When she decided to be honest, Su Yushan had already prepared her explanation. She pretended to be puzzled and guessed, "I've told my older brother about this. Maybe he accidentally revealed it to Zheng Lin. I'm not sure. I'll have to ask my older brother when I see him again."
Apart from that, she told the truth in everything else.
As he listened to her retelling, Hongli's gaze darkened, and he could not hide his anger. "So you were faking amnesia? You've been lying to me all along?"
“It’s true that I have amnesia, but if I say that I have amnesia, Zheng Lin will not give up. He believes that as long as I regain my memory, I will still choose him. That’s why I lied to him and said that I was greedy for wealth and did not want to be with him.”
"You're quite considerate of him."
Meeting his probing gaze, Su Yushan remained calm and composed. "This is not for him, but for the Zheng and Su families. Although I cannot recall the past, I understand the situation and know exactly what to do."
After she finished speaking, Hongli did not respond, but stared at her intently, as if he was thinking about something.
She had already said everything she needed to say, and Su Yushan was too lazy to repeat herself.
"Fourth Master, these are my true thoughts. If you think I'm lying and not trustworthy, then I won't argue anymore. Just punish me as you see fit."
With his hands behind his back, Hongli turned and paced back and forth. He looked up at the misty rain blowing in the air, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I believe you."
He trusted her for two reasons: first, if she hadn't lost her memory, she certainly wouldn't have compromised so easily and would still harbor the idea of being with Zheng Lin; second, it was because she had taken the initiative to confess. If she had concealed anything and he had to question her, he would no longer be able to trust her.
Su Yushan wasn't sure if Hongli was really willing to believe her. She only knew that most emperors were suspicious, and if she wanted to gain his trust, nine out of ten of her sentences had to be true, otherwise he would easily see through her.
Before she had figured out her next move, he was her only support. She didn't need to try to please him, but she also absolutely couldn't anger him.
Hongli did not question her words further, but there were some things he needed to make clear beforehand.
"Considering your amnesia, I can let bygones be bygones for what happened that night, but you have made your choice and there is no room for regret. Even if you regain your memory in the future, there is no possibility between you and Zheng Lin; you can only be strangers."
She understood that principle, of course, but she was more curious about, "What exactly happened that night? What did I say to you that made you so angry?"
Giving her a disapproving look, Hongli raised his head proudly, a sly glint in his eyes. "Want to know? I'll tell you on the day we consummate our marriage."
The more he kept her in suspense, the more curious she became, and she subconsciously asked, "When will we have to wait?"
With a slight lift of his knuckles, Hongli stepped closer, his gaze softening as he gently brushed a strand of hair from her temple and lowered his voice:
"You can do it now if you'd like."
She couldn't answer that! If she said yes, it seemed to go against the proper reserve a young lady should have; if she said no, she worried that he would overthink it and think that she still harbored resentment towards him.
She clenched her teeth and hesitated for a moment, but in the end she didn't dare to refuse. She lowered her eyes, tugged at her pink brocade handkerchief, and said softly, "In broad daylight, isn't it a bit inappropriate?"
"Hmm---" Hongli nodded knowingly, "You mean, tonight is fine?"
He was clearly deliberately misinterpreting her meaning! Su Yushan blushed and gave him an embarrassed glare, "I didn't say that, you said it."
He had previously refrained from forcing her to consummate the marriage because of her injuries, but now it seemed she only suffered from amnesia and was otherwise unharmed. Moreover, she was no longer as resistant to him as before. Therefore, he would no longer be polite.
"There's no time like the present, let's do it tonight!"
"Huh? So fast?" Actually, Su Yushan was just saying it casually; she wasn't prepared at all!
Hongli saw right through her little scheme, but he didn't expose her. Instead, he deliberately asked, "Isn't this what you were hoping for?"
With her cherry lips slightly pursed, Su Yushan shook her head. Seeing that Hongli's expression was gradually darkening, she added softly, "I heard from the nanny that consummating the marriage is very painful, and you have to apply medicine afterward, which is very uncomfortable. So I'm not particularly looking forward to it. I'm afraid of the pain."
Her slightly furrowed brows and fearful expression amused Hongli. "If a man is too impatient and reckless, the woman will suffer. But if he is gentle, it won't be so painful."
"Yeah?"
Meeting her suspicious gaze, Hongli leaned back slightly, casually resting his elbows on the railing. With interest, he tilted his head closer to her and whispered in her ear:
"Theory without practice is useless; we'll see tonight."
His low, husky voice carried a hint of ambiguity, and his warm breath brushed against her earlobe like a feather, sending a tingling sensation through her.
When a man desires a woman, he will shower her with sweet words. Su Yushan knew this well, so she let Hongli's words go in one ear and out the other, not taking them to heart at all, and only casually replied:
"Let's talk about it tonight!"
This one sentence alone filled him with endless reverie for the night. Hongli had other matters to attend to, so he didn't linger there for long and went back to his study to take care of things.
Upon learning that Fourth Master was coming over that evening, Chang Yue took it very seriously. After all, things had gone wrong during their consummation last time, so this time it had to go smoothly. Chang Yue repeatedly reminded her master not to contradict Fourth Master and to always go along with his wishes.
Su Yushan lazily agreed, feeling that Chang Yue was making a mountain out of a molehill. Not only did she bathe and wash her hair, and change her into new clothes scented with perfume, but the bedding in the room was also replaced with new ones. The bedroom was tidied up very neatly, just waiting for the Fourth Master to come.
However, when it came time for dinner, the Fourth Prince was nowhere to be seen.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
