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

"I……"

"Ah Li, lunch is ready. Let's talk later." Just as Yue Li was about to speak, Jin Chenyuan, with a gentle smile on his lips, subtly interrupted their conversation.

After saying that, he stepped forward and took Yue Li's hand, seemingly unintentionally turning to the side to shield Yue Li behind him, blocking Leng Xuanling's view.

His gaze unexpectedly met Leng Xuanling's. The instant their eyes met, swords flashed. One stood tall and elegant, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe embroidered with auspicious clouds, as handsome as a celestial being. The other sat on a carved rosewood chair, dressed in a sky-blue brocade robe with intricate dark patterns outlined in silver thread, as gentle and refined as a young master. But when their eyes met, neither of them yielded in the slightest.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment. Even Yue Li, who was somewhat oblivious to such things, could feel the tension in the air. Unable to see what was happening in front of her, she turned her gaze to Sheng Yifan standing beside her. Sheng Yifan gave her a reassuring smile, glanced at the two people facing off, and then bent down and picked Yue Li up with one hand. "Ah Li, let's go have dinner first."

Then, ignoring the two of them, he carried Yue Li out of the front hall.

"Hasn't Crown Prince Leng realized that A-Li has no feelings for you? Why is Crown Prince Leng still clinging to you like this? Isn't that making things difficult for everyone?" Jin Chenyuan looked at Leng Xuanling opposite him with a deep and oppressive gaze. Since he was pretending to be stupid, he didn't mind bringing things to the table.

"Isn't it premature for Prince Chen to say that? We haven't known each other for very long, who knows what will happen in the future?"

Leng Xuanling's expression did not change in the slightest because of Jin Chenyuan's words. His peach blossom eyes remained gentle, but a pang of pain flashed through his heart because of Jin Chenyuan's words. However, in an instant, his resolve became even stronger.

Didn't he already sense it?

Even though he could clearly sense that Yue Li was interested in his appearance, she had no intention of taking him in, as if his appearance was beyond the scope she had defined.

"So, Prince Leng is determined to cling to A-Li?" Looking at such a shameless person, if it weren't for his special status, Jin Chenyuan would have already had him kicked out of the capital.

"It has to be her."

However, "Your Highness can rest assured that even if A-Li really becomes my Crown Princess, I will do my duty just like everyone else and will not do anything out of line."

Leng Xuanling didn't want to argue with Jin Chenyuan too much, and he knew perfectly well that if the two of them had a disagreement, Yue Li would side with whomever he did.

By then, it probably won't be so easy for him to pretend to be stupid and stay by Yue Li's side.

Jin Chenyuan watched with deep eyes as Leng Xuanling performed a gesture of respect from a subordinate to a superior, and then willingly lowered himself to walk behind him.

Yue Li spent several days visiting the Imperial Palace, the General's Mansion, and the Duke of Yi's Mansion to see the children. Of course, when she went to the Imperial Palace and the Duke of Yi's Mansion, she was inevitably kept behind by Jin Jinxuan and Shao Qi to cause some trouble.

However, Yue Li also enjoyed it very much.

Looking at the three adorable, fair-skinned babies, and Jinghao and Jingyao who were already running around and making a ruckus in the palace, Yue Li couldn't help but reveal a maternal smile.

After filling porcelain bottles with the spiritual spring water and leaving a few bottles for each of them, Yue Li and Sheng Yifan, along with his personal guards Lin Zhao and Lin Ming, and several other people who looked like martial artists, rode out of the west gate on horseback.

As for why they didn't fly on swords, it's because there were too many people. Their main purpose for this trip was to travel around, and Sheng Yifan also wanted to check out the shops. They planned to ride horses all the way from Kyoto to the Gobi Desert in the west.

Thinking of Shao Qi holding the child and looking at her expectantly, Yue Li's eyes crinkled with laughter.

This must be what it means for a man to be tied down by his child. Moreover, she noticed that during this meeting, Shao Qi's carefree nature had diminished considerably, and he had become more patient and composed when taking care of the child.

"What are you laughing at, A-Li?" Sheng Yifan pulled on the reins to bring his horse closer to Yue Li. His narrow eyes were filled with laughter. It was his first time traveling alone with Yue Li, and you could imagine how happy he was.

"It's nothing, I just found Shaoqi's expression when I left a little funny." The way he looked at her with the child in his arms, as if she had abandoned them and would never come back.

Sheng Yifan raised an eyebrow. He understood Shao Qi's thoughts. After all, Yue Li had always taken Shao Qi with her wherever she went before. It could be said that among them, Shao Qi had spent the most time with Yue Li.

Thinking about it this way, having children isn't necessarily a good thing.

Moreover, he is still young and not in a hurry to have children. He wants to stay by Yue Li's side for a few more years and doesn't want children to hold him back.

Yue Li and her companions were not riding very fast. Around noon, they happened to pass a tea stall by the official road. After asking Yue Li's opinion, Sheng Yifan stopped at the tea stall to rest.

The tea stall was very simple, run by an old man who provided passersby with some rough tea to quench their thirst.

Seeing that the group of people were dressed in fine clothes and had an extraordinary air about them, the old man was a little at a loss for words. Sheng Yifan dismounted and, holding the reins with one hand, said with a smile, "Old man, don't be so formal. We're just using your tea stall to rest for a bit. If you need anything, we'll take care of it ourselves."

Lin Ming took out a piece of silver and stuffed it into the old man's hand. "Please take me to the stove to boil some water."

I can't do anything else, but I still have to make a cup of tea for my masters.

The old man looked at the loose silver in his hand and nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, this way please, sir."

The others tied the horses to the wooden stakes nearby, while Yue Li took advantage of the moment when they left to take out the dried meat, pastries, and dry rations from her spatial storage.

These are all things you can take with you on the road. As for the hot dishes and meals in the space, even the dumbest person would know that these things shouldn't be here if they were taken out.

Taking out two spirit milk fruits, Yue Li looked at Sheng Yifan, who was opening an oil paper package, and asked, "Do you want to drink some?"

Sheng Yifan looked at the two nearly transparent, milky-white spirit milk fruits held in Yue Li's hand, shook his head and smiled, "No, I'll wait for Lin Ming to boil water and make tea."

"Alright then." Since Sheng Yifan wasn't going to drink it, she would drink it herself.

With a wave of her hand, Yue Li conjured a large, transparent crystal cup on the table. She used her spiritual power to open a hole in the two Spirit Milk Fruits and poured them into the cup. Instantly, a rich milky aroma mixed with a sweet fruity fragrance wafted out.

Yue Li picked up the cup and drank half of it in one gulp. At that moment, she vaguely heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar, but she didn't pay attention to it. After putting down the cup, she picked up a spicy beef jerky and took a bite.

She didn't notice that Sheng Yifan, who had been smiling just moments before, was now frowning.

When Sheng Yifan heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance, he used his divine sense to investigate. However, his initial joy was immediately dampened when he saw the people on horseback.