng Shu’s room earlier.
Weishao had always prided himself on his self-control and was naturally proud. To be drugged so unexpectedly by his mother left him feeling deeply frustrated, as one can imagine. Fearing that he might encounter servants and draw attention, he didn’t dare linger on the way. While trying his best to regulate his breathing and suppress the internal fire burning through his body, he hurried towards the west wing. Seeing the light from the window of that room in the distance, he rushed straight over and pushed the door open forcefully.
Only Xiao Qiao was in the room, writing under a silver lamp.
Earlier, when Weishao had been called away by Madam Zhu, she had eaten dinner by herself and taken a short walk in the garden to aid digestion. Now she had returned to her room and was copying a new silk scroll by the bright candlelight. Deeply focused on her task, she was startled when the door suddenly burst open with a bang. Her hand trembled, and the ink-laden brush tip she had just dipped, not yet touching the paper, dripped onto the nearly completed silk scroll. The ink quickly spread, ruining the entire piece.
Xiao Qiao exclaimed in dismay and turned her head to see Weishao’s figure flicker behind the screen.
She was surprised that he had returned so quickly. She put down her brush and rose to greet him. Just as she stepped down from the platform, she saw him approaching, his face flushed red, his eyes bloodshot as if filled with fresh blood, his expression extremely rigid.
Never having seen him like this before, Xiao Qiao was slightly shocked. She hesitated for a moment but still walked towards him, forcing a smile and greeting him as usual: “Husband, you’ve returned…” Before she could finish speaking, Weishao pushed her aside roughly. She stumbled back a few steps before regaining her footing. Looking up, she saw that he had already rushed into the bathroom, followed by the sound of splashing water, as if he was dousing himself.
Xiao Qiao was both shocked and confused. She unconsciously followed him and stood outside the bathroom door. As she hesitated, she suddenly heard his voice from inside: “Call for someone to bring crushed ice, as much as possible!”
His voice sounded strained as if he was desperately trying to suppress something, very different from his usual tone.
Xiao Qiao was perplexed but couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer. She hooked her little finger to lift the curtain slightly and peeked in. She saw that he had already stripped off all his clothes and was standing completely naked in the bathtub that had been filled with water in preparation for his bath. His legs were spread apart, and his back was to the door.
The bathtub wall was about half her height, but it only reached the line of his buttocks as he stood. In the flickering candlelight, his back glistened as if oiled, accentuating his muscular physique. The contours of his muscles from his shoulders down to his waist and below flowed like water.
Xiao Qiao couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
“What are you looking at? Hurry up and go!” The man in the bathtub seemed to sense the gaze from behind and suddenly turned his head, shouting angrily, his face full of rage.
Xiao Qiao was startled and hurriedly retreated. Without time to think further, she quickly turned and went out to call someone, instructing them to go to the ice storage immediately and bring back as much crushed ice as possible.