Chapter Sixty-Three: You Are a Consort

“Please, young master, rescind your order and spare us a path to survive!” Jian Sanlang pleaded, his tone righteous and unyielding.

A crowd of ignorant villagers followed, clamoring in panic, as if Feng Xiaobao’s actions would bring about a calamity of immense proportions.

“That giant wild boar truly was the Mountain Spirit! And the Earth Dragon exists as well!” Feng Xiaobao abruptly changed the topic. The people couldn’t understand it—earlier he had scoffed at the idea of the boar being a Mountain Spirit, dismissed the Earth Dragon as nonsense, yet now he was speaking as if he believed it wholeheartedly.

“The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, and the Princess, then, is the Daughter of Heaven!” Feng Xiaobao continued slowly, and naturally, the people agreed with him. Years of imperial indoctrination had long since convinced them that the Emperor was Heaven’s own son, and his ministers incarnations of heavenly stars descended to earth.

“By the Daughter of Heaven’s command, even the Mountain Spirit and Earth Dragon must obey!” Feng Xiaobao declared, his words steeped in superstition. “The Daughter of Heaven surpasses both the Mountain Spirit and the Earth Dragon. We act under her command. The Mountain Spirit refused to obey, so we destroyed it—otherwise, how could it have been killed? And if the Earth Dragon is disobedient, it too shall be dealt with!”

“Does what I say make sense?” Feng Xiaobao asked, his gaze stern.

“Young master speaks reason, very well said!” Steward Shi Jiulang was first to voice his support, and more and more people joined in.

The logic was sound. The Son of Heaven was the child of Heaven, the Daughter of Heaven surely outranked any local deity, just as a young prince or princess outranked any local official.

In the blink of an eye, the tide turned. Jian Sanlang’s followers dwindled rapidly.

Sensing the unfavorable shift, Jian Sanlang’s knees buckled and he knelt before Feng Xiaobao, begging piteously, “Young master, do not anger the Earth Dragon, or Heaven’s wrath will be upon us!”

“The Earth Dragon is no greater than the Daughter of Heaven! It too must obey her!” Feng Xiaobao replied coldly. “Ding Shiyiniang, commence work tomorrow morning. Labor will be assigned according to the roster. Any household that does not show up will be stricken from the register!”

To be stricken from the register meant removal from the tenant rolls—they could no longer farm the landlord’s land. Neighboring landlords were all the same and would not take in those expelled. Dispossessed tenants often became drifters, their lives precarious and miserable.

Feng Xiaobao had already demonstrated his prowess by slaying the Mountain Spirit, and now, invoking the Daughter of Heaven’s authority over the Mountain Spirit and Earth Dragon, he gave the people a way to save face. Most were quick to obey.

Seeing the crowd persuaded, Feng Xiaobao seized the moment and ordered everyone to follow him to the shore of West Mountain Lake.

He didn’t say what for, and everyone was curious.

West Mountain Lake was the largest body of water in the Princess’s domain, fed by several rivers, creeks, and the West Mountain hot springs. Its waters were clear, the scenery beautiful.

On the lakeshore and riverbanks, there were stretches of sandy ground with sparse grass growing.

There, they saw swarms of insects crawling. Someone caught one for a closer look—a locust.

They were not yet a full-blown plague, but clusters and swarms crawled across the ground, their soft rustling sounds making everyone’s skin crawl.

“From today on, do your utmost to catch and kill the locusts, lest they bring disaster!” Feng Xiaobao commanded, prompting most of the ignorant men and women to fall to their knees, pleading, “Absolutely not!”

Feng Xiaobao grew angry. “Why not?”

“Locusts are royal insects, creatures of Heaven itself!”

“To catch them is unlucky, to kill them invites misfortune!”

Once again, Jian Sanlang stepped forward and said, “Young master, locusts are disasters sent from Heaven, a warning to us from above. Please, rescind your order!”

