Madmen don't usually lie. What Kim Min-jung said was probably true, but it was just a false impression instilled in her by others.
With his eyes slightly narrowed, Hongli patiently continued to ask, "Is this something I told you?"
With tears in her eyes, Jin Minjing smiled and replied, "Yes! Every word of Fourth Master's is engraved in my heart, and I remember it clearly."
"Do you remember when I last came here?"
Tilting her head and counting on her fingers, Kim Min-jung carefully said, "It seems like it was nine days ago? Or ten days ago? I can't remember."
"Who else knows about this? Have you told anyone else?"
Jin Minjing shook her head solemnly, "No one knows. Fourth Master forbade me to tell anyone, but I absolutely won't. You can rest assured."
At this point, Hongli was certain that someone was impersonating him, but no matter how confused Jin Minjing was, surely she could recognize his appearance?
A surprised Hongli then inquired about the details of their meeting, and Jin Minjing, without suspicion, truthfully recounted the events.
“You come about once every ten days, always at night, and you don’t allow me to light a lamp, saying you’re afraid outsiders will see us. You tell me to extinguish the candles and wait for you. I thought you would come tonight, but I didn’t expect you to come to see me in broad daylight. Fourth Master, I’m so happy that you think of me so much!”
Kim Min-jung smiled happily, her heart filled with sweetness as she gazed at him intently, her eyes brimming with affection. "In the past, it was dark, and I couldn't see your face clearly, but today I can finally see you clearly."
They deliberately chose to come at night; it seems that person was certain that Kim Min-jeong was in a daze, and was using the darkness to conceal their true intentions. Hongli found it laughable, "If you can't see my face clearly, how can you be sure it's me?"
“Your voice sounds so similar! And I can smell the Canaan incense on you. I could guess it was you right away. You didn’t hide it from me!” Kim Min-jung said with certainty, without the slightest doubt.
Hearing this, Su Yushan became even more curious. Who was impersonating Hongli? They could even mimic his voice. They must know something about Hongli.
Kim Min-jung has gone mad. She is convinced that the person who came to see her at night was Hong-ryeol, and even believes that she is pregnant with his child. If Hong-ryeol wanted to kill her directly, it would be easy, but he must first find out who seduced her!
Torture was ineffective against her, so Hongli could only go along with it. "Okay, I understand. I have other things to do, I'll come see you again when I have time."
Seeing that he was about to leave, Jin Minjing quickly called out to him, "Hey---Fourth Master! I'm pregnant with your child, can you take me back to the manor?"
This was Kim Min-jung's obsession; her deepest wish was for Hongli to take her back.
Meeting her expectant gaze, Hongli's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but then his expression softened, and he coaxed her insincerely, "After you give birth to the child, I will take you back to the manor."
"Then... will you come to keep me company tonight?" Hongli seemed somewhat aloof during the day, but what she missed most was Hongli at night, when he was tender and affectionate towards her, obedient to her every whim, making her unable to resist and forget herself.
"Uncertain, we'll see." After saying this, Hongli turned and left, leaving Jin Minjing standing at the door, gazing longingly at his departing figure.
Hongli's words gave Jin Minjing a glimmer of hope. She gently stroked her belly and smiled happily, "Baby, you have to grow up quickly and be born soon, so that Father will come and take us back to the manor!"
Su Yushan, who was standing beside Hongli, vaguely heard these words from Kazama, and her heart trembled slightly.
Kim Min-jung was still naively dreaming; she probably had no idea how serious this matter was!
Hongli, who had come out of the backyard, did not leave the villa, but instead summoned Ruo'er for questioning.
When he questioned Ruo'er, she looked completely bewildered, "This servant didn't see anyone enter or leave the princess's room!"
"That man came more than once. How could you, as a maid, be completely unaware? You must have accepted his bribes so that he could travel freely and engage in such illicit affairs with Madam Jin!"
The Fourth Prince was convinced that she had conspired with someone, which frightened Ruo'er so much that she knelt down to clarify and dared not hide the truth any longer.
"Your Highness, please understand, this servant truly knows nothing. It's all my fault for being lazy and not taking the princess seriously. Every night, after serving the princess her washing and dressing, I would stop keeping watch and go back to my own room to rest. Whether anyone entered the princess's room, this servant truly has no idea!"
The servants were negligent and failed to serve her properly. The man also deceived Kim Min-kyung, preventing her from telling anyone, so the matter went unnoticed and Kim Min-kyung became pregnant without anyone knowing!
The more Hongli thought about it, the more he felt he had lost face. He was too lazy to interrogate her anymore, so he ordered Li Yu to continue to interrogate Ruo'er rigorously.
Li Yu took the person away and even used torture, but still couldn't get any results. Ruo'er insisted that she knew nothing.
Li Yu asked her master whether the interrogation should continue, but Su Yushan suggested that they not interrogate other people in the other courtyard, lest the servants leak the matter.
“Kim Min-jung said that the person comes every ten days. We can pretend we don’t know anything about it and wait for him to come again so we can seize the opportunity to catch him.”
This matter concerns Hongli's reputation, so it is indeed not advisable to make a fuss about it. There is no other way at the moment, so he can only follow Yushan's advice and leave first, leaving people to keep watch in secret, so as not to alert the enemy.
On the way back, Hongli kept a somber face and didn't say a word.
In his mind, Kim Min-kyung was still his maid. Even if he disliked her, refused to touch her again, and drove her out of the manor, he would not allow Kim Min-kyung to betray him!
But she was pregnant with another man's child, which was an utter disgrace to Hongli! This unexpected complication ruined his good mood. Knowing that he had no desire to continue sightseeing, Su Yushan took the initiative to say, "This carriage is making me dizzy. I want to go back and rest. How about we go see the peach blossoms another day?"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
