Xia Emperor Li Qianshun was waiting for his concubine Cao, and when he was about to come to see him, he was in a state of confusion...
Before Cao's arrival, he ordered his eunuch to fetch two small bottles of the powerful poison - Jiudu Powder - that he had collected for many years.
When he took the two sealed bottles of Jiu Du Powder from the eunuch, he immediately put them into his arms and waved the eunuch to leave.
He knew that the Jiu Du Powder he carried in his arms had been tested for its toxicity:
It only takes half a penny's worth of Jiu Du Powder to poison several cows and hundreds of death row prisoners when infiltrated into water or wine...
This Nine Poison Powder is a powder made by mixing and grinding the nine most poisonous poisons. They are:
Intestinal cordiale, poisonous poison, Aconitum aconite, arsenic powder, diamond powder, blood-throat sealing sap, oleander, Hedinghong (i.e., red letter stone powder), squamifera.
At this time, Li Qianshun was holding the two bottles of Nine Poison Powder in his arms, planning the timing of the poison in his heart, and his heart became even more confused.
In order to stabilize his mind, he also wanted to find a high-sounding reason for himself to make a cruel decision that was superficially humiliating but concealed a fatal counterattack;
He dipped his pen in ink and wrote the four sentences he had spoken to himself before on the rice paper on the Long Book Table.
"Beautiful women are as light as clothes, and the country is as heavy as mountains!"
"You can still buy clothes if you lose them, but you can't recover them if they collapse in a landslide!"
Li Qianshun was a Xixia emperor who admired Han culture, and his attainments in Sinology were very high.
However, he saw that the Chinese characters he wrote tonight were much worse than the calligraphy he had written before.
He knows that this should be the reason why he is so confused now, right?
…
"Your Majesty, Princess Cao has arrived and is listening to the announcement outside the palace..."
When Li Qianshun heard the shrill and piercing sound of the eunuch's voice, he hurriedly pulled out five or six blank sheets of rice paper and covered the words he had just written but the ink was still wet.
He stabilized his mind and said leisurely:
"Xuan Cao Princess enters the palace."
The eunuch who carried the order received the order and brought the imperial concubine Cao into the palace. He bowed wisely and exited the hall. He did not forget to gently close the door of the palace.
Princess Cao, who is eighteen years old this year, has a noble and elegant temperament.
He walked into the palace, knelt down and paid homage...
Every movement she makes, combined with her graceful figure, looks extremely graceful.
"Concubine, I would like to pay my respects to Your Majesty..."
Li Qianshun was worried, his voice was hoarse and low, and he said:
"My beloved concubine, please come to me."
Mr. Cao nodded slightly, stood up and walked to Li Qianshun's dragon chair, where he stood in a pavilion.
She asked with a smile: "Your Majesty, you have never summoned your concubines in the court hall. Tonight, Your Majesty made an exception. Is there something important?"
When Li Qianshun faced the question from the young and beautiful Princess Cao, he just forced a smile out of embarrassment and nodded slightly.
Then, he stared at Mrs. Cao without blinking, fearing that if he took less of a look now, he would never see such an intelligent and virtuous beauty again.
Li Qianshun saw that his beloved concubine Cao was exuding charming charm in every move she made.
Her smile is like the spring sunshine, warm and bright, making people enchanted.
Mr. Cao's face is exquisitely beautiful, with eyebrows like a crescent moon, eyes like autumn waves, a straight and beautiful nose, and lips as red as cherries.
Her skin was as white as snow, as if it could be broken by a blow.
Her eyes are particularly bright, as if they contain a sea of stars, which is unforgettable at first sight.
Li Qianshun stared at Concubine Cao, as if he saw a noble peony flower blooming in the land of Xixia. The beauty of the country is heavenly and the fragrance is overwhelming.
Her beauty lies not only in her snow-like skin and bright eyes, but also in her graceful temperament and calm demeanor.
Every movement and smile she made seemed like the fairy described in the poem, which made Li Qianshun feel love and pity in his heart...
