Upon hearing this, Hongli's eyes narrowed beneath his slightly lowered eyebrows. He knew his mother was investigating the matter, but he hadn't expected her to be able to investigate so thoroughly. He had warned the servants at Qiongyuan long ago, but he didn't know who had leaked the information.

Suppressing his doubts, Hongli asked in a deep voice, "May I ask where Mother heard these rumors?"

"Stop dodging the issue! I'll only ask you, where was Su Shi between September and November? Did she flee the capital without permission?"

Hongli calmly replied:

“Mother, it is true that Madam Su is not in Qiongyuan. It is because when she first became pregnant, I took her to a temple to burn incense. A wise man there said that she was having a bad year and that she might not be able to keep the baby. To save the baby, I had no choice but to follow the wise man’s advice and send Madam Su to a nunnery. She stayed there until the baby was four months old, and only after that did I bring her back. If you don’t believe me, Mother, you can send someone to the nunnery to inquire.”

A few days ago, Hongzhou said that Consort Xi was inquiring about Su Yushan. Hongli took note and began to make arrangements. He had already taken care of things at the nunnery and there would be no mistakes. Therefore, he answered fluently and was not flustered.

However, Consort Xi had already seen through everything. "Since you dared to send me, you must have made arrangements. Hongli, you are my son, and no one understands you better than me."

“What I have said is true. Su has not fled. I know her whereabouts very well. Please do not listen to the slanderous words of others, Mother.”

Consort Xi sneered repeatedly, the kingfisher feather hairpin at her temples swaying slightly, her eyes, stained with dust and frost, gleaming with a sharp, cold light.

"If you know everything about her, why would you send guards to search for her whereabouts everywhere?"

Hongli assumed that it was someone from Qiongyuan who had exposed the matter, but he never expected that his mother would actually pry open the mouth of the secret guards around him!

Few people knew about Su Yushan's departure from the capital. Those few secret guards were all his confidants and had always been loyal to him, yet they betrayed him!

The situation is critical, and Hongli cannot afford to investigate the responsibility of the secret guards. Solving Yu Shan's predicament is the most urgent task.

"Absolutely not! Someone must be holding a grudge against the Su family to make baseless accusations and frame her!"

“You have already banished Madam Jin to another residence. The Fujin is a kind and benevolent woman. She comes from a prestigious family and would never stoop to competing with those maids for favor. Who would dare to frame her? Do you think I am making this up?”

Hongli was ultimately guilty, but he still pretended to be calm and changed the subject, saying, "I will investigate who spread the rumors. In short, Madam Su has already returned to the manor, and she is pregnant with my child. Mother, there is no need to pursue the matter from before."

Such a serious matter should be thoroughly investigated by Consort Xi. "For a mere commoner to be able to serve as a prince's maid is already an immense favor from the Emperor. Instead of being grateful, she ran away. She is truly audacious and will disgrace the royal family if word gets out! She disappeared for two months and returned pregnant. The child's origin is unknown and cannot be kept!"

"Mother! Yu Shan is five months pregnant. She was already carrying my child before I sent her away." Hongli insisted that he was the one who sent Su Yu Shan away. Consort Xi raised her finger and scoffed angrily.

"I think you've been bewitched by that little vixen! She disappeared for two months and came back pregnant. Didn't you ever suspect anything? Maybe it's not even your bloodline!"

He had made a mistake back then and said similar things that questioned Su Yushan. Now, hearing his mother question Yushan and her child with his own ears, he truly understands how hurtful those words are!

Hongli's anger flared instantly, and he solemnly declared, "Mother, as I have said, she has been pregnant for a long time, but we haven't made it public. The imperial physician has also examined her pulse, and he knows perfectly well that Yushan is carrying my child, without any doubt! My woman, my child, I will make my own judgment, and you don't need to worry about it, Mother. Please stop targeting Yushan, and especially don't try to harm the child. If you do anything to Yushan..."

Her son, who had always been filial and respectful, had repeatedly disobeyed her because of a maidservant, and now even dared to speak harshly to her in such a rebellious manner. Consort Xi immediately sat up straight, her eyes flashing across the room.

"So what if I lay a hand on her? I'm your mother, do you think you can get revenge on me?"

Yes! She was his biological mother. Even if she was unreasonable, biased towards the Jin family, and targeted Su Yushan, he could do nothing about it.

Seeing his mother's firm attitude, Hongli had no choice but to change his approach and try to discuss the matter with her in a more peaceful manner. "Mother, you gave birth to me and raised me. Your kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. I only think about how to be filial to you and never want to make you angry. But this time, Mother, you should calm down and think about it."

You often tell me that offspring are the most important thing. Su Shi has finally become pregnant, and we must protect the child. If you are truly worried, Mother, you can have a blood test to determine paternity after the child is born; the test will then reveal the truth.

"If the child isn't of the Aisin Gioro bloodline after he's born, won't you become the laughingstock of the entire capital?" She absolutely couldn't allow such a disgrace to happen to her son; she had to resolve it as soon as possible!

“But if you force her to abort, aren’t you afraid that you’ll be aborting your own grandson? Will that child come to you in the middle of the night crying for justice? Mother, you are a Buddhist, and you don’t want to create negative karma, do you?” Hongli deliberately brought up the issue of cause and effect, and Consort Xi indeed calmed down.

After thinking about it carefully, she realized that her son's words made some sense. In four months, Su would be due to give birth, and for the sake of the child, she could wait a little longer.

After hesitating for a long time, Consort Xi finally spoke, "Alright, I'll do as you say for now, but let me make this clear: once the child is born, if there are no problems, then fine. But if there are any problems, I will not be lenient. I will not keep Su Shi and that child!"

Such a situation could never happen, so Hongli was not worried and replied perfunctorily, "Yes, Mother."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!