The next morning, Hongshi got up early, dressed neatly, and was about to go out again.

Shuzhen asked, "Sir, where are you going so early in the morning?"

Hongshi said, "Anyway, I am now a commoner and don't have to attend court, so I should go out and make new friends. Expanding my horizons might help me in the future."

It turns out that yesterday, Jieli had invited Hongshi to go sightseeing in the suburbs of Beijing today.

Shuzhen nodded and said, "Your Highness, you should go and come back soon! Take a few more servants with you, and make sure nothing goes wrong. After all, we are not like before, and there may be people who want to laugh at us."

Hongshi said, "Don't worry, I'm going to see a friend. He's not like the people I used to be. After this incident, I've learned to judge people better now."

Shuzhen saw Hongshi off at the door, and stared at his retreating figure in silence for a long time.

Hongshi arrived at the place where they had been drinking the day before, as promised. Jieli also arrived, and after exchanging pleasantries, the two went out together.

Hongshi said, "Thank you for escorting me back to my residence yesterday."

Jieli said, "What's the big deal? We're friends! Helping each other out is only right."

When Hongshi heard his words, he thought of the people he used to know. When he was successful, they all fawned over him, and he always gave them whatever they asked for. But when he fell on hard times, they wouldn't even see him. He couldn't help but sigh.

Jieli asked, "What's wrong? What brought up something that's made you sad?"

Hongshi said, "I was just thinking about the people around me in the past. I thought they were my friends, but now I realize that they were just trying to get benefits from my status."

Jieli patted him on the shoulder and said, "Life is full of disappointments. Rather than letting people deceive you for the rest of your life without seeing their true colors, it's better to see them now. It's better to be more discerning and avoid making the same mistakes in the future."

Hongshi said, "Yes! You're right. Through this experience, I've realized a lot. Only those who can share your hardships are truly worth cherishing."

“Forget it, let’s raise our whips and have a horsemanship contest, shall we?” Jieli said.

Hongshi said, "Come on!" After saying that, he raised the whip in his hand and lashed the horse.

"drive!"

The horse, in pain, reared up and galloped away.

On the Fourth Master's side, the Fourth Master asked the scout kneeling on the ground, "How is Hongshi doing lately?"

The scout reported, "The Prince has been drowning his sorrows in alcohol lately and hasn't been in contact with any other high-ranking officials. His wife did go to see the Empress once, but she only gave them some money and offered no other assistance."

Fourth Master said, "Alright, you may leave now!"

Although the Fourth Prince demoted Hongshi to a commoner, how could he not worry about his own son? So he sent spies to secretly follow him, partly to see if he was in contact with anyone else, and partly to see how he would live the life of a commoner.

Hearing that Hongshi was drowning his sorrows in alcohol and was not making any progress, the Fourth Prince was heartbroken. Now that he knew that Hongshi seemed to have cheered up, the Fourth Prince was somewhat relieved.

Thinking of Hongli, the Fourth Prince felt that it had been a long time since he had seen him, and Lanqin must miss him too. The Fourth Prince said to the eunuch beside him, "Summon the Sixth Prince Hongli to the palace."

When the Sixth Prince Hongli heard that the Fourth Prince had summoned him to the palace, he thought something important had happened, so he hurriedly put everything aside and rushed into the palace.