The next afternoon, Hongxuan indeed took Hongjing out.
Hongjing was overjoyed, and he even started humming a little tune.
Time passed slowly. In Peach Garden, Jiaming, who was doing needlework, suddenly looked up at Hongtao and asked, "What time is it?"
Hongtao glanced at the sky outside and replied, "It's almost dusk."
"So fast!" Jiaming put down her needlework and murmured.
Hongtao smiled and said, "Master, you are so focused that you feel time is passing quickly."
Jiaming smiled, then asked Hongtao, "Have the two princes returned yet?"
Red Peach bent down to pick up the sewing basket, shaking her head as she said, "He's not back yet, but judging by the time, he should be back soon."
“That’s right!” Jiaming stood up and was about to go to the small kitchen when, as if on cue, Cao Cao arrived.
Hongjing returned with a slightly unfamiliar eunuch, not the Little Orange that the Fourth Prince had arranged for him, and his expression was indifferent.
"Hey, why are you the only one here? Where's your fourth brother?" Jiaming asked.
Hongjing walked to the table, picked up the tea that the eunuch had poured for him, and drank two cups of tea in a row to quench his thirst. Only then did he sit down in the chair and reply, "Fourth Brother had something to do and went back to the front courtyard. He said he would come over in a while."
Jiaming nodded, and then her gaze swept over Hongjing's face.
"Mother, why are you looking at me like that?" Hongjing, who was sitting in the chair, shifted uncomfortably and moved his bottom.
Jiaming looked at Hongjing suspiciously and said, "Something seems off about you."
“Nothing’s wrong!” Hongjing suddenly retorted loudly.
"Hehe!" Jiaming raised an eyebrow at Hongjing and smiled at him.
Hongjing pursed his lips, then shifted uncomfortably, moving his bottom slightly.
“Look at you,” Jiaming said, gesturing with her chin toward Hongjing. “You’re pursing your lips and fidgeting, yet you say nothing’s wrong.”
"No, there isn't any," Hongjing said stiffly, but his gaze never met Jiaming's.
"Keep being stubborn! With your limited skills, you can't fool your mother," Jiaming said confidently.
Hongjing opened his mouth, still stubbornly refusing to admit it.
But Jiaming didn't give him a chance, and immediately said, "Don't deny it, let me tell you what's wrong with you."
Hongjing remained silent, but couldn't help shifting slightly. Remembering his mother's earlier comment about his restlessness, he quickly regained control of his body and stopped moving.
Jiaming could tell from his expression that he was determined to be stubborn to the end.
Then she revealed the truth: "Who was it that was bragging to Mother yesterday that they could go horseback riding with your fourth brother? But after they went, who came back and clearly didn't seem happy or satisfied, and didn't brag to Mother anymore?"
Hongjing couldn't help but tap his palms with his fingers, purse his lips, and then suddenly raised his voice, stammering as he explained, "I, I just, it's not fun outside, so, so I'm not very happy."
Jiaming looked speechlessly at Hongjing, who was still stubbornly denying it, chuckled, and then continued to expose him: "Just now, who was it that suddenly raised their voice and said 'nothing's wrong' when I said something was wrong? Heh, they were clearly feeling guilty, otherwise, why would they suddenly raise their voice?"
Hongjing: "..."
Jiaming chuckled and continued, "And you suddenly raised your voice more than once? Tsk, are you that guilty?"
"And why don't you dare look your mother in the eye and say that you're not doing anything wrong! You're just feeling guilty!"
"Furthermore, you stopped fidgeting after listening to your mother, but why were you fidgeting with your fingers? And why were you stuttering so much when you were explaining yourself? You don't usually stutter! Heh, isn't that just a guilty conscience?!"
Hongjing's expression was so stiff! He couldn't say a word for a long time.
Jiaming squinted and pressed Hongjing, "Tell me, did you do something?"
Hongjing shook his head violently, saying, "No, no."
Jiaming raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to tell, are you? Mother is waiting. I don't believe you can keep it a secret forever. What you did today, you little rascal, definitely wasn't anything good, otherwise you wouldn't have come back with a smile on your face, and wouldn't have been bragging to me about how you rode a horse and had fun!"
Hongjing's expression instantly froze again.
Seeing his expression, Jiaming knew that she had guessed correctly again.
She chuckled and said, "Alright, I won't ask you anymore." She was prepared to watch the show once Hongjing's affair was exposed.
Hongjing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As Jiaming walked out, she said, "I should go to the small kitchen, otherwise it will be too late for dinner."
Perhaps because Jiaming pointed out his abnormality one by one, Hongjing was quite natural when facing Hongxuan and the Fourth Prince who came to have dinner.
So neither of them noticed.
The next day, the Fourth Prince went to the palace. He was only there to meet the Emperor, but as soon as he entered the palace gate, he was summoned by Consort De's men.
Upon entering the main hall of Yonghe Palace, the Fourth Prince immediately greeted Consort De, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well!"
Consort De snorted coldly, "I'm the one who's uneasy!"
As usual, Fourth Master, who was about to get up, stopped.
He looked at Consort De with surprise, and while still bowing, asked, "Mother, what's wrong?"
Because the relationship between mother and son was becoming increasingly close, Consort De, who still felt sorry for her son, eventually let him get up, even though she had some opinions about the fourth prince.
The Fourth Prince stood up, said nothing, and just looked at Consort De.
She was just standing there, but this time Consort De didn't feel sorry for her and started scolding the Fourth Prince.
"Fourth brother, you're such a grown man, how come you're becoming more and more unreliable!"
The Fourth Prince was bewildered and was about to ask Consort De why he was unreliable.
But Consort De didn't give him a chance to speak and continued to berate the Fourth Prince.
"How could you be such a father? Do you know how vulnerable a child is? How could you just let such a young child run wild like that? It's outrageous!"
The Fourth Prince remained bewildered for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and began to ponder the words of his mother, Consort De.
"Child, weak, who is this referring to?"
Is it the third son, Hongshi, or the fifth son, Hongjing?
It's unlikely to be Hongxuan.
After taking a breath, Consort De continued talking about the Fourth Prince.
“If it weren’t for your fourteenth brother’s chance encounter and intervention, such a young child, if something had happened to him, then…” Consort De’s face turned deathly pale at the thought of that possible accident.
Fourth Master: So, there's also the matter of the Fourteenth Prince. It seems that he was the one who complained to Mother.
The petty-minded Fourth Prince immediately made a mental note of his grievance against the Fourteenth Prince.
Moreover, it must have been an encounter outside. Among those who had been out recently, only the fourth prince, Hongxuan, and the fifth prince, Hongjing, were involved. For some reason, the fourth prince had his eye on Hongjing, believing that his mother had specifically summoned him and reprimanded him because of him.
really.
"Hmph, is it because you have too many princes that you let Hongjing ride such a dangerous horse so freely!"
Fourth Master's face darkened instantly. He hadn't expected that Hongjing would ride a horse all by himself without anyone watching over him; it was indeed very dangerous.
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