The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: The Queen Mother's Immortal Elixir

Wei Shao arrived at the eastern wing. He saw his mother, Madame Zhu, waiting anxiously at the doorway, her head craned to catch sight of him. The moment he appeared, she welcomed him immediately, saying with delight, "Zhonglin, you have finally returned! I was thoroughly worried these past few days. It is enough that you have returned safely. Enter the room quickly; I have prepared the evening meal with my own hands."
 
Wei Shao expressed his gratitude to Madame Zhu and followed her inside, adding, "In truth, there was absolutely no need for Mother to tire herself by entering the kitchen on your son's account. Your son is unworthy of such honor."
 
"How could that be!" Madame Zhu smiled. "I wish nothing more than for you to come to my quarters to dine every day; how can it be considered tiring?"
 
Wei Shao cast a glance over the spread.
 
The dining table was already filled with a sumptuous array of delicacies. Venison alone featured as sliced raw venison, dried venison, and venison-abalone broth; in addition to this, chicken, fish, and bottle gourd were available in abundance, and a flask of wine was also set upon the table. Wei Shao was slightly taken aback and could not help but let out a bitter smile.
 
This single table of wine and dishes was enough to fill the stomachs of three or four famished men. It caused him to suddenly recall the Qiao daughter's portion for a meal when he had teased and discomfited her a few days prior.
 
If she were invited to eat this, even ten Qiao daughters eating for three days would presumably fail to finish it.
 
Wei Shao cast a glance at his mother, whose face was covered in smiles, but ultimately said nothing and took his seat.
 
Madame Zhu sat beside him to keep him company, lifting the wine flask to pour him a cup of wine as she said, "This cup is to celebrate my son's victorious return from slaying the enemy."
 
When Madame Zhu presented the wine to her son, the gaze with which she looked at him was slightly unnatural. Wei Shao, however, failed to notice anything unusual about his mother. Expressing his gratitude to her, he accepted it with both hands and drained it in a single gulp. Following this, he lifted his chopsticks.
 
Seeing that he had drunk the wine, Madame Zhu exhaled a brief sigh of relief. She urged him to drink more, telling him there was no need to fear intoxication; should he become drunk, there were rooms available for him to lodge in here in the eastern wing.
 
Wei Shao merely smiled without speaking.
 
Madame Zhu continued to sit beside him for a brief moment, pouring two more cups for her son in succession. Watching him drink them all down, she finally used a pretext to rise and leave first.
 
Many days prior, she had surreptitiously made a trip to the Shamanic Temple at Mount Yu, imploring the High Shaman for a packet of the Queen Mother's Immortal Elixir. The High Shaman stated that this medicine was exceedingly aphrodisiacal by nature; a mere pinch was sufficient to take effect, and if consumed with wine, the effect would manifest even more fiercely.
 
Madame Zhu also feared harming her son's body and dared not use too much. Yet worried that it might fail to take effect, she ultimately added it to the wine, shaking it evenly before pouring the wine for her son to drink. Having witnessed him consume three cups with her own eyes, only then did she rest her mind. In accordance with what had been previously agreed upon, she used a pretext to depart first.
 
...
 
Although this evening meal in the eastern wing featured sumptuous dishes and fine culinary preparation, he had truly come solely for the sake of his mother's intentions. He ate with a sense of dull indifference and possessed even less inclination to drink wine. Perhaps because he was also somewhat fatigued, his heart desired only to return early. Having drunk the few cups of wine Madame Zhu had poured for him, he ceased drinking, sampled a few more mouthfuls of food, and intended to take his leave from Madame Zhu to depart.
 
He sat and waited for a brief moment but did not see Madame Zhu return. Gradually, however, a blazing fire seemed to ignite within his abdomen, accompanied by a faint sensation of scorching restlessness.
 
Very quickly, this sensation spread downward.
 
He naturally knew what this signified. He had absolutely never anticipated that his own mother would drug him. He was merely filled with perplexity at suddenly having such a reaction for no apparent reason, and his body was furthermore quite uncomfortable, gripped by an urgent desire for release.
 
Wei Shao endured it for a brief moment. Seeing that Madame Zhu had still not emerged, he rose and addressed a round-faced maidservant attending nearby, instructing her to convey his departure on his behalf. Just as he rose to leave, Nanny Jiang suddenly arrived, stating in a panic that after the Mistress returned to her room moments ago, she had originally intended to come back out, yet her head had suddenly begun to ache for reasons unknown, and she requested the Lord to head over to take a look.
 
