Su Yushan was willing to be separated from her child, so she discussed with Hongli whether Yonghuang could stay in the mansion to study and hire a tutor for him.
Inviting a tutor was not a problem; even if he had to come from the Hanlin Academy, Hongli could have done it. The difficulty lay in the fact that this was a rule set by our ancestors.
“Once the princes and grandsons reach a certain age, they must all go to the Imperial Study to study and be subject to unified discipline. This is a good thing for Yonghuang. Now that he is old enough to understand, it is time for him to familiarize himself with the palace rules. Before, I could delay him from entering the palace, but now I can't delay any longer.”
Holding her hand tightly, Hongli gently advised, "Yushan, I know you can't bear to part with the child, but we have to think about his future and can't let his studies be delayed."
The academic atmosphere in the palace differed from that in the household; the discipline was particularly strict. Furthermore, the Imperial Study employed only the top scholars of previous years as tutors. As a grandson of the emperor, Yonghuang was different from ordinary children; he needed to receive the best education to become an outstanding child.
Hongli had high expectations for Yonghuang, after all, Yonghuang was the eldest son, and Hongli hoped that he could become the most outstanding among all his children. However, Yushan did not want to put too much pressure on him.
“I don’t expect him to be outstanding; I just hope he can grow up safely and happily.”
"He's the emperor's grandson, no one dares to bully him, he'll be fine, don't worry!"
Once the child enters the palace, he will be far away there, and she will not know even if he is bullied!
However, Hongli had already tacitly agreed, and he had no reason to stop it. In fact, he also believed that it was the best choice for Yonghuang to study in the palace. Since things had come to this point, Yushan had no other choice but to agree to let the child enter the palace.
She didn't continue to try, firstly because she didn't want to put Hongli in a difficult position, and secondly because she knew that Emperor Yongzheng's days were numbered. If nothing unexpected happened, Hongli would ascend the throne next year, at which time she could enter the palace to accompany Yonghuang.
Upon learning of this, Yu Ying was the first to disagree, but since she was confined to Lan Zhao Yuan and could not go out to see Hongli, she ordered her servants to go find Hongli, saying that she had important business to discuss with him.
Hongli could guess what she wanted to say, but he was too lazy to pay attention and simply said he was too busy.
He refused to come, and she couldn't leave. Yu Ying was very worried, so she ordered someone to prepare pen and ink, wrote a letter, and sent it to Hongli.
Hongli was extremely annoyed. When he opened the document, just as he had expected, Yuying was bringing up the matter of Yonghuang and Yonglian again, saying that the two children could not be in the palace together.
Hongli's anger flared up, and he tore up the letter written by Yuying with both hands. He didn't even bother to reply to her and directly ordered Li Yu to give a reply.
When Li Yu arrived at Lanzhao Courtyard, she replied truthfully, "The Prince said that it was the Emperor's will to let Prince Yonghuang study in the palace. If you have any objections, you may go and raise them with the Emperor."
She wanted to enter the palace, but she couldn't get out at all! Whenever there was a palace banquet that she was required to attend, Hongli would say that she was unwell and cancel it for her, forbidding her from entering the palace.
Anxious, Yu Ying tried to send a letter to her family and to Consort Xi in the palace, but her letter was intercepted. Hongli was wary of her and forbade anyone to help her send letters. Anyone caught sending letters for her without permission would be punished with twenty strokes of the cane, either to death or crippling.
The servants dared not risk their lives, so they all handed over the princess's letter to the prince.
Left with no other choice, Yu Ying pretended to be sick and asked a doctor for a bribe, in exchange for his help in delivering the letter to the Fucha family.
However, when the doctor left, he was searched by the guards as soon as he reached the gate of the Prince's mansion, and the letter was found again.
Subsequently, Hongli ordered Li Yu to return all three letters he had received recently to his wife.
When Yu Ying saw those letters, she was immediately dumbfounded!
Knowing she couldn't go against Hongli's wishes, Yuying began a hunger strike, refusing to eat or drink. She had only one wish: that Hongli could invite the sorcerer from before to get another peace talisman for Yonglian, because the sorcerer had once said that the talisman from back then would only last for a year before it would become ineffective.
Hongli didn't believe in this and refused to go and invite him.
Upon learning of this, Su Yushan thought it over carefully and decided that she should invite a Buddhist monk.
Hongli was too lazy to bother. "The incompatibility is just a facade. She has a prejudice in her heart, and I cannot tolerate her reckless behavior!"
In reality, Su Yushan didn't believe in this either, but she couldn't help it because the Fujin (wife of the emperor) believed in it!
“If Yonglian is alright, fine. But if he gets any minor illness or injury, the Fujin will definitely suspect that Yonghuang brought misfortune to her son. Then she will blame Yonghuang, and who knows, the Consort Xi might also think it's Yonghuang's fault. We won't be able to explain ourselves even if we are in the right.”
It would be better to grant her wish and obtain a peace charm for Yonglian, so that the Fujin would have no reason to blame Yonghuang in the future.
After careful consideration, Hongli realized that Yushan's words made a lot of sense, so he changed his mind and invited the monk over.
Yu Ying went to great lengths, spending one hundred taels of silver to obtain a peace charm, and then asked Hongli to allow her to enter the palace so that she could personally put it on her child.
If she wasn't allowed to do it herself, she probably wouldn't feel at ease. Hongli agreed to let her enter the palace, and to prevent her from saying anything out of line, he specially assigned two people to follow her closely.
After entering the palace, Yu Ying mentioned the amulet to Consort Xi. Consort Xi didn't stop her, but only advised her to think more positively.
"With the amulet protecting him, Yonglian will be fine. I will protect him, so you can rest assured."
Yu Ying personally put a good luck charm on Yong Lian's head. Seeing her son's smiling face, she felt a little relieved and told her son to be obedient and try not to meet his brother.
Yonglian looked completely bewildered. "Brother? Who is that?"
After Yonglian turned two, he was brought into the palace. He had no memory of his elder brother, only having heard of him but never having seen him.
“It’s Yonghuang. He is your elder brother and will soon be studying in the palace. If you happen to run into him, be sure to take a detour.”
Yonglian was only five years old and didn't understand what his mother meant, so he just nodded subconsciously.
The nanny sent by Hongli was still behind her. Yuying only said a few words and didn't dare to say more.
After giving her instructions, she reluctantly bid farewell to Consort Xi and left the palace.
Just as things calmed down, Yonghuang became restless again. He had grown up with his mother and was very reluctant to suddenly be sent to the palace to study.
"Mother wants me to study in the palace. Will you go to the palace to accompany me?"
Touching her son's little ear, which looked like a dumpling, Su Yushan coaxed him with a smile, "I've already studied, so I don't need to study anymore. Therefore, I can't come to the palace to accompany you."
With a quick glance around his bright eyes, Yonghuang sensed something was amiss. "Then wouldn't I be able to see my mother every day?"
"I see them less often, but I can still see them sometimes."
"Really?" Yonghuang frowned, pouted, and asked pitifully, "Then how long will it take to see Mother?"
"Well..." Su Yushan wasn't sure about this either. She looked at Hongli with difficulty, and Hongli smiled and advised her:
“Father goes to the palace every day and visits you whenever he has free time.”
Yonghuang persisted, asking, "Then what about Mother? Can Mother come to the palace every day? I hope to see Mother every day."
Hongli was immediately displeased. "You like your mother that much, but don't like seeing your father?"
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