Su Yushan turned to look at Hongli over there, only to see that Hongli was looking at her with an expression of unquestionable certainty.
He couldn't give her the position of a concubine, nor could he take her into the palace, but in this home, he would never let her suffer any injustice.
Hongli insisted on this arrangement, and Xilan was secretly pleased, thinking to herself that the Fourth Prince still cared about Yushan! Xilan smiled and advised, "You are a concubine's wife, you shouldn't be sitting here, go to the Fourth Prince's table!"
Li Yu looked at her pleadingly, and Su Yushan, not wanting to make things difficult for him, had no choice but to get up and go over.
She had intended to sit opposite him in the furthest seat, but when she got to him, he grabbed her wrist and made her sit next to him.
You should know that the person sitting on his other side is his wife! Neither of his two concubines dared to get that close to him; it wasn't appropriate for her to sit there.
Su Yushan tried to pull away, but he gripped her even tighter. "Sit!"
Seeing that Hongli was determined to do so, Yuying generously spoke up, "We're family, no need to stand on ceremony, please sit down!"
Worried that the Fourth Prince would be angry, Yu Ying took the initiative to question him, "Sister Su is a concubine, she shouldn't be sitting at the maids' table. Xiu Wen, no matter how busy you are, you should personally check such an important matter as seating arrangement, so as not to arrange the wrong place and wrong Sister Su."
The implication is that this ranking is Gao Xiuwen's responsibility and has nothing to do with her.
Hongli's gaze darkened as he glanced at Gao Xiuwen. "It seems you're not up to the task of managing the household on your own. Now that the Fujin has given birth and recovered, household affairs should still be handled by her. You only need to manage the accounts."
Today was supposed to be a good day, but Hongli publicly stripped her of her authority. Gao Xiuwen couldn't save face. She knew she was only temporarily managing the household as the wife of the emperor and would have to hand it over one day. She could have done it sooner or later, but it had to be today. Wasn't this a deliberate slap in the face?
Normally, the Fujin (principal wife) treated her fairly well, but now that Su Yushan was involved, the Fujin was actually afraid and directly pushed the blame onto her, fearing that she would be implicated. Gao Xiuwen couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "The Fujin is unreliable!"
From the very beginning, Gao Xiuwen knew that Hongli did not genuinely intend to give her the position of concubine. Since she could not win his favor, she could only compete for the position.
Now that she has obtained a title, Hongli still treats her coldly. She, a concubine recognized by the royal family, is not even qualified to sit next to Hongli, while Su Yushan, a concubine, can enjoy such honor. What is the point of her existence as a concubine?
They only received the imperial title and official robes, and enjoyed great prestige outside, but once they returned home, they were still neglected and humiliated!
Gao Xiuwen felt deeply wronged, but she still had to obey Hongli's wishes and reluctantly said, "Thank you for your understanding, Fourth Master."
Lan Rong, standing to the side, carefully observed Su Gege. There were many people around, and she didn't recognize any of them. She only glanced around, greeted them one by one, and silently memorized everyone's names.
Upon noticing Su Gege's special treatment, Lan Rong stared intently and was amazed by her delicate oval face, bright and round eyes with slightly upturned corners. Her face resembled that of a well-behaved cat, naturally possessing an alluring charm that evoked tenderness and made people want to look at her more.
It is only natural that such a beautiful woman would win the favor of the Fourth Prince.
After she was seated, Hongli then began the banquet.
During this time, Yu Ying served him food, but he didn't taste it. Instead, he personally picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork for Su Yu Shan.
After she took a bite and savored it carefully, Hongli asked her, "How does it taste?"
Su Yushan nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad, very authentic."
Hongli also tried a piece, and then raised an eyebrow and commented, "It's not as good as yours."
The kitchen used the traditional method for making sweet and sour pork, with a sweet and sour sauce, while Su Yushan used a modern method, using a tomato-based sauce, resulting in a slightly different taste.
"This is delicious too! It's just prepared differently. You're just trying something new."
As the two were talking, Yu Ying overheard them and said meaningfully, "It's no wonder that Fourth Master is tired of the old ways. People naturally prefer new things, which is only human nature."
Sensing the unspoken meaning in her words, Hongli Feng frowned slightly, picked up a braised duck head from the plate, and placed it on her bone dish.
Upon seeing the tightly closed duckbill on the plate, Yu Ying's smile froze. She never ate such things, and Hong Li knew this perfectly well, yet he deliberately put this on her plate, clearly mocking her!
But Su Yushan started this conversation first. Why did Hongli get angry when Yuying mentioned that everything was fine?
As expected, people who are disliked will be targeted no matter what they say or do!
Yu Ying felt indignant, but with everyone present, she couldn't show it and could only awkwardly shut her mouth.
Seeing this, Lan Rong's peach blossom eyes flickered, and she said softly with a smile, "Since Fourth Master praises it so highly, I also want to try Su Gege's cooking! I should learn cooking skills from my sister when I have time."
Upon hearing this, Su Yushan looked surprised, then chuckled and reminded him, "You are a concubine, I dare not accept being called 'sister'."
Lan Rong smiled and replied, "You entered first, so it's only right that I address you as 'elder sister.' We are all serving Fourth Master, so there's no need to concern ourselves with titles."
Su Yushan was wary of a stranger's sudden show of kindness, but as the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. Since the concubine was speaking to her so politely, she couldn't be too cold, so she forced a smile and replied:
“The concubine is absolutely right.”
Hongli disliked being interrupted when he was talking to Yushan, and Yushan probably didn't like this kind of situation either. Therefore, he didn't stay long, only drank two cups of wine, and got up after sitting for a quarter of an hour without even eating any main course.
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