xymnovel Chapter 132 Your Majesty, You Can't!
Chapter 132 Your Majesty, You Can't!
Chapter 132 Your Majesty, You Can't!
Zhu Houzhao looked at Ling Luoshi and frowned slightly.
Before Zhu Houzhao could speak, Cao Zhengchun jumped out first.
"presumptuous!"
"Which of His Majesty's concubines wasn't selected through rigorous and meticulous processes?"
"Which one of them isn't young, beautiful, and exceptionally graceful—a beauty chosen from among millions?"
"You, Ling Luoshi, think you can get your daughter into the palace to serve His Majesty with just a word? There's no way you can have such a good deal!"
Cao Zhengchun's words were sharp and incisive, showing Ling Luoshi no mercy whatsoever.
He attacked Ling Xiaodao in this way because he was determined to prevent Ling Xiaodao from entering the palace.
The reason is simple: he fears that Ling Xiaodao is Ling Luoshi's spy planted in the palace, a secret agent by His Majesty's side.
Ling Xiaodao, who was in shock, turned pale and then red on the face after being ridiculed by Cao Zhengchun, and lowered his head in self-consciousness.
Ling Xiaodao thought to himself: Yes, what Eunuch Cao said is right. His Majesty is the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming Dynasty, possessing the wealth of the four seas. What kind of women does he not have around him?
She is of average appearance and certainly cannot catch His Majesty's eye.
In fact, Ling Xiaodao was not as bad as Cao Zhengchun said. She was a top-notch beauty and was a recognized beauty.
Unfortunately, her father was the Fearless General, which Cao Zhengchun could not afford to be careless about.
"Cao Zhengchun, shut up!"
At Zhu Houzhao's command, Cao Zhengchun trembled and immediately bowed and retreated, not daring to utter another sound.
Zhu Houzhao first glanced at Ling Luoshi, then turned his gaze to Ling Xiaodao.
Ling Xiaodao was indeed a beautiful woman, and he roughly guessed what Ling Luoshi was thinking.
Ling Luoshi wasn't stupid. The reason he was making such a big fuss about sending Ling Xiaodao into the palace was definitely not to make Ling Xiaodao his secret spy.
Can a spy whose identity has been made public still be a spy?
Rather than saying Ling Xiaodao came to be a spy, it would be more accurate to say that Ling Xiaodao was a hostage deliberately kept by Ling Luoshi's side.
Ling Xiaodao stayed by Zhu Houzhao's side, and Zhu Houzhao could take her life at any time.
In other words, Ling Luoshi voluntarily handed over his weakness to Zhu Houzhao, which was a gesture of submission.
"Yes, I grant your request."
After a brief moment of thought, Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly: "Gu Dayong."
"This old servant is here."
Gu Dayong, who was in charge of the affairs of the inner palace, stepped forward and respectfully listened to the imperial decree.
"Feng Ling Xiaodao was made a concubine, given the courtesy name 'Jing', and allowed to reside in Qixiang Palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In just a few words, Zhu Houzhao and Ling Luoshi reached a tacit agreement.
This also determined Ling Xiaodao's future life.
Ling Xiaodao was completely dumbfounded. How could she have become Zhu Houzhao's concubine in just a few words?
From only hearing Zhu Houzhao's name from others, to only seeing his blurry face amidst a sea of soldiers, to finally becoming the person beside him in bed.
This change in identity happened so fast that Ling Xiaodao couldn't react at all.
She stared blankly at Zhu Houzhao, her mind churning, and she even forgot to express her gratitude.
Ling Luoshi glanced at Ling Xiaodao beside him and whispered, "What are you standing there for? Quickly thank me!"
Ling Xiaodao then came to her senses and quickly kowtowed, saying, "This humble woman, Xiaodao, thanks Your Majesty for your grace."
Zhu Houzhao looked at Ling Xiaodao and smiled slightly: "Still calling yourself a commoner?"
Ling Xiaodao was taken aback, then blushed and lowered her head, shyly saying, "Your concubine—"
A ruler's word is law, and Zhu Houzhao has already spoken.
Whether she liked it or not, from this moment on, she was Zhu Houzhao's new concubine.
Having accomplished his mission, Ling Luoshi did not linger any longer and immediately bowed and took his leave: "Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your imperial grace."
"Your humble servant takes his leave."
Zhu Houzhao nodded: "Go."
Ling Luoshi left Fengtian Hall and walked alone towards the outside of the palace.
Zhu Houzhao was right; Ling Xiaodao was indeed his pledge of allegiance to Zhu Houzhao.
Actually, from the very beginning, when he brought Ling Xiaodao to the capital, he just wanted Ling Xiaodao to go out and experience the prosperity of the capital.
However, what Ling Luoshi saw and heard along the way changed his mind.
The strength of the Ming Dynasty court and the Ming emperor had far exceeded his imagination.
From this moment forward, he will be forever loyal to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Only loyalty offers a way to survive.
But Ling Luoshi also knew that his previous reckless behavior had made Zhu Houzhao doubt his loyalty.
In order to quickly gain Zhu Houzhao's trust and show him his sincerity, Ling Luoshi thought of the best way to keep his daughter by his side.
That's why he suddenly made up his mind and made such a somewhat abrupt request.
Fortunately, Zhu Houzhao chose to believe in his sincerity and accepted his surrender.
So now it was time for him to demonstrate his loyalty to Zhu Houzhao.
After Ling Luoshi left, Zhu Houzhao also got up to prepare to go to Cining Palace.
As soon as Zhu Houzhao made a move, the eunuchs and palace maids on all sides followed suit.
