Shaking her head, Su Yushan said calmly, "It's alright if you didn't come, but you should have sent someone to let us know. I was so sleepy last night, and they all thought you were coming. They wouldn't let me sleep and made me wait. They didn't dare to sleep either, just waiting for you to come and help you wash up!"
It wasn't that he was deliberately keeping her hanging on; there were special circumstances. "Yesterday afternoon, Father Emperor summoned me to the palace and invited me to a banquet there. After the banquet, the palace gates were closed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. I had no choice but to stay in the palace overnight and couldn't send anyone to deliver a message."
After hearing the reason, Su Yushan couldn't help but sigh, "The rules of the palace are so strict! Even the princes are not exempt?"
Hongli said solemnly, "Since these are palace rules, the princes should set an example. Only by strictly enforcing palace regulations can the safety of the palace be guaranteed."
Silently listening to his words, Su Yushan involuntarily tilted her head, propped her chin on her hand, and looked at him with eyes full of curiosity, "So, in all these years, have there been any special circumstances where the palace gates have been opened at night?"
"If there is an urgent military situation, the gate can be opened as an exception, after all, military matters are of utmost importance."
He originally wanted to look up some laws and regulations, but Su Yushan's little head was full of big doubts. She asked one question after another, and the angles she asked were all very unique. Hongli found it amusing and patiently answered her questions one by one, completely forgetting his important business.
After chatting for a while, she remembered that Li Yu had asked her to come, so she asked Hongli what he wanted to see her about.
Standing up from his desk, Hongli walked over to her and sat down at the round table. "I stood you up last night, and to avoid you overthinking things, I need to explain myself."
So that's what it was about! "Then you can simply have Li Yu pass on the message."
It was easy to pass on a message, but Hongli felt it wasn't quite right. "I failed to keep my promise, so I have to explain it to you in person to show my sincerity."
His attitude was very sincere, and Su Yushan had no reason to blame him. "It's alright! It's not a big deal. It's just a special reason, which is understandable."
Her expression was nonchalant, as if she didn't care much about the matter, but Hongli felt that some things had to be done sooner rather than later. "I will definitely go with you tonight."
"Huh? Not again?" Su Yushan was truly afraid of his words. "Fourth Prince, you'd better not make any promises. What if the Emperor summons you to the palace again?"
"What a coincidence!" Hongli patted her hand and comforted her, telling her to relax.
Su Yushan trembled when she was suddenly touched. She instinctively sat up straight and tried to pull her hand away, but he gripped it even tighter.
Her slender, pale fingers were delicate and smooth to the touch. Hongli gently stroked her fingers, quietly savoring the soft, boneless feel.
"Don't worry, I won't let you down tonight."
His meaningful gaze sent a chill down her spine; she had a bad feeling that something might happen tonight. She had never really held out any hope! Su Yushan was bitter inside, but dared not say it aloud, so she could only change the subject.
"Fourth Master, you must be quite busy, right? I won't bother you any longer, I'll take my leave now."
It was just a brief handshake, yet she was so frightened. Hongli smiled and replied, "Okay, you go back first, I'll go after I'm done with my work."
She curtsied and walked out, but stopped at the door and turned back. "Fourth Master, I'd like to borrow a book here to pass the time."
Hongli shrugged indifferently, "I'm happy with it."
So Su Yushan went to the bookshelf to choose some books. She didn't know much about ancient books, so she chose a book of Song Dynasty poetry and Meng Yuanlao's "Dongjing Menghualu" (Record of the Splendor of the Eastern Capital). Then she returned to Tingfeng Pavilion.
On her way back, she happened to run into two women. Judging from their fine clothes, she guessed that they must also be maids in the mansion.
Chang Yue reminded her from the side, "The one in red is Princess Lan, and the one in green is Princess Fucha."
Su Yushan remembered that Qianlong's future first empress also had the surname Fucha, but she was the primary consort, while the current one was a maid. A maid is a concubine, and at most she can be promoted to a secondary consort. It is absolutely impossible for her to become the primary consort. That is to say, they only have the same surname, but are not the same person.
She didn't know if Hongli had consummated his marriage with them. She politely addressed them as "sister" before leaving without saying much.
Watching Su Gege's departing figure, Lan Gege chuckled softly, "I heard that as soon as Fourth Master returned today, he invited Su Yushan to his study, which infuriated Jin Minjing!"
Princess Fucha covered her mouth and laughed, "It's not like I'm looking for you, why are you so happy?"
With a slight glance, Xi Lan huffed, "Fourth Master can choose anyone, just don't choose Jin Minjing. In the whole mansion, she's the one I dislike the most. I wish someone could take away Fourth Master's favor from her, let's see how smug she can be then!"
Looking back at Su Yushan's departing figure, Princess Fucha asked in astonishment, "Do you think people can really lose their memory?"
This was the first time Xi Lan had ever heard of such a thing. "The world is so big, there are bound to be strange things!"
Su Yushan didn't care about what others were saying. She didn't have the original owner's memories, which was equivalent to amnesia. No matter how others suspected her, she treated herself as someone with amnesia, so there would be no flaws in her story.
With books in hand, life wasn't so hard. But she never expected that one day, reading would become such a big problem!
The characters in this ancient book are all arranged vertically, which is very difficult for Su Yushan, who is used to horizontal text. In addition, the book is full of traditional characters, most of which she recognizes, but she is not sure what some of the more complex characters mean.
Chang Yue had never been to school and was not very literate. Su Yushan couldn't find anyone to ask for help, so she could only hold the books over and over again, chewing on the words and guessing blindly.
Seeing that the princess was putting so much effort into reading, Changyue suggested, "Princess, don't worry. Our Fourth Master is very knowledgeable. When he comes over tonight, you can ask him for advice."
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