The morning court session was relatively quiet today. Aside from the Minister of Revenue crying about the lack of funds for repairing the levees in Jiangzhou, there was nothing else of note. The court was dismissed quickly.

After the session ended, the officials exited the Hall of Supreme Harmony. They walked down the long flight of steps in small groups, chatting and exchanging pleasantries. Some who were close were already discussing plans to visit each other's residences later.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Prince Su. This prince was known for his solitary nature and had never been close with any court officials. After court, he would either return to his residence or go find his wife.

It was now deep winter. The sun rose late, and with the court session ending early today, it was just barely light out. The air was still frigid at this hour, the wind so biting it could cut one's face.

The officials were bundled up, each more thickly dressed than the last. They all tucked their hands in their sleeves and hunched their heads, slowly shuffling along in the cold wind.

The distance from the Hall of Supreme Harmony to the palace gates was not short. However, palace regulations stipulated that aside from the emperor and imperial relatives, no one was permitted to ride in carriages or palanquins inside the palace grounds without special permission. Therefore, even if they were frozen stiff, the officials still had to walk out the palace gates on foot before they could get into their sedan chairs.

The Minister of Revenue, who had just been wailing to Emperor Wen Xiao for money in the court, now had a calm expression as he walked and quietly chatted with the Minister of Rites.

They were originally just discussing where to go for tea, but as they talked, the Minister of Revenue suddenly nudged the Minister of Rites beside him with his elbow. "Brother Fu, quick, look to the left."

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Rites turned his face slightly and glanced out of the corner of his eye.

"Prince Su?"

With a sideways look, he happened to see Prince Su, who was about to get into his carriage, being stopped by the head eunuch beside the emperor. The eunuch bent at the waist and spoke to Prince Su with utmost respect. Prince Su then got into his carriage and turned to head in the direction of the Imperial Study.

The Minister of Rites turned his head back, not quite understanding his friend's point. "What's so strange about this? It's not the first or second time that fellow has been held back."

The Minister of Revenue tucked his hands into his sleeves. "Tsk, did you not see the look on Prince Su's face? It was dark enough to frighten someone to death."

Although they were not close to Prince Su, at this distance, they could still vaguely see that after the eunuch finished speaking, the usually taut expression on Prince Su's face had noticeably worsened.

The Minister of Rites glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, said in a low voice, "Speak plainly if you have something to say."

Aside from being very skilled at crying poor in court, the Minister of Revenue was also quite keen on ferreting out gossip in the capital in his private time. Moreover, after digging up some news, he always had to pull the Minister of Rites aside to share it.

The Minister of Revenue chuckled. "I bet this time... it's again about getting Prince Su to take a concubine."

Nearly four months had passed since Prince Su's grand wedding in early August. Not only had Prince Su been slow to take a concubine, he hadn't even added a single consort to his household. It was quite a shock to everyone.

Ever since the emperor had decreed the marriage between Prince Su and the eldest son of Marquis Xinyuan, many officials in the capital had started scheming, planning to send their age-appropriate daughters into Prince Su Mansion to become his concubines.

Since a male wife cannot bear children, the future heir of Prince Su Mansion would certainly come from a concubine or consort. At that time, as the child's birth mother, even if her status could not compare to the principal wife, she would still have a grander life than an ordinary concubine.

But these people waited and waited. Seeing that nearly half a year had gone by without any sign that Prince Su intended to take concubines, they all started to get a bit antsy.

According to custom, a girl's marriage should generally be arranged before she turned sixteen. If she was still at home when she reached eighteen, people would start to gossip behind her back. By then, it would be difficult to find her a good match, and she would have to marry at her same status level or marry down.

A young lady's prime years could not be delayed. Of course it would be best if she could marry Prince Su as a concubine, but if that didn't work out, it would not be worthwhile to waste time that could be spent arranging a marriage for the family's daughter.

Therefore, seeing that Prince Su Mansion was slow to show any intention of taking concubines, many officials whose daughters were of age and could not afford further delay quietly gave up on the idea of forming a connection with Prince Su. They began to make arrangements to find other prospective husbands for their daughters.

There were also some whose daughters were still young and not in a rush. They chose to continue waiting and watching. Prince Su Mansion only had one male wife. Even if Prince Su was suppressed by his wife and didn't dare to take concubines, Emperor Wen Xiao would never allow Prince Su Mansion to continue without offspring.

Of course, there was another type of person whose daughters were of age but were unwilling to give up on Prince Su, this big tree. They started to use all sorts of methods, wanting to send their daughters into Prince Su Mansion.

The most prominent among them was the Director of the Hanlin Academy.

This Director Scholar Han also had a daughter who had entered the palace. Some time ago, she had just been conferred the title of Honored Consort and was currently in favor. Who knows what pillow talk this Honored Consort Han used on Emperor Wen Xiao, but half a month ago, Emperor Wen Xiao expressed his intention to betroth Scholar Han's eldest daughter to Prince Su as a concubine.

Although he did not state it outright, for Emperor Wen Xiao to publicly praise an unmarried girl on two occasions, and at such a critical juncture, the implication was naturally clear without needing to be said.

Scholar Han was even more elated every day, as if his daughter had already entered Prince Su Mansion and given Prince Su a son.

Although his behavior made many officials who had not been able to compete want to vomit, since even Emperor Wen Xiao had spoken, presumably this time Scholar Han would truly have his wish fulfilled and become in-laws with Prince Su.

But just when everyone thought the matter was set in stone, there was an unexpected turn of events in the end.

