"There's no need to consult the Emperor. I can handle matters in the harem. He is my son, so naturally he will listen to me."

The Empress Dowager spoke without confidence, but she had to pretend to be certain.

Su Yushan thought to herself: If Hongli really listens to the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager can just give the order directly. Why bother to go through all this trouble to discuss it with her?

She was certain that Hongli would not agree to let someone else raise the child, so Su Yushan did not agree and insisted that she would ask Hongli first.

She addressed him as "Your Majesty" repeatedly, clearly showing no respect for her mother-in-law. The Empress Dowager, unable to tolerate it any longer, sternly rebuked her.

"You've become increasingly presumptuous, relying on the Emperor's favor, and even dare to disobey my orders? I'm not as easy to talk to as the Emperor. Since you don't know your place, I'll personally teach you manners!"

The Empress Dowager gave an order, making her kneel down to reflect on her actions, and saying that she was not allowed to get up until she agreed.

She would rather kneel than agree to the Empress Dowager's conditions. Her child was her life; she couldn't give him to anyone else. If she did, who knew what kind of child he would be raised—abuse or spoiling—neither of which she wanted to see.

Therefore, Su Yushan insisted on not accepting the punishment and preferred to kneel down to receive it.

It was early autumn in October, and the weather wasn't cold. Su Yushan was wearing a thin cotton-padded cloak, which wasn't very thick. She knelt on the ground like this, and her knees ached from the pressure.

Even though it was unbearable, she refused to back down and never changed her mind.

With the Empress Dowager's status, she has plenty of ways to deal with this stubborn woman. She wants to see how long Su Yushan can hold out!

Kneeling for too long not only made her knees ache, but her legs were also numb. Su Yushan moved even slightly, and was immediately reprimanded by the Empress Dowager.

"Kneel up straight, and don't even think about slacking off!"

Faced with the Empress Dowager's difficult behavior, Su Yushan had no choice but to swallow her anger and continue kneeling.

Just as she was about to give up, a eunuch rushed in, looking flustered. He glanced at Consort Chun before speaking to the Empress Dowager:

"Your Majesty, the Emperor has arrived!"

The Empress Dowager became suspicious. Hongli usually came every two or three days. He had just come yesterday, so he shouldn't be coming today. Why would he suddenly come to Cining Palace?

If he saw Su Yushan kneeling here, he would probably make a scene with her again. After a moment's thought, the Empress Dowager changed her mind and ordered the eunuchs to help Su Yushan up.

The Empress Dowager punished her by making her kneel for half an hour, but now that Hongli has arrived, she made her stand up again. She really knows how to play the good person!

When the eunuch came to help her up, Su Yushan fell to the ground, saying that her knees were in unbearable pain and she couldn't stand up.

If the Emperor were to see this, it would be disastrous. Anxious, Eunuch Sun quickly summoned another eunuch to help Consort Chun.

Su Yushan's legs did indeed hurt, and were extremely sore and numb, but she could still stand up if she persevered. However, she refused to stand, pretending to be weak all over, and sat on the ground, refusing to get up.

Just then, Hongli walked in and immediately saw them pulling at Su Yushan. Hongli's eyes narrowed, and he strode forward, kicking the eunuch hard.

"Get out of the way!"

The eunuch was so frightened that he quickly stepped back and dared not approach Consort Chun again. Hongli personally stepped forward to help her up. Li Yu wanted to help, but hesitated for a moment and ultimately did not make a move.

After all, the Emperor knew he wasn't a real eunuch, so it was best for him to avoid touching Consort Chun to avoid displeasing the Emperor.

Hongli tenderly helped her up, but seeing that she was clutching her knees, seemingly having difficulty standing, he helped her to a nearby chair before asking her what was wrong.

"What happened to your leg? What happened?"

Complaining to the Empress Dowager in front of her seemed inappropriate. Her gaze shifted slightly, and Su Yushan, instead of speaking directly, veered off-topic, her eyes glistening with tears, and softly said:

"It's nothing, I just tripped and fell, it's nothing serious."

Hongli certainly didn't believe this. In fact, Su Yushan also knew that Hongli wouldn't believe this excuse; she was just putting on an act in front of the Empress Dowager.

Hongli immediately sensed something was wrong, stared directly at the Empress Dowager, and angrily questioned her.

"What exactly did Yu Shan do wrong? Why is Your Majesty punishing her by making her kneel?"

The Empress Dowager shrugged, dismissing the matter cleanly. "Who made her kneel? She herself said she accidentally fell. What does it have to do with me?"

"Whether it's kneeling as punishment or falling down, Your Majesty knows best!"

Enraged that her authority had been questioned, the Empress Dowager frowned and shouted sternly, "Insolence! How dare you speak to me like that?"

Hongli didn't want to clash with his mother, but she was too much of a bully. "Yushan is the apple of my eye. I can't bear to hurt her in the slightest. Your treatment of her is a slap in my face!"

The more he defended Su Yushan, the more heartbroken the Empress Dowager felt. "She is the apple of your eye? And what about me? I gave birth to you, raised you, and put you on the throne, yet you have repeatedly disobeyed me for the sake of a woman. Is this how you show filial piety to your elders?"

He was always grateful to his mother for raising him; otherwise, he wouldn't have tolerated it for so long.

"If you respect my choice and don't deliberately cause trouble or make things difficult for Yushan, I will never argue with you. Your Majesty, you should treat others as you would like to be treated. Don't always act unilaterally and use your status to suppress others."

"I only wanted others to help Su raise her child and share her burdens. This is a palace rule, but she refused to comply. That's because she doesn't understand the rules. What wrong have I done?"

In the Empress Dowager's eyes, this was just a very small matter, and Su Yushan's delay in responding was clearly making a mountain out of a molehill.

Hongli didn't believe his mother would be so kind; she was clearly paving the way for Gao Xiuwen.

“She gave birth to the child herself, so she can make her own decisions. Besides, she is my concubine and has the right to raise the child.”

"But she has three children, and none of them have any. I'm just asking them to help raise her children, not taking them away from her. Why is she being so stingy?"

This is truly laughable. "I have a vast empire that no one else has. According to my mother's idea, should I give away the land to others?"

Your own things are yours to give away as you please, but you have no right to dispose of other people's things.

Why isn't she qualified? She's the Empress Dowager! All the women in the harem should be under her control.

"When the late emperor entrusted you to others for upbringing, didn't I have to obey the imperial decree? Why should the Su family be an exception?"

"Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Do you only feel at ease when you make others suffer the same pain you have endured?"

"This is her honor, not a hardship." The Empress Dowager wanted to argue further, but Hongli was too weary to listen anymore.

"Regardless of your opinion on this matter, Yu Shan's three children cannot be given to anyone. Your Majesty, you need not say more. Your son disagrees!"

After saying this, Hongli bent down slightly, picked up Su Yushan in one scoop, and she cried out in surprise, "Hey—put me down, I can walk by myself."

He's the emperor now! Hugging her like that in public isn't a good look, but Hongli doesn't care what others will say.

Before he arrived, she had been kneeling for so long; her knees must have been in a lot of pain. He couldn't let her suffer any more.

The emperor, in front of the palace servants, actually embraced a woman—what kind of decorum was this? Witnessing this, the Empress Dowager's anger flared, she was so furious that her liver trembled and her mind went blank, and her breathing became rapid!