The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 801 Affair in Kunning Palace

"Snow can cleanse this chaotic world, and it can also cover up the bloodshed and cruelty of this troubled world."

On the eighth day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of the Mingqi reign, a heavy snow fell on the capital at dusk. Looking around, the Forbidden City was covered in silver. In just half an hour, the glazed tiles on the eaves of the Kunning Palace were covered with a thick layer of snow.

King Qi Meng of Liao returned from hunting. He wore a golden winged hat and a round-necked robe with four dragons. Over the white robe's vertically striped sleeves, he wore a Songjiang cotton short sleeve with gold thread trim at the cuffs. He wore a red satin shoulder coat and a kimono skirt of the same fabric, and a tiger-skin waistcoat (Note 1). At his waist were a sword inlaid with oriental pearls and a short golden cannon. He wore a sharkskin bow glove on his right hand and dark blue felt riding boots.

Eighty guards with short guns, bows and crossbows on their waists were spread out in a fan shape, closely monitoring every blade of grass and every tree around the Kunning Palace. Thirty Jinyiwei flags wearing Feiyu uniforms and holding embroidered spring swords were guarding all the exits.

Empress Yi'an stood at the gate of Kunning Palace, oblivious to the grand spectacle before her. She looked up at the snow falling all over the sky. Large flakes of snow flakes danced silently between heaven and earth like cotton wool, covering the earth with a white curtain.

His Majesty the Prince of Liao is trying to say, "You came to Kunning Palace today and flirted with me, the former empress. Can such a despicable crime be concealed by the heavy snow?"
Zhang Yan's face flushed red, and she didn't dare to look directly at the mighty Qi Meng, but was just thinking about all sorts of things in her mind.

"Guards, stand back and do not disturb the Queen!"

The tall King of Liao rode on a pure white horse, like a real god walking down from the mural.

Qi Meng gripped the reins tightly, his hands on the front of the saddle. The cuffs of his leather jacket were trimmed with heavy gold edges, which made his wrists weak. He dismounted and bowed to Empress Yi'an.

At the end of last year, after suffering repeated defeats against the Ming army, the Southern Ming Emperor Zhu Youjian finally realized that he, a time traveler, was no match for Qi Meng. So he sent envoys north to resume peace talks with the Ming court.

The Southern Ming attached great importance to this peace talk and prepared ten carts of gifts alone. They came from afar and had been waiting outside the palace for two hours.

Although the King of Liao held little hope for peace talks between the North and the South, he decided to meet with Zhu Youjian's envoys to hear the peace price offered by the Southern Ming court. To show his sincerity, Qi Meng, who had been hunting for half a day, decided to wash off the sweat on his body.

So he passed by Kunning Palace on his way and prepared to take a bath in the hot springs.

During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, he was keen on all kinds of strange and ingenious skills. In addition to inventing and manufacturing various types of firearms, this time traveler also brought spring water from the Western Hills to the Kunning Palace, heated it with pipes, and transformed the Kunning Palace into a hot spring palace for him and his male favorites to enjoy.

A year after Zhu Youjian fled to Nanjing, Empress Yi'an moved to Kunning Palace. Before that, the King of Liao often bathed here - although this was indeed an act of usurpation.

"As I got closer, I remembered that the Queen had already moved in. I've been busy with military affairs lately, and I keep misremembering things. I'd better go back to the mansion and take a bath. Zhang Chao, notify Minister Qian and ask the envoys from Nanjing to wait..."

The guards consciously took a few steps back and turned their gaze to the bustling crowd outside the palace gate. Only Qi Meng and Zhang Yan were left around.

"King Liao, please stay!"

Qi Meng turned around and was about to leave when Zhang Yan suddenly called him.

"The King of Liao is so busy with affairs of state that he has no time for rest. If he were to travel back and forth for such a trivial matter, wasting his time and delaying important military and national affairs, it would be our fault."

Zhang Yan hesitated to speak, took a deep breath, and finally mustered up the courage: "King Liao, please come in and bathe."

When Qi Meng looked up, he saw Zhang Yan's clear eyes, like the stars and the moon, exuding a captivating charm.

"I asked the palace maids to help Your Highness take a bath, so as not to violate the rules." Zhang Yan added hesitantly.

After hearing this, several young and pretty palace maids beside Empress Yi'an blushed, met the fiery gaze of King Liao, and bowed.

Long-buried thoughts suddenly emerged.

