Madam Geng felt a pang of unease and had no choice but to let Hongli and Hongzhou go inside to have some refreshments and talk, while she herself withdrew and left to be served by her maids. After returning to her own room, Madam Geng slammed her hand on the table in anger and said, "Lulan, go and tell Chunying to pay attention to what the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince are saying."
After Hongli and Hongzhou had been together for a while, Hongli pulled Hongzhou along to find Lady Geng.
"Aunt Geng, Hongzhou wants to go to the primary school, why don't you let him go?" Hongli asked after exchanging greetings with Madam Geng.
When Madam Geng saw that Hongzhou had been holding hands with Hongli since he came in, he was now standing next to Hongli, questioning her together about why she hadn't let him go to the primary school.
“Hongzhou has been in a bad mood these past few days, Hongzhou, is that right? Your mother wants you to calm down first before you go!” Geng asked.
Hongzhou was taken aback. He had indeed been somewhat restless these past few days, actually wondering whether he should go see Lady Fucha, but he couldn't voice these thoughts. Now that Lady Geng had asked him this, he could only nod haphazardly.
“Mother, actually I’m fine, I can go to elementary school,” Hongzhou said in a low voice.
“Alright, then you can go tomorrow. Your mother seems to be feeling better these past few days. Fourth Prince, it’s not that Aunt Geng doesn’t want Hongzhou to go, but she’s afraid that his bad mood will affect the others,” Geng said to Hongli.
Just now, the way Hongli came in and questioned me really did look quite like Lanqin when she was serious.
After Hongli took his leave, Madam Geng, with a long face, said to Hongzhou, "Hongzhou, is your mother so terrible in your eyes now? The Fourth Prince spoke to your mother like that, yet you still treat him with such affection."
Hongzhou couldn't understand why Gengshi acted one way in front of Hongli, but changed completely in front of him. In truth, Gengshi was also deeply conflicted. She dared not openly confront Lanqin, yet she couldn't suppress her hostility towards the South Courtyard. Because she believed that Lanqin would one day steal Hongzhou away, she couldn't help but feel intense hostility towards the South Courtyard.
Hongzhou didn't understand what Geng meant. He just looked at her and said, "Mother, why can't Hongzhou play with Hongli? Aren't we brothers?"
Madam Geng was speechless at Hongzhou's words. She couldn't explain to Hongzhou why he couldn't go out and play freely, or why he was always confined to the courtyard.
“Hongzhou, you’ve been frail since childhood, and your mother is afraid you’ll catch a cold if you go out. All of this is for your own good. Hongzhou, your mother doesn’t want you to get too close to Hongli, actually because your mother is afraid you’ll be implicated by him. His mother is a concubine, and Concubine Nian has always been at odds with them. Your mother doesn’t want you to get close to Hongli because she’s afraid you’ll get hurt.” Geng Shi squatted down and put one hand on Hongli’s shoulder.
“Mother, Hongzhou doesn’t understand!” Hongzhou said. He naturally didn’t understand what Geng had just said, but he knew that Hongsheng was the son of Consort Nian and that he often disagreed with Hongli.
“Hongzhou, you’ll understand your mother’s good intentions when you grow up. Now, listen to your mother, okay? Don’t get too close to Hongli. I’m afraid something might happen to you.” Madam Geng hugged Hongzhou tightly.
Meanwhile, after Hongli returned, he told Lanqin about Hongzhou's situation.
"Did you see with your own eyes that Hongzhou was alright?" Lanqin pondered Hongli's words.
“Yes, it’s nothing serious. There’s no smell of medicine in his room. Besides, if Hongzhou were sick, his mother should have come to ask her for a doctor,” Hongli said.
Lanqin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, "You're right."
After the maid led Hongli away, Lanqin wanted to see Madam Geng. According to what Hongli had just said, Lanqin felt that Madam Geng suspected that she wanted to bring Hongzhou back.
"Master, are you going to see Lady Geng now?" Si Hua asked in surprise when Lan Qin said she was going to Lady Geng's place.
“It seems necessary to talk to Madam Geng, otherwise she might hurt Hongzhou. The last thing I want to see is Hongzhou get hurt, so it would be best to reassure her,” Lanqin said.
"My lady, what kind of reassurance do you want? Do you really intend to keep the Fifth Prince by her side forever?" Si Hua asked.
Lanqin felt a pang in her heart. She clearly cared about Hongzhou, but she dared not rashly tell him about his background, and could only watch him stay with the Geng family. When Hongli said that Hongzhou had stayed in the room for several days without coming out, she felt so heartbroken that she wished she could rush over immediately and take Hongzhou back.
But after calming down, Lanqin felt that asking for it so rashly might frighten Hongzhou. She knew that Madam Geng would certainly not agree, and that she would need a more opportune moment to bring Hongzhou back.
“No matter what, I can’t let Madam Geng think that I’m going to take Hongzhou back. Only if she feels at ease will Hongzhou’s life be easier,” Lanqin said.
Seeing Lanqin say this, Sihua didn't know how to persuade her anymore, so she could only help her to go to Gengshi's side.
Geng was surprised that Lanqin arrived so quickly. After Lanqin sat down in Geng's main room, both of them remained silent.
"Consort, what brings you here today?" Geng asked.
"I came here for Hongzhou!" Lanqin didn't bother beating around the bush anymore.
Geng's heart clenched, and she suppressed her shock, saying, "So, Consort, you've come to ask for Hongzhou back?"
Lanqin smiled faintly and said, "Gege, you're overthinking it. I'm here today to tell you that Hongzhou is still your son. Don't worry that I'll take him back one day."
This time, Madam Geng was even more surprised. She hadn't expected Lanqin to come here just to say those words to her.
“You know, if I wanted to, I’m afraid you couldn’t stop me. So don’t stop Hongzhou from getting close to Hongli; they are brothers. Hongzhou is only three years old. Keeping him here too much and not letting him have contact with others will not do him any good for his future. Sister Geng, do you understand what I’m saying?” Lanqin said. “If Hongzhou grows up happily and peacefully here with you, I will be very grateful to you. But if he is not happy, I cannot raise him here.”
Geng tightened her grip on the handkerchief, looking into Lanqin's eyes, as if trying to discern whether Lanqin's words were true or false!
“Alright, I will make Hongzhou happy. I have remembered what Consort Geng said,” Geng said.
“Since we’ve come this far, let’s speak frankly. You know Hongzhou’s background very well. If you treat him well, he won’t do anything to you. But I heard he’s been confined to his room and isn’t free. I hope Sister Geng won’t be so presumptuous. If you hurt Hongzhou’s feelings, it will be very difficult to get them back,” Lanqin said.
Lady Geng remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Consort."
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