Meeting Hongli's sinister gaze, Yuying opened her mouth as if to speak, but dared not utter a sound. She looked nervously at Consort Xi, hoping that Consort Xi would make the decision.
Consort Xi disliked Su Yushan to begin with, and by extension, her son Yonghuang as well. Now, faced with a choice between the two children, only one could be kept. Consort Xi immediately spoke to Hongli:
"Of course, we'll keep your legitimate son!"
At this moment, Hongli deeply regretted bringing Yuying into the palace. If it weren't for the fact that the Fucha family was full of talented people, he would never have given her this face!
Taking a deep breath, Hongli said solemnly, "Whether they are born of the principal wife or a concubine, they are all my flesh and blood. I cannot favor one over the other."
Consort Xi disagreed, saying, "Since ancient times, there has been a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate sons. Legitimate sons are naturally more important than illegitimate sons!"
Seeing Yonghuang standing beside Yushan with his eyes downcast, seemingly embarrassed, Hongli felt a pang of pity. Disregarding that it was his mother's birthday, he coldly mocked...
"According to Mother, I am also born out of wedlock and deserve to be ignored and isolated!"
Hongli's tone was forceful, leaving Consort Xi speechless and unable to come up with a rebuttal for a long time.
Su Yushan felt deeply for her son's mistreatment, and her heart ached. She wanted to stand up for him, but her position prevented her from speaking out.
After all, this was in the palace, not in her own home. If she were to question the Fujin (the wife of the emperor), even if she was right, she would be wrong, and Consort Xi would definitely take the opportunity to reprimand her. Therefore, she could only remain silent and wait to see how Hongli would choose to act.
Hongli did not reprimand her, but instead asked Yuying, "Who said that the two children are incompatible?"
"It was the monk who said it; Your Highness is aware of this matter."
"So, you trust the monk's words a lot?" Raising an eyebrow, Hongli countered her question.
"The monk gave Yonglian a talisman, saying that wearing it would ward off disaster. Now that Yonglian is wearing the talisman, why should Yonghuang avoid it? Do you doubt the effectiveness of the talisman?"
"I..." Yu Ying was speechless for a moment, unsure how to answer. Hongli had her cornered, and it seemed that any answer she gave would be wrong. Helpless, she dared not meet Hongli's gaze, hastily averting her eyes to find an excuse.
"I'm just doing this as a precaution."
His gaze sharpened slightly, and Hongli raised his chin, warning, "Since you believe that sorcerer's words, then you should believe every single one of them, including the peace charm!"
Yu Ying was speechless. She looked at Consort Xi again, but Consort Xi was already deeply offended by Hongli's remark that she too was born of a concubine. She had no mood to speak up for her daughter-in-law and only replied perfunctorily:
"Since you have amulets, then there's no harm in keeping them all!"
After Consort Xi spoke, Yu Ying dared not say anything more. She was extremely uneasy afterward, fearing that Yong Huang would hurt Yong Lian.
The two children looked at each other with curiosity in their eyes, but neither dared to approach, each staying close to their mother.
This incident completely shattered Consort Xi's good mood. As people presented her congratulatory gifts one after another, her smile was forced. She felt a tightness in her chest, unable to exhale or swallow, and remained uneasy.
This is not Su Yushan's fault. She cannot control Consort Xi's mood and is too lazy to flatter or fawn over her. No matter how much she flatters her, Consort Xi will not change her opinion of her, so why should she wrong herself?
She only needed to sit aside and watch over her son and daughter.
This was Tangdou'er's first time meeting her grandmother. However, Consort Xi only asked her name, casually praised her, saying that her granddaughter was clever and lovely, and then looked away, ignoring the child and beckoning Yonglian to her side.
In Consort Xi's eyes, her eldest grandson was ultimately the one she valued most.
Tangdou didn't understand these social niceties. She only felt that her grandmother seemed very cold. She didn't dare to approach her and stayed quietly by her mother and brother's side, not going anywhere else.
The brother and sister had been separated for two months and finally met today. Tangdou asked all sorts of questions, wanting to know what her brother did every day and whether he was being bullied.
Yonghuang told his younger sister about his daily routine one by one. Tangdou'er listened, her little head spinning, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Mother, my brother works so hard! Can he stop going to school?"
This little girl wanted to back down as soon as she heard it was hard work. Su Yushan smiled and stroked her daughter's braids, asking a question instead of answering.
"Ask your brother if he wants to study."
Yonghuang thought about it seriously for a moment before saying to his sister, "Going to school will allow me to learn to write, practice martial arts, learn archery, and learn to ride horses. Although it's tiring, I'm very happy. After I learn, I'll take you horseback riding with me."
"Great! Great!" Tangdou clapped her hands happily, and couldn't help but look forward to that day.
Today's events were quite unpleasant, but seeing the smiles on Yu Shan's and her son's faces, Hongli felt that everything he had done was worthwhile.
The death of her daughter planted a seed of inner demons in Yu Ying. She always felt that Yonghuang would bring misfortune to her child. Hongli couldn't reason with her, so he stopped explaining and let her think whatever she wanted.
After the banquet, the Fujin stayed by Xifei's side to talk. Su Yushan, not wanting to join in the fun, told Hongli and then took the two children to play near Jingren Palace.
It felt so good to be held by his mother's hand. Yonghuang followed closely behind her, and only after they had walked a little further did he finally ask a question.
"Mother, will I really bring bad luck to my younger brother? Am I an unlucky person?"
Although the child was young, he could understand what the adults were saying. He could also sense the disdain that the Fujin and Xifei had for him, and Yonghuang couldn't help but begin to doubt himself.
Seeing this, Su Yushan tenderly knelt down, gazed into her son's eyes, and softly comforted him:
"No! Those are all superstitious beliefs. Everyone's destiny is in their own hands. No one else can bring you good fortune or bring you bad luck. You must not listen to those rumors and belittle yourself."
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