“Your Majesty,” Duan Zufeng pointed toward the restless, agitated little wolf within the cage, speaking in a resounding voice, “this is a cub I dug out from a wolf den in the Di tribe’s old lair in northern Di. Its coat color is rare, and its wild nature is unadulterated. The northern Di people regard wolves as sacred objects, especially this kind of ‘snow-treading black-mane horse’—it is even more a once-in-a-century encounter. This subject thought that such a rare novelty, matched against Your Majesty’s true dragon aura, would not be considered burying its worth, so I specially brought it back to help you amuse yourself and dispel boredom!”
Shen Chaoqing’s gaze landed upon that small wolf within the cage, which was brimming with wild nature and continuously struggling and snarling. That pure black, those snow-white paws, those jade-green, ferocious eyes…
It looked extraordinarily like a certain person.
He observed it with keen interest. “Snow-treading black-mane? Indeed a rare item. General Duan has put in a lot of thought. Present it for me to examine closely.”
“Understood!” Seeing the Emperor satisfied, Duan Zufeng’s smile grew even wider as he personally lifted the iron cage and strode directly beneath the imperial dais.
Fu An hurriedly signaled two daring young eunuchs to step forward, carefully receiving the cage and carrying it right before the imperial seat.
Shen Chaoqing extended a finger, tapping lightly through the thick iron bars of the cage.
Startled, the little wolf cub lunged fiercely toward the direction of Shen Chaoqing’s finger, biting down hard onto the iron bar and producing a crisp, echoing clang as its jade-green wolf eyes fixed a glare of unyielding wildness directly upon Shen Chaoqing.
“Heh…” Shen Chaoqing let out a soft laugh.
He seemed to greatly enjoy this aggressive, untamed nature, even stretching out his fingertip to flick quickly and lightly against the tip of the little wolf’s moist nose.
“Awooo!” Angered, the wolf cub slammed against the cage even more frantically.
“Your Majesty, be careful!” Fu An turned pale with fright; this little beast looked thoroughly ferocious!
Yet Shen Chaoqing remained completely unconcerned, observing the enraged little beast in the cage with playful amusement. His gaze seemed to pierce through this struggling wolf cub to perceive something far more profound.
Throughout the entire process, Xiao Huaiyan had stood like a stone sculpture in the shadows by Shen Chaoqing’s side, his expression as calm as water, without even his breathing experiencing the slightest disorder.
Only the instant Shen Chaoqing extended his finger to tease the wolf cub and the ferocious beast lunged to bite the iron cage did the hand of Xiao Huaiyan, concealed beneath his wide sleeves, curl up imperceptibly, his knuckles growing slightly white from the exertion.
Duan Zufeng’s gaze swept over Xiao Huaiyan as if inadvertently, before he bowed toward Shen Chaoqing: “As long as Your Majesty likes it. This little beast’s wild nature has not been tamed yet, so Your Majesty still needs to be cautious when playing with it.”
Although the Emperor had elevated him to the position of Grand General, he had never heavily employed him, and he naturally understood the reason in his heart. Now that Shen Chaoqing had finally made a request, if he handled it well, perhaps he could draw closer to His Majesty.
Shen Chaoqing withdrew his teasing finger, shifting his gaze away from the wolf cub to look back at Duan Zufeng. “I like it very much. General Duan has had a tiring journey—bestow a seat, take your place at the banquet.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Duan Zufeng cupped his fists in gratitude, his gaze casting one final sweep toward Xiao Huaiyan lingering within the shadows.
A barely concealed warning laced his eyes before he held his head high and strode toward the seat reserved for him.
The music of strings and flutes rose once more within the hall, cups and goblets intertwined as the festive atmosphere of the New Year’s Eve banquet reignited.
As the banquet concluded, Shen Chaoqing motioned for Fu An to bring the iron cage containing the “snow-treading black-mane” closer. He waved away the other ordinary gray wolves that had been symbolically brought back and confined in cages within the side hall, keeping solely this indomitable little black wolf.
The small beast inside the cage seemed to sense that the world outside its binding prison had changed, its jade-green wolf eyes vigilantly sweeping across the brilliantly lit grand hall and those figures in lavish garments while a low, threatening whimper sounded deep within its throat.
Shen Chaoqing looked down upon it with keen interest, tapping his fingertips lightly against the outside of the iron bars, which provoked the wolf cub into snarling and lunging fiercely once more, crashing against the iron cage with a loud clatter.
