Chapter 334: The Mistake Made in Youth

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Zhao Yu's prestige had already been at its zenith; after completing the great unification and defeating the Jin Kingdom in triumph, his reputation naturally became unmatched among all emperors of the Song Dynasty, and perhaps even surpassed Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song, in prestige.

This is about prestige, not contribution.

Zhao Kuangyin was the founding monarch of Great Song; without him, there would be no Zhao family's two-century reign. Like Liu Bang, who rose from a commoner, raised rebellion by slaying a serpent amid chaos, endured countless hardships, overthrew the tyrannical Qin, defeated Xiang Yu, and established the Han Dynasty, laying the foundation for four centuries of Han glory.

For this reason alone, no matter how vast a territory Zhao Yu conquered or how many times he expanded the Song's borders, his contribution to the Song could never rival Zhao Kuangyin's—just as Liu Che, this mighty Han ruler, expanded territory and intimidated the Four Barbarians, elevating Han's prestige to unprecedented heights, yet in terms of foundational merit for the Han, he still could not be compared to Liu Bang.

But then again.

Zhao Kuangyin seized his throne from the orphaned widow of the Chai family; though he reclaimed the fragmented regimes of Nanping, Wuping, Later Shu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang, during his reign he still faced political constraints from the "heir-apparent" faction led by Zhao Guangyi, former Later Zhou officials, generals holding military power, and remnants of regional separatist forces.

Zhao Yu, by contrast, has achieved immense military merit—recovering Qing Tang, recovering Xi Xia, recovering Yan Yun, and decisively defeating the Jin Kingdom—combined with fifteen years of civil governance that brought prosperity to the people, and he has crushed every political faction threatening him.

In sheer prestige alone, Zhao Kuangyin should be inferior to Zhao Yu.

Otherwise, Zhao Kuangyin could not have failed even to move the capital, whereas Zhao Yu, though absent from court, merely issued an imperial decree and the Song Dynasty prepared to relocate its capital.

Just how high is Zhao Yu's prestige right now?

Put it this way: even if he now wished to take his two widowed imperial consorts, Meng Xiang and Liu Qingjing, as his own imperial concubines, he could still accomplish it—worst case, he'd face only moral condemnation, such as comparisons to Li Shimin taking his brother's wife Yang after the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Of course, Zhao Yu still values his reputation; unless absolutely necessary, he truly does not wish to bear such a stain.

Moreover, Zhao Yu isn't even afraid of such a stain—did Qin Shi Huang, Han Wu Di, Tang Zong, or Song Zu lack flaws? Who among them was morally perfect?

In truth, all this is because there is one matter Zhao Yu has concealed for over a decade, and it now risks exposure.

Here is how it happened.

The first thing Zhao Yu did upon returning victorious to the capital was to perform the ancestral temple rite.

This was the most essential ceremony required after a great victory.

That is, Zhao Yu went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple (where the imperial ancestors were enshrined), and through offerings and recitation of sacrificial texts, he detailed the course and outcomes of the war—including captives and spoils—to his ancestors, and thanked them for their protection.

The ancestral temple rite was a mandatory ritual for major imperial events (such as accession, great victories, or crown prince designation), embodying the principle of "revering Heaven and honoring ancestors."

Additionally, important war spoils—such as enemy banners, weapons, and captives—were displayed before the ancestral temple as tangible proof of victory, further glorifying martial achievements before the ancestors.

The Song Dynasty always placed utmost importance on ritual; the procedures, offerings, and formats of sacrificial texts for ancestral rites were strictly regulated, and the post-victory ancestral rite followed texts like the Tai Chang Yin Ge Li, both solemn and effective in reinforcing imperial authority and clan cohesion.

The emperor's most vital duties were "sacrifice" and "governance."

Sacrifice embodied the emperor's legitimacy as "mandated by Heaven"; through rites to Heaven and ancestors, he demonstrated the divine connection between imperial power and Heaven and ancestors, forming the core of his "divine authority";

Governance, meanwhile, was the emperor's concrete exercise of secular rule—formulating state policy, managing officials, pacifying the people, and maintaining territorial stability—constituting the core of his "political authority."

The two complemented each other, jointly forming the emperor's dual core mission of "divine mandate" and "state administration," especially in the ritual-conscious Song Dynasty, where sacrifice and governance were indispensable twin duties of the sovereign.

Thus, even Zhao Yu could not afford to neglect this matter, not even slightly.

