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

After taking Yue Li back to Furong Courtyard and settling her in, Jin Chenyuan instructed Feng Chuan and the others not to make too much noise or wake Yue Li before returning to the pavilion by the lotus pond.

"What does Prince Chen want to say to me?" Jin Chenyuan returned to the pavilion, sat on the stone bench, and had just taken a sip of the warm tea that had flown down from the clouds when Shao Qi asked impatiently.

Setting down his teacup, Jin Chenyuan glanced helplessly at Shao Qi. "Why are you still so impatient? Can't you be a little more composed and patient when you do things?"

When they went on a business trip together last time, he noticed that Shao Qi was an impatient person, but he didn't expect that after so many things, his personality hadn't changed at all!

Shao Qi: ...

He had nothing to say about this.

According to his father, a medical student should be as steady and composed as his maternal grandfather, remaining calm and collected in the face of adversity. However, he had developed an impatient nature.

However, Jin Chenyuan didn't keep Shao Qi waiting for long. He directly stated his purpose, without considering whether Shao Qi could handle it.

"It's like this, ever since we entered the palace last time, the Emperor has taken a liking to A-Li, and we're going there this time to resolve this matter," Jin Chenyuan said succinctly.

He didn't mention the Emperor's little scheme last time. No matter what, the Emperor was still his own child, and just as Yue Li thought, he should still protect him.

Even so, Shao Qi's eyes widened, revealing an expression of disbelief.

"Prince Chen, do you know what you're saying? Ah! No, you can't be telling the truth, can you?" Shao Qi couldn't understand what Jin Chenyuan meant just now, so after sorting out his thoughts, his first reaction was to question him, but after seeing Prince Chen's serious expression, he changed it to asking a question in return.

"But……"

Shao Qi licked his slightly dry lips and said, "But at the last Hundred Flowers Banquet, didn't the Empress Dowager want to choose an empress for the Emperor?"

The Empress Dowager held a banquet to select an empress for the emperor, and even summoned Prince Chen and his wife, who were not yet married, to the palace to select the future empress together.

The news had spread throughout the capital, and all the unmarried young ladies from noble families and officials had received invitations.

Everyone believed that the Emperor would definitely choose an Empress at that Hundred Flowers Banquet. After all, the Emperor was not young anymore. In the court, the memorials submitted by the censors and officials, urging the Emperor to appoint an Empress as soon as possible, had long been piled up in the Imperial Study.

Moreover, given the difficulty in producing offspring for the royal family, it is even more necessary for them to get married as soon as possible and have the next generation of heirs.

Just as the censors and officials, as well as the noble ladies who had been invited to the Hundred Flowers Banquet, were all eagerly awaiting the arrival of the imperial edict.

However, even after the Hundred Flowers Banquet had passed for some time, no imperial decree had been issued from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager regarding which noblewoman had been chosen as Empress.

Just when everyone thought that the Empress Dowager would definitely hold several more banquets before the Emperor could choose his favorite Empress.

Prince Chen was here telling him that the Emperor had taken a liking to Yue Li the first time he saw her. How could he accept this, and how should he react?

Seeing Shao Qi's silly look, Jin Chenyuan took a sip of tea and said calmly, "We didn't choose, did we? After so much time has passed without a selection, everyone should be mentally prepared."

Shao Qi: ...

What kind of mental preparation is this?!

Who would be mentally prepared for this?

Who would have thought that the Emperor would have such thoughts when he first met his aunt, the future Princess Consort of Prince Chen?

After waiting for a while, Shao Qi finally mustered up his courage and asked with some difficulty, "So what was the result of your discussion today?"

Jin Chenyuan could tell what Shao Qi was thinking just by looking at him.

I almost couldn't resist rolling my eyes at him, just like Yue Li did.

"Your Highness, you wouldn't be planning to give Yue Li to the Emperor, would you? That won't do, I, the Crown Prince, disagree." Before Jin Chenyuan could explain, Shao Qi had already voiced his thoughts, even using the term "Crown Prince" in a somewhat aggressive manner.

It should be noted that Shao Qi had never used this title in front of Jin Chenyuan.

"Ah!"

Seeing Shao Qi's current state, Jin Chenyuan saw the shadow of his ancestors in him and remembered that Shao Qi's ancestors had also fought alongside the Jin family to conquer the world.

Immediately, Jin Chenyuan's gaze softened as he looked at Shao Qi. Ignoring Shao Qi's earlier questioning words, Jin Chenyuan explained, "Am I that kind of person? Besides, do you think A-Li is someone I can just give away so easily?"

As he spoke, Jin Chenyuan lowered his gaze. If the circumstances didn't prevent it, he wouldn't want to share A-Li with anyone.

If he hadn't known that Ah Li was a free spirit who disliked restraint, he would have already driven the Emperor off the throne and taken it for himself after what the Emperor had done at the last Hundred Flowers Banquet.

If I marry Ah Li and make her my empress, then Ah Li will belong to me alone.

However, after several attempts, he learned that Yue Li did not care about that position and hated being restricted, so he gave up the idea.

He dismissed the idea, but the emperor's desire only grew stronger. As long as the emperor remained the emperor, he could not stop the emperor from exercising his privileges.

"So the Emperor agreed, and that's how I ended up following A-Yue without any official status!" Shao Qi said incredulously after hearing Jin Chenyuan's explanation.

"Ah."

Shao Qi's loss of composure only earned him a faint "hmm" from Jin Chenyuan.

"So, that means I don't need to leave A-Yue," Shao Qi concluded.

"Yes, there's no need to leave." Jin Chenyuan sipped his tea, glanced at Shao Qi, whose face was beaming with joy, and continued calmly.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, you scared me. As long as I'm not allowed to leave A-Yue, I'm fine with anything." Shao Qi patted his chest and said thankfully.

He was genuinely afraid that the Emperor would use some means to force Yue Li to stay by his side and marry her as Empress.

Then, let alone whether he could be with Yue Li in the future, it would be a question whether he could even see her again.

Jin Chenyuan, who was sitting opposite Shao Qi and sipping tea, naturally saw what Shao Qi was thinking, but he did not say anything to remind Shao Qi.

Ah Li is no weak woman who can't even kill a chicken. It seems that although Shao Qi knew that Ah Li had some extraordinary abilities, he didn't realize how powerful those abilities were.

Ah Li is not someone to be trifled with; take her nominal mother, Yuan Xinyi, for example.

Ever since he learned about the feud between A-Li and Yuan Xinyi, he has been keeping an eye on Yuan Xinyi, who is still in Qingyuan Prefecture.

As expected, after Zhong Qishuo had all his stolen goods confiscated by the imperial envoy sent by the court, and was himself exiled, Yuan Xinyi's other husbands no longer had the financial means to treat her incapacitated body.

Later, Yuan Xinyi could only use the private property that belonged to her when she married those husbands to treat her illness. But even if she found the best doctors and spent a lot of money, Yuan Xinyi could only barely stay alive.