Dongfang Zhu saw that his lord was moved and said with a double meaning:

"Marshal, my wife has instructed us not to ride horses casually."

Qi Meng shook his head at the eunuch and said murderously:

"Have you ever experienced the joy of riding a horse?" As far as Qi Meng knew, during Zhu Youjian's reign, he hadn't had the slightest thought about this beautiful sister-in-law. Because of his sexual orientation, Emperor Chongzhen was not interested in any woman. He deliberately ignored and made things difficult for Empress Yi'an countless times. In order to raise military funds, he even often withheld the sister-in-law's monthly salary...
In short, judging from a man's intuition, the probability that this extremely beautiful woman in front of him would assassinate him to avenge his younger brother Zhu Youjian is extremely small.

Unlike Liu Zhaosun's Puritan-style asceticism, Qi Meng believed more in human happiness and paid more attention to the experience of "I" as an individual life. This is one of the important reasons why he was able to surpass his predecessors.

~~~~~
Upon entering the Tang Palace, the King of Liao habitually opened his arms. Since he was always accompanied by a maid, someone should have stepped forward quickly to undress him.

Qi Meng has become accustomed to this kind of life, so even though today he was in Kunning Palace where Empress Yi'an lived, he still subconsciously made this pose.

But no matter how long I waited, no one came forward to serve me.

How ridiculous! Later on, he had to go to the Huangji Palace to summon Zhu Youjian's envoy. Did he have to take off this complicated outfit, this four-dragon python robe, himself?
However, since Empress Yi'an was outside, he couldn't shout loudly at this time, otherwise it would seem extremely rude.

Qi Mengdong looked around, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Outside the sash windows with three-cross six-bowl lotus patterns, various kinds of precious flowers and trees are planted in the courtyard. Several double-flowered cherry blossoms donated by Japan are swaying in the wind, emitting a refreshing fragrance. A girl who looks like a palace maid and is wearing a round-necked, double-breasted, narrow-sleeved long gown walks past the cherry trees with an umbrella.

Qi Meng could only see the girl's back.

"That woman, come here!"

The King of Liao had a rough voice, and his rage made it sound like thunder.

Dong Xiaowan was like a deer shot by an arrow in Shanglin Garden. She stumbled, looked left and right, and turned back to look for the source of the thunder. Finally, she saw Qi Meng standing in the window of Tang Palace, looking at her angrily.

"Are you a maid in Kunning Palace?"

"Yes, it is."

"You've come just in time. Please help me take a bath!"

Dong Xiaowan opened her mouth wide. She was born in the "Dong Family Embroidery Shop" in Suzhou City. Her family fell into poverty when she was twelve years old. Because of her intelligence, beauty and meticulous work, she was spotted by Ruan Dacheng and presented to the palace. She soon became the manager of the Hat and Scarf Bureau.

"Your Highness, I'm here today to tailor clothes for the Queen..." Dong Xiaowan swallowed the word "tailoring".

This extremely beautiful girl, known as one of the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai" in other dimensions, by chance became a lonely seamstress in the Eastern World.

Why didn't she reveal her identity and refuse the Liao King's rude request at this time?
Thousands of beauties are locked up in the six palaces, and most of their youth is wasted in resentment.

The lights and lions and dragons entertain the night away, so how can the king have time to accompany her slender waist?

Human beings are extremely fragile creatures. The King of Liao before them was so handsome and majestic. In this situation, any woman would inevitably lose her mind and make mistakes.

Of course, Qi Meng's unquestionable domineering aura and his powerful aura that convinces people are probably the most fundamental reasons why Dong Xiaowan is so obedient.

In the past nearly twenty years, this aura, this powerful force that has the power of life and death, has defeated Nurhaci, Zhu Yijun, Zhu Changluo, Zhu Youxiao, and Zhu Youjian; it has made Yuan Chonghuan, Sun Chuanting, Yuan Keli, Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng, Wang Huazhen, Gao Di, Wei Zhongxian, Zuo Guangdou... and other outstanding people bow down to him.

It was this terrifying aura that firmly controlled the beautiful Dong Xiaowan in an instant.

"hurry up!"

Entering the bathtub, Qi Meng opened his arms and simply and directly ordered Dong Xiaowan to undress him.

Note:
1. Waist straw raincoat: a short straw raincoat wrapped around the waist, also known as "waist-rolled straw raincoat"

(End of this chapter)