Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 278 The Demon Queen's eyes are filled with deep satisfaction

On the dragon boat, Bulma wanted to break free from Zhu Qizhen's arms, but Zhu Qizhen hugged her slender waist tightly, pinched her waist hard, and whispered: "Your son is fat and white in the harem. He plays well with the palace maids and is happy every day. He almost forgets you. Look at you, you cry at every turn. It hurts my heart to see you cry."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently wiped the tears from Bulma's eyes.

Bulma bit her red lips. How could she cry easily? She was not like this before. Wasn't she pinched by Zhu Qizhen until she cried? She had been bullied by this guy for a long time and she was no longer able to resist.

She was suddenly taken out for a cruise today. She was confused and scared. She didn't know what new tricks this guy had up his sleeve. She really couldn't stand it.

"You hurt me." Bulma said, biting her lip.

At this moment, she wanted to push this guy off the boat, but she didn't dare because her son was still in the hands of this fake emperor.

"It wasn't easy for you before, but now that you've met me, your good days are here." Zhu Qizhen let go of her and gave her a warm hug.

Bulma leaned on his shoulder and tears fell.

She knew that the fake emperor would not take her out for fun out of kindness, and he must have other purposes. But what use was she as a captive? The only useful thing was her identity, and she frowned.

What does the fake emperor want to do with my identity?
"Maybe he has come to the capital?" she suddenly realized.

"You are so smart." Zhu Qizhen patted his back gently.

Bulma leaned in his arms, a hint of bitterness appearing in her beautiful eyes. She prayed in her heart that the Legitimacy Emperor was not in the crowd at this time.

"You've suffered a lot following him all these years." Zhu Qizhen put his big hands on her waist, letting her feel his tenderness and consideration.

Bulma wanted to struggle, but she knew it was futile, so she could only lower her head and try her best to prevent people on both sides from seeing her face.

A gentle breeze blew by, and she buried her face tightly in Zhu Qizhen's neck.

"Are you shy? Don't be afraid of being seen." Zhu Qizhen hugged her tighter, his mouth close to her ear, his voice charming and gentle.

Gradually, Bulma softened and clung to his embrace. Her face flushed as she recalled the time when this false emperor bullied her. The more she tried not to think about it, the clearer those images became.

"You...let me go!" Bulma was almost exhausted. She bit her moist lower lip lightly, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.

Zhu Qizhen chuckled: "It seems we have to go into the cabin. Your body is more honest than what you say."

……

Prince Ning's Mansion.

The orthodox emperor returned to the basement with a gloomy face, and then returned to his room and closed the door. Wu Xingdao and Xu Bin were confused, and looked at Yuan Bin and asked, "What happened?"

Yuan Bin then briefly described what he had seen in Gaoliang River today. Wu Xingdao was horrified: "This means that the false emperor already knows that we are hiding in the capital, and he deliberately used this trick to provoke your majesty."

"What should we do?" Xu Bin looked anxious. "Your Majesty was determined to come to the capital for the purpose of rescuing his wife and children. Bulma married him in his time of crisis, and your Majesty has deep feelings for her. I am worried that your Majesty will act impulsively."

Yuan Bin frowned and said, "I think your majesty is angry now."

Wu Xingdao's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light. He sighed, his face became extremely solemn, and he looked at the two of them and said, "The false emperor knows that we are hiding in the capital, and he will definitely search for us vigorously next."

"What does the military advisor have in mind?" Yuan Bin asked.

Wu Xingdao pondered for a moment and sighed again: "I guess the fake emperor is not sure that it was His Majesty who entered the capital. We now need to divert the fake emperor's attention and make him think that His Majesty is indeed dead."

"How to do it?" Xu Bin asked.

Wu Xingdao's eyes fell on Yuan Bin and he said, "We can only resort to self-torture. It might even lead to his death."

"What do you need me to do?" Yuan Bin said firmly, "I am deeply indebted to the late emperor. As long as I can help Your Majesty, I will have no regrets even if I die."

