Seeing that her son had said so, the Empress breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ideally within six months. Time is so precious. As you know, various forces are eyeing us covetously, and I can't spare much attention for you. You are my only son, and you should know that a mother always sides with her own child. I will always side with you."

The Empress was truly unreserved when it came to her son.

Although Murong Lie sometimes felt a little annoyed, most of the time he was grateful for his mother's sacrifices for him.

"Don't worry, I won't let my guard down easily. I won't easily give up the things that I should hold onto; I will hold on tightly."

His words were unclear, but the Empress heard them clearly.

A look of relief flashed in her eyes.

The mother and son had just finished speaking when the old emperor entered.

The old emperor was about the same age as the empress, but he had two bags under his eyes, his eyes were very cloudy, and he walked with a somewhat unsteady gait.

This is the consequence of his years of infatuation with beautiful women.

The palace maids following behind him were all beauties.

Unfortunately, the beauty can only stay with the old thief.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the Crown Prince. What have you been busy with these days?"

He had just finished paying his respects to his father, the emperor, when the old emperor spoke with a smile.

Every time he opens his mouth, it's never anything good.

The thought that the emperor's life would soon come to an end made Murong Lie feel less emotional towards him.

He replied respectfully, "At home, I simply practice martial arts, read some leisure books, and play chess with others."

"Those days are so boring. Why don't you come to the palace? I can take you to have more fun."

The old emperor looked regretful.

If he had listened to him, Murong Lie probably wouldn't have lived much longer.

"Your Majesty, I dare not trouble you. You are busy with many affairs of state. If I were to go, I would only cause you trouble. I am sure those ministers would not be satisfied either."

The old emperor's smile vanished the moment he mentioned those ministers.

The only reason the two can maintain the facade of a loving father and filial son is because the ministers are suppressing them.

The checks and balances between the various parties allow the overall situation to remain in a strange equilibrium.

The old emperor smiled again: "That's true, I probably won't have time to play with you. I've heard recently that you have another woman by your side, is it true or not? Has the Crown Prince finally come to his senses?"

He quickly brought up another topic.

Upon hearing this, the Empress immediately raised her eyebrows and asked, "Your Majesty, where did you hear this rumor from?"

"Don't worry about where I heard it from or whether it's a rumor or the truth. I just happened to run into the Crown Prince, so I'll ask him."

The old emperor spoke slowly and deliberately.

The Empress then smiled and said, "I am truly pleased that you care about the Crown Prince. But you will only be disappointed. This matter is all just a rumor."

The old emperor clearly did not believe it: "What others say is so detailed and convincing, how could it be just a rumor? The crown prince is not young anymore, there is no need to be shy."

The Empress, clutching her handkerchief, laughed even more heartily: "Please don't be hasty, let me explain slowly. The whole story is actually quite simple. It's nothing more than our son finding a personal maid to serve him. That maid, in order to make her life better, became attached to him and went around saying that she had a relationship with the Crown Prince."

"When I first heard this, I wanted to get rid of that palace maid. But when I thought about how the Crown Prince had never had a woman by his side all these years and that people were implying that he had homosexual tendencies, my heart ached. In a moment of impulsiveness, I let the rumors spread. Rather than let the Crown Prince be rumored to have other fetishes, I'd rather let the rumors become more and more true."

"How can you believe such rumors?"

The old emperor was a little taken aback by what the empress said.

His body had long been hollowed out by wine and women, and even his mind was working much slower than before.

After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "So you mean the affair between that palace maid and the crown prince was fake?"

The Empress nodded with great certainty: "You know our son. No matter how beautiful a woman is, he won't even look at her. It would be absurd for that palace maid, who is only barely pretty, to catch his eye."

Upon hearing this, the emperor immediately lost interest.

In his view, a woman must have a beautiful face.

Beauty is the fundamental reason why men are willing to make sacrifices for it.

If a woman doesn't even have a good appearance, she won't be loved.

Judging others by his own standards, if he couldn't even find a woman of average appearance attractive, how could his son possibly be interested in her?

He was appeased by the Empress's words alone.

He smiled and said, "Alright then, I thought there was good news, but it turns out to be like this. So, shall we leave the palace maid alone?"

The Empress said with some sadness, "Let's just use her as a shield. The Crown Prince has suffered so much from the rumors and gossip that he's been seriously hurt. It's good that a woman can protect him from the outside winds."

Since she had said that, the old emperor really had nothing more to say.

The way the couple interacts is set from the very beginning.

The old emperor knew that his wife had too much power behind her, and he couldn't act rashly. He wouldn't offend her anytime soon.

The best relationship is one where two people treat each other with respect.

In any case, the Empress is still a member of the royal family, and she cannot abandon the interests of the royal family just for the sake of her own maternal clan.

Both husband and wife have their own little schemes, but they trust each other completely.

Suddenly remembering something else, the emperor laughed again.

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