Upon hearing Li Yu's voice, Su Yushan felt relieved. Her intuition told her that Hongli must have sent him.
Su Yushan responded and let him in.
After entering, Li Yu bypassed Granny An and went directly to Consort Chun, where she gave a curtsy.
"This servant greets Your Majesty. His Majesty has important matters to discuss with you and has instructed this servant to invite Your Majesty to come over."
Granny An wondered to herself, why did Li Yu come at this particular time of year?
Su Yushan secretly praised Li Yu for arriving at just the right time, as she had conveniently extricated herself from her predicament.
"I understand, you can go back now! I'll go after I change my clothes."
Li Yu refused to leave first, saying, "No rush, this servant will wait for you outside."
He was worried that if he left first, Granny An would make things difficult for Consort Chun, and then the Emperor would blame him.
Therefore, he must wait here and personally bring Consort Chun to the Emperor before his mission is truly complete.
Consort Chun had to leave, so Granny An had no choice but to give up.
After changing her clothes, Su Yushan left the island for Yanbo Zhishuang Palace.
When they arrived, Hongli was reviewing memorials. Su Yushan didn't disturb him until he finished reviewing the memorial in his hand, looked up and beckoned her over, and then she went to his side.
Hongli pulled her to sit down, and Su Yushan asked curiously if he had something important to discuss.
Hongli, displeased, tightened his grip on her slender waist. "Can't I talk to you unless it's something important?"
Stroking the dragon-patterned jade pendant tied to his waist, Su Yushan said softly, "Li Yu told me you had something important to say! Of course I had to ask!"
He covered her hand with his, feeling her smooth skin, and chuckled softly as he gazed at her eyes, "Missing you, is that important?"
She didn't believe him at all. "You're lying! We were together just a few hours ago. It's only been a short time since we separated!"
She pressed him for an explanation, and Hongli, no longer teasing her, revealed the truth.
"The Empress Dowager gave Granny An a token, and Li Yu couldn't stop her. I guessed that Granny An was going to make things difficult for you again, so I called you over."
So that's what it was about! Su Yushan felt grateful and hugged him, smiling thankfully, "Thank you for getting me out of that predicament, otherwise I would have been forced to eat walnuts."
“I know you’ve been wronged. If you go against Granny An, the Empress Dowager will definitely blame you again. It’s better if I play the bad cop. Even if the Empress Dowager is unhappy, she can’t do anything to me.”
This is why Hongli called her over: "Stay here, no one will dare to interfere with you, you can eat whatever you want, no one will restrain you."
Speaking of this, Hongli casually asked her what she wanted to eat for lunch, and he had someone make it for her.
After a moment's hesitation, Su Yushan said with difficulty, "I guess what I want to eat isn't available here!"
How could they not have them? "Although the imperial palace is not as good as the royal palace, it is not short of ingredients. It has all kinds of delicacies from land and sea. As long as you can name it, they can definitely make it."
After hesitating for a moment, Su Yushan said, "I want to... eat beef."
The reason she hesitated was because there was an unwritten rule among the Manchus that they did not eat beef.
The imperial cuisine in the palace was complete in every way, except for beef. It wasn't a big deal that they couldn't eat it on ordinary days, since there were other delicious foods available.
But recently she suddenly had a strong craving for beef. When a woman is pregnant, her tastes gradually change, and she craves whatever she wants to eat, to the point that she can't help it.
There were indeed no beef dishes in the palace, but since she had this idea, Hongli naturally had to fulfill her wish.
"Okay, I'll have someone make you some beef for lunch. But the Imperial Kitchen can't make it there. They keep a record of all the dishes they make every day. I'll have the kitchen staff make it for you."
With his approval, Su Yushan was overjoyed but also worried. "Will that be convenient? Won't people spread rumors? If it's inconvenient, then forget it."
"My private kitchen is naturally convenient, and they won't dare to say anything out of line, so you can rest assured."
It's easy to get someone to cook, but the Summer Palace doesn't have any beef on hand, so we have to send someone out to buy some.
Su Yushan felt that this was a bit of a hassle, so she changed the subject and said, "Let's forget about it! We can do it another day, I'm not in a hurry."
Hongli didn't want her to wait, and he would do everything he could to get her anything she wanted.
Hongli then instructed Li Yu to handle the matter, and told him to be discreet and not to make a fuss.
Li Yu knew the seriousness of the matter, so he dared not be careless and carried out the task with caution.
After the beef was bought, Xiaozhao cooked a beef soup and also sliced some cold beef.
The imperial kitchen served the dishes first. After Hongli dismissed the palace servants, he then had the two beef dishes brought up.
There were no outsiders present, so she didn't need to worry and could enjoy herself without any concerns.
After a long time, Su Yushan finally tasted the beef. She felt extremely satisfied, her taste buds were thoroughly enjoying it, and she squinted her eyes and exclaimed sincerely, "Mmm—the beef is really delicious!"
She gestured for Hongli to try some as well. In fact, Hongli was not averse to beef, but the palace rules were in place, and as the emperor, he should set an example. Therefore, he had not eaten beef for many years.
But seeing how much she enjoyed her meal, he couldn't resist picking up his chopsticks and taking a slice of cold beef salad.
Thick slices of beef, dipped in chili powder drizzled with hot oil and chopped scallions, are fragrant, chewy, and incredibly delicious!
At this moment, Hongli finally understood why Yushan wanted to eat beef so much. The dish was indeed delicious, but unfortunately there were rules in the palace that prevented him from enjoying it often, and he could only indulge in it occasionally.
After lunch and a cup of tea, Yu Shan started to feel sleepy again. She said she wanted to go back to rest, but Hongli told her to sleep on his dragon bed.
"Sleeping here is the same."
She was so tired that she didn't refuse and went inside to change her clothes and rest. Hongli continued to attend to his official duties. After he finished, he lay down beside her and rested for half an hour.
After lunch break, with nothing else to do, Su Yushan found a piece of Xuan paper and sat down to draw a miniature portrait of him.
At first, Hongli didn't pay attention, thinking she was just practicing calligraphy. Later, he noticed that she would occasionally look up at him, as if observing something. Only then did Hongli realize that something was wrong, so he got up and went to her to see what she was drawing.
Sensing his approach, Su Yushan immediately took out a handkerchief and placed it directly over the painting.
"No peeking while I'm drawing!"
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