Walking through a wooden door, Asari bypassed the screen decorated with embroidered silk and saw Zhu Gaoxu, wearing a black veil and a red robe.

There were several large wooden shelves with all kinds of books, boxes, scrolls, and a pair of shelves full of porcelain and antiques. On the way, Asari lived in villages and military tents, and she didn't feel anything special; Now that she has arrived in Beiping, in such a mansion, she has seen something completely different from the grassland. Probably only people who settled in towns would place such intricate furnishings in their homes.

Asari bowed to Zhu Gaoxu before saying, "Meet His Majesty the Emperor." ”

"There's a stool in front of you, just sit down." Zhu Gaoxu said casually.

As he spoke, he gently folded the paper full of words in front of him, as if he didn't want Asari to see it. She glanced at it curiously, and soon found a fine white porcelain bowl on the table, placed on top of a neatly folded piece of silk, and in the small porcelain bowl was a large bowl of orange-red soup, the color was bright and clean, and it was very beautiful to match the white porcelain.

Probably because women are born to notice some details, Asari also noticed that Zhu Gaoxu's skin had traces of wind and sun, but the clothes on her body were indeed neat and clean, and they were spotless. This is probably what the Ming people pay attention to, which makes Asari feel a little strange.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't ask her why, so Asari had to take the initiative to ask, "Why doesn't Your Majesty let us go north?" ”

"Don't be impatient, you still have to stay for a while." Zhu Gaoxu replied.

Asari was a little worried, as early as in Shandong, she didn't quite believe that Zhu Gaoxu would let her and the Mongol prince go so easily. Now that they are in Beiping, they continue to be detained, and she finally couldn't help it, and blurted out the question in her heart: "What does Your Majesty want?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu did not respond, his eyes looked at the desktop, as if thinking about something. Asari felt that this burly man had a lot of thoughts, and was very calm, as if he was thinking about it at any time.

Asari said, "How can I let us go, and what can I give you in return?" She still had a hard time speaking Chinese, and she would make some gestures as she spoke, and when she expressed herself, she pressed her hand to her chest. Her plump and beautiful figure filled many people who had seen her with longing. Sure enough, Zhu Gaoxu's gaze also followed her gestures, and his expression seemed to be imagining the sense of touch.

"In our hometown, if a woman is captured, it is likely that she will not be able to return unscathed." Asari further hinted at Zhu Gaoxu, and when she said this, she felt a little hot on her face.

Zhu Gaoxu must have understood what she meant, and his eyes seemed to be tempting.

After a moment, he suddenly let out a long breath and said quietly: "You said that Benjari sweated, and I don't think it's good. ”

Asari's face turned redder, "If Your Majesty can agree to release the little prince, there is nothing wrong with that. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I promised that I would definitely let you go back, but I had to wait for a while." ”

"Really?" Asari asked.

Zhu Gaoxu calmed down a lot, and his tone was much calmer, "What I have said is rarely counted. Besides, I didn't have much use for you to stay, so it wouldn't be a problem to let you go. ”

Asari didn't quite understand Zhu's words. She, the former Khan's concubine, may not be very important, but the little prince is the son of Benyali Khan, and like the Nawarats, they did not hesitate to use troops twice to capture the little prince.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at her, seemed to understand her thoughts, and then said: "The little prince can't inherit the Mongol Great Khan, and the Great Khan who supports Arutai after should be Adai, the leader of the Horqin Tribe." ”

Asari was very surprised, shook her head and said, "Adai is not a descendant of Benyali Khan, and he is not a descendant of Kublai Khan. Unless the prince cannot return to the steppe, the throne of Khan should not be Adai's. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "None of this is important, the important thing is that the Horqin tribe is powerful among the Tatar tribes, and it has increasingly become the most important ally of the Asuth tribe. Arutai supported the Korqin chieftains at this time, both to consolidate such an alliance and to unite the forces of the Tatar tribes, and even to rely on the Korqin tribes to expand eastward, intending to annex the Uliangha Sanwei. ”

Asari fell silent, she felt that Zhu Gaoxu had some point.

Zhu Gaoxu's voice said again: "Since Concubine Khan is in it, she should understand these things." So what good is it for me to detain the Mongol prince? ”

Asari was in a tangled mood, frowned and looked at Zhu Gaoxu and said, "Then why hasn't Your Majesty let people go so far?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu was quiet for a while, looking thoughtful. He finally raised his head and said, "I still have to send someone to canonize Arutai as king." With the Tatars unreasonably killing the envoys, I don't want to send people to send them to death easily, so let you stay for a while, so that Arutai can have a lot of rat traps. ”

Asari blurted out, "If my eldest brother kills the envoy, what will happen to us?" ”

"There is no end, the slaughter of women and children has no effect, it is better to start a war if I want to retaliate." Zhu Gaoxu said, "It's true that you can't blackmail Arutai, but there is no other way at the moment, so let's just leave it at that." Don't worry too much. ”

Asari breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My eldest brother won't leave us alone. ”

"Really?" Zhu Gaoxu suddenly asked coldly.

