Chapter 187

…

The next morning.

As dawn just began to break, Zhao Yu opened his eyes.

Zhao Yu moved away the jade arm of a Uyghur girl who looked like Naza, who had been hugging his waist, and shifted the long leg of a Qiang girl who looked like Reba, which had been resting on his thigh, then sat up.

The dozen or so palace attendants nearby, seeing Zhao Yu awake, immediately rushed over to help him rise.

Zhao Yu raised his index finger and shushed them.

The attendants instantly understood: Zhao Yu didn't want them waking the five women in bed.

They immediately became as light-footed as possible.

Zhao Yu turned his head to glance at Xiao Sese, curled up at the very back.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Yu pulled the brocade quilt over to cover Xiao Sese.

It was already late autumn, and the northern mornings were still chilly.

Xiao Sese had sweated profusely last night; if she caught a cold now, it might cost her and her daughter their lives.

Moreover, though it was just a small gesture, it was enough to secure Xiao Sese's status and livelihood within the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Just as Zhao Yu was about to cover Xiao Sese, he noticed her long eyelashes twitch slightly.

Seeing Xiao Sese pretending to sleep, Zhao Yu gave her buttock a sharp "slap."

Xiao Sese's heart pounded wildly.

At the same time, her heart stirred. The unforgettable experience from last night flooded her mind like a film, causing her cheeks to flush involuntarily. She kept her eyes tightly shut, feigning that her panic had not betrayed her, yet her heart thudded like a drum—both shy and tense, terrified Zhao Yu would expose her pretense in public.

Seeing Xiao Sese's reaction, Zhao Yu's lips curled into a teasing smile—part indulgent, part playful—then he tucked the quilt around her, silently choosing not to press further.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Yu also pulled the quilt over the four other girls who had served him diligently last night—ah… the newly promoted young wives.

It's not poverty one fears, but inequality.

To Zhao Yu's surprise, all four newly promoted young wives were also pretending to sleep. Clearly, they were shy too—not at all like the unrestrained Hu Ren.

'These four have been thoroughly sinicized… hmm… no wonder their Mandarin is so good.'

Since Xiao Sese and the others were all awake, Zhao Yu decided to stop pretending and called for the attendants to help him wash and dress.

Xiao Sese and the other four women endured their pretense for who knew how long, until their bodies ached from lying still, before Zhao Yu finally left.

Just as Xiao Sese and the others breathed a quiet sigh of relief and prepared to shift positions, Zhang Chun entered, flanked by a dozen maids.

Seeing her, Xiao Sese and the others quickly resumed pretending to sleep.

But Zhang Chun had no such patience for Xiao Sese and the others as Zhao Yu did.

She walked to the bed, plopped down on it, and said to the four newly promoted young wives: 'Go eat a bowl of lotus seed soup for good fortune, then assist the sleeping attendant in recording your service—otherwise, your night here counts as wasted.'

Zhang Chun was lying to these four young wives. It was precisely because they were away from court that the sleeping attendants recorded details with even greater care, fearing even the slightest oversight might lead to an imperial heir being lost.

But these four young wives, who had arrived just yesterday and been lucky enough to be chosen by Zhao Yu, didn't know the rules. Hearing they might have 'served' him in vain, they panicked and scrambled out of bed.

Their sudden movements made each of them wince in pain.

But they didn't care.

They bowed hastily to Zhang Chun, then rushed to put on their clothes and hurried off to register with the sleeping attendant.

Once the four young wives had left, Zhang Chun turned to Xiao Sese: 'Stop pretending. I don't believe you slept a wink last night.'

To be honest, Xiao Sese was genuinely afraid of Zhang Chun.

This cruel woman had forced her into obedience and compliance with nothing but words—making her do things she'd never even imagined, let alone done, stripping away every shred of her dignity, turning her into nothing but a whore.

More importantly, after all this, Xiao Sese felt her heart had become disordered. She no longer knew what she thought—her thoughts were no longer solely about ethnic duty or national survival; there was now a shadow of Zhao Yu in them. It was as if a new realm had quietly been carved out within her world. She was both lost and entranced.

Seeing Xiao Sese still with eyes shut, Zhang Chun smiled slyly and said:

'How? Is the Emperor more vigorous than Yelu Yanxi? Wasn't Yelu Yanxi right to lose to the Emperor?'

'You were so wanton last night—I suppose the Emperor conquered you.'

'I heard you were always cold and aloof beside Yelu Yanxi, yet now you're so submissive—the Emperor truly has skill…'

Zhang Chun's words sliced like sharp blades, peeling away layer after layer of Xiao Sese's pretense.

Xiao Sese could no longer hold it in. She sat up abruptly, furious: 'Kill me or whip me—do as you please! But can you please stop humiliating me?!'

Zhang Chun chuckled: 'It depends on what you do.'