Reportedly, Prince Su went directly into the palace and had an altercation with Emperor Wen Xiao. Afterward, he pleaded illness and took absence from court for five consecutive days. In the end, Emperor Wen Xiao compromised and sent someone to Prince Su Mansion. Only then did Prince Su "recover from his illness" and reappear in court.

After such a ruckus, the faint shadow of a marriage between Prince Su and the eldest daughter of the Director of the Hanlin Academy naturally had to be dropped.

It was a pity for that young lady. She was already of age, and with such an incident, it would be somewhat detrimental to her reputation. It would probably be difficult for her to marry well in the future.

The Minister of Rites gave the Minister of Revenue, whose brows and eyes were filled with an oily smile, a sideways glance. He said mildly, "Why do you care so much? Could it be that you also want to form a marriage alliance with Prince Su?"

"How could that be?" the Minister of Revenue mumbled, "The Prince Su Mansion is not a good place to go. Even if you enter, then what? That person... previously also sent people to the Prince Su Mansion, but look at those people now, which one of them has made any headway?"

Who in the capital hasn't heard of the jealous reputation of the Princess Consort? Even the beauties sent by Emperor Wen Xiao were not touched by Prince Su, and were instead tortured one by one. If Prince Su really took a concubine into the residence, wouldn't the Princess Consort directly torment the person to death?

However, when it comes down to it, the Princess Consort's willful behavior was also indulged by Prince Su. Without Prince Su's acquiescence, the Princess Consort would not be able to act so arrogantly and do as he pleases in the residence.

"Previously, I really didn't see that Prince Su was actually a deeply devoted romantic."

Prince Su, such a fierce god who has been vicious since childhood and would directly beat someone up if a single word was out of line, actually allowed a male consort to ride on his head. Apart from being deeply in love, there really was no other reason that could be found.

The Minister of Rites quietly listened to the Minister of Revenue rambling on and on by himself for a long time, feeling quite conflicted.

The weather was so cold that after he spoke a few words, the cold wind made his throat feel chilly. Who knows how the Minister of Revenue had such perseverance to talk for so long in this cold wind.

*

The Minister of Revenue only guessed half of it right. This time, Emperor Wen Xiao indeed still wanted to stuff someone into Prince Su Mansion, but not in the form of a concubine.

"I won't make things difficult for you," Emperor Wen Xiao said to Prince Su's cold face, his own expression quite gentle as he held a cup of hot tea and spoke slowly, "If you don't want to take a concubine, then don't. But you can't just cut off your bloodline like this."

"I don't expect you to give that person any status. As long as your residence has a legitimate son, you can dispose of those people however you want. Directly send them out of the residence after giving birth to a child..."

"Imperial brother," Prince Su interrupted him with a solemn face, enunciating each word, "This subordinate brother will adopt a child from the imperial clan next month."

Emperor Wen Xiao still had a gentle expression and raised his eyebrows to rebuke, "Nonsense, it's not that you can't have children, so why do you want to adopt? Isn't this just inviting ridicule for no reason?"

Seeing Emperor Wen Xiao's amiable appearance, Prince Su had a gut feeling that his imperial brother was a bit off today. Frowning, he said, "This subordinate brother has made up his mind."

If Emperor Wen Xiao hadn't pressured him so much, he actually didn't even want to adopt a child!

Originally, he was already quite dissatisfied with Ah Ming diverting his energy to those shops. Why create another child to compete for Ah Ming's already scarce attention?

Emperor Wen Xiao's reaction to this was to calmly take a sip of tea and say, "I know you love and cherish your prince consort, so you are unwilling to take concubines. It's just that Xie Ming is, after all, a sensible child who understands the bigger picture. Surely he also hopes that you can have your own child."

Sensible?

Understands the bigger picture?

Although in Prince Su's eyes, his own prince consort was naturally good in every way, he also knew that their family's prince consort had a temperament that was spoiled and willful, and no matter what, couldn't be linked to these two phrases at all.

Hearing this, Prince Su couldn't help but show a few traces of wariness in his eyes.

Emperor Wen Xiao's attitude today was really a bit strange. Usually by this time, after being opposed by him so many times, Emperor Wen Xiao should have already been displeased and pointing at his nose to reprimand him. Now with this appearance of a gentle breeze caressing his face, anyone could see there was something fishy.

Moreover, with Emperor Wen Xiao saying this...

Could it be that he took advantage of him not being in the residence to send someone to persuade their family's Ah Ming?

Thinking of this possibility, Prince Su could no longer sit still. He abruptly stood up from his chair with a "huh" and said, "This subordinate brother takes his leave!"

Having said that, without waiting for Emperor Wen Xiao's response, he hurriedly left, heading straight home.

Seeing his anxious and flustered appearance, Emperor Wen Xiao couldn't help but shake his head with a complex expression.

Originally, he was gratified that Prince Su's expression had gained a bit of human touch after getting married. But now it seems that Xie Ming's influence on him had already exceeded Emperor Wen Xiao's original expectations.

As for Prince Su, he returned to the residence at the fastest speed. Just as he was preparing to directly "invite out" the people sent by Emperor Wen Xiao with a heart full of displeasure, he didn't expect that as soon as he entered the door, the steward would come to report, "Master, as soon as you left, the palace sent an invitation. The princess consort entered the palace half an hour ago to visit Consort Xie."

Author's Note: Today, the tentacle monster asked me if she was the cutest in the world~

I hypocritically agreed with her and felt my conscience ache o(￣▽￣)ｄ

Whatever, in any case, this can't shake my position as the cutest in the universe =￣ω￣=