There was no way they were going to fight.
So the censors whom Qi Shan had tricked into swallowing the stuff became the only victims of the whole affair. For a time, the Censorate's people would see Qi Shan and flatten themselves against the wall to sneak around her, afraid she might pull some biochemical weapon capable of poisoning people mute from her sleeve. Better dead than alive!
Spring passed and autumn came; winter's cold gave way to summer's heat.
Another year passed.
In the blink of an eye, time flowed smoothly into Yuanhuang Year Eight.
An unexpected guest arrived at Shen Tang's palace.
"Which patch of mud did you roll back from?"
He could hardly have been less polite. The guards hidden nearby all appeared at once, surrounding Shen Tang, who was bent over scooping water to wash her feet, and drawing their blades on the unexpected guest. Shen Tang tossed the wooden dipper back into the water and waved for the guards to withdraw. "You don't need to concern yourselves with him."
The guards received her command and withdrew to their posts in orderly fashion.
The unexpected guest sneered. "A rabble of nobodies."
And they thought they could measure swords with him?
Shen Tang retorted, "They're still young. They can't compare to you, a man more than two hundred years old. There's a limit to shamelessness. This is still my palace. Next time, you can have someone announce your arrival. You can't just come and go as you please. Keep it up, and I'll scatter your ashes to the winds!"
The unexpected guest paid no heed to Shen Tang's words. As a being beyond human, he had long since lost anything resembling a heart.
"My uncle asked me to come and find out when you'll make your move."