Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Li Wenzheng burst out laughing, pointing a finger at Shen Lang.
“Hahahaha. Shen Lang, have you finally lost your mind? Or are you daydreaming? His Majesty has just issued a royal edict stating that he will neither execute me nor strip me of my office and honors. So how could the King possibly kill me? That’s the kind of nonsense you’d only hear in a dream, something that couldn’t happen even if the sun rose in the west.”
Li Wenzheng was not wrong. He was now a representative of the King's will, and since the King himself had pardoned him, how could he possibly be killed? Even if he had truly committed a crime, not just been falsely accused, the King would not kill him. To do so would be to slap his own face, would it not?
“Let me say it again, Shen Lang. I represent the King's will. How could the King possibly have me killed? You are a profoundly foolish man.”
Shen Lang replied calmly.
“Indeed. How could the King possibly reverse his own royal edict? An ordinary person could never achieve such a thing. But I am no ordinary man. To a commoner like you, I must seem like a god. With my beauty and wisdom, what is there that I cannot do? Besides, what’s so difficult about killing a mere mad dog like you?”
Shen Lang pretended to stroke a nonexistent beard, his tone as clear as the bright sky.
“Though I am a thousand miles from the capital, a little trick I set in motion half a month ago will be the cause of your death.”
“You speak with such bravado, spouting whatever comes to mind. Shen Lang, your posturing makes you look like a clown.”
Then, in a solemn voice, he said, “Jin Mulan, you must come with me to the Prefect’s office to investigate this matter clearly. If you delay, we won’t be able to save the soldiers! Men, have Lady Jin Mulan follow us!”
Several silver-clad warriors stepped forward. Just then, a dozen or so knights in black robes arrived swiftly on the scene. They were dressed in black and wore masks, each embroidered with the image of a crow. These were the masters of the Blackwater Terrace!
The Blackwater Terrace was comprised of elite masters from the royal court who moved only on the King’s command. Like the King's own claws and teeth, they acted solely for his will and by his orders. Not belonging to any official post, they were famous for carrying out or executing grave missions in secret. In the State of Yue, their existence inspired a terror akin to the combined dread of the Ming Dynasty's Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Their sudden appearance startled Li Wenzheng.
‘What’s going on? Why have the masters of the Blackwater Terrace been mobilized?’
The dozen or so court masters immediately approached Li Wenzheng. The commander at their head asked coolly from his horse, "Are you Li Wenzheng?"
“I am the Silver-Clad Imperial Censor, Li Wenzheng. Your Excellencies from the Blackwater Terrace have arrived just in time. Please assist me in handling this case. The cavalry of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate has run rampant, taking the lives of commoners. Their leader, Jin Mulan, must be held responsible. I ask that you arrest her.”
A venomous smile spread across Li Wenzheng's face.
“Shen Lang, the King has now sent the masters of the Blackwater Terrace. With death at your doorstep, does the Count of Xuanwu's Estate dare to confront the King's own masters? That would be an act of rebellion!”
The commander of the Blackwater Terrace glanced at Li Wenzheng, then pulled out a portrait to compare. "Censor Li Wenzheng, dismiss everyone gathered here!"
Li Wenzheng was overjoyed.
“Understood.”
With the masters of the Blackwater Terrace present, his own soldiers were no longer needed. A short while later, everyone had cleared out. Only Shen Lang, Jin Mulan, the Count of Xuanwu, Li Wenzheng, and a few others remained. The master of the Blackwater Terrace said, “Count of Xuanwu, you will remain silent about everything that is about to happen, as if you have seen nothing. We are taking Li Wenzheng to be executed by a thousand cuts!”
His words stunned everyone. Li Wenzheng was even more shocked, as if struck by lightning, unable to believe what he had just heard.
‘Isn’t that wrong? Did you get something wrong? The order says, “Subject Shen Lang to death by a thousand cuts,” didn’t you just misread the name?’
Li Wenzheng let out a frantic, sharp cry.
