Chapter 457: The Wedding Night Again (Daily Update, Begging for Rewards!)

Inside the room.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Bumbutai, sat down directly beside her, and said, "You're very afraid."

Though her face was covered by the red veil, Bumbutai still breathed a sigh of relief.

She couldn't see what the man before her looked like, but from his voice alone she could tell—this was the Great Ming Emperor. At least by his side, she could feel a little more at ease. Even if what came next still frightened her somewhat.

Bumbutai said, "Your Majesty has come."

Ever since the matter had been settled, Zhu Youxiao had noticed that Da Yu'er's attitude toward him had changed greatly. Not only was she friendlier, she had also become more submissive.

That was a good start, wasn't it?

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, "Yes, I've come."

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao reached out and lifted off Bumbutai's veil, then began to look her over from head to toe.

To be honest, a ten-year-old girl—though she was a fine beauty in the making—still struck Zhu Youxiao as somewhat strange.

Being stared at by Zhu Youxiao made Bumbutai a little shy, but even more afraid.

"Don't worry, I keep my word." Zhu Youxiao looked at Bumbutai and smiled, then reached out to touch her face and said, "Take all these things off your head and put them all away. You can't sleep wearing them."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Bumbutai quickly acknowledged and began removing the ornaments from her hair.

Many people in the palace knew of Zhu Youxiao's tastes, and Chen Hong naturally understood them very well too.

So when they had made up Bumbutai, they hadn't gone for heavy makeup and gaudy colors, but rather a fresh, light look.

The hairpins were removed, and the outer robe was taken off as well. Looking at Bumbutai in her red undergarments, Zhu Youxiao asked, "Can you drink a little wine?"

Bumbutai nodded gently and said, "I can."

On the grasslands, not drinking was impossible—sometimes wine was used to keep warm. Though the warmth wine gave was an illusion, it was still needed in the end. Though Bumbutai was still very young, she had drunk quite a lot of wine during every cold winter on the grasslands.

Seeing Bumbutai nod, Zhu Youxiao picked up the wine cup and poured two cups. He placed one across the table and one before himself.

Zhu Youxiao said, "In our Great Ming, this is called the nuptial cup—it must be drunk on the night of a wedding. Shall we drink it together tonight?"

"Though the surroundings here are a bit poor and the ceremony somewhat crude, I promise you—once all this is over, I will surely give you a grand wedding."

Da Yu'er's marriage to the Great Ming was something to be publicized, and Zhu Youxiao didn't think the scale would be kept small in the future. This was meant to set an example, so naturally it had to be done as well as possible.

On this point, Zhu Youxiao had his plans.

"This is already more than enough." Bumbutai walked over and sat down across from Zhu Youxiao, saying, "That Your Majesty could take a fancy to this barbarian girl of mine is already my good fortune."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Bumbutai and said with a smile, "A girl as well-mannered as you can't be called a barbarian. Just live well from now on."

Bumbutai's attitude pleased Zhu Youxiao greatly—submissiveness was what mattered most.

Raising his cup toward Bumbutai, Zhu Youxiao said, "Come, let's drink a cup of nuptial wine. I'll teach you how."

Blushing, she drank with Zhu Youxiao. After the wine went down, Bumbutai coughed lightly, her face slightly flushed.

She savored the taste, pursing her lips. To be honest, this cup of wine was very good.

The wine drunk on the grasslands naturally couldn't compare to Zhu Youxiao's. Though Bumbutai held a noble status among the Khorchin and ordinarily used only the finest things—the wine she drank was also fine liquor smuggled over from the Central Plains—there was simply no comparison with Zhu Youxiao's wine.

Looking at Bumbutai, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, "If you like drinking, there will be plenty of chances in the future. But don't drink too much—I don't want to marry a female drunkard."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Bumbutai answered shyly.

"Alright, we've had our wine, and it's getting late—time to rest." Zhu Youxiao looked at Bumbutai and said, "Come, help me take off my clothes."

"Yes." The red on Bumbutai's face deepened, and she grew even shyer.

She removed Zhu Youxiao's clothes one by one. Though she was still a little shy and clumsy at first, she gradually grew more practiced.

