After paying their respects to Fourth Master and Lanqin at Jiuzhou Qingyan, Lanqin's elder brother and half-brother left with their respective wives. Since they could not stay any longer, and Lanqin could not ask them to stay for lunch, she dismissed them.
In the evening, after having dinner with Lady Geng at Quyuan Fenghe, Hongzhou, Wukuzha, Yongshuo, and their son, they returned to their respective rooms. Because Yongshuo felt somewhat uneasy in the Yuanmingyuan, he kept asking Lady Wukuzha to stay with him, so Hongzhou went out for a walk by himself.
Ever since Hongzhou saw those two letters, his doubts have never been put aside. Especially after finally finding someone related to that year, the abbot didn't know much about it and couldn't answer his questions, which made Hongzhou even more frustrated.
Wu Kuzha noticed that Hongzhou seemed distracted every day, and after several tentative inquiries, he still couldn't figure out what Hongzhou was thinking.
Just now, after hesitating for a moment, Wu Kuzha looked at the gloom on Hongzhou's face and asked, "Your Highness, what is troubling you lately? I haven't seen you smile happily for a long time."
Wu Kuzha pondered for a moment, then continued, "Especially these past two days, Your Highness, since you came to the Yuanmingyuan, your brows have been furrowed even more."
Upon hearing Wu Kuzha's words, Hongzhou sighed, reached out to smooth Wu Kuzha's furrowed brows, and comforted her, "These days, the Ministry of Revenue has been dealing with a thorny issue that has remained unresolved. They have been investigating for a long time without any results. After arriving at Yuanmingyuan, I felt somewhat sorry for Father Emperor, which is why I am so troubled. You don't need to worry as much."
Seeing Hongzhou's reaction, Wukuzha stopped asking questions. Hongzhou also didn't want to bring up the matter, lest it cause Wukuzha worry. After all, all he knew about it was what was written in the letter, and nothing else.
Upon arriving at the Yuanmingyuan, Hongzhou saw Consort Song, Consort Wu, and the Fourth Prince, which made him even more agitated and uneasy. So, he took advantage of the cool night breeze to go for a walk and calm down.
Unbeknownst to him, Hongzhou had taken a walk alone to the Nine-Arch Stone Bridge. Looking at the moon's reflection in the water, he couldn't help but wonder, "Whose son am I? Why is that past so obscure?"
As Hongzhou was muttering to himself, a person walked over from the other side of the bridge. Hearing the sound, Hongzhou turned around and saw that it was Qiuyun.
When Qiu Yun saw Hong Zhou, she quickly stepped forward and bowed to him, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness."
Hongzhou looked at Qiuyun, who was bowing, waved his hand to tell her to get up, and then asked, "It's so late, why are you still outside? Why aren't you serving your mother?"
Upon hearing Hongzhou's question, Qiuyun replied, "This servant is going over there to see if there are any lotus flowers that are blooming well, so that I can come back early tomorrow morning to pick some and put them in the rooms of the Fujin and the Empress, so that they will look more lively."
Upon hearing this, Hongzhou didn't think much of it and nodded, then said, "Go back quickly and don't wander around in this garden."
Qiu Yun looked up at Hong Zhou, pondered for a moment, and said, "Your Highness seems to have something on your mind."
Hongzhou naturally wouldn't discuss her own thoughts with her, so he said, "I just ate a little too much and came out to digest."
Seeing Hongzhou's answer, Qiuyun didn't press further and went back.
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