Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 171: The Demon Queen caters to the False Emperor and defiles the harem

Datong City is shrouded in night.

After Guo Deng made a round of inspection, he came to the city gate tower and saw Yang Guifang and Wang Yue, who had just returned from Yanghe, drinking around the fire. Wang Yue was a little tipsy, holding up the wine pot and reciting a poem:

Where there are mountains on the flat ground, there are all rolling rocks; where there is no sea in the sky, there are also waves.

You should send me up to the sky, and try to cleanse the blue sky.

"Hey, if you hadn't joined the army, you would definitely be a poet." Yang Guifang praised.

"No conflict!" Wang Yue waved his hand. "I want to be like Xin Qiji, who can bring peace to the world with his pen and decide the fate of the world with his military skill."

Guo Deng walked by with a frown on his face, and scolded with a smile: "Boast! You are better at bragging than fighting, and you are so bold!"

Wang Yue walked forward cheerfully and pulled Guo Deng to the fire: "General, come, let's drink together!"

Snapped!
Guo Deng slapped him on the back of the head and said angrily: "Drinking is prohibited in the army. You two are the commanders, and you are leading the way in drinking?"

"We are not on duty. Besides, let's have a drink, hehe." Wang Yue pointed at Yang Guifang and said, "Old Yang has returned from a victorious battle, which has greatly boosted our army's morale. Shouldn't we celebrate?"

Yang Guifang waved her hand: "Don't use me as an excuse, I was forced."

Wang Yue was stunned: "You traitor, it was obviously your idea."

Guo Deng glanced at the two of them, sat down, and said angrily: "Why don't you give me a pot of wine?"

Yang Guifang quickly offered it and said with a smile, "It's summer now, but the nights outside the pass are still chilly. Have a drink to warm yourself up. Come on, get ready."

The three of them started drinking around the fire. Wang Yue was the most lively: "I think Ye Xian got scared and didn't dare to come."

Guo Deng snorted: "He wants to fight with us? We can afford it."

"No, we can't afford to waste time!" Yang Guifang suddenly became serious, "I've noticed the situation in the capital recently. His Majesty has arrested Duke Cheng. I feel like something big is going to happen."

Wang Yue said indifferently: "Just arrest him. Duke Cheng should have been arrested long ago. Ask the people in the capital about what he did. Who doesn't hate him?"

"Your Majesty has the intention to kill." Yang Guifang sighed, "I am worried about Your Majesty."

"Ah? Your Majesty is the emperor, what do you have to worry about?" Wang Yue wondered.

Yang Guifang looked at Guo Deng who was standing beside her and asked, "General Guo, there are only three of us here, so I'll ask you directly, what do you think about the rumors about the real and fake emperors?"

Guo Deng took a sip of wine and shook his head: "I have no opinion. I only know to guard the borders of Ming Dynasty. I can't manage other things, nor do I have the ability to manage them."

Yang Guifang stared at him for a while, then spread her hands: "Your Majesty has offended the gentry by implementing the New Deal, and now there are rumors about the real and fake emperors. The capital must be undercurrents. Your Majesty, we need a big victory! Do you understand?"

Guo Deng and Wang Yue both understood.

"Then let's have a big victory." Guo Deng said decisively.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we echo and support Your Majesty." Wang Yue said.

Yang Guifang was slightly stunned.

Of course, he knew Wang Yue's attitude. This guy was a new soldier and was valued by His Majesty. But Guo Deng's attitude surprised him a little. He knew that His Majesty in the northwest had written a letter to Guo Deng.

Doesn’t Guo Deng have any doubts at all?
"Okay, before I came back this time, I went to Xuanfu to meet General Shi, and he also agreed to take the initiative to attack and win a victory." Yang Guifang said, "Now we will send out a small team to invade, and our entire defense line needs to cooperate."

Guo Deng nodded: "Of course I will listen to Shi Shuai's overall plan."

……

Capital, Fengtian Palace.

During the morning court session, the Royal Guards arrested three officials on the spot, all of whom were involved in the case of Duke Cheng. Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon throne with a stern face. His eyes swept across the whole audience, exuding an indescribable majesty, like the strongest lightning in the sky, making people dare not look directly at him. Under the dragon throne, the ministers even breathed cautiously.

