The sun had sunk below the horizon, and there was only a remnant of light left on the earth. Most of the houses in the village are not well lit, and the light inside is even more dim at the moment.

Asari and Duan Xue Hate walked into the hall together and found Emperor Zhu Gaoxu sitting on it alone, with no one else by his side. There is a black wooden table above, flanked by chairs. Zhu Gaoxu sat on the chair on the left, he changed into a red Tuanlong uniform, and wore a black gauze hat on his head.

Two women came in from the door, and Zhu Gaoxu should have noticed it. But he didn't look at Asari and the others, but sat there with his eyes downcast, and put his hands together beside his forehead, as if thinking about something.

"Holy Lord, Concubine Khan is here." Duan Xue squatted slightly and saluted.

Zhu Gaoxu changed his position, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Asari.

Asari said, "The emperor deliberately provoked me and lured me to find the theory of deprivation of fire. When you set the trap, you had already arranged for someone to eavesdrop in advance? ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Yes." The key to the success of this matter is that Concubine Khan really doesn't know about the conspiracy, otherwise it will be difficult for you to be emotionally impulsive. I just chose to believe that you didn't know, and bet that you weren't lying. ”

"But you lied to me!" Asari said a little excitedly. After speaking, she realized that she didn't know which of Zhu Gaoxu's words was a lie.

The strange thing is that Zhu Gaoxu did not defend himself, but was silent.

Asari asked, "The eavesdropper is a Varat captive?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "In addition to the general Warat, there is also a Jinyi guard captain, he is a Mongolian who has long taken refuge in the Ming Dynasty. ”

As if she heard a "buzz" in her head, she shook her head and said, "I didn't expect Your Majesty to be such an unscrupulous person, why did you do such a thing?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu's tone was unwavering, he looked into Asari's eyes, and said with a frank face: "The Tatars are plotting to sow discord, and I am just using a little trick to let the Warats know the truth. Quasi-Tatars do it, and no one is allowed to know? Dare to let the Warat people and the Ming people be like monkeys, being teased by Arutai Dehuo, isn't it called 'unscrupulous'? ”

Asari glared at Zhu Gaoxu, and suddenly felt that what he said was true.

But she did not admit her thoughts, and said to herself: "The conspiracy has nothing to do with me, and now that I am a Tatar sinner, why does Your Majesty do this to me?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "If Concubine Khan is a sinner, then the Tatar rulers have no mind, only cunning. This conspiracy to get rid of the fire is disgraceful in itself. He, as one of the masterminds, made mistakes because of stupidity, but he wants to blame you for his mistakes? However, Concubine Khan had been excluded from the plan and did not know about it in advance. ”

Asari looked at Zhu Gaoxu with a complicated gaze, her expression was rich, and she blurted out: "Lord, Your Majesty is really ...... I almost believed it. ”

She did think that Zhu Gaoxu spoke well, and she was willing to believe the reasons that would allow her to shirk her responsibility. But the reason in her heart made her understand that after the failure of this major event in Mongolia, people would not reason with her.

Asari sighed "sigh": "When Mahamu the Waratite learns the truth, he will be angry and send troops to attack the Tatars?" The two sides fought each other, the casualties were not counted, and His Majesty profited, is this the result His Majesty wants? ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I am a peace-loving person, and the most important thing I want is that the Warat and Tatars are willing to listen to the mediation of the Ming court, and everyone can live in harmony." The last thing you want to see is, of course, that the northern tribes are bent on harassing and plundering the Ming Dynasty. ”

When Ashali heard this, she suddenly understood the difference between Arutai and Dehuo Chi and Zhu Gaoxu, the Ming Emperor. Zhu Gaoxu was very cruel when he swept the grasslands, and he was not merciless when he used treacherous tricks, but the amazing thing is that he has always been full of benevolence and morality, and his mouth is either righteousness or peace, or he is a victim of plunder.

Before entering the house, she obviously wanted to question Zhu Gaoxu, and was even worried that he would shirk and not admit it. But now, he admitted it calmly, and said that he was right. This is not a quibble, but the key is that Asari was also convinced, and I felt that what Zhu Gaoxu said was not unreasonable.

Asari asked weakly, "What is Your Majesty going to do with us?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said in a very casual tone: "After a while, I will put you back." The Ming court has already promised Arutai, as long as Arutai is a vassal and is entitled, you will be allowed to borrow the Tao. I have always been a man of integrity. ”

Asari didn't know if she should continue to trust him. Because the facts are right in front of him, Zhu Gaoxu doesn't seem to be such a sincere and honest person.

