A Magic Steeped in Poison

The magic awakens in her, and she connects with the piya. She twists its mind. Convincing it that it is dying of thirst, she urges it to drink. She feels guilty for using her magic in such a cruel fashion, but it works. The piya drinks the water that has been poisoned by the jincan. Then Lian removes the poison from the bird in a way that echoes what Ning did for Ruyi. Ning vomits, understanding what her mother meant with her warning that the Shennong magic “turns on the wielder tenfold if using it for harm” (263). She now wonders how strong the shennong-shi who poisoned the tea must be in order to withstand such effects. Wenyi gives her a handkerchief to wipe her face.

The judges confer. The marquis looks disgusted, and the chancellor seems disturbed. Finally, Elder Guo announces that while the judges do not condone this technique, the girls have accomplished the task and therefore pass the test.

Wenyi and his partner take their turn. They turn their jincan into powder and pour it into a large pot. Something thrashes inside and then goes still. They pull a dead snake from the pot and place it in the cage with their piya. Then Wenyi places something under his tongue. Using his magic, he makes the snake move. The snake approaches the piya, which piya strikes, ingesting some of its blood in the process. The poisoned blood infects the bird. Then Wenyi’s partner feeds the piya a berry that makes it vomit the blood back up.

Again, the judges seem unsettled. Zhen asks if Wenyi brought the snake back to life. He explains that he uses animation to move it like a puppet, but it is still dead. The chancellor disapproves of this technique, but Wenyi and his partner also pass.

Elder Guo announces that of the six remaining competitors, only three can enter the final round. She tells a legend about the early world, when there were six gods: “The Bird of the South, the Tiger of the North, the Carp of the East, and the Tortoise of the West” (268). As she explains, “The Twin Gods ruled over them all—the Jade Dragon of the river and the Gold Serpent of the cloud sea” (268). The Gold Serpent was jealous of his brother and imprisoned him. The other four gods broke him out, and a battle ensued. The Gold Serpent died, and his blood dripped into lakes and ponds, forming water lilies. Humans now view water lilies as a remembrance of the gods. As such, Elder Guo has hidden three small treasures among the water lilies in the palace pond. The first three competitors to find one will advance to the final round.

As the men thrash into the water, Ning recalls being able to hear plants in her parents’ garden and touches a flower. The water lilies show her where the treasures are hidden. Ning offers to find one for Lian, who declines because Zhen is sending her away for another task.

Ning finds the treasure: a small black medicinal ball similar to the one that Ning made to save Ruyi’s life. Wenyi and Shao find the other two. The three who have been eliminated are praised for making it this far and are promised commendations and prizes for their families. Minister Song explains that the new ruler will soon ascend, and the new royal shennong-shi will ascend with them. As such, the final round will be performed before the whole court. The competitors should keep the medicine ball, as they will need it in the final test.

Lian is gone the next day. Wenyi and Shao ignore Ning, and she wanders away, feeling excluded. A soldier delivers a letter from her father. Along with the paper, she finds a scrap of embroidered fabric that includes strange red grasses and spotted branches in shades of pink. In the corner is a quote from her mother’s favorite poem, proving that Shu did the embroidery. In the letter, her father admits that he thought she would fail in her task and return home. Only later did he realize that he was foolish for ignoring his daughters and leaving Ning to shoulder the burden of saving Shu. Shu has been recklessly experimenting, trying to find an antidote for herself. She asked him to send the embroidery along as encouragement. He fears that Shu does not have long to live, and he begs Ning to return home in time to say goodbye.

Ning now fears that her efforts have been in vain. She decides that she must confront Kang one last time to get the truth from him. Mingwen brings her food, but when Ning asks to borrow her uniform for an hour, Mingwen refuses. Ning offers her the jeweled hair pin that Shu gave her as payment, and Mingwen accepts it. Dressed as a servant, Ning enters Kang’s quarters. He is shocked to see her.

Ning keeps her distance, resisting her desire to embrace him. She returns the dagger that he gave her and explains that she spoke to Zhen and knows that the poison’s main ingredient came from Luzhou. He swears that he did not know this, but Ning says that it does not matter. She accuses him of hiding his true intent to help his father gain the throne. Kang does not deny his father’s ambitions but says he is not the same as his father. He is hurt by her accusations. She tells him that she lied as well and only grew close to him on Zhen’s orders.

Kang says he meant every word he said to her, even if she did not. He promises that he would give her the antidote if he knew it. Kang shares a blessing that is common among his people, saying, “May the sea be willing. May it bring you what you are looking for. I will never begrudge you that” (283). Ning leaves and returns Mingwen’s uniform.

The final test arrives. Shao, Wenyi, and Ning enter the court, surrounded by the officials, the nobility, and the scholars. Zhen enters. Ning is surprised that Ruyi is not with her and wonders if she is still recovering. Then Kang follows. Zhen announces that she and Kang are now betrothed. Mortified, Ning realizes that they both used her like a pawn, playing her against each other.

Some officials shout out at the news, and the Minister of War objects. Minster Song steps forward, stating that Kang is “an appropriate bridge” (288) between the royal court and the exiled prince. He adds that the court spies have watched Kang over the years. He has never been involved in raiding or in his father’s politics. Moreover, this pairing may help to quell some unrest along the borders. Zhen closes the discussion and orders the final shennong-tu test to begin.

The three competitors draw lots. Shao receives the Emerald Tortoise, Wenyi the Black Tiger, and Ning the White Crane. Three warriors then appear. A large man represents the Tortoise, while a muscular woman stands in for the Tiger, and a slender man dressed in white represents the Crane. Chancellor Zhou explains that these three warriors represent their home cities and will fight a challenger who represents Jia. The shennong-tu must use the medicine ball and a tea blend of their choice to support the challenger and help them win the duel.

The Chancellor asks who will represent Jia. Kang volunteers, saying that he is “eager to demonstrate [his] loyalty to the throne of Daxi” (292). The competitors select the tea blend that they believe will help Kang against each challenger.

Shao is the first to perform. He brews his tea, which Kang drinks. Shao then puts the medicine ball beneath his tongue to forge a connection between them. Kang then fights the representative of the Tortoise. The fight is hard and fast, but Kang defeats the warrior.

Next, Wenyi performs his tea ritual and gives the tea to Kang. The second duel begins, and eventually, Ning sees that something is wrong. Kang moves too slowly, and his steps seem clumsy and exhausted. Eventually, he loses and concedes defeat to the woman who represents the Tiger.

Wenyi confesses that he gave Kang a tea to weaken him rather than strengthen him because he “could not bring [himself] to assist this… traitor to the empire” (298). Wenyi explains that his family lives near the border of Luzhou, where people have been forced into Li Yuan’s army. Those who refuse are poisoned instead. Wenyi begs the princess to investigate as guards drag him away. He struggles, screaming that a “shadow will soon follow” (300).

Minister Song says the competition must continue. He permits Ning to check Kang’s health before continuing. She reads Kang’s pulse and tries to sense how Wenyi’s tea has interfered with his system. Then Chancellor Zhou permits her to change one of her chosen ingredients to counteract Wenyi’s sabotage.