I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 215 Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will come to save you.

...

After Xiao Sese's explanation, Yelü Nanxian learned that in Zhao Yu's harem, there was not only Empress Zheng Xiansu, whose position was unshakeable, but also five imperial concubines of extraordinary status, Zhang Chun, Li Lin, Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Yuan Qingcheng, who even Zheng Xiansu had to give face to.

—Only at this moment did Yelü Nanxian realize that Zhang Chun and Li Lin, whose appearances were not particularly outstanding, actually had such high status and position, and that their status and position were even higher than those of Consorts Wang Yisu and Guo Ting. She had just burned the wrong incense.

In addition, the imperial concubines Wang Yisu, Guo Ting, and Zhang Nan all had very powerful backgrounds.

However, none of these people are Yelü Nanxian's biggest enemies right now.

Yelü Nanxian's biggest enemy now is Xiao Puxian, who is from the same clan as her.

Yelü Nanxian knew about Xiao Puxian, and also knew that Xiao Puxian almost married Yelü Chun. In fact, the two had met each other when they were in the Liao Kingdom.

To be honest, Xiao Puxian's family background was not bad, but if she had not married Yelü Chun, her status and position in the Liao Kingdom would not have been comparable to those of the Khitan princesses, let alone Yelü Yanxi's Consort Wen, Xiao Sese.

Xiao Puxian came to Zhao Yu's side no earlier than Xiao Sese and the three Khitan princesses.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't have been Xiao Puxian's turn to be the leader of the women of the Liao Dynasty.

Firstly, Xiao Puxian was exceptionally capable. She was knowledgeable in both politics and governance, and handled government affairs decisively and effectively. Even Emperor Zhao Yu praised her ability to review memorials.
Secondly, upon arriving at Zhao Yu's harem, Xiao Puxian called upon the women of Liao, Western Xia, Tibet, and other Western Regions to "follow their husbands wherever they go," to forget their homeland, even to the point of hatred, and to actively learn Han culture, to become true Han women, and to support their husbands and raise their children.

Thirdly, Xiao Puxian also spearheaded the support for Zheng Xiansu's imperial examination system, and personally participated in this year's examination, achieving an impressive tenth place. She further stated that she will continue to participate in the imperial examinations in the future, until she becomes the top female scholar.

Fourthly, Xiao Puxian was fluent in multiple languages. If she didn't know a language, she would learn it. This enabled her to communicate with most people in the harem. When Zhao Yu went to visit women who did not speak the language, he would often have her act as his translator.

Fifthly, and most importantly, Xiao Puxian was particularly good at pleasing Zhao Yu. She learned most of the little tricks that Zhang Chun invented to please Zhao Yu, as well as the techniques that other concubines knew for pleasing men, and used them all to please Zhao Yu, so that Zhao Yu would frequently visit her and she successfully became pregnant with the emperor's child in less than three months.

Thus, in just over six months, not only did Zhao Yu like to take Xiao Puxian with him wherever he went, but Zheng Xiansu also put Xiao Puxian in charge of all the Liao women in the harem.

Xiao Puxian was truly skilled; she managed to subdue all the women of Liao, including the three Khitan princesses, through a combination of gentle persuasion and force. Even Xiao Sese treated Xiao Puxian with great courtesy and respect.

Upon learning this, Yelü Nanxian realized she was in trouble. With Xiao Puxian around, her ambition to become the leader of the Hu women was likely in jeopardy.

in fact--

Yelü Nanxian did not tell Xiao Sese the truth. Although she was the Empress of Western Xia, and the Empress Dowager of Western Xia, also known as Empress Dowager Xiao Liang, had been poisoned to death by Li Qianshun, in terms of status, no one was more noble than her. However, in reality, because she had only been married into Western Xia for a short time, and Li Qianshun had not supported her like Zhao Yu had supported Zheng Xiansu, but had also been neglecting her, she had never become the leader of the women of Western Xia.

