In truth, San Niangzi had already prepared to remarry Huang Ji Tai—though purely as a political union. Once the wedding ceremony was completed, they would be nominal spouses living separate lives, each taking what they needed without any real marital intimacy or sharing a bed.
San Niangzi required a male heir of Golden Family bloodline to serve as a puppet in governing the grasslands. As the eldest son and Anda Khan’s most legitimate successor, Huang Ji Tai was the ideal candidate. Following the grassland custom of levirate marriage, remarrying her stepson Huang Ji Tai was the swiftest path to consolidating power.
After all, with the Ming dynasty backing her, once Anda Khan died, San Niangzi could have any man she desired for warmth—why did it have to be Huang Ji Tai?
Did she desire his advanced age? His unattractive appearance? Or his lame leg?
Only by wielding power could a woman choose who shared her pillow—or reject them all, embracing solitary elegance. Otherwise, she would merely be selected by others.
But Huang Ji Tai loathed San Niangzi, determined to eliminate her. He even slandered her, claiming she despised his ugliness, and fled Hohhot with his personal guards.
Lu Ying believed that with Wang Daxia’s silver tongue, he could persuade Huang Ji Tai to change his mind and obediently become San Niangzi’s puppet husband.
Why did Lu Ying favor Huang Ji Tai?
Because Huang Ji Tai was old, lame, unpopular, and wore his thoughts plainly on his face. Such a man was easier to control—far simpler than his more cunning younger brothers.
Upon hearing this, Wang Daxia remarked, "I thought you were going to make me disguise as a woman again and seduce Huang Ji Tai with my charms. So it’s just being an envoy? Fine, I’ll make the trip."
Wang Daxia, now middle-aged, could no longer convincingly play a seductive woman. Moreover, Huang Ji Tai was not lustful—he had even been ready to kill the stunningly beautiful San Niangzi without a hint of compassion.
When Wang Daxia arrived at the Shunyi Prince’s residence in Hohhot, he found Huang Ji Tai pacing anxiously. Various tribes had received San Niangzi’s "threat": with the border pass seal in her possession, anyone wishing to trade at the eleven frontier markets required her issued clearance documents. Without them, the Ming authorities would deny passage, halting all trade.
San Niangzi had seized their lifeline. After over two centuries of border warfare, a decade of peace and trade had allowed many tribes to taste prosperity. Except for warmongers like Huang Ji Tai, most preferred affluent stability over conflict.
After all, who would turn their back on silver?
Huang Ji Tai had intended to force the Ming to open the passes by military means, bypassing San Niangzi’s seal. But despite his recruitment efforts, few tribes responded. The leader of the Ordos tribe, Ados, outright refused his emissaries, declaring allegiance only to Zhongjin Khatun and refusing to contribute troops. With limited forces in his own territory, Huang Ji Tai stood no chance of victory.
Now, Huang Ji Tai found himself in a predicament.
Wang Daxia deliberately delayed his journey, entering Hohhot only after Huang Ji Tai had repeatedly met with rejections.
At the Shunyi Prince’s residence, Wang Daxia presented San Niangzi’s letter: "Zhongjin Khatun states that despite political differences with you, Anda Khan’s funeral is now the priority. She is willing to set aside disputes and complete the rites first. However, for her return to Hohhot, safety must be guaranteed: your troops must camp ten li outside the city and not enter. Otherwise, she will not come back."Huang Ji Tai snorted coldly, "If she doesn't return, so be it. As the eldest son, I can conduct the funeral for my father."
Wang Daxia pointed at the desolate Shunyi Prince's residence, "For the grand Anda Khan, the Shunyi Prince enfeoffed by the Ming Dynasty, to have such a simple funeral—without envoys or funeral gifts from the Ming court, without other tribal leaders present—buried hastily like this, who would submit to you?"
"Anda Khan has more than one son. If you don't want to marry Zhongjin Khatun, your younger brothers have already taken gifts to Ba Han Naji's Bansheng Land, lining up to curry favor with Zhongjin Khatun. Whoever marries her will be enfeoffed by the Ming as the second-generation Shunyi Prince."
