Chapter 68 Princess Consort

Emperor Yuanjing did not wish to listen to Empress Shen's excuses any longer. He threw her off abruptly, gave an angry snort, and strode away.

Empress Shen collapsed to the floor, and an elderly maid hurried forward to help her up.

Empress Shen, her face pale, sat on the daybed, taking a long while to catch her breath. She immediately ordered someone to summon Duke Shen.

Before long, Duke Shen arrived. After Empress Shen dismissed all the palace maids and eunuchs, he said urgently, "Your Majesty, what did His Majesty say? I asked Yu'er, and he swore he never touched Miss Ye..."

Empress Shen waved her hand to cut him off: "What's the point of saying that now? A woman whose reputation is ruined—what right does she have to be the Crown Princess?"

"Then what does Chancellor Ye say? We can't have Yu'er marry Miss Ye, can we? If Miss Ye marries the Crown Prince, Chancellor Ye would naturally be a great asset. But if the Shen family and the Ye family form a marriage alliance, we would have to be constantly cautious, or it could easily arouse His Majesty's suspicion, losing us many allies!"

"Yet he must marry her," Empress Shen said firmly.

The Shen family had many branches. The men might not care much about a useless daughter or granddaughter, only caring about profit, not love.

But Empress Shen, being a woman, thought a bit further ahead. What if the Ye family truly did not care about the Second Miss Ye? That would be one thing. But if the Ye elders doted on this Miss Ye, and the Shen family refused to marry her, it would drive Miss Ye to a dead end. Then it would no longer be a matter of whether Chancellor Ye could assist the Shen family; if Chancellor Ye held a grudge against the Shen family, it would bring nothing but harm!

Empress Shen said to Duke Shen, "Brother, go back and bring Yu'er into the palace to apologize to His Majesty. Say that Yu'er had no idea of Miss Ye's identity. At that time, he was eager to help and forgot about formalities. Seeing Miss Ye's carriage destroyed, he was anxious to take her to see a doctor. In his urgency, he brought her to the Shen residence. There was absolutely no intention to offend. However, it was indeed Yu'er's carelessness that led to a breach of etiquette. Yu'er is willing to accept punishment. Furthermore, if the Ye family agrees, Yu'er is ready to marry Miss Ye."

"But, Your Majesty, if we in the Shen family propose the marriage ourselves, it might arouse His Majesty's suspicion..."

"Not proposing it won't avoid His Majesty's suspicion either! Concealing and avoiding it would only make His Majesty more suspicious! It's better to come out openly and propose it. Even if His Majesty is suspicious, he will weigh it in his mind!"

Duke Shen thought for a moment and quickly saw the logic: "Alright, I'll follow Your Majesty's instructions."

Empress Shen gave a cold snort: "Yu'er is a ladies' man. My sister-in-law insisted on him marrying a noble lady of the capital. Unfortunately, none of the prestigious families in the capital were willing to give their daughters to Yu'er, so his marriage has been delayed time and again. Now that Yu'er will marry the Chancellor's legitimate granddaughter, it saves my sister-in-law the trouble of arranging things!"

Duke Shen smiled awkwardly, took his leave, and exited the palace.

Time passed swiftly.

Su Zheng hadn't heard any news about the Crown Princess decree and figured something must have gone wrong.

It was as he had expected, so Su Zheng was not surprised and did not inquire.

He had no energy to ask!

Since the incident by the rockery, Luo Yunchen had been tormenting Su Zheng even more relentlessly!

Whenever both were in the Eastern Palace, Luo Yunchen almost never let Su Zheng get off his lap.

Even during meals, Luo Yunchen would forcibly seat Su Zheng between his legs, making him eat while sitting on his lap as they waited for the meal.

Xu Mo, entering the hall, wished he could forget how to breathe.

Afraid that even a slight disturbance in the air would disrupt the masters' intimate moment.

If that happened, he would surely stop breathing altogether!

When the meal was brought in, Luo Yunchen let Su Zheng eat on his own.

In his spare time, Su Zheng was either bathing and sleeping, or on his way to bathing and sleeping.

By the time the Shen and Ye families exchanged betrothal gifts and marriage contracts, the matter had been temporarily settled.

Emperor Yuanjing and Empress Shen would not mention the Crown Princess for at least a while, and would not want to hear anyone else mention it either.

Only then did Luo Yunchen secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

It was at this moment that he realized his earlier emotions were not just anger—he had been afraid!

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Afraid that Su Zheng would truly want to marry someone else, grow close to another, and drift away from him!

This fear didn't go away even after the incident was resolved.

Without Su Zheng's affection, without knowing Su Zheng's true feelings, he could never set his mind at ease!

Luo Yunchen couldn't help asking Su Zheng, "A Zheng, aren't you curious when His Majesty and Empress Shen will pick the Crown Princess and who it'll be?"

Su Zheng was lounging on the daybed, eating a cold dessert, and replied indifferently, "Not curious."

The weather was starting to get warm. Su Zheng was already feeling a little hot, and to make matters worse, there was a human furnace beside him—radiating heat without even realizing it—always rubbing up against him. If he didn't eat something cold, he would suffocate.

Luo Yunchen watched Su Zheng's movements and suddenly blurted out, "What if I become your Crown Princess, A Zheng? Would you look forward to it?"

Su Zheng raised an eyebrow at him. "What kind of crazy idea is that now?"

Ignoring Su Zheng's sarcasm, Luo Yunchen leaned over, wedged himself between Su Zheng and the low table, and pulled Su Zheng into his arms, gazing at his profile. "Or maybe you could be my Princess Consort. I only want you, and you can only have me!"

"No way! There's room over there—go sit there if you're going to. It's too hot!"

Luo Yunchen grabbed Su Zheng's hand as he tried to push him away, threading their fingers together, and wrapped his other arm around Su Zheng's waist. He murmured, "But I wish A Zheng would."

He tilted his head and gently kissed Su Zheng's cheek, then laughed. "A Zheng feels hot? Let me help you undress."

With that, he started pulling at Su Zheng's clothes.

Su Zheng hurried to grab Luo Yunchen's hands. "I! Won't! Undress!"

With one hand each, Su Zheng's hand couldn't even match half of Luo Yunchen's strength.

In a flash, Su Zheng's outer robe was yanked off and tossed to the ground.

In desperation, Su Zheng lowered his head and bit Luo Yunchen's arm, glaring at him as a silent warning.

Luo Yunchen chuckled softly. Su Zheng looked just like a pissed-off kitten, all puffed up.

He thought he looked fierce, but all it did was turn Luo Yunchen on, making him want to tease him even more, push him harder.

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