Noticing that his father seemed unhappy, Yonghuang immediately changed his words, "I want to see my father, my mother, my sister, and my brother."
He told his whole family about it. Hopefully, his father won't be angry now.
As expected, upon hearing this, Hongli smiled, seemingly quite pleased.
What Yonghuang didn't dare to say was that his favorite person was still his mother!
Tangdou was still young and didn't understand these things. She only heard her mother and brother say that they couldn't see each other again, and she burst into tears, tightly holding Yonghuang's hand and crying:
"I want to play with my brother. Brother, don't go. Brother, stay with me. I'll be good and won't bully you."
Yonghuang quickly patted his sister's back with his little hands, and then took a handkerchief from Yunfang's hand to wipe his sister's tears.
Tears welled in Tangdou'er's long eyelashes, her little mouth pursed, and she was heartbroken. She went over and hugged her mother's arm, crying her heart out.
"Mother, I want my brother, brother won't leave."
Seeing this scene, Su Yushan felt extremely sad. Not only did she miss her son, but Tangdou also missed her brother!
However, Hongli had already explained the situation to her, and she didn't want to put him in a difficult position. She could only pull her daughter into her arms and coax her gently.
“My brother has grown up and must go to the palace to study in the Imperial Study.”
“There are books at home too. There are many books in my father’s study. My brother can read them.”
“That’s different. There are more books in the palace, and the best teachers to teach him. Also, your Grandfather will teach Yonghuang when he has time. You miss your brother, and your Grandfather misses his grandson, doesn’t he?”
After pondering for a while, Tangdou'er choked up and said, "Then I'll go to the palace too, to accompany my brother in his studies, okay?"
This silly girl, she actually wants to go to the palace? Su Yushan sighed helplessly, "You're only three years old. You can only start school at six. Besides, what will happen to your mother if you go to the palace? Don't you want your mother anymore?"
Blinking her curled eyelashes, Tangdou thought carefully and realized that her mother seemed more important than her brother! So she changed her mind.
"If I want my mother back, then I won't go to the palace."
After thinking for a moment, she asked again, "May I visit my brother in the palace in the future?"
“This…” Su Yushan dared not make promises to the children lightly, for she was worried that they would be disappointed if she could not keep them.
According to custom, neither Yushan nor her daughter could enter the palace without the emperor's summons. However, the daughter looked expectant, and Yonghuang also hoped that his mother could visit him often. Hongli, unwilling to shatter his children's hopes, smiled gently and said:
"Okay, I'll take you to the palace to see your brother then."
Tangdou shook her head, clinging tightly to her mother, "I want to go with Mother."
Hongli sighed, wondering why the children only liked Yushan and didn't want to spend time alone with him. He clearly loved the children very much too!
He looked at Yu Shan with a wronged expression, but Su Yu Shan shrugged, indicating that she couldn't help him.
His daughter kept asking, and Hongli couldn't bear to refuse, so he assured her, "Okay, when you have time, I'll have your mother accompany you to the palace to visit your brother."
With his family all agreeing, Yonghuang had no reason to refuse and could only obey his father's wishes, packing his belongings and entering the palace three days later.
With her son about to enter the palace, Su Yushan couldn't help but wonder how strict the rules of the Imperial Study were. Apart from the time he was vaccinated against smallpox, Yonghuang had never been to the palace again, and she wondered if he could adapt.
She used to think that the royal children were very happy, living in luxury and doing whatever they wanted. But after Hongli explained the rules of the palace, she realized that it wasn't like that at all.
Every day at dawn, before daybreak, ministers would enter the palace for court, while princes, grandsons, and their companions would get up and go to the study to read.
At noon, they could not return to the prince's quarters. Instead, their own eunuchs would bring them food boxes and they would eat in the tea room next to the study.
If the task assigned by the teacher is not completed, the meal cannot be eaten.
In the afternoon, they would follow their master to learn riding and archery. They were not even as good as modern students. Modern children at least have weekends and winter and summer vacations, but the Imperial Study had no holidays. Except for major festivals, they had to go every day, rain or shine, and could not be absent.
Just listening to Hongli's description, Su Yushan felt a headache coming on. "Is it that strict? It seems that being a prince or grandson of the emperor is not easy!"
Hongli sighed, “People only know that we live in luxury, but they don’t know that we have to endure more hardship than others. We have to learn everything, and the pressure is immense. We are afraid that if we don’t do well in our studies, our father will dislike us.”
Su Yushan covered her mouth and laughed, "That's still better than ordinary people. At least you don't have to worry about food and clothing, and you don't have to worry about not being able to find a wife. There are so many women in your backyard for you to choose from."
Dissatisfied, Hongli pinched her slender waist, "Do you think I care about these women in the backyard?"
Does he really not care? Su Yushan didn't believe it. "Before I came, you liked them too, didn't you?"
Recalling the past, Hongli wrapped his arms around her from behind, his chin gently resting against hers.
"Back then, I always thought that men should have many women, regardless of whether they liked them or not. They would just pamper whoever they liked, and all they wanted was something new."
At first, I had a desire to conquer you, to make you completely belong to me, body and soul. But I never imagined that instead of conquering you, I would end up losing myself.
Looking back on the past, Hongli was filled with emotion. Su Yushan nestled in his arms, smiling but saying nothing.
Hongli couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are you laughing at?"
Su Yushan shook her head and smiled charmingly, "It's nothing."
Hongli guessed wildly, "Are you laughing at me for being too deeply in love with you?"
“It’s a good thing to be deeply in love, how could I laugh at you? I’m also deeply in love with you!” Su Yushan believed that her feelings for Hongli had already broken through her preconceived notions.
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