Su Yushan listened without replying, but the Empress Dowager had no intention of letting her off the hook. Her gaze seemingly casually shifted to Su Yushan's face, and she spoke softly...
“Imperial Noble Consort Chun, since you are assisting in the management of the harem, you should do some practical work. The Empress is unwell, so all matters, big and small, concerning this selection of concubines will be handled by you.”
Normally, the Empress Dowager is unwilling to acknowledge her status, but today she addressed her in public like this and assigned her the task of managing the imperial concubine selection. It was clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for her.
Lan Rong glanced at him with her watery eyes and said sarcastically, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort and the Emperor have a deep and abiding affection for each other. She has always been the Emperor's favorite. If you ask the Imperial Noble Consort to help the Emperor choose a consort, wouldn't that be putting her in a difficult position and making her sad and upset?"
Every woman in the harem went through this ordeal. Compared to other women, Su Yushan was already lucky enough, so why should she be sad?
"As an imperial concubine, she should understand that the emperor does not belong to her alone. There will be many more imperial concubines to select, and more and more women will enter the palace to serve the emperor. There is nothing to be surprised about."
Before Su Yushan could even utter a word, Lan Rong interrupted, ostensibly speaking up for her, but actually deliberately trying to sow discord between her and the Empress Dowager.
Su Yushan took the talent show very calmly; she really had nothing to be sad about and responded with a polite smile.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. The practice of selecting concubines has a long history. Marriages among members of the royal family are all arranged through this process. It is a major event, and I should support it."
If she dared to utter a single complaint, the Empress Dowager would not let her off easily. However, she was adept at feigning smiles and evasive responses, leaving the Empress Dowager unable to find fault. She coldly snorted:
"Support is best, but the selection process has many rules, is time-consuming and mentally taxing. Every selection must be taken seriously, and no mistakes can be tolerated. Are you capable of handling this?"
If she says she doesn't want to get involved, then the Empress Dowager will definitely take the opportunity to make her relinquish power, and then all the hard work that Hongli has done for her will be in vain.
Not wanting to disappoint him, Su Yushan hesitated for a moment before replying:
"Your Majesty, I have little experience, but I can learn. I will do my best to organize this year's imperial concubine selection and live up to Your Majesty's expectations."
She wasn't incapable of saying polite words; since the Empress Dowager liked to hear them, she would just offer a few insincere compliments.
The Empress Dowager's greatest expectation was the selection of imperial concubines, hoping that new Manchu women would enter the palace, attract Hongli's attention, steal Su Yushan's favor, and give birth to a pure-blooded imperial heir for the royal family!
Hongli hadn't mentioned this matter to Yushan because he didn't care about the imperial concubine selection and didn't want Yushan to overthink things. He never expected the Empress Dowager to entrust this matter to Yushan.
"The Empress Dowager is always meddling in other people's business, so she should be in charge of the imperial concubine selection. Why would she let you take charge?"
Su Yushan guessed wildly, "They probably think that I'm too idle as an Imperial Noble Consort, and that's not good enough for my meager monthly salary, so they want to find me something to do."
Although she didn't say anything, Hongli was worried that she was uncomfortable. "If you don't want to get involved in these things, I'll go and talk to the Empress Dowager."
Su Yushan smiled indifferently, "It's alright! It's just looking at beautiful women! It's pleasing to the eye, what a good job."
That was probably just something she said out of spite. "You're a woman, how come you like looking at beautiful women?"
With a slight reproach in her starry eyes, Su Yushan retorted with a coquettish hum, "If I don't look at beauties, am I supposed to look at handsome young men? If you allow it, I can look too."
"No!" Hongli's eyes narrowed instantly. He grabbed her slender waist and pulled her into his arms, warning her sternly, "You can only look at me, and your eyes and heart must only have me!"
"I'm trapped inside the red walls, so I don't even have a chance to see others!"
Su Yushan casually replied, but Hongli thought about it carefully and felt that something was not right. "You mean, if you had the chance, you would peek? You would have thoughts about it?"
That's a funny question. "I'm already the mother of Fourth Brother's child, how could I possibly have feelings for anyone else?"
With a disgruntled flick of his finger, Hongli gently scratched the bridge of her nose, tucked his chin slightly, and snorted, "You wouldn't dare leave me hanging."
With her red lips slightly pursed, Su Yushan said with a coquettish hum, "I really don't dare. How can I be as lucky as you, with all the beauties in the world sent to you for you to choose from?"
She was only pretending to be jealous, but Hongli took it seriously and earnestly explained to her:
"The selection process is just a routine matter. Whether they are beautiful or ugly, what does it have to do with me? In the end, it's just about selecting beauties for other royal relatives. Look at those four who entered the palace three years ago, have I ever favored any of them?"
That's the truth. Hongli hasn't favored anyone else over the years, and Su Yushan has seen it all, so naturally she wouldn't doubt him.
"I was just saying it offhand, I wasn't really jealous. You were fooled, weren't you?"
"Well, you've actually learned to play tricks on people!" The tricked Hongli turned his head and lightly bit her fair neck. He didn't bite hard; it didn't hurt, just a little ticklish. Su Yushan instinctively shrank her neck and backed away.
"Just kidding! Don't bully me!"
When she wasn't in trouble, he wanted to tease her, but once she did, he wouldn't let her off easily. "Jokes come at a price."
His gaze was fiery and intense, captivating her eyes. Su Yushan felt a sense of foreboding, as if she were about to suffer a terrible fate.
Before she could even think of a way to change the subject, Hongli had already picked her up and was carrying her into the tent. He would show her the truth, that some jokes were not to be taken lightly…
Su Yushan sighed inwardly, realizing she had stepped on his landmine again. She had to be careful with her words every time she spoke, otherwise she might inadvertently offend him and be punished by him for various reasons.
The various excuses she came up with caught her completely off guard. Couldn't they just talk properly?
The Empress Dowager entrusted this matter entirely to Su Yushan out of a desire to keep her at bay. Little did she know, Su Yushan was quite carefree and didn't care at all. She treated this matter as just another task and didn't consider what she would do if Hongli fell in love with a newly entered concubine.
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