Twirling her fingers lightly, Su Yushan tilted her head and smiled, "I can be willful about small things, but when it comes to matters of principle, I must not act recklessly. I understand that principle."

Speaking of principles, Hongli had something to tell her: "You can be willful in front of me because I spoil you and love you, and I won't hold it against you. But in front of outsiders, you still have to learn to be patient."

For example, that day, when Xiuwen asked if you knew you were wrong, you should have said yes, even if it was against your will. Then Xiuwen would have had no reason to punish you by making you kneel. A simple word of admission would have saved you from punishment. But you stubbornly refused to admit your mistake. Coincidentally, I was in the mansion. If I hadn't been there, wouldn't you have had to kneel indefinitely?

That day, she was indeed fortunate to have been able to kneel, otherwise she probably would have been kneeling forever, and her knees would likely have been ruined. She was very grateful for Hongli's help, but she still couldn't help but mutter to herself:

"But don't you think many of the rules are unreasonable?"

Her words reminded him of himself. In his youth, he too had felt many palace rules were problematic and had questioned them. Later, his father's words finally resolved his confusion, and today, he had to relay those words to Su Yushan.

"Since it's a family rule, it's not just targeting you, but binding everyone. There's a reason why we don't allow private kitchens. You're simply doing it for the sake of good food, but if someone with ulterior motives wants to harm others, it's difficult to verify if a private kitchen is involved. What will happen if problems arise?"

You must understand that family rules cannot be changed arbitrarily. I may turn a blind eye and ignore them, but you must learn to be flexible. Otherwise, you will suffer, and I will be branded as unfair and biased.

After careful consideration, his words seemed to make a lot of sense, so Su Yushan stopped arguing. "Alright! I know I was wrong. I'll definitely be smarter next time and won't argue in front of others."

Seeing her slightly pursed red lips, as if she were a little unhappy, Hongli gently patted the back of her hand and explained in a gentle voice, "I'm not saying this to criticize you, I just don't want you to be caught doing anything wrong again, and I don't want you to be punished."

Nodding, Su Yushan obediently replied, "I understand your good intentions, and I will reflect on my actions."

This was clearly his woman, but he felt like they were classmates. They were both sincere, but they both had flaws. So they would grow together, make progress together, and move forward hand in hand.

The atmosphere in Tingfeng Pavilion was very harmonious, but flames were lit in Pixia Pavilion.

When the eunuch brought over the pomelos, Jin Minjing was delighted, thinking that Hongli still cared about her, and casually asked, "Do the other maids have them too?"

The eunuch replied truthfully, "Girl Gao received two petals, and the other maids each received one petal."

Gao Xiuwen was the one in charge of the backyard, so it was normal for her to get more. But Jin Minjing thought about it carefully and felt something was wrong. A pomelo can be peeled into more than a dozen segments. If it was divided like that, there should still be half left. So what about the other pomelos?

Curious, she pressed him for answers, and the young eunuch, not daring to lie, had no choice but to tell the truth: his other half was in Tingfeng Pavilion.

So she only got one petal, while Su Yushan got five or six petals.

Upon learning the truth, Kim Min-jung suddenly felt that the pomelo in her hand was no longer sweet; it was all sour! Even if you dote on someone, you shouldn't be so biased, right? The more Kim Min-jung thought about it, the angrier she became, and she turned to Gao Xiu-wen to complain.

Upon hearing that she was coming, Gao Xiuwen felt a headache coming on and sighed, rubbing her forehead:

"The pomelos were brought back by Fourth Master. It's his prerogative to share them with whomever he wants. We're fortunate enough to get a segment, which is a favor from Fourth Master. Besides, Fourth Master was at Tingfeng Pavilion yesterday. Those pomelos weren't necessarily eaten by Su Yushan alone. Fourth Master also got a share. Why are you jealous over such trivial matters?"

Despite Kim Min-jung's provocations, Go Soo-man remained unresponsive. Seeing that she couldn't rely on her, Kim Min-jung had no choice but to rely on herself to win back Hong-li's heart!

On the way back, Kim Min-jung racked her brains, and then a brilliant idea struck her!

The day was clear and breezy. As the court session was ending, Hongli invited his fifth son, Hongzhou, to his residence for a drink that evening. Hongzhou, however, declined, saying leisurely,

"Tonight is Yunmeng's music and sales event, I have to go and support it."

He seemed quite interested in the girl. "What? Are you planning to buy her?"

With a slight brow lift, Hongzhou sighed, "Such a beautiful girl, it's a pity she fell into the hands of others. I always cherish women, so I should save her this time."

Hongli shook his head slightly, his face solemn, and scoffed, "It doesn't matter how carefree you are on ordinary days, but Yunmeng is quite famous in Liuxiang Pavilion. I'm sure many young masters will be there tonight. If you get involved and someone with ulterior motives sees it, they will surely report you to Father Emperor."

"It's not that serious, is it?" Hongzhou said dismissively. Hongli, who was walking with his hands behind his back, reminded him seriously, "Third brother is willful and disobedient. Father is in a bad mood. You must behave properly and do not anger Father at this time. You cannot go to the game tonight."

Hongzhou readily agreed, but Hongli was still worried. To prevent him from sneaking out tonight and causing trouble, Hongli specifically asked him to have dinner at his house tonight to avoid the Yunmeng singing and dancing fair.

Helpless, Hongzhou sighed, but dared not go against his elder brother's wishes, so he had no choice but to agree to keep the appointment.

In the evening, Hongzhou went to have dinner with his fourth brother as promised. However, he felt that something was missing when they were just drinking, so he asked the musicians from his fourth brother's family to play music.

Gently swirling the clear wine in his white jade cup, Hongli said in a calm voice, "My household does not keep courtesans."

He had mentioned this matter before, telling the fourth brother to raise a few in preparation, but the fourth brother didn't take it seriously at all. Hongzhou was disappointed. "Fine, next time I come, besides bringing wine, I also have to bring a musician."

"Instead of listening to music, you'd be better off reading more books," Hongli said, hoping his fifth son would calm down, but Hongzhou waved his hands repeatedly.

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