Huang Ji Tai slammed the table and stood up, "How dare she! I am the legitimate eldest son. Whomever she marries, I'll lead troops to attack!"
Wang Daxia seized on Huang Ji Tai's words, "So you also want to marry Zhongjin Khatun?"
Huang Ji Tai snorted again, neither admitting nor denying it.
He wanted to marry her, but he didn't want Zhongjin Khatun to retain power. He intended to absorb her authority and the official seal, making her just one of his minor wives, a possession in his hands.
That was the marriage he desired.
Not the reverse—being devoured by Zhongjin Khatun, losing his territory and army, manipulated by a woman.
Zhongjin Khatun: What a coincidence, I think exactly the same as you.
Wang Daxia employed psychological tactics, standing to take his leave, "So there's nothing more to discuss. In that case, I'll return to Bansheng Land to deliver your message to Zhongjin Khatun—that you don't wish to marry her. Zhongjin Khatun will choose a husband from among your younger brothers."
As Wang Daxia left the Shunyi Prince's residence, he wished he had eyes in the back of his head to see if Huang Ji Tai would chase after him.
Wang Daxia treated political negotiations like bargaining with customers at the rouge shops along Nanjing's Qinhuai River—being too eager wasn't good business; one had to maintain some aloofness in commerce.
"Wait!"
Huang Ji Tai indeed came chasing out from the prince's residence.
This was promising! Wang Daxia turned around, inwardly ecstatic but feigning indifference, just as he would deal with returning female customers at the rouge shop, "Have you thought it through? Do you want to buy—marry Zhongjin Khatun?"
Huang Ji Tai said, "Tell Zhongjin Khatun this: she is my woman. Whomever she marries, I will attack."
Wang Daxia shrugged indifferently, "Suit yourself. Your internal conflicts have nothing to do with us in the Ming Dynasty. Once you've fought it out, regardless of who wins, only the man Zhongjin Khatun marries will be enfeoffed by the Ming as the second-generation Shunyi Prince. We don't care who becomes the new Shunyi Prince; we only care about whom Zhongjin Khatun chooses as her husband."
Huang Ji Tai raged, "I'll kill them all!"
Wang Daxia replied, "What does it matter to me if you kill your own brothers? I suspect before you can act, your younger brothers will unite to attack you first, then compete to please Zhongjin Khatun. Who wouldn't want a wealthy and powerful widow?"
Wang Daxia was right. Huang Ji Tai was trapped in Hohhot, not daring to step out, afraid of being surrounded and attacked by his brothers.
Huang Ji Tai found himself in a dilemma.
In Bansheng Land, Wang Daxia returned to report his mission. Ding Wu had already brought Ados, the leader of the Ordos tribe, to Bansheng.Ados arrived with several carts of gifts, full of sincerity as he proposed to his cousin Zhongjin Khatun. "Cousin, you were originally my betrothed before Anda Khan took you away. Now that Anda Khan has passed, we should rekindle our former bond. If you agree to marry me, I will obey you in all matters from now on."
Zhongjin Khatun, at only thirty-two years old, remained strikingly beautiful. More importantly, she controlled the lifelines of eleven border markets. Marrying her was akin to acquiring an inexhaustible gold mine.
Zhongjin Khatun replied, "You are not a descendant of the Golden Family and cannot command respect. My husband must have the bloodline of Genghis Khan."
Ados had anticipated this objection. Pointing at Zhongjin Khatun's son Butashili, he said, "Your son is of Golden Family lineage. We can support him as the new Shunyi Prince. You would then transition from being the Shunyi Prince's wife to becoming the Shunyi Prince's mother. Both I and the second-generation Shunyi Prince would follow your lead, helping you defeat Huang Ji Tai and reclaim Hohhot."
This proposal began to sway Zhongjin Khatun. As she pondered, commotion erupted outside. A scout rushed in reporting, "Trouble! Huang Ji Tai is leading his forces toward Bansheng Land."
Ba Han Naji and Hastuya immediately began deploying defenses to protect Bansheng City, while Ados joined the battle with his tribe.
Huang Ji Tai arrived at the city gates covered in dust, dismounted, ordered his men to lay down their weapons, and presented gifts. "I have come to escort Zhongjin Khatun back to Hohhot to jointly handle Anda Khan's funeral arrangements."
