Anda Khan was stating a demand, not a request—he was determined to have his way.
Jin Ying could not refuse. In her panic, she could only use her betrothal as a shield. "But... I am already promised. I am to be married into the Ordos tribe."
Anda Khan declared, "I will annul your betrothal and find another noble-born woman for your fiancé in the Ordos tribe. You shall become my third Hatun, the most esteemed woman."
A Hatun was the principal wife, and both of Anda Khan's previous Hatuns had passed away.
He was the tribal leader, aging yet unable to tear his gaze away from his youthful, beautiful, and nominally granddaughter.
Like his old rival, the Jiajing Emperor, the older he grew, the more he craved vibrant souls and bodies, as if this could compensate for their lost youth and vitality.
These two men stood at the pinnacle of power, where authority, territory, and the submission of millions no longer satisfied their desires.
They had lingered at the summit for far too long. Only time could defeat them. The closer they drew to death, the more they coveted young, beautiful maidens, as if they could absorb vitality from them and regain their youth.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who seized his son's wife Yang Yuhuan, was such a man; the Jiajing Emperor, who fell for Shang Qinglan forty years his junior, was such a man; and Anda Khan, who forcibly took his granddaughter Jin Ying fifty years his junior, was no different.
Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac, magnifying desires infinitely.
It enables them to defy all conventions to possess women ordinary men could never attain. The more taboo the woman's identity—be it a daughter-in-law, a maiden young enough to be a great-granddaughter, or even a betrothed granddaughter—the stronger the obsession with possession. Power allows them to shatter all rules and ethical constraints, an experience akin to the thrill of forbidden lust.
Thus, these old candles ignited their flames to illuminate the rouge and powder they desired. They cared not for the taboos of a woman's identity nor the whispers behind their backs, for this was the ultimate reward of power—a privilege uniquely theirs.
When Anda Khan pushed her down onto the snow leopard pelt, Jin Ying felt her soul leave her body, as if she had lost all sensation of the outside world. The touches and kisses seemed nonexistent.
Her mind drifted back to her days as the Top Courtesan at the Red Sleeve Brothel by the Pool of Accumulated Water. There, she used her beauty to gather intelligence, convinced she was engaged in meaningful work that proved she was more than just a wife.
With her betrothal unavoidable and her return home for marriage imminent, the Red Sleeve Brothel staged a fake auction of her virtue to the highest bidder, all to maintain appearances.
Though she knew it was a charade—that she would eventually buy her own freedom and leave the brothel—she still felt a profound sorrow. She saw herself not as a person but as an object, an exquisite vase, to be claimed by whoever offered the most.
Only one person had ever treated her as human, lending her money to "help" her redeem herself and urging her to take control of her own life. That person was Wang Daxia, the scion scorned as one of the Four Pests of the North City, who braved ridicule to rescue a fallen woman. And yet, she was destined to betray him.But Wang Daxia was too insignificant. He was merely a stone in a rushing current, seemingly holding back the water yet utterly useless—the mighty Yangtze River flows eastward, its course unchanged by a single reef. Her life remained a matter of the highest bidder, only now currency had been replaced by power.
The man with the greatest power could possess her, even if she had just called him "Grandfather." She had escaped being sold to the highest bidder in the capital, yet her life was still dictated by the same rules.
Jin Ying gazed at the dome of the tent, like a pot lid, while the precious snow leopard pelt beneath her was the pot itself. She was the lamb in the pot, firmly trapped under the lid, being slowly cooked and consumed inch by inch.
Still... she hadn’t escaped the fate of being sold to the highest bidder.
Once again, Jin Ying felt herself turning into an object—merely shifting from "for sale" to "sold."
Those legendary May-December romances passed down through the ages were nothing but transactions of youth in exchange for status.
Meanwhile, Wang Daxia and Lu Ying were seated in Lu Bing’s extravagant carriage, which was as spacious as a small house. Lu Bing, eyeing Wang Daxia’s tattered robe that exposed his skin everywhere, found it utterly unsightly. He tossed his own cloak to him and snapped, "Put it on! What kind of appearance is this!"
Wang Daxia crouched in the corner of the carriage, keeping his distance from Lu Bing and Lu Ying—especially Lu Ying. Wrapping the cloak tightly around himself, he trembled uncontrollably. After a long period of shock, he finally managed to calm down enough to speak:
"Commander Lu, I have always admired you and am grateful for the times you risked your life to save me. For your recognition and lifesaving grace, I would repay you with anything—but offering myself in marriage is something I cannot do. I have long since—"
Wang Daxia had a three-year promise with Wei Caiwei, but it was meant to be kept secret. He changed his words: "Both you and I are men, Commander Lu. I like women—of course, you are very handsome, and in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I can only claim second place, but I like women—"
"Shut up!" Lu Bing and Lu Ying shouted at Wang Daxia in unison.
Lu Bing secretly regretted his slip of the tongue in Guanghan Hall when, in a moment of desperation, he had threatened that if they didn’t leave, Lu Ying would have to marry Wang Daxia.
He never expected that Lu Ying’s disguise as a man was so convincing that Wang Daxia still hadn’t caught on, mistakenly believing that Lu Ying had a penchant for same-sex relationships and wanted to turn a sworn brother into a "sworn younger brother" (an ancient term for two men marrying each other).
Wang Daxia, pitiful and silenced, crouched in the corner. Back in Guanghan Hall, Lu Bing’s words—"If you don’t leave now, you’ll be married on the spot"—had terrified him.
Wang Daxia was prone to wild imaginations. As a member of the Northern District folks who loved gossip, he was skilled at spinning tales: Why would the Emperor want to pair me with Lu Ying? It must be Lu Ying’s request!
