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

Of course, one reason he wouldn't let the Emperor marry Yue Li as Empress was that he wanted to be with Yue Li, but that would require the Emperor's consent. Even if the Emperor did agree, he would only be treated the same as the current Emperor, secretly and without any official status to be with her.

On the other hand, he also knew Yue Li's temperament. She seemed carefree, but in reality, she was lazy and didn't care about anything. She disliked the strict rules and restrictive life in the palace and slept until noon every day.

If the Emperor really insists on keeping Yue Li in the palace, who knows what she might do?

After all, he has only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg of Yue Li's methods so far.

The fact that things turned out this way is largely due to Yue Li's lazy nature. Otherwise, given how Yue Li didn't want to mention the palace at all recently, things probably wouldn't have ended so easily today.

After finishing his business with Shao Qi, Jin Chenyuan stood up, patted the wrinkles on his robes, picked up his folding fan, and walked out of the pavilion. There were still many matters at the Prince Chen's residence that required his personal attention; he didn't have much free time to waste on Shao Qi.

Only Shao Qi remained in the pavilion, still pondering and processing the matter.

And so, when Yue Li was woken up in the evening, Shao Qi had already returned to his usual sunny and cheerful self.

After being dressed and washed by Shao Qi, Yue Li raised an eyebrow when she saw Shao Qi's appearance, but she didn't ask any further questions.

As long as Shao Qi doesn't ask her any questions, then it means he has already accepted the matter.

After spending another pleasant night with Shao Qi, the two fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, at the beginning of the hour of Si (9-11 AM), Fuquan arrived at the Yue residence with his carriage and a group of eunuchs. Of course, Shaoqi was the one who came out to greet him.

When Fuquan saw the person who came out to greet him, although he was prepared, his eyelids still twitched. Thinking of the people inside, Fuquan quickly bowed and said, "This servant greets the young master."

"Eunuch Fu, there's no need for such formalities. How could I possibly accept such a grand gesture from you?" Shao Qi quickly stepped forward to offer a helping hand.

Although Fuquan was a eunuch and a servant, he was still the emperor's servant. As a prince, he didn't have the ability to act arrogantly in front of Fuquan.

While pillow talk can be effective, sometimes the words of a close servant are even more effective, since such a servant is with the master all day long.

"Young Master is too kind. It is my duty to pay my respects to the Young Master." Whether he should have done so before is another matter, but from now on, if any of the masters inside marry this person, he must also be respectful.

After exchanging pleasantries, Fuquan finally revealed the purpose of his visit: "Young Master, I wonder if Princess Consort Chen has risen yet?"

Shao Qi: ...

“Ah Yue hasn’t gotten up yet. Grandpa Fu may not know, but Ah Yue usually gets up around noon.”

Moreover, because of what happened yesterday afternoon, he still harbored some resentment, so he stayed up late with Yue Li last night until he got her promise before they finally rested.

Therefore, Yue Li will probably have to get up later than usual today.

However, there's no need to tell Fuquan these things, since Fuquan's master will also be someone he'll be vying for favor with in the future.

"You only got up at noon! That's alright, this servant will just wait here." When they came, the Emperor specifically instructed them that if they couldn't receive Princess Consort Chen today, none of them needed to return to the palace.

Hearing that Fuquan did not urge him to wake Yue Li, Shao Qi's smile became even more genuine. It seemed that the Emperor was not acting out of respect for Yue Li's status and asking her to accommodate him, but rather that he was the one accommodating Yue Li.

"Then please sit here for a while, Eunuch Fu. I'll have Tiandong bring you some good tea and pastries." Shaoqi said, then called over Tiandong, who had been waiting outside the door, and asked him to brew some good tea and get some pastries from the kitchen.

"Young Master, there's no need for such trouble. This servant will sit here for a while."

All the staff used here were transferred from Prince Chen's residence, so there is someone to serve in every position.

Fuquan observed the young master's behavior closely and thus understood his position within the household, as well as his place in the master's heart.

The fact that the young master could command the people transferred from Prince Chen's residence shows that he holds a high position in his master's heart. After all, these servants are all about treating people differently based on their status. If the master had shown any dislike for the young master, the servants in the residence would not have been so respectful to him.

After all, which household doesn't have women as the most important figures?

Then, Fuquan waited patiently from the beginning of the 9 AM to the beginning of the 11 AM before he saw Yue Li, dressed neatly, walk into the front hall.

The reason Yue Li was able to get up at this time was because she had been thinking about her trip to the palace today, which is why she was able to get ready and come out at this time.

Otherwise, he might not have woken up until now, who knows?

"Eunuch Fu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Yue Li said politely.

"What's the big deal? As long as I can pick you up, what's a little extra waiting?"

Upon seeing Princess Consort Chen enter the front hall, Fuquan's excitement was almost bursting forth. He had never imagined that sitting and waiting for someone could be such an unbearable thing, since he had always been standing when he served the Emperor.

When he went to other prefectures to deliver imperial edicts, he was greeted with great respect and then seen off with great respect. He had never sat on such a cold bench for so long.

After saying a few more respectful words, Fuquan changed the subject, saying, "Now that Your Highness is ready, let's go to the palace." The Emperor is probably getting impatient waiting in the palace.

"Okay, let's go then." With that, the group walked towards the door.

Shao Qi stayed by Yue Li's side, and naturally, he was going to escort Yue Li to the carriage.

Standing at the gate of the mansion, looking at the carriage pulled by six tall and strong horses, Shao Qi was slightly surprised.

He thought the Emperor would try to cover up such a thing at all, but looking at the carriage, Shao Qi knew that the Emperor had no intention of hiding it at all, and was even making a big fuss about it.

After all, only the emperor could ride in a carriage drawn by six horses. The saying "the emperor rides in a six-horse carriage" was not just a joke.

In this feudal society, the supreme imperial power represented everything.

Even the highest-grade carriage that Prince Chen rode in was only drawn by four horses.

But to everyone's surprise, the Emperor allowed Yue Li to ride in a carriage of the same caliber as his own!

Seeing this, Shao Qi seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed that he had underestimated Yue Li's position in the Emperor's heart.

"Then we're leaving, you should go back too." Yue Li's voice interrupted Shao Qi's thoughts.

"Okay, be careful on the road." Shao Qi glanced at Fu Quan walking beside the carriage, as well as the eunuchs and guards surrounding the carriage, and swallowed back the words that he should be careful even in the palace.

With the windows down, six tall, strong horses pulled a magnificent carriage slowly along, though no one knew how many people on the street were secretly watching this scene.

This matter will likely reach the ears of countless people in a short period of time.

After all, because they didn't want Yue Li to be too far from Prince Chen's mansion when she was preparing for her marriage, Yue Li's residence was located on the street where the residences of officials were most densely populated.

The Duke of Yi's mansion is right next to this street, so in a way, the Duke of Yi's mansion is not far from the Yue mansion.

Watching the carriage slowly disappear into the distance, Shao Qi turned around and entered the Yue residence.