Chapter 300: The Unfinished Catastrophe: A Dream Left in the Liao Palace

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Yelu Yanxi had only one Empress and three Imperial Consorts in his life: Empress Xiao Xiao Duoli Lan, Consort De Xiao Shigu, Consort Wen Seeing Xiao Sese, and Consort Yuan Xiao Guige.

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

But since Yelu Yanxi preferred hunting and enjoyed the thrill of the chase more than indulging in women, most of these concubines never received his favor, and almost none bore him children.

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

In Liao, or among the Hu Ren, the system made a clear distinction between Imperial Consorts and concubines.

Consorts belonged to the category of "wife," their status close to that of the Empress, and they were the Emperor's formal spouses; concubines belonged to the category of "mistress," subordinate to the principal wife, not formal spouses.

Consorts held clear titles and corresponding ceremonial privileges, could participate in certain court rituals, and their families gained elevated status; concubines received lower treatment, usually lacked independent titles or real power, 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 fewer chances of inheritance.

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

Xiao Shigu had died nine years ago, heartbroken after her son, Prince Yan Yelu Talu, died in infancy.

Seeing Xiao Sese had been seized by Zhao Yu.

Today, the two most important women in Yelu Yanxi's harem were Empress Xiao Xiao Duoli Lan and Consort Yuan Xiao Guige.

Facing total encirclement by Song troops, Xiao Xiao Duoli Lan and Xiao Guige led all Liao women in surrendering to the Song army.

To Xiao Xiao Duoli Lan 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 allowed to ride in covered carriages.

Excluding Yelu Ya and Yelu Yuliyan, Yelu Yanxi had five sons and four daughters: eldest son, Prince Zhao Yelu Xinieli; second son, Prince Liang Yelu Yali; fourth son, Prince Jin Yelu Ao; fifth son, Prince Qin Yelu Ding; sixth son, Prince Xu Yelu Ning; second daughter, Yelu Guyu; third daughter, Yelu Woliyan; fifth daughter, Yelu Da Aoye; sixth daughter, Yelu Ci Aoye.

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 Xiao Duoli Lan had never borne Yelu Yanxi a single child, she had long since 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 Xiao Duoli Lan not been Xiao Guige's own elder sister, and had Xiao Guige not been so calm, uncompetitive, and supremely virtuous, Xiao Guige would surely have become 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 Seeing 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 "calamity beauty" is entirely justified.

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

Xiao Guige herself had never done a single evil thing.

In fact, Xiao Guige was not merely a good woman—she was exceptionally kind and extraordinarily generous.

——Once, while napping, Xiao Guige noticed a servant sneak into her chamber to steal her beloved sable fur; though she saw it, she did not summon guards to catch him.

In short, although Xiao Xiao Duoli Lan 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 state.

First, had she, like Seeing Xiao Sese, frequently advised Yelu Yanxi to attend to state affairs instead of indulging his obsession with hunting, might he not have become so foolish, and might Liao not have fallen into such ruin?

Second, Seeing Xiao Fengxian was her brother; had Yelu Yanxi not been so enamored with her, he would not have trusted Seeing Xiao Fengxian so utterly, allowing him to commit so many crimes against the state and people.

Also, had she supported Yelu Ao's claim to the Crown Prince position instead of entertaining thoughts of making her own son, Yelu Ding, heir, perhaps Yelu Yanxi and Seeing Xiao Fengxian would not have driven Yelu Yudu into rebellion, and Liao's situation might not have deteriorated so rapidly.

Out of guilt, the not-very-strong Xiao Guige forced herself to grow stronger, 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 these Liao women, and could focus entirely on negotiating with Zhao Yu to secure the greatest possible rights for Liao.

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

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

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; others were daughters or wives of other royal clan members or noble families.

All these Liao women in the tent, young and old, were exceptionally beautiful—especially Xiao Xiao Duoli Lan, Xiao Guige, Yelu Woliyan, Yelu Da Aoye, Yelu Ci Aoye, and over a dozen other Liao beauties, whose beauty could truly be called "heavenly grace."