"Why would you suddenly think that way? You and the children are here, how could I leave?"
Su Yushan has no way to travel back to the modern world, and she has no intention of going back now. After all, she has three children, who are her ties, and she is reluctant to leave.
Hongli didn't know why, but despite Yushan's kindness to him, a sense of foreboding would occasionally creep into his heart.
"But you've always held back from me."
"I was being calm and rational. Right now, no new women are being brought into the palace, and those few are always scheming against each other, so it's normal that you don't like them. Once you inherit the throne, the court officials will definitely urge you to hold a selection of concubines, and then new women will keep entering the palace."
Those who can enter the palace are mostly outstanding. What if you develop feelings for someone else? How am I supposed to handle that? Holding back is just to protect myself, not because my feelings for you are not deep.
He liked to hear the truth, so she told the truth; however, Hongli felt that her worries were unnecessary.
"Our relationship is so deep, how could I possibly have feelings for another woman?"
We shouldn't make promises we can't keep. Life is always full of surprises. "Life is so long, what if misunderstandings or conflicts arise between us?"
His attitude was unusually firm: "No matter what misunderstandings there may be, I choose to trust you."
“I’m glad you think that way, but I’m just scared…” Su Yushan didn’t know why, maybe it was because she had been happy for too long, and she was always worried that something unexpected would happen.
He used to be a prince, a king, and could dote on her alone. But after he ascended the throne and became emperor, he had heavier responsibilities and faced more temptations. Could he still dote on her alone?
She dared not imagine it, and the more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. The only way out was to leave herself a little room for maneuver.
This was merely her way of protecting herself, but Hongli was not satisfied. He turned her over, placed her in the tent, and slowly brought his lips close to her ear, whispering softly as his breathing gradually deepened.
"But I want all of you, ten percent of you!"
As he spoke, he captured her earlobe in his mouth and traced its path with his soft tongue. He knew her weaknesses best and could always easily touch her heartstrings.
Su Yushan couldn't help but close her hazy eyes, feigning reluctance while simultaneously welcoming the bath.
Hongli was unwilling to give up and repeated his words, wanting an answer from her. She dared not respond, nor did she want to lie to him, so she subtly changed the subject.
"Focus, don't torture me like this, it's so painful."
Men hate it when women say "slow down." Since she asked, he should grant her wish, faster and faster, until she begs for mercy...
What Hongli loved most was her helpless, delicate, and soft appearance in the tent. Only at this moment did he feel that she was completely his and belonged to him. Only in the tent would she let go of everything and let him control her. Once out of the tent, she would regain her clarity and rationality.
He always felt that he couldn't understand her, but that didn't matter. She was like a book to him, which he could read slowly and spend a lifetime trying to understand.
Later, Hongli focused solely on serving her and never mentioned the matter again, thus she narrowly escaped a calamity.
Su Yushan's promotion to the rank of secondary consort became the most talked-about topic in the capital. It was truly rare for a Han woman of commoner origin to become a secondary consort of a prince!
Not only the common people, but even the officials began to speculate, "That Lady Su must be as beautiful as a fairy, otherwise how could Prince Bao favor her so much?"
The tall, thin man curled his lip. "That's not necessarily true. The prince has plenty of women in his harem. What beautiful women haven't he seen? Just because someone is good-looking doesn't mean they'll get tired of them soon enough. How could he have been so doting on them for so many years?"
"It must be because she gave birth to two sons for the prince!" the crowd speculated amongst themselves, while the tall, thin man remained unconvinced.
"Don't forget, she is a Han Chinese. Even if she gives birth to a son, according to the rules, she is not qualified to be promoted to the rank of secondary consort."
"Perhaps it was her allure and charm, and her skill in bed, that captivated the prince's heart?"
These men from the Ministry of War, having nothing better to do, were chatting idly in the tea room. As they got more animated, they exchanged wicked smiles. Just then, Fu Qing, the Vice Minister of War, entered and overheard their discussion of Su Yushan. He found their language vulgar and their thoughts filthy, and immediately became displeased, frowning and coldly rebuking them:
"The prince's concubine is of noble status; how dare you speak of her so casually?"
Upon seeing Fu Qing, everyone immediately cupped their hands in greeting and smiled, "My lord, we were just joking, and we had no intention of disrespecting the concubine."
"Some jokes are unacceptable, especially with the prince's women. Be careful what you say!" Fu Qing's expression was somber, as if he were deeply bothered by it. Realizing something was amiss, everyone immediately apologized.
“Your teachings are correct, sir. I will take them to heart and will not discuss them again.”
Having given the warning, Fu Qing turned away and ignored him completely.
He knew about Su Yushan's promotion. He was happy for her because Prince Bao valued her so much. At least it proved that her return to the capital was not a mistake. However, he couldn't stand others slandering her behind her back. He would let it go if he didn't hear it, but once he did, he would never sit idly by!
May her path continue to improve, and may she enjoy a lifetime of honor, happiness, and fulfillment!
After he left, the burly man whispered to the others, "Hey, don't you think the master is strange? He's clearly the wife's brother, so why is he protecting the concubine?"
"After all, he is Prince Bao's brother-in-law. He wouldn't want to hear others gossiping about the prince, would he? We should be more discreet, lest he complain about us to the prince."
After the tall, thin man reminded them, they all shut up and dared not discuss it anymore, lest they cause trouble for themselves.
These people gossiped about it privately, but openly they began to curry favor with the Su brothers. Su Mingfeng had already encountered several people who were indirectly sending him gifts, hoping he could act as an intermediary to get an audience with Prince Bao.
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