Previously, the reason why the group of Western Xia women chose Yelü Nanxian as their representative was twofold: firstly, given Yelü Nanxian's status, no one was more suitable to represent the Western Xia women than Yelü Nanxian; secondly, these Western Xia women had just arrived in this unfamiliar enemy territory and had not yet figured out the rules and undercurrents here, so they urgently needed a leader to help them navigate the dangers, and Yelü Nanxian naturally became the only choice for this role.

However, this does not mean that Yelü Nanxian can really become the leader of the Western Xia women, especially as they gradually adapt to the new environment and begin to seek their own support and way out.

Yelü Nanxian's original plan was to first gain the support of the Liao women by leveraging the influence of Xiao Sese and the three Khitan princesses. Once she had a certain amount of political capital, she would then use her status as the Empress of Western Xia to completely subdue the Western Xia women and become their leader.

After that, Yelü Nanxian unified all the Hu women in Zhao Yu's harem.

Later, through brief contact, Yelü Nanxian eliminated Yelü Beixian, Yelü Wuluduo, and Yelü Nuojin—three women who clearly could not be leaders of the Liao women. She believed that Xiao Sese was the true leader of the Liao women, or at least capable of being that leader.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Puxian, a "dark horse" who suddenly appeared, disrupted Yelü Nanxian's plans.

The key point is that Xiao Puxian followed a pro-Song line, and she also wanted to lead the Hu women to completely integrate into the Han people. It was absolutely impossible for her to become an ally of Yelü Nanxian.

To be honest, this made Yelü Nanxian, who had miscalculated, frown for a moment.

Like Yelü Nanxian, Xiao Sese harbored deep feelings for the Liao Dynasty.

Historically, Empress Xiao Sese, facing the overwhelming Jurchen army, the increasingly precarious state of the nation, and the neglect of the people and the alienation and dismissal of loyal ministers by Yelü Yanxi during his hunting expeditions, wrote songs to satirize Yelü Yanxi. She hoped he would block the rise of treacherous officials, select virtuous ministers to assist the state, and inspire brave warriors to sacrifice themselves for the country, thus saving the Liao Dynasty from its perilous situation. Later, after being largely ignored, Empress Xiao Sese placed her hopes on her son, Yelü Aoluwo, painstakingly cultivating him into a wise, capable, and courageous individual, hoping he would one day shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing the Liao Dynasty.

Historically, Yelü Nanxian, though married off to the Western Xia, remained devoted to the Liao Dynasty. Upon learning of the Jin Dynasty's attack on Liao, she actively persuaded Li Qianshun to send troops to aid Liao, leading to multiple Western Xia interventions and providing support to the Liao. She also successfully raised her son, Li Ren'ai, into a Western Xia crown prince deeply devoted to Liao. When news of Liao's demise arrived, she was devastated. Coupled with Li Ren'ai's death from grief and indignation at the Liao's fall, she ultimately chose to starve herself to death, expressing her loyalty to Liao and her sorrow over her homeland's demise.

From the perspective of the Liao Dynasty, both Xiao Sese and Yelü Nanxian were good daughters nurtured by their motherland.

Based on this mutual appreciation, Xiao Sese confided everything to Yelü Nanxian.

Xiao Sese also gave Yelü Nanxian advice: "If you want to succeed here, you will need someone's support."

Yelü Nanxian asked, "The Song Emperor?"

Xiao Sese nodded: "If you can gain the favor of the emperor, even though you are a Khitan, you can ascend to the throne and sit firmly in the position of Empress. A single word from you can influence the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, and a smile can overturn the Song Dynasty's rule. If you want gold and silk, the treasury will open on its own; if you want to mobilize troops, the imperial edict will arrive instantly. At that time, with a few whispered words in your ear and secret plans in your office, you can bring prosperity to our Great Liao and resolve the crisis. When the future is bright and our Great Liao prospers, you will be the one who has made the greatest contribution."

