Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 179: Demon Queen, the traitor in the harem is you! I will kill you!

Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth, her messy hair falling on her beautiful face, looking a little embarrassed. Zhu Qizhen slowly loosened his hand and said coldly: "This is the capital, you missed the chance to kill me, now I am the knife and you are the fish, understand?"

"Kill me!" Ning Rongrong bit her lip.

Zhu Qizhen smiled, and gently stroked her neck with one big hand, then gradually moved down. Where his palm brushed, Ning Rongrong instantly got goose bumps all over her body, and a strong sense of shame surged through her body. The pair of eyes full of hatred had an extra bit of shame and anger: "What do you want to do?"

His hand stopped, helped her tidy up her drooping hair, gently slid across her cheek, and said, "Answer me a question, and I won't touch you."

Ning Rongrong's eyes were cold, but she still nodded.

"Where are you overseas?" Zhu Qizhen asked.

Ning Rongrong was silent for a moment, then said, "Malaga."

Malacca? Malacca?
Zhu Qizhen guessed in his mind where in Malaysia it should be, and he continued to ask: "Can you tell me the details of your current situation?"

According to Ning Rongrong, Emperor Jianwen, along with all the civil and military officials and their families, fled to Malacca and settled down there. After two generations of hard work, they owned a large tract of land there, which was equivalent to an independent kingdom.

Not only that, they used the technology of silk and porcelain to focus on developing commerce. Now they have a huge fleet and trade with the West and the East. Ning Rongrong is the leader of their young generation. She came to the Ming Dynasty with a group of elites just to find an opportunity for revenge.

"Miss!" A voice suddenly came from outside the door, "At worst, we will die together with this dog emperor."

Ning Rongrong looked up at Zhu Qizhen and sneered, "Let's die together. It's worth it if I die with an emperor."

Zhu Qizhen was numb, afraid that someone would start a fire outside. However, he looked calm and raised his eyebrows: "You have been in the capital for so long, you should have heard the legend of the true and false emperors, right?"

Ning Rongrong's beautiful eyes froze when she heard this: "Could the rumor be true?"

Of course she knew the rumor, and she knew more than Zhu Qizhen imagined. Today, she had her own plan for drugging Zhu Qizhen, which was also the reason why she did not poison Zhu Qizhen directly.

"Yes." Zhu Qizhen spread his hands, "So, you have the wrong person to seek revenge on. I am a fake."

Ning Rongrong's face was full of suspicion: "Are you so easy to admit in front of me that you are a fake emperor?"

Zhu Qizhen spread his hands nonchalantly: "I won't admit it once we leave this place."

"Shameless!" Ning Rongrong glared.

"So, don't be impulsive, okay?" Zhu Qizhen blinked. "Speaking of which, our goals are the same. We all want to kill the legitimate emperor. We can form an alliance."

Ning Rongrong stared at him with cold eyes for a long while, then shouted outside: "Everyone stay away, guard the yard, and don't let anyone get close."

"Yes!" A voice came from outside, followed by the sound of footsteps fading away.

……

Ning Rongrong looked up at Zhu Qizhen and said, "Okay, how do you want to talk?"

Zhu Qizhen smiled slightly: "Tell me first who betrayed me and let you know my identity."

Ning Rongrong shook her head decisively: "Your Majesty, we haven't formed an alliance yet, aren't you too impatient..."

Snapped!
Before she finished speaking, her fair arm was grabbed by Zhu Qizhen, and her other hand was also clamped, directly against the wall. Zhu Qizhen sneered: "Don't challenge my patience, you are not qualified to negotiate with me!"

Ning Rongrong was hit so hard that her whole body was in pain. Her body stiffened for a moment, then softened. She shouted angrily, "Despicable! My people have withdrawn. You... are shameless."

"You smell so good." Zhu Qizhen sniffed her neck, "I'll ask you one last time, who told you my identity?"

Ning Rongrong snorted and said without hesitation: "I don't know his identity either. He is a man wearing a dog head mask. He came to the guild hall last time and saw me sending you out."

A man with a dog-head mask? Junshan Society?

Zhu Qizhen had all sorts of guesses in his mind, and asked, "Does that man come here often?"

"I only came here that once." Ning Rongrong said.

Zhu Qizhen loosened his grip on her hand slightly and said coldly, "Don't try to threaten me with mutual destruction. I've said that we can form an alliance, but you have to listen to me."

