She had already explained things very clearly, yet he still insisted on making things difficult for her. Su Yushan was extremely perplexed and didn't know how to answer for a moment. "Do you have to force me like this?"

"You're forcing me!" It was such a simple thing; all she had to do was agree. Why was it so difficult? Hongli's patience was slowly wearing thin, leaving only rage.

"You take advantage of my feelings for you and do whatever you want, never caring about my feelings! I'll ask you one last time, are you willing to have my child?"

She has already compromised a lot for life. A woman with a modern soul is now a concubine, sharing a husband with several other women. She is constantly trying to change her mindset and accept this identity, but having a child is no small matter. She is not ready to be a mother and is unwilling to rush into pregnancy.

After much hesitation, Su Yushan ultimately did not comply with his wishes, lowering her eyes and saying softly, "I am not willing for the time being."

The word "temporarily" ignited a glimmer of hope amidst his anger: "When will you be willing?"

She has no plans in that regard for the next two years, saying, "I'll consider it in two or three years."

This promise, so far in the future, was clearly just a pretense. Hongli was utterly disappointed. He gave a bitter laugh, his eyes red, and whispered:

"Get out! Get out now! I don't want to see you again!"

Hongli had argued with her before, but he had never said such harsh words before. It seems that he was really angry today.

Since the two disagreed, further discussion was pointless, so Su Yushan turned and left, not wanting to get in his way.

With the argument over, only silence remained in the room. Hongli was no longer as angry as before; his heart was filled with gloom.

He used to think that as long as he was good enough to her and patient enough, he would surely be able to move her and make her understand his true feelings. But today he suddenly realized that this woman had no heart! No matter what he did or how good he was to her, she would not be moved or respond in any way.

She only had herself in her heart, and there was no place for him at all. She was never willing to do anything for him, and he could not feel any love from Su Yushan.

This realization left him extremely frustrated. The road ahead was shrouded in darkness, with no hope in sight. How could he possibly continue to persevere?

Back in her room, Su Yushan was in a bad mood. She had promised to make patterns for the embroidery workshop, but now she was in no mood to draw anything and could only ask someone to put away the paper and pen.

Changyue, who was serving nearby, hesitated for a long time before finally mustering up the courage to speak:

"This servant has always stood by Your Highness's side, and has done my best to cooperate with whatever you do. But this time... if I may be so bold as to ask, why are you unwilling to have a child for the Fourth Prince?"

See? Even Chang Yue couldn't understand. Su Yushan suddenly felt like an oddball. "I just want to live a free life and have children a couple of years later. It's normal that you don't understand. It's because I care too much about myself and my ideas don't fit in with everyone else's."

The mistress has always been opinionated, and the Fourth Master usually goes along with her, but this time, the two disagreed and had a conflict, causing Chang Yue a great deal of worry.

"Fourth Master thinks that you don't like him because you won't have his children. Why don't you explain it to him again?"

She had said everything she needed to say. "I've already explained, but he doesn't believe me. What can I do?"

"At that time, Fourth Master was in a bad mood and wouldn't listen to anything. In the evening, you can bring him soup under the pretext of doing so and explain it to him again."

Recalling his last words before he left, Su Yushan ultimately decided not to force the issue, "He already said he didn't want to see me, why should I go and make myself unwelcome?"

"Those were just words spoken in anger. How could Fourth Master not see you? He always comes to coax you when you're angry. Men are the same; they need someone to coax them when they're unhappy. If you say a few kind words to him and discuss things amicably, I think Fourth Master will understand."

Chang Yue, being an outsider, thought it was no big deal; as long as her master was willing, it would be easy to win back the Fourth Prince's heart. Only Su Yushan knew best that this time was different from before; Hongli's attitude was very resolute.

"Nothing I say will make a difference unless I agree to have the baby."

"Then just agree! Nobody can predict when it comes to children. If you can't conceive, there's nothing he can do! Fourth Master just wants your agreement. Besides, drinking contraceptive soup all the time isn't good for your health! Fourth Master is just concerned about you!"

Gently rubbing her temples, Su Yushan said with a wry smile, "I don't need to drink anymore. He won't come looking for me again."

The autumn sun outside the window was blindingly white, giving one a sense of disorientation. Just yesterday they were inseparable, but today they had fallen out. Su Yushan couldn't help but sigh, realizing that love was so fickle.

But she did not blame Hongli, because she knew very well that neither of them was wrong, they just had different positions and neither was willing to compromise, so they could only remain in this stalemate.

That night, after dinner, Hongli went for a walk and unconsciously headed west again. When he saw the lights coming on in the direction of Huatang Pavilion, he gradually stopped.

This matter was very important to him. If he let it go so easily, she would only become more aggressive in the future. With this in mind, Hongli finally changed direction and went to Lanyue Pavilion.

Gao Xiuwen hadn't seen Hongli for several days, so she was overjoyed to see him arrive. She put down her spoon and stood up to greet him, "Fourth Master, you've come."

Walking slowly to the table, Hongli noticed a bowl and spoon on it and asked her what kind of soup she was drinking.

"Lotus seed and duck soup. Cui Ning insisted that I ate too little for dinner and told me to drink some more soup. But I wasn't hungry at all. If I keep eating like this, I'll get fat!"

“You’re not the same as before. You’re feeding two people now, so you naturally need to use more.”

She is now nearly four months pregnant, her belly is slightly protruding but not obvious. Gently stroking her lower abdomen, Gao Xiuwen chuckled:

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