So, upon his return, Zhao Yu held a grand ancestral rite and displayed over a thousand captives—including Empress Qinxian of Wanyan Aguda, Shi Jingtang—before the ancestral temple.

Of course, these women were now Zhao Yu's own; he certainly did not perform humiliating rituals like the "leading sheep ceremony."

Empress Qinxian of Wanyan Aguda and the other captured Jin women were merely paraded as a formality; Zhao Yu then allowed them to return to the harem.

Zhao Yu was not concerned with this matter.

Rather, during the ancestral rite, Empress Yuan You, Meng Xiang, and Empress Yuanfu, Liu Qingjing, were both present.

During the ceremony, Liu Qingjing subtly gave Zhao Yu a glance.

Zhao Yu knew she was signaling him to come to her.

But this woman had already caused him considerable trouble; he truly did not wish to deal with her, so he pretended not to see her.

When Zhao Yu returned to the palace that night, a stunning young woman blocked his path.

This woman, with her 170cm slender frame and classical Eastern bone structure, set the upper limit of beauty in Zhao Yu's harem—her face combined the lingering emptiness of court lady paintings with the refined artistry of porcelain: a standard oval face framed by phoenix-like glass-colored eyes, a camel-hump nose adding masculine vigor to her softness, and petal lips with a subtly upturned philtrum carrying the ink-wash brushstrokes of a thousand-year-old painting.

Put simply, her beauty could certainly rank among the top three in Zhao Yu's harem—and was certainly not third.

She was Liu Shi, the fourth empress of Zhao Ji in history, the Mingjie Empress; she also had a more famous name—"Little Liu Consort."

—In history, Liu Mingjie and the Great Liu Consort, Zhao Yu's virtuous consort Liu Mingda, were known as the "Great and Little Liu Consorts." Another account claims they outshone all other women in Zhao Ji's harem.

Liu Mingjie was born into a commoner family; at age ten, she was selected in a beauty contest and entered the palace to serve Liu Qingjing in Chong'en Palace, becoming Liu Qingjing's meticulously trained personal maid, later adopted as her daughter.

—In history, after Liu Qingjing was ordered to die by Zhao Ji, all her maids were released, but Liu Mingjie refused to return to her impoverished home; instead, she lodged with a eunuch surnamed He, waiting for opportunity. Later, the Chief Eunuch Yang Jian, seeing Liu Mingjie's beauty, recommended her to Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji immediately took a liking to her and made her a Cairen. Liu Mingjie was not only beautiful but also intelligent, perceptive, and skillful. She excelled in cooking, often personally preparing small dishes for Zhao Ji. She could also tailor garments with novel designs, which were imitated throughout the palace and beyond. She gradually rose to the rank of Shu Fei. Daoist Priest Lin Lingsu, seeing her favor, flattered her by calling her "Jiu Hua Yu Zhen An Fei."

Originally, Liu Qingjing had intended to train Liu Mingjie to win Zhao Xu's affection, to counter challenges from other women in Zhao Xu's harem.

But before Liu Mingjie grew up, Zhao Xu died, never getting the chance to enjoy this peerless beauty.

After Zhao Xu's death, Zhao Yu inherited his throne.

At the same time, Zhao Yu inherited all the palace women Zhao Xu had never touched.

But this did not include two groups.

One group was the attendants serving Meng Xiang; the other was the attendants serving Liu Qingjing.

Precisely because of this, Liu Mingjie was not Zhao Yu's woman but remained serving Liu Qingjing in Chong'en Palace.

At that time, Zhao Yu had no shortage of women—well… frankly, Zhao Yu had never lacked women.

Zhao Yu certainly would not have remembered Liu Mingjie.

Logically, this meant Zhao Yu and Liu Mingjie might never have crossed paths.

But Zhao Yu avoided Liu Mingjie, while Liu Mingjie came to seek Zhao Yu.

It was fourteen years ago.

On that day, Zhao Yu had just returned from court.

As he passed through the imperial garden, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a woman of incomparable beauty.

This woman was naturally Liu Mingjie.

Though Zhao Yu had not even seen her full face at the time, based on his vast experience with women, he was certain Liu Mingjie was a beauty.

More importantly, the sudden thrill of encountering such an otherworldly beauty stirred his desire.

So Zhao Yu followed her.

Liu Mingjie twisted and turned, leading Zhao Yu to a very remote palace. Zhao Yu had never been to this palace before.