When the Emperor saw that it was the Crown Prince, he exclaimed, "What brings you here, boy?"
The Crown Prince said, "I haven't seen Father Emperor for a while, so I came to see him. Who did Father Emperor want to make cry just now?"
The emperor rolled his eyes at his son.
"I'm just thinking about how to fill the national treasury. Do you have any good ideas?"
The prince was embarrassed, feeling that he had arrived at the worst possible time.
"Father, hasn't Han Xuri always been the one to worry about making money? What, Father, do you have some new plans?"
The Emperor leaned back in his chair.
"I don't have any new ideas, but I feel that the more money we have, the better."
A secret report was received that the Zhao family was managing the Northwest region very well.
With windbreaks and sand fixation, and afforestation efforts, it shouldn't be long before the Northwest can transform from desert to oasis.
The crown prince quickly flattered him, "Father is wise and knows how to use people well, bringing blessings to the Divine Dragon Kingdom."
The emperor saw that his son was about to engage in mindless boasting again.
"Alright, alright, stop it. I'm your father, not your mother. Those flattering tricks won't work on me."
The Crown Prince smiled faintly, "What your son said is the truth."
The Emperor sat before his desk, deep in thought, when he suddenly asked, "The Crown Prince must be 28 years old this year, right?"
The crown prince immediately became alert, "My son is still a few months shy of 28, he's still young."
The Emperor nodded. "Twenty-eight is not young anymore, not young at all. Do you have any intention of accepting my throne?"
The crown prince looked horrified.
"Father, what are you saying? You are a valiant and extraordinary man, in the prime of your life. Please don't do anything rash."
Your Majesty, I still hope to try with the Crown Princess to have a daughter.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor spoke with a tone of disappointment and frustration.
"Everyone else would love to have the chair I'm sitting on, but you just don't care."
I'll give you two more years. By your 30th birthday, you'll have to take the throne whether you want it or not.
"If you dare refuse, hehe, don't blame me for stuffing women into your harem."
The crown prince was furious; how could anyone threaten someone like that?
“Father, I am young and may not be able to win people’s hearts. Why don’t you wait until I am 40?”
The Emperor chuckled, "Why don't you just say that when your son is old enough, you can let him succeed to the throne?"
The crown prince wanted to say that was exactly what he was thinking, but seeing his father's cold gaze, he shuddered.
He had no choice but to compromise, saying, "Your son will obey Your Majesty's command."
The emperor waved his hand, telling his troublesome son to get lost.
He also wants to go out and wander around, okay? He's so tired of staying in this city all day.
They occasionally go hunting, but it's always a huge event, and it's not interesting at all.
The Emperor grew increasingly agitated, and decided to go and sit with the Empress.
He could confide in his wife and maybe she could even persuade the crown prince to accept the throne sooner.
The crown prince left the palace and went straight to his residence.
He was terrified today.
Regardless of whether his father was testing him, he didn't want to accept the throne.
I didn't look at his father; on the surface, he was the ruler of a country.
In order to balance the power in the court, one wife after another was sent into the harem.
There are both good-looking and bad-looking ones, and deciding which one to favor requires careful planning; it's exhausting just looking at them.
It's better to have only one wife.
Logically speaking, in addition to the Crown Princess, the Crown Prince should also have concubines and secondary consorts.
The crown prince, however, was a man of principle; he simply didn't want so many wives.
He threatened that anyone who dared to send their daughter to the Crown Prince's residence would be left to live a life of widowhood.
Some, however, refused to believe in such things. Marquis Yongping, relying on the favor he had shown the retired emperor,
He even begged the emperor to allow his eldest granddaughter to marry the crown prince as a concubine.
Although the crown prince was furious, he still took the concubine into the family.
However, Consort Dong had been imprisoned for three years after entering the palace. She had never been favored by the emperor, nor had she ever even seen the crown prince.
It was only through the Crown Prince's deliberate leniency that Consort Dong escaped from the Crown Prince's residence and ran home for help.
Marquis Yongping was almost driven to his death by this incident.
He knew that even if his granddaughter returned to the Crown Prince's residence, she would still not receive his favor.
As a concubine of the crown prince who has no children, even if the crown prince ascends the throne in the future, she can at most get the position of an unfavored concubine, which is not only useless but also quite worthless.
After all, these days, a woman's wealth, status, and rights are all given to her by men.
Especially in the deep palace, an unfavored concubine is less useful than an ordinary official's wife.
Marquis Yongping had a change of heart and went to the palace to beg the emperor to grant his granddaughter her freedom.
The emperor refused on the spot.
A king's word is law, and the royal family does not divorce wives; death is the only way out.
In the end, it was Marquis Yongping who used his marquis status to save his granddaughter's life.
However, that granddaughter also faked her death. In other words, the Dong family would cease to exist.
This matter caused quite a stir back then.
Therefore, no family in the capital with even a little bit of status would dare to send their daughter to the Crown Prince's residence.
The Crown Princess, on the other hand, became the envy of all the noble ladies in the capital.
Even men from ordinary official families and wealthy households often have multiple wives and concubines. Yet, a prince of such high status only marries one wife.
This really challenged the sensitive nerves of a lot of men.
Three years ago, there was a hothead who dared to submit a memorial, saying that the Crown Prince was unconventional.
The crown prince was very disdainful.
"I am too busy with my affairs to take care of the women in my household. Besides, the Crown Princess is naturally lucky in bringing good fortune to her husband."
Since marrying me, she has given birth to five children in eight years. What an achievement that is!
You need not envy my good fortune. Marry as many wives as you like, but don't use me as a pawn…
In short, no matter how many wives you marry, none of you are as powerful as me.
I only have one wife and five sons. What about you? Some of you have more than ten wives, and some haven't even had a son.
Being jealous of me won't help. I'm just that lucky.
When it comes to the Crown Prince getting married, he's a complete scoundrel.
If he angers someone, he'll give them a piece of his mind; if he doesn't anger them, he'll definitely go home and complain to the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess will surely send the girl she selected from the building to the bed of the troublemaker the next day.
Then that family will definitely be thrown into chaos, with trouble brewing in their backyard.
No one knew that the Crown Princess's most profitable business was a brothel.
Hongxiu Tianxiang, the largest brothel in the capital, was one of the Crown Princess's businesses.
Through this brothel, the Crown Prince gained control over the movements of most of the officials in the capital.
Furthermore, thanks to the girls in the brothel, no one dared to send anyone to his backyard.
The fact that the Crown Prince insisted on marrying only one Crown Princess was not necessarily because of any deep love.
It's just because he's too lazy. He feels he can't even handle one Crown Princess, let alone bring a bunch of women home. He'd surely die young.
The Crown Princess, of course, also has her own extraordinary abilities; she is not only good at making money, but also a martial arts master.
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