Yongzheng had little recollection of the maids in his son's backyard. Only after Hongli reminded him did he recall that he had once pointed out a woman from Jiangnan to Hongli. He vaguely remembered that she was a beauty from Jiangnan, but he had long forgotten what she looked like.
In Yongzheng's view, his son's request was somewhat absurd.
"The maid, Su, is a Han woman from the common people. It is already a great blessing for her to be your concubine. What rank do you want to promote her to?"
Hongli solemnly cupped his hands and said, "Lady Su gave birth to a son for me. She has done her part, even if she has not done anything meritorious. Therefore, I humbly request Father Emperor to promote her to the rank of secondary consort."
Upon hearing this, Yongzheng's long eyes narrowed slightly. "You can't possibly be unaware of the rules of the royal family. To be promoted to the rank of secondary consort, in addition to bearing a son, a good family background is essential, and one's ancestors must be traced back three generations. How can a commoner like Su Shi be worthy of being a prince's secondary consort?"
Why couldn't he do it? The reason Hongli dared to make this request was because there was precedent: "Third Brother's birth mother, Consort Qi, was also a Han Chinese. Wasn't she also Father Emperor's concubine during his time as a prince?"
"Consort Qi's father was a fourth-rank prefect, and she came from an official family. Su's father was just an ordinary commoner with no official position. How could he be compared to Consort Qi? Besides, Consort Qi gave birth to three sons before she was promoted to secondary consort, while Su only had one child, which is not a great achievement."
Hongli argued logically, "Her brother is a scholar who will soon take the imperial examination. If nothing unexpected happens, he will surely pass the exam and achieve official rank in the future."
"Then we'll discuss it again once he's achieved official rank. It's impossible now, so you should give up on this idea as soon as possible." Yongzheng refused decisively, leaving him no room for negotiation.
When reasoning failed, Hongli had no choice but to try to soften the blow. "Father, I have already made a promise to Lady Su that I would reward her. If I cannot promote her rank, she certainly won't mind, but I can't save face!"
“Gold and silver jewelry can be rewarded however you like, as long as it is within the rules. But the matter of bestowing titles is of utmost importance. It is not a matter of favoring someone and giving them a high position. If everyone were as willful and reckless as you, disregarding ancestral etiquette and laws, wouldn’t things be in chaos?”
Despite Hongli's repeated attempts to persuade the Yongzheng Emperor, the emperor remained unyielding. Left with no other choice, Hongli had to settle for second best, saying, "Even if I can't make her a secondary consort, at least I can have a concubine?"
Seeing his son's obvious favoritism towards Lady Su and his repeated requests, Yongzheng could not bear to offend him any longer and reluctantly agreed, "The concubine does not need to go through the Ministry of Rites; you can handle it yourself."
Having said all that, there was no point in Hongli saying anything more; he could only kowtow and express his gratitude for the Emperor's grace.
He arrived with joy but left disappointed. Even though he had secured a semblance of recognition for her, it wasn't what Hongli had hoped for. When he saw Su Yushan again, his face was full of sorrow and self-reproach.
“I originally wanted to give you the rank of a secondary consort, but Father Emperor disagreed, saying that the Su family has no officials and cannot give you a high rank. He only gave you the rank of a concubine, which seems a bit unfair to you.”
Su Yushan didn't know much about these ranks. She had only heard Chang Yue mention them occasionally, and the explanation was rather complicated. She couldn't remember it clearly, but the general idea was that a concubine was just an honorary title that didn't require official appointment from the court, while a secondary concubine had real benefits, required official appointment from the court, and had the opportunity to enter the palace.
Although there was a huge difference between the two, she was already content that Hongli was willing to fight for her and would not complain. "I know my own limitations. For a commoner like me to be able to serve as a prince's maid is already a blessing from heaven. I have no family to support me, so I originally could not be promoted. Being a concubine is already a blessing."
He understood perfectly well that she was only trying to comfort him. “Rules are rules, but I only want to give you something better. I won’t give up now, and I will continue to strive for it for you. Isn’t your elder brother going to take the imperial examination? As long as he can pass the exam, I will have a way to help him establish himself in the officialdom. Once he has an official position, I will ask Father Emperor to promote you to the rank of secondary consort. Then there will be a proper order to follow.”
Speaking of her elder brother, Su Yushan suddenly remembered this matter. "Oh right, my elder brother missed the imperial examination the year before last, but he can participate this year. However, he is from Suzhou, so he has to go back to his hometown to take the exam. Judging by the days, he should be setting off soon."
Hongli pondered for a moment and said, "The mountains are high and the roads are far. Wouldn't it be troublesome to go back? It would be better to participate in the autumn examination in the capital."
"Huh? Isn't that against the rules? Only students of the Imperial Academy and those who have passed the imperial examinations are allowed to leave their province to come to the capital to participate in the examinations. It seems that my elder brother cannot do that."
Hongli gently stroked the bridge of her nose with his finger and reminded her with a smile, "That's the rule, but isn't his brother-in-law a prince? You can't allow him to take a shortcut for him?"
Su Yushan never dared to hope to use this relationship to gain any benefits for her family. Now that Hongli had taken the initiative to speak up, she was grateful but also had some concerns. "Is this appropriate? Would the Emperor be unhappy if he found out? I don't want to implicate you because of these things."
Hongli said it was no problem. "I can recommend him to study at the Imperial Academy. In that case, he will be qualified to participate in the autumn examination in the capital. Of course, the premise is that he has real talent and learning. Even with my recommendation, he still has to take the Imperial Academy's exam and pass it before he can be admitted."
Su Yushan couldn't help but think that with her brother's talent, he should be able to pass the test, right? If he could really get into the Imperial Academy, then her brother wouldn't have to travel all the way back to Suzhou. In that case, he could save time and concentrate on his studies.
After the two made their arrangements, when they had some free time, Hongli sent someone to invite Su Mingfeng and her brother over.
Su Mingfeng was in the front hall talking with the Fourth Master, discussing the matter of entering the Imperial Academy, while Su Yuchan was taken by Li Yu to Huatang Pavilion to meet her sister.
Upon learning that her sister had given birth to a son, Yu Chan was overjoyed. "I'm an aunt now! Come here, let me hold my little nephew."
Yu Chan had never held a baby before. She loved it, but she was flustered and didn't know how to hold it properly. The nanny patiently taught her, and Yu Chan humbly learned. Looking at the soft, cuddly infant in her arms, she loved it more and more; her heart almost melted, and her voice unconsciously softened.
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