In a guesthouse in Xinxian County, the top-class room was locked. This room had been rented by a mysterious group of guests for over ten days. They paid a generous fee, but never allowed the waiter to come in to fetch water or food. They didn't come out to eat either, simply having the waiter bring the food to the door before sending them away.

"Brother, it's time to eat." A lean man walked over with a tray of food and said to a man sitting by the window inside.

"Why haven't they returned yet? They've been scouting for so long, have they sent any messages back?" The man was dressed in a dark blue robe and wore a conical hat.

“They didn’t come back. The mountain roads there are rugged. Niu Zi and his men not only need to figure out all the ways to get in, but also all the ways to get out,” the lean man said.

“If we can eliminate the Tartar emperor in one fell swoop, then our master’s worries will be relieved,” said the man in the straw hat.

"Yes, such a good opportunity, we must make good use of it. Once Kangxi comes to our territory, if we let him escape, we will never have another chance to kill him." The lean man took out several dishes from the tray and placed them on the table, then set out rice and chopsticks.

The two sat facing each other and silently finished off all the dishes.

Meanwhile, in the residence of the Fourth Prince, more than 700 li away from Mount Wutai, grapes and Hami melons from Xinjiang were being distributed. This was also a supply from the Imperial Household Department. In addition to watermelons, large quantities of fruits from various regions were also being sent as tribute. Especially after Kangxi pacified Galdan, the various tribes in the northwest and Xinjiang became increasingly subservient to the Qing Dynasty, and naturally sent their special products to the capital by caravan.

"My lord, the Imperial Household Department has sent over 500 catties of watermelon, 300 catties of grapes, and 300 catties of cantaloupe!" Jinju lifted the bamboo curtain, keeping the summer heat outside out of the house.

Lanqin was leaning back on a bamboo couch reading a book. On either side of her were ice basins, the ice cubes emitting wisps of cool air, making the whole room feel as cool as spring. Lanqin was wearing a light cherry-colored silk cheongsam. She was more than four months pregnant, but looked like she was five or six months along, because she was carrying twins, so her belly appeared even larger.

"Cui Niang, these things are usually managed by the head nanny, right? Let her distribute them!" Lanqin said, glancing sideways at Cui Niang, who was making chilled plums for her. These past few days, Lanqin had suddenly developed a craving for these chilled plums. The maids said it was definitely a boy—sour for a boy, spicy for a girl!

“Yes, Master cannot eat too much. How about we replace the portion we received with grapes?” Cui Niang said.

“Alright, pregnant women can’t eat too much sugar anyway. Grapes are sweet, but they don’t have as much sugar as watermelon. Go and tell them to halve the watermelon ration in the South Courtyard and replace it with grapes,” Lanqin said.

Meanwhile, the head matron had already led her people to move all the fruit sent by the Imperial Household Department into the warehouse, and several servants were assigning tasks to sort it. The distribution varied according to the status of the mistresses in different parts of the mansion. Although the First Lady was confined by the Fourth Prince and her expenses were halved, she still received a considerable amount. Lanqin and Lady Nian, as secondary First Ladies, also received substantial amounts. The other ladies-in-waiting received slightly different amounts depending on their years of service.

"Head Granny, Shuiling from Consort Niu's side has come over. She says Consort Niu wants to say a few words to you." A young servant entered the storeroom in the front courtyard and said to the head granny.

"Oh, let Miss Shui Ling come over here," said the head nanny.

When Shui Ling came over, she saw that the room was full of watermelons and grapes, all packed in bamboo baskets and arranged there.

"This servant greets the head nanny!" Shui Ling bowed to the head nanny.

"No need for formalities. What are your instructions, Consort?" the head nanny asked Shuiling with a kind smile.

“Our concubine has recently been craving sour foods, but she’s worried that watermelon is too sweet, so she wanted to ask the head nanny if we could halve the watermelon ration and give her more grapes instead,” Shui Ling said.

"This doesn't require the concubine to send someone specifically to say it; just give the order to this servant. There's no need to halve the watermelon; just take more grapes." The head nanny replied without hesitation upon hearing this. If the pregnant woman wanted more grapes, she could take more; what could be exchanged?

Upon hearing this, Shui Ling immediately smiled and said, "How about that? The concubine instructed that we should use a watermelon to make up for it."

The head nanny said, "The concubine is pregnant now, so what's wrong with her wanting to eat more sour food?"

When Shuiling relayed what the head nanny had said to Lanqin, Lanqin smiled slightly and said, "The head nanny really treats the South Courtyard very well. Cui Niang, when the fruits are moved over, could you please help me get some watermelons and cantaloupes to give to the head nanny?"

Cui Niang nodded and said, "Your Majesty's belly has grown bigger these days. After dinner, I'd like to accompany you to walk around the courtyard more. Otherwise, if you gain too much weight later on, it may be difficult to have a natural birth."

Lanqin said, "Okay, I also feel like I've been using too much lately. These two little ones in my belly have been eating so much lately."

After noon, the head nanny sent someone to deliver the fruits. The watermelons were all there, and there was an extra hundred pounds of grapes. Cui Niang instructed people to use baskets to lower the fruits into the manhole for storage.

Meanwhile, fruits and melons from various places were also delivered to their respective locations. Consort Nian's allowance was the same as Lanqin's, as were those of the Song, Geng, and Wu families: 100 catties of watermelon, 50 catties of grapes, and 50 catties of cantaloupe, respectively. Uya, being a concubine, received an even lower allowance: 50 catties of watermelon, 20 catties of grapes, and 20 catties of cantaloupe. Although the Fourth Prince had added a few more people to her quarters, he hadn't specified that the allowances should be increased, so the head nanny gave her the allowances for concubines. Furthermore, the allowances for the princes and princesses in various locations were also given separately. For example, the Third Prince, who was being cared for by Lanqin, naturally received his allowance in the South Courtyard; Namin's allowance was sent to Wu's quarters, and the Fourth Prince's was sent to Song's quarters.

"My lady, the weather is getting hotter and hotter. These things need to be kept cool with water," Cuiyun said to Wuya, who was fanning herself with a palace fan.

"Let them all put them in the manhole. How come there are so few grapes?" When Wuya saw what Geng had received, she realized that she had received far less.

“This servant doesn’t know either. This servant thinks that Consort Wu received more. It seems that the Third Consort’s allowance was sent over. It looks like she received more than we did,” Cuiyun said.

"Heh, I'm not even as good as a child," Uya said sarcastically.

“Master, we have just as many servants as they do over there, so the distribution of provisions should be the same,” Cuiyun said.