Xueying agreed to everything, but a smile appeared on her lips, as if to say: The concubine herself is disrespectful to the fourth concubine, so why is she lecturing Xueying like this!
Lanqin was startled and said, "Xueying, I know you are a smart woman, unlike your aunt. Since you are going to be my daughter-in-law, we will have a long time to get to know each other."
Upon hearing Lanqin's words, Xueying's smile faded, and she said, "What Consort Lanqin said is absolutely right. Xueying feels that Consort Lanqin's intelligence is beyond Xueying's reach. Xueying and Aunt are not the same. I hope that Consort Lanqin will not treat Xueying differently just because Xueying is her niece."
Lanqin sighed inwardly. This woman's intelligence was as striking as her beauty, yet she was not unpleasant to be around.
After Xueying left, Lanqin sent her maid to invite Hongzhou for questioning. Although Hongzhou didn't come on his own initiative, he couldn't refuse Lanqin's invitation.
"Hongzhou greets Consort Lanqin!" Hongzhou greeted Lanqin with a bow, just as usual, without any unusual behavior.
"Hongzhou! Did you and Hongli have a fight? You're back, but you didn't even come to ask me anything!" Lanqin felt even more sorry for her son at this moment. She was angry with Xueying, but she was afraid that she would hurt Hongzhou.
“We didn’t quarrel. Consort, you’re overthinking it. It’s all because Hongzhou is being immature. Now that he’s back, he should be paying his respects to Consort.” Hongzhou quickly explained, looking up. He had followed Xueying back to the capital and thought through all the things he had done with her. It seemed that it had all been wishful thinking on his part, and Xueying had indeed never expressed anything.
“But your eyes tell me that this isn’t what you really think. Can you tell me what happened between the three of you in Jinan?” Lanqin walked to Hongzhou’s side and took his hand.
Hongzhou used to come to Lanqin's place often with Hongli. Lanqin cared for him a lot, and he had long regarded Lanqin as an elder with whom he could confide his secrets.
“I don’t blame Hongli. It’s normal for Xueying to like him,” Hongzhou finally said, his eyes welling up with tears.
Lanqin felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart; the thing she least wanted to see had still happened.
“Hongzhou, your kindness will naturally be appreciated by a woman who will cherish you even more in the future. Trust me, okay?” Lanqin raised her hand and patted Hongzhou’s head.
Hongzhou looked at Lanqin with emotion. He was with the Geng family and dared not tell her about Xueying, for fear that she would worry or become suspicious.
Therefore, after returning from Jinan Prefecture, Hongzhou devoted himself to the arduous task of reading and writing, leaving his mind no time to think about other things.
But only he knew how much his heart ached. In front of Lady Geng, Hongzhou couldn't show it, pretending that nothing was wrong. Lady Geng asked him why he had left Hongli and returned alone, but Hongzhou remained silent, no matter how much Lady Geng pressed him, he couldn't get a word out.
“Hongzhou, if you have any worries or difficulties in the future, you can come to me and tell me, okay? I will help you unconditionally, but there is one thing I can't help you with. Love between men and women is the most wonderful thing in this world, but it is also the most difficult thing to force. Xueying chose Hongli herself, and she will have to bear the consequences herself. I hope that your relationship with Hongli will not be affected. Hongli is wrong in this matter, but you must believe him; he never intended to hurt you. Hongzhou, you have been with him for so long, you should know Hongli well enough that I don't need to explain it to you,” Lanqin said.
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