"What a great man," Wu Xingdao exclaimed, "I need you to assassinate that fake emperor and fall into his trap."

Xu Bin and Yuan Bin were both shocked.

Wu Xingdao looked up at the door of Emperor Zhengtong's room, took the two men a little further away, and began to talk about his plan.

……

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qizhen went on a boat trip in the morning and hurried back in the afternoon to review memorials. After dealing with some urgent memorials, he was about to eat something and take a short rest when Cao Jixiang came to report that the cabinet minister and the minister of the Ministry of Revenue wanted to see him.

"There's really no free time at all." Zhu Qizhen complained.

He knew why these people came, they came to report the establishment of a bank. After calling them in, the Minister of Finance Chen Xun handed over a memorial and reported: "Your Majesty, this is the proposal we discussed. The name of the bank is Ming Bank."

"Okay, this name is direct enough." Zhu Qizhen nodded.

After reading it carefully, he nodded and said, "We will do as you said. If there are any problems, we will correct them."

Because he had never studied finance in his previous life, he only had a vague understanding of finance. However, he believed that everyone would find a way. He wanted to establish the currency of the Ming Dynasty as the world currency.

"The Mint will re-mint coins," Chen Xun said, "and define the conversion between fen, jiao, and yuan according to what you said, Your Majesty."

Zhu Qizhen explained: "It has to be heavy enough. We should not follow Liu Bei's example and use it to plunder the people's wealth."

He looked down on Liu Bei because of this. Liu Bei seemed benevolent on the surface, but judging from the fact that he minted coins, his love for the people was only superficial.

After Liu Bei captured Yizhou, he faced a situation of tight military expenditure and financial difficulties. In order to stabilize the economy and recover funds, he began to mint large coins with false value at the suggestion of his minister Liu Ba.

The coins minted were called "Zhi Bai Wu Zhu", which was a large-denomination coin. There were two types of text on the front: "Zhi Bai Wu Zhu" and "Zhi Bai". The back was mostly plain, but a small number had intaglio markings.

The actual weight of the Zhibai Wuzhu coin was much lower than the amount of copper represented by its face value. For example, a Zhibai Wuzhu coin might weigh only 6-7 grams, but its face value was equivalent to 100 ordinary Wuzhu coins. The minting of this kind of high-value coin enabled Liu Bei to quickly recover funds and enrich the treasury in a short period of time.

In fact, he was plundering the wealth of the people, which also caused problems of inflation and rising prices, and the people were the ones who suffered.

"Your Majesty, we can also try to issue Ming Treasure Notes." Chen Xun said, "The court now has enough gold reserves and can exchange them at any time. What I mean is that we should let the people gradually trust Ming Treasure Notes."

Zhu Qizhen nodded: "Indeed, we will eventually need to use Ming Baochao to replace it, which will facilitate circulation. Then let's discuss it again."

……

In the harem courtyard, it was shrouded in dusk.

Zhu Qizhen walked into Alena's room with ease. As soon as he entered the room, a fragrant aroma hit him in the face. Then, he felt a pair of arms as white as jade and as tender as lotus roots gently surrounding his neck. A huge shock wave almost made him lose his balance.

Alena's charming, yet delicate face was slightly raised, her eyes flashing with alluring charm, her red lips slightly parted, revealing a gentle voice that made people's hearts flutter and numb.

"Your Majesty, you finally came to see me."

The incense burners in the hall emit wisps of green smoke, which interweave with the incense lingering around to form a unique and profound aroma. This scent is both strange and soothing, as if it has magical powers, making people unconsciously let down their guard and relax all their vigilance and precautions.

Alena studied under the Great Shaman, and her attainments in the art of blending incense can be said to have reached the pinnacle.

"How could I forget you, a fairy?"

Zhu Qizhen seemed to be smiling, but his hands were around her waist. The cool gauze could not hide the smoothness of her skin. There was a hint of fascination in his eyes, but what he was thinking about in his mind was the Demon Queen.

"I like your majesty to call me a fairy."

