At this moment, Hongzhou, holding the reins, ordered the horse to stop. Qingluo's carriage also stopped when Hongzhou blocked it. As soon as Hongzhou had steadied the horse, he said to the people in the carriage, "Get out." His tone was calm, completely unlike the panting one would expect from someone who had chased after something desperately. Maintaining a composed demeanor was something he, the Fifth Prince, was most adept at.
Qingluo, who was already absent-minded, was definitely annoyed by the bump. She rubbed her forehead and was about to lift the curtain to scold him when a loud voice came from outside the carriage. Upon hearing the voice, she immediately recognized it as Hongzhou and was stunned for a few seconds.
Qingluo's anger turned into excitement, but she couldn't let Hongzhou see her agitation. So, she calmed herself down, lifted the curtain to look at Hongzhou, and said coldly, "Qingluo has been out for a long time. I'm afraid Mother must be getting anxious. We should hurry back to Hongxiu Tower. Fifth Prince, are you calling Qingluo here because you don't want her to leave and want to invite her to appear?"
Hongzhou frowned. "Fine, I'll do as you say. I'll book your place today." Seeing Qingluo's coldness, Hongzhou displayed the arrogance of a Fifth Prince.
This tactic worked very well on Qingluo, who was secretly delighted. She then asked Hongzhou in a teasing tone, "I wonder where Fifth Prince plans to take Qingluo, or whether he intends to return to Hongxiu Tower with me?"
Seeing Qingluo's joyful expression, Hongzhou felt happy for some reason as well. He softened his tone and smiled, "Let's go sit in a teahouse on the street. Hongzhou has something he'd like to ask Miss Qingluo." He didn't know when it started, but Hongzhou no longer referred to himself as Prince in front of Qingluo, but as Hongzhou.
"That's good, that's good. The Red Sleeve Pavilion is too crowded and noisy. It's much quieter at the teahouse." Qingluo was even happier. She felt as if she wasn't Qingluo, but just an ordinary woman, and that she was happy to be invited to a teahouse by an ordinary man.
So Qingluo, with Ke'er's help, got off the carriage and walked with Hongzhou into a teahouse on the street. The horses and carriage were taken away to be fed. The servants also chose their own seats to drink tea and stopped serving them.
Hongzhou led Qingluo into the private room.
Although Qingluo was delighted, she was also somewhat puzzled by Hongzhou, just as she had been when they first met. This time, she didn't understand why Hongzhou had chased after her on horseback after seeing her off, and even booked her room for the day. Did he suspect she had some connection with the eldest son of the He family? She had only done this to see him. No, no. Hongzhou wasn't that kind of person. Since her visit to the He family, he hadn't treated Qingluo with such a haughty attitude; he wouldn't make such assumptions about her so easily. What did he mean? Never mind. Let him be. She should wait for the Prince to ask first.
After getting off the carriage, Qingluo's mind was racing, and when she couldn't figure it out, she just let it go. The atmosphere was a little awkward; Hongzhou and Qingluo sat in the private room, neither of them speaking.
After tea and candied fruits were served, Hongzhou spoke first, "That day I asked you if you would let me redeem you from Hongxiu Tower, why didn't you agree?" Hongzhou was secretly surprised by his own words.
Qingluo never expected that Hongzhou would rush over just to ask her this question.
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