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Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Five

  No matter how long the road is, there will be an end to it. This road isn't even that long and we're almost done with our stroll. General Ma Ye Tai slowed down his pace, looked around, gazed at Ah Ge in front of him, thought for a moment, then softly said to me: "Remember, no one can help!"

  I was taken aback and turned my head to look at him, he was still staring ahead with a normal expression, speaking in a low voice: "The situation is unclear, self-preservation is the most important!"; after a pause, he added another sentence: "You are not an ordinary palace maid now! You must be cautious in your actions!"; I suddenly realized and felt a warm feeling slowly flowing in my heart. In all these years, no one has ever said such things to me, but relying on my limited historical knowledge and the books I've read over the years, I was able to guess Emperor Kangxi's intentions better than those eunuchs and palace maids, stumbling along the way.

  Several brothers had already stood still, watching us father and daughter come slowly. Probably because of my sad and melancholy face, several brothers thought I was a sentimental father and daughter who had just met again and were about to say goodbye, so they all turned their heads to pretend to appreciate the surrounding scenery.

  I bowed and bid farewell to the Fourth Prince, who said indifferently: "Go!" As I turned to leave, General Ma Er Tai smiled faintly at me, but his eyes showed a few threads of concern. My heart warmed as I walked over and saluted him sincerely, calling out: "Father!" He nodded slightly and said: "Return! Serve the Emperor with all your heart!" I responded and quickly departed.

  In the garden, I wandered aimlessly and ended up back at the pavilion where we had admired the lotus flowers earlier. Leaning against a pillar, gazing out at the unopened lotus blossoms on the lake, my heart no longer felt like appreciating them as it had before. All I could feel was a sense of melancholy, but couldn't quite put my finger on why. My mind was a jumble of thoughts - one moment thinking about my sister, the next about my modern father, and then again about Ah Ma, whom I had just seen, yet even I didn't know what I was really thinking about.

  Suddenly I felt someone standing behind me and turned around to see it was the Fourth Prince. I was startled, forgot to greet him properly and asked: "Why hasn't Your Highness returned? Where is my mother?" He stepped forward two steps and stood beside me, gazing at the lush green leaves on the lake: "Eighth Brother and Fourteenth Brother accompanied your mother."

  I calmed down for a while before reacting and busily bowed to greet him. He looked at me with a glance and said in a light tone, "Follow me!" After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked out of the waterside pavilion. Without even giving me time to refuse, I had no choice but to follow after him. It seemed that he was very familiar with this place, as we wound our way through the artificial hills, corridors, and small bridges. We eventually stopped at a lakeside area densely planted with weeping willows, whose long branches hung straight down into the lake, touching their own reflections. Next to it stood a small arched bridge connecting the high and low undulating artificial hills, from which water flowed down and struck the lake surface, creating a rhythmic melody of splashing water. The surrounding artificial hills, willow trees, and arched bridge isolated this place from outside views, forming its own little world.

  I gazed around at the scenery while thinking about what he wanted to do. Since Chinese New Year, after he retreated back to his chain, more than four months had passed and there was no reaction from him. Why did he come looking for me today like I'm someone else? The Fourth Prince walked to the side of the bridge pier, bent down and pulled out a small boat from underneath. It was exquisite but looked somewhat old.

  I accompanied the smile and asked: "How did the king know that there was a boat here?" He said while arranging the boat: "This was made by someone who liked this quiet lake when I was 14 years old and lived in the garden with my father, the emperor."

  He finished speaking and stood up, looking at me to indicate that I should board the ship. I was stunned and looked at him in confusion, asking: "Are you sure this ship is still usable?" He glanced at me but ignored me and boarded the ship himself.

  He sat on the boat, quietly looking at me with a calm and determined gaze that brooked no refusal. I hesitated, not wanting to get on the boat, but knowing that if I spoke up, I would definitely be refused. Standing there for half a day, he didn't mind, waiting quietly all along. Finally, he stretched his waist, said casually: "I'll take a nap first, you think slowly! If you decide to come, call me!" He was about to lie down on the boat. I clenched my fist, gritted my teeth and got on the boat. Since I couldn't hide, I could only follow him. In broad daylight, what was there to be afraid of? Would he eat me up? He glanced at me with a smile, shaking his head slightly, using the oar to push against the shore, the boat drifted away from the bank.

  The farther away from the shore, the denser the lotus leaves. I had to lower my head and dodge left and right, sometimes bending down to avoid the oncoming lotus leaves. He was facing away from the lotus leaves that brushed past his back, but he didn't seem to mind. He looked at me with a hint of amusement and said: "I used to lie down in the boat, why don't you do the same?" I remained silent, busy dodging the lotus leaves.

  He rowed to a stop, picked up the oar and broke off a few lotus leaves with stems next to the small boat, then put down the oar, leaned back, half-reclined his head, closed his eyes and started resting. I looked around and saw that it was all densely packed with lush green lotus leaves, and when I looked out, my eyes were filled with greenery, feeling as if I had fallen into a green world, completely unaware of where I was. The surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the lotus leaves. I took a look at Fourth Brother, his face half-reclined in the intersecting shadows of the lotus leaves, his expression extremely relaxed, without the usual coldness.