“Your Excellencies of the Blackwater Terrace, surely there has been a mistake! His Majesty just issued a royal edict sentencing me to a year’s salary reduction. How can the King’s decree change in an instant?”
But no one answered him. Several masters from the Blackwater Terrace immediately dragged him away and threw him into a cage-like structure on a cart. It seemed they intended to execute him on the spot, not even escorting him to the capital. Li Wenzheng was petrified. At that moment, he met Shen Lang's gaze and saw him as a ghost.
“Shen Lang, what did you do? What scheme did you possibly use to make the King change his mind?”
What method could Shen Lang have possibly used to make the King, from a thousand miles away, reverse his decision as easily as flipping his hand? And not just to kill Li Wenzheng, but to have him subjected to the most brutal death by a thousand cuts?
“Shen Lang, tell me, tell me! Even if I die, I must know what trick I fell for so I can close my eyes in peace!”
In truth, it would have been a simple matter for Shen Lang to harm Li Wenzheng himself. There were countless ways to kill him. But making the King reverse his own decree to kill Li Wenzheng was an exceedingly difficult task. For this reason, Shen Lang had completed all his preparations half a month ago. Had the King decided not to kill Li Wenzheng, it would have been a major setback, so Shen Lang had to devise a contingency plan to ensure his success. Half a month was both a long and a very short time.
The day after Zhang Jin’s engagement banquet, right after dealing with Wang Lian, Shen Lang had dispatched Jin Hui to the capital. Of course, Jin Hui did not go alone; he took a dozen subordinates and a vast sum of gold with him. Shen Lang’s plots and strategies always struck from unexpected directions, leaving his enemies, ordinary people, unable to prepare and utterly defenseless. So, what method did Shen Lang use to make the King order Li Wenzheng’s death by a thousand cuts?
To explain that, we must go back to last year. At the time, Li Wenzheng had just passed the second-rank imperial examinations and was brimming with self-satisfaction. In the capital, there was a famous courtesan named Ha Wanwan. She was highly skilled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, ranking among the top ten courtesans in the capital. With a face like a flower, skin as white as the moon, and a voluptuous figure with a slender waist, she could make any man lose his soul.
Such a high-class courtesan only received guests of a certain caliber. No matter how wealthy, a common merchant could not even glimpse her face; her clientele consisted mostly of high officials, nobles, and scholars of esteemed status. She was a courtesan who sold her art, not her body, and only entertained guests who exuded an air of importance.
After the provincial and palace examinations concluded each year, what was the most common way for the successful young men to celebrate? By visiting a courtesan house. Li Wenzheng, having passed the examinations at the mere age of twenty-eight, was naturally full of vigor. He followed the trend of the refined scholars who sought pleasure in such establishments. The first time he saw the famous courtesan Ha Wanwan, he was even more captivated than when he had first laid eyes on Jin Mulan. For most men, the only beauty more stunning than a peerless belle is the new woman they have just met.
At the time, a dozen or so scholars competed in a poetry contest to win an audience with Ha Wanwan. Only the one who wrote the best poem could become a guest in her pavilion. Not a guest in her room, nor one to share her bed, but merely granted the right to enter her pavilion. Nevertheless, Li Wenzheng, who had been eagerly anticipating this day, composed the finest poem, overwhelming the crowd and taking first place.
“What is your tranquility like? Like a pine tree grown in a deep valley.
What is your beauty like? Like the brilliant sunset reflected in a pool.
What is your elegance like? Like a dragon swimming in a winding pond.
What is your spirit like? Like moonlight upon a cold river.”
It was, admittedly, a well-written poem. At that moment, intoxicated by Ha Wanwan’s beauty, Li Wenzheng had produced a masterpiece of a poem. His *Poem to a Beauty* immediately caught Ha Wanwan’s attention. He was invited into her pavilion for wine, and she even played a tune on the zither for him, the man who had gifted her the best poem.