Yelü Nanxian knew that Xiao Sese was joking.

Yes.

If Yelü Nanxian could truly gain Zhao Yu's exclusive favor, just as Li Zhi favored Wu Zetian and Emperor Zhenzong favored Liu E, she could indeed have whatever she wanted in the Song Dynasty.

The problem is that Zhao Yu doesn't seem like such a devoted emperor; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to spread his affections so evenly and have dozens of children.

Furthermore, Yelü Nanxian was somewhat self-aware. In terms of appearance, talent, and ability, she was not the most outstanding. In fact, compared with Xiao Sese, she was slightly inferior in appearance. In fact, her appearance was about the same as that of the three Khitan princesses Yelü Beixian, Yelü Wuluduo, and Yelü Nuojin. She was not even the most beautiful among them.

Xiao Sese and the others were merely ordinary playthings to Zhao Yu, so for Yelü Nanxian to gain Zhao Yu's exclusive favor was virtually impossible.

However, although it was unlikely that Yelü Nanxian would gain Zhao Yu's exclusive favor, she still gained a very useful piece of information from Xiao Sese's words: if she wanted to make a difference in the Zhao Song Dynasty, Zhao Yu's attitude was crucial.

In other words, as long as Yelü Nanxian could gain Zhao Yu's strong support and make him listen to her, there was nothing she couldn't do in the Song Dynasty. As for helping the Liao Dynasty, that would be a piece of cake for Zhang Fei.

After seeing Xiao Sese off, Yelü Nanxian thought to herself, 'Given my status as a virgin empress, gaining the Song emperor's favor shouldn't be a problem, but how can I make him completely obedient to me?'

After much deliberation, Yelü Nanxian decided that she should start by giving birth to Zhao Yu's son. As a member of the Liao imperial family and the Empress of Western Xia, Yelü Nanxian knew very well that for the emperor's women, nothing was more important than bearing him a son. If she could have given birth to a son for Li Qianshun, he would never have treated her this way, and she would have long since become the leader of the Western Xia women.

……

After Zhao Yu finished discussing the issue of gentry paying taxes together and the land tax reform with Zhang Dun, Cai Bian, and Su Shi, he noticed that it was already dark.

The female officials and palace servants who had been waiting in the West Warm Pavilion all came to serve Zhao Yu after they learned that he had finished his business with the prime minister.

At the same time, the eunuchs and guards serving Zhao Yu were also ready to support Zhao Yu's return to the palace.

Zhao Yu didn't waste any words and said directly, "Return to the palace."

Afterwards, Zhao Yu went to the inner palace.

On the way, Guo Wei, the lady-in-waiting on duty tonight, came to ask Zhao Yu, "Your Majesty, where shall we rest tonight?"

Zhao Yu pondered, 'Should I go and try Yelü Nanxian's taste? Or should I go to Princess Ayina of the Gaochang Uyghurs, whom I recently slept with, to experience the exotic customs again? Or perhaps I should go to Guo Ting's place and invite Wei Shi to try out the Twin Towers again?' Just then, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't paid his dues to the Five Concubines for some time, so he set off for the Five Concubines and said to Guo Wei, 'Tell the Five Concubines to go to Consort Zhang's place.'

Upon hearing this, Guo Wei immediately understood that Zhao Yu was planning to kill Zhang Chun, Li Lin, Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Yuan Qingcheng—five people in total—tonight.

Guo Wei immediately arranged for five of his palace servants to take rickshaws to inform Zhang Chun and the other four to make preparations.

Zhao Yu, meanwhile, led the others slowly toward Zhang Chun's residence.

Just as they were about to reach Zhang Chun's residence, Zhao Yu suddenly heard a drunken recitation of poetry coming from not far away, mixed with the sound of dice clattering against a porcelain plate.

