Chapter 596: The Two Sisters' Wedding Night

A gentle breeze blew, and the bright moon hung in the sky.

Liaodong was quite cool at this time of year; the evening breeze blowing against one's body felt very comfortable. Although it was already summer, it truly wasn't hot here—unlike later generations, when the Northeast no longer felt like the Northeast.

Winters not cold, summers not hot—of course, that referred to Liaoning. This summer had not the slightest hint of heat either; in fact, going out in the morning or evening still required wearing a thicker set of clothes.

Zhu Youxiao, draped in a large cloak, stood on the palace steps gazing at the bright moon outside, his mood fairly good.

"Your Majesty, the people are ready. Shall we have them sent over?" Wei Chao looked at Zhu Youxiao and asked cautiously.

Zhu Youxiao naturally knew who was ready—it was Da Yu'er and her sister.

You see, sleeping with the Emperor was no simple matter of just going to bed; it required going through a very cumbersome set of procedures.

Although the Great Ming didn't have the Great Qing's practice of turning over name plaques, nor the custom of rolling someone up and sending them over, the proper procedures still had to be followed—such as bathing, washing, physical examination, changing clothes, changing jewelry, ensuring there were no sharp implements on the body, and so on. Even fingernails and toenails had to be trimmed.

Of course, that was the procedure for a woman's first time; it was much simpler afterward. This was generally meant to display solemnity, but even later on, attending the Emperor's bed remained a very cumbersome process—unless one was a woman particularly close to the Emperor, like the few currently in Zhu Youxiao's palace.

If the Emperor was close to you, he would come to your place to sleep, rather than summoning you over when he needed you. Usually, when someone was summoned over, she would be sent away after the deed was done; the Emperor would not let her stay the night.

Consorts permitted to stay overnight with the Emperor were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns within the palace. If the Emperor was willing to come stay at your place, then you were truly above the masses.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wei Chao and said, "No need to send them over. I'll go over myself in a moment—just have them wait in the room."

Having said this, Zhu Youxiao turned his head back.

Wei Chao hurried off to convey the decree—this was the Emperor's command.

Still, he could more or less understand that the Emperor truly liked these two sisters. Their status was one thing; on the other hand, they were both genuinely beautiful, and they were sisters at that—it was only natural for His Majesty to fancy them.

Zhu Youxiao had no idea what that old eunuch Wei Chao was thinking; he continued gazing at the sky.

The military matters in Liaodong had essentially been settled, with everything taken over by Sun Chengzong.

This time, the Great Ming was going to establish its authority thoroughly in Liaodong—subduing the Ordos and the Khorchin, having them clear the way ahead. To put it bluntly, it meant sending some of them to die; the Khorchin would bear the brunt.

If the Khorchin and the Inner Khalkha joined forces to resist, then it would be even simpler—annihilate them all together.

Only Zhu Youxiao and Sun Chengzong knew of this matter; no one else had any knowledge of it.

Of course, it wasn't without benefits. Once the Inner Khalkha's territory was taken, the Khorchin could still get a share, and even some of the Inner Khalkha prisoners could be given to them to a greater or lesser extent. After all, making people contribute effort without giving any reward would truly turn them into enemies.

Let them exert some effort and feel a bit of pain, but still be able to reap some benefits—that they could endure.

Standing up and stretching his limbs, Zhu Youxiao prepared to go to sleep.

The spring night was fleeting and precious, and besides, there were two sisters waiting for him there. He was set to depart in a couple of days, so these two days were just right for enjoying himself.

This time he would travel together with the Imperial Guard Corps, making the journey safer. Of the two Imperial Guard Corps units, the one following Zhu Youxiao back to the city was Lu Xiangsheng's.

Sun Chuanting's Imperial Guard Corps unit had been left with Sun Chengzong—the two of them communicated more easily with each other. Lu Xiangsheng, on the other hand, probably couldn't see eye to eye with Sun Chengzong.

But it didn't matter—on this matter, ministers not seeing eye to eye wasn't necessarily such a bad thing.

Walking forward with his hands clasped behind his back, Zhu Youxiao arrived quickly.

Pushing open the courtyard gate and stepping inside, the small courtyard was ablaze with lights, with quite a few people waiting around.

Clearly, careful arrangements had been made here—all sorts of red things were present, even the character for "double happiness" had been pasted up, and large red candles were burning in the courtyard.

Zhu Youxiao said nothing, and strode toward the room within the courtyard.

After pushing open the door, Zhu Youxiao saw Bumbutai and Hailanzhu.

The two sisters had originally been sitting on the bed; upon seeing Zhu Youxiao walk in, they both knelt on the ground together.

Someone outside had already closed the door.

And Wei Chao stood not far from the doorway—throughout this entire night, he would not leave, nor would he allow anyone to enter.

Zhu Youxiao looked at the two sisters kneeling on the ground and forcibly calmed his emotions.

At this moment, of the two sisters, one wore a thin skirt of light red, while the other wore a thin skirt of light green; the two of them simply knelt there like that.

This skirt was truly very thin, faintly revealing—it could be considered a fairly fashionable style of clothing in the Great Ming.

Zhu Youxiao also knew one thing: there was a trailing ribbon at the back of this thin skirt. As long as one reached out and pulled it, the skirt would fall away—there would be no situation of spending ages unable to undo it, nor would any complicated technique be needed.

