Having already had a legitimate son, he still wanted a legitimate daughter; his mother was constantly pressuring him to have children. Hongli Feng frowned, his face showing impatience. "You said a legitimate son would continue the family line, and I have already complied with your wishes. Now you want a legitimate daughter? What use is a legitimate daughter?"

"The eldest daughter can marry into a Mongolian noble family; this is the best way to appease the Mongols."

Hongli thought to himself, "I haven't ascended the throne yet, so what does this marriage have to do with me?" "This is something Father should worry about. Mother, you don't need to put pressure on me."

"Then, as a son, shouldn't you share your father's burdens?" Knowing that lecturing him with grand principles would be useless, Consort Xi tried to consider things from his perspective.

“Even if you have not yet ascended the throne, the daughters of princes may be married off to Mongolia in the future. Right now you only have one daughter, born to the Su family. If you are unwilling to let this daughter go to a marriage alliance, then listen to my advice and have more daughters.”

Hongli had never considered this issue before, but today, when his mother brought it up, he was shocked to realize that his daughter might very well be sent away for a political marriage when she grew up!

Yu Shan was reluctant to let her son enter the palace, so if her daughter were to marry too far away in the future, she would certainly be reluctant to let her go as well. This question was too heavy for him to answer!

Seeing that her son seemed to be wavering, Consort Xi said again, "If you really don't like the Fujin, I won't force you. The new concubine is also a beauty. You should spend more time with her. Having a son or daughter would be very good."

Well! When his wife's persuasion failed, his mother brought up Lan Rong again. Hongli impatiently replied, "Your Majesty, I have already consummated our marriage. She can't have children, so there's nothing I can do."

Consort Xi knew everything about what was happening in his residence. "You only went for one night. It's no wonder she can't conceive. You need to go several more times."

"The doctor said that Lan Rong's health is not good and it is difficult for her to conceive. She is currently taking medicine to regulate her body."

Hongli thought he had found a good excuse, but his mother ruthlessly exposed him, "Nonsense! I had the imperial physician examine her, and she is perfectly healthy! Stop lying to me! In short, whether it's the primary wife or a secondary wife, you need to have more children to plan for the future."

"If you don't want Yonghuang to enter the palace, then you'll use Yonglian in his place. In the future, Su's daughter will have to go for a political marriage, but you have no other daughters. Let's see who you use to replace her!"

These words struck a nerve with Hongli, who had no rebuttal and could only give a perfunctory reply: "Your subject understands and will consider it carefully."

Ignoring his mother's nagging, Hongli walked straight out of the palace gate and went outside to play with the snow-white lion dog with Yonglian.

Consort Xi's words spoiled Hongli's mood. He wanted to leave, but it was Yonglian's birthday and his wife was still there. If he left alone, it would inevitably arouse suspicion, and his father might scold him again if he found out.

To avoid causing unnecessary trouble, he reluctantly stayed and had a palace banquet with them.

After the palace banquet, Yu Ying wanted to spend more time with the children, but Hongli said he had things to attend to, asked Consort Xi for leave, and prepared to leave the palace.

Yu Ying could not disobey his wishes, so she could only reluctantly bid farewell to the child and leave the palace with him.

On the way back to the palace, Yu Ying, sitting in the carriage, couldn't help but complain, "It's a rare trip to the palace, I should spend more time with the children."

The time she cherished was torture for Hongli. "Next time you want to go to the palace by yourself, I'm too lazy to accompany you again, so as not to make Mother nag again."

Hongli's expression was clearly displeased, and Yuying couldn't help but ask curiously, "What did Consort Xi say to you this time?"

"What else can I say? It's the same old story!" It's always the same few sentences over and over again; Hongli can practically recite them by heart.

After a moment's thought, Yu Ying understood. "Is it about having offspring?"

To prevent Hongli from misunderstanding her, Yuying took the initiative to explain: "I am content with Yonglian. I have not said anything to Consort Xi. Please do not misunderstand, Fourth Prince."

“I didn’t say it was you who said it. Besides, Mother didn’t let me have sex with you this time. She told me to go to Yiyun Pavilion more often.” Hongli said this on purpose, just to make Yuying focus her attention on Yiyun Pavilion.

As expected, Yu Ying felt quite saddened upon hearing this.

Initially, Consort Xi was very protective of her and always wanted her to have more children for Hongli. Unfortunately, Hongli was very indifferent to her. Consort Xi probably felt that she was not capable of winning Hongli's favor, so she turned her hopes to Nara.

Useless people will eventually become discarded pawns!

Yu Ying felt uneasy and secretly advised herself not to care about these trivial matters. Even if Consort Xi now favored Nala, so what? It was still uncertain whether Nala could win Hongli's favor. Even if Hongli was willing to give her a child, her child would be born out of wedlock.

No one could compare to Yonglian's noble status; the emperor cared most about his grandson, Yonglian. Therefore, Yuying was fearless and spoke frankly:

“Sister Lan Rong is intelligent and beautiful. She has been in the manor for a year but has not yet given birth. Fourth Master should indeed dote on her more.”

With a slight frown, Hongli snorted coldly, "The Fujin is quite magnanimous, actually speaking well of other women."

Yu Ying smiled gently, "As the legal wife, I should be more magnanimous and not be petty and jealous."

These words sounded very hypocritical, and Hongli could see through her thoughts at a glance. "As long as it's not Yushan who is favored, you don't care who it is, right?"

With a slightly stiff expression, Yu Ying forced a smile and said, "Fourth Prince is joking. It is Su's blessing to be favored. I will not be jealous. But you are a prince, and offspring are of utmost importance. You can't let Su be the only one to have children. Her health is not good and she has difficulty conceiving. If she only gets pregnant once every few years, wouldn't that mean the offspring will be depleted?"

Even if you don't like other women, you can still give them a child. That way, they'll have something to look forward to, and you can explain it to the palace.

He was already irritable in the palace, and now she was repeating the same things. Hongli felt a buzzing in his ears and interrupted her without hesitation.

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