The third prince's entire aura turned dark as he stood there, looking coldly at the middle-aged man sitting there on his seat. The Emperor managed to keep his youth despite his age. Thus, he still looked quite young despite having five children.
At this time, he knew that his sons had grown up to the marriageable age, and thus, they were supposed to be married as soon as possible.
The crown prince and the second prince were already betrothed. So he didn't have any kind of stress about them. The problem was this young man in front of him. God knows what this child ate during his early years and whom this child associated with back then to become this unruly.
It was fine if he didn't want to get married, but at least he should relent for his younger brother and sister. How would it look to the entire public that a royal prince didn't get married but his younger siblings did?
The Emperor cleared his throat as a trace of urgency surged up in his heart. "Son, I'm not pressuring you, okay? Just make sure you associate with them, see how they are with your own eyes, and-"
Before he could even finish talking, the third prince snorted and cut him off, "No need."
After speaking like that, he didn't even offer a sentence more to explain himself and flung off his sleeves, taking his leave right after that. His younger brother also didn't stay long at that place and rushed after his elder brother.
The Emperor held his head in dismay.
This third prince was a headache. Why was he spo unruly?! As a child, this young man used to be so obedient. Other than a few naughty instances, the young third prince always liked to look up to him.
So what exactly happened after that?
The Emperor sighed and shook his head, looking at the court full of people. A few of those officials had gossipy expression on their faces, making the corner of his lips twitch a little.
Great. The gossip that the third prince wouldn't marry no matter what would slowly spread into the kingdom by tomorrow.
Outside, right when the third prince stepped outside the palace, followed by his younger brother, a man stopped him in between the corridor.
"Prince Cao Haoran." The official, wearing an intricate hat on his head, bowed in front of the third prince and then looked behind, bowing again, "Prince Cao Liangjei."
Cao Haoran raised his brows as his mood plummeted to the bottom of the ocean. It was one thing to hear his father comment about his marriage, but it was a completely different aspect when he also had to face these baldheads wearing hats just to hide their baldness.
Of course, the official didn't seem to notice the prince's terrible mood and opened his mouth. "I think you should take your imperial father seriously. The Emperor is getting old. Even though we have a crown prince and a crown princess, we still need other princes to get married.
"It would be good if every one of the princes could get influential families under the control of the royal family. Thus, even if they wanted to, they wouldn't be able to become traitors of the kingdom. We only wish to see the Cao-"
"Liu Sheng." Cao Haoran spoke coldly, "You talk too much."
The bald man lowered his head as his face paled. Even the surrounding eunuchs and guards calmed down and lowered their heads, pretending to be deaf. At this moment, Cao Liangjei coughed and patted his big brother's shoulders.
"Brother, let's go. We shouldn't talk too much with these corrupt officials."
The corners of Liu Sheng's lips twitched a bit.
Sure, he was corrupt, and he would often sneak out money, extorting it for his benefit, but who told the government to be so lousy? They didn't increase his income even after all these years of service. He was also a man with a family, and even his daughter was going to get married.
Honestly, he had originally wanted her to get married to Cao Haoran, but now…
He looked up at the third prince and then at the fourth prince. He couldn't help but feel a trace of sadness. They were the perfect candidates for his dear daughter, but unfortunately, these guys weren't interested in marriage.
Even if they were, they weren't even ready to make themselves serious for the sake of this entire kingdom. They would just continue to waste time and money for everyone else to work in their stead.
What a headache! If his daughter got married to such a man, Liu Sheng didn't know what he would end up doing. She might suffer more than ordinary people among the nobles!
It was better for him to find another candidate for her.
Of course, how could Cao Haoran not know what he was thinking? His aura turned even darker.
It was one thing for others to pressure him with marriage candidates and speak ill about his everyday life. But they even dared to refuse him and think about exchanging him with someone else for their daughters…
Too presumptuous!
They really want to die at his hands today!
Just as Cao Haoran's aura was turning even darker, his younger brother coughed and said, "Brother, let's go. We will go to the field."
Hearing that, Cao Haoran's aura toned down slightly. He nodded and looked at the bald official for a moment, and said, "Liu Sheng, there's still time for you to repent for your mistakes,"
After that, he didn't say another word and turned around, walking away while flicking his sleeves.
The bald man was too afraid to do anything. He just stood there until the third prince disappeared and then finally relaxed his shoulders. He glared at the spot where Cao Haoran was standing and scoffed.
"That damned prince dares to play with me. Let's see whether he can learn politics now!"
Since Cao Haoran was a prince, he was given a golden spoon from his childhood days because of his past. Honestly, when he was merely two years old, he was kidnapped by some spies of the neighboring kingdom. Thankfully, the imperial guards found him easily without any loss of soldiers.
Ever since then, this prince had been taken care of too well to the point that the Emperor spoiled him rotten. Thus, even though this young man was 22 years old, he was still not that knowledgeable about politics.
The Emperor had recently arranged for several officials to teach him something about it. But now that the third prince had offended the head of all the officials there, Liu Sheng would surely make sure this damned prince suffered under him.
He huffed and turned around, walking into the throne room.