Wu Mei pursed her lips and sneered. She wanted to see how the owner of the vegetable garden would deal with the cowardly dishes that were in bad condition and had worms in them.

This pair of brother and sister were in sync. They both compared the beauties in Emperor Wen's harem with different characteristics as dishes.

Of course, the majority of them were leeks that had been cut and grown long.

Emperor Wen often muttered in private that Shui Cheng, the Crown Prince, was really troublesome and annoying. But in fact, apart from his daughter, Wu Mei, he loved his son the most.

During this trip to the Imperial Flower Garden, Shui Cheng wasn't too arrogant because Wu Mei, the clever girl, was there to mediate the situation. He professionally mocked Emperor Wen. The two of them were harmonious and complemented each other.

With her father and brother, Wu Mei wanted to stay in the Imperial Flower Garden for a while. After all, in addition to the flowers and lush trees, there were also many birds in the garden. Wu Mei felt very comfortable listening to them chatter and gossip in secret.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on her side. After a while, the originally clear sky suddenly darkened.

"A storm is coming. The Crown Prince should carry Mei Niang back to Feng Qi Palace," Emperor Wen ordered Shui Cheng.

Shui Cheng nodded, indicating that he would definitely carry Wu Mei back to Feng Qi Palace. After all, she was a girl that he had raised with his own hands. He felt sorry for her.

Emperor Wen also nodded. Just as he was about to turn around and return to Yangxin Palace Hall to deal with the memorials, Shui Cheng stopped him.

"Father, remember to tidy up the vegetable garden!

The bad leeks have to be cut off. Anyway, they will grow back when the time comes. "The so-called 'will grow back when the time comes' was naturally referring to the selection of concubines …

Emperor Wen: … What a pain in the ass!

"The Crown Prince is already 19 years old. It's time for him to get married and take the Crown Princess."

Shui Cheng frowned. "Father, I still have to observe filial piety!"

As soon as Shui Cheng said this, Wu Mei was dumbfounded. She wondered which elder had died. Emperor Wen, on the other hand, was so angry that his veins were bulging. He wished he could give this troublesome fellow a kick.

Other people would be filial to their mothers for a year, but you're f * cking doing it for ten years. You're really different from others!

Thinking that there were only a few months left until the end of the ten years of filial piety, Emperor Wen took a deep breath and finally squeezed out the words from between his teeth, "Isn't the filial piety going to end in a few months? Taking advantage of this year's consort selection, I will definitely find a good and virtuous Crown Princess for the Crown Prince."

Shui Cheng raised his eyebrows slightly and didn't say anything. Apparently, he was prepared to keep silent.

Although Emperor Wen always said that Shui Cheng was a troublemaker, in fact, he loved and trusted Shui Cheng the most. Therefore, he immediately took Shui Cheng's silence as a tacit agreement.

Shui Cheng was seventeen this year and nineteen in nominal age. If he was from an ordinary family, he would have already been a father.

However, Shui Cheng claimed that he was going to observe filial piety for Queen Yuan for ten years and raise his younger sister. However, he didn't even have a young palace maid to serve him.

Of course, Shui Cheng wasn't the kind of person who didn't reject men and women. He was only like this because he didn't have much need for convenience.

For Shui Cheng, raising his younger sister with his own hands was much more interesting than sleeping with women and having children.

Shui Cheng also knew that he had reached the age and it was time for him to get married.

However, Emperor Wen said that he wanted to choose a good wife for himself. To be honest, Shui Cheng really didn't trust Emperor Wen's taste.

The reason why he and Wu Mei's mother were the first wives was because they grew up together and had a good relationship. Secondly, Emperor Wen's birth mother, the Empress Dowager, was the one who made the decision.

Look at what Emperor Wen did after the Empress Dowager died and Queen Yuan died.

Shui Chen agreed with the saying that Emperors should have a long and prosperous life.

However, the problem was that he shouldn't use the excuse of missing Queen Yuan to favor women who looked as round and smooth as pearls and jade like Queen Yuan. Wasn't this deliberately making Shui Cheng feel uncomfortable and unhappy?

After all, Shui Cheng had always missed his birth mother. As his birth father, Emperor Wen, had attracted so many fake and inferior women. Who wouldn't feel uncomfortable if Shui Cheng didn't feel uncomfortable … Therefore, when Shui Cheng heard Emperor Wen promise that he would choose a good wife for the Crown Prince, he started to feel a little worried.

As a demon god, Wu Mei could hear and command all living things except plants. She was also very sensitive to people's emotions.

At this moment, Shui Cheng's emotional fluctuations couldn't be hidden from Wu Mei, who was quietly listening on the side.

Wu Mei rolled her eyes and guessed what Shui Cheng was worried about.

Just like Shui Cheng, Wu Mei was actually very worried that Emperor Wen would choose a wife for Shui Cheng based on the way he looked at women. Haha, if that was really the case, Shui Cheng's temper would become even worse.

Therefore, after thinking for a moment, Wu Mei made the decision to intervene.

Wu Mei leaned on the Crown Prince's shoulder, tilted her head, and pretended to be cute as she said, "Father, is Brother Crown Prince going to marry a wife?

That's great.

Mei Niang wants to help. Together with Father, we'll choose a hundred and eighty wives for Brother Crown Prince and strive to be like Father. "

Shui Cheng chuckled and couldn't help but praise Wu Mei.

"Little Mei is so sensible. However, one proper wife is enough. If you have so many wives like Father, wouldn't it be a mess?"

Emperor Wen's face darkened. "Those are concubines. Only Queen Yuan can be called my wife. I personally went to marry her when I was young and carried her in through the main entrance of Huangji Palace."