"What kind of alliance is that?" Ning Rongrong said angrily.

"How about I take you back to the Jinyiwei prison and let the Jinyiwei destroy your guild hall?" Zhu Qizhen chuckled, "Don't think I'm not prepared. The Jinyiwei have found out all the weaving workshops and porcelain kilns in Jiangnan, Quanzhou and other places. I will order that no one will be spared."

Ning Rongrong's beautiful eyes also showed a trace of fear. Zhu Qizhen's hot breath on her neck made her hair stand on end. She struggled and could not move, feeling unspeakable shame and anger in her heart.

"You might as well kill me." She pretended to be calm.

"How could I kill you?" Zhu Qizhen smiled.

He clamped her with one hand, not letting her move, and untied her jade belt with the other hand, revealing her fair and round shoulders. Ning Rongrong said quickly, "I'll listen to you. Let's form an alliance."

"That's right." Zhu Qizhen withdrew his hand and let her go.

……

Ning Rongrong stared at him fiercely and gritted her teeth: "Despicable!"

Zhu Qizhen seemed to smile, he felt that such an alliance formed unwillingly would not be solid at all. Therefore, he wanted to make this alliance more solid.

Ning Rongrong was sitting on a chair at the moment, her clothes were messy, her shoulders were slightly exposed, and her curves were soft. Zhu Qizhen walked up to her, put his hands on her shoulders, and smiled playfully: "I think our relationship should go a step further."

"You..." Ning Rongrong raised her eyes.

She was a smart woman who had been in the business world for a long time. Although she had not been on the battlefield, she had also experienced danger. She already knew what Zhu Qizhen wanted to do. Moreover, before planning, she had also made preparations.

So she slowly closed her eyes and accepted it in silence.

Zhu Qizhen picked her up horizontally, walked to the soft couch on the side, and said, "Relax, don't be tense."

Half an hour later.

Ning Rongrong, who was lying on the soft couch, grabbed the quilt with one hand to cover her beautiful body. Her cheeks were flushed with a moist luster and she bit her lips lightly.

Zhu Qizhen gently hugged her waist and said, "Now we can form an alliance."

Ning Rongrong's fair and slender jade fingers tightly grasped the quilt, wrapping her aching body, and snorted, "Now that things have come to this, I only ask for revenge."

"I'm a little curious." Zhu Qizhen asked, "It's been decades, and you weren't an eyewitness. How can you still have such a strong hatred?"

Ning Rongrong looked at him without any fear: "If your family was exterminated, would you forget the hatred? My father has been living in a nightmare and wanted to return to the capital before he died. As a daughter, of course I have to avenge them."

Zhu Qizhen sighed softly.

Another girl who has been blinded by hatred all her life. It’s not her fault, as hatred has been instilled in her since she was a child.

"I'll help you." He said in a deep voice.

Ning Rongrong raised her beautiful face and looked at him. Zhu Qizhen held her face with his hands and said with a smile: "Of course it's not free. Although we have physical contact, there is definitely no love between us."

"Haha, you said you liked me before." Ning Rongrong sneered.

Zhu Qizhen blinked: "You tied me up and more than a dozen men pointed knives at me, what could I say?"

puff!

Ning Rongrong was suddenly amused and seemed to accept her fate. She said, "You are a fake emperor. So, the one in the northwest is the real one."

"Yes!" Zhu Qizhen nodded.

"Okay, you help me and I'll help you." Ning Rongrong pursed her red lips, "But, I don't know what you need my help with?"

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a while and said, "I told you before that I value merchants, right? You have a caravan base overseas. I will open up the sea later and need your help."

He added in his mind, "If I'm short of money, I can rob the houses of you merchants." Alas, there is no other way. There are wars everywhere and the treasury has no money.

"Do you really know how to sail?" Ning Rongrong was surprised.

"Of course!" Zhu Qizhen said, "The world is big. You are not just the West, but also the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean. My Ming Dynasty will become the empire on which the sun never sets."

Ning Rongrong had never heard of the ocean, and she was looking forward to it. She had been doing business since she was a child, and she was full of yearning for the unknown world. When she first met Zhu Qizhen, she felt that he was not simple, but she did not expect that he would be a false emperor.

"I have one more thing." She looked at Zhu Qizhen and said, "I hope that one day, you can let my people return to the Ming Dynasty and give them identities. They all hope to return to their roots."

