Chapter 414: That was all the Emperor acting on his own initiative; it has nothing to do with us!

After the morning court session, Li Chen returned to the inner palace.

Imperial Consort Zhu Zhuying had already been waiting outside the hall for a long time. Seeing the dragon carriage arrive, she hurriedly tidied her attire and stood respectfully before the door of the bedchamber.

"This concubine requests an audience with Your Majesty," she reported in a soft voice, her tone as pleasant as a clear spring.

"Come in," Li Chen's voice drifted from inside the hall.

Zhu Zhuying stepped into the hall with cautious, measured movements, stealing glances at Li Chen's expression as she walked.

Seeing Li Chen leisurely sipping tea with a calm demeanor, she finally let out a small sigh of relief.

The Imperial Consort possessed a graceful figure; a pale purple palace gown outlined her perfect curves. As she walked, her skirt swayed gently, making her look like a blooming violet.

She moved with lotus-like steps to stand behind Li Chen, placing her slender, jade-like hands on his shoulders, and asked softly, "Your Majesty, is this pressure suitable?"

"My beloved consort has a good touch," Li Chen said, closing his eyes to enjoy it. "But you didn't come to find me just for a massage, did you?"

Zhu Zhuying's heart trembled. She hurriedly moved to stand in front of Li Chen and knelt gracefully.

Her kneeling posture was elegant, her waist and back straight, which only served to highlight the proud curves of her chest. Her exquisite, oval-shaped face carried a hint of trepidation.

"Your Majesty, this concubine has an important matter to discuss."

Li Chen raised his eyes and glanced at her: "Speak."

"The small nation where this concubine originated had no intention of offending Your Majesty's imperial might; everything was that Emperor acting on his own initiative..." Zhu Zhuying's voice was soft, yet carried a hint of urgency.

Through her explanation, Li Chen gained a rough understanding of the situation in the Star Fall Kingdom.

This mid-sized southern nation had developed rapidly in recent years, with a massive increase in the number of cultivators, and its national strength had reached a peak not seen in several hundred years.

Of course, this "peak" could not compare to the Tian Ce Dynasty; even the Tian Ce Dynasty's Southern Army was superior to them.

The Prince of Zhennan's job back in the day was to use his royal prestige to deter these small nations.

The Prince of Zhennan alone was enough to leave the southern nations with no power to fight back.

They even offered their own treasures and beauties to the Prince of Zhennan.

And because the Prince of Zhennan was so formidable, they didn't even dare to think about rebelling.

After all, the various group armies within the Tian Ce Dynasty were not just for show; they were all ferocious existences.

There has always been a saying: the only force capable of defeating the May Tian Ce Dynasty's army is the May Tian Ce Dynasty's army itself.

The Star Fall Kingdom hadn't been beaten recently, but precisely because of that, the current King had become somewhat arrogant, daring to bargain between two superpowers.

In other words, he listened to whoever gave him the most benefits.

If the two superpowers chose to compete for him, the Star Fall Kingdom would gain benefits, ascend to a new level, and perhaps even surpass the other southern nations.

But once they touched the bottom line of either superpower, the Star Fall Kingdom would perish.

After the morning court session today, the Star Fall Kingdom's envoy immediately found Zhu Zhuying to report the situation in the court truthfully.

This envoy was a sensible man who knew deep down that the King's actions were playing with fire.

He also knew that the Emperor of the Tian Ce Dynasty was displeased with this matter.

Because the last country that dared to demand benefits from Li Chen had already been wiped out.

He was merely an envoy of a small nation and had no qualifications to explain directly to Li Chen, so he could only convey through Zhu Zhuying: the King's attitude did not represent the will of the Star Fall people; the majority of the populace were loyal to the Tian Ce Dynasty.

Zhu Zhuying raised her head, her beautiful eyes filled with pleading: "Your Majesty, please see clearly. The people of the Star Fall Kingdom are loyal to Your Majesty; it is only that muddled monarch who has been bewitched by the envoys of the Eternal Day Empire..."

She had grown up in the Star Fall Kingdom; it was her homeland, and her family was there, so naturally, she wanted to plead for mercy.