Xiao Sese glared at Zhang Chun.

Zhang Chun smiled and asked: 'You want to kill me?'

Though Zhang Chun's phrasing was odd, Xiao Sese understood her meaning clearly.

To be honest, Xiao Sese truly wanted to say, 'Yes, I do want to kill you.'

But the words stuck in her throat. Unsure of what to do next, she turned her head away—neither admitting nor denying.

Zhang Chun thought, 'A dog bites Lü Dongbin—he doesn't recognize good intentions,' but aloud she said: 'Since you can't sleep anyway, help me with something.'

Xiao Sese pretended not to hear.

Seeing this, Zhang Chun spoke bluntly: 'The move you made last night—with your knees together or hip-width apart, hands shoulder-width apart, thighs perpendicular to the ground—that's called the Cat Pose, or Great Cat Pose. That position…'

Here, Zhang Chun began to drool.

Clearly, Zhang Chun's claim that pregnant women crave such things more than ordinary women was based on personal experience.

Xiao Sese could no longer bear it. She gritted her teeth: 'Fine! I'll help you!!'

Without waiting for Zhang Chun to speak further, Xiao Sese scrambled out of bed, terrified Zhang Chun would expose more of her secrets.

Immediately, several maids approached to groom and dress Xiao Sese, then helped her into a brand-new Zhao Song palace gown.

Zhang Chun studied her for a moment, then concluded: 'You look better in your Khitan imperial consort attire.'

Then, muttering to herself, she added: 'We must get the envoys to claim your use—uniform seduction is your advantage.'

Xiao Sese had no idea what 'uniform seduction' meant, but she instinctively felt it couldn't be good—Zhang Chun was probably plotting against her again.

Zhang Chun took Xiao Sese to eat a pregnancy meal specially prepared for her and Li Lin.

Then, Zhang Chun brought Xiao Sese to the place where she usually helped Zhao Yu handle memorials.

Zhang Chun said to Xiao Sese: "For the time being, you will assist me and Lady Li in reviewing memorials here."

Li Chun heard this, pulled out a stack of less important memorials and handed them to Xiao Sese, then taught her how to annotate them.

Xiao Sese did not want to do it, so Zhang Chun again threatened her with Xiao Sese's behavior from last night.

Xiao Sese was a woman who cared about her reputation—how could she possibly outmatch Zhang Chun, this female ruffian? She could only obediently accept Zhang Chun's training.

At first, Xiao Sese was truly forced by Zhang Chun.

But as she annotated more and more, Xiao Sese realized that having something to do meant she didn't have to dwell on those troubling matters.

—Xiao Sese had also considered whether to disrupt the Zhao-Song dynasty, but all the memorials she annotated were trivial matters concerning people's livelihood; and after she finished, Zhang Chun personally inspected them—so any sabotage would be meaningless and impossible.

Xiao Sese thought to herself, 'Let's just observe how things unfold…'

…

Though Zhao Yu appeared heartless last night as he enjoyed his spoils, in truth, his tension was no less than Yelu Yanxi's.

Otherwise, Zhao Yu would not have chosen four more girls to continue with after seeing Xiao Sese pushed to her limit by him.

The truth was, Zhao Yu also feared the horse handover today might go poorly.

Put it this way.

If Yelu Yanxi and his ministers today hand over the horses, Zhao Yu will not only secure a brilliant victory but also control the subsequent developments.

But if Yelu Yanxi and his ministers choose to resist desperately or attempt a desperate breakout from Yanjing City, then not only is Zhao Yu's victory no longer guaranteed, but the course of events afterward might spiral out of control.

There's no way around it.

Once Yelu Yanxi and his ministers refuse Zhao Yu's toast, Zhao Yu can only force them to drink the punishment cup—that is, permit the Song army to breach Yanjing City; otherwise, where is Zhao Yu's imperial authority?

The trouble is, once the Song army breaches Yanjing City or Yelu Yanxi and his ministers break out from within, slaughter and chaos are inevitable.

At that point, the hatred between Song and Liao will become irreconcilable, perhaps like the Southern Song and Jin eras—unyielding to the death, even if a powerful enemy capable of destroying both nations arises, it still cannot resolve this hatred.

In such a scenario, even if the Jin rise in the northeast, Song and Liao will keep fighting each other until one is utterly annihilated, then unified by Jin—or later, the Mongols.

Zhao Yu truly did not want things to develop this way.

Crucially, Zhao Yu was not yet ready to sweep across the grasslands. He still needed to survive another ten or eight years—at least three or five.

So Zhao Yu only hoped Yelu Yanxi and his ministers would show some wisdom and not shut the door completely on both nations.

Precisely because he carried such concerns in his heart, this night felt especially long to Zhao Yu.

