Demon Lord Gets Married

Chapter 165 - You Have to Worry about Not Having Enough Money When You Have too Many Children

“Envoy Huo, the Emperor requests your presence!” Lai Jiquan appeared at Yin Xu's residence dressed in a dark red inner servant uniform.

This residence was designated for night duty guards. Due to Yin Xu's rank as an envoy, he only had a single room. The furniture was basic and crude, making it far from comfortable.

Having just finished his night shift, Yin Xu wanted some solitude, even if he wasn't tired. He glanced at Lai Jiquan indifferently, sure that there was a hint of malicious mockery in his eyes.

Although well-hidden, it couldn't escape Yin Xu's sharp eyes.

He got up, stretched slightly, and changed into regular clothes in front of Lai Jiquan.

At this time, the emperor had likely just left the imperial court. It seemed the matter was urgent.

Why didn't he summon her when she entered the palace yesterday? Perhaps she wanted to give him some time to gather his thoughts.

The emperor had returned to the Bedroom Hall right after leaving the imperial court. A few ministers were kneeling outside, pleading for something.

Yin Xu walked past them with his head held high and his chest puffed out, noticing the sweat on their foreheads and thinking: It's not easy being an official.

“Your Majesty, the Third Prince has been unruly for some time. In the past, his disobedience could be attributed to his youth and immaturity, but now, at nearly twenty years old, he still flouts the law and discipline. If Your Majesty does not punish him severely this time, it will only embolden him further!”

“Yes, your majesty. The prince is guilty of violating the law. The Third Prince has repeatedly trampled on the law. Today, he dared to disobey the decree, and who knows what he might do tomorrow.”

Yin Xu stopped, turned, and walked to the front of the old officials, looking at them with a superior air. It was as if they believed that if the Emperor did not punish Teng Yu today, chaos would ensue tomorrow.

He smirked slightly and lightly patted one of the oldest officials, “Your excellency, what you say is reasonable. To think that someone would dare to be so bold under the Emperor's rule, he truly deserves severe punishment. What crime should the Third Prince be convicted of?”

When the officials raised their heads and saw it was him, they fell silent, knowing his relationship with Teng Yu was shallow.

Yin Xu patted the old man's shoulder again and advised sincerely, “Master, you are not young anymore; you should rise quickly.”

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The old official ignored his words and coldly replied, “Defying the decree is a capital offense. If he weren't born into the royal family, he would have been apprehended long ago!”

Yin Xu smiled and continued, “If he weren't born into the imperial family, where would he have gotten the imperial edict to grant marriage?”

With that, he turned around and walked into the Emperor's Bedroom Hall, regardless of their reaction.

Behind him, a sudden exclamation erupted, “Minister He… What's wrong with you?… Quickly, call for the imperial physician!”

Yin Xu walked in calmly with a smile. He only stopped smiling when two eunuchs halted him, looking at them with a composed expression.

The two eunuchs trembled as they bowed and said, “Commander Huo, please wait a moment. This servant will announce your arrival.”

After they went inside to announce him, Yin Xu observed the Emperor's Bedroom Hall. It was luxurious yet dignified.

He scanned from the leftmost screen to the bookshelf on the far right, even taking in the view from the window.

A cool breeze brought in the scent of flowers. Yin Xu's nose twitched as he frowned, appearing deep in thought.

Although the fragrance seemed ordinary, Yin Xu detected an unusually sweet smell within it.

If Teng Yu were examining it, he would probably identify the problem more easily.

He walked to the windowsill and looked out at the courtyard. Various expensive flowers were in bloom, their combined fragrance making it hard to distinguish the strange scent from before.

He looked around, his eyes finally resting on the incense burner in the room. He asked the eunuch nearby, “What incense is burned here? It smells really good.”

The eunuch lowered his head and respectfully replied, “Emissary Huo, His Majesty's Bedroom Hall always burns ambergris. No other place has it.”

“Really? This is what we burn every day at the Third Prince's Mansion,” Yin Xu said, shrugging his shoulders, completely unsurprised by what others might think upon hearing him.

The eunuch lowered his head further and whispered, “The Emperor occasionally gifts some incense to the Third Prince.”

Yin Xu didn't think much of it until the young eunuch who had gone in to report his arrival called him. He suddenly realized the problem. If there was an issue with the emperor's incense, did the same issue apply to the incense given to Teng Yu?

If so, did the emperor not know, or was he pretending not to know, or… did he intend to use someone else's hand to achieve his goal?

As Yin Xu walked, he pondered this. However, seeing the emperor, he felt he might have overthought it.

The last time he saw the Emperor was in the palace. He hadn't expected that in just two months, the Emperor would look so haggard. He appeared ten years older, his spirit not as strong as before.

Yin Xu wasn't certain if the unusual changes in his body were related to the censer, but he was sure that Yue Yang wouldn't harm him just to kill him.