Over all these years, Wei Shao had never heard of Madame Zhu suffering from headaches. Startled, he suppressed the sensation of discomfort within his body, which felt like the burrowing of insects and the gnawing of ants, and hastily followed Nanny Jiang over. Seeing that Nanny Jiang was not heading in the direction of Madame Zhu's regular quarters, although he felt a slight trace of perplexity in his heart, he nonetheless raised no suspicions, merely assuming Madame Zhu was experiencing the headache in another room. Arriving before the doorway of an inner chamber situated somewhat further inside, Nanny Jiang pushed it open. Wei Shao did not think further on it, pushing through as he stepped over the threshold.
 
The moment he entered, the door behind him was closed by Nanny Jiang. Wei Shao was concerned about Madame Zhu's illness and paid no heed to this. Sweeping a glance over his surroundings, he noted the room was very deep, consisting of an outer and an inner chamber. His mother was nowhere to be seen before him, and there was not even a single attending maidservant. Assuming she was in the inner chamber, he strode inside rapidly, lifting the separating curtain as he said, "Mother, are you..."
 
He suddenly ground to a halt.
 
Madame Zhu was not within. Directly opposite him stood a bed. A lavish, enticing fragrance assailed his senses. Behind a thin, light curtain of raw silk, amidst a pile of brocade quilts and fragrant pillows, he saw a young lady lying sideways on the bed with her back toward him. The lady's dark tresses had already been undone, cascading upon the pillow. She wore nothing more than a thin, crimson silk robe upon her body, which had also slipped down to her shoulders, exposing a stretch of fair neck and rounded, fragrant shoulders.
 
Wei Shao froze.
 
The lady upon the bed slowly sat up. As she rose, her garments slid down. The lady raised her hand, pressing down on the crimson silk that had fallen beneath her chest, yet she had already exposed a vast expanse of fragrant flesh. Half-concealed and half-revealed, any man beholding this would inevitably experience a surging of his lifeblood. The scorching restlessness within Wei Shao's body grew even more intense, roaming throughout his entire frame, until it was nearly impossible to restrain it from bursting forth.
 
The lady raised her head, her eyes brimming with affection and her face flushed with shame. Seeing Wei Shao standing frozen and motionless opposite her, she loosened her hand amidst the pulsing silence. The silk robe slid downward, leaving her upper body entirely without any concealment as an alluring spectacle confronted him.
 
"Cousin..."
 
The woman softly called out to him.
 
Wei Shao understood the situation entirely within his heart.
 
He swept a glance over the woman's body, a heavy shadow flitting through his eyes. This shadow even eclipsed the original flush of desire within his pupils as he turned on his heel to depart.
 
Zheng Chuyu had never anticipated that, under such circumstances, Wei Shao would actually turn around and leave. Following her astonishment, she hastily grabbed the silk robe, carelessly concealing her chest as she barefooted onto the floor to give chase at top speed. Clasping Wei Shao's thigh from behind, she slid down into a kneeling posture, weeping: "Cousin, Aunt insisted it must be so, and I too was left without resource. It is only that Chuyu is also willing to alleviate your distress."
 
Wei Shao halted his steps, lowering his head to cast a glance at Zheng Chuyu. She knelt behind his feet, her two rounded shoulders trembling as she raised her face to gaze at him, tears shimmering within her eyes, displaying an exceedingly pitiful posture.
 
Wei Shao forcefully suppressed the expanding sensation that seemed to have already surged into the blood vessels of his entire body. Lifting his foot, he cast Zheng Chuyu aside, striding rapidly toward the doorway. Arriving behind the door, he tugged it a couple of times. Seeing that it would not open, only then did he realize the door had been locked from the outside at some unknown point. Instantly flying into a towering rage, he raised a foot and delivered a heavy kick. The exceptionally solid door fashioned from rosewood was actually kicked flying outwards in its entirety, crashing heavily onto the ground outside the threshold with a thunderous boom.
 
"Cousin—"
 
The weeping call of Zheng Chuyu echoed from behind him. Wei Shao was entirely deaf to it, his expression tense as he stepped over the threshold, strode over the door panel, and walked outside with large strides.
 
