Chapter 300: Unfinished Disaster: The Liao Palace

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Emperor Yelu Yanxi had only one empress and three imperial consorts in his life: Empress Xiao Duolilan, De Fei Xiao Shigu, Wen Fei Xiao Sesè, and Yuan Fei Xiao Guige.

Of course, as emperor of the great Liao Empire, Yelu Yanxi certainly had other concubines.

But since Yelu Yanxi preferred hunting and the thrill of the chase over indulging in women, most of these concubines never received his favor, and the vast majority bore him no children.

—Many of them had already been sent to Zhao Yu by Wanyan Aguda as Liao beauties, to stir discord between Song and Liao.

In Liao, or among the Hu people, the status difference between consorts and concubines was vast.

Consorts belonged to the category of “wife,” holding status near that of the empress and serving as the emperor’s formal spouse; concubines belonged to the category of “mistress,” subordinate to the principal wife and not considered formal spouses.

Consorts held clear titles and corresponding ceremonial privileges, could participate in certain court rituals, and their families gained elevated status as a result; concubines received far lower treatment, typically lacked independent titles or real authority, and their families rarely received special favors.

Children born to consorts held higher status and were eligible to inherit the throne or noble titles; children born to concubines held lower status and had far smaller chances of succession.

In simple terms, many concubines were merely palace officials or maids in Yelu Yanxi’s harem, responsible for maintaining and operating the inner palace—insignificant, and not worth mentioning.

Xiao Shigu had died nine years earlier, heartbroken after her son, Prince Yan Yelatalu, died in infancy.

Xiao Sesè had been taken by Zhao Yu.

Today, the two most important women in Yelu Yanxi’s harem were Empress Xiao Duolilan and Yuan Fei Xiao Guige.

Facing total encirclement by the Song army, Xiao Duolilan and Xiao Guige led all Liao women in surrendering to the Song forces.

To Xiao Duolilan and Xiao Guige’s relief, Zhang Jun and his Song soldiers treated them with great courtesy, even providing them with numerous covered carts and wheeled carriages for transport.

In terms of food, lodging, and even freedom, Zhang Jun and his men showed these Liao women the utmost sincerity and convenience.

In contrast, the treatment of Liao men was far worse. The lucky ones with high status barely managed to ride on ox-carts; most had to walk on foot. Only Yelu Yanxi and his few sons were granted covered horse-drawn carriages.

Excluding Yelu Yabuli and Yelu Yuliyan, Yelu Yanxi had five sons and four daughters: eldest son, Prince Zhao Yelaxinlie; second son, Prince Liang Yelaya; fourth son, Prince Jin Yelao Luwan; fifth son, Prince Qin Yelading; sixth son, Prince Xu Yelining. His second daughter was Yelaguoyu, third daughter Yelawoliyan, fifth daughter Yeladao Ye, and sixth daughter Yelaci Ye.

All five sons and four daughters of Yelu Yanxi were captured by the Song army. Because Yuwen Xuzhong and his men had planned with foresight and seized the initiative, not a single member of Yelu Yanxi’s party escaped.

Notably, Yelu Yanxi’s youngest two sons and three daughters were all born to Xiao Guige.

This clearly shows how deeply favored Xiao Guige was by Yelu Yanxi.

Moreover, since Empress Xiao Duolilan had never borne Yelu Yanxi any children, she had long withdrawn from worldly affairs, entrusting all harem matters to Xiao Guige and devoting herself entirely to Buddhism.

Thus, Xiao Guige was the de facto ruler of Yelu Yanxi’s harem.

Had Xiao Duolilan not been Xiao Guige’s own elder sister, and had Xiao Guige not been so calm, uncompetitive, and exceptionally virtuous, Xiao Guige would surely have become Yelu Yanxi’s empress long ago.

This is no exaggeration.

Since Xiao Guige entered the palace, Yelu Yanxi had scarcely favored anyone else.

Precisely because of this, Yelu Yanxi blindly trusted Xiao Fengxian, who had presented Xiao Guige to him.

This became one of the reasons for Liao’s downfall.

From this perspective, calling Xiao Guige a “beauty who brings ruin” is entirely justified.

Of course, blaming women for failure is merely the excuse of useless men.

Xiao Guige herself had never done a single evil thing.

In fact, Xiao Guige was not merely not wicked—she was exceptionally kind and magnanimous.

—Once, while napping, Xiao Guige noticed a servant stealthily entering her chamber to steal her beloved sable fur coat; though she saw him, she did not summon guards to apprehend him.

In short, although Xiao Duolilan was Yelu Yanxi’s empress, Xiao Guige was in truth the leader of these Liao women.

Xiao Guige was not a particularly strong woman, but she felt she bore great responsibility for Liao’s current plight.

First, had she, like Xiao Sesè, frequently advised Yelu Yanxi to attend to state affairs rather than indulging his obsession with hunting, might he not have grown so foolish, and might Liao not have fallen into such ruin?

Second, Xiao Fengxian was her brother; had Yelu Yanxi not been so enamored with her, he would never have trusted Xiao Fengxian so utterly, allowing him to commit so many crimes against the state and people.

Also, had she supported Yelao Luwan as crown prince instead of entertaining the idea of making her own son Yelading heir, perhaps Yelu Yanxi and Xiao Fengxian would not have driven Yelu Yudu into rebellion, and Liao’s situation might not have collapsed so swiftly.

Out of guilt, the not-very-strong Xiao Guige forced herself to grow resolute, temporarily managing the harem so Yelu Yanxi would not have to worry about these Liao women.

Now that they were all captured by the Song army, Xiao Guige felt she must grow even stronger, so Yelu Yanxi would not be distracted by their plight, and could focus entirely on negotiating with Zhao Yu to secure the greatest possible benefits for Liao.

Thus, after gathering her shattered emotions and suppressing her fears for the future, Xiao Guige entered Yelu Yanxi’s former palace tent.

This tent, also called the Golden Tent, was vast enough to hold thousands. Such tents were large, lavishly decorated, mounted on massive carts, and transported entirely by vehicle.

After seizing Yelu Yanxi’s palace tent, Zhang Jun consulted with others and assigned it to the group of Liao women.

At this moment, over three hundred Liao women gathered in the tent’s main hall.

Some were Yelu Yanxi’s concubines, some were consorts of his sons, some were his four daughters, and others were daughters or wives of other royal clan members or noble families.

All these Liao women, young and old, were strikingly beautiful—especially Xiao Duolilan, Xiao Guige, Yelawoliyan, Yeladao Ye, Yelaci Ye, and over a dozen other Liao beauties, whose grace could rightly be called “heavenly beauty.”