  His enjoyable expression also infected my initial tension and unease, which slowly dissipated. I learned from him, half leaning against the boat, putting my head on the stern and closing my eyes. Although there was a lotus leaf blocking the sunlight above my head, it still felt too bright, so I got up and picked up a piece of lotus leaf that he had broken earlier, swayed it in the water for a few times, and casually placed it on my face, closing my eyes.

  I feel the faint scent of lotus leaves at the tip of my nose, slowly seeping into my heart with each breath. The boat gently sways with the ripples, as if I'm floating on clouds. The surrounding silence gradually calms your mind. The coolness on the water's surface and the warmth of the sun intersect, just right, neither cold nor hot.

  At first, there were still a few shadows of my sister and Ama in my heart, but later on, both body and mind sank into the tranquility of this beautiful summer afternoon. My mood gradually relaxed, even my pores seemed to open slightly, greedily enjoying the sunshine, gentle breeze, fragrant water waves, without any distracting thoughts.

  I was half asleep and half awake when I suddenly felt the boat shake violently a few times. My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly put down the lotus leaf and opened my eyes.

  But I saw that the fourth brother had changed positions and was now sitting beside my leg, with his elbow leaning on the side of the boat and his head tilted to one side, looking at me warmly. I hurriedly sat up, but as soon as I did, I realized that our faces were very close together, so I quickly lay back down again. He looked at me, who had gotten up and then lain back down again, and couldn't help but smile slightly as he gazed at me.

  His gaze was warmer and clearer than ever before, but I only felt my face burning with a restless heart. I would rather he looked at me with his usual cold eyes, so I could think of a way to respond calmly. But now his warmth has completely disrupted my composure. Just like on a bitterly cold winter day, a sudden good weather can make you feel unusually warm but for a moment, you don't know how to dress.

  She calmly looked back at him, and the two of them locked eyes for a while. She felt that there was something in his usually cold eyes that made her want to explore further, and she unknowingly sank into it. Unconsciously, she had already forgotten that she originally wanted to use her gaze to hint at him to shift his line of sight, but instead, she was dazedly staring back at him. Her heart skipped a beat as she suddenly closed her eyes, not daring to look again.

  Although I closed my eyes, I could still feel his gaze lingering on my face. My heart was afraid and felt that it couldn't take it anymore. I quickly picked up a lotus leaf to cover my face and muttered in a low voice: "Don't look at me like that!"

  He heard a low, muffled laugh. This was the first time I had ever heard him laugh. It was a strange feeling that couldn't be described. But it was refreshing, after all, to hear this cold-faced prince's laughter wasn't an easy thing to come by. He reached out to take away the lotus leaf covering my face. I quickly grasped it tighter with one hand and used the other to pry open his hand.

  He grasped my hand with his and I struggled to pull it back. He said, "Take down the lotus leaf and I'll let go!" I immediately replied, "Then you can't look at me like that again!" He nodded slightly and I hesitated for a moment before slowly removing the lotus leaf from my face.

  He was still in the same posture as before, with one hand leaning on the side of the boat and his head tilted to look at me. Only now, one hand was holding mine. I frowned, glanced at him quickly, and then hurriedly turned away, saying: "A gentleman's word is like a horse that cannot be caught." He let go of my hand. After a while, I felt he had also shifted his gaze.

  I turned my head and said, "You move over a bit, I want to sit up." I thought for sure we'd have another round of negotiations, but unexpectedly he listened and immediately moved back a bit, not far, but already not as ambiguous as before. I was somewhat surprised in my heart, so easy to talk to? Hurriedly sat up straight.

  The two of us just sat there quietly. For some reason, I no longer felt the carefree feeling in my heart, and something else seemed to be flowing beneath the surface. Breaking the silence, he suddenly spoke up and asked, "Do you often lie down here?" He said, "Not often, just a few times. But as for the boat, I do check it every year to make sure it's in good condition." I asked him, "I can tell you like this place, so why don't you come more often?" After hearing my question, his lips tightened and the warm expression on his face gradually faded away, slowly returning to its usual cold and stern look.

  After a while, he said in a light tone: "Indulging too much in the beauty of nature will only confuse one's mind!" After finishing speaking, he picked up the oar and started rowing. This time, he had me face backwards towards the approaching lotus flowers. He didn't dodge or flinch from the lotus leaves that were rushing towards him, letting them hit his head, face, and body. He just kept rowing steadily, without any hesitation or slowing down because of them.

  The complex emotions in my heart can only be expressed with a sigh that he is once again Yongzheng Emperor!

  At night, when I was resting and thinking about today's events, my heart suddenly felt a pang of regret. "Ah, Ama! Ah, Ama!" I thought to myself, "This time, it seems like you've gotten me into trouble!" As I carefully considered the situation, I couldn't help but feel confused and uncertain. Was it really so? Or was it not?

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