After Nanny Jiang had tricked Wei Shao into entering the room, she surreptitiously locked it from the outside, subsequently concealing herself nearby alongside Madame Zhu—who had arrived upon receiving the word—to await the completion of the matter, fully assuming that success was assured this time. She had never anticipated that mere moments after he entered, that very door would actually be kicked flying out by him. Beholding him striding outside with a face full of wrath, she exchanged glances with Madame Zhu in mutual consternation before hastily emerging from behind the door where they were concealed.
 
"Where is the Lord heading..."
 
It was also Nanny Jiang's own wretched luck that she actually extended her hand to block Wei Shao. The moment her hand brushed against his arm, Wei Shao raised his foot and delivered another kick, striking squarely against Nanny Jiang's thigh. Under his immense fury, how could the force of his blow be something Nanny Jiang could withstand? Letting out a wretched shriek, her entire person was kicked flying through the air like a broken kite, crashing down into the corner of the wall. Agonizing pain flared, and her thigh bone was instantly fractured.
 
Nanny Jiang swooned away on the spot.
 
Madame Zhu had reared Wei Shao to adulthood, and over all these years, Wei Shao had always been gentle, respectful, and filial before her. Even if he occasionally experienced displeasure, he would never confront her directly. She had never seen her son display such a ferocious and malevolent appearance before, and she was frightened to the point that her hands and feet turned icy cold. Casting a glance at Nanny Jiang, who already lay motionless in the corner of the wall, she actually dared not step forward herself, merely stammering with a white face: "Zhonglin, how can you treat..."
 
Wei Shao turned his head abruptly. Seeing his face iron-blue and his eyes blood-red, Madame Zhu's heart gave a sudden leap, and she immediately closed her mouth.
 
"Mother, look at the splendid deed you have performed! To actually conspire with that wretched maidservant in such a manner to plot against your own son!"
 
Wei Shao spoke every word through gritted teeth, turned around, and departed with rapid strides.
 
Madame Zhu's heart pounded wildly in her chest, and she was incapable of uttering a single word. She stood there frozen until his silhouette vanished from sight. After a long while, Madame Zhu finally recovered her senses. Seeing that the maidservants and service women had already rushed over upon hearing the commotion—yet dared not approach given the situation, crowding together as they stood beneath the veranda with expressions full of shock and suspicion—while her confidante Nanny Jiang lay on the ground in the corner of the wall with tightly closed eyes and a deathly pale countenance, looking for all the world as though she were dead, she finally shrieked aloud, commanding people to come over to hoist Nanny Jiang away to seek medical attention.
 
Only upon hearing their mistress speak did the service women hurriedly run inside, lifting Nanny Jiang away in a chaotic bustle.
 
Madame Zhu stood in place, her legs and feet still weak. After freezing for a moment, she suddenly recalled Zheng Chuyu inside the room. Turning around, she supported herself against the wall all the way inside. Upon entering, she detected a faint sound of weeping. Seeking her way inside, she found her niece flung upon the bed with disheveled garments, weeping sorrowfully. Stepping forward to support her shoulders, before she could open her mouth to ask what had transpired, Zheng Chuyu flung herself into her embrace, complaining through her tears: "Aunt, what sort of fine medicine did you obtain? It actually lacked the slightest effect! I had already gone to such lengths, yet Cousin remained entirely unmoved... I blame you for devising such an idea; how am I to face anyone in the future..."
 
Recalling the shameful scene from moments ago, she was a maiden after all; tears rolled down as she turned over and flung herself back onto the bed, pulling the quilt to conceal her head as she wept bitterly.
 
Madame Zhu's mind was in a complete whirl. Assuming that the Queen Mother's Immortal Elixir was truly ineffective, she froze for a long while before comforting Zheng Chuyu. Suddenly remembering something, she braced her spirits to venture outside, issuing a strict command to the throng of service women and maidservants that not a fraction of tonight's events was permitted to be spoken of outside.
 
"Moments ago, it was merely myself and the Lord who had an altercation, and the Lord departed in displeasure. If a single one of you dares venture outside to utter half a word of nonsense, once it is known to me, you shall be beaten to death without exception."
 
The throng of service women and maidservants dared not raise their heads, echoing their assent one after another.
 
...
 
Emerging from the eastern wing, Wei Shao immediately bent over a cluster of flowers and shrubs to induce vomiting, continuing until he had expelled all the residual contents within his stomach, leaving finally only sour fluids. Steadying his mind, only then did he continue toward the western wing.
 