Alena leaned forward slightly, her tall figure would make her look even more graceful. She only needed to tiptoe slightly so that she could meet Zhu Qizhen's eyes, which also highlighted her proud spirit.

Zhu Qizhen exerted a little force with his arms, looked at her with a fiery gaze, and said, "Fairy, last time I showed the painting you drew for me to the Fairy Queen, her reaction was beyond my expectations."

He came today to talk about this.

Alena frowned slightly: "Then there is a possibility that she doesn't know that she is practicing evil magic, but the person who taught her the evil magic has his own agenda and relies on her to achieve it."

Zhu Qizhen was confused.

The person who taught the Demon Queen the art of keeping healthy was Yao Guangxiao, the former imperial teacher. What could he have intended? Although this monk had been encouraging Zhu Di to rebel, after the rebellion was successful, he did not seek wealth and glory, but retired instead.

Whether he was reading "History of Ming Dynasty" in his previous life, or he saw more authentic historical materials after traveling through time, he believed that Yao Guangxiao was not actually pursuing fame and fortune, but wanted to realize his ambitions and live up to what he had learned in his life, and he finally did it.

Besides, he is dead, what else can he gain?

"Your Majesty, what have you thought of?" Alena buried her head in his shoulder and took a deep breath, as if she was suppressing some emotion.

"I don't want to think about anything." Zhu Qizhen picked her up and walked towards the couch.

……

The palace on the top of the mountain was shrouded in darkness, with candlelight flickering in the main hall.

The Queen lay lazily, holding a book in her hands, her beautiful eyes slowly moving around, and she didn't seem to be reading. Shuangxi came in and bowed: "Your Majesty, there is news from the mountain that your Majesty is going to the lake today, with... with Bulma."

"This little thief finally attacked Bulma." The Queen of Demons' eyes suddenly turned cold.

Shuangxi frowned and continued, "His Majesty Zhengtong was also on the shore and saw everything. He locked himself in his room after returning."

The demon queen had a grim expression on her face. She slowly sat up and snorted, "He's still so useless."

"A secret document will be sent from Junshan." Shuangxi handed the letter in his hand to the Demon Queen.

The Demon Queen took it, opened it, and scanned it carefully with her eyes. A sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Wu Xingdao still has some strategies. Yes, if this plan succeeds, it can temporarily divert the emperor's attention."

After saying this, she placed the letter in front of the candle and lit it. In the blink of an eye, it turned into ashes.

"It seems that he will not come tonight." She sighed. "My queen, you should go to bed early." Shuangxi said softly.

……

The capital city was finally quiet late at night.

According to the rules of the government, the night market must be closed before the hour of Chou. After the bell of Chou rang, a string of laughter and joy echoed in the night sky, and then gradually dissipated. As the last light went out, the whole city quietly fell asleep.

The autumn wind, with a hint of coolness, quietly passed through the empty streets. The fallen leaves danced lightly in the wind, spinning or swaying, and finally gently fell on the bluestone slabs.

On both sides of the streets, the old houses with high walls and thick tiles are silent. Only occasionally one or two lanterns sway gently in the wind, emitting a warm and dim light, guiding the night walkers returning home.

A black shadow quickly crossed the street and arrived in front of a house. He searched and jumped over. The black shadow landed in the yard and saw that the light in the study was still on, so he walked over lightly.

When he arrived at the room, he looked in through the window and saw the person inside sitting on a chair, rubbing his brows. He stared for a while and then opened the door.

With a creaking sound, the people in the room jumped up in fear. The man in black quickly whispered, "Your Highness, Prince Zhou, it's me."

King Zhou stood up and his expression changed drastically: "Yuan Bin, is that you?"

"Didn't expect that?" Yuan Bin spread his hands.

"You are looking for death." King Zhou was anxious, "Can't you see that I was released on purpose? I was just waiting for you to come to me."

Yuan Bin smiled bitterly: "I know, I know there must be Jinyiwei secret guards outside."

King Zhou was confused and asked, "Why are you still coming?"