To endure this long night, Zhao Yu focused all his attention on Xiao Sese and the four girls until he emptied his mind and fell asleep.

After rising early, under Li Lin's accompaniment, Zhao Yu practiced "Prisoner Fitness" and "Yoga" for another hour.

Then Su Zhe came to report: "Your Majesty, I personally ascended the hot air balloon and used the long-range lens—I saw the Liao gather their horses on the Imperial Street, with few soldiers present; they appear ready to hand over the horses to our court."

Zhao Yu's heart eased slightly, then he instructed Su Zhe: "Prepare for the possibility that the Liao may turn hostile again, but also strictly restrain our own troops—do not let them commit atrocities."

Su Zhe understood: too many people in the Zhao-Song court wanted war; it was impossible to guarantee none among them would resort to extremes to gain promotion or reward.

To be honest, Su Zhe deeply admired Zhao Yu—even he had not expected that with such favorable circumstances, Zhao Yu could still maintain such unwavering strategic composure.

Su Zhe thought to himself, 'Our Great Song shall flourish!'

Outwardly, Su Zhe continued his report: "The Junior Tutor Han has personally taken command of the Pacification Office and dispatched Li Chuwen, Zhao Liangsi, and Lü Yihao—steady men who understand Liao customs—to oversee the horse handover; I expect no complications…"

…

Though the Song army did not attack the city last night, that did not mean they did nothing.

In fact, last night the Song army had worked through the night to construct numerous artillery platforms, dig deep trenches, and set up many spiked obstacles at every city gate, further tightening military control over Yanjing City to prevent its inhabitants from panicking.

Additionally, last night Li Chun entered the city and ordered Xiao Fengxian to have all ramps leading from the outer city gates to the city towers demolished, preventing Yanjing's soldiers and civilians from ascending the walls.

Fearing another person like Xiao Gan or Yelu Dashi might sabotage the peace talks, Xiao Fengxian promptly accepted the Zhao-Song court's "suggestion," sending men to destroy all such ramps; and as a precaution, he even ordered the massive gate valves of seven city gates—except Tianmen Gate—to be lowered, cutting off any possibility of escape from Yanjing City, demonstrating Liao's sincerity in seeking peace.

Just before the hour of Chen, the Song army went on full alert: the Divine Mechanism Forward Army and Divine Mechanism Rear Army, along with over a dozen light and heavy cavalry units, gathered before Tianmen Gate, strengthening vigilance and closely monitoring movements within the city.

Yet despite both Song and Liao making ample preparations, a sudden incident occurred just before the horse handover.

Around the hour of Mao, rumors suddenly spread through the city that Xiao Gan and Yelu Dashi planned to lead Yelu Yanxi in a breakout; Zhao Yu, upon hearing this, flew into a rage and prepared to send troops inside to massacre.

Thus, another chaos began.

People in Yanjing City rushed from the inner city to the outer city, seeking refuge.

Some Liao ruffians and deserters took advantage of the chaos, changing into Han clothing, donning the headbands and futou favored by the Song, some even wearing Song military uniforms, impersonating Song soldiers to rob, kill, and even break into homes to seize women.

The trouble was, these Liao men killed several Zhao-Song officials who had entered the city with Li Chun.

Even as these Zhao-Song officials cried out in their final moments, "We came to promote peace, to save your lives—do not kill us!" the rioting Liao ignored them and slaughtered them on the spot, then continued their rampage.

One Zhao-Song clerk, by quickly feigning death, escaped the massacre and ran to report the incident to Li Chun.

Li Chun was both shocked and furious; he sent the clerk back to relay the news while personally going to confront Xiao Fengxian.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fengxian was utterly terrified; he immediately dispatched Xiao Bodi and Liu Yanzong to explain to the Zhao-Song court and prevent them from launching a city-wide purge.

At the same time, Xiao Fengxian immediately sent men to capture those who had killed the Zhao-Song officials, hoping to give the Zhao-Song court some form of reparation.

In the midst of this chaos, where could one possibly find the men who killed the Zhao-Song officials? Currently, countless people in Yanjing City were rioting, killing and looting; many high-ranking Liao nobles, scholar-gentry, wealthy clans, and merchant magnates had already been plundered.

In the end, Xiao Fengxian had thousands arrested, beheaded, and their heads sent to the Zhao-Song court, claiming these were the men who killed the officials—unrelated to the Liao state.

But this happened a day later.

Before the hour of Chen, the news had already been reported up the chain and reached Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu first issued an edict to bury these officials who died for the state with great honor, then summoned Xiao Bodi and Liu Yanzong and said: "When a state falls, chaos follows—it is natural. Do not blame the leaders; proceed with the normal handover."

With Zhao Yu's words, the horse handover between the Zhao-Song and Liao courts proceeded normally, undisturbed by this sudden incident…

…

(End of Chapter)