A lowly soldier becomes king, I slaughter my way through the late Tang Dynasty!

Inside the palace walls.

Shi Chonggui has been feasting for three days, indulging in wine and meat every day, enjoying himself immensely.

On the Yao Terrace, surrounded by flowing water and willows.

A young girl in a simple blue dress, with an extremely slender waist, was dancing gracefully.

Shi Chonggui stared wide-eyed, and when he reached the most brilliant part, he threw down his wine glass, clapped, and laughed loudly.

"Excellent! Hahaha, excellent! In this Bianliang city, out of ten beauties, Qingluan can possess six!"

Upon hearing this, the slender-waisted girl who was dancing gracefully smiled, but also seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"Hmph~ Your Majesty, how come I only have six dou (a unit of dry measure)?"

Shi Chonggui was so captivated by her sweet moans that he quickly changed his tune.

"Yato, monopolize Yato!"

Qingluan nodded in satisfaction, and with her snow-white jade feet, she stepped directly onto Shi Chonggui.

As the emperor, Shi Chonggui could simply ignore such a presumptuous act.

He actually reached out and carefully held Qingluan's feet, laughing with delight.

"The Azure Phoenix is ​​a treasure from head to toe!"

Seeing that even the high and mighty emperor was captivated by her charms, Qingluan became even more smug!

People in Bianliang say that the current Empress Feng is the most beautiful woman in Bianliang.

But now?

Where is the Empress?

Even the current emperor is still bewitched by her.

Just as Qingluan was about to use her skills to make Shi Chonggui enjoy himself to the fullest.

A delicate shout came from not far away.

"Where is my brother? Why will he refuse to see me?"

Upon hearing this voice, Shi Zhonggui sobered up a bit and immediately felt a headache.

"Ugh, here we go again?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a gorgeously dressed, lively and spirited woman rushed over.

Upon seeing Qingluan, the woman immediately raised her eyebrows and said...

"It's you again, you whore? Get out of my way! I want to speak with my brother!"

Qingluan was furious, but knowing the identity of the woman before her, she could only retreat and dared not act rashly.

Shi Zhonggui sighed in utter helplessness.

"Lingxian, I have already said that Li Rui is a wolf in sheep's clothing and should not be made my consort!"

The spoiled woman was Shi Chonggui's cousin, Princess Jiaxing, Shi Lingxian.

She stamped her foot and said reluctantly.

"My brother has never even met Li Rui, so how can he say he has ulterior motives?"

The mere mention of this infuriates Shi Zhonggui.

"Li Rui is a wolf in sheep's clothing! I have rewarded him with the important position of Commander of the Right Wing of the Palace Guard because of his great merits. Others would beg for such a position!"

And what happened? This scoundrel actually dared to defy the imperial decree! He even said he wanted to stay in Dingzhou to protect the country? Bullshit!

Shi Lingxian rolled her eyes.

"Then why didn't you imprison him? Instead, you continued to allow him to come to the capital to receive rewards?"

Shi Zhonggui opened his palm and asked in return.

"Do you think I don't want to? But the great war has just ended, and to punish meritorious officials is not the behavior of a wise ruler."

Moreover, it's unclear which fool spread Li Rui's high-sounding words when he defied the imperial decree throughout the capital.

The entire city is now praising Li Rui, saying he is loyal to the emperor and loves his country, and has even given him the nickname "Li Yulong"!

At this point, Shi Zhonggui became even angrier.

He kicked the table away angrily.

"If Li Rui is truly loyal to the emperor and loves his country, he should obediently accept the imperial edict and come before me to kowtow and admit his mistakes!"

"The people's hearts are now with Li Rui. Even though I am the emperor, I must follow the will of the people and cannot easily touch him."

After listening, Shi Lingxian rolled her eyes and said.

"Wouldn't that be perfect? ​​I'll just make him my son-in-law and capture him to be my husband!"

Thus I found a good match, and my elder brother also gained a fierce general.

Shi Zhonggui was furious and immediately flew into a rage.

"Get out of here! If I say no, then no!"

Shi Lingxian bit her lip, still wanting to argue, but the eunuch beside her quickly stepped forward to comfort her.

After much persuasion, Shi Lingxian finally let out a muffled groan and left on her own.

Shi Zhonggui was filled with depression.

"Sigh, how could I have such a foolish sister! Go, summon Qingluan and let her soothe my mood."

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, then kowtowed and offered his advice.

"Your Majesty, you have favored the courtesans for three days now. The Empress just returned to the palace at noon. Why not summon her to help soothe Your Majesty's mood?"

