Hong Zhou laughed and said, "You're still the same as before, only focusing on your own affairs and never glancing at women. But you've reached the age to get married. Now that your sister has become my fourth brother's wife, the women who want to become your in-laws are probably lining up outside the city gates. You can take your time to choose, there's no rush."
Fu Qing had no interest in choosing from those noble ladies, but the person he wanted didn't belong to him. He still had no clue how to break this deadlock. Should he try again, or let go? He couldn't make up his mind.
The two chatted as they drank. Hongzhou was always talkative, so the conversation never got awkward. As Hongzhou recounted his childhood anecdotes, Fu Qing gained a deeper understanding of his own past.
After the dinner, Hongzhou prepared to take him to the night market. As soon as they left the room, they saw a commotion in the corridor, which attracted a crowd.
Hongzhou, with his sharp eyes, vaguely spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. "It looks like Hongchang! He's always causing trouble. Let's go check it out!"
Fu Qing didn't remember this person, but judging from the name, he guessed that he must be Hong Zhou's brother, so he went with him.
After arriving at the place, Hongzhou stood aside and listened for a while. He already understood that it was Hongchang who accused Su Jiafeng of stealing his jade pendant.
Unable to bear his noise, Hongzhou stepped forward to greet him, "Oh! It's my cousin!"
Upon glancing at Hongzhou, Hongchang gave a perfunctory smile, "Fifth Brother? Long time no see!"
Hongzhou smiled and said, "This young brother Su is the younger brother of my fourth brother's beloved concubine. In a way, he is also my fourth brother's brother-in-law! Why make such a fuss, cousin? Let's settle this privately."
Hongzhou knew, of course, that Su Jiafeng was Su Gege's younger brother. It was precisely because he knew this that he made a scene, saying, "So what if he's the fourth brother's brother-in-law? He dares to steal my things. No one's relatives are good enough for him!"
Su Jiafeng immediately clarified, "I was just clearing away the dishes, I didn't steal anything!"
Back in October, Su Jiafeng married He Yuning. Now that he was the son-in-law of the manager of Baozhenlou, he naturally no longer needed to do these chores. However, in the past two days, a waiter's mother suddenly fell seriously ill and was at home taking care of her, so she couldn't come. The temporary helper he found was clumsy and worked too slowly. Su Jiafeng couldn't bear to see this and didn't want his wife to be tired, so he had to help clean up himself.
Little did he know that this act of cleaning up would cause trouble. Hongchang insisted that he had lost the jade pendant. He had just gone downstairs and hadn't even left Baozhen Tower when he turned back to search for it in the side room. At that time, Su Jiafeng was cleaning up the dishes, so Hongchang assumed that he had found it and kept it.
Su Jiafeng was speechless and Hongchang was determined to arrest him and send him to the authorities. Hongzhou happened to pass by and stepped forward to mediate, but Hongchang insisted on his own way and did not give him, a prince, any face at all.
Since it concerned the Su family, Hongzhou knew that his fourth brother cared about Su Yushan and must also care about her younger brother. So Hongzhou immediately bid farewell to Fu Qing, saying that they would meet again another day, and then immediately took a carriage to the fourth brother's residence.
Fu Qing was unaware of the complicated relationship between Hongli and Hongchang. He only felt that Su Jiafeng seemed somewhat similar to Yu'er, and, harboring suspicions, he ordered someone to investigate Su Jiafeng's background. The servant immediately went to do so and returned with a report a quarter of an hour later.
"Second Master, I have found out that the young master Su is Manager He's son-in-law and the younger brother of Su Gege, the maid of the Fourth Prince."
"Princess Su? Do you know her name?"
This servant was extremely shrewd. He was afraid that his master would continue to ask questions and he would have to run errands again, so he had inquired very carefully beforehand. "I have asked around and I heard that her name is Su Yushan, her sister is Yuchan, and she has an older brother named Su Mingfeng."
Yu Shan! Yu'er! If seeing that painting in the Fourth Prince's study this morning was a coincidence, then having the same name must be something more!
Fu Qing was overwhelmed by doubts and could hardly breathe. He didn't want to continue this endless speculation and just wanted to find Yu'er as soon as possible and ask her face to face.
However, it snowed that night, making the long road difficult to travel. He said he wanted to go out, but Jue Luo Shi wouldn't allow it, saying he should wait until the snow stopped. But he couldn't wait, because Yu'er knew his identity and might already be on guard and planning to leave.
If he waits until the snow stops, Yu'er will probably have already left the village, and he will have no chance of finding her again!
Just as Fu Qing had predicted, Su Yushan really did have the idea of leaving.
She believed that Qinghe would not deliberately betray her, but he did not yet know her identity, and there was no guarantee that he would not accidentally let it slip. Once someone noticed something was amiss, she would be taken back!
So she decided to leave, but she knew very well that she couldn't tell Aunt Liu directly. Aunt Liu was worried about her and her child's safety and would definitely not agree to let her leave. She had to choose a suitable time to leave quietly.
As the year drew to a close, weddings and banquets were being held one after another in the village. At noon that day, Aunt Liu took her daughter to a wedding banquet. Su Yushan thought this was a good opportunity, and after they left, she immediately began packing her bags.
While she was busy folding clothes, she suddenly heard a deep voice from the doorway, "Where are you going?"
She hadn't noticed the footsteps before; the sound was so sudden that it startled Su Yushan, who turned around in a panic.
"Qinghe? What are you doing here? What brings you here?"
Fu Qing didn't say anything, but his gaze towards her was unusually complicated. Su Yushan felt that something was wrong. His hesitant manner gave her a bad feeling. She couldn't help but wonder if Qinghe already knew about her background.
Sure enough, the next moment, he called out, "Yu Shan, this is your real name, isn't it?"
As expected! He found out after all! Despite her best efforts to guard against it, she was still a step too late. Nervous, Su Yushan unconsciously took a step back, her voice trembling as she asked, "You...you've come to take me back?"
She didn't deny it, which seemed to be her admission. At that moment, Fu Qing's heart sank to the bottom of a lake, almost drowning. His eyes were unusually sour as he looked at her. "Are you really the Fourth Prince's maid?"
At this point, denying it seems pointless, and Su Yushan has no choice but to admit it.
Nodding, she reiterated, "I will not go back, Qinghe. For the sake of our acquaintance, please let me go! Don't arrest me, I don't want to go back to the capital!"
"How could I possibly take you away?" With a wry smile, Fu Qing looked at the snowflakes swirling outside the door and sighed helplessly. "But some things are beyond our control. This time, you probably have to go back."
Su Yushan was confused. "What do you mean? I'm not going back! Why would I go back?"
He knew she didn't want to return to the capital, and he didn't want to push her into Hongli's arms. However, since it involved her family, he knew the truth, and if he didn't explain, he was afraid that Yushan would resent him in the future.
After hesitating for a long time, Fu Qingcai said, "Because Hongchang arrested your younger brother Su Jiafeng, saying that he stole that priceless jade pendant."
“Nonsense!” Su Yushan believed in her brother’s character. “Jiafeng would never steal his things. Many guests have left valuables behind before, and Jiafeng never takes them. He always waits for the guests to come and look for them.”
As an observer, Fu Qing knew all too well, "Whether he took it or not, who cares? Hongchang wants the Fourth Prince to bow down to him. The Fifth Prince went to the Fourth Prince, but unfortunately, he refused to help. Now that Su Jiafeng is in prison, only you can go and persuade the Fourth Prince, otherwise your brother will suffer!"
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