For some reason, Hongli always felt that Fu Qing seemed to pay special attention to Yu Shan, and even though the two of them denied it, Hongli still felt something was wrong.
But this was just a gut feeling; he had no concrete evidence. In addition, Fu Qing was already married with his own wife and children, so Hongli gradually forgot about it.
Now that Yu Shan is in trouble, and Fu Qing happens to appear, Hongli is bound to have wild thoughts.
"I'm just worried about him..."
But when the words were about to come out, Hongli felt it wasn't appropriate; if he said them, it would definitely hurt their feelings.
He stopped abruptly, saying, "Never mind, it's nothing, let's not talk about this anymore."
He suddenly didn't want to talk anymore, but the conversation had already begun. Yu Shan could guess what he was thinking, and her heart felt increasingly heavy.
"Just say what you want to say, there's no need for this roundabout and unfounded speculation!"
Seeing that Yu Shan was angry, Hongli knew he was in the wrong and gently denied it, "It's not what you think."
His eyes said it all; even if he denied it now, Yu Shan wouldn't believe him.
"What am I thinking? What are you thinking? I've already given birth to three children for you, and I'm pregnant with another one. You still don't doubt me, do you?"
She worked so hard to bear his children, yet he still doesn't fully trust her!
This realization tore at Yu Shan's heart, leaving her with a bitter taste in her throat, and she couldn't recover for a long time.
Hongli still trusted Yushan, but he remained suspicious of Fu Qing.
"I don't doubt you, I just think the timing of his appearance is too coincidental."
"Lord Fu was just passing by and happened to save me. Do you think he shouldn't have shown up? You're only happy now that something happened to me and my child?"
He certainly hoped that the mother and child would be safe and healthy, but what he suspected was that Fu Qing still harbored feelings for Yu Shan.
But if she tries to explain, it will only make things worse. If she doesn't get an explanation, Yu Shan will definitely feel uneasy.
Hongli sighed inwardly, realizing he shouldn't have spoken out of turn. Some things are better left unsaid; now that he had, he had to provide a reasonable explanation.
After much deliberation, he finally came up with an excuse.
“I’m not referring to you, I’m talking about Yunfang, who’s with you. Didn’t you tell me that Fu Qing and Yunfang were once in love, but couldn’t be together because Yunfang didn’t want to be a concubine? I’m worried that Yunfang and Fu Qing are still seeing each other, which might hurt Li Yu’s feelings.”
Is that really true? His eyes were unfocused; he was clearly lying.
The matter has already been discussed to this point; if we continue, the two of them might start arguing again.
Since he chose not to pursue the matter further, Yu Shan wouldn't press the issue and create unnecessary conflict. She decided to go along with what he was saying.
"That happened so many years ago, twelve years ago, right? Yunfang has her own family now, how could she still be thinking about Fu Qing? Don't say such things again, it's just hurting people's feelings for no reason."
She wasn't just talking about Yunfang; she was also talking about herself.
Fu Qing was a man she respected, but she had never had any romantic feelings for him, and she had a clear conscience about that.
When Fu Qing first didn't know her identity, he might have had a slight liking for her, but now that he has a family and children, that feeling should have long since faded. Hongli really shouldn't doubt Fu Qing anymore.
However, she couldn't say these things; saying too much would only cause trouble for Fu Qing.
Now that she's older, she's not as willful as she was in her youth. Even if she's unhappy, she won't take it out on Hongli anymore. She'll just swallow her anger and comfort herself, telling herself that it will all be over when she wakes up.
After all, she is not alone now; she has three children. Even if it's for the sake of the children, she shouldn't have a conflict with Hongli.
Neither of them brought up the matter again. Hongli changed the subject and asked her if she felt uncomfortable anywhere.
Her ankle was still a little sore, and she had to be careful when turning over, but this pain was nothing compared to the thorn in her heart.
But she was too lazy to even argue. "It's nothing serious. My injuries aren't severe, but the horse's sudden madness is too strange. Whether it was an accident or a conspiracy, we can't be sure yet. I beg Your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Upon hearing the word "Emperor," Hongli knew she was still angry with him. However, he had said it himself, and words cannot be taken back. Even though he eventually gave an explanation, Yushan was probably still very uncomfortable.
She was furious at the moment, and nothing he said would make a difference, so Hongli simply stopped mentioning it and solemnly replied:
"I will investigate this matter thoroughly and give you an explanation. I will not let you be hurt in vain."
He gently stroked her cheek with his finger, but she turned her face away and said wearily, "I'm tired and want to rest for a while. Your Majesty, please go and do your work! You don't need to stay here."
Hongli felt guilty and couldn't bear to go against her wishes any longer. "Alright, then you should rest well. If you feel unwell, send someone to inform me immediately."
She gave a soft "hmm," then closed her eyes and remained silent until she heard his footsteps receding into the distance. Only then did she open her eyes and let out a long sigh.
Seeing Yu Shan's sorrowful expression, Yun Fang gently comforted her, "His Majesty is just too concerned about you and is jealous, which is why he's overthinking things. He probably doesn't mean any harm, so don't be sad."
She knew that Hongli meant no harm, but the feeling of being suspected was really unpleasant.
They've been together for so many years, he should trust her completely, so why is he still suspicious?
She was naturally very sensitive, especially after becoming pregnant, so Hongli's words, whatever his purpose, hurt her deeply.
Forcing back the bitterness in her heart, Su Yushan said with a forced smile, "I'm fine, I'm used to it..."
In any case, this wasn't the first or second time that Hongli had suspected her. Emperors have always been suspicious, and as his concubine, if she had a conflict with him, it could very well ruin the future of their children.
In order not to let the children be neglected by him, Yu Shan secretly reminded herself that she could just turn a blind eye and let it pass. Life still had to go on, and love and affection were not that important. The most urgent thing was to find out the real reason why the horse suddenly went crazy!
Li Yu had already sent someone to interrogate the horse supervisor, who said that the horse had always been docile and had not shown any unusual behavior recently, and that he had not done anything to the horse.
Fu Qing had been pondering this matter in secret. At the time, he was on patrol and accidentally ran into Dong Ling at the horse farm.
When Dongling saw him, she looked flustered and turned to walk away. It was only when he called her back that she stopped and turned around.
Fu Qing asked her what she was doing there, and Dong Ling only said that Her Majesty the Empress wanted to ride a horse, so she came to choose a horse for Her Majesty.
At the time, Fu Qing didn't suspect anything, but now, thinking back carefully, he felt something was off. This kind of thing could be left to servants; Dong Ling, as the head palace maid, didn't need to come personally.
Her sudden appearance at the horse farm was truly bizarre...
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