To this day, Li Wenzheng took pride in his meeting with Ha Wanwan, even more so than in passing the second-rank imperial examinations. Passing the exams was a victory over giants, but his triumph that night was a victory over a dozen fellow scholars. Not only that, but Ha Wanwan had copied his *Poem to a Beauty* and hung it in her boudoir. Of course, that night, Li Wenzheng only drank wine with Ha Wanwan; he didn’t even get to smell her fragrance.
But a second-rank scholar was not enough to catch Ha Wanwan’s eye. Li Wenzheng’s background was not distinguished, and by the time he might rise to a high position with immense power, he would be old and useless in bed. When Li Wenzheng later sought her out again, she feigned illness to avoid him, both the first time and the next.
Greatly disheartened, Li Wenzheng for the first time clearly recognized his own station. This spurred him to make a firm vow to succeed and rise to a high position. And that was the end of the story between Ha Wanwan, the ninth-ranked courtesan, and Li Wenzheng.
He had thought that after passing the imperial examinations, all that was left was to wait for an official appointment, but an unbearable period of waiting followed. Although Li Wenzheng was a second-rank scholar, his background and connections made it extremely difficult to secure a significant official post. As a result, months passed without any good positions becoming available.
Feeling the need to enhance his reputation, he published *The Poetry Collection of Li Wenzheng*, but its sales were incomparable to Shen Lang's *Boundless Wind and Moon*. He had spent a great deal of money to publish the book, only to suffer a crushing defeat. In a way, it was to be expected. Who on earth would idly buy and read a collection of poetry? Such poems are enjoyable when recited by a woman, but what fun is there in reading them from a page?
When his poetry collection failed to sell, Li Wenzheng started giving it away as gifts. Everyone who received one praised it endlessly, promising to read the masterpiece—after bathing and lighting incense, no less. But as soon as he turned his back, the gifted collection was relegated to being a mere decoration on a bookshelf. This was a far cry from how people kept Shen Lang’s *Boundless Wind and Moon* by their side, reading it with excitement more than five times over. In the end, his dream of raising his fame through his poetry collection remained unfulfilled, and he eventually attached himself to a powerful figure to finally become a Silver-Clad Imperial Censor. But we shall not delve into that process.
These were the majority of Li Wenzheng’s activities during his time in the capital. An ordinary person, privy to this information, would find no exploitable weakness to bring about his demise. But Shen Lang immediately spotted a small opening.
Li Wenzheng had once written a poem for Ha Wanwan, and the King had a fondness for beautiful women and poetry. From this, a scheme was instantly born. The probability of success was only fifty or sixty percent, but he put it into action immediately.
First step: Shen Lang had someone sell a poem to Ha Wanwan. It was Su Shi’s *Prelude to Water Melody: When Did the Bright Moon First Appear?*
That poem, a timeless masterpiece even in the real world, was incredibly beautiful and profound. The moment Ha Wanwan recited it, she instantly stood out at a competition where courtesans showcased their talents, rising from ninth to first place. The top three courtesans from the competition were granted the honor of entering the palace to perform at the Queen Dowager's birthday banquet.
Second step: Shen Lang had a sensual and gorgeous skirt made. As before, he had someone give it to Ha Wanwan to wear for her performance at the palace. On the night of the Queen Dowager’s birthday banquet, Ha Wanwan’s performance was a resounding success. She recited a poem, the very timeless masterpiece Shen Lang had sold her. The verses that flowed from her lips sent shivers down the spines of everyone present at the banquet, and the skirt she wore accentuated her slender waist, leaving everyone, including the King, astonished by her beautiful figure.
And the final blow! Shen Lang spent a fortune to bribe all the court painters. Consequently, in the paintings depicting the Queen Dowager's birthday banquet that night, Ha Wanwan was portrayed as exceptionally sensual, dazzling, and a crane among chickens, overwhelmingly outshining all other beauties.
And what kind of man was King Ning Yuanxian? A connoisseur of the finer things, a man infatuated with himself, one who prided himself on his exceptional talent.
‘To think Ha Wanwan is this beautiful, this sensual, and her talent for poetry is so astonishingly brilliant?’