Inside the hall, even the air was heavy and suffocating. Zhu Qizhen's anger was not as direct as a violent storm, but it exuded a chilling atmosphere. It was the anger of an emperor, as deep as a prison.

Yu Qian, standing in the palace, was filled with emotion. In just four years, the young emperor had grown into a decisive and ruthless emperor. However, he was still far from being a real emperor.

"I know that the new policy has affected the interests of the gentry throughout the country, as well as your interests. Therefore, many people hate me. Haha, I, the emperor, have been assassinated repeatedly. It is really ridiculous."

"I can tolerate brave and honest ministers who speak out, I can tolerate crazy ministers, even treacherous ministers, but I cannot tolerate traitors! I order the Jinyiwei to thoroughly investigate the case of Duke Cheng. No matter who it is, I will not let him go."

The entire court seemed to be shrouded in a chill, and the ministers dared not breathe.

After court, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qizhen summoned Xu Youzhen and Shi Biao, who worked very well together, one of them plotting and the other taking action. Xu Youzhen reported to the Emperor:
"On the one hand, the case of Duke Chengguo can be used to strike down the gentry. I have a list of names here. We need to kill a bunch of them. These people are just despicable! In the pre-Yuan Dynasty, they didn't dare to resist. Why? They were afraid of death. After killing a bunch of them, the new policy can penetrate into the counties and towns."

"On the other hand, it can be used to implicate those rebels! Shi Biao, you Jinyiwei have to work harder. What Junshan Society? There is no news at all? Even if there is a suspect? Implicate him in the case of Duke Chengguo and kill him."

Zhu Qizhen held his forehead with his hand.

You really have the potential to be a traitor, but if used well, you'll be a sharp knife.

"You guys take care of the specific matters, I only care about the results." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand.

……

Prince Qing's Palace.

Zhu Qiyu was worried and asked his military advisor, Tung Xingdao, "Duke Cheng's case won't affect me, right?"

Tung Xingdao shook his head: "You helped the fake emperor some time ago, and he wants to continue to use you. The key is to play the role of royal brotherhood again, so he will not touch you for the time being."

Zhu Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief.

As his allies fell one by one, he had completely put away his original ambition and hid himself. He took a sip of tea and asked again: "Mr. Tung, have you heard of Junshan Society?"

Tung Xingdao shook his head in confusion: "What Junshan Society?"

"I learned from the Jinyiwei that the Junshan Society is a secret organization whose purpose is to bring back the true emperor." Zhu Qiyu snorted disdainfully, "I heard that there are bigwigs in it, but I don't believe it. Then the person they should look for most is me."

Tung Xingdao smiled faintly: "Maybe it's just a gangster organization. Gangsters like to do these things. Haha, but it also shows another problem from another side, that is, among the people, many people also believe that the current emperor is fake."

Zhu Qiyu thought thoughtfully: "It would be great if we could contact the Junshan Society, then we would have an extra helper."

Tung Xingdao smiled and shook his head: "Your Highness, in the eyes of the world, you are on the side of the false emperor. How can Junshan believe you? Besides, His Majesty is now starting to kill people, so they must be hiding."

Zhu Qiyu suddenly understood and nodded.

Tung Xingdao seemed to be interested: "However, if Junshan Club is really full of bigwigs, then I am curious, who can summon all the bigwigs together?"

Zhu Qiyu filled a cup of tea for Tung Xingdao and sighed, "There are too many talented people in this capital. If I didn't have your help, I would have given up my ambitions and become a free and easy prince."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

……

Chao Xiaotian, the leader of the Yulong Gang, has been having a good time recently, because the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Five Cities Military Department, and even the Jinyiwei have all asked him for help.

Although the work they did was either to help maintain traffic, clean up roads, or help repair roads, they were paid money and provided with food. His Yulong Gang also grew rapidly, absorbing many beggars and prodigals.

At this moment, he was eating a sesame cake on the street, thinking about becoming a great hero in the capital. Suddenly, he felt a palm wind coming from behind, and he dodged sideways, but he didn't raise his head.

Snapped!
He was slapped on the back of his head, but when he saw who it was, he was not angry at all. He shouted happily: "Master? I haven't seen you for a long time. It's really like a long time since I last saw you..."

Zhu Qizhen waved his hands quickly: "Alright, stop using nonsense words. It's been so long since we last met, and your martial arts skills haven't improved at all."