Zhu Qizhen agreed decisively: "How difficult is this? You should know, right? I pardoned Jianwen's sons three years ago. When the time comes, I will issue an imperial decree to pardon them and even restore Jianwen's clan name."

"I know you pardoned the emperor's son." Ning Rongrong nodded, "At the time I thought you were trying to show your kindness, but who knew you were really a fake?"

After resting for a while, Zhu Qizhen regained his spirit and started to play strange things with his hands while talking.

Ning Rongrong blushed, neither cooperating nor refusing. Seeing that the time was almost right, Zhu Qizhen sat up, looked at Ning Rongrong lying down and said, "Let's deepen our relationship."

"..."

"It's like this now, you have to learn to enjoy it."

"You devil!"

"From today on, you can't leave the capital."

"You want to control me completely?"

"Yes!"

……

After Zhu Qizhen returned to the Qianqing Palace, he immediately summoned Shi Biao, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and ordered him to monitor everyone in the guild hall, but to take no other action, just to serve as a deterrent.

He guessed that Ning Rongrong still had some secrets, so he didn't rush to deal with her, but had to slowly discover them. However, before he left, he had already asked about the route and sea location of the Chamber of Commerce's trade with the Japanese pirates. Ning Rongrong was also willing to cooperate and deal with the Japanese pirates. She would also have a reason to stop trading with Japan.

Their caravan has been trading with Japan for decades, and she doesn't want to unilaterally interrupt it. This time, both sides acted together to make Japan think that the Ming Dynasty discovered them, so the Chamber of Commerce stopped trading.

"And those merchants are smuggling." Zhu Qizhen said to himself, "We have to make them spit it out slowly."

He thought of the man with the dog mask that Ning Rongrong mentioned. Who the hell is he? He can recognize me! He is probably a minister in the court. It is possible that he is a member of the Junshan Society.

Therefore, the guild halls are open for business as usual. Maybe one day they can catch the man wearing the dog mask. If they catch him, they can lead to the Junshan Society, which is very good at hiding.

"Your Majesty, I have something else to report." Shi Biao hesitated to speak.

"What is making you hesitate?" Zhu Qizhen waved his hand. "If you have something to say, just say it. You are the commander of my Jinyiwei. Can you be more capable? You need to have an imposing manner. When those officials see you, they will sweat like a pig."

Shi Biao lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, last time you asked me to monitor Fahai Temple and find out who the Queen Mother went to meet at Fahai Temple. I found out."

"That man wearing a bamboo hat? Who is he?" Zhu Qizhen stood up and asked anxiously.

Shi Biao really wanted to refute His Majesty the Emperor.

You, now an emperor, can you keep calm? You need to have the aura to remain calm even when a mountain collapses in front of you.

"It was Wu Xingdao, the military advisor of Prince Qing." Shi Biao said. He certainly wouldn't dare to tease the Emperor. Wu Xingdao? The person the Queen Mother secretly met with turned out to be him?
Zhu Qizhen was in disbelief, his brain was working rapidly, that is to say, Wu Xingdao was the Queen Mother's man, arranged by the Prince of Qing? Did the Prince of Qing know? The Prince of Qing probably didn't know, otherwise, the Queen Mother could have just met the Prince of Qing directly, why make it so mysterious, and meet him secretly in Fahai Temple?
Why did the Queen Mother want Wu Xingdao to stay with the Prince of Qing? What did Wu Xingdao do for the Queen Mother? The Queen Mother's move was amazing. She used Wu Xingdao to influence the Prince of Qing and then did her own things?

I suspected the Prince of Qing in the previous assassination attempt on me. Could it be that Wu Xingdao instigated it? The Queen Mother was behind Wu Xingdao. Did the Queen Mother really participate in the assassination?

It shouldn't happen. If I die now, it won't benefit the Queen Mother, but only the Prince of Qing. Unless Wu Xingdao can deeply influence the Prince of Qing, can he take the initiative to welcome the Zhengtong Emperor?

"My brain is suddenly not enough." Zhu Qizhen rubbed his head, "Did Wu Xingdao do anything special?"

Shi Biao shook his head: "Not yet, he has been staying in the Prince of Qing's mansion and rarely leaves. Your Majesty, my people are watching him, do you want to arrest him directly?"

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a while and shook his head: "Watch him first and see who he associates with."

Shi Biao nodded and accepted the order: "As you wish!"