Asari said: "I am his own sister, the little prince is his nephew, the son of Ben Yali Khan, and what is the use of the eldest brother killing the Ming envoy, why do you do it?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said calmly: "Judging from the previous events, Arutai may not care about your life or death, let alone the little prince. ”

Asari was unhappy and said, "Is Your Majesty dividing us?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Asari with strange eyes, "If Arutai really cares about the little prince, how could there be a previous conspiracy?" He wanted to provoke a war between Warat and the Ming Dynasty, leading the Warats to attack the remnants of the Tatars; Once the Warats succeeded, the son of Benyari Khan would surely die, and how could Arutai not think of it? ”

Asari pondered for a moment and then argued, "As Your Majesty deduced earlier, the distance between Dehuochi and Arutai is thousands of miles, and they cannot communicate with each other. When he leaked the news of the little prince to the Warats, Arutai probably thought it was just a ploy. ”

She didn't know why she was so serious, and tried very hard to explain, "I mean, Arutai doesn't think that I really gave birth to Benjari's sweating child, he thinks that all this is just fake news released by the Prime Minister.

My eldest brother, Arutai, knows me well, I'm not a casual woman, and I'm not officially married to Benjari Khan, so it's unlikely that I actually have a child of Khan. Arutai didn't know that the Great Khan was very kind to me and touched me. ”

"I understand what Concubine Khan means." Zhu Gaoxu said.

He then said quietly: "The Warat people first did not hesitate to attack the king of Hamiwei Zhongshun (the king of Mongol Su), and then transferred troops to attack for a long distance without hesitating to offend the Ming Dynasty. If the news of the fire is false, how can the Warats be convinced? ”

Asari forcibly argued, "How could the eldest brother guess so many things? ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I believe in Arutai's resourcefulness very much. The conspiracy he had previously discussed with Dehuo Chi, as well as the strategy of eastward expansion in recent years, I did not dare to despise his mind. ”

As he spoke, his eyes caressed Asari's face, and he seemed to see that Asari was a little hurt in her heart, so she said, "Concubine Khan doesn't have to care too much, just get used to it." This is generally the case where the power of a country is at stake. ”

Asari was in a bit of a trance and asked, "What?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu took a breath and muttered, "Probably ...... Not very emotional. After all, in the face of generations of wealth and pleasure, some things will not be as important as usual. ”

Asari shook her head, "I believe that everyone is different, and not everyone is like that. ”

Zhu Gaoxu was noncommittal. He said: "Concubine Khan is not my enemy, I don't have much to hide, I treat each other with sincerity. You don't have to think too much, you have to worry too much, and if you stay in Beiping for a while, someone will naturally escort you back to the Tatars. ”

Asari realized that there was a sense in the emperor's words that she did not want to continue talking. She didn't want to dwell too much, so she bowed and said goodbye immediately.

Walking over to the silk-covered screen, Asari couldn't help but look back again. Zhu Gaoxu was still sitting behind the bookcase, and at this time there was no one around him, and Asari suddenly felt that he gave people a sense of loneliness.

Recently, Asari met Zhu Gaoxu by chance, and felt that he was always thinking and often a little distracted. She didn't know what he was thinking, but she knew he was thinking something very profound and complicated, otherwise it wouldn't have been.

Thinking back to what had just happened, Asari was indeed only trying to do anything for her and the prince's safety; But if Zhu Gaoxu asked her just now, she was as enthusiastic as those Mongolian nobles who had seen her, and Asari suddenly woke up and was not disgusted.

Zhu Gaochu used her and forced Dehuo Chi to make mistakes, and Asari was very angry and vigilant for a while, but gradually, she began to accept Zhu Gaochu again. Underneath his frightening calm, the woman felt uncontrollably complex; And the gentle words and the compassionate look in her eyes convinced Asari that he might indeed have some deep and compassionate ambitions, and that he was not a cold-blooded and heartless person. In this deceitful world, can people like him succeed? In short, this is the same as the enigmatic contradiction of the man, completely different from the sweat of Benjari.

After walking out of the room, Asari remembered Arutai, the eldest brother who used to dot on her, and she was suddenly overshadowed in loss. Asari used to be surrounded by everyone, but now she feels as if she doesn't matter anymore.

It is already winter in Beiping, and the air outside is very cold. However, at this time, the grassland may be even colder, and it is already icy and snowy.