“His Highness the Crown Prince didn’t come, but I came with the Crown Princess and several other ladies,” said Madam Li.

"Oh. Are you going hunting later, sister?" Lanqin noticed that Li Shi's attire today was also quite unusual. It wasn't the kind of long robe she usually wore that could cover the bottom of a flowerpot. Instead, it was a modified three-layered cheongsam with shorter sleeves and a shorter skirt.

“Sister, your clothes look very special. Are they something Westerners wear?” Li said, looking at Lanqin’s clothes.

"Yes. Sister Li, please sit here." Lanqin gestured for Li to sit down and indicated to the maids to serve tea.

"No, I came to ask you to go for a walk. They're clearing things out here anyway, why don't we go for a walk together?" Mrs. Li said warmly.

In fact, Lanqin knew that the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince were no longer on good terms, but Consort Li had always been very friendly to her. Now that she was invited to go out, she couldn't refuse, so she agreed.

"Sihua, you guys pack your things first, I'm going out for a walk with Sister Li," Lanqin said, completely unsuspecting. She had no idea that Li's arrival was a trap to lure her into.

The two stepped out of the tent and gazed at the lush green lawn and distant woods, a truly breathtaking sight. Lanqin looked at Kangxi's imperial tent and the various tents of different sizes erected beside it.

"Sister Li, can you ride a horse?" Lanqin asked.

"Not very good at it, how about you?" Li asked in return.

"I'm not very good at it either. Don't be fooled by my Western riding attire; it's purely for show. We'll actually be hunting later. I'll just stay here and wait for Grandpa and the others," Lanqin said.

“Then I’ll keep you company. I don’t want to go anyway. Look over there, there seems to be a small river. Shall we go take a look?” said Madam Li.

"Yes, it looks like a golden ribbon." Lanqin followed Li's finger and looked over there. Sure enough, there was a winding stream meandering across the grassland, like a bright ribbon.

“Come on, let’s go play in the water over there,” said Madam Li.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince and the others had already gathered in Kangxi's tent, and they were all divided into two rows, each forming a team.

Emperor Kangxi gestured to Liang Jiugong, who was standing nearby, to announce his decision to the crowd. Liang Jiugong then took out a scroll resembling an imperial edict from his sleeve and slowly opened it, saying, "By imperial decree, Prince Yi will be paired with the Duke of Hans of England; Prince Yong with the Tokugawa clan of Ryukyu; the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince; the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince; and the Tenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince with the Duke of Ivan's family." Then came the imperial relatives, as well as representatives from other smaller vassal states. They were all placed into the imperial relatives' groups.

The Fourth Prince never imagined he would be paired with this Tokugawa couple. He disliked the Ryukyuans' cunning and fickleness, and like the Kangxi Emperor, he held them in contempt. However, he found it hard to dislike this young couple.

"Okubo greets Prince Yong!" Tokugawa Okubo bowed to the Fourth Prince.

"No need for formalities. I've heard that you Ryukyuans like to play Cuju (ancient Japanese football) in your own yards. I'd like to ask you for some pointers sometime," said Fourth Master.

“Alright, if Prince Yong wants us to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football), then let’s find an opportunity to hold a Cuju competition,” said Okubo.

"No need to wait. We'll ask Father Emperor for permission later, and we can hold a football match right here. That's perfectly fine." Fourth Prince pointed to the grass outside.