Li Qianshun reluctantly held Princess Cao's hand and asked in a hoarse voice:
"My dear concubine, how many years have you been in the palace?"
Princess Cao replied softly:
"My concubine entered the palace at the age of fourteen, and it has been four years and six months since then."
"Alas!" Li Qianshun sighed and said:
"Four years ago, thanks to Princess Cheng'an for praising you in front of me for the six months since you served Princess Cheng'an, you have never neglected anything in your daily life..."
"Princess Cheng'an also recommends you to me: you are beautiful and dignified, gentle and chaste, and you can use etiquette and adapt to your will. Also, because you are the granddaughter of Cao Mian, the gatekeeper of our Great Xia Kingdom. Therefore, Princess Cheng'an advises me, Take you into the harem..."
Princess Cao snuggled next to Li Qianshun and listened quietly to Emperor Xia's rambling words.
She naturally knew that the Princess Cheng'an Li Qianshun was referring to was Yelu Nanxian, the current queen of Daxia.
As early as the early years of Qiantong, Xia Emperor Li Qianshun repeatedly requested the Liao Kingdom to marry a princess...
At that time, Yelu Yanxi, Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao Kingdom, conferred the title of Princess Cheng'an on his daughter Yelu Nanxian. She married the Xia Emperor Li Qianshun in Renshen in March of the fifth year of Qiantong.
Li Qianshun made Yelu Nanxian his queen.
From then on, Li Qianshun liked to follow the example of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty in calling Empress Changsun Guanyin's maid. He did not directly call Yelu Nanxian the queen, but preferred to call her "Princess Cheng'an".
"Alas!" Li Qianshun felt unhappy and sighed as he said:
"It's a pity that I only named you a talented person because of Princess Cheng'an's face. Also because you were still young at that time, I did not favor you at that time."
"Fortunately, Huang Tian lived up to my expectations!"
"I will meet you in the palace this spring..."
"I regret: I let the Pearl live in dust for more than three years..."
"Alas..." Li Qianshun sighed again. At this point, he did not say any more. Endless pain and reluctance arose in his heart.
Princess Cao listened to the sadness revealed in Emperor Xia's words, and then related what she had heard recently:
'The Emperor of the Song Dynasty personally marched and led hundreds of thousands of troops to capture Xijing City, the capital of the Xia Kingdom...'
Beautiful and intelligent, she already understood why the Xia Emperor Li Qianshun, who was originally heroic, confident and optimistic, became sad.
However, she could not guess why Emperor Xia would make an exception and summon a woman like her into the court hall when Xia and Song were at war.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Even Queen Yelu Nanxian has never entered this hall where court meetings can be held!
Princess Cao knew that after Li Qianshun finally regained power from his mother Liang and his relatives at the age of sixteen, he had been guarding against interference in the harem and the dictatorship of his relatives...
At this time, Princess Cao could understand Emperor Xia's helplessness. She had never been involved in politics, and she did not dare to do so.
Now, she had no good way to worry about Emperor Xia's invasion of Song enemies. She could only find a way to comfort the emperor. She said with emotion:
"I would like to express my gratitude to your majesty for your attention and your recommendation to the empress. Only then will I be honored to be a female official in the palace and be canonized as a talented person by your majesty. This spring, I am fortunate to be favored by your majesty and be promoted to a concubine. I would like to express my gratitude to your majesty and the empress." Great kindness!”
"I swear: I will serve your Majesty and the Queen for life..."
Li Qianshun heard that his most beloved concubine, Cao, had sworn to serve him and the queen for life.
This was undoubtedly another heavy blow to his already reluctant and sad heart.
Li Qianshun's body trembled and he let go of his big hand holding Princess Cao's jade hand.
Xia Emperor Li Qianshun lamented in his heart:
'I thought I had found a confidante, Cao, who is knowledgeable, courteous, and extremely intelligent, and can be with me for the rest of my life!'
'Even before the enemies of the Song Dynasty invaded Daxia, I would favor Princess Cao more than ten times a month.'