Li Chen set down his teacup and looked at her thoughtfully: "What does my beloved consort mean?"

Zhu Zhuying bit her lip: "This concubine dares to be bold—if Your Majesty permits, this concubine is willing to write a letter home to persuade the ministers in the court to correct their course..."

Her family was a powerful clan in the Star Fall Kingdom; her father was a weighty minister, and her sister was the Empress of the Star Fall Kingdom.

If her family applied pressure, perhaps they could force the Star Fall King to compromise and make him realize the reality.

What a superpower truly was—when Li Chen spoke of wiping out a country, he wasn't joking.

The last person who guessed whether Li Chen dared to attack was Tuoba Zhen, and you saw how Li Chen dealt with him—that was the end of it.

That was why Zhu Zhuying spoke this way. Don't look at her as just an Imperial Consort now; she was already an existence the Star Fall King could not afford to offend, especially since the Star Fall King was already offending Li Chen.

Don't look at Li Chen as usually easy to talk to; once a matter rose to the level of national affairs, even Zhu Zhuying felt a chill down her spine.

What was meant by "the dragon's might is hard to fathom"? She had experienced it more than once, but at this moment, she felt it even more truly.

Li Chen did not give a clear answer, only saying faintly: "I am already aware of this matter and will decide for myself."

Zhu Zhuying dared not say more and kowtowed respectfully to take her leave.

As she walked out of the hall door, she discovered that quite a few concubines were already lined up outside; it seemed they all had matters to request an audience with His Majesty.

No sooner had she left than Ji Lianyu and the Princess of Zhennan entered the hall.

The two had just knelt down, and before they could even speak, Li Chen had already guessed their intentions.

Ji Lianyu said softly: "Your Majesty, this concubine dares to be bold and request a favor for Xu Zifeng..."

The Princess of Zhennan also hurriedly echoed: "My son has been diligent of late; I implore Your Majesty to give him an opportunity to go on an expedition."

Just as expected.

Don't look at the fact that Ji Lianyu had no title of Imperial Consort; she was indeed one of the first women to serve Li Chen.

It wasn't that Li Chen wouldn't give her the status of Imperial Consort, but she felt that her status as a widow was unworthy of Li Chen and would cast a shadow over his glorious image, so she chose to serve in the shadows, ready to be called whenever Li Chen needed her.

Li Chen also enjoyed the thrill of this "stealth," so he simply agreed.

However, in the inner palace, many concubines would call her "Big Sister" when they saw her.

She was indeed not an Imperial Consort, but Li Chen liked her, which meant she was important.

The Princess of Zhennan was the type Li Chen liked, and she was deeply favored.

Who told her to have a figure similar to the Empress Dowager, and to be a peerless beauty as well?

This pair of sisters could satisfy Li Chen's needs, so they were certainly favored.

Therefore, Xu Zifeng's days recently had been quite good.

Li Chen picked up his teacup and took a slow, deliberate sip: "I will consider it. However..."

He set down the teacup, his gaze like a torch: "I want to see Xu Zifeng's recent performance."

Xu Zifeng currently held the rank of Captain. Although he was the son of the Prince of Zhennan, the late Emperor had kept him in the Imperial Capital as a hostage precisely to keep the Prince of Zhennan in check.

But now that the situation in the south was tense, the Prince of Zhennan wanted to be a loyal subject more than anyone else.

After all, if the Tian Ce Dynasty went to war with the Eternal Day Empire, his fiefdom would be the first to suffer.

Could he not panic? In that pile of memorials yesterday, the Prince of Zhennan had written quite a few, almost writing his ancestors back eight generations as loyal subjects.

Ji Lianyu and the Princess of Zhennan exchanged a glance, both seeing joy in the other's eyes.

His Majesty hadn't directly refused, which meant there was a chance!

"Thank you for Your Majesty's grace!" the two kowtowed in unison.

After they withdrew, Li Chen rubbed his temples.

Today, these concubines coming one after another to plead for mercy reminded him that the problem of the southern nations might be solved from within.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 415 =====