The imperial court of Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang was a turbulent and fractious one in the final years of his life. Huang's generals had unified China, and expanded its borders wider than any previous known monarch had dreamed. But the more territory the first Emperor of China acquired, the more problems it seemed he had to deal with. His flagship policy of refining Chinese knowledge and philosophy through the embrace of Legalism and the mass burning of books and scholars was being met by a mixed reception by his newly conquered peoples. Even his eldest son was heard decrying the effort. Worse, as the emperor approached his fiftieth birthday, he felt the chill of old age fill his bones ever more severely every passing winter.
Desperate to extend his righteous and harmonious rule, Emperor Huang had his newly installed administrators publish a proclamation, calling for all practitioners of the medical, magical, and spiritual arts to come to the capital in Xianyang. Huang hoped to learn of a method to solidify his rule over the generations to come, and entrench his legacy as the greatest of men, no longer mortal, but an ascendant immortal. The emperor was immediately disappointed by the ceaseless parade of charlatans, hapless alchemists, hedge wizards, and other time-wasting fools. Even after making it a policy to immolate the most dishonest of the peddlers, the emperor's court eunuchs reported few promising leads to Huang. The emperor grew more restless in his pursuit of life-extension, seeing thousands of vengeful spirits, curse-ghosts, and other esoteric entities haunt him, sent by his rivals to thwart his heavenly-mandated rule.
The increasingly irritable Huang grew elated when his head court eunuch informed him that several promising practitioners of mystical arts and medicine had passed the vetting process. The immortality-obsessed tyrant ordered the first court petitioner to approach, an old, sprightly man by the name of Fahai. The bald Buddhist monk walked into the imperial court, carrying a jangling metal staff, a great curving rucksack strapped over his back. The wise-man's burden, combined with his wide drooping lip which pointed down in the middle, made the emperor chuckle at how the monk reminded him of a turtle. Fahai kowtowed respectfully, and slowly rasped out a dry, exhaustively rehearsed speech to the emperor "Mighty emperor Qin Shi Huang, first to rule unified China as emperor, I humbly come to offer you the fruits of my many years of learning. I have heard that you wish to live a long and healthy life, so that you may benevolently rule your people, a righteous and worthy goal of a monarch! I have devised a life-extension program that I believe could realistically double your life expectancy, if faithfully carried out! By simply restricting yourself to a modest diet of healthy foods, and applying yourself to a steady and diligent exercise regimen, I believe-" the musty spiel was blessedly interrupted by a far more interesting occurrence, that jolted the emperor from his ornate throne.
The chamber's huge, ornate wooden doors unnaturally flung open, and an exotic-looking woman in a flowing white silk dress brazenly marched into the Imperial petitioners hall, as a crowd of desperate and fearful guards followed behind. The lead guard yelled out "Beware! The witch can cast magic!" as the woman turned around, and with a wave of her hand made every approaching guard fall instantly asleep on the floor. Rather than worried, Huang was enthralled by the spectacle, as the haughty woman strode up to his throne, ignoring the irritated-looking Fahai and triumphantly announcing "It is I, Lady Bai, and I have come to share my incredibly valuable secrets of immortality with the worthiest of worthies, your grace!" the incorrigible woman announced with a flip of her hand. Normally, Huang would refuse to be addressed as such, especially by a woman, but this witch's display of awesome magical powers put her well-ahead of any of the other petitioner's the emperor had entertained.
He especially resented this stooped, bald monk's suggestion that he adopt a commoner's diet and lifestyle. Even a child knew a noble lived longer than a peasant, so what madness did this exhausting Buddhist extol? He would of had him burned, but the emperor did not wish to earn the ire of the Buddha, so he bade his remaining conscious courtiers to lead the flabbergasted old monk away. The day grew even more interesting, as the old man responded by saying "W-wait, I am of a magical nature too! Don't trust this devious serpent, she will deceive you!" as the monk waved his staff around, and assumed the shape of a walking, shelled turtle-man. Huang clapped his hands like an excited child, as the tall, lithe witch woman responded "Hmmph, a parlor trick! I assure you Huang, every magical practitioner worth anything can pull such tricks!" as she performed the same gesture, and suddenly assumed a serpentine appearance. The imperial monarch gaped as the woman's legs fused into a sinuous serpent's lower-half, coiling below as white-scales crept over her features, and her pupils became reptilian slits. Huang was particularly captivated by her now bared, scaled, busty breasts, which the snake-woman wantonly bared.
