In the past, Su Yushan might have secretly rejoiced upon hearing these words. She had been forced to stay here for the sake of her children and family; deep down, she didn't want to remain in the capital. Being divorced would have been a blessing in disguise for her.

But now, when Consort Xi proposed to divorce her, Su Yushan did not relax at all. When she thought of how Hongli was wounded by arrows and burned by branding irons while saving her, she felt extremely guilty and did not want to leave. She only wanted to stay by his side and take care of him.

The proud woman did not agree to the offer. Instead, she lowered her head and respectfully admitted her mistake to Consort Xi, "It was my fault. I am willing to be punished, but the Fourth Prince is still running a high fever and is not out of danger. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to return to the manor to take care of the Fourth Prince."

"Hongli has his own wife to take care of him, who do you think you are? Guards! Immediately throw this jinx out of the palace and out of the capital!"

As soon as Consort Xi gave the order, guards entered the palace to take Su Yushan away. Su Yushan struggled and refused to obey, "My child! My child is still in the manor, Your Majesty, I cannot leave!"

Consort Xi raised her chin slightly and coldly interrupted him, "Your child is being taken care of by the Fujin; you don't need to worry about it!"

At the critical moment, a loud shout came from outside the hall, "Wait—"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Consort Xi felt a slight panic. Su Yushan turned around in shock and saw a tall figure suddenly appear at the palace gate!

The severely injured Hongli was unlike his usual spirited self. His brows were furrowed, his face was as white as paper, devoid of any color, and his eyes were somewhat unfocused, lacking any spirit. However, his expression was cold and stern, brooking no argument, as he stated his position word by word.

"Mother, Su is my woman. If you want to divorce her, have you asked for my opinion?"

Upon seeing him, Su Yushan thought she was hallucinating. In disbelief, she completely forgot that Consort Xi had made her kneel down. She unconsciously stood up, walked quickly towards him, and held him tightly.

She instinctively wanted to call his name, but then she remembered that this was Jingren Palace, so she changed her words and said, "Fourth Prince, why are you in the palace? You still have a high fever and should be resting at home."

He had been anxious on the way here, worried that his mother would make things difficult for Su Yushan. Now it seemed that his worries were not unfounded; his mother had indeed come up with another wicked idea.

"If I hadn't come, I'm afraid you would have been sent out of the city and we would never have met again."

He was very glad that he had not listened to his wife's advice and insisted on entering the palace, otherwise he might have lost Su Yushan today!

Seeing her son so weak yet still stubbornly insisting on entering the palace, Consort Xi felt both heartache and anger.

"Hongli! You are truly foolish! For a woman, you even disregarded your own life. When you shielded her from the arrow, did you ever think of me? I raised you with great difficulty so that you could learn literature and martial arts and share the burdens of your imperial father, not so that you would die for a woman!"

"The situation was critical at the time, and I couldn't think of anything else. If you were in danger, Mother, I would risk my life to save you!"

Hongli deliberately steered the conversation towards his mother, but Consort Xi was not buying it. "I am your mother. You saved me out of filial piety. She is just a concubine. She is not worth you risking your life for. You are my only child. If anything happens to you, how heartbroken I will be as your mother?"

"In your eyes, Su is just a concubine, but in my eyes, she is my family, an indispensable part of my life!" As he spoke, Hongli looked at Su Yushan with an unusually firm gaze.

At that moment, Su Yushan truly felt the happiness of being consistently chosen by someone, and the lock hanging on her heart shattered and fell away.

The question that had been puzzling her seemed to have been answered...

Although Consort Xi was annoyed that he had acted so impulsively, seeing how weak he was, she couldn't bear it in the end. So she ordered someone to help him sit down so she could reason with him further.

"Your birth charts are incompatible with Su's, and she has repeatedly caused you accidents. I cannot let her stay by your side any longer. If you do not want me to hold her accountable, then divorce her immediately!"

"If Lady Su and I were truly incompatible according to our birth dates, why would Father have betrothed her to me in the first place?" Hongli directly challenged the Emperor, infuriating Consort Xi to the point of trembling with rage.

"She has caused you trouble so many times since she entered the household. It's clear she's a jinx. Aren't you going to take this as a warning?"

"Their target is me. Whether I take Su Shi with me or not, the result will be the same. Su Shi is the one who will be implicated by me. In Mother's eyes, is the victim the one who is guilty?"

"If she hadn't pestered you to take her out of the manor, how could the thieves have had the chance to take advantage?" In Consort Xi's mind, this whole affair was ultimately caused by Lady Su. Hongli, despite his obvious discomfort, had to endure the pain and continue refuting his mother's absurd statements.

“Su Shi never said she wanted to leave the manor; this was my decision, and it has nothing to do with her. Besides, those people were lying in ambush under the boat beforehand, and they must have been planning this for a long time, just waiting for me to leave the manor. If not today, then tomorrow. Mother, you should be investigating the thieves' responsibility, not questioning a victim!”

Seeing Hongli struggling to stay conscious and repeatedly speaking up for her, Su Yushan was heartbroken and tearfully pleaded, "Fourth Master, please go back and rest! Don't push yourself any further. If you keep going like this, I'm afraid you won't be able to take it. Please don't worry about me anymore!"

Holding her hand tightly, Hongli refused to let go, saying, "If we're going to leave, we'll leave together. I won't leave you here alone."

Consort Xi immediately stopped her, "She can't leave! Don't even think about taking her back to the manor! You risked your life for her, suffering serious injuries, and still insisted on entering the palace. Is this the behavior of a prince? What else could be more capable of bewitching a person than a vixen? This woman cannot be allowed to live!"

Why did he enter the palace? Mother should know best, right? "If Mother hadn't been so blind to right and wrong and made things difficult for Lady Su, why would I have risked my life to come to Jingren Palace?"

His eyes betrayed his resentment. Consort Xi knew she was in the wrong, but refused to admit it, and retorted loudly, "Are you blaming me?"

Ultimately, she was still his mother. A direct confrontation would likely not resolve the matter. Left with no other option, Hongli softened his tone and lowered his stance.

"Your subject dares not. I beg Mother not to make things difficult for Su Shi any longer and to let her return with me."

"Don't even think about it! This time, I will not let you run wild again!" Just as Consort Xi was about to give the order, a loud announcement came from outside the hall: "The Emperor has arrived!"

Hearing Eunuch Su's voice, Hongli breathed a sigh of relief. When he arrived just now, he was worried that he wouldn't be able to persuade his mother, so he specially sent a young eunuch to inform the Hall of Mental Cultivation about his entry into the palace.

Based on his guess, his father knew he had entered the palace and would definitely come over. He waited for a long time but did not see the emperor. Hongli couldn't help but wonder if his father was busy with state affairs and the eunuch had failed to deliver the message.

Just as he was feeling anxious, he finally heard Su Peisheng's announcement. Hongli was unsure how his father would view the matter. With no other options, he could only take a gamble and hope that father and son would be of one mind!