The Empress Dowager valued Gao Xiuwen the most, but unfortunately Gao Xiuwen was a Han Chinese who was raised to the Manchu banner, not a true Manchu. None of the women selected in the past few imperial concubine selections were favored by the Emperor. They all failed to capture the Emperor's heart and none of them had their own opinions.
After much deliberation, the Empress Dowager concluded that only Consort Xian, Lan Rong, was the most suitable candidate to become Empress.
When the Empress Dowager expressed her thoughts, Hongli immediately rejected them, saying that Consort Xian was not qualified to be Empress.
The Empress Dowager guessed what her son wanted to say and directly blocked his way out, "Lan Rong is not qualified? Does Su Shi have the qualifications? If she were a Manchu, I would have nothing to say, but she is a Han Chinese, so she cannot be the Empress. You should give up this idea as soon as possible!"
Hongli had practically memorized these clichés; aside from these few lines, the Empress Dowager couldn't come up with anything new.
"Yu Shan has borne me children, a great service, and palace rules can be broken for her sake. My empress should be decided by me. Empress Dowager, are you not comfortable enjoying your old age? Why do you always want to interfere in my affairs?"
After years of arguing with her son, the Empress Dowager was weary. She wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible and relive the days of motherly love and filial piety.
"I have tried my best to convince myself to turn a blind eye. Have I ever interfered in your affairs over the years? You made an exception and made her an Imperial Noble Consort. I have already approved it. I have already conceded so much. Are you still not satisfied?"
"Your Majesty, you may favor a woman, but you cannot disregard ancestral laws for her sake. Not only will I disagree, but the entire court will also disagree. If you dare utter these words, chaos will ensue! If the Empress becomes Han Chinese, does that mean the empire must be surrendered to the Han people?"
Hongli didn't like hearing the Empress Dowager's words, but he knew they were true. He wouldn't care about the selection of a concubine, but the selection of an empress was a matter of national importance! If he said that Yu Shan should be made empress, the princes and ministers would definitely oppose it vehemently.
But apart from Yu Shan, he didn't think anyone else was worthy to be his empress!
"She has been with me for so many years, suffered so much injustice, given birth to five children, and endured so much hardship. All I want is to give her the title she deserves, to make her my true wife. But you want to link this personal affection with the fate of the nation and its people. This is truly an insult to the affection between me and Yushan!"
The Empress Dowager took this matter very seriously and reiterated her stance.
"Your deep affection is none of my business, but the Empress's position is not for just anyone. Either make Lan Rong Empress, or if you refuse, we'll choose a new Empress during the next imperial concubine selection. If you insist on choosing Su Shi as Empress, then I will die in front of you! Unless I am gone, Su Shi will never become Empress!"
The Empress Dowager threatened suicide, what could Hongli do? He could cruelly provoke the Empress with harsh words, but he couldn't force his own mother to her death!
Taking a deep breath, Hongli suppressed his inner resentment, his eyes red as he gritted his teeth and said:
"I may not make Yu Shan my empress, but I will never make any other woman my empress. If a Han woman cannot be empress, then the position will remain vacant!"
The mother and son parted on bad terms once again. The Empress Dowager was so angry that she suffered a heart attack and almost fainted. Granny Mei quickly helped her sit down and advised her to calm down. The Empress Dowager secretly told herself that she must persevere. She must not have anything happen to her. If she were gone, Hongli might really dare to make Su Yushan the Empress.
To stop him from doing something foolish, she must live on! As long as she lives, Su Yushan will never be able to seize the empress's position!
Gao Xiuwen had been watching the drama unfold. She knew she wasn't qualified to be chosen as empress, but even if Lan Rong became empress, there would still be a good show to watch. Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager couldn't persuade the Emperor, and Lan Rong lost her best opportunity. What a pity!
Lan Rong was hoping to turn her life around this time, but the Emperor cruelly extinguished her hopes. Not to mention the Empress's throne, she didn't even regain her position as a concubine.
Lan Rong, who had been out of favor for many years, became increasingly irritable and depressed. She couldn't help but wonder if she would be like this for the rest of her life and never have a chance to turn things around.
Qiu Cha comforted her mistress, saying that she had consulted a fortune teller and the divination indicated that her mistress would have great luck this year!
Lan Rong pouted unhappily, "You say the same thing every year."
She no longer believed that Qiu Cha's divination was accurate!
Qiu Cha, however, insisted that this time it was genuine, as the divination results were indeed different from before. Lan Rong couldn't help but become suspicious, "Could it be that the previous ones were fake?"
In the past, Qiu Cha would only deceive her when she saw that her master was in a bad mood, just to give her hope. But this time the divination was true, but Lan Rong did not believe it and thought that she was lying to people again.
Qiu Cha sighed helplessly, offering no explanation, thinking that she would wait and see how things would turn out.
Unable to secure the Empress's position for her, Hongli felt he had let Yushan down. Su Yushan had already anticipated this outcome and accepted it calmly.
“I never had any illusions about becoming empress, so there is no disappointment. The Empress Dowager is your mother, and you still have to consider her life and death. This is only natural, and I can understand it. Being an Imperial Noble Consort is just fine! I am very satisfied with this position. You don’t need to feel guilty or sad. I really don’t mind.”
But Hongli always remembered that her wish was to be his wife!
She acted nonchalantly, probably just to comfort him and prevent him from blaming himself. Hongli understood her good intentions. To make up for it, he decided to give her a surprise, but this surprise required thorough preparation.
Emperor Qianlong began to discuss with his court officials and arranged for officials from various provinces to make careful plans. Finally, in the thirteenth year of his reign, he launched the plan to travel to the south of the Yangtze River!
Yu Shan's ancestral home is Suzhou, which is why Hongli has always wanted to take her back to Suzhou.
He had planned this for years, but he was always tied up with government affairs and never had the time. Now that the political situation is stable, he finally has the opportunity to take her to the south of the Yangtze River.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
