For her sake, Hongli abstained from sleeping with other women, which was indeed somewhat cruel to them. They only celebrated their birthdays once a year, and he was just going out for a meal. Su Yushan wouldn't make a fuss over such a small matter.
"You always dine with the women of the household on their birthdays; this is an unwritten rule. When have I ever stopped you?"
"That's true, but Lan Rong's identity is special. I was just afraid you'd be jealous, so I asked for your opinion beforehand."
What else could Su Yushan say? She couldn't make the decision for him; it was up to him. "This is your private matter. Go or don't go, it's up to you. Don't ask me."
The kite string cannot be pulled too tight, otherwise the kite will break sooner or later. Therefore, Su Yushan will not force Hongli to do anything. Whether he goes or not, he has his reasons, and she expects him to know what he should do.
The two didn't argue about it, but Li Yu became increasingly worried. That night, after much deliberation, she decided to give her a gentle reminder.
"Fang'er, from now on, you'd better not mention too much about Fourth Master's affairs to Consort Su. For example, what happened today was a misunderstanding. Fortunately, the two masters didn't quarrel, otherwise Fourth Master might have blamed you."
In that situation, who wouldn't have some doubts? "The concubine is already cunning, and the Fourth Prince even let her lie on the couch in the study. Even if nothing happened, it's still infuriating. The Fourth Prince is too soft-hearted towards her. If this continues, he'll fall into that woman's trap sooner or later."
Li Yu served the Fourth Prince for many years. He never thought about whether his master was right or wrong. In his opinion, no matter what his master did, he had his own reasons. "We should not judge our master's affairs too much."
“I’m telling the truth, without exaggeration. Does that mean I have to cover for him just because he did something wrong to Yu Shan? Wouldn’t that be incredibly tragic for Yu Shan?”
"Fourth Prince is not that kind of person. He has no interest in his concubine. Even if something really happens, the concubine is his woman, so it doesn't mean he's wronging Consort Su."
Yunfang was furious upon hearing Li Yu's words. "Of course you men side with men, and I naturally have to side with Sister Yu. I can't let her be kept in the dark. I can't do anything that deceives her."
His wife rolled her eyes at him, snorted angrily, and turned her back to him, clearly upset. Li Yu quickly softened his tone and coaxed her gently:
“I know you are thinking of Su Gege, and I didn’t say you did anything wrong. I’m just worried that you will be resented by the Fourth Prince because of this, and your future will be difficult.”
“You are tactful and know how to please your master. I am not unaware of this, but I do not want to lie to Yu Shan. If Fourth Master really dislikes me, he can kick me out of the manor. As long as I am here, my heart will always be with Sister Yu.”
Yunfang insisted that she had done nothing wrong, and Li Yu secretly sighed that his wife was kind-hearted but didn't consider the consequences.
"But the princess is pregnant now. It's fortunate that she didn't hold a grudge today. If she had gotten angry about this and it had affected the baby, we wouldn't be able to bear the consequences if the Fourth Master blamed us!"
Li Yu patiently persuaded her, and when the child was mentioned, Yun Fang felt a little scared, but she was unwilling to admit her mistake, so she simply ignored him.
Li Yu thought she was still angry, so he turned around and hugged her from behind, coaxing her, "No matter what I say, it's all for your own good. I absolutely don't mean to blame you. Please don't hold a grudge against me because of this."
In reality, this was a matter between the Fourth Prince and Yu Shan, but Yun Fang couldn't stand that concubine and couldn't help but overthink things. "If the Fourth Prince kept his distance from the concubine, I wouldn't have to worry."
Li Yu felt that the Fourth Prince had done enough. "It has been two months since the Concubine entered the manor, and the Fourth Prince has not yet consummated the marriage with her. He is already quite devoted to Consort Su. After all, the Concubine once saved his life. She came to see him, and the Fourth Prince could not ignore her. Wouldn't that be ungrateful?"
Few people knew about this, but Li Yu seemed to know the inside story as well. Curious, Yunfang turned around and asked.
"You know that concubine too? You should know a lot about her past with the Fourth Prince, right? Did the Fourth Prince ever have feelings for her?"
Afraid of saying the wrong thing, Li Yu shook his head vigorously, "I don't know. Five years ago, I was just a little eunuch. I wasn't very familiar with the Fourth Master and wasn't qualified to serve him closely. How could I know so much about his affairs?"
"Then you must have met her. What kind of person is she? Is she very scheming?" Yunfang wanted to ask more, but Li Yu suddenly sealed her lips with his. Her eyes widened, and she sobbed in protest. Li Yu held her lips in a deep kiss for a while before releasing her.
"Can we stop talking about others and talk about our own situation?"
"What's wrong?"
Yunfang looked puzzled, her red lips moistened by his kisses. This sight ignited a fire in Li Yu's heart, and he embraced her again, his eyes burning with passion.
"Private matters, matters that cannot be disclosed to others..."
We were just talking about serious business! He interrupted us in the blink of an eye. Yunfang clenched her little fist and lightly punched his chest, but he grabbed it and pressed it against the pillow.
Before the bed curtains were even drawn, the embarrassed Yunfang tried to get up to pull them down, but he didn't give her the chance at all, eagerly undressing her and softly calling her by her maiden name.
"Fang'er, be good, don't move around..."
His low, husky voice made her soul go numb. She could no longer resist, so she slowly closed her eyes and raised her arms to embrace him...
On the fifth day of the seventh lunar month, it was Lan Rong's birthday. The kitchen staff had come early in the morning to ask how the concubine planned to make arrangements.
Lan Rong planned to host a banquet for the women of the household at noon, and then have dinner alone with the Fourth Master in the evening.
Everyone else in the mansion was invited, including Su Yushan, but she did not want to go to the social gathering. Hongli had also said that there was no need to force her to do things she did not want to do. Therefore, Su Yushan only sent someone to prepare a congratulatory gift and did not go to congratulate him in person.
Lan Rong didn't care about these details; what she cared about was Hongli's feelings.
As the sun set and dusk settled, the summer heat gradually subsided. Lan Rong's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the door, and she began to look forward to seeing Hongli.
He didn't refuse the day before yesterday, so he should come, right?
According to Qiu Cha, Hongli would have a meal with the other maids when they celebrated their birthdays. But she was a concubine, whose status was higher than that of the maids, and she had saved his life, so Hongli would not neglect her.
Based on her guess, Hongli would most likely keep the appointment, but it was hard to guarantee that Su Yushan wouldn't gossip behind his back.
That day, she was lying on the couch wrapped in a thin blanket when Yunfang happened to see her. Yunfang will definitely tell her master when she gets back. I wonder if Su Yushan will argue with Hongli when she finds out about that situation?
Let them make a scene! Make a scene as big as they want! The bigger the scene, the better. Hongli did nothing wrong and will definitely feel wronged. The more Su Yushan makes a scene, the more disgusted he will be. In this way, he will unconsciously move closer to her.
Lan Rong was lost in thought when, before she knew it, the sun had set behind the mountains, the afterglow of the sunset was fading, and there was still no sound of footsteps outside the door.
Yi'er asked if dinner should be served, but Lan Rong, who had been eagerly waiting, grew increasingly disappointed. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she scoffed, "Fourth Master hasn't arrived yet, what's the point of serving dinner? We'll talk about it when he comes."
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