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

Chapter 263 Huang Taiji's Backyard Catches Fire (2.0)
"Oh dear, Your Majesty, please sit down. I can't reach it!" Zhe Zhe said coquettishly, looking up at Ajige with eyes full of admiration.

To be honest, it's really strange for a woman in her thirties who has given birth to several children to do such a thing, but Ajige just happens to be very attracted to it and is completely captivated by it.

Ajige slumped into a chair, and Zhe Zhe bent down to put a spoon into his mouth. By sheer coincidence, her dress slipped off her shoulder, and she frantically covered her chest with her hand. The spoon fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

When she went to pick up the spoon, she tripped over her left foot and fell to the ground with her right foot. She landed on top of Ajige, and her clothes slipped down to her waist.

At his age, how could Ajige endure this? He stood up, holding Zhe Zhe, and overturned the report on the table, smashing the bowl of ginseng soup in the process.

Rip! The sound of clothes tearing rang out. Ajige was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot, as if he had mad cow disease.

"No!" Zhe Zhe cried out in panic, but Ajige's hands didn't stop moving. "I'm pregnant, and the child is yours!"

Huh?! Ajige's eyes snapped back to reality: "Wh-what? What did you say?! When did this happen? Why didn't you drink the contraceptive soup?!"

Ajige instantly softened, as if he had been doused with ice water in the dead of winter. All his anger and sense of transgression vanished. If Huang Taiji found out about this, he would be dead!
“I took the medicine, but it didn’t work. This is a child bestowed upon me and the Great Khan by the Eternal Heaven. I don’t want to abort this child. I want to give birth to our child.” Zhe Zhe was in tears, and Ajige’s heart softened instantly.

"But what if Huang Taiji finds out? No, then both you and I will die!" Ajige said, somewhat at a loss.

“You are the Khan, Ajige, why are you afraid of Huang Taiji?” Zhe Zhe’s disappointed eyes stung Ajige.

"Oh dear, you don't understand!" Ajige paced back and forth in frustration, scratching his head anxiously. His hair hadn't been shaved for days, and the stubble made a rustling sound as he scratched it with his fingernails, just like the sound of people scraping pig bristles during the New Year.

“No, I understand!” Zhe Zhe protested loudly, “But all of this originally belonged to you! The two Yellow Banners originally belonged to the Great Khan, and you can take it all back! As long as Huang Taiji dies, even I, your concubine, will belong to the Great Khan!”

"Kill Huang Taiji?!" Ajige was shocked by Zhe Zhe's words. His lips trembled as he said, "You mean, poison him?!"

Zhe Zhe shook her head, a hint of sadness in her eyes. She said bitterly, "Huang Taiji no longer eats what I make. I can't bring myself to do anything to him."

"What can we do? I am outnumbered and outmatched by Huang Taiji!" Ajige said dejectedly.

Zhe Zhe patiently persuaded him, saying, "Don't the Han people have an idiom called 'using a borrowed knife to kill someone'? We can use the Ming army to kill Huang Taiji."

"Tongming?!" Ajige's mouth gaped slightly, but the consequences would be unimaginable if the matter were exposed! He even imagined Huang Taiji capturing him and sarcastically questioning him: "Great Khan, why did you rebel?!"

"If the Great Khan is unwilling, then so be it. I will go and abort the child, and we need not see each other again." Zhe Zhe picked up the torn clothes on the ground and said dejectedly.

She held the cloth in front of her, her back seemingly empty and bare. She opened the palace door. Huang Taiji was destined for this calamity; he hadn't even sent anyone to monitor Ajige, nor had he taken his wives and concubines away. It was as if he was certain he would move back soon, as if Ajige would forever remain in his eyes that immature little brat following him around. Silence was the greatest contempt. Huang Taiji had never even considered killing Ajige, even though it was something he could do with a flick of his finger.

"Wait!" Ajige finally spoke up to stop her. Zhe Zhe's lips curled up slightly, then vanished instantly, returning to her pitiful appearance.

Ajige strode forward, embraced Zhe Zhe, and said with a frantic yet resolute gaze, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I won't let Huang Taiji hurt you!"

Clang! Just then, a maid happened to pass by and witnessed this horrifying scene. She was so frightened that she wet herself, and the food she was carrying fell to the ground. It was clearly Princess Zhe Zhe who sent her, so why would the Princess want to harm her?!

"Sister-in-law, close your eyes, I'll be right back!" Ajige drew his sword, the palace doors slammed shut with a clang, followed by several screams. A short while later, Ajige returned, covered in blood. His personal guards rushed over upon hearing the commotion, asking no questions, but simply kneeling before Ajige in salute, before expertly dealing with the corpses on the ground.

Seeing Ajige's face covered in blood, Zhe Zhe was not afraid at all. Instead, she tenderly wiped the blood off Ajige's face and said, "She is my maid. Huang Taiji forced himself on her while he was drunk. She is pregnant, but Huang Taiji does not know it yet."

Ajige's eyes narrowed, his intelligence finally returning. He pointed at Zhe Zhe's stomach and asked, "Is this really my child?!"

Zhe Zhe looked into his eyes and nodded calmly. She said confidently, "You don't need to worry. After it's done, I can persuade the people of Khorchin to serve you."

"Khorchin? Khorchin is already extinct!" Ajige was a little annoyed, but he didn't say it out loud.

Ajige wearily closed his eyes. He wasn't entirely fooled; it was more like a tacit agreement. It was a case of using someone else to do the dirty work—all it took was revealing some information about Huang Taiji's supply lines, grain depots, and troop deployments to the Ming army…

He wasn't entirely clear on these details, but his younger brother, Dorgon, certainly knew the gist of it; it was just a matter of whether the boy was willing to cooperate.

But defeat doesn't mean they can kill Huang Taiji! This fellow is as cunning as a fox, completely out of place with his brothers. Which of them hasn't suffered dozens of wounds? Huang Taiji led troops for half his life, and the worst injury he ever sustained was a bloody nose!

Every day that followed, Ajige lived in constant fear. The weather was so hot, and the Eight Banners army was most afraid of this kind of weather. According to past experience, they should usually withdraw their troops in April or May, regardless of whether they had achieved any results. He sent people to keep a close watch on the city gate, fearing that Huang Taiji might suddenly return.

At that point, he would have no choice but to set up an ambush in the city and fight Huang Taiji to the death. But even if he won, he would not be able to keep his position as Khan, and he might not even be able to save his life!

The Xuanwu Gate Incident succeeded because the person in question was the Prince of Qin, the General of the Heavenly Strategy, the Grand Minister of Works, the Grand Chancellor of the Shaanxi East Circuit, and the Grand General of the Twelve Guards, not because he won at Xuanwu Gate.

Time passed slowly, and they waited until the hottest days of summer, but there was still no news of Huang Taiji withdrawing his troops. Now, he finally found an opportunity to harm Huang Taiji!

(End of this chapter)