Only Ling Xiaodao, kneeling on the ground, was clueless as to where to go.
Logically speaking, after becoming the emperor's concubine, she shouldn't be able to leave the palace with her father, right?
Zhu Houzhao, who was halfway there, suddenly stopped and turned to call Gu Dayong.
"His Majesty?"
Gu Dayong went to Zhu Houzhao and listened attentively to his request.
Zhu Houzhao glanced at Ling Xiaodao, who was still kneeling on the ground, and said indifferently, "Let's have her serve us in bed today."
Gu Dayong quickly accepted the order: "Yes, Your Majesty."
After Zhu Houzhao turned and left Fengtian Hall, he boarded the imperial carriage and headed straight for Cining Palace.
Gu Dayong, however, stayed behind and, with a few palace maids in tow, came to Ling Xiaodao.
"Your Highness, His Majesty summons you to his bedchamber tonight. Please follow us to bathe and change."
Ling Xiaodao said blankly, "Huh? Oh."
Ling Xiaodao's mind was in turmoil; she hadn't yet accepted that she had become Consort Jing of the Ming Dynasty.
She followed Gu Dayong and the palace maids blankly to Qixiang Palace in the inner palace.
At the service of the palace maids, she bathed and changed into a light and beautiful palace dress, and was then escorted by Gu Dayong to the front of Cining Palace.
"Your Majesty, Consort Jing has arrived."
"Let her in."
"Yes."
Gu Dayong stood at the entrance of the Cining Palace and bowed slightly to Ling Xiaodao.
"Consort Jing, please go in. His Majesty is waiting for you inside."
"I'm okay."
Ling Xiaodao's breathing began to quicken, and her heart began to beat faster.
After taking a deep breath, Ling Xiaodao walked into the main hall of Cining Palace.
Inside the Cining Palace.
Ling Xiaodao saw Zhu Houzhao sitting on the soft couch, a stark contrast to his imposing presence on the city wall tonight and his unpredictable imperial authority in the Fengtian Hall.
The Zhu Houzhao sitting there now is gentle and refined, exuding an air of nobility that is hard to reconcile with the tyrant who, tonight, casually executed tens of thousands of people on the city wall.
"Your Majesty, I, Ling Xiaodao, pay my respects."
Ling Xiaodao walked up to Zhu Houzhao and bowed to him.
Get up.
Zhu Houzhao opened his eyes and looked at Ling Xiaodao in front of him.
He just watched quietly, without saying a word or making any further move.
Faced with Zhu Houzhao's undisguised scrutinizing gaze, Ling Xiaodao awkwardly put her hands behind her back, feeling very uneasy.
"What did your father tell you before you entered the palace?"
Finally, Zhu Houzhao withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and asked Ling Xiaodao.
Ling Xiaodao lowered her head: "No—no."
"Then do you know why your father wanted you to enter the palace and become one of my concubines?"
Ling Xiaodao lowered her head even further: "I—I don't know."
Zhu Houzhao looked at Ling Xiaodao, who seemed to be in a daze and knew nothing, and felt a headache coming on.
How to deal with Ling Xiaodao in the future is a problem.
However, Zhu Houzhao is already very tired, so let's think about these issues later.
"It's getting late, and I'm tired tonight. Let's go to sleep."
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to Ling Xiaodao, gesturing for her to come to him.
Ling Xiaodao just stared blankly at Zhu Houzhao's outstretched hand, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Tsk, come here."
"oh----"
Ling Xiaodao then stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and then reached out to grasp Zhu Houzhao's hand.
The two shook hands warmly.
Zhu Houzhao was speechless. He slapped Ling Xiaodao's hand away, reached out and put his arm around Ling Xiaodao's waist, then picked him up in his arms.
"what!"
Ling Xiaodao screamed instinctively and quickly hugged Zhu Houzhao.
"Keep your voice down, there are people everywhere outside."
Zhu Houzhao's original intention was that the outside was full of eunuchs, palace maids, and guards protecting him.
Tell her to speak softly and not to be too loud.
But Ling Xiaodao mistakenly thought it meant that there were still those remnants of the martial arts world outside Cining Palace.
Immediately, Ling Xiaodao became extremely nervous, hiding in Zhu Houzhao's arms, completely at a loss.
"What should we do then, Your Majesty?"
Suddenly, Ling Xiaodao spoke with a serious expression.
"I—I know a little martial arts, I can protect you."
Seeing Ling Xiaodao's bewildered expression, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh, feeling a touch of emotion in his heart.
Ling Luoshi was ruthless and committed many evil deeds, yet he raised a naive and innocent daughter who was even somewhat naive.
This is a huge contrast.
Zhu Houzhao, holding Ling Xiaodao, walked onto the dragon bed with a loud laugh.
"I don't need your protection. You should think carefully about how to protect yourself first."
"7
"well?"
The next moment, Zhu Houzhao had already pinned Ling Xiaodao down on the bed.
Ling Xiaodao was just stunned, not stupid. She quickly realized what was happening and her face immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.
At the same time, she hurriedly grabbed Zhu Houzhao's hand, trying to stop him from doing anything next.
"Your Majesty, there are still bad people outside!"
"It's too unsafe right now, let's talk about it tomorrow, okay?"
"Those bad guys will definitely be arrested by tomorrow during the day, let's talk about it then, okay?"
Zhu Houzhao was in a playful mood and found Ling Xiaodao's anxious look quite amusing.
"Wouldn't that be even more exciting?"
"Come on, come on, you can deal with the bad guys when they come in."
"No, Your Majesty, please don't!"