After he bowed, before he left, he took out a memorial and handed it to Zhu Qizhen, saying, "Your Majesty, this is a secret report from Dao County. Last time, I sent people to Dao County as you requested. Your Majesty, as you expected, someone in Dao County is asking about your name."

"The fish really took the bait." Zhu Qizhen sneered.

He had only told the empress dowager about Dao County, and the only one who could send people to Dao County was the empress dowager.

……

Dusk, the sun goes down.

The fake emperor Zhu Qizhen came to Kunning Palace with a gloomy face.

The Demon Queen sat cross-legged on a soft mat, wearing a tight long skirt and showing off her graceful figure.

The slender waist is so thin that it cannot be held in one hand.

Just a silhouette, with its graceful curves, is enough to make people obsessed with it. Her black hair is as black as lacquer, which makes her skin look even whiter than jade.

The fake emperor walked over, stood in front of her, looked down at her, and asked directly: "Every time you go to Fahai Zen Temple, you secretly meet Wu Xingdao. What do you discuss?"

The Demon Queen's body trembled slightly, and she slowly raised her head, her beautiful face full of disbelief: "You sent someone to follow me?"

"We didn't follow you. We just monitored the Fahai Temple." Zhu Qizhen said.

The Demon Queen's expression turned cold, her eyes staring straight at him, and she said coldly: "Since you know everything, you must have thought a lot about it. Whatever you think, it is true."

"You really want me to die?" Zhu Qizhen chuckled, "But if I die now, it won't do you any good, right, Queen Demon."

The demon queen's eyes turned cold and stern: "It is good for the Ming Dynasty, Your Majesty the False Emperor."

The two looked at each other, both with stubbornness, not willing to accept threats, and not wanting to explain. The demon queen raised her beautiful face, but her eyes were cold and gloomy at the moment: "You came up and questioned me, and you suspected that I would assassinate you, right?"

"You are the only one who knows my whereabouts. How do you explain it?" the fake emperor asked as he came closer.

The Demon Queen not only did not retreat, but also moved closer. The two were so close that they could smell each other's breath. She chuckled: "Why should I explain? If you think it's me, then it's me."

There was some determination in her voice.

"Okay, haven't you always said that you want to lock up Kunning Palace forever? I will seal up your Kunning Palace." The fake emperor said coldly.

When the Demon Queen heard this, her beautiful eyes widened, her pretty pupils filled with shock and anger. She glared at him and said, "Okay, it's best if we don't see each other until we die."

The fake emperor bent down, stretched out his hand and pinched her beautiful cheek, and smiled coldly: "Who wants to see you? You can just die here alone."

Snapped!
The Demon Queen angrily opened his hand and pounced on him viciously, like an angry she-wolf. But how could she be a match for the Pseudo Emperor? The Pseudo Emperor grabbed her wrist and pressed her down on the soft seat.

"Let me go!" the Demon Queen screamed, "I will bite you to death."

"You're still so fierce even at this time?" The fake emperor snorted, "Bite me to death? Do you hate me that much?"

The demon queen was controlled and could not move. She could only curse: "Hate? Yes, I hate you. I want to kill you. I have poisoned you to death many times."

After hearing this, the false emperor let her go.

The Demon Queen sat up, biting her lower lip. The trace of blood made her red lips look even more sad and beautiful. She stared at him with resentment.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm a fake emperor. Who can I trust?" The fake emperor spread his hands. "You can poison me several times. Haha, if I want to kill you, you would have died several times. Why would I give you the opportunity to do so many things?"

Tears fell from the demon queen's stubborn eyes again, and crystal tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.

Come again?

The fake emperor looked at her and snorted, "Just cry slowly. If you don't say anything, I will leave and seal Kunning Palace."

Coax? Never coax again.

"Go away!" The demon queen's fair face turned pale.

Zhu Qizhen stood up and strode away.

The Demon Queen hugged her legs, buried her head, and cried silently.

……

The Kunning Palace was sealed, and the harem was shocked.

The concubines all came to the Qianqing Palace to look for the Emperor, but the Emperor would not see any of them, and would not let them ask why. Only Concubine Xian saw the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, I know you must have a reason." Concubine Xian frowned tightly, "But she is the Queen Mother after all. She cannot be sealed away from the palace for no reason. Unless you have committed an unforgivable crime, the censors in the court will not let you go and will report to the emperor to question you."

