With a slight smile, Hongli leaned closer, gazing into her watery eyes and chuckling, "No need for you to trouble yourself, I'll unbutton your clothes for you tonight."
As he spoke, Hongli slightly raised his long fingers, his slender knuckles slowly brushing across her porcelain-white face. The soft pads of his fingers made her heart flutter and her back stiffen.
When his fingertips slid to the knotted button around her neck, Su Yushan's heart started beating faster and faster, and she didn't even have the courage to look him in the eye!
Seeing her face flushed with nervousness, Hongli suddenly felt like teasing her, "Guess what will happen next?"
Although Su Yushan hadn't experienced it herself, she came from the modern world and still knew something about those things. "It's nothing more than the things in the Fire Avoidance Diagram!"
After unbuttoning only one button, Hongli stopped and asked her with great interest, "Are you afraid or looking forward to it?"
Are you scared? Actually, she's fairly open-minded about these things and not particularly terrified. It's just that she's never tried it before, so it's understandable that she's a little nervous.
"If I tell the truth, you won't laugh at me, will you?"
Leaning against the wall inside the tent, Hongli changed his posture, resting his elbows on his knees, and replied with a smile, "Speak freely."
This was only natural, and Su Yushan didn't feel ashamed of anything, so she confided in him.
"Some people say that the wedding night is a wonderful thing. People are curious, and I am no exception. I have also imagined what my first time would be like, whether it would be joyful or painful."
Most women would be shy and hesitant to answer such a question, or afraid to tell the truth, but she discussed it with him openly and frankly, without any hesitation. While Hongli admired her, upon closer examination, he sensed something was amiss.
"You and Zheng Lin have been engaged since childhood, and the person you've always fantasized about has always been him?"
Upon hearing Zheng Lin's name, Su Yushan paused for a moment before reacting, "Why are you bringing up the past again? I have no recollection of him, so why would I fantasize about him? Besides, I've already broken up with him. You know all about those things, and now you're mocking me..."
Seeing that her expression changed and she seemed unhappy, Hongli immediately changed his tune, "I was just mentioning it casually, I didn't mean anything by it."
“I told you about the engagement a long time ago and I have never hidden it. If you mind, you can send me out of the manor. I don’t want to live a life where I am suspected every day.”
Su Yushan had her reasons for daring to say that. If Hongli really agreed, that would be great. If he disagreed, then she could just take it as him being stubborn. After all, he brought up Zheng Lin first, so she couldn't be blamed.
Hongli was surprised and also felt a headache coming on. He really hadn't expected that a young woman could be so perceptive, able to draw so many conclusions from just one sentence.
“If I really minded, I should have sent you away when you disobeyed me.”
Su Yushan didn't understand what she meant, "When have I ever disobeyed you?"
"The things you said the first day I came to your room, I doubt many men could have resisted." Recalling that night, Hongli felt uneasy, while Su Yushan looked completely bewildered.
"I don't remember what happened that night. What exactly did I say to you?"
Hongli was reluctant to mention those matters, but keeping them hidden would only leave a knot in his heart. Since the matter had been brought up today, he might as well speak frankly.
"You said that you only have Zheng Lin in your heart, that he is your fiancé, the one you are going to marry, and that you were forced to enter the palace to save him. You think that I ruined your marriage and asked me to let you leave so that you and Zheng Lin can be together."
"Entering the palace was your own decision; I never forced you. Even the position of maid was bestowed upon me by Father Emperor. I had no choice. Father Emperor's word was law; he gave you to me. You are my rightful woman. Do you think I would let you leave?"
The original owner actually made that request to Hongli for Zheng Lin's sake! No wonder Hongli was so angry. As proud as he is, how could he allow his woman to have someone else in her heart?
It seems that the original owner really loved Zheng Lin. Such feelings are rare and precious, and such courage is admirable to Su Yushan, but only admirable. She does not agree with the original owner's desperate approach.
In a society where imperial power reigns supreme, a prince like Hongli wouldn't care about a woman's feelings; he would only care about his own reputation. Su Yushan knew this well, so she didn't harbor any illusions.
As for the conflict between the original owner and Hongli, she could easily gloss over it with a simple statement about amnesia, feigning ignorance, "Really? Did I really tell you that?"
That's not all; there's something even more outrageous: "You even threatened to kill yourself to force me to consummate the marriage."
Only then did she truly understand the root of the conflict between the original owner and Hongli. "So you left?"
"Otherwise what? Do you think I would force myself on you?" Hongli had his own pride. "It's not like I don't have women, but I wouldn't do such a thing."
Su Yushan wouldn't admit to things she hadn't experienced. "I don't remember any of those things, I've even forgotten Zheng Lin, so naturally I won't have any more thoughts about leaving. If you're still angry with me about that, then I'm being wronged."
"You're innocent? You didn't say those words?"
With a slight blink, her bright eyes were filled with innocence. "I have amnesia, I have no recollection of it at all. Whatever you say is true, since there's no way to verify it."
Her words were loaded with meaning, and how could Hongli not understand? "Would I make up something out of thin air?"
Seeing that things weren't going well, she tried to salvage the situation by saying, "Even if it's true, it's all in the past. I'm willing to start over; it just depends on whether you're willing to turn the page."
On the night of their initial argument, Hongli was indeed furious, but upon learning of her amnesia and seeing her bewildered and innocent eyes, he ultimately couldn't bear to blame her anymore.
"If I truly held a grudge against you, I would never come to see you again."
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