"I'm going to assassinate the fake emperor." Yuan Bin's eyes were about to burst, "to avenge His Majesty."

King Zhou was extremely shocked and stunned. He asked in disbelief, "Your Majesty, is he...really dead?"

"Yes, he died on the way." Yuan Bin's eyes were spitting fire.

……

The next day.

After the morning court, Qianqing Palace.

Ding Xiu, the Jinyiwei pacification envoy, came to report to the emperor: "Your Majesty, someone went to see King Zhou last night. He was Yuan Bin, the guard beside the false emperor."

"Finally, there is some movement." Zhu Qizhen's mouth flashed coldly, "Yuan Bin, the one who led the troops to attack Chagatai? Yu Qian said he was a talented general."

Ding Xiu nodded and continued, "After he met with King Zhou and left, our people followed him. However, that person was very skilled and we lost him. Hey, you are indeed a senior. You may have betrayed my subordinates."

"He was sent to the grassland by the previous emperor to liaise with the western part of the pass. He was the commander of the Jinyiwei secret guards of the previous generation. Ding Xiu, you underestimated the enemy this time." Zhu Qizhen said.

"I acknowledge my guilt." Ding Xiu bowed.

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and asked, "Have you met King Zhou?"

"Yes, I went to see him after receiving the news last night." Ding Xiu said, "King Zhou told him the purpose of Yuan Bin's visit, and Yuan Bin said... that they encountered a group of Timurid cavalry on their way from Chagatai to Samarkand. They were attacked and the fake emperor was killed in the attack."

"Ah?" Zhu Qizhen was surprised.

"Yuan Bin went to King Zhou to ask him to find a way to get close to your Majesty. He thinks that it was because of you that the fake emperor suffered all that. He wants to assassinate your majesty to avenge the fake emperor." Ding Xiu said.

After hearing this, Zhu Qizhen frowned and asked, "Do you believe it?"

Ding Xiu shook his head: "Without concrete evidence, I won't believe anything. Next, I will find a way to catch Yuan Bin, and then we will know the truth."

"Good!" Zhu Qizhen spread his hands, "Finally, there is some progress."

He gave some instructions and said it would be best to capture Yuan Bin alive.

……

The sun is warm in the autumn afternoon.

Bulma was in a small courtyard in the harem, wearing a plain dress, with a beautiful figure, skin whiter than snow, and a graceful figure with gentleness. After coming to this harem, she seemed to have lost the characteristics of a Western woman, and became more and more like a Jiangnan woman who was content with her circumstances.

These days, she no longer daydreams, but instead fiddles with flowers and plants, reads books, and sometimes even cooks. The last time she went on a lake cruise with the emperor, she didn't cause much trouble after she came back, because she knew that as a woman, she could do nothing but live a good life.

It’s not bad to live like this without anyone disturbing you.

"Sister-in-law." A voice came and Zhu Qizhen walked in.

A pair of slender hands were clasped in front of her abdomen, her knuckles slightly whitened due to the force, and her willow-like graceful figure trembled slightly. The person she was most afraid of seeing was Zhu Qizhen. She was really traumatized by his bullying. Her eyes dropped: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty."

"What's wrong? I came to tell you that the Jinyiwei captured Yuan Bin last night." Zhu Qizhen said indifferently, "My cheap elder brother is dead."

Bulma raised her beautiful eyes, but surprisingly there was no drastic reaction.

There was only a flash of sadness, and she gradually regained her composure, adding a bit of gentleness to her temperament. Her face without makeup was still delicate and flawless, especially her eyes, which occasionally revealed weakness and complexity, adding a unique and charming charm to her.

"Now that you have me, you don't care about him anymore, right?" Zhu Qizhen smiled.

"I'm not, don't talk nonsense!" Bulma's heart skipped a beat when she heard that. She thought of the days when she was bullied and felt a little flustered for a moment.

She remembered Zhu Qizhen saying that he was in good health.

Indeed, she experienced a joy she had never experienced before.

