Hongli, undaunted, raised his head and retorted, "Mother, since you know this is a joyous day, you shouldn't have made sarcastic complaints about Yushan on the day she was expressing her gratitude!"
Su Yushan tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stop arguing with Consort Xi because of her. Hongli grasped her hand in return and spoke before Consort Xi could reprimand him.
"It's getting late. Your son must take Yushan to pay her respects to the Dowager Consorts. Your son will take his leave now!"
Before Consort Xi could respond, Hongli had already pulled Yushan and turned to walk out of the palace.
Once outside the palace gates, Su Yushan's smile vanished; her good mood had been completely ruined by Consort Xi's words.
However, she was still very gratified that Hongli was on her side.
Although she didn't complain, Hongli knew she had been wronged and wouldn't feel good. He squeezed her hand and gently comforted her:
"Don't worry, I'm here for you, I won't let anyone bully you."
She certainly believed that Hongli would protect her. In fact, even if she became a secondary consort, she would not have many opportunities to enter the palace, so the possibility of conflict with Consort Xi was not high. However, after Hongli ascended the throne in the future, she would enter the palace and be very close to Consort Xi. It was hard to say whether there would be frequent conflicts at that time.
But that's a story for later. It's the twelfth year of Yongzheng's reign now, and Hongli will have to wait at least another year before he can ascend the throne. Su Yushan comforted herself, telling herself not to worry unnecessarily, and that she could worry about tomorrow's troubles.
The imperial concubines were quite tolerant of Su Yushan, smiling kindly and praising her for coming from Jiangnan, being beautiful and intelligent. They also bestowed many treasures upon her.
After paying his respects to the several imperial concubines, Hongli left the palace with Su Yushan.
After walking for most of the day, Su Yushan felt severe soreness in her calves and feet after returning home. Changyue massaged them and Yunfang applied hot compresses, but nothing helped. The pain lasted for four or five days before it eased slightly.
By March, Su Yushan's monthly salary had risen to twenty taels. Now she had saved enough silver notes, so twenty taels was nothing to her. But it had taken her eight whole years to go from six taels at the beginning to twenty taels now!
For someone from a humble background, rising in rank is truly difficult. It's not something that Hongli can do simply because he wants to; he is bound by too many ancestral rules and regulations, and his path is fraught with hardship.
Fortunately, he overcame all opposition and ultimately promoted her!
The following days were relatively peaceful, but Yonghuang is now six years old and of school age.
The academy for the princes and grandsons was the Imperial Study within the palace, which meant that Yonghuang would have to live in the palace, separating him from his parents.
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