You're the one who wants to marry a mistress, and I'm marrying someone else, yet you still

Emperor Qinyong and his son Xiao Lin walked and talked, from politics to daily life. Xiao Lin felt that his father had never talked to him so much before.

Because his father was the emperor, he had many things to do and many people to meet, and he was always busy. His mother also told him to be well-behaved and not to cause trouble for his father.

He also feared his father, the Emperor Qinyong, even though the Emperor Qinyong had never criticized him severely; his fear of his father was innate.

The father and son entered Consort Shu's palace, chatting and laughing. The palace was warm and cozy, filled with the fragrance of incense.

Because someone had informed her in advance, Consort Shu had been waiting for a long time. When she saw the father and son arrive together, a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"I, my concubine, see you, Your Majesty."

Consort Shu bowed gracefully, her voice gentle and sweet, her skin impeccably maintained, giving people a sense of comfort and tranquility, like a gentle spring breeze.

Emperor Qinyong smiled and took a big step to help Consort Shu up, saying with a smile, "No need for formalities. My dear consort, you look quite well today. You were especially happy to know that I was coming!"

"Of course, Your Majesty is very happy to come. People are in high spirits when they have good news. Your Majesty, I have been having some free time in the palace recently, so I have been learning to make some pastries with others. Today is a good day, so I asked Your Majesty and Lin'er to come and show me."

As Consort Shu spoke, she gestured to the palace maids to bring out the refreshments.

"Oh, my beloved concubine has such culinary skills! I'm in for a treat today, haha."

The three sat around laughing. Emperor Qinyong had completely lost his imperial demeanor, chatting about everyday matters, just like he and the Empress, who were just an ordinary couple behind closed doors.

Consort Shu would occasionally put a pastry on Xiao Lin's plate, her eyes full of affection.

"Lin'er, did your trip go smoothly? Did you encounter any trouble?" Consort Shu asked with concern.

Since entering the palace and becoming the emperor's woman, she could only learn about things outside the palace through fragmented pieces of information obtained from others. To her, everything outside the palace was dangerous.

Xiao Lin then gave a general account of his trip. In fact, he had only been there for two days, and the entire journey only took two days.

Of course, he omitted the deliberate actions of Princess Simon towards him, only saying that the Simons intended to form a marriage alliance, and he did not want his mother to worry.

Consort Shu frowned slightly after hearing this. "Since the Simons are interested in a marriage alliance, they will probably not let it go easily. You and your fifth brother should be careful. The royal family only has the two of you without a principal wife yet. It would be fine if they took a fancy to another young master."

It's an open secret that royal family members don't marry into powerful nations like Simon. Because of the previous incident involving Consort Xian, the Emperor is very wary of women from foreign countries.

Emperor Qinyong nodded and said, "What my beloved consort says is absolutely right. Lin'er and Wu'er are indeed in danger as neither of them has a proper wife. Lin'er, do you have a woman you like? Tell me, and your mother and I will help you choose."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lin's cheeks flushed slightly. He thought for a moment and replied earnestly, "Your subject has someone, but... it's not yet certain whether she also has feelings for you."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qinyong's eyes flashed with curiosity and delight. "Oh? Which family's daughter is it that has captured the heart of my prince? Tell me about it."

Consort Shu also cast a gentle, encouraging glance, seemingly quite interested in Xiao Lin's sweetheart.

Xiao Lin was surprised that his father would ask him this. He lowered his head, hesitated, and dared not speak.

Seeing his appearance, the Emperor Qinyong guessed that he probably had someone he liked, but he just didn't dare to say it. So he asked again, "Just say it. As long as she is not a woman who is unconventional, I can agree to your marriage."

Consort Shu thought for a moment, and she roughly understood. After all, he was her son; how could she not know him at all? "Lin'er, your father said it's alright, go ahead and speak."

Seeing his mother nod, Xiao Lin finally decided to tell the truth: "It is Liu Mengqing, the concubine's daughter of the Minister of Rites."

Since ancient times, people have held great prejudices against legitimate and illegitimate children. As a member of the royal family, his marriage was not up to him.

“Father, I know this idea is too naive. If she marries me, she can only be a concubine, but I don’t want her to be wronged by being a concubine.”

It was rare to see Xiao Lin act this way in front of the Diligent and Brave Emperor; it was quite a novel sight.

Because of his personality, the two of them have not yet officially expressed their feelings for each other; Xiao Lin only secretly likes her in his heart.

After listening, Emperor Qinyong pondered for a moment. Liu Yunhe, the Minister of Rites, was an upright man with outstanding political achievements, and his daughter, Liu Mengqing, was also known for her talent. However, her social status...

He thought for a moment and then laughed, "I've heard of the Liu family girl. I heard that she's the daughter Lord Liu went through a lot of trouble to get. He didn't originally intend to take concubines, but his wife had given birth to five sons, and in the end, she couldn't have any more. So he chose a woman to enter the household, and she gave birth to two more sons before finally having this daughter. I laughed at him for a long time about that. I never thought that I would end up with so many sons myself, and be mocked by this old scoundrel! Haha!"

Emperor Qinyong smiled broadly, but there was a hint of helplessness in his expression.

He has a throne to inherit, but he also longs for a lovely little princess.

However, after having several sons in a row, he lost confidence in himself. The thought of raising another son would be too difficult, so he dared not let his concubines have any more children.

He feared that if he had too many sons in the future, they would form factions and vie for power, leading to chaos.

Consort Shu was unaware of this matter before, as it was Lord Liu's private affair. She knew that the Liu family's daughter was born out of wedlock and would occasionally appear in public with the mistress.

That makes sense. How could an illegitimate daughter from an ordinary family appear at a royal banquet? It must be because Lord Liu dotes on her, and Madam Liu, out of love for her, occasionally brings her out to see the world.

It's clear that Madam Liu also liked the child, otherwise she wouldn't have brought him out.

After Emperor Qinyong finished laughing, he looked at Xiao Lin seriously and said, "Lin'er, you should think this through. If you marry her, you will have seven brothers-in-law and a father-in-law who dotes on his daughter. If you dare to treat this girl badly, even your father can't save you."

For some reason, the Diligent and Brave Emperor spoke with unusual seriousness, perhaps genuinely wanting Xiao Lin to think things through and take it seriously.

“Father, I would never do that, I would never bully her! Even if she didn’t have so many brothers, I would still not bully her. It’s just… I don’t know if she has feelings for me. I beg you, Father, not to put pressure on her. I hope she is not marrying me because of pressure, but because she truly loves me.”

Xiao Lin looked very serious. Even Consort Shu didn't expect that her son was such a romantic.

"Haha, alright, alright, go ask the girl yourself if she's willing. Once you've won her over, be sure to tell me right away."

Emperor Qinyong smiled and gave Consort Shu a look, as if to say, "Look at our son, he's grown up."