"You are of good age now, and it's time for you to have a principal wife in your harem. I wonder if you have any thoughts on this?"

Inside the imperial study, the emperor looked at the third prince in front of him and asked a question.

But the Third Prince shook his head: "Your subject has no such intention. Firstly, I have no one in mind, and secondly, my mind is not yet settled, and I am afraid of delaying a good girl."

"Once you've settled down and started a family, your temperament will be more stable," the Emperor said dismissively.

Seeing the resistance written all over the Third Prince's face, he suddenly asked, "Tell me the truth, do you have feelings for Miss Shen?"

The Third Prince paused for a moment, then quickly said, "Father, you misunderstand. I have only met Miss Shen a few times."

The Emperor chuckled; he had seen the way the Third Prince looked at Chen Yue before.

It's full of tenderness; it doesn't seem unintentional at all.

But seeing that the Third Prince did not intend to admit it, the Emperor did not insist.

He merely spoke up seemingly unintentionally, reminding her: "Given the county princess's temperament, her children should not adhere to the principle of one love for life."

"A son cannot take a concubine, and neither can a daughter's husband. So if you are interested in Miss Shen, you should know what you should and shouldn't do."

The Third Prince remained expressionless, merely cupping his hands in a low voice and saying, "Your subject has no interest in matters of love between men and women, nor has he ever considered marriage. Your Majesty is overthinking it."

Upon hearing this, the emperor snorted coldly.

He said bluntly, "It's best if I'm overthinking it. Otherwise, after Miss Chen goes out of the capital to travel, who knows when she'll return? You might suffer from lovesickness while you're in the capital."

"Not to mention what if she comes back with a new love interest? You won't even know where to cry then."

The Third Prince was genuinely taken aback, and without thinking, he asked, "Miss Chen is going to travel outside the capital?"

The moment he uttered the question, he met the Emperor's mischievous gaze and immediately regretted it.

But it's too late to say anything now; all I can do is stand there with a stiff upper lip.

The Emperor nodded: "That is indeed the case."

He then jokingly added, "It's a good thing you have no feelings for Miss Shen, otherwise I would be a little worried about you."

The emperor, who said this, lost his usual composure and looked on as if he were watching a good show.

The Third Prince felt a chill run down his spine; this was a side of the Emperor he had never seen before.

I wonder what's wrong with His Majesty lately?

For now, I could only bite the bullet and say, "That's right. Miss Shen's decisions are none of my business."

He didn't want to reveal his true feelings to the emperor.

Because he couldn't be sure what choice the emperor would make after learning about it.

Whether it's to fulfill his wishes or out of fear of the General's Mansion, it's something he can't bear.

Seeing the troubled look on the Third Prince's face, the Emperor understood and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

Since when did even his son stop daring to tell the truth in front of him?

There was no anger or resentment in his heart, only a deep sorrow.

In the end, he could only wave his hand and say, "That's enough. This is your own business, and I have no right to interfere. You may leave."

The third prince breathed a sigh of relief, turned and left, a bitter smile on his lips.

He did have feelings for Shen Yue, but so what?

The Emperor is wary of Shen Yunting; if he were to reveal his desire to marry Shen Yue...

The final result was either that the emperor felt that he and Shen Yunting had ulterior motives and rejected their alliance.

Either the emperor forcibly arranged for Shen Yue to marry him, in order to control Shen Yunting.

Either outcome would hurt Shen Yue, and neither of these is what he wants to see.

All he can do now is push Shen Yue away.

Of course, given the current situation, Shen Yue is probably eager to get as far away from him as possible.

Thinking of this, the third prince's bitter smile became even more pronounced.

After the palace examination, Shen Cong's becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination caused quite a stir in the capital.

Before that, everyone around was watching.

They all felt that the emperor might not allow a member of the Shen family to become the top scholar.

But as it turns out, they were wrong.

During the palace examination, everyone couldn't help but take a second look at Shen Cong, who spoke eloquently and confidently in front of the emperor without any stage fright.

He is completely different from what the rumors say, and he has a lot of his father's style.

Coupled with the emperor's repeated praise, everyone couldn't help but realize that things were about to change.

The Emperor's attitude toward the Shen family was clearly different from before.

If the Shen family is treated the same way as before, they will likely end up like the Zhang family.

In no time, numerous visiting cards arrived at the Shen family.

Madam Shen glanced at it, then casually tossed it aside, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

When the Shen family had their troubles before, everyone wanted to stay far away from them, but now they want to stick close to them as if nothing happened.

Do they really think the Shen family has no temper?

After what happened before, she had gradually become less interested in power and status.

Now all she wants to do is guard the General's Mansion; nothing else matters.

Moreover, Madam Shen also knew that one of the important reasons these people sent out visiting cards was that they wanted to push their daughters in front of her.

Although rumors of Shen Yunting's impotence and sleepwalking murders were widely known in the capital, people were still eager to push their daughters into the fire for the sake of huge profits.

Madam Shen was not interested in this at all.

She knew better than anyone else that the position of the general's wife could only ultimately belong to Qu Jingyun.

She wouldn't cause trouble for no reason, lest she incur Shen Yunting's displeasure.

Not to mention, she remembered everything about Qu Jingyun's relationship with the Shen family.

If it were someone else, they might not be able to do it.

Even though Madam Shen tried to avoid these visiting cards, she still couldn't escape the crowds who tried to find a way in.

That day, Madam Shen simply wanted to go out to buy some things, but she was blocked in the shop.

"Isn't this Madam Shen? A few days ago, our Zhao family sent a visiting card to the Shen family, but we haven't heard back yet. We thought we were bothering Madam Shen, but we didn't expect to run into her here. How lucky we are."

Madam Zhao blocked Madam Shen's path in a few steps, and quickly gave her daughter a meaningful look.

Zhao Xiangxue immediately understood and quickly moved closer.

With a warm smile, she said, "I wonder what the old lady would like to buy? Xue'er knows this shop very well, perhaps I can help you in some way."

The old lady's face revealed deep dissatisfaction, and she said with a forced smile, "I've bought almost everything, it's time to go."

She knew exactly what these people were up to without even thinking.

She's lived most of her life, how could she let these people drag her by the nose?

What she didn't expect was that the mother and daughter were staring at Shen Cong, not General Shen.

All that could be heard was that Madam Zhao seemed completely oblivious to the reluctance in the old lady's eyes.

He said to himself, "I wonder if the second young master of the manor has someone he is engaged to?"