Shi Zhonggui hesitated.

Favoring courtesans while neglecting the empress is certainly not the behavior of a wise ruler.

Moreover, the Empress's beauty was actually far superior to Qingluan's.

only……

Shi Chonggui was well aware that he was becoming increasingly impotent in matters of the heart.

Although the empress was exceptionally beautiful, she was, after all, of noble birth and could not lower herself to serve him in every way.

In this way, relying solely on Shi Zhonggui would be too boring and too ineffective.

Unlike the Azure Phoenix.

Geishas come from humble backgrounds and have little to no social status to worry about.

Every time Shi Chonggui favored her, Qingluan would be completely obedient and serve him in various ways.

Even though Shi Chonggui was sexually inept, he could still find pleasure and satisfaction in other areas.

Thinking of this, Shi Zhonggui reprimanded impatiently.

"Just go when I tell you to!"

The eunuch dared not object and could only obediently recall Qingluan.

……

Not long after.

Empress Feng Yao, who had just returned to the palace, heard about what had happened in the palace from a eunuch.

Feng Yao's beautiful face remained expressionless, but a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes.

"In Bianliang City, out of ten measures of beauty, a single prostitute possesses eight measures?"

The palace maids lowered their heads, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Feng Yao chuckled and took a sip of tea.

"His Majesty is becoming increasingly debauched and immoral."

Upon hearing this, the palace maid was so frightened that she immediately knelt down!

"Your Majesty, please be careful what you say!"

Feng Yao didn't care.

"What's there to be afraid of? It's just the truth. His Majesty's life has always been extravagant. Since ascending the throne, he has been taking in beauties and building palaces."

Since the great victory at Dingzhou, he has been living a life of extravagance and euphoria. What will become of the nation if this continues?

The palace maid was already drenched in sweat and could only offer her reminder with a tearful voice.

"Your Majesty, please stop speaking. The women of the inner palace must not interfere in politics."

Feng Yao felt powerless.

Even she, a woman, could see that Shi Chonggui's actions were almost utterly incompetent.

But she had no power to change anything.

Besides matters of national importance, her personal future is also very worrying.

Without conceiving a prince to secure her position, her status will never be stable.

Thinking about this...

Feng Yao felt weak all over and had no energy.

"Well, all I can do is pray to the gods and Buddhas. I'll go to Guangji Temple tomorrow morning."

Tonight, Shi Chonggui is still with Qingluan, the courtesan from Yichun Courtyard.

Feng Yao slept alone for only two hours before becoming unable to sleep again.

Finally, dawn broke, and he couldn't wait to have the palace maids arrange a carriage to go to Guangji Temple.

It seems that all anxiety can be shaken off as long as one leaves the palace.

Of course, no one knows what she's really thinking.

Is going to Guangji Temple to worship Buddha, escape anxiety, or... has some other purpose?

As dawn broke, the curfew in Bianliang City was lifted.

Li Rui rode his horse alone, strolling outside Bianliang City.

He came to survey the defenses of Bianliang.

I'm so bored!

The fighting has temporarily come to an end, but he is in Bianliang and cannot return to Dingzhou to farm.

Li Rui could only kill time by surveying the city's defenses.

Furthermore, the Later Jin dynasty will fall next year.

Zhang Yanzhe, who surrendered to the Khitan, would lead his army to capture Bianliang City.

Li Rui put himself in the shoes of the defenders and carefully considered how to defend.

Then he put himself in Zhang Yanzhe's shoes.

Imagine if you were attacking Bianliang, how would you do it?

Just then, Feng Yao's entourage arrived at the city gate.

Through the gauze curtain, Feng Yao immediately spotted Li Rui looking up at her.

What is he doing here?

Feng Yao quickly called the parking team and gave them instructions.

"Drive there. Also, all guards, stop at the gate and do not follow."

The palace maid was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied.

"Your Majesty, aren't you going to Guangji Temple to worship Buddha?"

Feng Yao rolled her eyes at her.

"The weather is so nice today, I'd like to go for a walk, is that not allowed?"

The palace maid was speechless; she had also seen Li Rui.

The Empress clearly went to find Li Rui on her own initiative, even mentioning the nice weather...

The sky is full of clouds, it's so gloomy, it's bound to rain today. Where is the weather nice?

As the carriage drew closer to Li Rui, he turned his gaze away from the city wall.

It's almost here.

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

Feng Yao smiled gently and spoke softly.

"We've run into the general again. What are you doing here so early in the morning?"