Smiling as he walked over, he casually helped the two sisters up and asked, "Are you getting used to it?"

The two sisters smiled and nodded.

Bumbutai said, "The people outside have been very attentive, and the food and provisions have been to our liking. Your Majesty need not worry—we sisters are doing very well."

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand dismissively—there was no need to believe those words.

As an Emperor, the hardest thing in this life might be hearing a single truthful sentence. In the entire Great Ming, the only person who could speak a truthful sentence to Zhu Youxiao was probably Empress Zhang.

No one else would tell the Emperor the truth—Da Yu'er's words couldn't be more false.

Zhu Youxiao didn't press further; he reached out, took the two sisters by the hand, and walked toward the bedside, saying with a smile, "The spring night is fleeting and precious—help me undress."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The two sisters acknowledged in unison, then began quickly removing Zhu Youxiao's clothes.

The clothes were soon taken off.

Zhu Youxiao led the two sisters onto the bed, then gave a gentle pull, and the two thin skirts fell onto the bed.

Zhu Youxiao hesitated no longer.

It had been such a long time—he truly had been missing it a bit.

In spring's chill, she was bathed in the Huaqing Pool; the warm spring waters washed her smooth, creamy skin.

Her maids helped her rise, delicate and languid—this was the moment she first received the Emperor's favor.

Cloud-like hair, flower-like face, a golden dangling hairpin; within the lotus-canopied warmth, she passed the spring night.

The spring night was short, and the sun rose high—from this day forth, the sovereign would hold no more morning court.

After one night had passed, early the next morning, Zhu Youxiao woke up feeling a bit hungry.

On his left and right sides lay one person each—none other than Hailanzhu and her sister.

Reaching out to pat their smooth backs, Zhu Youxiao let out a sigh of relief.

A whole night had passed, and he had finally released all the pent-up frustration of these past days—not bad.

In high spirits, Zhu Youxiao looked left and right, then asked with a smile, "You two woke up long ago, didn't you?"

The two sisters' faces flushed slightly as they opened their eyes at the same time, pouting as they said, "We sisters wouldn't dare disturb Your Majesty. If anyone found out, wouldn't we be blamed for it?"

"Aren't you afraid that I will blame you?" Zhu Youxiao asked, taking Bumbutai's hand and placing it somewhere.

"Then would Your Majesty blame us?" Bumbutai said with a hint of coquetry.

Zhu Youxiao didn't answer. He looked at them and said with a smile, "Alright, get up quickly. My stomach is hungry. Let's go bathe first, and by the time we're done, the food will be ready. You two will dine with me today — with three people eating, we should be able to eat a bit more."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The two sisters acknowledged in unison and hurriedly tried to rise, but both sucked in a sharp breath at the same time, their little faces scrunching up as if in some pain.

Zhu Youxiao said nothing, simply clapping his hands.

A line of palace maids filed in from outside.

Zhu Youxiao didn't bring women when he went out, but the two sisters certainly had their own personal maids.

Over these past days, the maids they had brought along had basically become Zhu Youxiao's palace attendants.

Wei Chao temporarily stood at the door without entering — he knew the Emperor found him annoying.

Eunuchs couldn't enter, but maids were no problem, so Wei Chao could only wait outside while having people prepare whatever was needed. If His Highness called, they would send things in immediately.

The maids divided the work and moved very quickly. The two sisters' evidence of virginity was displayed briefly before being taken away.

Soon, Zhu Youxiao and the two sisters were tidied up with the maids' assistance, and the three left the room together.

Stretching his limbs, Zhu Youxiao found it wasn't bad — young, healthy body.

Glancing at Wei Chao beside him, Zhu Youxiao asked, "Is the morning meal ready? I'm hungry. Get some meat. This isn't really breakfast anymore — let's call it an early lunch."

"Rest assured, Your Highness, everything is prepared." Wei Chao hurriedly said with a smile: "This morning, General Wukeshan sent over a sheep, said to be a fine thing, to nourish Your Highness's body. The cooks have already slaughtered it and are preparing several dishes from the sheep to send over."

Turning to look at Bumbutai and Harjol, Zhu Youxiao said, "This should be a gift from your brother to you two. I suppose I'm benefiting from your favor, eating your brother's sheep."

"Why must Your Majesty say such things? The Great Ming Emperor possesses all within the four seas — let alone a single sheep, is there anything you wish to eat that you couldn't have?" Bumbutai said with playful reproach: "If Your Majesty wants it, we'll drive all of Khorchin's sheep over for you, and Your Majesty can eat them however you like. Aren't we just here to tend sheep for Your Majesty?"

"You!" Zhu Youxiao patted her head and smiled without saying more.

There had been a slight sense of distance between the three at first, but after a night of deep exploration yesterday, that distance had disappeared.

After deep communication, people truly did get along more harmoniously with one another.

Harjol beside them said nothing, quietly watching her younger sister banter with the Emperor.

After last night, Harjol had also discovered that the Great Ming Emperor was not at all like the rumors outside claimed. He could sometimes be very easy to approach — for instance, when in bed.

Thinking of this, Harjol's face grew slightly warm, and the tips of her ears turned a bit red.