Sensing the dissatisfaction in her tone, Hongli explained, "Lan Rong's situation is special; she has a heart condition and cannot withstand the cold."
Su Yushan couldn't understand how Lan Rong had gotten cold. "We both have sixty catties of charcoal, but I can't use it all up. I always have a lot left over. I don't know how she uses it."
Hongli said, "Some people have poor constitutions and are sensitive to cold; their perception is different from ours."
Su Yushan had always thought that Hongli was cold and indifferent to other women, but today he repeatedly spoke up for Lan Rong. In the end, he was different towards Lan Rong.
Realizing this, Su Yushan suddenly felt a lump in her throat, an uncomfortable tightness, and was unwilling to say anything more. "Then let's do as the Emperor wishes. I don't care."
Hongli had instructed her that she didn't need to call him "Your Majesty" in private, but could simply call him by his name. Yushan's use of that form of address just now was probably because she was angry.
Just as he was about to coax her, Rong Yu ran in, calling out "Father Emperor" in a sweet and coquettish voice, and snuggled into his arms, wanting him to hold her.
With the child interrupting, Hongli had no chance to say anything more to Yushan, so he could only take his daughter out and play with the children in the courtyard.
Su Yushan became increasingly uneasy, barely eating a few bites at dinner. She didn't touch the dishes that Hongli put on her plate, saying she had no appetite.
If the children hadn't been there, she would have gotten up and gone inside long ago.
She only sat there reluctantly because she didn't want to spoil the children's enjoyment of dining with their father.
Hongli could easily see that she had been distracted and her expression was clearly not well.
After dinner, the palace servants led the princess and princes away. Su Yushan went into her room to wash up, and Changyue helped her remove her jewelry and comb her hair. Then she went to her tent to rest.
Hongli had a habit of reading a book before bed, but tonight he couldn't concentrate on his reading because he could sense that Yushan was in a bad mood.
So he put down the book in his hand, intending to explain to her, "About Lan Rong..."
Upon hearing her name, Su Yushan felt irritated and interrupted directly, "Your Majesty, you can handle the matter of Consort Xian yourself. There is no need to discuss it with me. I do not want to get involved in her affairs."
Listen to that self-reference, so unfamiliar! He must be furious. Hongli sighed with a helpless smile, "Let me finish what I have to say!"
Su Yushan didn't want to hear it; every word she heard made her heart ache. "I'll just do whatever His Majesty instructs. Tomorrow, I'll have someone add charcoal to her coffers. You don't need to keep saying how weak and delicate she is."
"But why did I arrange things this way? Do you know the reason?"
"Because she's your savior! You'll always feel indebted to her." Just based on this, Lan Rong can control Hong Li for a lifetime! As long as it's related to Lan Rong's illness, Hong Li will compromise.
Su Yushan felt a lump in her throat and no longer wanted to judge. Let him do as he pleases. After all, Lan Rong was his woman, and it was his freedom to pity her if he wanted to. She had no right to say anything.
That's true, but it's not the real reason.
“At first, I did feel indebted to her and was very lenient with her. Whenever she said she was feeling unwell, I would go to visit her. But she took advantage of me and didn’t know when to stop. She was always scheming, and it’s very likely that she was behind the rebirth pill incident. Although there is no evidence yet, she may be the mastermind behind your and your child’s murder. How could I possibly care about her anymore?”
At this point, Hongli paused, seemingly waiting for Yushan's response, but Su Yushan was too lazy to reply and didn't even want to ask.
Without waiting for her to respond, Hongli had no choice but to continue, "You said it yourself, how could she not have enough charcoal? She came to you for more charcoal not because she was really short of it, but just to cause you trouble."
She is certain that you will not add charcoal to her heart, so she will use this as an excuse to pretend that her heart disease has relapsed, and then complain to the Empress Dowager that you have mistreated her and refused to add charcoal to her heart, which has caused her condition to worsen.
The Empress Dowager was already looking for trouble with you. Now that this has happened, she'll definitely make a big deal out of it, blaming you for your poor handling of the situation, and might even find an excuse to remove you from your position as an assistant in managing the inner palace. That's why I had you give her the support she needs; that way, she'll have no reason to cause any more trouble.”
Su Yushan thought Lan Rong was just being spoiled and making trouble for no reason, but she never expected that Lan Rong was actually playing a game and wanted to take the opportunity to harm her!
But Yu Shan still had one question: "How do you know what she's planning? Who told you what?"
No one told him anything; Hongli was just guessing based on his experience.
"Recently, the Empress Dowager has changed her behavior, shirking her responsibilities. I suspect she can't be so docile; she's probably waiting for an opportunity to cause you trouble. I can't be sure if Lan Rong is planning the same thing, but to be on the safe side, let's add fuel to the fire and block her escape route!"
After understanding his true intentions, Su Yushan finally swallowed the anger in her heart, her emotions eased slightly, and she responded with a soft "oh".
Hongli shook his head and chuckled, gently stroking her dark hair that hung down beside her pillow, and said softly, "You're not angry with me anymore, are you?"
Su Yushan opened her eyes wide and snorted defiantly, "Who said I'm angry? I can't be bothered to argue with you. Don't think I care about you that much."
That's such a lame lie. "Your little lips are pouting so much you could hang an oil bottle on them, and you still say you're not angry? Who would believe that?"
He knew her so well, yet he explained so late. Su Yushan couldn't help but become suspicious. "You knew I minded, but you deliberately dragged your feet on explaining to me. Did you want to see if I would get angry?"
Hongli protested his innocence, "My daughter suddenly walked in then! I couldn't possibly say those things in front of her."
"Then you can ask the nanny to take the child away!"
“Rong Yu came to me full of joy. If I send her away, she will definitely be unhappy.”
With a soft "hmm," Su Yushan said in a muffled voice, "It seems that your daughter is more important to you than me. You would rather coax your daughter than coax me, leaving me standing there for so long."
She actually gets jealous of the child? That's rare! Hongli retorted, unconvinced, "Don't you value the child more than me?"
It seems that's true! Even though she was wrong, she still habitually wanted to argue, "I can do that, but you can't!"
"You're doing a double standard, allowing officials to set fires while forbidding commoners to even light lamps!"
She didn't deny it, arrogantly retorting, "So what if it is?"
"..." Hongli smiled slightly. What else could he do? "What can you do if the woman you've set your sights on is unruly? Just put up with it!"
Su Yushan gave a soft snort, turned around, and continued to face away from him. Hongli took the opportunity to move closer, "I've already explained things to you, why are you still angry with me?"
Su Yushan spoke slowly, saying, "I'm not angry."
Really? He didn't believe her. Hongli leaned closer to her and breathed into her ear, "If you're not angry, why are you turning your back to me? You should be facing me."
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