Su Yushan became more and more confused as she listened. "Why do you say that? Apart from him, it seems that no one else has a conflict with you."
Taking a sip of warm tea, Hongli rose and walked to the window. Gazing at the sunlight filtering through the leaves and listening to the birdsong, his heart was filled with clarity.
"My conflict with Hongzhou is neither small nor big. For him to collude with the Heaven and Earth Society over a slap is a bit of a loss."
After all, the Heaven and Earth Society's mission was to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. If the Heaven and Earth Society implicated Hongchang, he would be charged with treason, and not only him, but the entire Prince Yi's mansion would be implicated. No matter how despicable Hongchang was, he should know the gravity of the matter and wouldn't risk ruining his entire family's future.
That makes some sense. Su Yushan got up and came up behind him, asking curiously, "If it's not Hongchang, then who could it be?"
Hongli's gaze sharpened slightly as he reminded him, "Do you remember what Fu Qing said when we went to the theater that day and met Fifth Brother and Fu Qing?"
What did Fu Qing say? Su Yushan thought for a moment, then a thought flashed through her mind, "He seemed to have said that he was unwilling to form a marriage alliance with Prince Yi's mansion because Hongchang and Hongxi were very close!"
Hongli smiled but remained silent. Su Yushan, after thinking it over, suddenly realized, "You mean, the real mastermind is Hongxi?"
Hongli was unwilling to judge Hongxi with the mind of a petty person, but Hongxi's intentions were all too clear.
“Yinreng had long been deposed as crown prince, but Hongxi always believed that his father was the true empress. If Yinreng ascended the throne, then Hongxi would naturally become the crown prince. Therefore, he held a deep grudge against us brothers. On the surface, he was very respectful to my father, but in reality, he had never truly submitted to him.”
Upon hearing this, Su Yushan understood: "Hongchang has no need to take risks because of his personal grudges, but Hongxi harbors rebellious intentions. He is not satisfied with the current situation, so he uses the Heaven and Earth Society to carry out an assassination."
"If something really happens to you, the Emperor will have no successor, and the court will fall into chaos, giving him an opportunity. Even if he fails, he'll already be banished from the capital, so he has nothing to fear. Is that why he's taking such a desperate gamble and choosing to cooperate with the Heaven and Earth Society?"
Looking at her sideways, Hongli smiled wryly and said, "You understand things very quickly."
She would rather her guess was false; if it were true, it would chill Hongli's heart. "Then do you have any evidence?"
Shaking his head, Hongli's face showed undisguised grief and helplessness. "There is no evidence, only speculation. I have sent people to Zhengjiazhuang to monitor Hongxi's every move, but whether we can find out anything is still uncertain. Moreover, he is outside the city, so his information may not be very reliable. Therefore, I suspect that there is an inside agent of his in the city."
“Hongchang is likely his inside man, but the person who contacted the Heaven and Earth Society should be Hongxi?”
Su Yushan used to think that the infighting in the inner quarters was terrifying, but now, seeing the open and covert struggles among their royal relatives, she felt her scalp tingle and her spine go cold.
There were only a few people in the inner quarters, and she at least knew who the bad guys were, but Hongli was facing a much more complicated situation.
With the martial arts world and the imperial court intertwined, his situation became even more dangerous. Thinking of this, Su Yushan was filled with worry. "Being a prince is too difficult, especially for a prince who is favored by the emperor. He has to be on guard against assassination at all times. In this light, a dissolute prince like Fifth Prince who doesn't do his job is actually safer."
That's really true. Hongli couldn't help but sigh, "The fifth prince does live a more carefree life than I do. Sometimes I envy him."
The atmosphere just now was too oppressive, so Su Yushan deliberately joked, "I envy him for his life of debauchery, surrounded by beautiful women, able to change them whenever he wants?"
Knowing she was joking, Hongli still turned around to face her and said seriously:
“I have plenty of women around me, and if I wanted to be carefree and frivolous, it wouldn’t be impossible. I used to think that it was only natural for a man to have many women as he pleased, but after meeting you, I gradually realized that if a person’s heart is occupied by another, there is no room for anyone else, and he is unwilling to be close to anyone else.”
I envy Lao Wu's carefree and unrestrained life, but I never envy his popularity with women, because being able to perceive love and learn to love someone is the most precious emotion in the world, a joy that sentimental people can never experience.
After saying that, he suddenly laughed, "But I think the fifth brother will understand soon."
His words were loaded with meaning, and Su Yushan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Oh? What makes you say that?"
“Because he used to always talk to me about ‘my wife’, but today he said ‘my wife’. The way he addresses her has changed, so I feel that the fifth son is no longer the fifth son he used to be.”
"Really? This lady seems quite extraordinary!" Su Yushan couldn't help but feel curious. "Have you ever seen her before?"
"I've seen you a few times," Hongli interrupted before she could speak, "Don't ask, the answer is that you're more attractive than me."
These words sounded very pleasant, but Su Yushan knew very well that this was not true. "You are just showing favoritism. There are many women who are prettier than me."
The facts don't matter; what he cares about is his own feelings. "I don't care what others think; you are the most beautiful in my eyes."
There are countless beauties in the world, and Su Yushan had no intention of making comparisons. "I just want to ask you, what kind of personality does the Fifth Prince's wife have? Is she gentle and virtuous, or heroic and spirited?"
After a moment's thought, Hongli pondered and said, "I've only exchanged a few words with you, so I don't know you very well. You seem quite gentle on the surface, but appearances can be deceiving. For example, you are quite gentle in front of others."
Sensing the hidden meaning in his words, Su Yushan immediately narrowed her eyes and questioned, "And what about behind closed doors? What am I like?"
Looking her over, Hongli cautiously described her: "In private, she's like a little wildcat, fierce and meowing at me whenever she's unhappy."
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