The Fourth Prince traveled directly from Wuya's house to the Fourth Prince's residence, his face dark as he sat in the carriage. Seeing the Fourth Prince's unpleasant expression, Su Peisheng dared not approach him, instead sitting on the carriage shaft with the coachman.
Su Peisheng was now in a dilemma. Should he go back and tell Consort Niu in the South Courtyard? Judging from the Fourth Prince's appearance, he clearly hadn't forgotten his first love!
He was the Fourth Prince's servant. Although Consort Niu had always treated him well, if he rashly went to inform the Fourth Prince, he would probably be beaten to death! But if he didn't say anything, Su Peisheng felt a little sorry for Lanqin.
Carrying Su Peisheng's anxieties along the way, and the even more conflicted man in the carriage, they finally arrived at the Fourth Prince's residence at 7 PM.
When Fourth Master got off the carriage, his expression hadn't softened, and he walked forward in silence. Su Peisheng followed behind, intending to ask if he wanted to have dinner at the South Courtyard, but judging from the direction Fourth Master was walking, he wasn't heading towards the South Courtyard.
After returning to the front courtyard, Fourth Master instructed Su Peisheng to guard the door, while he locked himself in his study.
Meanwhile, Lanqin had already learned that the Fourth Prince had returned to the manor. She was now in charge of the entire inner quarters of the Fourth Prince's manor, and the gatekeeper had already sent word to her to curry favor.
Lanqin figured the Fourth Prince should be back by now, so all the small kitchens were keeping food ready. Half an hour passed, and the Fourth Prince still hadn't come. Lanqin started to get restless. She and the Third Prince had already eaten some food in his room. It wasn't that they were hungry, but it was almost past dinner time.
"Master, perhaps something has held him back." Cui Niang knew that Lan Qin had been missing her master these days, and now that he was back, she naturally wanted him to come over as soon as possible.
"I'll go check on Bechuk and Ushiha. I won't wait any longer. They might be busy; waiting won't change anything!" Lanqin felt a little disappointed, but she decided not to think about it anymore. She should find something else to do to distract herself. She knew she couldn't guess what was going on; maybe they were just out of town.
Seeing that Lanqin was taking things in stride, Cui Niang immediately gave Nianxue a wink, signaling her to send someone to check on the situation in the front yard, while she herself would accompany Lanqin to see the two little princesses.
Meanwhile, Nianxue sent Shuiling to the front yard to gather information. Not only her, but also Cuiling from Nianshi's side was wandering around the front yard, just to find out where the Fourth Master was planning to go this time.
When Cui Ling arrived, the spy that Madam Nian had planted in the front yard only told her that the Fourth Master had returned, and then locked herself in her study without going anywhere. When Shui Ling arrived at the front yard, it was Su Peisheng who came out to greet her.
"Eunuch Su, our master is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the young master. Why hasn't he made a move yet?" Shui Ling asked in a low voice.
Su Peisheng glanced at Shui Ling a few times, still feeling conflicted. The Fourth Prince hadn't revealed it yet, and if he said it beforehand, he'd be in deep trouble. So, he sighed and said, "Go back and tell the concubine that the master encountered some trouble at court and probably won't be going anywhere today."
Upon hearing this, Shui Ling could only nod, curtsy to Su Peisheng, and then turn back to report.
Watching Shui Ling's retreating figure, Su Peisheng sighed inwardly, "I'm sorry, Consort. I really dared not confide in you about this matter."
Now, the Fourth Prince locked himself in his room, actually spending most of his time writing. When he was in a bad mood, he mainly used painting and writing to vent his inner discomfort. Later, after Lanqin came into his life, he would talk to her from time to time, even about matters of state. This little woman was indeed very good at comforting him and giving him advice. But now, he absolutely could not mention his current troubles to Lanqin.
Fourth Master wrote one large character after another, seemingly oblivious to the rumbling in his stomach, as he continued to pour out his frustrations on the large sheets of Xuan paper like splashing ink.
Unbeknownst to him, the words the Fourth Prince wrote on the paper had changed to "Wu Ya Wanru," without even his own awareness. When he finally saw the name he had written, the shock he felt made him almost unwilling to face it. Could it be that he still cared about that woman! That woman he had first met with Consort De, so beautiful and graceful, like a lotus emerging from water. Wu Ya Wanru bore a striking resemblance to Consort De, much like Consort De in her youth. At that time, the Fourth Prince was only fifteen years old and not yet married. Wu Ya Wanru was just twelve, truly as endearing as a flower's heart, and also very well-behaved. At that time, the Fourth Prince's relationship with Consort De was still strained, and Wanru often tried to mediate between them.
The Fourth Prince unconsciously drifted into memories of Wuya Wanru. He recalled the first time they admired flowers and played with fish in the Imperial Garden; he remembered the first time she secretly dragged him out of the palace to see the bustling temple fair; he remembered the first time he lightly touched her forehead with a kiss; he remembered Wanru's twinkling eyes like stars and her petal-like lips at age twelve; he remembered the faint floral fragrance emanating from her body and her soft, boneless little hands…
Fourth Master dejectedly threw down his pen and shouted, "Su Peisheng, prepare the horses!"
Su Peisheng, who was guarding the door, was startled and replied from outside, "Sir, are you going out?"
"You dog of a servant, why are you spouting so much nonsense! It's none of your business where I am!" Fourth Master cursed angrily.
Su Peisheng quickly bowed and said, "Yes, yes, this servant will go prepare the horses right away!"
Having said that, Su Peisheng turned and jogged out to the servants' quarters to instruct one of them to quickly fetch a horse for the Fourth Master from the stables. The Fourth Master hadn't scolded him like that in a long time, which meant he had just touched a nerve. If it had been any other servant, they might have been dragged out and beaten.
After leaving the study, Fourth Master asked Su Peisheng to fetch water so he could wash his face and hands, and also change his clothes.
After everything was in place, Fourth Master said to Su Peisheng, "I'm going out for a while. You stay here and keep watch."
Su Peisheng didn't dare ask when the Fourth Master would return or whether he should send a few guards to accompany him, so he could only mechanically reply.
The Fourth Prince then personally took a black cotton cloak, tied it on, and went out through the side door. After he mounted his horse, all he could see was the Fourth Prince in a black robe rushing past in the cool night breeze under the bright moonlight.
The Xiao family's courtyard in the capital was located near Dashilan, within the city limits. It was only a quarter of an hour's ride from the Fourth Prince's residence. The Fourth Prince never imagined that the woman he had never forgotten lived so close to him.
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