Folding the clothes and setting them aside, Bumbutai looked up at Zhu Youxiao and said, "Your Majesty, it's done."

"Done?" Zhu Youxiao was taken aback, then looked down and said, "Aren't there still two more pieces?"

Bumbutai bit her lip—she naturally knew what Zhu Youxiao meant. After a slight hesitation, she still reached out with trembling hands and removed the remaining clothes from Zhu Youxiao's body.

Zhu Youxiao sat down on the bed, looked at Bumbutai, and said directly, "Your turn."

Glancing down, Bumbutai gritted her teeth, reached out, and removed the last two pieces of red undergarment from her own body as well.

She stood in place hugging her shoulders, her face bright red, looking utterly at a loss.

Zhu Youxiao reached out and pulled her into his arms, saying, "Alright, time to sleep."

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao gently lifted Bumbutai up and placed her on the bed.

Once lying on the bed, Bumbutai lay on Zhu Youxiao's chest, her whole body so tense she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Feeling the little person in his arms' burning skin and pounding heartbeat, Zhu Youxiao gently placed his hand on her back, patted her, and said, "Alright, go to sleep. It's already late—you must be tired after a busy day."

She gave a soft hum but said nothing more.

It seemed Zhu Youxiao had no intention of going further, which put her considerably at ease. Her mind was a jumble, thoughts flying every which way, and Bumbutai drifted off to sleep without knowing when.

Meanwhile, in the city of Zhangjiakou.

Agutai was running at full speed.

Ever since leaving the inn, he had returned to his lodgings, arranged everything, and passed the message to his trusted confidants.

What Agutai needed to do now was go see Wang Dengku. The matter at hand had already reached its conclusion, and if Agutai wanted to leave Zhangjiakou, he would need Wang Dengku's help.

The reason for this was simple—trying to leave Zhangjiakou on one's own ability alone was nothing short of chasing a fantasy. From what he'd seen today, Wang Dengku indeed had some capability and some connections.

Though Agutai could also wait slowly and look for a chance to leave Zhangjiakou on his own, this matter was simply too big, and the news too urgent. He had no time to keep waiting—he had to leave Zhangjiakou within a short period.

He had to choose Wang Dengku.

After telling his confidants the message, Agutai went to find Wang Dengku.

After all, the message had already been given to his confidants—if anything unexpected happened to him, they could choose their own time to leave Zhangjiakou.

Moreover, Agutai had already thought up a story, and he was confident he could persuade Wang Dengku.

When he arrived at the meeting place, Agutai found that Wang Dengku was already there waiting.

This time the location had been chosen by Wang Dengku, and Agutai had a knife tucked in his chest. If things truly couldn't be done, he would never fall into Wang Dengku's hands.

After sitting down, looking at the wine and dishes laid out on the table, Agutai didn't stand on ceremony—he picked up the cup, poured himself some wine, and picked up his chopsticks, ready to eat.

But before eating, Agutai glanced at Wang Dengku and asked, "You didn't put anything in this, did you? If you've added poison, it'll be too late for regrets afterward."

Wang Dengku looked at Agutai and said with a smile, "What are you talking about?"

"It's no secret that you want to kill me." Agutai said casually, "And I can understand you. After all, I'm a very dangerous person right now. If I'm exposed, your whole family will be finished."

"And if you kill me, no one will ever know. It's no big deal. Even if both sides still need to do business in the future, you can continue trading with us. Losing just me doesn't matter much."

"But there's one thing I want to tell you—after hearing it, you might change your mind. So if there's no poison in this food, I'll start eating; if there is poison, then you'd better get me a fresh table."

Wang Dengku looked at Agutai and shook his head, saying, "I don't know anything right now—not even your situation. How could I possibly poison you? If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't choose a method like this."

Staring at Wang Dengku for a moment, Agutai smiled and nodded, saying, "I knew you were a smart man."

After saying this, Agutai raised his cup and took a drink, then picked up his chopsticks and ate a couple of bites of food. Finally, he looked at Wang Dengku and said, "First, let me tell you some news you don't know. The one who came to Zhangjiakou this time is not the eldest son of the Duke of Ying."

