Upon hearing this, Tangdou'er's sorrow immediately turned to joy; though her eyes were still brimming with tears, the corners of her lips curved into a smile.
"Really? Father isn't lying?"
“How could Father lie to you? He said he would take you, and he definitely will.” Hongli gave a thumbs-up as assurance, but Tangdou’er was still uneasy and asked when she could enter the palace.
Hongli silently calculated, "Seven days from now is your grandmother's birthday. Father will take you to the palace to celebrate your grandmother's birthday, and you will see your brother then."
Upon hearing that she could see her brother, Tangdou clapped her hands happily, "Yay, yay!"
After thinking for a moment, she asked again, "Can Mother come along too?"
Upon hearing this, Su Yushan's smile froze. Over the years, she had never attended Consort Xi's birthday celebrations. It wasn't that she disrespected Consort Xi, but rather because of her social status.
Only the Fujin (Prince Consort) is qualified to enter the palace; other women in the household are not qualified at all. Even if the Fujin is unwell and not suitable to enter the palace, the Consort cannot replace her.
She knew this rule and didn't want to put Hongli in a difficult position, so she didn't say anything.
Hongli understood that this was against the rules, but since his daughter wanted her mother to accompany her, he decided to give it a try.
"It's uncertain, Father. I'll try my best to arrange for your mother to accompany you."
Tangdou hugged her mother tightly, nestling her little head in her arms, and said firmly:
"I want to go with my mother! If my mother doesn't go, I won't go either."
Su Yushan was helpless with her daughter, so she smiled and tapped her nose. "Didn't you say you wanted to see your brother? You can see him when you go to the palace with Father."
Blinking her eyes, Tangdou said timidly, "But I've never seen my grandmother. I'm scared. I want my mother to stay with me."
Although his daughter was young, she inherited Yu Shan's stubbornness. Without Yu Shan's company, she certainly wouldn't have gone to the palace with him. Hongli understood this and could only do his best to secure this opportunity.
"Okay, Father understands. I'll let you know after I confirm."
Hongli respected his daughter's wishes and patiently coaxed her without lying to her, which made Su Yushan very gratified.
With her father's approval, Tangdou'er had something to look forward to and was finally at ease, happily going out to play with Yunfang.
After her daughter left, Su Yushan said to Hongli, "It doesn't matter whether I can enter the palace or not. I will go and coax Tangdou'er. Don't break the rules because of this."
She seemed indifferent, but Hongli could guess her true thoughts: "You also want to see your son, don't you?"
After a moment of silence, Su Yushan neither denied nor admitted it, "I don't want to put you in a difficult position. Anyway, Yonghuang should be back by the end of the year."
Having raised a child for six years, only to have him suddenly leave her side, leaving her unable to even see him, must have left her feeling lost and uncertain. Yet, she never complained to him about it. Her silence didn't mean he didn't understand.
“You’re thinking of me, so I should think of you too. I’ll give it a try. If it works out, great. If not, I won’t force it. Don’t worry.”
He insisted on trying, so Su Yushan didn't interfere any further.
As she expected, things did not go smoothly.
When Hongli discussed with his mother the idea of sending Yushan to the palace to celebrate her birthday, Consort Xi's face immediately fell.
"Only the Fujin (Prince Consort) is qualified to celebrate my birthday. She, a mere concubine, is not qualified to enter the palace! Besides, every time she enters the palace, you argue with me on her behalf. Isn't that just deliberately trying to upset me?"
Look, he's starting to act unreasonably again. If it weren't for the need for Yu Shan and her son to meet, Hongli wouldn't bother saying nice things to his mother.
"Mother, if you were more tolerant of her and didn't always target her, how could there be any arguments?"
Since the two were already irreconcilable enemies, Consort Xi didn't argue and simply stated the truth:
"I just can't stand her! Just because you like her doesn't mean everyone else does. Su Shi can't enter the palace, and I don't want to see her!"
Since his mother disagreed, Hongli stopped arguing and went to consult his father, the Emperor. As long as his father nodded, his mother had nothing to say.
However, Emperor Yongzheng also said that it was against palace rules for a concubine to enter the palace.
Hongli cupped his hands and said, "Law and reason are not without human feelings. Yonghuang has been with his mother since he was a child. It is inevitable that he will feel a little uncomfortable being separated from her suddenly. Recently, he has been thinking about seeing his mother. I thought that if his wish is fulfilled, he can study in peace."
In the past, when he had some free time, Yongzheng would order someone to call Yonghuang to his side and have him sit and write, so as to observe the boy's temperament.
After he finished writing, when Yongzheng checked his work, he unconsciously pinched the space between his eyebrows. Seeing this, Yonghuang whispered:
"Grandpa, are you tired? How about I give you a shoulder massage?"
Emperor Yongzheng raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Oh? You can massage shoulders? Who taught you?"
Yonghuang replied truthfully, "My mother taught me."
Emperor Yongzheng asked in surprise, "You are so young, how could your mother have taught you to do these servant's jobs?"
"My grandson is not a little kid anymore, he's already six years old!" Yonghuang considered himself a big kid.
“My mother said that one should not be selfish. If others are good to me, I should be good to them too. My mother makes clothes for me. I don’t know how to sew, but I have little fists that I can use to massage my mother’s back so that her shoulders won’t hurt.”
As they spoke, Yonghuang knelt on the Luohan bed, clenching his little fists to massage his grandfather's back, and carefully asked him if it was too light or too heavy.
Yonglian was raised in the palace since childhood and was familiar with the palace rules. He was very afraid of the emperor and never dared to be so close to him.
Yonghuang wasn't in the palace, so he wasn't afraid of the emperor. He just felt that the old man was kind and approachable, so he became bolder.
What's most precious is childlike innocence, and Yongzheng greatly admired Yonghuang's purity and filial piety. Despite his small size, his little hands were surprisingly strong; as he massaged the area, he spoke of his younger sister.
"My little sister's name is Tangdou'er. She's the most beautiful and adorable little sister in the world! If you, Grandfather, were to meet her, you would definitely adore her..."
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