If she continued to impersonate a man, things would likely get out of hand. Su Yushan had no other choice but to steel herself and tell the truth.
"Aunt Liu, let me tell you the truth! I am not actually a man."
As she spoke, she casually took off the round hat on her head. Only then did Aunt Liu realize that she actually had hair on her head; she had simply combed all her hair back and braided it into a large braid that was placed behind her!
Upon learning the truth, Aunt Liu was both amused and exasperated. "You silly child, why are you dressed as a boy? If you had told me you were a girl earlier, I wouldn't have let you sleep with Qinghe. You could have just shared a room with Yunfang!"
After washing the dishes, Yunfang entered the room and was immediately stunned to see that the young man had taken off his hat. "You...you're a girl?"
With an awkward smile, Su Yushan nodded. "I dressed as a woman for the sake of convenience on my journey. I did not intend to hide it. Please forgive me."
Yunfang's eyes lit up, and she chuckled, "I knew it! What young man is so handsome? Turns out he's a girl."
"It's nothing serious, just make it clear so this old woman won't make a fool of herself." With that, Liu took the quilt away and put it in Yunfang's room.
Yunfang affectionately took her arm and invited her to her room, saying as they walked, "That's right! You should have said so earlier, otherwise Qinghe would have taken advantage of you."
She glanced at her sideways and scoffed disdainfully, "Who cares about taking advantage of her?"
Su Yushan wasn't annoyed and too lazy to argue with him. Anyway, he had disliked her from the beginning. Fortunately, Yunfang and Aunt Liu were both very kind to her. She was content to have a place to stay tonight.
When the two girls met, they always had so much to talk about. Su Yushan had no intention of deceiving Yunfang, but she didn't dare tell her her true origins. She only said that her family had suffered a disaster and she had fled from the capital. As for the specific reasons, she didn't say much. Yunfang didn't ask any more questions either, and comforted her to take it easy, saying that there's always a way out.
The two chatted for so long that they forgot the time, whispering in bed until midnight, their occasional soft laughter keeping Qinghe awake. He coughed lightly, intending to remind them to be more discreet.
Yunfang stuck out her tongue, not daring to say anything more, "He's not asleep yet!"
Su Yushan was also a little sleepy and couldn't help but yawn. "Let's go to sleep too! I still have to travel tomorrow!"
We agreed to continue our journey, but a strong wind and heavy rain started during the night. The rain subsided in the early morning, but it continued to drizzle.
Liu advised her to stay there, saying, "We live at the foot of this mountain. When it rains, the mountain roads become muddy and slippery, making it easy to fall. Let's wait a little longer! It's not too late to leave after the rain stops."
Helpless, Su Yushan could only wait there for the rain to stop.
In the Fourth Prince's residence in the capital, the autumn wind and rain brought a chill. Hongli was sitting in a round-backed chair, his eyes closed and his forehead rubbed, looking haggard. Three days had passed, and he still hadn't found Su Yushan. Where had she gone? Had she already left the city?
Demin had just returned from outside. Hongli rubbed his temples and asked wearily, "Still no news?"
"Yes...but..."
Why was he still keeping me in suspense at this point? Hongli scoffed impatiently, "Speak!"
Demin dared not hesitate any longer and reported the truth: "This humble servant found the princess's clothes in the bushes near the temple."
Demin presented the clothes, and Hongli looked up and was surprised to find that they were the same clothes Su Yushan had worn when she went to the temple that day.
So, she changed her clothes before she fled? Where did she get those clothes? And how did she manage to carry them with her?
It seems that this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision; she must have been planning it for a long time.
He knew it! How could she easily forgive him just because he was sick? Knowing her personality, she wouldn't let it go until the previous conflicts were sorted out. But this time, she didn't mention Kim Min-jung at all. At the time, he still had a glimmer of hope, but now that he thinks about it, he was really foolish!
The reason she was willing to talk to him was that she wanted to go to Lingguang Temple and take the opportunity to leave the capital.
She didn't want to write her name on the wishing slip because she knew very well that she wouldn't stay by his side forever. He was still hoping to grow old with her, while she was thinking about how to escape!
The old man's interpretation of the divination slip had already revealed everything, but he didn't take it seriously. If he had paid more attention, he wouldn't have let her get away.
At this moment, Hongli regretted his actions. He only wanted to capture this audacious woman as soon as possible, but he could not send people to search openly and make a big fuss about it. He could only search in secret. However, despite having so many secret guards, he could not find Su Yushan at all!
An indignant Hongli ordered Demin to continue the search without slackening, and Demin obeyed and left.
The sound of rain pattering on the steps was particularly crisp, disturbing Hongli's peace of mind. Even though it was still raining outside, he still stepped out of the room.
Li Yu held an umbrella for his master from behind. Hongli walked aimlessly forward on the rain-soaked bluestone slabs, and as if possessed, he ended up at Huatang Pavilion again.
Chang Yue was filled with self-blame for her master's disappearance, regretting her carelessness and negligence in not keeping a close eye on him. However, Hongli did not punish Chang Yue, because he knew very well that Su Yushan had premeditated this, and even he had not noticed it, so how could he blame Chang Yue?
At that moment, Chang Yue was organizing her master's clothes, jewelry and belongings. When she saw the Fourth Master coming over, she immediately put down the box in her hand and curtsied.
Looking at the room full of treasures, Hongli sneered, "I gave her so many treasures, but she didn't take a single one, not even a silver note. Is she planning to live a life of hardship?"
Chang Yue thought to herself: The princess did not take the silver notes given by the fourth master, but she had earned a hundred or so taels of silver by drawing patterns for the embroidery workshop over the past year. The princess took her own money, which should be enough for her to spend for a while. However, the fourth master did not know about this, so Chang Yue did not say anything.
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