Wang Dengku immediately felt a bad premonition in his heart. He looked up at Agutai and asked urgently, "Then who is it?"

"It's the Emperor of the Great Ming." Agutai looked at Wang Dengku, a playful smile spreading across his face.

He said, "You didn't expect that, did you? No one did. Who could have imagined that the Emperor of the Great Ming would come here?"

Upon hearing this news, Wang Dengku was stunned in place, and it took him a long while to snap back to his senses.

He looked up at Agutai and said in shock, "Are you sure? Is this information accurate? The one who came is the Emperor?"

"Of course. I infiltrated and obtained this information myself." Agutai said with certainty.

"Think about it yourself—they arrested Fan Yongdou, arrested other people too, and even sealed off Zhangjiakou. What kind of person would have such authority? Could it just be some pleasure-seeking rich brat here to do business? Do you think that's possible?"

"At the very least, it's an imperial commissioner sent by the court. And when an imperial commissioner arrives at a place like this, why hasn't a single word leaked out? Look at who's making the arrests—those are the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"I've heard that even the Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has come. Who could be backing him? Who could make them obey so completely? Other than the Emperor of the Great Ming, who else?"

After saying this, Agutai looked at Wang Dengku and asked, "Are you worried now?"

Wang Dengku shot Agutai a glare but said nothing.

How could he not be worried?

In his heart, he had already cursed Agutai out. Of course, only in his heart.

Who didn't know of the current Emperor? Who hadn't heard of him?

Since ascending the throne, His Majesty had accomplished one major deed after another.

What happened to the Prince of Fu in Henan? What happened to the officials large and small in Henan? What about the officials in Shandong? And what about the Kong family in Shandong?

Hadn't all those who needed to be dealt with been dealt with?

With households confiscated and clans exterminated, had they killed few people?

The current Emperor didn't care about those people—so how could he care about the likes of them? They had done their share of shady dealings, and now His Majesty already knew about it. After Fan Yongdou was arrested, their turn would likely come next.

Thinking about the fate he might face, Wang Dengku felt terrible all over.

"Scared, aren't you?" Agutai looked at Wang Dengku and said with a smile.

Agutai had long since understood these Great Ming merchants thoroughly. On ordinary days they swaggered about, currying favor with all kinds of officials, but in truth, deep down they were utterly spineless.

Put a knife to their throats, and these people had the least backbone of all. In a situation like this, they were probably scared to death inside already.

"If I die, you won't gain anything either." Wang Dengku looked at Agutai with a dark expression.

"So neither of us can die." Agutai said with a grave face, "This time I went in and obtained very important information. As long as I can bring it back, the Great Khan will surely reward me handsomely."

"You can't stay in the Great Ming any longer. Why not come with me?"

This was the plan Agutai had settled on.

He wanted to trick Wang Dengku into leaving together. That way, Wang Dengku couldn't possibly harm him anymore. After all, if Wang Dengku was also fleeing, killing him would no longer serve any purpose. Moreover, Wang Dengku would need him along the way, and would still need him once they reached the Great Khan.

Under such circumstances, Wang Dengku would be the one needing his help, and he wouldn't try to kill him again.

On this matter, Agutai was very confident.

Faced with the threat of death, Wang Dengku would surely exhaust every means to escape.

The more effort Wang Dengku put in, the greater the chance Agutai had of getting away.

Looking up at Agutai, Wang Dengku said with a grim face, "Go with you?"

"What other choice do you have?" Agutai said matter-of-factly, "You can't survive in the Great Ming anymore. With crimes like household confiscation and clan extermination hanging over you, what are you going to do?"

"If it were someone else who came, you might still find a way. But the one who came is the Emperor. Isn't going with me the only way to save your family? You don't want to end up like Fan Yongdou, do you."

"Once you're on our side, you'll live just as well. The Great Khan will surely think very highly of you. These past two years, quite a few Han Chinese have come to make a living on our side, and they're doing quite well."

"You've rendered us meritorious service, and you're so talented and capable—I'm sure you'll succeed easily over there as well. Combined with what I have in hand, once we return this time, we're bound to rise swiftly. That's far better than waiting here to die."