Yu Shan liked aster; her jewelry featured aster, and her handkerchiefs also had patterns of the flower. This flower was quite common, and it would be normal for others to have it. But at this moment, a certain scene unexpectedly flashed into his mind.

That day, Fu Qing went to his study and accidentally saw Yu Shan's portrait. He looked surprised and something was clearly wrong. Later, he made up an excuse to brush it off. At the time, Hongli did not think much of it, but now that he thought about it, he felt it was even more strange.

Furthermore, Fu Qing had only been back for a few days when Yu Shan also returned. Coupled with the Ziyuan handkerchief incident, all sorts of coincidences piled up together, making it hard for Hongli not to overthink things.

Despite his myriad emotions, he was unwilling to reveal them to his younger brother. Taking a deep breath, Hongli said in a muffled voice, "There's no need to investigate this matter further."

"It is a bit difficult, but Fourth Brother, I will definitely find a way to help you accomplish what you've entrusted to me." Hongzhou was highly competitive, and he was determined to do what he had promised. Hongli knew his good intentions but couldn't say it outright, so he made an excuse:

"Now that we know he has ideas, we don't need to interfere anymore. We can discuss his marriage later."

"No, that handkerchief has successfully piqued my curiosity. I really want to know what kind of girl a cold and aloof person like him would fall for."

If Hongzhou were to force Fu Qing to drink, and Fu Qing, intoxicated, were to utter something inappropriate, the consequences would be unimaginable! Hongli would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen, and he reiterated this point.

"You've worked hard, but there's no need to investigate this matter further. I have my own plans."

He was the one who allowed the investigation, and he was also the one who stopped it. Seeing his brother's solemn expression, Hongzhou became more and more confused. "What's going on? I've spent so much time and effort investigating, and you're stopping me? Aren't you just playing me for a fool!"

Hongli knew that doing this was unfair to the fifth prince, but he was in a state of emotional turmoil and had no time to deal with it. "There's a reason for this. I'll tell you when I have time. You can go back now!"

After busying himself for a while, and before he could even finish his cup of tea, Hongzhou was told to leave. He was bitter inside! "Fourth Brother, you're clearly kicking me while I'm down. Don't come to me next time you need anything!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Hongzhou stood up with a furrowed brow, raised his head arrogantly, and left in a huff.

After the fifth prince left, Hongli walked to the window and looked at the weeping crabapple in the courtyard, his thoughts in disarray.

He desperately wanted to rush to Huatang Pavilion and confront Su Yushan about what had happened. However, the words she had once told him clearly flashed through his mind—trust each other.

But there's no longer any affection between them, so why should he trust her?

But if you suddenly question someone without distinguishing right from wrong, what if it turns out to be a misunderstanding?

Various thoughts kept surfacing in his mind. Hongli suppressed the urge to go find her, admonishing himself to stay calm, at least to stabilize his emotions before making any plans.

In the past, Hongli would go to Huatang Pavilion to keep her company whenever he had free time, but now it's different. He won't go there during the day, no matter how free he is, but only after nightfall, as if he only needs her at night.

Su Yushan had grown accustomed to his way of getting along, where they only talked about bathing and not about love. They each got what they needed without much communication. This seemed to be quite good, at least it saved them a lot of trouble.

After calming down for an afternoon, Hongli's emotions were not as volatile as they were at noon. In the end, he still went to Huatang Pavilion and decided to try a different approach to probe the conversation.

Su Yushan was reading "Journey to the West" with a hand warmer in her hand when Hongli walked slowly to the edge of the tent and sat down. His palm rested on his knee, and his long, slender fingers tapped idly, as if by chance, and he said:

If you can't sleep, talk to me.

“Okay,” Su Yushan obediently closed the book, blinked her starry eyes, and asked very sincerely, “What were you talking about?”

Say whatever you want.

"For dinner, we had congee with preserved egg and lean pork, and brown sugar glutinous rice cakes..." After saying this, she didn't hear a response from him. Su Yushan felt quite embarrassed. She pointed her index finger at each other and twirled it helplessly. "Was what I said very boring?"

Hongli glanced at her and truthfully expressed his feelings, "Yes."

"..." Isn't that too honest? Su Yushan felt increasingly embarrassed. "So what kind of topics do you want to hear? Actually, I'm not very good at talking. I need someone to guide me so I can keep the conversation going. If I'm the only one talking, it's easy for the conversation to fall flat."

Hongli paused, turned his head, and tried not to reveal his feelings. He said to her gently, "Then tell me how you knew about Su Jiafeng's arrest, and where you got the news from."

He hadn't asked about it before, and she thought it was all in the past. Why was he suddenly asking today? Had he already heard something?

She still remembered that before she entered the city gate, Fu Qing told her that he had not told Hongli about her, but how did he know her identity? At that time, things happened so suddenly that she didn't have time to ask about this detail.

She only knew that Fu Qing had met Hongli, but she didn't know what they had talked about when they met.

She had been thinking about this question for the past few days. If Hongli asked her, how should she answer?

If she had left the city, how could she have heard about Jia Feng's affairs while she was so far away? Who told her, and why would that person specifically tell her? If she lived in the city, then Hongli would definitely ask her where she lived and might even send someone to investigate the truth.

Lying is a troublesome thing, requiring countless lies to cover it up. Once she lets one slip, Hongli's suspicion of her will deepen.

More importantly, she was unsure whether Hongli already knew the truth and was deliberately testing her.

Rather than risk lying, living in fear, and arousing his suspicion, it's better to just tell the truth and save yourself the trouble.

Thinking of this, Su Yushan no longer hesitated and roughly recounted what had happened after she left the city. Of course, she didn't mention her plan to take an abortion pill, skipping over that part entirely.

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