Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 167 The world is indeed a huge makeshift operation.

There were 100,000 troops inside Beijing, and outside the city, there was one cavalry battalion, two large wagon battalions, and four small wagon battalions, guarding the various gates. The largest garrison was stationed in the north of the city, with a 6,000-strong cavalry battalion stationed at Desheng Gate in the northwest, and a 6,000-strong wagon battalion under the command of Sun Chuanting at Anding Gate in the northeast. The moat of Beijing was 30 to 40 meters away from the city wall, and the main camps outside the city were set up with their backs to the water, stretching for several miles.

At this moment, the Xizhimen gate, which is closest to Deshengmen on the western city wall, was wide open, and a well-equipped infantryman was running out of the city. The clattering sound of their orderly footsteps was both tense and pleasant.

Zhu Youjian was very lazy and wouldn't get up until the sun was high in the sky, especially in early spring when it was even easier to feel sleepy. He was dragged out of bed by Wanwan because her father was fighting the enemy outside the city, and their future was uncertain. She had only dozed off all night and couldn't sleep at all. When the eunuch came to report, she had gotten up before Zhu Youjian.

Huang Taiji deserves to die! If you're going to fight, why not fight properly? Why choose such a difficult time? Zhu Youjian was in a bad mood upon waking, wishing he could chop Huang Taiji up immediately. The personal maid in the side room, used to the emperor's schedule, seemed a little groggy from waking up so early.

Normally, after the emperor wakes up, eunuchs outside would have already prepared warm water for him to wash up. As his personal maids, they would bring the basin in to help him wash and then help him dress. But now, the water was clearly not ready, and they had to urge the eunuchs outside. The process suddenly stalled there, and everyone seemed somewhat bewildered.

Zhu Youjian sighed slightly, thinking to himself that this world was indeed a huge makeshift operation. Of course, he couldn't just sit there waiting for such a small matter, so he said, "Let's change our clothes first!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the palace maid said softly, bowing slightly.

Zhu Youjian stripped off his plain white nightgown himself and threw it on the ground, leaving himself completely naked as he stepped on the pile of clothes. Although they saw this every day, the palace maids still blushed with embarrassment as they glanced down at him.

Logically speaking, the personal palace maids were also the emperor's women, but Zhu Youjian never favored any of them. They were close, yet he couldn't very well arrange marriages for them, so the relationship remained unresolved. These personal palace maids had watched him grow up; when they were children, Zhu Youjian would cling to their legs, and now these maids could only reach his chin even on tiptoe.

After changing into his undergarments, the palace maids, following their usual practice, intended to dress Zhu Youjian in a dragon robe, but Zhu Youjian stopped them.

Zhu Youjian pointed to a set of flashy armor with a glittering gold finish and a red cloak hanging on the back, which was on a shelf in the corner of the room, and said, "Put on the armor for me."

The palace maids exchanged glances, then lowered their heads, not daring to look the emperor in the eye, and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive us, we do not know how to wear armor!"

Zhu Youjian covered his face: "I can't do this, I can't do that, and I even ate three big steamed buns in one meal, I've gotten fat, I don't even know how to start eating!"

"Huh?!" Several palace maids understood, their eyes sparkling as they murmured, "Then we'll eat less from now on, His Majesty likes thin people?"

“Too thin is no good either. You need to be well-proportioned, do you understand?” Zhu Youjian gestured, as if that wasn’t enough to describe it. Zhu Youjian slapped his forehead and pointed to Wanwan beside him, saying, “Like this.”

At first, the palace maids were somewhat bewildered by the emperor's vague description, but upon seeing the person they were referring to, their faces lit up with sudden realization, followed by a deflated expression. How could they compare to Consort Xian? Seeing Sun Shiwan, they all felt ashamed of themselves.

In truth, they all understood their situation. After all, they were five or six years older than the emperor, old maids in their twenties, past their prime, so it was normal for the emperor not to be interested in them. If it weren't for the emperor's sentimentality and consideration for past relationships, they would have been replaced by the emperor long ago, and wouldn't even have been able to remain as his personal maids.

Palace maids are just palace maids; they should just obediently wait to die. Dreaming of becoming concubines is somewhat unrealistic. Several palace maids wore awkward but polite smiles, the small flame of passion that had just ignited in their hearts quickly extinguished. "Sigh!" Sun Shiwan, seeing that even at this point, the emperor still had the mood to flirt with the palace maids, felt this was incredibly inappropriate. Although she had been married into the imperial family for over a year and had a child who was already crawling on the floor, she sometimes still couldn't stand the emperor's eccentric and even somewhat childish personality.

Although she was younger than the emperor, she seemed to be playing the role of the older sister. Sun Shiwan was somewhat displeased. She subtly stood between Zhu Youjian and the palace maid, blocking Zhu Youjian's view of the palace maid, and said softly, "Your Majesty, let me do it. I have learned how to wear armor from my mother."

"Your mother is the daughter of a military family?!" Zhu Youjian asked with great interest.

“We can’t be called a military family. My maternal grandfather was a centurion in the army, and my father and mother were a good match in terms of social standing,” Sun Shiwan explained.

"And then your father passed the imperial examination?" Zhu Youjian stroked his chin, lowered his voice, and asked with a hint of gossip, "So, our two families wouldn't be considered a good match, would they? After your father-in-law became successful, didn't he have any other thoughts?!"

This question is quite offensive. Sun Shiwan angrily punched Zhu Youjian lightly and said irritably, "They are a loving and harmonious couple!"

Zhu Youjian stared wide-eyed at Sun Shiwan. Although he didn't speak, his doubt was obvious, as if he were saying with his eyes, "Is it really true?!"

"Hoo!" Sun Shiwan exhaled through her nose, her cheeks puffed out, and she rolled her eyes at Zhu Youjian. But in order to clear Sun Chuanting's name, she still spoke up and explained, "Shixiu's birth mother, my aunt, was brought in by my mother."

At first, my father was unwilling, but my mother said, 'You've already passed the imperial examination and entered officialdom. If you don't have a concubine, your colleagues will laugh at you, and I'll be called a jealous woman. Besides, you're so strong and energetic; I can't stand you. And women have their periods every month. Taking a concubine would benefit you and me. Why are you unwilling?!'

Only then did my father agree to take a concubine. My aunt got along very well with us, and my siblings and I never had a fight.

Unexpectedly, there was such a secret. Zhu Youjian's gossip-loving heart was thoroughly satisfied. He praised with some emotion, "To enjoy the blessings of having multiple wives, your father is truly skilled in managing a household!"

Sun Shiwan sneered, "Your Majesty's skills in managing a household are not bad either!"

"Uh!" Zhu Youjian looked around awkwardly, unsure of what to do with his hands and feet.

Sun Shiwan had a good memory. She only learned how to put on armor a few times from her mother and still remembered it even after not using it for a long time, though she was a little rusty. She spent a quarter of an hour helping Zhu Youjian put on his armor, and then she put on a silver two-piece armor herself, wearing a red Ming army uniform underneath. With a helmet on and a cloth covering her body, she became a somewhat delicate-looking soldier.

After becoming a mother, her pectoral muscles became somewhat exaggerated, and the difference was noticeable upon closer inspection. Of course, this was a private matter between them, and it would be impolite to point it out. The reason she dressed like this was simply to avoid the emperor being reprimanded for playing with the feudal lords by lighting the beacon fires, and to prevent her from being referred to as Bao Si.

Zhu Youjian, dressed in his finest attire, went to court!
(End of this chapter)