“Hmm?” Feng Xiaobao glanced skyward, thinking to himself: You’ve never lived through those times. We Red Guards, raised on the teachings of the Great Leader of the Red Dynasty—‘To make great sacrifices, to dare to change the sun and moon for a new sky’—what are we afraid of? What haven’t we dared? We’ve even dared change the sun and moon, so what’s a locust to us?

“When disaster descends from Heaven, we must submit, not resist!” Jian Sanlang intoned solemnly, and the rest nodded in agreement, thinking his words reasonable.

“This land is peaceful, the Emperor wise, his ministers able—what disaster could there be? You tell me!” Feng Xiaobao sneered.

His words were a trap. If Jian Sanlang dared blame the Princess for any misfortune, Feng Xiaobao would have every right to seize him.

Jian Sanlang was not that foolish, refusing to take the bait. “Such matters are beyond the knowledge of humble villagers like us…”

Feng Xiaobao was exasperated. “Then why do you speak?”

“When locusts appear, the best course is to set up sacrifices in the fields, burn incense, pray for deliverance from disaster. That is the proper way!” Jian Sanlang insisted, and the common folk eagerly echoed him.

People murmured in private, “The young master wants to eradicate the locusts. If we obey him and the disaster worsens, he’ll be gone, but we’ll suffer all the more!”

“Yes, yes!”

All the villagers knelt, begging for mercy. Feng Xiaobao had a headache. “Force won’t work? The will of the people cannot be ignored…”

Yang Chengxian, ever the loyal friend, had watched the drama long enough. He now stepped forward to lend his support. “Everyone, hear me out!”

All eyes turned to him as he recounted, “In the second year of Zhenguan, in the sixth lunar month, a drought and locust plague struck the capital region. Our Emperor Taizong, in the imperial gardens, caught locusts and prayed, saying: ‘The people depend on grain for life. If there are faults, let them be mine alone. Let the locusts devour me, not the people!’ Then Emperor Taizong swallowed a locust!”

Feng Xiaobao was both amused and exasperated—was this ‘good brother’ helping or making things worse? Was he expected to swallow a locust alive? Even the most voracious southerners wouldn’t do it raw; at least they’d deep-fry them first.

Yang Chengxian called out loudly, “Emperor Taizong ate the locust. If locusts truly were creatures of Heaven, eating them would bring misfortune. Yet the Emperor remained unharmed, and the dynasty endured. Therefore, we must eradicate the locusts!”

Whispered objections grew fainter—after all, a decree from the Emperor could not be defied.

Though inwardly uneasy, the people dared not oppose imperial authority.

“Since there is no objection, it is settled!” Feng Xiaobao declared with satisfaction. “Ding Shiyiniang!”

“Yes!” Ding Shiyiniang stepped forward to take her orders.

“Organize a team to target the locusts at once. Destroy both the adults and, on the riverbanks and sandy ground, seek out their eggs. Also, go to Luoyang and buy a batch of chickens and ducks. Let them forage along the riverbanks—they’ll eat the insects and grow fat, saving on feed.”

“In this way, people will eliminate the large swarms, while chickens and ducks handle the stragglers. Those who help the Princess raise the birds can be called ‘Chicken Commanders’ and ‘Duck Commanders’!” Feng Xiaobao joked.

“Young master is wise!”

Ding Shiyiniang praised his wisdom, but another protested, “Young master is not wise, please withdraw your command.”

It was Jian Sanlang again. Sensing the situation turning against him, he begged once more, knocking his head against the ground, his plight pitiable.

Feng Xiaobao ignored him, directing the stewards to prepare for locust eradication, as if Jian Sanlang were invisible. Jian Sanlang’s eyes reddened with fury, and he pointed an accusing finger, shouting, “You are nothing more than the Princess’s favorite in her tent. To follow her is your good fortune; you ought to cultivate virtue and serve her loyally. Instead, emboldened by her favor, you act recklessly—first killing the Mountain Spirit, then provoking the Earth Dragon, now seeking to destroy the locusts. Every deed offends Heaven. If disaster befalls you, so be it, but when you bring calamity upon the Princess and us common folk, your crime is great and misfortune is near at hand!”

At these words, silence fell over the wilds.