Song Qingshu could not help looking at Jin Bingyun in a new light when he saw that she had protected the people from the princess's residence. Though she came from the Demon Master Palace, she was kind-hearted like a Saintess. For the sake of this, he would not call her Poisonous Inside anymore.
At that moment, a group of riders came galloping over from afar. At their head was a beautiful middle-aged woman in bright scarlet battle attire, her eyes shining with spirit and utterly devoid of the delicate softness of imperial consorts raised in the deep palaces of the Central Plains dynasties.
What tremendous wickedness!
As the horse galloped along, Song Qingshu's eyes could not help bobbing up and down as well. He subconsciously touched his nose to see whether it was bleeding.
Which Empress could she be? he wondered.
The customs of the Mongol Empire differed from those of the Central Plains dynasties. A Central Plains emperor might have three thousand beauties in his harem, but only one Empress. In the Mongol Empire, however, there could be four Empresses at once. Each had her own Ordo, or palace tent, and each Ordo governed a certain number of concubines.
The Empress of the First Ordo was Börte, Temujin's first wife and the mother of Jochi, Chagatai, Ögedei, and Tolui. In Temujin's early days, when his power was still weak, he was defeated by his enemies and Börte was abducted. Temujin did not manage to rescue his wife until a year later, but by then Börte was already carrying the enemy's son—Jochi.
Yet Temujin did not mind. He continued to respect his wife and treated Jochi as his own son. The Hongjila clan's current glory was also due to her.
Of course, Jochi's bloodline was also a hidden danger. When