The Ming Dynasty: The Iron-Blooded Martial Emperor, Who Slaughtered the World

Chapter 140 Kneeling for a Long Time!

Looking for His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?

Does this really work?

Would Zhu Houzhao really care about his feelings and help his father regain the throne of Joseon?

Li Shouyi had no doubt that Zhu Houzhao had the power to help her, but it was hard to say whether Zhu Houzhao was willing to help her.

After all, everyone knows her attitude towards Zhu Houzhao these past few days.

With her deliberate distancing, Zhu Houzhao seems to have forgotten that he had a concubine who was a princess of Korea.

A hint of confusion appeared in Li Shouyi's eyes, but the next moment, a determined look appeared in them.

Cheng Xiyan and his accomplices deceived His Majesty, completely disregarding the rules of succession by princes and vassals, thus angering His Majesty.

Cheng Xiyan came to him again, hoping that he could put in a good word for him with Zhu Houzhao so that the Prince of Jincheng could be officially appointed by Zhu Houzhao.

Does this mean that if Zhu Houzhao knew the truth, he would punish Cheng Xiyan and others in order to maintain the dignity of the suzerain state and help Li return to the throne of Joseon?

Thinking of this, a tiny glimmer of hope rekindled in Li Shouyi's heart, who was filled with despair.

Zhu Houzhao was her only lifeline. She couldn't think of anyone else who could save her family from this dire situation.

Regardless of the outcome, he would try his best to plead with Zhu Houzhao.

She was willing to do anything as long as Zhu Houzhao agreed to help her father regain the throne of Joseon!

Li Shouyi stood up and walked out with firm steps: "Let's go to the Cining Palace!"

Soon, Li Shouyi and several maids arrived at Cining Palace.

Upon seeing Li Shouyi, the palace maids and eunuchs along the way all knelt down and bowed respectfully, saying, "This servant greets Consort Li."

Anxious, Li Shouyi practically ran all the way to the outside of Cining Palace.

She entered the Cining Palace, but was stopped by Liu Jin, who was guarding outside the shop, just before she could enter the main hall.

"Your Majesty, please stop."

Li Shouyi frowned and said, "I want to see His Majesty."

"Your Highness, His Majesty is handling state affairs inside. If you have any important matters to discuss, you may speak to me first, and I will relay them to His Majesty."

Liu Jin bowed slightly and smiled at Li Shouyi.

Li Shouyi bit her lip, looked at the tightly closed door, and whispered to Liu Jin, "Eunuch Liu, please tell His Majesty that I have something important to discuss with him."

"Your Majesty, please spare some time from your busy schedule to see me. I will be eternally grateful."

Liu Jin smiled at Li Shouyi and nodded slightly, saying, "Yes, this servant understands. This servant will go and inform His Majesty immediately."

"Please wait outside the palace for a moment, Your Highness. I will return immediately."

After Liu Jin finished speaking, he bowed to Li Shouyi again before turning and walking into the main hall.

Inside the Cining Palace, Liu Jin approached Zhu Houzhao at the dragon desk and, lowering his voice, flattered him, saying, "Your Majesty, you are truly divine."

"As expected, Consort Li has come to see His Majesty, and is requesting an audience outside the palace!"

"Your Majesty, will you see him or not?"

Zhu Houzhao's gaze remained fixed on the memorial in his hand, without even lifting his eyelids, and he spoke casually.

"not see."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After bowing respectfully, Liu Jin withdrew from the main hall.

A few quarters of an hour earlier, Zhu Houzhao learned the full details of Li Shouyi's meeting with Cheng Xiyan and concluded that Li Shouyi would come looking for him.

As expected, Li Shouyi appeared outside the Cining Palace.

Zhu Houzhao knew all too well why Li Shouyi had come; it was none other than the former King of Joseon, whom he had imprisoned.

He didn't want to waste too much time on this person, since he really had no feelings for Li Shouyi.

Zhu Houzhao had already decided in his heart to send troops to Korea.

Of course, he did not send troops to Korea for Li Shouyi's sake, nor did he send troops to Korea to rescue Li from danger.

He dispatched a large army to reclaim Korea in order to bring the entire country into the territory of the Ming Empire.

At this moment, Zhu Houzhao was looking at a map of Korea.

He was estimating how many people and how long it would take to completely annex North Korea with the least possible cost!

Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Liu Jin approached the anxious Li Shouyi.

Upon seeing Liu Jin walk out of the main hall, Li Shouyi's throat tightened with tension, and he unconsciously swallowed twice.

"Eunuch Liu————"

Li Shouyi looked at Liu Jin with expectant eyes, but all he got in return was a slight shake of his head from Liu Jin.

"Your Highness Consort Li, His Majesty has important matters to attend to and is not seeing anyone at the moment. Please return home, Your Highness."

Upon hearing this news, even though Li Shouyi had mentally prepared himself many times, he still turned pale with anxiety at this moment.

"Eunuch Liu, I really have something important to discuss with His Majesty. This is a matter of life and death, and it won't take up too much of His Majesty's time."

