Jinting Han people

Nearly a month had passed since the Prince of Huainan came to the capital, and the Queen's attitude had gradually changed from being restless at the beginning to becoming anxious and annoyed.

Because the people who were monitoring the King of Huainan reported that since meeting with the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, the King of Huainan had either gone to take care of his seriously ill brother, the King of Qinghe, or stayed in the King of Huainan's Palace, and had not made any unusual movements.

"This is real?"

Inside the Taiji Palace, the Queen was somewhat incredulous, a mixture of uneasiness and disdain filling her heart. She then murmured:

"There is a conspiracy. There must be a conspiracy."

The person who reported this to the empress was the chamberlain Jia Mo. As a relative of the empress, he held the same view. But what puzzled him was that he did not find any flaws revealed by the other party.

"Your Highness, we have not only sent people to monitor the Huainan Palace, but also the Eastern Palace."

Jia Mo hid his confusion deep in his heart, sat upright at the table beside him, and said slowly to the queen:

"During these days, they haven't met with any suspicious individuals, including their retainers. Aside from normal purchases of supplies, there haven't been any unusual movements."

He analyzed, "This is unusual. There are only two possibilities. One is that they made arrangements in advance, and the King of Huainan's rebellion was just a pretext to distract us from other matters."

The Queen shook her shoulders impatiently and sneered, "What can these two losers accomplish if they're unwilling to show up? They're just operating in secret, trying to win over some princes and nobles who wouldn't even dare to spill blood. Do they really think they can do anything if they're just putting on an act?"

As the daughter of Jia Chong, the victor of two coups, and the highest authority in the empire, the queen was confident that she was qualified to judge others.

Long ago, her father had taught her a truth: men are born to fight and kill each other. In a fight, those who fear the shedding of blood are often the first to fall. This is because their cowardice exudes a scent that reduces them to prey. This scent is difficult to eliminate, and once it appears, it will follow them for life, leading to slavery at best and death at worst. Although she is a woman, she shoulders the honor and burden of her family, and she has no husband to rely on. Therefore, she must be stronger than men.

However, in the eyes of the Queen, the Crown Prince's forbearance ran counter to the conspiracy of the Prince of Huainan, and he constantly exuded a sense of cowardice.

"Your Highness, you still cannot underestimate the enemy."

Jia Mo didn't know what the queen was thinking. If he knew, he would probably not agree, because he also understood a truth: people often have an illusion, thinking that everything is under their control, but in fact, even a weak and insignificant person like the noble Duke dared to break out of the palace, let alone the crown prince who was popular among the people?
Therefore, he still analyzed carefully, "There is another possibility. They are testing our endurance, waiting for us to make mistakes first, so that they can seize the opportunity and counterattack us."

Empress Jia sneered, "Sifan, when my lord was still alive, he once said that for the prey, the hunter's survival is often a sin. But for the hunter, the sin is simply not being strong enough."

"I don't believe they can do anything. I can't wait any longer. Instead of wasting my energy here with them, why not get them to act? Withdraw the surveillance personnel and use them to monitor the King of Qi and the King of Chengdu. They are nothing more than these people. I want to see what they can do."

"Should we wait a little longer?" Jia Mo disagreed with the Queen's decision. He said, "Perhaps we can wait for news from Prince Zhao. Sun Xiu is a clever man, perhaps he can get some information."

"Don't trust such a villain." The queen still refused decisively. Thinking of the chaos caused by Sun Xiu in Guanzhong, which eventually led to the Queen's party being attacked, the queen was full of hatred for Sun Xiu. If it were not for the fact that he was diligent in offering money and was a useful lackey, she would have killed this extremely ugly rat long ago.

She commented: "This kind of villain may be able to add icing on the cake, but he can't help in times of need, let alone accomplish anything great."

At this point, the Empress lost interest and said to Jia Mo, "Si Fan, your fishing tactic is useless. In my opinion, Hebei is in turmoil right now, so we can't relax. We should decide on the next person to be sent to Hebei as soon as possible. As long as we hold these two important cities of Hebei and Guanzhong, even if this rebellious son wins over more people, what can he do? He will be beheaded!"

Jia Mo felt a little chilled after hearing this. He thought: The Queen is really too impatient.

Over the years, Jia Mo and the Empress had frequent disagreements. Jia Mo did not stop the Empress's atrocities, but in his view, politics was the art of compromise, and concessions were essential to maintaining power.

Since the enemy had already drawn their swords, they had become the target of public criticism. The correct approach was to retreat openly and watch in secret, waiting for the enemy to make a mistake in their victory. How could one even think of engaging in direct combat? Once the conflict erupted to this point, the court's authority would be lost, and chaos would be imminent.

