Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 247: False Emperor: Yesen, do you recognize me? Yesen: I can’t tell them apart at all

At dusk in winter, the sky was bleak and the palace was shrouded in gray.

As night fell, the cold wind blew gently, bringing a bit of bone-chilling chill. The palace lanterns lit up one by one, adding a hazy light to the quiet palace.

Lights shone through the intricately carved window frames onto the cold ground, casting mottled shadows. At the end of the long corridor, footsteps occasionally sounded, echoing in this empty palace, adding a bit of loneliness and mystery. Behind each palace door, it seemed that there were unfinished love affairs and dusty past events.

Kunning Palace was also hazy.

Zhu Qizhen and the witch queen were having a meal, chatting casually, Shuangxi was eating beside them, never interrupting. Although she was already the emperor's woman, she was still a palace maid.

"Yesen was escorted to the capital." The Demon Queen raised her beautiful eyes, "Finally, the shame of five years ago has been washed away. You have done a great job as an emperor. You have pacified Mobei. In the future, in the history books, your prestige will be on par with that of Emperor Taizong."

Zhu Qizhen shook his head confidently: "No! I will surpass Emperor Taizong, and even Emperor Taizu. I will create an unprecedented Ming Empire."

“I just praised you a few times, and you’re already feeling proud?” The demon queen glared at him with her beautiful eyes.

"Next year I will send troops to the northwest to solve the problem in the northwest." Zhu Qizhen said while eating, "Then I will continue to move westward to fight against the Timurid Empire. The Yuan Dynasty's Western Expedition reached Europe. I want to surpass the Yuan Dynasty."

The Demon Queen's beautiful eyes drooped, with a complicated expression on her face.

She drank a sip of soup gracefully and changed the subject: "By the way, you are not allowed to go to the harem to see those two Hu women in the future."

"Okay." Zhu Qizhen replied without raising his head.

The Demon Queen was slightly stunned. She didn't expect him to agree so readily.

Shuangxi finished eating first, bowed slightly and said, "My lady, I will go and prepare some hot water."

"Well, when I'm in the mountains, I miss the bathing pool in the palace." The demon queen smoothed her hair across her forehead, "I need to take a good bath."

Zhu Qizhen's eyes flashed with cunning. After the meal, he did not leave. After the demon queen went into the back hall, he also went in after a while and came to the inner hall with ease.

The inner hall was filled with mist.

In the bath, a slim woman was bathing. Her proud figure could be seen in the mist, as well as the undulating mountains.

"Shuangxi, why are you here?" Zhu Qizhen was surprised when he approached.

It’s not the Queen of Demons, it’s Shuangxi.

I hadn't paid attention to her for a while, and she was obviously more mature than before, and her figure was much more majestic.

Shuangxi saw him and instinctively shrank back into the bathtub, saying in a low voice: "The Queen asked this servant to serve Your Majesty."

Zhu Qizhen looked at Shuangxi, with only her head and shoulders exposed in the bathtub, and felt quite amused. He was not in a hurry, but sat down on a chair nearby, picked up a cup of tea, and admired her carefully.

It is also very pleasing to the eyes to see a beautiful woman bathing.

Shuangxi became a little restrained. She looked at Zhu Qizhen weakly with her beautiful eyes. She didn't dare to move and didn't know what to do.

Zhu Qizhen was drinking tea by himself, enjoying her embarrassment, which was quite a bad taste. He had always wanted to subdue Shuangxi, so that he could know most of the secrets of the witch queen.

"Your Majesty, would you like to come over?" Shuangxi waved shyly, "I will help you bathe."

"You wash yours and I'll just watch." Zhu Qizhen played with the teacup in his hand with a playful smile.

Shuangxi became more reserved, and a pair of delicate hands gently stroked her body, hazy under the mist. Zhu Qizhen liked this scene very much, and after drinking a sip of tea, he asked: "Did you arrange eunuchs and palace maids to monitor me?"

"No...no." Shuangxi's beautiful eyes flickered.

"Even if there is, I won't blame you. You just have no choice." Zhu Qizhen sighed lightly.

Shuangxi's eyes drooped and his long eyelashes trembled slightly.

Zhu Qizhen slowly stood up and walked towards the bathing pool, saying, "Shuangxi, you should know that I should have made you my concubine, but... the Queen Mother cannot live without you."

There was some regret in his tone, and Shuangxi's heart trembled when he heard it.

Zhu Qizhen had already walked to the edge of the bathing pool. With his handsome face and burning eyes, he looked at the stunning beauty in the bathing pool. He reached out and gently stroked her cheek. He could clearly feel the smoothness and moisture of her skin, as well as her inner uneasiness and tension.

Shuangxi was, after all, a girl who had just turned twenty. Although she had been with the empress dowager since she was a child and had learned to be calm, she had hardly ever faced the teasing of a man.

"Alas, you are also a poor girl. I hope you have a good future." Zhu Qizhen sighed lightly.

Shuangxi tilted her head slightly, her wet hair stuck to her cheeks. As Zhu Qizhen's hand stroked her, her beautiful eyes slightly frowned, her body trembled slightly, her heart was already in turmoil, and she bit her lower lip lightly.

Wow!

Zhu Qizhen jumped directly into the bathtub, pressed her against the wall of the bathtub, and said: "You should also give me a child, so that your wife will be jealous."

...After coming out of Kunning Palace, Zhu Qizhen felt refreshed.

He strolled to the Hanlin Academy, not just for the purpose of strolling around, but because he wanted to find some information about the previous Yuan Dynasty. The Hanlin Academy was compiling history, so the information in this area was relatively complete.

