Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Trigger Warning: subtle reference to sexual assault
Sweetheart (3)
At the end of the prologue, the final words on the Zheng family was simply: “Everyone has the right to exterminate treacherous ministers and traitors.”
Zheng Zhai understood what his daughter was trying to say.
If the winged serpent was His Majesty, and he was the blind bear, then the Black Dragon… was Cui Wang?
“Preposterous.”
He got up and walked straight to the picture of “Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts”3 hanging on the adjacent wall. “‘The Master did not speak of prodigies, feats of strength, chaos, and spirits.’4”
But Zhang Wan knew that her Father had believed her.
Without saying a word, she watched as he stood before the picture for a long time; only when he turned around did she ask, “Now that the blind bear is in a deadly situation, how can he break out of it?”
Zheng Zhai also looked at Zheng Wan.
His daughter, who he had raised with great care, had enjoyed a carefree life, loved beautiful clothes, gold jewellery and jade ornaments. Usually, her biggest worries were about whether or not her dress was beautiful enough, or if her accessories were exquisite enough; but now, she was so anxious and care-laden— this was all due to his incompetence as a father.
He sighed:
“‘Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief’5—the Black Dragon is the cause of everything; without the Black Dragon, the winged serpent would not turn against the blind bear, and the other beasts would not dare to act rashly. So——we kill the dragon.”
“The dragon has divine powers; it can’t be killed.”
“If it cannot be killed, then treat it with gentleness. The Black Dragon is young and full of spirit; we can employ a beauty trap—after all, a hero’s grave lies in the lap of his beauty6; this might be possible… if the beauty trap doesn’t work, then…”
Zheng Wan listened with rapt attention.
In her dream, the Sword Sovereign had countless admirers, but other than a lone sword, he had no one and nothing else by his side.
Beautiful women did not move him in the least.
But… what if?
The Sword Sovereign now is still not the peerless cold-blooded sword master of the future. Youthful blood still surged through his veins, and his blade was still warm; if she could tempt this young man, and become an everlasting rose in his heart…
Zheng Wan felt her adrenaline surge just thinking about it,
Zheng Zhai looked ambitious gleam in Zheng Wan’s eyes and called out sharply:
“Wanwan, don’t even think about it! Even if the Black Dragon has divine power, our Zheng clan is one of the oldest and most powerful families; it will not be defeated so easily.”
No, Father, you don’t understand.
Zheng Wan was unable to describe it to him; if one had never witnessed it for themselves, how could they know that mortals were just ants in front of immortals who wielded divine powers?
But ants also have the desire to survive.
“Father, the beauty trap, Wanwan wants to personally carry it out.”
Everyone said that Lady Zheng was as clean as ice and as pure as jade—but she was very aware that she was just like everyone else: an ordinary human with ordinary desires, fuelled by ordinary emotions; greed, anger and desire, she felt them all.
She loved being carefree; loved the sumptuous delicacies; loved being waited on hand and foot; loved living extravagantly in the lap of luxury.
Therefore, for her to become a sinner to be trampled upon by thousands, was a fate to be avoided at all costs.
“No.”
Zheng Zhang shook his head and refused. How could his precious daughter use herself to bait the enemy? Besides, the son of the Cui clan of Boling bore old grudges against the Zheng family.
“Father, don’t be naïve. When a bird’s nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact7. Besides, can you rest assured entrusting this matter to others?”
The heart of the young Sword Sovereign was the key to avoiding the Zheng family’s death flag.
At the very least, she had to get him to let go of his old grudges.
If possible, Zheng Wan also wanted to see the yellow desert and extreme glaciers that were in her dream; she also wanted to explore the expansive world that lay beyond her borders.
Zheng Zhai was silent.
He remembered the look in the eyes of the young boy from the Cui clan when he left after having his proposal rejected all those years ago—they were like those of a lone wolf. And now, this wolf has returned; it definitely bore no good will.
Now, Wanwan wants to tame the wolf…
It’s easier said than done.
“Father, Cui Wang will be attending the Shanglin banquet tomorrow.”
Zheng Wan broke into an innocent smile, “Wanwan wants to attend too.”
“The banquet?”
Zhang Zhai’s brows furrowed; the annulment of her engagement with the Crown Prince had just happened—if Wanwan turned up at such an event, wouldn’t she have to bear the brunt of gossip and ridicule?
“No. You can get to know Cui Wang anytime else. Father will create opportunities for you.”
“Father, on the marble boat8 at the Shanglin banquet tomorrow, there will be a stroke of good fortune waiting for Cui Wang. Since I have already seen the will of the Heavens, why not try to get a piece of it? What do the taunts of others matter?”
“Good fortune?”
In his youth, Zheng Zhai had also read about supernatural beings, so he naturally understood what his daughter meant; he couldn’t help but look fascinated when he heard the words.
“Is what you’re saying true?”
“Naturally.”
Zheng Wan gazed out the window and said quietly, “Even if I can’t get a share of the pie, it’ll be good to get acquainted with Cui Wang and resolve the feud between the two families.”
“You’re right.”
3 “Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts”: Zhong Kui a deity in Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings. Pictures of Zhong Kui used to be frequently hung up in households to scare away ghosts, and the image of him catching ghosts is a typical motif.
4 ‘子不語怪力亂神—The Master did not speak of prodigies (怪), feats of strength (力), chaos (亂), and spirits (神); from the Analects of Confucius, Book 7.
Confucius’ sole object of concern was self-cultivation—he did not waste time on irrelevant frivolities. Third-century thinker Wang Bi writes “’Prodigies’ referred to strange and inexplicable phenomenal ‘feats of strength’ referred to feats such as Wu Huo being able to lift a thousand pounds; ‘chaos’ referred to ministers killing their rulers and sons murdering their fathers; ‘spirits’ referred to ghosts and spirits. Either he considered such things to not add anything to moral instructions, or he simply could not bear to talk about them.”
5 Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief; 擒賊擒王 qin zei qin wang: From the Thirty-Six Stratagems, a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and civil interaction.
Explanation of the strategy: If the enemy’s army is strong but is allied to the commander only by money, superstition, or threats, target the leader. If the commander falls, the rest of the army will disperse or join one’s side. If they are allied to the leader through loyalty, beware, as the army can continue to fight on after their death out of vengeance.
6 Beauty trap美人計 mei ren ji; Also from the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
Explanation of the strategy: Send the enemy beautiful women to cause discord within his camp. This strategy can work on three levels. First, the ruler becomes so enamoured with the beauty that he neglects his duties and allows his vigilance to wane. Second, the group of men will begin to have issues if the desired women court another man, thus creating conflict and aggressive behavior. Third, other females at court, motivated by jealousy and envy, begin to plot subversions that further exacerbate the situation.
7 When a bird’s nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact覆巢之下无完卵: a Chinese idiom, meaning, no member escapes unscathed from a family disaster; it can also mean, to face things that are bound to happen calmly.
8 marble boat: An ornamental structure in classical Chinese landscaping, it usually has its underwater base and its body built of stone and its on-deck cabins of wood in the form of a pavilion. Normally built near the shore, it is accessible by means of a stone bridge. Sightseers go aboard to appreciate the surrounding scenery, feeling as if they were gently water-borne on a real boat.