But he couldn't say these words directly.

Because the queen was still a woman after all, and when a woman was controlled by her emotions, she would not reason with others. So he could only be patient for the time being, wait for the queen to come out of her emotions, and then change his words to make suggestions.

At this moment, Jia Mo could only take his leave for the time being.

After Jia Mo left, the queen also felt that she had lost her composure. But as soon as she calmed down and thought about the scene when Sima Yun questioned her, she would have a strong murderous intention.

But unlike the arrogance she displayed, this murderous intent did not come from her confidence in victory, but rather from her instinct telling the Queen that she seemed to be the weaker party, which made the Queen feel fear, and fear gave rise to murderous intent.

The Queen's greatest pride in her life was that she was different from ordinary women. Although not beautiful, she possessed courage and wisdom beyond the reach of men, which enabled her to achieve victory with ease. However, in recent days, she had become vaguely aware of her own hesitation and uneasiness, like an ordinary woman, which made her question her own strength.

This was a sign of becoming a prey, and it was something the Queen would never allow.

However, over the years, the Queen has also had unique ways to restore her confidence.

She summoned the eunuch Sun Lü and said bluntly, "I will take a bath first, then take a nap. When I wake up in the evening, as usual, I will see a handsome man in Jiafu Palace."

After saying that, she didn't care what Sun Lu did, and left Taiji Hall on her own, got on the carriage, and stepped onto the main road of Luoyang Palace.

To outsiders, the Luoyang Palace was a place of numerous restrictions, with certain areas off-limits. For example, court officials were forbidden from entering or leaving the northern harem, palace maids were forbidden from entering the Taiji Hall, palace guards were forbidden from leaving their designated patrol areas without permission, and even the emperor was forbidden from leaving the palace without permission.

But for the empress, Luoyang Palace was her imperial palace. She could openly meet with officials in Taiji Hall, rest on the bed of Empress Dowager Yilao in Jianshi Hall, boat without restraint in Xiyou Garden, inspect the imperial guards at Yunlong Gate, and keep male favorites in Furong Hall. Even when she had free time, she could tour Jingu Garden. In Luoyang Palace, there was no place the empress could not enter or exit, and similarly, no matter what she did, there was nothing she could not do.

When the empress arrived at Jiafu Hall, the maids had already prepared the bathtub. One group was adjusting the water temperature, while another was setting up the colorful curtains. Orange, white, and black cats were running around the hall. It wasn't even dark yet, but the lanterns were already lit, accompanied by the rich aroma of incense. The hall felt intoxicated, like a hazy, colorful dream.

After undressing, the queen immersed herself in the tub. As the hot water soaked her, she felt all her fatigue and anger vanish. She gently splashed the water, and it seemed as if the shape of the water shifted, power was gradually returning to her.

She looked at the palace and thought to herself, this is already her palace. What she is doing now is something that no woman in the past dynasties has ever done. Even if Empress Lü saw her, she would only be in awe. She didn't need to dwell on the past, but should move forward.

After she stood up, two palace maids came over and carefully rubbed the queen's body. The queen also examined her body and asked the palace maids:
"Do you think I'm beautiful?"

Of course the maids dared not say it was ugly: "Your Highness is the most blessed and beautiful."

Unexpectedly, this was met with sneers from the Queen. She said, "Why lie? If I were beautiful, there would be no ugly women in the palace." "It is precisely because I am not beautiful that I have put in dozens of times more effort than ordinary people to hone my talents. My current status is all due to my hard work. However, ordinary beautiful women, because they like to get things too easily, ignore hard work, and ultimately become superficial women."

"You are just as superficial, that's why God has placed your fate in my hands."

The palace maid naturally did not understand these words, but Jia Nanfeng did not care. As she said, she was now proud of her mediocre and even fierce appearance, which was even a proof of her talent.

After combing her hair, donning her own two-legged skirt and donning her five-armored ornaments, the empress reclined on the bed, gently fanned by a palace maid, and drifted off to sleep. In her dream, there were no power struggles, no foolish husband, no son who betrayed her, and no in-laws who despised her. It was as if nothing existed, only a burning fire, and this filled her with contentment.

When I woke up again, it was already evening. The sky was dark, but the hall was brightly lit.

The Queen stood up and asked, "Has the person been delivered?"

The maid replied, "Your Highness, the man has been sent for, and is drinking next door. We will call him over right away."

Not long after, a young boy was pulled over by the palace maids.

The young man was very handsome, with bright eyes, white teeth and fair skin. At the same time, he had a strong vitality that was unique to young people, just like a cup of wine that was about to overflow, and would spill out if moved a little. When the queen saw him, she remembered the flames in her dream, and then flames ignited in her chest.

