She glanced at him, then lowered her eyes again, continuing to draw her hair, "You already know the answer, so why ask again?"

"What did you see?" Hongli thought he was well-behaved enough. "I only said a few words to her! There was nothing intimate between us, so why are you jealous?"

"Say whatever you want! I never said Your Majesty couldn't talk to other women, so please don't wrong me."

She wanted to appear magnanimous, but unfortunately, she wasn't good at pretending; her tightly pursed chin betrayed her true feelings.

Walking to her table, Hongli leaned slightly forward, placed his palms on the edge of the table, and smiled as he gazed at her. "Is that so? If I were really casual with other women, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to sleep in bed tonight."

That's impossible. "The entire palace is yours, even Jingren Palace is yours. I'm just staying here temporarily, how dare I not let you sleep in my bed?"

"Yes, I'll sleep on the bed, and you can sleep on the couch?"

Su Yushan, whose guess had been correct, glanced at him, placed the brush on the brush rest, got up, walked around the table, and headed out, but he stretched out his long arm and wrapped it around her waist.

Leaning closer to her, Hongli whispered in her ear, "Did you hear what I said to her?"

"I don't have the habit of eavesdropping on other people's conversations."

Even though she didn't want to eavesdrop, he had no intention of hiding it from her. "She was playing the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) there, saying she missed her hometown and mother. Guess what I said to her?"

Su Yushan had no interest in guessing, and chuckled sarcastically, "That's a really pitiful little girl. The Emperor should lend her a shoulder, hold the beauty in his arms, and comfort her gently. He should also bring her family to the capital."

A sour atmosphere seemed to permeate the surroundings. Hongli sighed and said, "It's a real pity you don't write storybooks."

So, does this mean he's admitting it? Furious, Su Yushan tried to push him away, but he only held her tighter, patiently clarifying...

“I told her that if she dared to play those melancholy and plaintive tunes in the palace again, I would send her back to Suzhou.”

"No way?" Su Yu looked at him in shock, both amused and annoyed. "You really have no sense of romance. Saying things like that to a young girl, aren't you afraid of scaring her to tears?"

"Go ahead and cry! It's none of my business. I only care about your tears."

Upon closer reflection, these words did indeed seem like something Hongli would say. Su Yushan had already calmed down, but didn't show it, feigning displeasure and retorting.

"Stop spouting sweet nothings here. Anyway, I'm far away and didn't hear you. Say whatever you want."

Hongli protested his innocence, "I specially invited you to admire the flowers, how could I possibly be intimate with other women?"

However, he overlooked the fact that she was fond of nitpicking. "Hmm---So you guessed I might come at any time, which is why you didn't act recklessly. Are you regretting making an appointment with me? If I hadn't gone, you would have had the chance to enjoy the flowers with the beauty!"

Did he mean that? She was clearly being unreasonable. Hongli sighed inwardly, realizing he shouldn't have spoken so much; the more he said, the more mistakes he made, and he had unwittingly dug a hole for himself.

"Whether you come or not, the result will be the same. How could an unappointed concubine move around freely in the palace? It must be a deliberate arrangement. This play is so obvious, how could I possibly fall into a trap?"

"Why did you chat for so long if you didn't fall for a trap?" Su Yushan muttered under her breath. Hongli immediately explained, "Honestly, I didn't even exchange five sentences with her before I left."

She was inclined to believe it, but the timing was wrong. "I've been back in the palace for almost half an hour, and you've only said five sentences in half an hour? Are you listening to music?"

Speaking of this, Hongli felt it was a pity that so much precious time had been wasted. "I have been waiting for you in the pavilion for a long time, but I did not see you for a long time before I came over. If you do not believe me, Li Yu can testify for me."

Li Yu's words are the least credible: "He's one of your people, of course he'll speak for you!"

Hongli felt rather melancholy. "Why don't you believe me? Do you think I'm someone who's easily seduced by beauty? That I'll fall in love with any woman who plays a tune?"

Su Yushan wouldn't mind if it were an ordinary woman, but Bai was different. To be fair, this woman was indeed beautiful. "Bai was a beauty chosen from among the common people, not an ordinary woman."

"Whether she's beautiful or not is unimportant. What matters is that she puts on an act in front of me. What I despise most are pretentious women. I only like women with genuine personalities like you."

Su Yushan couldn't help but reflect on her behavior, and said to him seriously, "But I sometimes put on an act too!"

Hongli knew this. For example, her current jealousy wasn't genuine; she was just acting. And he loved seeing her jealous of him.

"That's different; this is the sentiment between you and me."

Hongli's double standards put Su Yushan in a great mood, and she finally smiled.

Seeing the slight curve of her lips, Hongli put his arms around her. "You're not angry anymore? Then what about my soup?"

With a slight reproach in her beautiful eyes, Su Yushan gave a soft snort, "So all you've been saying is that you just wanted to drink soup?"

Soup is important, but the person who makes it is even more important. "I don't care to drink soup made by others; I only want to drink soup made by your own hands."

She wasn't angry anymore, but she still didn't want to agree directly, so she said indirectly, "I'm making soup for the children, not for you."

The title didn't matter, and Hongli didn't dwell on it. He went with the flow, saying, "Then, thanks to the children, I'll have a bowl while I'm at it."

The two chatted and laughed, and the matter was over.

When the Empress Dowager learned of this, she could not laugh, for her wishful thinking had once again fallen apart!

Bai was beautiful and came from Suzhou. She was graceful and slender, a perfect replica of Su Yushan. Didn't the emperor love beauties from Jiangnan? How come Bai's beautiful encounter with him in the Imperial Garden, where she played music, failed to move his heart?

When the emperor came to Cining Palace to pay his respects again, the empress dowager casually mentioned the matter to him, saying, "Those young ladies have been in the palace for five or six days now. Your Majesty is busy with state affairs, but don't forget to grant them titles and ranks."

Hongli replied calmly, "As for the matter of rank, I'll leave it to my mother, the Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager had figured it out: aside from Su Yushan, he didn't care about the ranks of other women. But what she really wanted to say wasn't just about rank! The Empress Dowager subtly reminded him:

"That still requires you to favor her first, and then determine her rank. If you like her, I can give her a higher rank; if you don't feel anything, then I'll just give her the title of 'Changzai' (a lower-ranking concubine)."