The Summer Palace held little appeal for Rong Yu; what she looked forward to most was going to the Mulan Hunting Grounds. Unfortunately, it was still too early, and hunting would have to wait until autumn, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, before she could set off for the hunting grounds.
Yongzhang is six years old this year and has already started school. Last year, he could sleep in late without a care in the world and travel around with his mother. This year, he no longer enjoys that privilege. Every morning before dawn, he is woken up and goes to school with his older brother.
Yongzhang sighed inwardly at his own naiveté. It was just as Yongcheng had said: he would only understand the hardships involved when he actually started studying.
Fortunately, Su Yushan had already laid a solid foundation for her son's learning. Before this, he had already learned many characters and memorized many poems. He could quickly understand what his teacher taught him, making reading much easier.
After class, Su Yushan took the children out for a stroll. Yonghuang was by the waterside pavilion, but he was still silently reciting the text he had learned that day.
As soon as school was over, Yongzhang would think about how to play and didn't care about his studies at all.
Seeing his older sister chasing butterflies, Yongzhang went over to help her and casually told her...
"Sister, I heard that the youngest prince of the Darhan King has also come to the Summer Palace!"
Darhan King? Who's that? Rong Yu thought carefully for a long time before she remembered that she seemed to have seen that Mongolian prince last year. She vaguely remembered that the man had a full beard, but she couldn't recall his exact appearance. She was afraid she wouldn't recognize him if she saw him again.
"Let them come! Father Emperor can entertain them, what does it have to do with me?"
Yongzhang smiled mysteriously, "It is said that the little prince is the same age as you, and King Darhan likes you very much and wants you to be engaged to his little prince!"
Rong Yu frowned and glanced at her younger brother with disdain. "At such a young age, what do you know about engagement?"
"Of course I know!" Yongzhang puffed out his chest, mimicking a little adult, standing with his hands behind his back, feigning maturity.
"You're engaged now, so you'll marry him in the future, and he'll be my brother-in-law!"
Before Yongzhang could finish speaking, he was given a flick on the forehead. Rong Yu's beautiful eyes widened, and she scoffed, "What nonsense are you spouting! This princess is still young and doesn't want to be engaged to anyone. Don't talk such nonsense!"
"I didn't say it myself, I'm just relaying it to prepare you so you won't be unable to accept it when Father Emperor issues the decree."
Rong Yu initially didn't believe it, but Yong Zhang spoke with such certainty that Rong Yu couldn't help but become suspicious. Could it be that her father really had such a plan?
Rong Yu was depressed and lost interest in chasing butterflies. She went back to the waterside pavilion to ask her mother if it was true.
Su Yushan was thinking that Hongli had promised her last year that he wouldn't arrange a marriage for her daughter casually, so she didn't hesitate at all and said to her daughter with absolute certainty:
"That's not true. I haven't heard your father mention it recently."
"Really?" Rong Yu asked curiously, "Then why did King Darhan bring his little prince to the summer resort?"
Su Yushan wondered to herself, "Perhaps he just brought his son to see our beautiful land?"
Her mother gently comforted her, telling her not to overthink it, but Rong Yu still felt that her younger brother wouldn't lie to her.
She wondered whether her mother was deliberately keeping it from her, or whether even her mother was unaware of it.
Uneasy, Rong Yu waited for her imperial father to arrive at Huanbi Island before directly voicing her doubts.
"Father, I heard that you are going to marry your son to a Mongol. Is that true?"
Why would my daughter bring this up out of the blue? Hongli looked at his daughter and asked gently, "Who told you this?"
Rong Yu dared not mention her younger brother, fearing he would be scolded. She said ambiguously, "Your Majesty, I overheard the palace maids talking, but I don't recognize them. Father, is this really true?"
After a moment's consideration, Hongli said, "King Darhan does indeed have this intention, but I have not yet met his youngest prince. We will discuss it after I have met him."
Hearing the Emperor's tone, it seemed he truly intended to do so, and Rong Yu immediately tensed up.
"After meeting him, are you going to arrange a marriage for me? Father, I'm still young and don't want to be engaged so early. I want to choose my consort myself in the future, okay?"
Su Yushan couldn't bear to shatter her naive idea, so she interrupted, "Let's talk about it later! We'll discuss it when you're older."
Yu Shan was unwilling to discuss this matter at this time, but Hong Li felt that some things needed to be clarified as soon as possible.
His smile faded, and Hongli said seriously to his daughter:
"Rong Yu, don't forget that you are a princess. Royal children do not have the freedom to choose their consorts; they can only be chosen by their parents."
"What if I don't like the one you choose?"
Hongli was absolutely certain of this; he would never harm his precious daughter.
"The consort I have chosen for you is naturally outstanding in terms of family background, appearance, and character. I am sure you will like him."
"No matter how outstanding someone is, they still have to be someone our daughter finds pleasing to the eye!"
"You haven't even met the little prince, how do you know you don't like him?"
Is there even a question? Just thinking of Darhan's rugged appearance, Rong Yu felt his son couldn't be much better.
"The Mongolians' lifestyle is different from ours, so I definitely wouldn't like it."
Hongli and Yushan exchanged glances. Just as Yushan was about to offer some advice, Hongli spoke up, "Let's talk about it after we've met them!"
"Father..." Rong Yu wanted to say more, but was interrupted by her father.
"It's time for dinner. Have someone serve the evening meal."
The Emperor was clearly just placating her! Rong Yu became more and more upset. She didn't eat much for dinner, only eating a small half bowl before saying she was full.
After dinner, she said she wanted to go for a walk, so Su Yushan ordered her guards to accompany her.
After her daughter left, Su Yushan sighed softly, "Rong Yu is still young. Young girls have fantasies about everything. You shouldn't have said that. That was too cruel to her."
Yu Shan was too soft-hearted towards her daughter, always considering her feelings, but Hong Li had a different perspective on the matter.
“Some concepts should be instilled in her from a young age. If I lie to her, she will think that she can choose her own husband. If she falls in love with a certain young man in the future, but cannot marry him, that would be truly cruel!”
Her daughter had a strong personality and wasn't easy to talk to, so Su Yushan was worried that this matter would be difficult to handle.
"But we only have one daughter. Can't we make an exception for her this once and let her choose her own husband?"
His son's marriage was relatively easy to arrange, as he still had options, but his daughter's marriage was a real dilemma for Hongli.
"Yushan, I can grant you any other wish, but the children's marriage is not up to them to decide. I hope you can understand."
From Hongli's perspective, he was indeed in a difficult position. Su Yushan also knew that royal children were born to be married off. She couldn't bear to blame Hongli, but she couldn't help worrying about her daughter's future.
Hongli meant that they should discuss the matter after meeting the young prince at the banquet for the Darhan King, as it was too early to make a judgment.
Su Yushan never liked attending formal banquets, but this time, she took the initiative to suggest that she also attend and take the opportunity to meet the little prince and see what kind of boy he was.
Since she was willing to go, Hongli was naturally willing to take her with him. "Alright, we will host a banquet for the Darhan King and his son tomorrow night. You may come with me."
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