He stared at her intently, demanding an explanation. Su Yushan, too lazy to bother with him, bluntly stated, "I never want to see Jin Minjing again in my life, including her child! But whether she comes back or not is none of my business. Whatever makes you happy, Fourth Master."
Happy? "You think I want her back?"
"After all, she is carrying your child; offspring are of utmost importance."
The idea that offspring are of utmost importance is merely a shackle imposed on him by others. "I have never valued her child. The only reason I kept her was because I didn't want others to say that I was immoral and killed my own child!"
Hongli said all this simply to say that this was not his original intention. Su Yushan understood and continued, "So, since she has had a miscarriage, you should bring her back. You must obey Consort Xi's order. You had no choice. I understand."
He used to crave Su Yushan's understanding and didn't want her to throw tantrums at him, but when she was truly understanding and didn't argue, he felt something was missing and sneered bitterly:
"You don't understand! You've never understood me!"
She had no way to refute this statement: "Fourth Master's thoughts are unpredictable, and of course I cannot fathom them."
“You are the one who is truly unfathomable!” Hongli retorted, his eyes red. “Ever since you came back, you have been wearing a mask in front of me and have never truly revealed your feelings.”
Because she needed to survive, to live in the mansion, she had to smooth out her rough edges and change her nature, but at least she wouldn't deceive him.
“I’m telling you the truth, I’m not lying to you.”
"But you lied to yourself!" Hongli's anger flared, and he roared in fury. His hawk-like eyes were fixed on her as he bluntly exposed her, "You dare to lie to yourself? You're just deceiving yourself!"
His words were like sharp blades, piercing her heart. At that moment, she suddenly remembered a line from her third uncle's book: "Some masks, worn for too long, can't be taken off." She suddenly felt so tired; she had answered his questions so carefully, yet still failed to please him.
"Anything I say will be wrong, Fourth Master. Please tell me, how should I answer? What exactly do you want to hear?"
Staring intently at her, Hongli corrected her word by word: "It's not about what I want to hear, but what you're thinking."
Her thoughts couldn't be clearer: "I already said that I hate Kim Min-kyung and don't want to see her again. But you say this is Consort Xi's wish, so what can I say?"
What Su Yushan didn't know was that Hongli told her about this not so that she could understand the process, but so that she could know the result: "This is indeed Mother's wish, but this is my family matter, and the decision is mine."
Does he have the authority to make the decision? He has always been indecisive and merciful in matters concerning Kim Min-jung. "Last time, when Consort Xi asked you to send her to another courtyard, didn't you do as she asked?"
Yes! At the time, he complied out of politeness. Recalling the past, Hongli felt an intense bitterness in his heart. "And then you left. Now that I've brought her back, will you... leave again?"
Without a second thought, Su Yushan replied directly, "No, I said I wouldn't run away again, so Fourth Master can rest assured."
"You won't run away, but you'll sulk with me."
Would he still care about her feelings? Su Yushan looked at him in surprise.
Realizing that his words were somewhat inappropriate, Hongli calmly withdrew his gaze and changed his words, saying, "Anger is bad for your health. What if it affects the fetus and harms the child? That's why I didn't agree to Mother's request and won't bring Jin Minjing back to the manor."
It turns out he wasn't afraid to defy royal rules; he just needed to see if the person was worth defying. For her alone, it wasn't necessary, but for the child, he was willing to take the risk.
"It seems that the Fourth Prince really values this child. He is willing to go against Consort Xi's wishes for the sake of the child."
He seemed to have been too emotional just now, so to prevent her from misunderstanding, Hongli reiterated, "Of course it's for the child. You don't think I'm doing it for you, do you?"
With a wry smile, Su Yushan's eyes were clear and her mind sharp. "In this life, being naive once is enough to teach you a lesson. If you continue to have extravagant desires, wouldn't you be pitifully foolish?"
Yes! Once is enough. Hongli was unwilling to do anything foolish to her again. He suppressed his fluctuating emotions and said expressionlessly, "It's good that you understand."
After saying this indifferently, he called in a maid to help him wash and undress. The two of them did not exchange another word and lay down facing each other, each lost in their own thoughts.
After a long silence, Su Yushan turned around and lay flat on her back, and took the initiative to speak, "I'm feeling too bored staying in Huatang Pavilion, so I'd like to go sit with Xilan for a while."
With so many maids in the manor, she only cared about Xilan, which Hongli couldn't understand. "What's so good about Xilan? Why are you so concerned about her?"
"She's simple-minded and good to me, so of course I'll be good to her too."
"You can't see into someone's heart. A person who seems simple may actually be quite cunning."
Su Yushan believed that others might be scheming, but Xi Lan was different. What she wanted was simple: "Fourth Master, you don't understand her, so don't slander her."
Hongli scoffed dismissively, "I have no interest in people like this, and I'm too lazy to bother trying to understand them."
He seemed to have a prejudice against Xilan, so Su Yushan didn't mention it again and only got to the point: "I want to see her, but your guards won't let me leave Huatang Pavilion and told me to find you."
He had indeed instructed the guards that Su Yushan had to report her whereabouts beforehand, but the guards seemed to have misunderstood. He wouldn't stop her from going to the other maids' quarters. Now that Su Yushan had specifically come to him for this matter, he had initially planned to agree immediately, but then he changed his mind, a sly glint in his eyes.
"Want to go out? Sure, but---"
His sudden change of topic alerted her to something amiss: "Another set of conditions?"
Nodding, Hongli said, "If you let me out once, I will let you out once."
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