Spring arrives at Changmen, the grass is green. The plum blossoms by the river are just beginning to open, not yet fully bloomed. Azure clouds shroud the jade-like dust, leaving behind a morning dream, startling a bowl of spring. Flower shadows press against the heavy gate, sparse curtains spread the pale moonlight, a beautiful dusk. Two years and three times I have failed the Lord of Spring, but I have returned, determined to cherish this spring...

Zhao Yu stopped in his tracks.

He couldn't help but stop, because the poem was written by Empress Chen Ajiao during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, lamenting her neglect. It was clearly aimed at him.

Zhao Yu asked his attendants, "Who dares to be so bold?"

Wang Chuchu replied, "It must be Consort Li composing the poem."

When Zhao Yu heard that it was Li Qingzhao, he immediately thought it made sense.

Upon careful recollection, it turns out that Zhao Yu had not visited Li Qingzhao for over a year, which explains why she wrote a poem criticizing herself.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yu said to Guo Wei, "Go and tell the five concubines to disperse. Tell them that I will go to see them again tomorrow, as I have something to do today."

Whom Zhao Yu chooses to serve depends entirely on his mood. It's not unusual for him to stand up Zhang Chun and the other four, or even Zheng Xiansu. Of course, Zhao Yu wouldn't easily stand up Zheng Xiansu. As for Zhang Chun and the other four, since they've been with Zhao Yu the most times and been stood up the most, they're probably used to it.

So, Guo Wei said nothing and sent five more palace maids to inform Zhang Chun and the other four not to wait for Zhao Yu.

Then, Zhao Yu walked towards Li Qingzhao's residence.

Soon, Zhao Yu arrived at Li Qingzhao's residence.

When Li Qingzhao's maids saw Zhao Yu arrive, they were all overjoyed and wanted to inform Li Qingzhao to come and greet him, but Zhao Yu stopped them.

Zhao Yu entered Li Qingzhao's room alone.

There, Li Qingzhao lay sprawled on a soft couch, her hair disheveled, clutching a wine jar in her arms, with gambling paraphernalia scattered before her. The Xuan paper on her desk was a mess of ink, half-written in a new poem, large patches of ink blurred by wine stains.

Although Emperor Zhao Yu didn't mind whether women wore makeup or not, and even disliked it, women should at least be clean and presentable. To be honest, Li Qingzhao's disheveled hair and flushed face were rather unattractive.

This made Zhao Yu somewhat regretful that he had let Zhang Chun and the other five women disperse.

Just then, a die suddenly flew out and landed with a thud in front of Zhao Yu's boot.

Li Qingzhao squinted and looked up, smiling smugly with a drunken glint in her eyes: "This young man is so handsome, he looks just like my master. How about we play a game of chance?"

As she spoke, Li Qingzhao slowly got up and walked towards Zhao Yu.

When Li Qingzhao arrived in front of Zhao Yu, her legs went weak and she fell straight into his arms.

Zhao Yu quickly helped Li Qingzhao up.

Unexpectedly, Li Qingzhao was unmoved. She immediately pushed Zhao Yu away and shouted, "You audacious scoundrel! I am an imperial concubine, and my master is the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. How dare you be disrespectful to me? I will have my master exterminate your entire family!"

Zhao Yu, smelling the mixture of wine and ink on Li Qingzhao, was both amused and annoyed: "I was just being rude to you, what can you do about it?!"

As they were talking, Zhao Yu embraced Li Qingzhao.

Li Qingzhao panicked and shouted, "Guards! Protect the Empress! Seize this lecherous man!"

No matter how Li Qingzhao called out, no one came.

Zhao Yu wanted to know if Li Qingzhao was truly so virtuous, so he simply scooped her up in his arms and lifted her up in his arms, saying to her with an evil look, "Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will come to save you. Just accept your fate."

As they spoke, Zhao Yu carried Li Qingzhao, who was desperately resisting and constantly calling for protection, into the inner room...

……

(End of this chapter)