Seeing that Qingluo didn't seem to be lying, Hongzhou released her, sat back down, and downed the cup of tea on the table in one gulp. His mind raced, considering all the people connected to the whole affair. If the person who revealed his identity wanted money, why didn't they just ask him directly? If it wasn't about money, could there be some bigger conspiracy?
Seeing that Hongzhou seemed to be thinking about something, Qingluo figured he must be struggling with this matter, so she said, "If Fifth Prince trusts Qingluo, then Qingluo can lend you a hand."
Qingluo paused slightly as she spoke, then looked up at Hongzhou.
Hongzhou remained silent, gesturing for her to continue: "Qingluo could find an opportunity to help Prince Beile inquire how the eldest son of the He family knew Prince Beile's identity. Coincidentally, today, the eldest son of the He family sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that a distinguished guest will be arriving at noon today, and inviting Qingluo to Juxian Pavilion to entertain him."
Upon hearing Qingluo's words, Hongzhou immediately had a plan. He then said to Qingluo, "When Young Master He sends a carriage to pick you up at noon today, take me with you. I will disguise myself as your follower."
Qingluo was taken aback. "Your Highness, this is absolutely not allowed! What if Young Master He recognizes you?"
To allay Qingluo's concerns, Hongzhou said, "I have played the guqin since I was a child. If I disguise myself as a guqin player, it should be difficult for anyone to detect anything amiss."
Qingluo thought about it and still felt it was inappropriate. "It may be difficult to be discovered, but wouldn't such a disguise be an insult to Prince?"
“There’s nothing wrong with it. The He family’s sudden change of heart must be due to some inside story. If we don’t find out now, it will be difficult to find another opportunity later. Perhaps the distinguished guest they were entertaining today is the mastermind behind it all. The sooner we find out, the sooner we can distribute the grain. Time is of the essence, so we have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.” Hong Zhou didn’t care about his status. At this moment, he only wanted to find out the truth as soon as possible so that he could complete his mission.
Qingluo agreed to Hongzhou's request without saying much. She asked Hongzhou to wait a moment, and then excused herself to go back to her room to find the clothes needed for the disguise.
Qingluo hurried back to her room and asked her maid, Ke'er, to find a set of musician's clothes to send to Hongzhou. Ke'er reluctantly rummaged through the closet and found a set of musician's clothes, pouting as she asked, "Miss, why are you still helping that Fifth Prince? He clearly looks down on you. The Prince is so arrogant, let him go by himself." Ke'er angrily patted the musician's clothes.
"Ke'er, hurry up and take the clothes there, don't keep the Prince waiting." Qingluo didn't scold Ke'er for her rudeness, but urged her to take the clothes to Hongzhou quickly. Finally, Qingluo added, "Who told me to like him?" But these words sounded more like a sigh to herself.
Qingluo didn't know if helping the Fifth Prince was the right thing to do, as it had dragged her into this mess. If anything were to be discovered later, she would likely be in trouble. But as the saying goes, she loved him, so whatever happened, she would accept it.
"Oh no!" Qingluo suddenly realized that she had been away from Lord Zhang's place for a long time. If she didn't go back soon, Lord Zhang would probably become suspicious. If he questioned her and revealed her identity as a prince, it would be a big problem.
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