The following day, everyone acted as planned. The news of Fourth Master's assassination attempt in the dense forest was not spread at all; instead, it was suppressed and not to be revealed to the outside world.

Therefore, apart from the Fourth Prince, Emperor Kangxi, Lanqin, and Lady Li, no one else knew. The corpses were sent back under the cover of night as usual, and not many people saw them. Even if some servants saw a little bit, they dared not make a sound.

Today, Emperor Kangxi did not ride a horse alone, but instead traveled by carriage. However, this "carriage" was not an ordinary carriage, but rather a type of military chariot similar to those used during the Warring States period. It was pulled by horses, with an open frame at the rear. The emperor stood inside, while a coachman sat in front, urging the horses forward and propelling the carriage at high speed. For a time, Kangxi commissioned a group of craftsmen to specially build a batch of these antique-style carriages for him.

The others remained in their original groups from the previous day, following Kangxi from all sides.

Lanqin watched the magnificent procession of carriages depart, a truly spectacular sight. The emperor's hunting expedition, like a grand battle procession, was a testament to the immense scale of the event, as the imperial entourage set off for the hunting grounds.

However, in the opposite direction, a carriage covered in oilcloth sped away. Inside sat none other than Madam Nian and her maid. It turned out that the Fourth Master had sent someone to Madam Nian early that morning to order her to pack her things immediately and return to the manor under house arrest, without even a word to her. Madam Nian knew she had made a grave mistake, but she hadn't expected the Fourth Master to be so disrespectful. It was practically a public slap in the face, almost equivalent to being escorted back to the manor. From now on, Madam Nian would likely never be able to hold her head high in social situations. Of course, Madam Nian was unaware that her recklessness had nearly cost the Fourth Master his life. If it weren't for the guards' desperate resistance, the Fourth Master might have been pounced on and killed by those hawk-like, wolf-like assassins.

When Lanqin learned that Lady Nian had been sent back by the Fourth Prince, she knew he was truly angry. Although she felt relieved, she was also worried about the Fourth Prince and Emperor Kangxi. What happened in the woods yesterday was truly frightening.

Lanqin stood at the entrance of her tent, watching the hunting party slowly disappear into the distance, a sense of unease creeping into her heart. Beneath the seemingly grand aura, undercurrents swirled. She wondered who was stirring up this conspiracy.

"Sister Niu, it's quite windy here. Aren't you going to put on some clothes?" Li's voice came from behind. Hearing this voice, Lanqin suddenly felt annoyed for some reason. If Li hadn't insisted on leading the way yesterday, resulting in her being led deeper into the dense forest, Fourth Master and the others wouldn't have encountered danger, and perhaps she would have escaped unharmed.

Thinking of this, Lanqin turned her face and looked at Li Shi suspiciously. She saw dark circles under Li Shi's eyes, which meant she hadn't slept well last night.

"Sister Li, you don't look like you slept well. Why don't you catch up on some sleep?" Lanqin suppressed her irritation and forced herself to speak.

"Oh, perhaps you were too tired yesterday. Luckily, it was you who came up with that idea yesterday, otherwise the Fourth Prince would have had a hard time finding us," said Madam Li. "Sister Niu, the Crown Princess heard yesterday that we had disappeared in the dense forest, and she was so worried that she couldn't sleep all night. That's why she sent me early this morning to invite you to the Crown Princess's place."

Lanqin's heart skipped a beat. She looked at Li Shi for a while before saying, "What a coincidence! Mother just sent my sister away. Why don't we invite the Crown Princess to Mother's place?"

Perhaps not expecting Lanqin to say this, Li hesitated and said, "In that case, why don't you go see Consort De first, and then go to the Crown Princess?"

Lanqin's alarm bells rang. Seeing that Li insisted on seeing the Crown Princess herself, she immediately said defensively, "Alright, I'll go and pay my respects to the Crown Princess when I have some free time."

Logically speaking, when the Crown Princess summoned Lanqin, Lanqin, as a prince's concubine, should not have refused.

"Sister Li, I've heard before that you and the Emperor's Consort don't get along. It seems that's just a rumor?" Lanqin suddenly asked.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Li's face. It was common knowledge that she and the Crown Princess were at odds. At this moment, Lanqin's sudden words were, in Li's view, a sarcastic remark implying that she had now sided with the Crown Princess. In truth, Lanqin was puzzled, and her unexpected question revealed Li's displeasure.

"It was because my elder sister was ignorant before, how could a concubine compete with the principal wife? Now the Crown Princess is kind and doesn't hold it against my elder sister, so we've become closer." Li suppressed her inner grievances and forced a smile.

"Oh, is that so! My sister is going to pay her respects to Mother. Please excuse me!" Lanqin used to have some goodwill towards this Li Shi, but now that she sees her full of hypocrisy, she feels disgusted and doesn't want to see her anymore.

When Li saw Lanqin turn around and walk into her tent, showing her no respect whatsoever, she stood there stunned and quite embarrassed.

After Li returned to her tent, the palace maids from the Crown Princess's side immediately invited her over. She had planned to rest after returning yesterday, but the Crown Princess immediately went to her tent, asked her a lot of questions, and talked to her for a long time before leaving.

"This humble servant greets the Crown Princess!" Lady Li greeted the Crown Princess with a curtsy as she arrived at the Crown Princess's tent with the help of a palace maid.

"Rise. Has Lady Niohuru been summoned?" Crown Princess Shi asked sternly. She had been very annoyed when she learned that Lady Li had returned with Lady Niohuru yesterday. She wished they could be killed in the forest with the Fourth Prince, to end it all.

"I have already gone to invite her, but Niohuru seems to be on guard and refuses to come to see Your Majesty," Li said, frowning and bowing her head.

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Shi's eyes as she asked, "What is she on guard against?"

Lady Li said, "I feel that Lady Niohuru seems to have noticed something. I have invited her repeatedly, but she just keeps making excuses and refuses to come to see Your Majesty."

"What an air of grandeur! Even seeing a mere concubine is no match for you," Shi said angrily.

"Niohuru also said that she wanted to pay her respects to Consort De, saying that if the Empress wanted to see her, she should go to Consort De's place!" Li said.

"Smack!"

Shi threw a teacup on the ground, but fortunately, the ground beneath the camp was grass, not bluestone, so the cup did not break.

"Such arrogance!" A murderous glint flashed in Shi's eyes. Li lowered her head, not daring to look.

"Your Majesty, I feel a little dizzy and would like to take my leave to rest for a while." Li felt a chill run down her back and wanted to leave Shi immediately.

"What are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you." Shi Shi naturally saw the fear in Li Shi's eyes and said sarcastically.