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

The carriage moved forward, its wheels rolling over the smooth blue bricks on the ground, the horses' hooves clattering on them.

Through the carriage window, Yue Li could see the tall mansions the carriage passed by, the majestic stone lions standing in front of the gates, the magnificent and unique architecture, and the smooth, wide, and quiet streets.

Thinking back to the large complex of buildings enclosed by blue bricks that she saw after leaving the gate of Prince Chen's mansion, and the four characters "Prince Chen's Manor" hanging on the tall gate in a flamboyant style.

When Yue Li recalled what Jin Chenyuan had told her—that the large wall built of blue bricks and the surrounding buildings all belonged to Prince Chen's mansion—she gasped in astonishment.

She had expected the Prince Chen's mansion to be large, but she hadn't imagined it to be this large; it was practically a mansion that occupied half a street.

What a generous act!

Are you envious and jealous?

This is what a truly wealthy and powerful person looks like. Compared to Jin Chenyuan, the dozen or so boxes of gold in my own space probably wouldn't even be enough to buy a corner of his Prince Chen's mansion.

Thinking about how she had spent a hundred years in the cultivation world in her previous life, yet couldn't even afford a corner of Prince Chen's mansion, Yue Li instantly lay down even flatter.

Fearing that she might do something irrational out of jealousy, Yue Li came to the other side of the carriage and looked at the mansion opposite Prince Chen's residence.

Seeing Yue Li's ever-changing expressions, and finally her huffing and puffing as she went to the other side of the carriage, Jin Chenyuan could only helplessly turn his hand, transfer the folding fan to his other hand, and continue fanning Yue Li.

After passing a gate with a plaque that read "Minister's Residence" a few moments earlier, the carriage traveled a while longer and then saw a gate with a plaque that read "Imperial Censor's Residence".

"Are all the residences of officials opposite Prince Chen's Mansion?" Unable to contain herself, Yue Li broke her earlier plan to sever ties with Jin Chenyuan for a quarter of an hour because of her resentment towards the rich and asked curiously.

Unaware that Yue Li had almost broken off their friendship earlier, Jin Chenyuan honestly replied, "Yes, most of the buildings in the East City are mansions of powerful and wealthy people."

"What about the palace? Is the palace far from here?"

She had never been to a palace before; even in modern times, she had never been to the Forbidden City.

I wonder what the difference is between the imperial palace of this era and the Forbidden City she saw online in modern times, as well as the imperial palace she saw in movies and TV shows.

Seeing Yue Li's curiosity, Jin Chenyuan slowly explained the layout of the capital to her: "The imperial palace is located in the north of the city, while the east city is mostly inhabited by the powerful and wealthy, the south city is mostly inhabited by the rich, and the west city is inhabited by commoners..."

After hearing Jin Chenyuan's introduction, Yue Li roughly understood the layout of Kyoto's buildings. At the same time, a lively commotion arose outside.

Yue Li raised her hand and lifted the curtain to look, and saw that the carriage had turned into the bustling street. However, it was still early, and there were not many stalls or pedestrians on both sides of the road.

The inn where Yue Li stayed, Qianju, was located in the middle of this bustling street, next to a teahouse, and next to the teahouse was an intersection.

The carriage traveled for a while before arriving at the inn.

"Master, we've arrived." It was You Yun's voice as he drove the carriage.

"Ah."

Upon receiving the report, Jin Chenyuan and Yue Li exited the carriage one after the other.

Although it wasn't completely dark yet, lanterns had already been lit in front of the shops on both sides of the long street.

Seeing the constant stream of people coming and going through the two wooden doors of the inn, and then looking at the long street in front of the inn, Jin Chenyuan helped Yue Li straighten her somewhat disheveled clothes and said, "Shall we go into the inn first, or go shopping first?"

Seeing that there were still only a few pedestrians on the long street, and it wasn't the busiest time yet, Yue Li said, "Let's go into the inn first, pack our things, and go shopping when there are more people."

"it is good."

After they finished speaking, the two were about to walk into the inn hand in hand when a group of young men and women came out of the teahouse next door. One of them was clearly a married woman. She was very surprised to see Jin Chenyuan and subconsciously called out, "Uncle Chen, the Prince."

Her shout stopped both sides in their tracks.

The group of men and women followed the woman's gaze and looked towards Jin Chenyuan. They hadn't expected to see Prince Chen here, so they all stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Prince Chen."

"Hmm, Xinran, where are you all planning to go?" At this moment, Jin Chenyuan's aura was no longer the gentle one he had when he was with Yue Li; instead, it had a coldness that kept people at a distance.

However, it is clear that this group of people have become accustomed to Prince Chen in this way, or rather, this is the Prince Chen they are familiar with.

Upon hearing Jin Chenyuan's question, Lian Xinran had no choice but to speak up, "We just came from listening to storytelling at the teahouse, and we haven't had dinner yet. We're looking for a place to eat now."

Lian Xinran is the niece of the Empress Dowager's maternal family. Because the Empress Dowager has no daughter, she often summons Lian Xinran to the palace to keep her company. Therefore, Jin Chenyuan's relationship with his niece Lian Xinran is much closer than that with his cousin.

"Okay, then you can go ahead." Clearly, Jin Chenyuan had no intention of chatting with them or even introducing them. He simply took Yue Li's hand and headed into the inn.

Looking at her aloof cousin, and then at the woman beside him who clearly had a close relationship with him, and with the hints and suggestions from the people behind her, coupled with her own curiosity, Lian Xinran mustered up her courage and asked, "Cousin, Prince Chen, who is this woman beside you?"

No one knew that even Xinran's heart trembled after she asked that question.

Although she had been to the palace many times since childhood and had seen her cousin Prince Chen in the Empress Dowager's palace many times, the aura of Prince Chen was too cold and distant, and the sense of oppression he gave people was too terrifying. So even when she saw Prince Chen in the Empress Dowager's palace, she would only give a simple greeting and pay her respects. Apart from that, the two had no interaction.

Moreover, ever since Prince Chen handed over power to the current emperor and left the palace to establish his own residence, she has not seen him except at palace banquets.

The reason I called out to my cousin, Prince Chen, was not only because I was surprised to see him here, but also because there was a woman standing next to him behaving intimately with him.

How could she not be shocked that Prince Chen, who was not interested in women, was behaving intimately with a young lady?

When he spoke of Yue Li beside him, Jin Chenyuan's aloof aura softened considerably. He introduced her to the group of people who were clearly curious about her, saying, "Her name is Yue Li, and she is also the future Princess Consort of Prince Chen's Mansion."

Everyone:...

Yue Li: ……

This discrimination is a bit too much!

They had heard these past two days that Prince Chen had brought back a young woman, and that the two seemed very familiar with each other. Even the young woman's accommodation at the inn was arranged by Prince Chen himself.

No one expected that the two of them had progressed to such an intimate level.