“What business does Your Majesty have with me?” Yin Xu asked bluntly, not even bothering to bow.

The emperor stared at him with intense eyes, seemingly forgetting his surroundings, and looked at him particularly seriously. If not for the lack of male concubines in the imperial harem, Yin Xu might have suspected the emperor was attracted to him.

After a while, the emperor slowly said, “I have seen the granddaughter of the Inferior Prime Minister's family. He has an outstanding appearance, dignified and virtuous, and, rare for someone of his station, possesses considerable literary talent.”

Yin Xu chuckled twice but did not reply.

The emperor continued without looking at him, “You are still young, and I wasn't in a hurry to arrange your marriage. But given the current situation, I am truly responsible for your mistakes and must give an explanation to the Huo Family.”

The corner of Yin Xu's mouth twitched, and he retorted rudely, “No need, I find things fine as they are. I've never met the Inferior Prime Minister's granddaughter, so I don't know if he's round or flat.”

“You are still young, and many things depend on your preferences. However, you don't realize that there are too many helpless things in this world, and situations are unpredictable. Many things change, and rather than regretting in the future, why don't I act now? I believe your father would do the same.”

Yin Xu was unwilling to talk to him. From the emperor's perspective, it was obvious he didn't want to see his son and another man together. Their conflict was irreconcilable, and it was already rare for them to maintain surface calm.

“My son is not young anymore. Yi'er was already born when he was this age. He has no heir. Even if I wanted to hand the world over to him, my subjects would not agree.”

Yin Xu secretly cursed: This emperor is truly adept at scheming and understanding people's hearts. His words sounded sincere and touching.

Unfortunately, the person before him was an old devil who had lived for thousands of years. He had seen it all before, so he couldn't be swayed by mere words.

Moreover, he knew the inside story. If the emperor truly wanted to hand the world over to Teng Yu, why would he spoil him and indulge him from a young age, leading him astray?

Take this matter, for example. He had been with Teng Yu for more than a few days, and the emperor hadn't just found out either.

Yin Xu raised his head to face the emperor, imitating Wang Ren as he blinked innocently and said, “The Third Prince said he really likes children and will definitely have his own in the future. Why would the emperor think he doesn't have any descendants?”

“And what about you? Ye-er can take concubines and have children with other women, but you can't. You'll have to watch him and other women have children one after another. Are you willing?”

Yin Xu continued blinking, “Why have so many children? It's enough to have an heir, but after living a long time, I'll have to worry about the family assets being insufficient.”

The emperor thought of his three sons. Though he only had three, as they grew, the pressure increased. On one hand, he had to nurture them, and on the other, suppress their abilities.

No emperor would wish to have a son more powerful than himself, always in danger of being replaced.

The emperor sighed, “You are still young and naive. You might think you don't care about outsiders' opinions and rumors, but people live for dignity. Do you want to be pointed at every day when you go out? Do you want everyone to look at you differently?”

Yin Xu scratched his chin, thought about it, and answered seriously, “Although I'm not willing, I'm used to it. People have looked at me strangely since I was young, and nothing happened!”

The emperor choked, suddenly reminded of Yin Xu's past ‘achievements.' It really took courage to live so openly in front of others.

“Is that so? I was careless.” The emperor looked at Yin Xu's calm face and suddenly didn't know what to say.

“Cough, I still hope you will consider carefully and not be blinded by temporary infatuation. Your life has just begun, and you are at the peak of your abilities. Why be subservient to others and let your talents be buried in the backyard?”

Yin Xu understood the underlying message. As long as he was with Teng Yu, forget about promotion; he wouldn't even be able to keep his current position and would be confined to the backyard.

He didn't care about the former, and he didn't believe in the latter. As long as he wasn't willing, who could stop him?

He smiled faintly and bowed to the emperor, “The emperor is truly considerate. Unfortunately, this humble subject cannot turn back now. Perhaps I will regret it in the future, but that is a matter for the future. This humble subject has always focused on the present!”

“You…” The emperor took a deep breath, his chest so tight that he began to cough violently, having to clench his hand to control his anger.

He didn't know what was wrong with himself. He was especially prone to rage and couldn't control his emotions.

This situation was definitely unusual, and he didn't deserve it. That was why he stayed in the Bedroom Hall and didn't go anywhere.

“Is the emperor unwell? Should I call for an imperial physician? Just a moment ago, His Excellency He fainted outside. Presumably, Imperial Physician He hasn't left yet,” Yin Xu asked with concern.

The old man probably wouldn't recover for the rest of his life. At that time, Yin Xu had only patted him twice.

The Emperor Dechang waved his hand, signaling for him to leave. As for the imperial physicians, they were all for show; they couldn't find any problems even after such a long time. He even felt the entire imperial hospital had been bribed.

His nature was suspicious, and now things had developed to this point, he was even more suspicious. Besides the people around him, he trusted no one.

However, he didn't realize that the more trustworthy a person seemed, the more dangerous they could be.