After Cui Tianshi left, Heyue sat in silence.
After seeing Cui Tianshi off, Hailan returned with a displeased expression: "Their family is really shameless. Does the Fujin lack servants? They're eager to become servants, aren't they just after the master? How could the Fujin have agreed?"
Heyue rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. This matter not only upset Hailan, but also Heyue.
But after all, they had been friends for many years, and Heyue didn't want to hurt Steward Cui's feelings.
This is also an opportunity that Heyue is giving Cui Yan. Heyue believes that Shisan would never give Cui Yan this opportunity. If Cui Yan can recognize reality because of this, that would be the best outcome, and the two families can still live in harmony.
If she insists, Heyue will not be polite anymore.
Just then, the Fourth Prince's letters arrived, one addressed to the Thirteenth Prince and the other to Heyue.
Thirteen didn't touch Heyue's letter, but opened his own.
After skimming through the text, Heyue finally felt a bit better.
The letter was naturally about Hongchang and Tongxuan; the child could already run around and speak clearly in complete sentences.
Since the Crown Prince was deposed, the Fourth Prince has been living a leisurely life at home. Apart from attending court every day, he spends the rest of his time in the mansion tending to flowers and plants. With more time on his hands, he has also taken care of his children personally.
Now, Heyue's three children and Fourth Master's two children, Hongyun and Hongshi, are all raised in the front yard, which has made it much livelier. Hongyun and Hongshi are older and need to study, so Fourth Master doesn't have to worry about them much. However, Hongchang and Tongxuan are much closer to Fourth Master.
That's fine too. After all, Heyue still had some reservations about the Fourth Prince's wife. Although she knew that the Fourth Prince's wife wouldn't dare to harm the Thirteenth Prince's child, Heyue still felt more at ease with Prince Yong.
At the beginning of the year, Emperor Kangxi bestowed the Yuanmingyuan Garden upon Prince Yong, who would often take his children to stay there for a period of time.
Now that the Crown Prince has been deposed and the First Prince is under house arrest, the Third Prince only knows how to study, but he still has some supporters. The old scholars of the Hanlin Academy often surround the Third Prince.
Fifth Prince and Seventh Prince have no hope. Eighth Prince is currently enjoying great popularity and is the prince that officials are trying their best to curry favor with. He has even overshadowed Third Prince, who is above him. However, this phenomenon has clearly aroused the emperor's jealousy.
Although the Fourth Prince had offended many people because of his impartiality in handling official duties, he was, after all, an adult prince and a prince of the first rank. Some court officials came to visit him, but the Fourth Prince turned them away on the grounds that he wanted to quietly worship Buddha.
Nowadays, among the adult princes, whoever stands out is doomed. Those without ambition are all keeping a low profile. The Fourth Prince really needs to tone down his brilliance.
Knowing that everyone is alright, Heyue feels at ease.
When Thirteen returned from the front yard, Heyue gave him his letter and mentioned what Cui Tianshi had asked for that day.
Thirteen was only surprised for a moment before tossing the letter aside, pulling Heyue into his arms, and cuddling her tenderly for a while before laughing and saying, "When did you become so magnanimous, you little jealous pot? You actually feel comfortable leaving her under my nose."
He Yue snorted: "She's just a wild girl, why would I be afraid of her?"
Seeing her smug and disdainful look, Thirteen's eyes were full of laughter, and he echoed, "Yes, yes, yes, I only like you, my wild girl. Other wild girls are not in my eyes."
Hearing him mock her for being a wild girl, He Yue angrily reached out and pinched his arm: "You! You actually called me a wild girl! How am I wild? Explain yourself!"
She rode on his back and tickled him all over.
Thirteen, his face flushed from trying to suppress a laugh, finally managed to grab Heyue's hands and pin her down. After catching his breath, he laughed and slapped her bottom a few times: "You're such a wild girl! Bullying me every day! I'll teach you to bully me!"
Before she could get angry, he pinched her cheek again, laughing triumphantly: "No matter how wild a wild girl is, she can't escape my grasp!"
He Yue was stunned for a moment.
I don’t know when it started, but Thirteen has lost the cautiousness he used to show her. He’s become bolder and bolder. It’s as if the gentle and innocent boy who used to be able to be coaxed by her angry words is gone.
This time, Heyue wasn't angry that he hit her again, but she felt a sense of loss.
Perhaps there are some things she understands in her heart, but she just doesn't want to think about them, still regarding him as the innocent boy she bullied years ago, who dared not fight back and was unwilling to retaliate.
But even the most innocent person grows up, and once he grows up, he's no longer the same naive person he once was.
Yes, I've long since escaped his clutches.
Since bringing him to Yangzhou, it wasn't just him who abandoned everything in the capital; she did too.
He only had her, and she only had him.
Thinking back to the thirteenth person in her dream, she realized that they weren't entirely unrelated; after all, they were the same person. She had foolishly thought she could tell them apart clearly.
Sometimes what prompts a person to change is not necessarily setbacks and hardships, but rather the environment they are in that shapes them into who they are today.
Perhaps, he has been who he is now for a very long time, only he has disguised himself too well.
At that moment, He Yue looked at him and suddenly felt a little unfamiliar with him; her eyes stung with tears.
Thirteen's face drew closer to hers, nose to nose, his smile gentle, but his eyes seemed to want to pull her into some bottomless vortex: "What are you thinking about? Hmm?"
In the past, he would have carefully comforted her and asked her what was wrong, but now...
Heyue suddenly closed her eyes, afraid to look, afraid of seeing something that would frighten her.
A pair of hands gently embraced her, and warm, thin lips brushed against her ear, whispering intimately, "Heyue, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."
These words seemed to possess a magical power. Thinking of his constant gentleness and care, He Yue mustered her courage, slowly opened her eyes, and met his intoxicatingly deep, affectionate black eyes that seemed to want to completely draw her in.
At this moment, she was willing to succumb to love, no matter who he was, he was still him, and her love for her would never change.
Thirteen reached out and ruffled her hair, helping her sit up, still smiling: "Come on, let's see what Fourth Brother wrote."
He opened the letter to him and began to read it. At first, he was smiling, but the more he read, the less he smiled and the more gloomy his face became. In the end, he fell silent and clenched the letter in his hand into a ball.
He Yue asked in confusion, "What's wrong?" It was the first time she had seen him with such a gloomy expression, and He Yue, who had just discovered something, felt uneasy.
"The Crown Prince has been reinstated." Thirteen said in a deep voice, his lips tightly pressed together.
He Yue was not surprised at all, after all, the crown prince in history was appointed twice and deposed twice.
However, Thirteen was clearly unhappy. Did he not want the Crown Prince to be reinstated?
He Yue suddenly realized that perhaps the current Thirteenth Prince also genuinely hoped that the Fourth Prince would succeed to the throne, and that the brotherhood between him and the Crown Prince might not have been as deep as He Yue had imagined.
"Aren't you happy?" Heyue held his hand and looked at him earnestly.
Thirteen met her gaze steadily, then suddenly frowned, puzzled: "Heyue, do you really want the Crown Prince to be reinstated?"
He Yue knew his reaction was too calm, so it wasn't surprising that he was puzzled.
She nodded in agreement: "Yes, the restoration of the crown prince is a joyous occasion, so we should naturally be happy."
Thirteen's eyes dimmed, but he managed a weak smile: "Yes, we should be happy."
He held Heyue tightly, as if trying to embed her into his body.
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