"I'm very strong now. Of course, you are useless in front of my master." Chao Xiaotian spread his hands, "Master, I'm rich now. Let's go and have a drink at Taibai Tower."

Zhu Qizhen was very pleased that his apprentice had made progress. Of course, Chao Xiaotian must have been invited to take those jobs. He patted Chao Xiaotian on the shoulder and said, "Even if you have money, you still have to maintain a frugal lifestyle. Besides, you have a lot of people working for you now, so you have to feed them."

"Yes, Master." Nodded to Xiaotian.

Zhu Qizhen snatched the pancake from his hand and said while chewing it: "Help me check something. There is an organization called Junshan Society. They are very mysterious. You have many subordinates all over the capital. Check if there are any strange people wearing masks to hold meetings or something like that."

Chao Xiaotian nodded as he took note: "Master, what does Junshan Society do?"

"Rebels, why are you welcoming the real emperor?" Zhu Qizhen waved his hand, "Don't worry about these, just investigate and tell your people not to confront them head-on, just find their location."

Chao Xiaotian patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Master! I have long been fed up with those who spread rumors about His Majesty. Although His Majesty is incompetent, everything he does is for the people."

"!!!" Zhu Qizhen gritted his teeth, "Why do you think the current emperor is incompetent?"

Chao Xiaotian said with disdain: "He is the emperor, and he allows these rumors to spread? When the emperor is angry, millions of people will die. If it were me, I would have killed them all long ago."

Zhu Qizhen: "Uh..."

……

At this time, the Queen Mother's carriage passed by. Shuangxi was still driving the carriage. She saw His Majesty the Emperor and Chao Xiaotian. She said to the Queen Mother in the carriage:
"Queen Mother, His Majesty has left the palace incognito again. Look, he's over there. With that guy... that brat from the Yulong Gang, the one who fined me two copper coins last time. Why is His Majesty hanging out with those rascals?"

The curtain of the carriage was opened, revealing the mature and beautiful face of the empress dowager. Her beautiful eyes looked at the roadside, fell on Zhu Qizhen, and then slowly swept across the street, smiling: "Shuangxi, have you noticed? Since people walked on the sidewalks, and carriages and horses walked on the road, the capital has become more orderly, and carriages are no longer blocked, and they are much faster." Shuangxi nodded while driving: "Yes, the streets are also clean and tidy, and they look comfortable. There are special people to deal with it, it seems that they are from the Yulong Gang. There is horse manure on the road, and they are quickly cleaned up by them."

The Queen Mother blinked her beautiful eyes slightly: "So, the Yulong Gang is still somewhat useful."

Shuangxi still had contempt in his eyes, and snorted, "That was because your Majesty gave them the opportunity. Your Majesty has so many tricks up his sleeve that he can even use them on scoundrels."

The Queen Mother raised her head slightly, her long hair falling, her eyes fell on Zhu Qizhen on the street, her eyes seemed to be full of tenderness, her slender fingers like white jade gently brushed the falling hair, and pursed her red lips: "He ran outside the palace all day and was assassinated. He didn't think about how dangerous it was. Shuangxi, drive the carriage over and I will take him back."

Zhu Qizhen was educating Chao Xiaotian when a carriage suddenly stopped beside him. He looked up and saw Shuangxi. He was stunned for a moment: "Shuangxi, you guys are leaving the palace too?"

Shuangxi stood on the carriage and bowed.

Chao Xiaotian recognized Shuangxi as the unreasonable girl who was punished that time, but the lady in the car was very reasonable. He asked in surprise: "Master, do you know each other?"

"Oh, this is my maid." Zhu Qizhen said.

"I see." Chao Xiaotian hurried forward, walked to the front of the carriage, and clasped his fists towards Shuangxi, "Miss, you are my master's maid. I was rude last time. I'm sorry."

Shuangxi curled his lips and raised his head without paying any attention.

Chao Xiaotian bowed towards the carriage again and raised his voice and said, "The one in the carriage must be my master's wife. Disciple Chao Xiaotian pays homage to the master's wife."

Zhu Qizhen, Shuangxi, and the Queen Mother in the carriage were all stunned. Shuangxi was about to explain when the Queen Mother's voice came from the carriage: "You are from the Yulong Gang, Chao Xiaotian? I heard your master often praise you, you are good. This is a reward for our first meeting."

