In the sweltering heat of July, the branches and leaves remained motionless. The hot weather was perfect for drinking something refreshing, so Lan Rong specially prepared chilled melon chunks and plum juice and sent them to Hongli's study.
Li Yu was standing guard outside the study when Qiu Cha saw him and said with a smile, "My master has something to ask Fourth Master. Please inform him, Brother Li."
Every time Qiu Cha saw him, she smiled exceptionally sweetly. Li Yu immediately looked away, unwilling to meet her gaze, and replied indifferently, "Princess Consort, please wait a moment, this servant will go and inform her."
Li Yu then opened the door and entered the room, reporting to the Fourth Prince that the concubine was requesting an audience.
At that time, Hongli was reviewing the Ministry of Revenue's accounts and had no time for socializing, so Li Yu had to go out and report, "Fourth Prince is busy with state affairs, why don't you go back first?"
Lan Rong said it was alright, "I'll wait until Fourth Master is done with his work."
On this sweltering day, Li Yu was sweating just standing here. If she were to wait here, she probably wouldn't feel comfortable. So Li Yu suggested:
"If you have anything to say, Consort, you can tell me, and I will relay it to the Fourth Prince."
Li Yu's wife was a maid in Su Yushan's courtyard. He was definitely on Su Yushan's side, so why would he sincerely help her?
Lan Rong was worried about him and insisted on waiting there.
When persuasion failed, Li Yu stopped trying, and Lan Rong stood silently under the corridor, waiting.
She had been staying in her room with ice to cool off, so she hadn't felt uncomfortable. But now, standing here, surrounded by sweltering heat, even with Qiu Cha fanning her, the air she was being fanned was still hot.
Lan Rong gradually felt difficulty breathing, a tightness in her chest, dry mouth, and weakness all over her body.
Qiu Cha had been fanning her, but suddenly, her mistress collapsed to the ground. Startled, Qiu Cha dropped the fan and quickly knelt down to help her up.
"Master, Master, what's wrong?"
Hearing the noise, Li Yu bent down and called out a few times, but the concubine kept her eyes closed and didn't respond! Fearing something might have happened to her, Li Yu didn't dare delay and hurriedly went into the room to report.
"My lord! The concubine has fainted!"
Hongli raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked, "Didn't I tell her to go back?"
Li Yu said with a troubled expression, "She said she wanted to wait for you, and this servant dares not send the concubine away! It's so hot outside, she's probably suffering from heatstroke."
He hadn't finished his work when this happened. Hongli sighed impatiently, paused for a moment, put down his pen, stood up, and walked outside.
Upon exiting the room, they saw Lan Rong lying on the ground. Qiu Cha tried to help her up, but Lan Rong was too thin and weak to lift her up.
Hongli glanced at Li Yu, who, sensing his master's intention, immediately looked away guiltily.
In the past, as a eunuch, he wouldn't have minded hugging someone regardless of gender. But things were different now. Li Yu had regained her responsiveness and was considered a man now, so he didn't dare touch the concubine to avoid causing trouble for himself.
Although Hongli had no feelings for Lan Rong, it seemed unreasonable to let Li Yu carry her. Helpless, Hongli had no choice but to bend down and pick her up himself.
Sending her back to Yiyun Pavilion would be too long, and he didn't want to endure that hardship, so Hongli carried her to the couch in the study, which was nearby.
After the doctor arrived and took her pulse, he said that the concubine had suffered from heatstroke. Qiu Cha stirred the medicine given by the doctor in warm water and then fed it to her mistress. The medicine tasted extremely strange, but Lan Rong forced herself to drink it and then slowly opened her eyes.
Hongli asked her how she was feeling, and told her that if she felt uncomfortable anywhere, she could tell the doctor directly.
Actually, she was feeling much better now, but if she said she was fine, Hongli might let her leave. So Lan Rong rubbed her forehead and groaned, saying that she had a headache, felt weak, and was in great pain.
The doctor said that people suffering from heatstroke need to rest, gave her a few instructions, and then prescribed medicine for her. Li Yu took the prescription and went outside to ask a servant to get the medicine.
Lan Rong kept saying she felt weak and her chest felt tight. Considering her old injuries, Hongli couldn't send her away and could only let her lie there for a while.
"You should rest for now; I have other things to take care of."
With a slight blink of her peach blossom eyes, Lan Rong nodded obediently in agreement, "Fourth Master, you don't need to worry about me, please go and do your work!"
Hongli turned back to his desk, picked up his pen to write a memorial, while Lan Rong rolled over, lay on the pillow, rested his head on his arm, and looked up at him.
Even seated at the table, his demeanor remained dignified, his eyes lowered as he diligently wrote with his pen. Gazing at Hongli's extraordinary handsome face, Lan Rong secretly thanked Heaven for its favor in betrothing her to such an outstanding man.
Witnessing his serious, aloof demeanor, she grew increasingly eager to see him lose control in the throes of passion within the tent; the mere thought of it stirred her heart...
Lost in her thoughts, Lan Rong blushed and quickly buried her face in the pillow. After a while, she raised her eyes and continued to gaze at him.
Hongli was unaware of her audacious gaze, because writing memorials required concentration and caution; if a word was written incorrectly, it had to be rewritten, which was extremely tiring.
Just then, someone knocked on the door, "Fourth Master."
It was a woman's voice. Hongli casually replied, "Enter."
Then the door was pushed open, and Yunfang came in. "Fourth Master, the Princess asked me to bring you a serving of your favorite snow plum blossoms."
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Lan Rong was startled. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was a maid from Huatang Pavilion.
Lan Rong felt resentful, thinking to herself that she needed Li Yu to announce her arrival to see the Fourth Master, so how come this girl could just walk in directly?
What she didn't know was that this was a special permission granted by Hongli to those in the Huatang Pavilion; they could simply knock on the door without needing to announce their arrival.
When Hongli had written half of the memorial, he could not stop writing, so he said to Yunfang, "Put it aside for now, and I will savor it after I finish writing it."
Yunfang put down the food box and brought out the dish of tomatoes with sugar. She was about to say goodbye when she suddenly noticed someone on the bed!
The person wrapped himself tightly in a thin blanket, leaving only his head exposed, his peach blossom eyes filled with embarrassment.
Upon seeing this, Yunfang gasped – this… this is the concubine!
How did she end up in Fourth Master's room? Why is she wrapped up so tightly? Could it be that she's not wearing any clothes?
Thinking of a certain possibility, Yunfang immediately flew into a rage. When she looked at the Fourth Master, he was still writing with his head down and did not say a word.
As a maid, she couldn't very well question the Fourth Master about what was going on, could she?
Yunfang grew angrier the more she thought about it, so she simply picked up the food box and turned to leave.
After returning to her room, her cheeks puffed out, and she looked sullen, which made Su Yushan and Chang Yue exchange bewildered glances.
Remembering that she had just gone to Hongli's study, Yushan couldn't help but wonder, "What happened? Did Li Yu make you angry?"
Yunfang shook her head. "I haven't seen Li Yu, and I don't know what he's busy with."
"Then why are you angry?" Chang Yue asked, puzzled. Yun Fang finally couldn't hold back any longer and confessed.
"I just saw a woman in Fourth Master's study! The woman was lying on the couch, wrapped tightly in a thin blanket."
Chang Yue was taken aback upon hearing this. "Really? Fourth Master isn't interested in other women? Are you seeing things?"
Yunfang could swear she wasn't mistaken. "I saw it clearly, that woman was the concubine!"
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