‘I originally thought: If I, the talented and powerful, and the intelligent and beautiful Princess Cao can give birth to a son, he will become a virtuous and capable prince of the Great Xia Kingdom when he grows up...'
He looked lovingly at Concubine Cao, whom he loved deeply...
"Alas!" Li Qianshun sighed, feeling extremely aggrieved and secretly sighing:
'My beloved concubine Cao Shi is so beautiful and virtuous, but I was forced to send her to the Song camp?! To become the plaything of the dog emperor Zhao Ji of the Song Dynasty?!'
‘Destiny, why does it play tricks on me like this?!’
"well……"
Princess Cao listened to Li Qianshun's long sighs. He guessed that Emperor Xia must be worried about the Song army's invasion of Xia, but she really couldn't guess what this would have to do with her.
She comforted and said: "Your Majesty, please pay attention to the dragon body! Xia and Song Dynasty have fought many times, and every time the Song army won first and then suffered a major defeat..."
Li Qianshun waved his hand and said with a lonely expression:
"This time, the dog emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji, personally invaded our country and invaded our country. This is very different from the past!"
"Alas! I have something to ask of my beloved concubine!"
"well!"
"Alas...it's really hard for me to say this!"
Princess Cao was extremely confused, but she replied firmly:
"Although I am a female prostitute, it is only because of your majesty's favor that I have the honor and favor I have today!!"
"I am willing to share your worries and solve your problems for Your Majesty, and I would rather die!"
Li Qianshun looked at the firm look on Princess Cao's pretty face and listened to her loyal words. He felt very ashamed of the peerless beauty he loved.
However, Emperor Xia Li Qianshun was a monarch who loved beauty more than the country. He was ruthless, talented and strategic, and dared to use thunderbolt methods.
He succeeded to the throne at the age of three and proclaimed himself the emperor. More than twenty years ago, when he was still a puppet boy of sixteen, he was able to destroy his mother, the Waiwei Liang family, and rule by himself. For the sake of imperial power, he killed many of his own people. My uncle, in order to stabilize the imperial power, he can be hard-hearted.
Now, Li Qianshun faced successive victories against the Song armies led by the Song Emperor himself. Facing the danger that the Great Xia Kingdom might be destroyed, what could he do if he sacrificed his beloved concubine?
Li Qianshun gritted his teeth and lowered his head...
His eyes were dull, looking at the rice paper on the Long Book Table. With his aggrieved, angry, and guilty eyes, he didn't dare to look at Concubine Cao at all.
He spoke leisurely:
"I am here today to summon our envoys from the Great Xia Kingdom who have returned from a mission to the Song camp to discuss peace."
Princess Cao knew better that Emperor Xia Li Qianshun didn't like the harem's involvement in politics. She originally wanted to listen quietly to Emperor Xia's talk about state affairs, but when Emperor Xia reached this point, he stopped talking. He paused for a long time.
Li Qianshun wanted to wait for Princess Cao to answer before he had the nerve to continue.
However, his purpose was not achieved.
"Ahem!" Li Qianshun coughed dryly, lowering his head and not daring to look at Princess Cao, and asked:
"My beloved concubine, don't you want to ask me? Did the incompetent peace envoys I sent bring back any news?"
"I dare not interfere in state affairs!"
"I, my concubine, obey your Majesty's instructions: 'The harem is not allowed to inquire into the state affairs of the court, nor is it allowed to interfere in politics'!"
"Alas!" Li Qianshun sighed again and had to think about himself, saying:
"My dear concubine, I will make an exception tonight. You can listen to me talk about the state affairs of the court!"
"Because, the summer envoy I sent brought back the shameless peace negotiation conditions of Zhao Ji, the Dog Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and some of them concern you, my beloved concubine!"
"Ah?!" The beautiful and intelligent Princess Cao was extremely surprised. The doubts in her heart were no less than the black clouds that were pressing down on the city before a heavy rain fell in the sky outside the palace...
………
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