Upon entering the back garden, she tiptoed around, but Songhua was nowhere to be seen. Only a patch of bamboo behind the pavilion swayed slightly.
She slowly approached, and heard rapid breathing and soft sobbing. "Sparrow, if I don't see you again, I will go crazy."
“Songhua, stop! If others see this, we will surely die.”
Hongyu's heart tightened, and then jealousy surged within her. She slowly crouched down and hid behind a stone pillar, staring at the path she had come from, to prevent anyone from approaching.
She secretly told herself: rather than exposing their affair, it would be better to cover for them and win over Songhua, since Songhua was her only way out.
"Hmm... Songhua, you must marry Miss Qianqiu as soon as possible. The Emperor is very suspicious, and he even sent people to keep an eye on me when I left the palace. Let go of them quickly, I need to go back as soon as possible..."
At this moment, Hongyu caught a glimpse of a woman in red leading a group of people toward the pavilion. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Princess Xinyue.
Princess Xinyue was ordered by the Emperor to monitor Consort Kong. If she discovered that Consort Kong had an affair with Songhua, she would banish her to the Cold Palace.
As Xinyue walked briskly towards the pavilion, Hongyu quickly emerged from behind a pillar, stepped forward, and bowed, saying, "Hongyu greets Princess Xinyue."
Crescent Moon nodded, her gaze still darting around. "What a coincidence, Fourteenth Sister-in-law... no, Miss Hongyu, what brings you here?"
"The polo match was so noisy that Hongyu wanted to come to the back garden to admire the flowers and have some peace and quiet."
"Oh? Did Miss Hongyu meet anyone else?"
Upon hearing Xinyue's question, Songhua and Consort Kong in the bamboo forest held their breath, not daring to make any rash moves, for fear that Hongyu would betray them.
Hongyu shook her head, took Xinyue's arm and was about to leave, saying to herself with a self-deprecating smile, "Ha! This polo field is full of elegant young men and the much-admired Qianqiu, who would come to this quiet and boring back garden?"
Only I, a woman ridiculed by all, am forced to hide here. I wonder who Princess Crescent Moon is seeking?
At this moment, hurried footsteps approached. Xinyue and Hongyu turned around and saw that it was Kong Feng'er, the second daughter of the Kong family.
Kong Feng'er bowed slightly to Princess Xinyue and asked directly, "Is Princess Xinyue looking for my sister? I saw my sister enter the back garden and followed her in, but I don't know where my sister went?"
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