It couldn’t be Lu Bing. Lu Bing was a father, and all fathers in the world want sons to carry on the family line—otherwise, why have a son? Isn’t it to have grandchildren? You can’t have grandchildren by marrying a man.
So it had to be Lu Ying.
No wonder Lu Ying, at eighteen, still refused to marry. Even his younger brother Lu Yi had just become engaged to the daughter of Minister of Personnel Wu Peng, yet there was still no news of Lu Ying’s marriage.
So it turned out Lu Ying liked men.
Well, liking men isn’t wrong—same-sex relationships have always been fashionable in the court—but you can’t like me. I already have a woman I love, and I even have a Marriage Certificate.Lu Bing was stunned by Wang Daxia's reaction: What kind of peculiar creature have I recruited into the Embroidered Uniform Guard? This is far too overconfident! Even if Lu Ying were a man, I wouldn't agree to this marriage, let alone the fact that she's a woman!
Seeing Wang Daxia's grave misunderstanding, Lu Ying realized she could no longer keep the truth from him.
Lu Ying said, "Come here, I have something to tell you."
Wang Daxia shook his head, wrapping his cloak tighter around himself.
I treat you as my superior, yet you want to sleep with me.
Lu Ying said, "If you won't come over, I'll come to you."
Wang Daxia had no choice but to shuffle step by step from the corner toward Lu Bing. "Lord Lu, you must control your son. How can he forcibly take an honorable man?"
Lu Bing covered his ears, unwilling to listen, afraid he might have a stroke from anger.
Between them stood Lu Bing, who was neither deaf nor foolish, nor willing to play the part of a doting father.
Lu Ying said, "I am actually a woman, the fourth young lady of the Lu family, not the rumored illegitimate son. I've been disguising myself as a man while working in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I have no romantic feelings for you; I only see you as a subordinate and hope to nurture your talents."
"Because I'm a woman, I don't know how long I can remain in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I take it one day at a time, so I demand even more of myself, working at the Imperial Guard Office even on holidays and rest days. I'm strict with my subordinates too. After morning roll call every day, I lead you all in practicing the 'Sword Classic' written by Master Yu, rain or shine. Because after I leave, you'll be the only trace I leave behind in the Imperial Guard Office, proof that I was here."
"I have high hopes for you, so I'm the strictest with you, often sparring with you to push you to improve. I've saved you several times, which led His Majesty to misunderstand that I'm fond of you and consider arranging a marriage."
"But you needn't worry. Marriage is a matter decided by parents, and my father will suppress this matter. However, you must not distance yourself from me in the future; remember to maintain the status quo. Otherwise, given the huge mess you stirred up today—with Lu Jingfei falling out of favor and being confined, Jing Wang being demoted and sent to his fief—how could you have emerged from the palace unscathed? If not for His Majesty's belief that I 'like' you, you would have been silenced long ago to cover up the royal scandal."
"Now, do you understand?"
Wang Daxia was dumbfounded. Lu Ying's words contained too much substantial information. At this moment, he felt as if he had swallowed ten of Wei Caiwei's handmade mooncakes—the kind that could smash a hole in the ground, knock plaster off walls, and be used as hidden weapons—all at once, forcibly stuffed into his stomach. He simply couldn't digest it all and was about to burst.
Thus, Wang Daxia remained silent for a long time, his mind nearly at a standstill. The figures of Lu Bing and Lu Ying before him vanished, even the carriage disappeared, as if he were sitting in a void.
Why didn't I think of it before?
I took her to the underground gambling den at Huaqing Pool, passing through a bathhouse full of naked men. She didn't even glance sideways, and I teased her, "They're all men, what they have you have too, why are you nervous?" She made excuses, saying, "They're too ugly."
She always wore high-collared clothes, buttoned all the way up to her throat, even during the hottest summer days.
When she suffered heatstroke and fainted, she was carried to Wei Caiwei for treatment. Wei Caiwei chased me away and closed the door, and I was jealous. But thinking back now, it was because Wei Caiwei had discovered she was a woman, so she drove us all away!
And when Wei Caiwei drowned and fainted in the Pool of Accumulated Water, it must have been her who changed Caiwei into dry clothes...Wang Daxia recalled the past, and every detail matched up. He cursed himself for being so slow-witted and making such a fool of himself. Now it was awkward—how could he possibly save face?
The carriage came to a stop, and Lu Bing said, "Get off."
Wrapped in his cloak, Wang Daxia moved stiffly as he stepped out of the carriage. Once outside, he realized something was amiss. After learning Lu Ying was a woman, he didn't dare look directly at her. He asked Lu Bing, "Lord Lu, this isn't the Imperial Guard Office."
Lu Bing replied, "This is my home."
It was actually the Lu residence! Wang Daxia panicked. "I should go back to sleep in the Duty Room at the Imperial Guard Office."
Lu Bing said, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? You've caused such a huge disaster—do you think Jing Wang will let you off? Or the officials clinging to his coattails? The only way to save your miserable life now is to go along with the mistake and let people misunderstand that both Lu Ying and I favor you. For now, you'll recuperate at my residence and aren't allowed to go anywhere."
Author's Note: It's the end of the month—please donate nutrient solutions! Also, I'm asking for author subscriptions. Readers who enjoy Lan Zhou's works, please subscribe to my column. I'm just 100 away from 10,000 subscriptions—everyone, lend your support! Lan Zhou's track record is excellent, so joining won't disappoint.
Today, Lan Zhou came across a fun fact: in England, hard biscuits made only with water and flour can "walk" on their own. These biscuits are so hard that even maggots born inside can't chew through the rock-like crust, so they wriggle around inside, making the biscuits appear to move.
Wei Caiwei's mooncakes have an even thicker crust than those biscuits, so after a few months, her mooncakes should be able to walk too.
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