"Could you please ask Eunuch Liu to report to His Majesty again? I beg you, Eunuch Liu."

After Li Shouyi finished speaking, he discreetly slipped a bag of silver into Liu Jin's hand.

Liu Jin grabbed the bag of silver and immediately knew that it contained about twenty-three taels.

Liu Jin gave a smirk, bent down even lower, and subtly stuffed the silver coins back into Li Shouyi's hand.

"Your Majesty, I was only following orders. Please don't make things difficult for me. Please go back."

Li Shouyi's hands clenched until they turned white as he stared at the tightly closed palace doors, his heart filled with regret.

If he had maintained a good relationship with Zhu Houzhao during this period, wouldn't things be much less awkward today?

Li Shouyi stood there, his hands clenched tightly, his teeth slightly bitten, his heart filled with conflict.

She wanted to leave, but her legs felt like they were made of lead, and she couldn't move an inch.

Suddenly, Li Shouyi knelt down facing the palace gate.

Liu Jin was startled and quickly took a half step back, then tried to help Li Shouyi up: "Consort Li, what are you doing?"

"This is outrageous! Please get up!"

Li Shouyi shook his head and insisted, "If Your Majesty does not see me, I will kneel outside the palace for a long time."

"This—this—oh dear!"

One of the three concubines in the imperial harem was kneeling at the emperor's palace gate in front of all the eunuchs and palace maids. If this got out, it would have a terrible impact.

Liu Jin felt caught in a dilemma, stamped his foot, and then turned and walked into the main hall.

"Your Majesty, Consort Li is kneeling outside the palace, and she won't get up."

Liu Jin approached Zhu Houzhao, bent over, and spoke in a low voice.

He carefully observed Zhu Houzhao's expression, and hesitated before speaking, "Your Majesty, why don't you go and see him?"

Zhu Houzhao flipped through a map of Korea, his expression completely unchanged: "I won't see him."

"If she wants to kneel, then let her kneel outside the door."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liu Jin tiptoed out of the hall, only to be met with Li Shouyi's ingratiating gaze.

Liu Jin shook his head at him and sighed, "Consort Li, His Majesty doesn't want to see you right now. There's no use kneeling on you."

"The weather is so cold now, I'm worried about it affecting my health."

Li Shouyi lowered his head and said nothing more, but remained kneeling on the ground.

Liu Jin didn't say anything more, but just stood aside and sighed inwardly.

During this period, eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial and ministers from the Cabinet frequently entered the Cining Palace.

When they saw Li Shouyi kneeling outside the hall, their faces showed surprise.

But they all wisely chose to lower their heads and hurriedly walk past her.

But everyone who walked past her brought immense pressure to Li Shouyi.

She felt that everyone who passed by her was trampling on her dignity and self-respect.

Deep down, they must all be deeply contemptuous of their own behavior, right?

As a princess of Korea, she was forced to kneel at someone else's doorstep, her dignity and status as a princess had been reduced to dust.

If it were before, she would never have imagined that she would do something so humiliating.

But now, Zhu Houzhao is his only lifeline. If he wants to rescue Li, who is under house arrest, he has no choice but to hold on to him tightly.

Even if she is humiliated in every way, she absolutely cannot give up!

Li Shouyi remained kneeling until nightfall, when a young eunuch from the dining hall brought him a late-night snack into the Cining Palace.

While Zhu Houzhao was having his meal and resting, Liu Jin couldn't help but whisper, "Your Majesty, Consort Li is still kneeling outside the palace."

"Look, you must see him—"

Zhu Houzhao raised his eyes to look at Liu Jin, which immediately frightened Liu Jin into swallowing the rest of his words.

"You seem to care a lot about Consort Li outside; you're always speaking up for her."

Liu Jin turned pale with fright: "This servant dares not."

"This servant simply feels that Consort Li's constant kneeling outside the palace is not a good influence on either His Majesty or Consort Li herself."

"That's why I said a few extra words. This servant deserves to die. This servant was too talkative."

Liu Jin lowered her head and deliberately slapped her own mouth with her hand, making a crisp sound.

Zhu Houzhao lowered his eyes and said impatiently, "Alright, stop hitting me. I know you are loyal and a good servant."

After a while, Zhu Houzhao said, "Let her in."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liu Jin turned and left the main hall, quickly approaching Li Shouyi, who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Consort Li, please get up quickly, His Majesty summons you."

Li Shouyi, who had been kneeling until he was drowsy, suddenly came to his senses: "Your Majesty is willing to see me?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, please go in quickly. His Majesty doesn't have much free time."

"Thank you—thank you, sir."

Li Shouyi nodded slightly to Liu Jin and was about to stand up when he felt a sharp pain in his knees as soon as he moved his legs.

She had been kneeling on the hard stone slab for too long, and her legs had long since gone numb. At first, she didn't feel it, but now it hurt so much that she couldn't get up.

After swaying a few times, Li Shouyi suddenly fell to one side.

"Your Majesty!"

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