"Dong dong clang-dong dong clang-"
Gongs and drums thundered through Quiet Mountain Valley. Nearly three thousand convict laborers sat on the bare earth as soldiers handed each of them a bowl of wine and a handful of salt-and-pepper peanuts.
Several actors in dazzling costumes performed the widely renowned "Seven Maidens Tease the Buddha" in the center of the grounds.
The play was roughly about seven Witch Cult Demonesses beguiling a holy Buddhist monk. The actor playing the monk sat on the ground while seven female leads in gorgeous clothes struck seductive poses around him, each displaying his own tricks.
Although the female leads were men too, once their colorful makeup was on, their figures were no less alluring than women's. The charm in their glances suggested they understood men even better than women did.
Most of the laborers serving sentences at the Imperial Mausoleum were serious offenders, and many had not seen a woman in over a decade. Now, with good wine, good food, and a bawdy show to watch, they needed no beguiling at all-their eyes were already bloodshot, their expressions feverish.
The several hundred soldiers guarding the prisoners here were obviously no elite troops either. A prisoner was confined for only ten or twenty years, while a jailer, if unlucky, could be confined for life. With meat supplied by their superiors, they were even more excited than the prisoners.
The mausoleum official responsible for supervising construction naturally received the best treatment. Seated on a platform with chicken, duck, fish, and meat laid out before him, he chatted with the officials beside him:
"His Majesty truly is benevolent. A grand banquet for the ministers on the Empress's birthday would have been enough, yet he even remembered this place..."
"Serve the dead as you would the living. Lord Wang, you