A money bag was handed over, Shuangxi took it and hummed to Chao Xiaotian: "This is for you, take it."

Chao Xiaotian quickly shook his head: "The disciple should be honoring the master's wife, how can I ask for money from the master's wife?"

Zhu Qizhen patted Xiaotian on the shoulder and said, "This is given by Master's Wife, just take it."

Chao Xiaotian then took it, bowed again, and said hurriedly: "Master's wife, Xiaotian will respect you and Master in the future and provide for you in your old age."

puff~
The Queen Mother's laughter came from the carriage, and she immediately stopped: "Very good, you go and do your work, I'm going to take your master back. Um... Master, why don't you get on the carriage?"

Zhu Qizhen shrugged, got on the carriage, and lifted the curtain, and saw the Queen Mother smiling brightly. Shuangxi drove the carriage forward.

"Childish." Zhu Qizhen rolled his eyes.

The Queen Mother put away her expression and glanced at him: "Why did you run out of the palace again? Are you going to meet that... Ning Rongrong again?"

Zhu Qizhen shook his head, speechless: "This time it's really not the case. There is an organization called Junshan Society. I'll ask someone to help check it out."

"Junshan meeting?" The Queen Mother frowned slightly and changed the subject, "How are you and Ning Rongrong doing? Is there any new progress?"

Zhu Qizhen glared: "It's not over yet, is it?"

He stretched himself and lay down, resting his head on her legs skillfully, and sighed, "It's so difficult. I have enemies all over the world and no one who knows me. Who will take my beautiful head?"

The Queen Mother tapped him on the forehead and snorted, "If you want to take it, it has to be me. No one else can do it!"

The carriage swayed, Zhu Qizhen fell asleep in a blink, and the empress dowager laughed dumbly. It seemed that this fake emperor fell asleep easily every time he lay on her legs. And she no longer resisted this moderate intimacy, and seemed to be more and more greedy for his unique fragrance.

……

Zhu Qizhen woke up when the carriage arrived at Kunning Palace. He rubbed his eyes and was a little confused. He leaned on the soft legs of the Queen Demon and fell into a deep sleep.

"What are you doing? Help me up, my legs are numb." The Demon Queen glared.

Zhu Qizhen reached out and grabbed her hand, pulled her up, and pulled her into his arms with all his strength. He gently held her waist with his other hand and said softly, "Let me lean on your shoulder for a while. Stand for a while, and your legs will stop being numb."

The Demon Queen did not resist. She rested her head on his shoulder. Her watery eyes were filled with tenderness. Her face was rosy and she pursed her lips with a hint of shyness.

"Where does your fragrance come from?" she asked.

"Ah?" Zhu Qizhen was stunned. "I smell good? How is that possible? I never spray perfume or burn incense."

The Queen sniffed and confirmed that there was a refreshing and light fragrance. Her face turned cold instantly: "You went to find that woman, right? Ning Rongrong?"

She pushed him away and lifted the carriage curtain. Shuangxi helped her jump out of the carriage. Zhu Qizhen was still a little confused. He smelled himself and found that there was no fragrance. He got out of the carriage and grabbed Shuangxi and asked, "Shuangxi, do I have any fragrance?"

Shuangxi was forced to smell it and frowned slightly: "No, it smells like sweat."

Zhu Qizhen: “!!!”

The demon queen was also puzzled, so she walked closer to him and sniffed again. She looked at Shuangxi and asked, "It's a faint fragrance, don't you smell it?"

Shuangxi saw that the Queen Mother asked so seriously, she sniffed Zhu Qizhen carefully from front to back and shook her head: "I really don't smell it, Queen Mother, your Majesty has no fragrance, but sweat."

Zhu Qizhen spread his hands and said, "I didn't smell any fragrance either, but you did. You are indeed born in the Year of the Dog."

The witch queen raised her long legs and kicked, but Zhu Qizhen dodged easily and walked quickly into Kunning Palace. Shuangxi supported the queen mother and walked behind her. The queen mother confirmed with Shuangxi twice, and Shuangxi said that he really didn't smell it.

"How could that be?" she wondered.

……

It was still early, two hours before dark, and Zhu Qizhen slumped in his chair, not planning to review the memorials, just wanting to lie there. The witch took out a box, which was full of account books.

