The Emperor, with more men than women, made me his mistress.

Jin Chenyuan and Yue Li happened to be here today, so she didn't want so many servants to wait on her.

The group of servants looked at each other, then subconsciously turned their gazes to Prince Chen, hoping he would make a decision.

Seeing this, Jin Chenyuan waved his hand and said, "Then you may all leave. Today, the Queen Mother will have dinner with me and the Princess Consort. However, you must not neglect to take care of the Empress Dowager at other times."

"Yes, Your Highness, we will obey your command." After bowing, the group of servants withdrew from the kitchen one by one.

After everyone else had left, the three of them sat down to eat.

The three of them did not follow the rule of not talking while eating, but instead chatted about everyday things while having their meal.

The food prepared by the imperial chefs in the palace was naturally excellent. Yue Li felt that apart from being a little bland, everything else suited her taste perfectly.

So, unsurprisingly, Yue Li ate too much again.

Jin Chenyuan didn't use much during this time. He was either busy serving food to the Empress Dowager or taking care of Yue Li. The few bites he ate were given to him by Yue Li.

So Jin Chenyuan only began to fill his stomach after Yue Li and the Empress Dowager had finished their meal.

The Empress Dowager then began to discuss the main topic of the day.

"Ah Li! What do you think of the Emperor?"

The Empress Dowager asked Yue Li this question with a smile.

The alarm bells went off in Yue Li's mind instantly, and Jin Chenyuan, who was eating next to her, also stopped what he was doing.

"As the ruler of a country and the master of all people, His Majesty is naturally excellent," Yue Li replied with an official answer.

"That's not what I'm asking."

As the Empress Dowager spoke, she glanced at Yue Li and then at Jin Chenyuan beside her.

"Presumably, Chenyuan has already explained some things to you, right?" This time, the Empress Dowager asked directly.

"Mm." Yue Li responded directly this time.

Upon hearing Yue Li's response, the Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow in surprise.

It seems she still hasn't figured out Yue Li's temperament. It turns out Yue Li likes to speak directly!

That makes things much simpler!

"Since that's the case, then I won't beat around the bush with you."

"Since the last Hundred Flowers Banquet, I have asked Your Majesty for your opinion several times, but Your Majesty has been slow to give me a definite answer."

"However, after I investigated what happened at the Hundred Flowers Banquet that day, I understood Your Majesty's thoughts."

The Empress Dowager looked at Yue Li, whose beauty surpassed that of many noble ladies in the capital, and her free and easy demeanor.

No wonder the Emperor took a liking to her at first sight.

At this moment, Yue Li also thought of the awkward situation she had when she woke up in Xuanzheng Hall that day, lying in the same bed as the Emperor.

Seeing Yue Li's somewhat embarrassed expression, the Empress Dowager immediately misunderstood Yue Li's meaning. She quickly comforted her, "Don't think it's a big deal. Besides, it's actually the Emperor's fault in this matter. Moreover, we women don't suffer any loss in this kind of thing. But since it has already happened, and the Emperor is such a stubborn person, I just don't know what you think, A-Li?"

After saying that, the Empress Dowager was afraid that her words had put pressure on Yue Li, so she immediately softened her tone and said, "Ah Li, don't feel pressured. If you want to accept the Emperor, then accept him. If you don't want to accept him, then so be it. At worst, I will hold a banquet for him in a while and let him choose a noble lady."

Clearly, the Empress Dowager was unaware of what had happened in the Zichen Palace that day.

Yue Li was even more embarrassed at this moment. She never dreamed that one day she would be discussing with her future mother-in-law whether or not to accept her grandson.

And this was under the condition that she was going to marry her son.

Shaking off her inner turmoil, Yue Li cleared her throat and straightened her expression, saying, "Empress Dowager, as you know, I will be marrying A Yuan in a few days. Moreover, it is impossible for me not to marry A Yuan for the sake of the Emperor. So even if I am with the Emperor, it is impossible for me to marry him and become his Empress."

After Yue Li finished speaking, she stared intently at the Empress Dowager, wanting to see how she would react to hearing such an outrageous story.

Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager's first question was, "You mean, you've already agreed to be with the Emperor?"

Yue Li: ……

Isn't this reaction inappropriate?

Even knowing that the Empress Dowager is a very open-minded person, anyone would feel protective when it comes to their grandson.

"Yes, I already promised His Majesty in the Zichen Palace today." However, Yue Li still answered truthfully.

"I'm relieved that you've agreed. Ah Li, you don't know how stubborn the Emperor is. Ever since I found out about your affair, I've tried to persuade him several times, but he's remained silent, which has really infuriated me."

The Empress Dowager certainly wanted her grandson to marry an empress legitimately.

But the Emperor not only acted first and asked for permission later to consummate his relationship with Yue Li, but he also stubbornly insisted on staying by Yue Li's side. What could she do?

She can only try to think more positively.

At this point, the Empress Dowager changed the subject and said with a smile, "Since A-Li has agreed to be with the Emperor, I am happy regardless of whether he will be given a formal status. This will save me from worrying about whether he will get married or not. However, there is one thing that A-Li must hurry up with."

To Yue Li's surprise, the Empress Dowager did not raise any objections to this matter; on the contrary, she seemed to be happy about it.

"What is it?" Yue Li was somewhat taken aback by the Empress Dowager's reaction. Before she could react, she asked, following the Empress Dowager's words.

But at this moment, the Empress Dowager put away her smile and said with a serious face, "That is the future heir of this country. Since the Emperor does not intend to marry the Empress, the heavy responsibility of giving birth to the future heir of this country will fall on your shoulders."

As she spoke, she glanced at Jin Chenyuan, who was sitting to the side and had stopped eating, and then turned to Yue Li and said, "When A Yuan has a child can be postponed, but the Emperor's heir cannot be delayed any longer."

"But the Emperor isn't that old yet. Is there any need to rush to find an heir?"

Although Jin Chenyuan was unhappy that his mother had placed him after the emperor, he still explained the reason to Yue Li.

In this era, offspring were scarce. If a generation had two offspring, it was considered a sign of a wife's special favor and abundant offspring. After all, each wife had more than one husband and could not possibly have children with only one person.

Therefore, not only did brothers not fight to the death for the throne in the royal family, but also it was rare for brothers in aristocratic families to kill each other for family property.

After all, there is usually only one heir per generation to inherit the family property.

Logically, since each emperor should have a single wife, the royal family should have a very large number of offspring.

But things are not like that. Since the Jin family became the ruler of the world, only the first emperor and the second emperor had five and three children respectively. Each emperor after that had two children, which was considered a high number.

That's why the Empress Dowager was so eager for the Emperor to give birth to an heir so she could raise him.

After all, it takes a lot of time and effort to cultivate a successor who can shoulder great responsibilities.