Huang Ji Tai had finally accepted reality, voluntarily becoming San Niangzi's puppet.
Wang Daxia gloated triumphantly: Just like customers at the rouge shop—they complain about high prices, demand discounts, threaten to leave... but after wandering around, they always come back to buy from me! Exactly as Wang Daxia observed, if Huang Ji Tai refused to be a puppet, numerous other men would gladly become San Niangzi's puppets.
If he wouldn't be a puppet, he'd become a corpse. The tribes dependent on border trade would surely unite to tear him apart!
Historical records note that San Niangzi, disgusted by Huang Ji Tai's ugliness, left with her troops and official seal. Huang Ji Tai pursued her in what became a "chase-to-cremation" scenario, ultimately moving her with his sincerity. Ming dynasty envoys mediated, persuading San Niangzi that "by returning to the Prince, Madam may retain imperial favor; otherwise, you remain merely a frontier woman."
Thus the couple returned home together.
Ados departed disappointed once more. "The father stole my woman, now the son competes for her too. Alas."
San Niangzi returned to Hohhot and submitted a memorial to the Chenghua Emperor, announcing the death of Shunyi Prince Anda Khan. She presented nine white horses, bows, arrows, and other gifts to reaffirm loyalty to the Ming court.
While the Chenghua Emperor had not yet personally campaigned, Empress Dowager Li Jiubao, presiding in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, bestowed upon San Niangzi gifts including a crimson Kesi silk python robe. Ming envoys were dispatched to offer condolences at the Shunyi Prince's residence, along with an imperial decree appointing Huang Ji Tai as the second-generation Shunyi Prince—but stipulating that San Niangzi would hold actual power. All border market access or travel to Ming territories required clearance documents issued by San Niangzi.
Thus, anyone wishing to trade with the Ming had to go through San Niangzi. The new Shunyi Prince Huang Ji Tai became like a clay Bodhisattva enshrined in a temple—rendered completely immobile under San Niangzi's control.A great storm on the grasslands dissipated before it could erupt, and peace returned to the border regions. Huang Ji Tai adapted to his role as the man behind San Niangzi, drowning himself in wine and pleasure day after day. The eleven border markets reopened, and San Niangzi's prestige soared, establishing her as the uncrowned queen of the grasslands.
Ding Wu and Lu Ying remained at the border to maintain peace, while Wang Daxia and Wei Caiwei bid farewell, having missed their daughter Xia Qiwu dearly after more than half a year apart.
As another parting arrived, Lu Ying said, "Let's agree to meet again in ten years, when our children will have grown up. I've always been fond of your Qiwu, and my Weiguo is a fine young man. If neither has found someone to marry by then, why not arrange for them to meet?"
Ding Wu was overjoyed. "Strengthening bonds through marriage—what a splendid idea!"
Wang Daxia, blinded by paternal pride in his precious daughter, declared, "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. With my girl's looks and temperament, matchmakers will wear out our doorstep. She'll have her pick of the finest young men in the world."
Wei Caiwei cleared her throat lightly. "Whether she marries or not is her decision. She has skills to support herself—as long as she's happy, that's what matters."
Lu Ying nodded. "The same goes for my Weiguo. Let them meet once, and the children can decide for themselves."
The four made their promise for the next decade.
Just then, a scout rushed in with a report: "Lord Lu, trouble! Something has happened in Bansheng Land! The lord Ba Han Naji fell from his horse during a hunt, broke his neck, and died on the spot. With no heirs, his widow Hastuya has inherited Bansheng Land. Now various lords are competing to marry her. Among them, San Niangzi's son Butashili and Huang Ji Tai's son Che Lik—half-brothers from different fathers—are already fighting outside Bansheng Land! Many have died!"
"What? Ba Han Naji is dead? And Bansheng is in chaos again?" Lu Ying turned to speak, "Wang Daxia, this time we still need you—"
But behind her was empty space. Wang Daxia had long since grabbed Wei Caiwei and made their escape. The endless struggles for power and influence held no appeal for them—the two Xias were making a swift exit!
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