"If you don't go to review the memorials, come and help. This is the account book of the harem. Come and help me check it." The Queen Mother shouted.

She changed into a thin white dress. The soft and smooth fabric stuck to her fair skin, and it felt like it would slide down at any time. She had a graceful figure with nice curves. She sat on the chair with her long and straight legs crossed, looking like a mature and charming young aunt.

Zhu Qizhen walked over and sat down opposite her. He could smell the faint fragrance emanating from her. He picked up a notebook and opened it. On it were various accounts of the harem.

"It's exhausting to calculate accounts like this." Zhu Qizhen put down the account book. "Come, I'll teach you a simple and effective calculation method, so that you won't be accused of being a demon queen of the Ming Dynasty who can't calculate accounts. It would be embarrassing if people spread the word."

The Demon Queen flicked her long hair, picked up the account book and tapped him on the forehead, her red lips parted: "It's been this way for many years, come on if you can do it."

Zhu Qizhen picked up the pen and demonstrated to her.

He first taught Arabic numerals, and then used these numbers to demonstrate the calculation method based on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division that he had learned in elementary school in his previous life. The demon queen was quickly attracted and saw the effectiveness of the calculation method, so Zhu Qizhen taught her step by step.

“Align the multiplier and multiplicand, then multiply and accumulate them bit by bit. Are they aligned?”

“6×4=24，十位数进个2，你咋又忘了？我看你就是个2！”

"I think you are not a dog, but a pig."

The demon queen bit her lips tightly, her beautiful face puffed up, and dissatisfaction almost overflowed from her bright eyes. However, she endured it because she knew that these things would be of great use.

"Can you be a little more patient?"

"I've been patient enough. If it were someone else, forget it. I won't teach them either."

The witch queen suddenly put down the pen in her hand, stretched out her soft hands to hold his face, and turned her delicate and beautiful face towards him.

"What..." Zhu Qizhen hadn't finished asking.

The Demon Queen suddenly came forward and blocked his mouth with her red lips. He widened his eyes in shock. The Demon Queen bit his lips lightly, then pulled back and pursed her lips: "Can you teach me patiently now?"

Zhu Qizhen seemed to be recalling the past, blinking his eyes: "Uh, I didn't react just now, can I..."

The Demon Queen had a smile on her face and clenched her fists: "Don't push your luck, huh, you're forcing me, right?"

"Teach!" Zhu Qizhen nodded.

He thought to himself, the witch queen is getting more and more skilled, I must not let her fool me.

……

Jinyiwei recently arrested a group of people, from the court to the local areas, who were all implicated in the case of Duke Cheng. Shi Biao, the commander of Jinyiwei, came to report to Zhu Qizhen with an extremely ugly face.

"You've been so impressive lately, why are you still looking so miserable?" Zhu Qizhen raised his eyes and said, "Didn't this wave of operations work? People don't dare to spread rumors anymore."

Shi Biao stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, there are new rumors. They say...the witch queen caters to Your Majesty and defiles the harem. Alas, a crude person like me is ashamed to talk about the specific details. It is insulting. It is said that the witch queen held a dance party in the harem, which was comparable to King Zhou's wine pool and meat forest. Anyway, it is said that the witch queen's crime is worse than Daji, and Your Majesty is even worse than King Zhou."

Zhu Qizhen was very calm: "It's not all rumors."

Shi Biao was numb: "Ah?"

Zhu Qizhen held his forehead and spread his hands: "Didn't I tell you last time, I also asked you and Cao Jixiang to jointly monitor the masked ball in the palace to see if there is a traitor in the palace and spread this matter out."

"It didn't come from the palace." Shi Biao said, "I have already found out who spread the rumor. It's King Zhou! When King Zhou returned to his territory from the capital, his followers spread the rumor all the way."

Zhu Qizhen's eyes were filled with murderous intent, but he was also somewhat puzzled: "King Zhou? He doesn't have the guts to do that. Is he going to challenge me openly?"

"Your Majesty, I will go to Kaifeng now and bring him back." Shi Biao said angrily.

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a while and waved his hand: "Send someone to investigate first, don't rush to arrest people. If another prince dies, people all over the world will suspect me."

How can I not doubt it? This is to exterminate the Zhu family royal family.

(End of this chapter)