Although it was night, there were still people on duty in the Hanlin Academy. When Zhu Qizhen entered, he saw a young man writing furiously, and he didn't even notice the emperor coming.

Cao Jixiang coughed, and the young man raised his head. Seeing the emperor standing in front of him, he was so scared that he quickly stood up and knelt down: "I didn't know your majesty was here, please forgive me."

"Li Dongyang, huh? I remember you." Zhu Qizhen walked closer with a smile, "What are you writing?"

"It's the Ministry of Revenue's summary of each province's money and grain that needs to be copied." Li Dongyang bowed, "It's the end of the year, and the Ministry of Revenue is really too busy, so I was transferred over to help."

Zhu Qizhen glanced at the thick documents on the table and smiled: "Li Dongyang, don't underestimate copying and writing, and don't just copy. You have to learn while copying, so that you can know the relevant figures of money and grain in each province. When you go out to serve as an official in the future, you will not be deceived by local clerks."

"Your Majesty, I understand. However, you cannot believe all the numbers above. Perhaps they are the result of deception," said Li Dongyang.

Zhu Qizhen was slightly surprised, then laughed: "Hahaha, very good, you know how to use it flexibly."

He patted Li Dongyang on the shoulder, motioned him to stand up, and chatted with him in a friendly manner about his life as an official in the court. It turned out that Li Dongyang had been copying and writing in the Hanlin Academy since he passed the last imperial examination.

"Okay, you go to the Ministry of Rites tomorrow, and I will appoint you as the head of the Ministry of Rites." Zhu Qizhen said.

"I obey your order." Li Dongyang was secretly happy.

Zhu Qizhen put him in the Ministry of Rites for a reason. There would definitely be disputes when the crown prince was appointed in the future. The current Minister of Rites, Yang Shan, was a conservative person who advocated the appointment of the eldest son. He needed someone from the Ministry of Rites to stab Yang Shan in the back, and Li Dongyang was more suitable.

After explaining everything, he asked, "Is there any information about Yesen's family in the History of the Yuan Dynasty? Bring it to me to see."

Li Dongyang found a few books on the bookshelf very accurately, handed them to Zhu Qizhen and said, "These are them. Yesen is more powerful than his grandfather Mahamu, and has a high prestige in the grassland."

"Yesen was immediately escorted to the capital. Many ministers advocated killing Yesen. What do you think?" Zhu Qizhen asked casually.

Li Dongyang's heart moved, knowing that the Emperor was testing him, he pondered for a moment, and bowed:

"Your Majesty, of course Yesen cannot be killed! This matter is actually quite simple. There is a precedent. Emperor Taizong of Tang also captured his old enemy Jie Li Khan, but he did not kill him. Instead, he chose to treat him kindly."

"As the Great Khan of the Turks, Jie Li had great prestige and influence among the Turkic tribes. Li Shimin did not kill Jie Li Khan, but treated him with kindness, which appeased the tribes of the grasslands and reduced the hostility and resistance of the northern desert towards the Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty, not killing Yesen will have the same effect."

"This will also demonstrate your kindness and generosity, Your Majesty. The tribes in Mobei, who already hate war, will respect and support Your Majesty even more."

"Killing Yesen would temporarily intimidate the tribes in Mobei, but would be detrimental to the long-term stability of the border. Treating him favorably would help ease the conflict between Ming and Mobei, and Ming would have enough time to deal with Mobei. Your Majesty, Yesen might be of great use in the future."

Zhu Qizhen listened and nodded slowly.

Are all the officials comparing me to Li Er now? That emperor is the greatest emperor in history.

……

On this day, the sun finally came out.

The Minister of Rites Yang Shan, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Rites, stood in line at Deshengmen. They were there to welcome Yang Guifang back to the capital. Also entering Beijing with them was the captured Yesen.

As the motorcade entered the city, the people of the city were excited. They gathered on both sides of the street, looking at Yesen in the prison car and shouting wildly. Fortunately, everyone restrained themselves and did not throw rotten eggs and rotten vegetables.

The reason why Yesen was brought to Beijing in a prison car was to let everyone in the capital know that the man who besieged the capital five years ago had been captured.

"Your Majesty is so wise. In just five years, you have not only avenged the humiliation, but also captured Yesen alive."

"The Ming Dynasty today is no longer the Ming Dynasty of the past. Who dares to provoke us?"

"Congratulations to the Ming Dynasty, and to His Majesty."

Zhang Fu was also in the crowd. Looking at Yesen in the prison car, he was filled with mixed emotions. How great would it be if the current emperor was really like this?
The motorcade slowly passed through the streets of the capital and finally arrived in front of the palace. Yesen got off the prisoner car, and Yang Guifang untied his chains and smiled: "Khan, don't take it to heart. The Ming Dynasty has been looking forward to this day."

"It's okay." Yesen said calmly, "I've been captured. I expected this day to come. I just want to see my daughter again. After that, you can kill or rob me as you please."

Yang Shan stepped forward and said, "Yesen, let's go, His Majesty wants to see you."

He led Yesen to the Fengtian Hall, where all the ministers were waiting. Even at this moment, they still couldn't believe it. Was Yesen really captured?

When Yesen entered the hall, the officials were still shocked: "Yes, he is Yesen! The man who was at the gates of the city five years ago is now a prisoner."

Yesen glanced around, and finally raised his head to look at the person sitting on the dragon throne.

Zhu Qizhen looked down at him and asked in a deep voice: "Yesen, do you recognize me?"

(End of this chapter)