Zhu Qizhen calmed down now.

Xian Fei was right. That was the Empress Dowager. Which emperor in history had conferred the title of Empress Dowager on her? Moreover, this was an Empress Dowager who had been regent for more than ten years and had great prestige.

"Pass the decree and tell it that the Queen Mother is ill and needs rest." Zhu Qizhen said in a deep voice.

"This can only delay it for a while." Concubine Xian said, "When you are sick, you have to ask the imperial physician for help. No matter what the illness is, the imperial physician needs to have a record."

Zhu Qizhen was in an irritable mood and waved his hand: "Then let's delay it for a while."

The virtuous concubine's eyes softened. She came behind him, gently patted his back, and asked softly, "Your Majesty, why are you so angry all of a sudden? What happened to the Queen Mother?"

"She wants to kill me." Zhu Qizhen snorted.

While patting her back gently, Concubine Xian said suspiciously, "The Queen Mother is not such an impulsive person. The Ming Dynasty needs stability right now. The Queen Mother knows the general situation. I don't think she will do that."

Zhu Qizhen took a breath and said, "Calm down, and go back too. Tell those concubines not to spread rumors."

The virtuous concubine bowed and withdrew.

……

Zhu Qizhen was upset, so he left the palace directly and went to the guild hall.

Ning Rongrong saw him and was about to make tea, but Zhu Qizhen picked her up and walked towards the couch. She didn't dare to refuse, let alone resist, so she could only let him do whatever he wanted.

Half an hour later.

Zhu Qizhen fell into her arms. She pushed him away, reached out to pull the quilt to cover herself. She had no strength to move. Her whole body ached when she moved.

Strangely, Zhu Qizhen was also silent today.

"Are you worried about something?" Ning Rongrong asked, looking up.

Zhu Qizhen said for no reason: "There is no one in this world who can be trusted."

Ning Rongrong leaned on his shoulder without saying anything. There was even less trust between them. After a while, Zhu Qizhen said, "Help me take a bath."

I don't!

Ning Rongrong refused in her heart, but she didn't dare to object outwardly. She had recently noticed that the guild hall had been completely monitored by the Jinyiwei. She had no choice but to get up and make preparations.

After a while, Zhu Qizhen lay comfortably in the bathtub, feeling much better.

"together?"

"No, don't go too far."

"Let me rub your back."

"..."

After a while, water splashed everywhere.

After eating some forbidden fruits, there is not just one time, but countless times.

……

Night falls.

The Queen Mother stood in front of the window, looking at the crescent moon in the sky. Shuangxi came over and reminded her, "Queen Mother, it's time to eat."

"I don't want to eat it anymore. You go and eat it." The Queen Mother said calmly.

Shuangxi hesitated to speak, but finally mustered up the courage to say: "Queen Dowager, His Majesty is just angry for a moment, and he will be fine in a few days. Although he has sealed the palace, he still allows the servants to come and go freely."

"Hmph, you just don't want me to go out?" The Queen Mother lowered her eyes.

"Your Majesty also asked the imperial kitchen to deliver your favorite dishes, Queen Dowager, for fear that our Kunning Palace might not have enough supplies." Shuangxi said again.

The Queen Mother's smile became even colder: "Are you planning to lock me up for a long time?"

Shuangxi: “!!!”

Is it necessary for you two to quarrel? Didn't you quarrel often before?

"Your Majesty, in the past, you would only be angry for three days at most," Shuangxi said.

"You silly girl, why do you always speak for him?" The Queen Mother turned around.

Shuangxi blinked and said, "Your Majesty is a good man. When I went out to buy things, the people all praised your Majesty."

The Queen Mother lowered her eyes slightly and sighed: "He is indeed a good emperor. Well, don't stand here, can't I go eat? Shuangxi, maybe you will die with me in Kunning Palace."

"If that's the case, I'm willing to do that." Shuangxi pursed her lips, "But I believe your majesty won't do that."

The Queen Mother smiled slightly, walked to the dining table, sat down, picked up the soup spoon, and began to drink elegantly. Shuangxi served her a bowl of rice and said softly: "Queen Mother, how about taking the initiative to go to the Qianqing Palace and bring soup to His Majesty like last time?"

"No!" The Queen Mother shook her head, "I will never give in this time."

She was so angry that she couldn't bear it. He was going to kill me, and I was still going? I had never thought of killing him.

(End of this chapter)