However, the medicine Madame Zhu had obtained from the High Shaman was indeed exceptionally potent and aphrodisiacal by nature. Although he had initially drunk only three cups of wine and had furthermore induced vomiting so that his abdomen was now empty, his entire body nonetheless continued to feel an unbearable, scorching restlessness at this moment. Beneath his skin, it felt as though countless dense needle tips were pricking him, and his lower member was as rigid as an iron pestle, growing even three fractions more scorched and swollen than it had been when he was in Zheng Chuyu's room moments ago.
 
Wei Shao had always been conceited by nature and possessed a proud disposition; being drugged by his own mother while entirely off his guard filled his heart with a sullen vexation that could well be imagined. Fearing that he might encounter servants and enter their sight, he dared not tarry further along the path. On one hand, he exerted his full capacity to regulate his breathing, striving to suppress the wicked fire consuming his body, while on the other hand, he flew toward the western wing at top speed. Catching sight of the lamplight permeating through the window of that room from afar, he charged straight over and flung the door open with a single push.
 
Within the chamber, only Xiao Qiao was present, currently engaged in writing beneath the silver lamp.
 
Wei Shao had been called away by Madame Zhu moments ago, so she had consumed her meal alone and strolled slightly within the courtyard—where the signs of spring grew increasingly pronounced—to digest her food. By this time, she had returned to the room, trimming the candlewick to copy a scroll of fresh silk. While entirely engrossed in her task, she suddenly heard the door burst open with a resounding bang. Caught unprepared, her hand trembled, and a blob of saturated ink that had just been dipped onto the brush tip—before she could lower her brush—dripped down along the tip, splashing onto a surface of silk that was nearly finished being copied. The ink stains rapidly bled out, and the entire sheet of silk was instantly ruined.
 
Xiao Qiao could not help but exclaim what a pity it was. Turning her head, she caught sight of Wei Shao's silhouette flickering behind the screen.
 
That he had returned so quickly was somewhat unexpected to Xiao Qiao. Setting down her brush, she rose to welcome him. Just as she stepped off the couch, she saw him already approaching head-on, his countenance thoroughly crimson and his eyes saturated with a blood-red hue, as though engorged with blood, his expression exceptionally rigid.
 
Having never seen him in such a state before, Xiao Qiao was slightly startled. Hesitating briefly, she nonetheless walked toward him, a smile gracing her face as she inquired after his well-being in her usual manner: "Husband has returned..." Before her words could be finished, her person was forcefully pushed aside by Wei Shao. Stepping back a few paces before steadying her footing, she raised her eyes and saw that he had already charged into the bathhouse. Following this came the sound of splashing water, sounding as though he were pouring water straight down over his head inside.
 
Xiao Qiao was both startled and suspicious. Unable to restrain herself, she followed him over and stood outside the bathhouse door. While hesitating, she suddenly heard his voice drift out from within: "Have someone deliver crushed ice over, the more the better!"
 
His voice also sounded out of tune, as though he were exerting his utmost capacity to suppress something, vastly distinct from his usual demeanor.
 
Xiao Qiao was perplexed. Truly unable to contain her curiosity, she hooked her pinky finger to part the curtain by a single slit, leaning close to steal a glance. She saw that he had actually stripped off all his garments, his entire frame bare as he stood with his back to the doorway, his legs set apart within the bathing tub that had been filled with water in preparation for his bath.
 
The walls of the bathing tub reached half her height, yet standing as he was, it reached merely to the gluteal line beneath his waist. The flickering candlelight illuminated his back in a glistening expanse of water, looking for all the world as though a layer of oil had been smeared over it, rendering the crisp alignment of his bones and sinews increasingly pronounced. The lines of the bulging muscles extending from his shoulders and back down to below his waist rose and fell like flowing water.
 
Xiao Qiao could not help but widen her eyes.
 
"What are you looking at? Hurry along!"
 
The man within the bathing tub seemed to detect the voyeuristic gaze originating from behind him. He turned his head abruptly and delivered a sharp reprimand, his face entirely filled with wrath.

Xiao Qiao was startled, hastily retreating. Without time to ponder further, she hurriedly turned around to venture outside and summon people, instructing them to head to the ice house immediately to fetch an abundance of crushed ice over.