The young man showed a confused expression when he saw the queen. He didn't quite understand why such a ferocious woman was leading such a group of beautiful palace maids.

The Queen knew what he was thinking, and she smiled a strange smile, like a bat in the night sky. She asked, "Do you like the sister next to you?"

The young man nodded hurriedly, and the queen approached him and whispered seductively, "As long as you listen to me, all the sisters around here will accompany you."

"Oh, really?"

"Of course, because I am their master, and your master as well. A master will not deceive a slave."

As she said this, the Queen grasped his wrists tightly with both hands and guided them to the burning spot on his chest.

"It hurts here. Push harder...harder."

"Yes... yes. Is this here?"

"A little more to the left. Ah, right here. It hurts so much here that I can't breathe... Listen to me, push harder."

The young man trembled all over. His breathing became heavy. Although the object was not a beautiful woman, her skin was still hot, burning the young man's body and making his heart beat faster. However, the queen's hand was so tight that it hurt, so he didn't dare to use more force.

"What's your name...why aren't you trying harder?"

"My name is Guan Nu... I... I feel a little pain too... Ah, here is..."

"Oh, yes, harder..." Beads of sweat began to seep from the Queen's forehead, making her breathing quicken. Whenever the official slave was at a loss, she would always guide him with a decisive and strong voice. After a while, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, but did not let go of the official slave's hand:

"You know... I asked you to come here so that you can treat me."

The slave was still at a loss when the queen's hands once again wrapped around him, pulling him deep into the curtains. He could only look up at the sky, and suddenly, his male instincts began to truly awaken...

The animal nature hidden deep within the human heart is like a rushing flood. Once it begins to boil, it will become uncontrollable and rampant.

When the queen's bestiality was finally satisfied, the young man's life came to an end. She strangled him to death with her own hands, then calmly began to tidy up her clothes on the couch. After a brief tidying, she called in Sun Lu, the eunuch, and asked him to clean up the body.

When Sun Lu entered, the hall was empty, save for the corpse. He knew the cause of his death without even looking. The Empress would kill any young man who showed infidelity in front of the Empress, or who showed any affection for other maids. Normally, she would leave it to Sun Lu and his men, but when the Empress's tempers were particularly high, she would take matters into her own hands, much like she would a cat that had become too close to one of the other maids.

What a condescending queen! Although he was used to this, Sun Lu still harbored some reservations. After all, no one knew when this queen would cruelly inflict death on someone, and being with her was truly terrifying.

Looking at the young man lying on the bed with his eyes open, Sun Lu thought again that perhaps death was a good thing. It was better to be freed from this inexplicable sea of suffering as soon as possible than to live and suffer in the world.

Now I am the one who suffers. It is always troublesome to clean up the corpses.

Sun Lu dragged the official slave out of the hall and stuffed him into the bamboo box he had brought with him. The four guards who accompanied him lifted the bamboo box and began to pass through the numerous gates of the Luoyang Palace.

Sun Lu was already familiar with this task. Three hundred steps from the West Ye Gate, an old woman named Guo and three guards were waiting for him. This old woman was the empress's wet nurse. Over the years, she had probably selected no fewer than a hundred handsome young men for her and was also responsible for disposing of their bodies. In return, the empress rewarded the old woman with hundreds of gold.

Although the old woman had no status, Sun Lu, a close minister of the queen, understood her value and spent money to befriend her in private many times.

This time was no exception. Thinking that the queen seemed to still be angry, Sun Lu was a little anxious. He prepared a pair of South China Sea pearls, hoping that the old woman could say a few good words for him. In this way, his nephew's official position would be settled.

But for some reason, after glancing at the bamboo box, the boy's face popped into his mind. Sun Lu thought again, perhaps he should hire a Taoist priest to come and rest the boy's soul in peace.

It was already late at night. As he left the palace, the rain fell heavily, but the wind had died down at some point, leaving the streets completely dark and silent. This made Sun Lu quicken his pace, heading towards the previous junction.

Soon, he saw the outline of an ox cart in the darkness in the distance. He shouted twice, but there was no response.

Sun Lu wondered if Old Lady Guo had fallen asleep, which was perfectly normal. So he walked to the front of the oxcart with a torch, turned around and shone the light. He then screamed, startling the crows in the nearby cypress tree.

Sun Lu saw four bodies lying beside the ox cart, covered by four white sheets with blood stained on them. When he lifted the sheets, he saw that it was Old Lady Guo and three guards. They were terrified and their eyes were open.

On top of Old Lady Guo's white cloth was a folded piece of yellow silk. On the front, in small characters, were written a list of Old Lady Guo's crimes, while on the back, there were only four large characters: "Serve the righteous and punish the thief." (End of this chapter)