The Fourth Prince got up early in the morning, and Lanqin didn't ask him much. She only knew that he was busy, but in fact, he was very worried about the safety of Hongli and Hongzhou. However, since the Fourth Prince didn't mention it, Lanqin believed that he must have made some arrangements. If he didn't say anything, it meant that she should wait patiently.
Sure enough, after getting up early in the morning, before it was time for breakfast, I heard a series of footsteps.
"Mother!"
Lanqin was sitting in the main seat in a daze when she suddenly heard a voice she hadn't heard for several days. She seemed to come alive all at once, jumped up from her seat, and hurriedly took Nianxia's hand, staggering a few steps outside. She really wanted to see Hongli and Hongzhou safe and sound.
The maids also looked delighted; their mistress had been worried for several days, and their young master had finally returned safely.
"Hongli!" Lanqin opened her arms wide. Hongli knew that his mother must be very worried, so he quickly threw himself into Lanqin's arms.
This was the first time the mother and son had been separated for so long, so Lanqin didn't care that Hongli was no longer a child and held him tightly in her arms.
"Mother, I'm alright, and Hongzhou is alright too. He went back to Aunt Geng's place. You almost suffocated me!" Hongli's head and nose were pressed tightly against Lanqin's chest, making him quite embarrassed. Although Hongli had been very close to Lanqin since childhood, he was now a twelve-year-old boy, and being pressed down by his mother like this made him very embarrassed.
Lanqin quickly released her son's head, looked him up and down carefully, and finally felt relieved. Suddenly, she glared at him, grabbed Hongli's ear, and said, "You're only twelve years old, and you dared to drag Hongzhou out drinking! And you got drunk? If you hadn't been so drunk that you were unconscious, how could someone have harbored evil intentions? And how could this disaster have happened?"
Hongli felt as if Lanqin was about to rip his ears off, and he grimaced, saying, "Mother, I'm already twelve years old, and you're still pulling my ears!!"
"Even if you're seventy-two, I still won't let you get the better of me. Do you believe me?" Lanqin said with a sullen laugh.
"I believe you, I believe you, okay?! It hurts so much!" Hongli blushed with embarrassment, while several maids covered their mouths and laughed.
"Will you still drink it in the future?" Lanqin's smile faded as she glared at Hongli.
"I won't drink anymore. I only tried it because I was in a bad mood. I didn't expect it to cause such a mess. But those petty thieves, I didn't take them seriously at all, Mother, don't worry. I'm back safe and sound!" Hongli hurriedly explained.
"Oh dear, you've really grown up! If it weren't for your father's meticulous arrangements, you'd still be suffering in their hands right now, and you might even be in mortal danger," Lanqin said angrily. "From now on, you mustn't act so carelessly in anything you do. If you continue to be so reckless and careless, your mother will pull your ears off."
Hongli was so ashamed he wanted to disappear into a hole in the ground. He quickly begged for mercy, "I heard you, I heard you, Mother, please let go of my ears!"
"Lianqiu, quickly tell the maids who serve him to prepare water! Hurry up and go back to your room to take a bath! You smell terrible." Lanqin released her hand from pinching Hongli's ear, and instead fanned herself in front of her nose.
Seeing Lanqin like this, Hongli became even more embarrassed and quickly ran towards his room like a rabbit.
Meanwhile, Hongzhou returned to Geng's place and, naturally, gave her a long lecture, telling her never to be out alone again. Hongzhou bowed and promised for quite some time before Geng's worries subsided.
"Hongzhou, your mother is asking you, is there something you're hiding from your mother?" Geng asked, her eyes red. She was still bothered that Hongzhou had someone he liked, but hadn't told her about it first.
Hongzhou was stunned. He couldn't quite recall what he had been hiding from Gengshi that made her ask so specifically. Seeing the disappointment and sadness in her eyes, Hongzhou suddenly felt guilty and quickly said, "Mother, I haven't been hiding anything from you. Don't be sad. If I've done anything wrong, please tell me. I'll definitely change. Isn't that enough?"
When Madam Geng heard Hongzhou say these words, she felt a little better and said, "I heard that you have a girl you like. You are still young, so I am not in a hurry. But since you have someone you like, why don't you tell your mother? Your mother heard about it from the concubine."
Hongzhou was speechless, genuinely surprised, because he didn't know that Hongli had already told Lanqin about this. Now, seeing Gengshi's words, he naturally understood that his thoughts had been revealed to the concubine by Hongli.
“Mother, it was just hearsay. Besides, I’m still young and it doesn’t mean anything, so I didn’t say anything. Please don’t overthink it,” Hongzhou quickly explained.
"Then tell me now, do you like that Ulanara Xueying or not?" Geng asked, raising her eyebrows.
Hongzhou felt embarrassed. He didn't want to tell his mother because he hadn't received any response from the other person, and he was afraid that saying it would cause trouble for Xueying. But his mother had already pressed him for an answer, so what could he do but say it? Hongzhou pondered whether or not to tell Geng Shi, because he knew that his mother and the primary wife didn't get along, and if saying it caused trouble for Xueying, he would feel very guilty.
"Tell me yourself! Your mother insists on hearing you admit to this yourself, whether it's just hearsay or not!" Seeing that Hongzhou still refused to speak, Gengshi felt even more that he no longer cared about her as his mother.
"Mother, I only have some feelings for her, but Xueying hasn't accepted my feelings!" Hongzhou had no choice but to say.
"No!" Geng Shi said immediately upon hearing this. "Ulanara Xueying must never become your principal wife. She is the Fujin's own niece. You should not have any feelings for her."
“Mother! Just because you and the Fujin don’t get along, does that mean we can’t have a good impression of each other? Why should the grudges of the previous generation affect the next generation? Besides, even if the Fujin and the Gege have a good relationship, they still arrange marriages between them.” Hongzhou hurriedly said.
When Madam Geng heard Hongzhou say this, and considering that he had always been very obedient and docile towards her and had never talked back like this before, she felt even more that Ulanara Xueying was bad and had taught her son a bad influence.
“Hongzhou, even if Mother agrees, the Consort will not agree,” Geng said without hesitation.
"How can my marriage be decided by my concubine?" Hongzhou asked, looking at Gengshi with confusion.
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