"This damn bitch has only gotten ahead through luck! She found the immortality pill in a river and-" the monk began, before she assertively cut the turtle-man Fahai off, saying "See? Even he admits I have the secret of the immortality pill! Let me tell you about the path to immortality, your highness, one word: Mercury, and lots of it. We need to get it in you, as much as possible. Eat it, huff it, bathe in it, if you can." the snake woman said, trying to suppress a grin. Emperor Huang considered her proposition. A delegation of alchemists had made a similar claim earlier, but all the royal pugs died from the treatment. He thought nothing of having hundreds of the old fools slow-roasted for their insolence, but this snake witch's words rang true, especially considering her obvious powers. As if sensing his mood, the serpent intoned "The choice is clear, your grace, but my price is fixed," the coiling snake woman hissed out smoothly. Fahai was lead off dryly screaming, as Huang bade the strange snake-witch to approach his throne. She slithered up gracefully, and submissively coiled below his feet, her forked tongue flickering out intermittently. He spoke softly, aware that the price of a witch may be strange or onerous, asking "Tell me your price, 'Lady Bai'. The secrets of the immortality pill, and Mercury, must be mine. The Qin dynasty must continue, for the sake of all my subjects." The serpent woman sprang up quickly, coiling around his throne impertinently, though to the emperor's credit he did not flinch a muscle in fear, as she seductively whispered in his ear "I have heard tale that you maintain the most diverse harem in all the world, of the most succulent, pampered, perfumed young beauties your wide-ranging empire has to offer. Surely such a wealthy and opulent ruler could afford to spare with a few pretty harem peasants, for the secrets of immortality? I ask only for a few women a week at most, and that no questions be asked of my conduct."
Huang mused over her offer, before responding indignantly "You wish to make me a known cuckold, by bedding my concubines? You may only be a woman, but how could I countenance the presence of these defiled doves, and still expect the respect of my manly general staff?" Lady Bai leaned in even closer, her bifurcated tongue flickering lightly against his ear as she hissed excitedly "Oh no your grace, you misunderstand me. I have no improper ambitions towards your hoard of beautiful woman, and they won't be a lingering problem, I assure you. I simply wish to place your little doves into their appropriate role as prey, with myself cast as predator." Emperor Huang rubbed his bearded chin, understanding her meaning perfectly. The prospect was unsavory and scandalous, but the prize was beyond question. What's more, his harem had bloated to an unsustainable population that was taxing his treasury and prestige, with reports of several of his concubines starving or dying of exposure at the periphery of his imperial compound. The emperor only regularly bedded a select few of the women, ordained by his astrologers to produce heirs of reputable divine astronomical ordination. In fact, he had only gathered so many woman, to beat out the previous ruler of Yunnan's legendary harem size. This was a price he could afford, he reasoned, as Huang silently consented to the serpent-witch with an imperious nod of affirmation.
Only hours later, Lady Bai shivered with perverse anticipation as the eunuch guards lead her through the emperor's personal, walled, harem-complex. She had resumed her human disguise, but could barely disguise her leering, predatory gaze, which made the normally respected concubines shiver in fear as she passed. As she passed through the ornate grounds, she wordlessly gestured for the guards to gather women of her choosing, one after another, until the eunuchs were leading a congregation of four scared concubines, who wordlessly followed their directions in submissive grace. She had the guards lead the four, increasingly scared young women up to her new quarters in the harem complex. She beamed inwardly with pride, as she saw the imperial porters bringing expensive lacquered furniture and other lavish trappings to her room, at Huang's bidding. As the eunuch guards lined the four concubines up in her room, Lady Bai flippantly dismissed the porters and guards with a wave, as the four women jumped as the large, wooden doors to her room shut firmly behind the last departing guard.
The witch shuddered with excitement, as she wordlessly marched back and fourth in front of the gathered concubines, who kept their almond-shaped eyes downcast as they waited for her to break the silence, "You women shall call me Lady Bai. Considering how incredibly intimate we are all about to become, I think it's best if I dropped any pretenses about myself, or my intentions towards you all." said smugly, as she dismissed her enchanted disguised, and assumed her true-form as a snake-woman. Several of the concubines shrieked with alarm as her appearance shifted, one fainting from the sight, as the remaining three crowded around her wooden door and banged loudly for rescue that would never come. The serpent woman slithered up quickly to the three conscious concubines, and hissed "Stop your fussing, or you will experience the fury of my wraith!" the snake witch hissed out, summoning arcs of magical electricity from her scaly fingers. The crying women fearfully knelt before her, as she gazed at their tear-stained faces, deciding which delicious little dumpling to sample first.