Shui Cheng was very satisfied with Emperor Wen's words.

After all, although Emperor Wen was a womanizer, his feelings for Queen Yuan could be considered genuine.

At least after Queen Yuan's death, even if the officials all submitted memorials to him and asked him to appoint a successor, Emperor Wen refused on the grounds that there was already a Crown Prince in the East Palace and that it wasn't appropriate to appoint a successor. The four concubines in the palace could handle palace affairs together.

In the ten years since Queen Yuan's death, although the women in the harem had changed over and over again, Emperor Wen still insisted on not appointing a successor. The four concubines in the harem would handle palace affairs together.

Since Emperor Wen was like this, Shui Cheng naturally couldn't say anything.

However, with his proud personality, he could only awkwardly say, "Thank you, Imperial Father, for thinking about Imperial Mother."

Wu Mei nodded vigorously at the side. "Imperial Father is so good. You're usually busy with state affairs, but you also have to worry about Gege Taizi's marriage. It's really too tiring. Mei Niang's heart aches for you." Therefore, it was necessary to intervene in Gege Taizi's marriage.

Emperor Wen didn't know what Wu Mei was thinking. When he heard Wu Mei say that it was tiring for him, he immediately smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum.

His daughter was so considerate. She was only this old, but she already knew that it was hard for him. She wasn't like that stinky brat who always had a sour face. He wasn't considerate at all and didn't know how to care for others.

"Okay, okay, okay. When it's time for the selection, Imperial Father will hold Mei Niang and help your Gege Taizi choose his wife …"

After pinching his daughter's tender face, Emperor Wen finally remembered that he had to return to Yangxin Palace Hall to deal with the memorials.

However, just as Emperor Wen lifted his leg and took a few steps, his annoying son reminded him again. "Imperial Father, remember to tidy up the vegetable garden!"

What a pain in the ass …

…

Emperor Wen rushed back to Yangxin Palace Hall with a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat.

After returning to Yangxin Palace Hall, Emperor Wen wasn't in a hurry to review the memorials. Because of Shui Cheng's repeated reminders and because he was angry that the imperial concubines actually dared to humiliate his legitimate daughter right under his nose.

Emperor Wen could be said to have put in a lot of effort to deal with the imperial concubines who went in and out of Fengqi Palace in the name of visiting him these days.

For a time, those who should be scolded were scolded, those who should be suppressed were suppressed, and those who should be demoted were demoted. In short, those who had nothing better to do and liked to find a sense of existence on Charming were all fishes in the net.

In the face of this "tragic situation", the imperial concubines who didn't blindly kick up a fuss were all as obedient as quails.

Out of caution, Consort De, who went to visit Wu Mei but didn't ridicule her, felt even more fortunate.

Fortunately, he was a cautious person. Otherwise, his fourth son, Shui Ze, would probably follow in the footsteps of the Second Prince.

Not only would he be sitting on the cold bench, but he would also lose the Emperor's trust.

After all, Emperor Wen was in the prime of his life. His imperial concubines, who were widely accepted, had given birth to many children. Regardless of whether it was now or in the future, he would only have one child, Wu Mei. As for his sons, starting from Shui Cheng, who was 19 years old, and ending with the youngest, who was born this year and could only babble, Emperor Wen already had 13 sons, and this didn't include the princes who died prematurely and didn't have a proper birth order.

Before the princes grew up, those imperial concubines who had sons who wanted to fight for a good future for their sons and themselves were all very well-behaved and did their best to educate their children.

Although the ancient people said that having more children meant more blessings, more sons meant less wealth.

This was the case even for the imperial family. Moreover, Emperor Wen had already appointed the Crown Prince. Other than the Second Prince and the Third Prince, the rest of the princes were all underage …

Speaking of which, Emperor Wen could be considered a sentimental person. He took care of both the affairs of the state and the affairs of the imperial family. He also had to divide his attention to teach Shui Cheng how to be an emperor.

After all, a person's energy was limited. Emperor Wen was so busy that he naturally didn't have extra time to care about his other sons.

After all, according to Emperor Wen's thinking, there was only one throne. Since the heir had been decided, the rest of his sons should be responsible for carrying on the family.

As a matter of fact, after dealing with the imperial concubines who dared to show their existence in front of his legitimate daughter, Emperor Wen only remembered that other than the Crown Prince, the Second Prince and the Third Prince still needed to marry their first wives after being reminded by the considerate Consort De when she was serving him.

"The Second Prince's birth mother died early. Although the Third Prince's birth mother is still alive, her status is low and she's not very likable …" Emperor Wen frowned slightly and said to the considerate Consort De who could be considered as a flower that understood people's feelings.

When the Consort De heard this, a glimmer of light flashed through her slightly lowered eyes.

The Consort De smiled faintly and said, "Noble Lady Li is indeed not very likable. However, she is the birth mother of the Third Prince. She should be present for this kind of important life event.

As for the Second Prince, he's a pitiful one … I'm not talented, but I'm willing to worry about it and choose a suitable wife for the Second Prince.

This way, when the Fourth Prince comes of age, I won't be in a hurry and be a novice. "

"It's good that my beloved concubine has such a kind heart."

Emperor Wen obviously liked the Consort De's words and immediately praised the Consort De.

However, when he remembered that he still had to hold his daughter and help this troublesome fellow choose a wife for the Crown Prince, Emperor Wen changed the topic and didn't agree to let the Consort De help the Second Prince choose a wife for the Crown Prince. He only said that he had his own arrangements.