Zhu Gaoxu's voice said: "Of course, if you want to stay in Daming, we will still accept you." ”

Asari shook her head without hesitation, thought about it, and said, "No matter what, I still miss life on the grassland more. Tents, sheepfolds, everything is not so delicate, but it is very strong. In the vast grassland, there are no castle towers and house walls, and it is impossible to separate people in small places, so when we step out of the tent, there is a spacious grassland. We lit a bonfire on the grass and danced, or met and talked about everything. ”

Zhu Gaoxu patiently listened to her finish, and then asked quietly: "Or is it because of the child?" The child of your sweat with Benjari. ”

Asari said a lot of things, but then she was stopped by the question, and she was speechless.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "A long time ago, on the beach, I had a night talk with a friend and talked about a lot of life things. A friend has a saying that a woman cares most about herself and her children. I think it makes sense. ”

Perhaps it was Zhu Gaoxu's heart-to-heart tone that made Asari relax her guard again, and she couldn't help but say: "The child looks like Benjari sweating, and when I see the child, it's like seeing the Great Khan alive." I was determined to protect my children. ”

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything, but his gaze was sometimes very focused. When Asari saw his gaze, she felt as if he wanted to continue.

She exhaled and said in a talkative tone, "There's nothing she can't say anyway." ”

Asari began to recount the events of a few years earlier, beginning with the defeat and flight of the army of the Great Khan (Benyali Khan). At that time, they fled westward, and had already entered the place where the Warats were active, so they defected to the Warat chieftain, Mahamu. Because the Great Khan was nominally the Great Khan of All Mongolia, it stands to reason that the Warats should also respect the Great Khan.

But apparently it wasn't like that later, and Mahamu was only superficially respectful to the Great Khan. After taking the men to the west, far from the Tatar tribes, Mahamu began to plot to encircle and slaughter the remnants of the Tatars, and to exterminate them all.

The Warats first coaxed the Tatars and made them let their guard down, gradually dividing the remnants of the Great Khan's forces, and then Mahamu quietly deployed his forces. However, among the Warat tribes, there were still Mongols who sincerely respected the Great Khan. So someone told the Great Khan about the situation in advance.

At that time, the Great Khan already knew that Asari was pregnant, and instead of running away immediately, he sent someone to inform the people on Asari's side and tell them to try to escape immediately. The Great Khan stayed where he was, buying time for Asari and the others to escape.

Asari was reluctant to live alone at first. But the envoy brought with her a letter from the Great Khan, telling her to follow the arrangement.

In his letter, the Great Khan said that Maham, a Waratite, was most concerned about the Great Khan, so it was difficult for him to successfully escape; On the contrary, the people on Asari's side are more neglected, and they seize the opportunity to escape early, and they may succeed. The Great Khan hoped that Asari would give birth to the child and live well.

Because of this, a group of people such as Ashali and Tuohuochi had the opportunity to flee to Hami in embarrassment, otherwise they would have been slaughtered by the Warats without knowing it.

"He died for me." After Ashari finished talking about the past, she was already in tears, she couldn't cry, and she choked up when she opened her mouth, "If it weren't for the sake of giving birth to his child, I would definitely not want to leave him and run away......"

Even Duan Xuehan, who was silent on the side, was a little moved, and kindly handed a handkerchief to Asali.

And Zhu Gaoxu, who was sitting on the top seat, was almost expressionless, and he didn't seem to have much mood swings. However, Zhu Gaoxu at least spoke politely, and he said: "Benjari Khan is at least a courageous ruler who deserves my respect. ”

"I don't know why I'm saying this, why I'm saying it to you." Asari hurriedly took Duan Xue's handkerchief and wiped the tears from her face.

Duan Xue hated and said, "It's better to say it." ”

Asari said, "I don't want this, I shouldn't be so weak. The Mongols of the Warat tribes are the most treacherous and cruel people in the world. I shouldn't have pressed the fire and sabotaged their plan to make the Warats pay. ”

Zhu Gaoxu's voice said: "But before that, the conspiracy had failed. ”

Asari was stunned for a moment, and then she woke up from her collapsed emotions that things were indeed as Zhu Gaoxu said. Even if she didn't let the Ming Emperor's counter-plot succeed, the conspiracy could not continue, and it was even more difficult to provoke a war between the Ming and the Warat tribes.

Zhu Gaoxu seems to have always been sober, and can always point out the key to the matter, completely unaffected by sensationalism. When Asari calmed down a little, observing his divine gaze and remembering that he was aware of the people's feelings, it was difficult to understand this person for a while, and I didn't know if he was affectionate or cold-blooded.

At this moment, a eunuch walked in, bent down and said, "Emperor, it's getting dark, the slave and maid will call someone to come in and hold the lamp." The cook has also prepared a meal, does the emperor want to eat? ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

The eunuch bowed, "Yes." ”

Zhu Gaoxu then said to Asari: "Stay and eat together." ”

Asari did not refuse.

Zhu Gaoxu said again: "Benyari's sweaty child, you don't have to avoid it, you can take care of him personally." I won't be unable to get along with a child, and Concubine Khan can rest assured. ”

Asari did not fully believe his words, this was not an ordinary child, but a prince who was qualified to inherit the Great Khan of Mongolia. But the matter had already been revealed, and Asari didn't seem to have much to do.