“Tsk, this little thing’s wild nature is truly hard to tame.” Shen Chaoqing suddenly turned his head. “Xiao Huaiyan.”
Upon hearing his name, Xiao Huaiyan acknowledged, “Present.”
Shen Chaoqing pointed toward the restless pitch-black shade inside the cage, his tone carrying a playful probe: “Look at it—its coat is dark and glossy, its four paws tread upon snow, and its jade eyes resemble ice. I reckon it’s quite a rare item. Tell me, what name should we give it?”
Xiao Huaiyan’s gaze finally settled upon the iron cage. That pure black, that blinding white, that hostile emerald green, with its claws meticulously honed to sharpness yet forced to howl futilely against invisible iron bars.
It looked remarkably like himself.
An extremely sharp discomfort, compounded by a sense of a violated territorial domain and an absurd displacement, instantly seized hold of him.
Narrowing his eyes, Xiao Huaiyan blurted out, “Wangcai.”
The fingers Shen Chaoqing was using to tap against the iron bars abruptly paused. Slowly, he turned his head.
He remembered clearly that in the original work, that deeply thoughtful and fastidious Xiao Huaiyan had given his own blood-sweating steed an exceedingly elegant name: “Vine Frost White.”
Deriving its meaning from horsemanes resembling vines and a coat color like condensed frost. Yet facing this rare snow-treading black-mane wolf cub, he spat out a vulgar, rustic, country-dog name like “Wangcai”?
“Wangcai?” Shen Chaoqing raised an eyebrow slightly. “What kind of name is that? This snow-treading black-mane of mine, a once-in-a-century auspicious omen, comes out of your mouth sounding like a house-guarding mutt?”
Faced with the Emperor’s questioning, Xiao Huaiyan’s tone remained steady, even carrying a logical, methodical “sincerity”: “Although this wolf is miraculous, its wild nature is untamed and its ferocity difficult to fathom. The name ‘Wangcai’ takes the character ‘Wang’ [prosperous] to pray for Your Majesty’s imperial body to remain hale and hearty, and the dynasty’s fortune to flourish; it takes the character ‘Cai’ [wealth] to pray for Your Majesty’s financial resources to expand and the imperial treasury to brim with abundance. Though the name is rustic, the implication is down-to-earth and auspicious. Besides,”
He paused, his gaze sweeping once more across the little wolf inside the cage that was baring its teeth and growling low at him, his voice dropping a fraction lower with an imperceptible sharpness: “The cheaper the name, the tougher the life. It’s easier to raise.”
Such specious reasoning was spoken by him in a serious, methodical manner, as though “Wangcai” truly possessed some cosmic logic and far-reaching, auspicious significance.
Shen Chaoqing stared fixedly at him for a moment. Xiao Huaiyan maintained a respectful, unyielding posture, as if that sophistry laden with hidden barbs was genuinely heartfelt advice.
“Pfft…” Shen Chaoqing ultimately failed to hold back, a very faint laugh spilling from his throat.
What “averting misfortune” and “easy to raise” he clearly found the wolf cub an eyesore and deliberately gave it a dog’s name to annoy it, as well as to annoy him.
“Very well, a splendid ‘Wangcai’.” Shen Chaoqing clapped his hands together, his smile deepening. “Grounded, easy to raise, averting misfortune… you certainly know how to name things.” Changing the subject, he added, “Since that is the case, tomorrow at the ancestral worship grand ceremony, you shall bring ‘Wangcai’ and keep watch at the entrance of the Ancestral Hall. Let it also partake in the ancestors’ blessings and properly bring prosperity to my empire.”
The Empress had claimed illness and refused to attend the New Year’s Eve banquet precisely so she could stir up trouble at tomorrow’s ancestral worship.
That meticulously orchestrated farce of “heavenly retribution” in the original work was interlocking ring by ring, causing Shen Chaoqing to suffer quite a bit of hardship.
A wolf was quite simply the ultimate, marvelous nemesis for the Empress’s farce of “heavenly retribution”!
Tomorrow, outside this Ancestral Hall, a fine show of “dogs biting dogs” was bound to take place. I only wonder what kind of spectacle it will be when the “dog of heavenly retribution” meticulously prepared by the Empress matches up against “Wangcai”?