However, the more this happened, the more uneasy she felt, and the more she felt that she was a shameless woman.

"Why lie to yourself? Just follow what's in your heart. Even though I call you sister-in-law, you're not my real sister-in-law."

Zhu Qizhen walked over slowly, stretched out his hand and took Bulma's delicate hand that was placed on her belly, held it and said, "Forget the past and live a peaceful life, okay?"

The moment Bulma's hand was held tightly by him, her body stiffened slightly involuntarily. She was obviously a little resistant to this sudden intimate contact and instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but how could she break free from his big hand?

Zhu Qizhen's lips curled up into a playful smile, and with a slight exertion of his arms, he pulled her whole body into his arms, while at the same time holding her slender waist.

After hugging for a while, Bulma leaned softly in his arms. This guy deliberately asked: "Do you want to go back to your room?"

Bulma lowered her head, her face flushed, and grabbed the corner of his clothes: "No..."

"You're still saying no?" Zhu Qizhen buried his head in her neck and sniffed it.

Bulma closed her beautiful eyes and pursed her lips as if she had accepted her fate. Then, Zhu Qizhen picked her up and carried her into the room.

Her cheeks instantly turned red. She didn't need to guess, she already understood Zhu Qizhen's next intention. A hint of reserve and shyness flashed in her eyes involuntarily. In the end, she just kept silent, letting the feelings ripple gently in her heart, obediently.

When I woke up, it was already evening.

Zhu Qizhen didn't expect that he fell asleep at Bulma's place. It might be because it was too crazy and he was exhausted.

Bulma had changed into a light nightgown, and her hair was tied up with a thin string, like an elegant ponytail, and fell softly in front of her left shoulder, outlining a charming curve. Her gentle face still had a shy blush, and her eyes were a little hazy and blurred. From time to time, she secretly glanced at Zhu Qizhen behind her through the reflection of the bronze mirror, revealing an indescribable tenderness.

When she realized that Zhu Qizhen was also looking at her, she suddenly shrank back.

"You...is it time for you to leave?" She seemed a little uncomfortable being looked at by Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Qizhen chuckled and said, "Sister-in-law, your hairstyle is a bit dangerous."

Bulma was stunned and reached out to touch the black hair on her shoulder.

Zhu Qizhen stood up and walked behind her, untied the hair that fell in front of her, and said, "I'll help you comb your hair."

Bulma sat obediently, staring blankly at Zhu Qizhen and herself in the bronze mirror, feeling complicated for a moment.

Zhu Qizhen skillfully coiled Bulma's black hair and fixed it with a warm jade hairpin. After carefully examining it for a moment, a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Then, he naturally stretched out his arms, wrapped them around her waist, gently rested his head on her soft shoulders, and whispered, "So beautiful."

……

Mountain top palace.

The Demon Queen stood in the courtyard, her long black hair hanging down gently. She was wearing an extraordinarily luxurious purple dress with gold edges. The hem of her skirt dragged on the ground, fluttering in the wind, making her look like a fairy walking on water with a graceful figure.

Under the baptism of the moonlight, her delicate collarbone looked even more flawless and white. Her stunning appearance combined nobility and elegance. Her eyes were as calm as water, yet they concealed endless grace. She opened her red lips slightly and spoke softly, "Shuangxi, no news today?"

"Yes." Shuangxi, who was standing behind her, nodded.

"Haha, he's not coming either." The Demon Queen snorted, "Forget it, just live a peaceful life for a few more days."

Shuangxi frowned slightly: "My Lady, are you ready to take action?"

Pain flashed across the Demon Queen's eyes, and she nodded: "He has already made some guesses. If I don't act faster, maybe he won't even trust me anymore. Haha, he didn't trust me in the first place."

"Your Majesty, are you deliberately not coming?" Shuangxi asked tentatively.

"Haha, man!" The demon queen's eyes were full of confidence, "He won't give up until he gets me."

Shuangxi wanted to say something but hesitated, and finally said nothing.

(End of this chapter)