Lady Li had no idea what the Shi family was planning. After seeing those corpses yesterday, the fear she felt was unimaginable. She thought the Crown Prince was going to deal with the Fourth Prince, but she never expected him to be killed, let alone that he would also target Emperor Kangxi.

"I truly didn't rest well last night, please forgive me, Your Majesty," Li said, forcing a smile. She was already beginning to regret being forced into the Shi family's conspiracy.

"I need you to find a way to make Niohuru come to see me, understand?" Shi Shi was clearly not going to let Li Shi off so easily, and stared at her as she spoke.

After Li left the Crown Princess's tent, Shi finally let go of her fierce expression and said to the palace maid beside her, "I feel a little uncomfortable in my chest. Quickly bring me my pipe."

Meanwhile, Lanqin returned to her tent, intending to take another nap. In fact, Consort De had not summoned her to pay her respects at all; that was merely an excuse.

"Your Majesty, the Seventh and Tenth Consorts have arrived," Shui Ling said as she entered, lifting the curtain.

A moment later, Xinyi and Shuhui entered. One of them was now the Seventh Prince's concubine, practically equivalent to the Seventh Prince's wife. Shuhui was the Tenth Prince's concubine. Although the Tenth Prince's wife, Guo Luoluo Mingyue, was quite fierce, the Tenth Prince always favored Shuhui.

"Third Sister!" Xin Yi called out first. She and Shu Hui had also stayed up very late last night, only resting after hearing the sounds of Fourth Master and the others returning.

"Xinyi, Shuhui, you're here." Lanqin immediately went up to them and pulled them to sit down.

After the maidservants served tea and snacks, Lanqin asked, "Did you hear anything last night?"

Xin Yi understood immediately and said, "Yesterday, we only heard that my sister and Consort Li got lost in the dense forest. Her Majesty sent people in to look for them, then the Fourth Prince went in to look for them, and finally the Emperor also sent people in to look for them. My sister and Shu Hui were very worried, but thankfully my sister came back safe and sound."

Shuhui also said, "Sister, please don't ride a horse anymore, it's too dangerous."

As Lanqin listened to Xinyi and Shuhui talking, she understood that the assassination attempt on Fourth Master last night had been kept secret, and even Seventh Master and Tenth Master did not know about it.

"Don't worry, we won't touch that four-legged beast again," Lanqin said with a smile.

"Sister, I heard that Consort Nian went back early this morning?" Xin Yi asked.

"Well, why don't we go for a walk? It's so stuffy staying in the tent." Seeing that Fourth Master didn't want to make a fuss, Lanqin naturally didn't say anything more.

Seeing that Lanqin didn't want to say more, Xinyi and Shuhui naturally stopped asking.

Meanwhile, Li Shi, pressured by the Crown Princess, had no choice but to find a way to entangle Lan Qin. Just as Lan Qin, Xin Yi, and Shu Hui stepped outside, they saw Li Shi heading towards Lan Qin again.

When Lanqin saw Li Shi coming over, she quickly said to Xinyi and Shuhui, "My two sisters, would you like to accompany me to pay my respects to the Crown Princess? This is the second time she has come to invite me since early this morning."

Xinyi and Shuhui usually had no chance to pay their respects to the Crown Princess. But when they heard Lanqin speaking in a low voice and saw Consort Li coming over, they roughly understood what was going on and quickly responded.

“Sister Li, my sister was just discussing with Xinyi and Shuhui about going to pay our respects to the Crown Princess. Since you’ve come, why don’t you come along?” Lanqin said with a smile.

Li racked her brains to come up with a reason to persuade Lanqin, but before she could even speak, she heard Lanqin agree to meet the Crown Princess. Overjoyed, she exclaimed, "That's wonderful!"

Anyway, the Crown Princess didn't say that others couldn't follow, so I guess I've completed my mission.

"Your Highness, Consort Li, along with Consort Niohuru, Consort Qi, and Consort Shi, are requesting an audience!" said the palace maid Yu Ming to the Crown Princess.

Shi was startled, a glint of light flashing in her eyes, before she calmly said, "Let them in."

The four entered in single file, paid their respects to the Crown Princess, and then took their seats according to their rank.

This was Lanqin's first time meeting the Crown Princess. She had only seen her a few times before, when she accompanied the Fourth Prince to the palace and at occasions such as palace banquets or when she knelt before Emperor Kangxi during the New Year. Not only her, but Xinyi and Shuhui had also only seen the Crown Princess a few times, and this was the first time they had come to her tent in person to meet her.

The Crown Princess stared at Lanqin, looking her up and down, then down and up again, with a gaze that seemed to want to strip her naked. Lanqin felt as if blades were scraping against her skin.

"Niohuru clan, I asked Consort Li to invite you here, why didn't you come!" Shi Shi didn't take Xin Yi and Shu Hui seriously at all, and directly put pressure on Lan Qin.

"Your Highness, yesterday Consort Li and I accidentally wandered into the dense forest, causing Consort De to send people to search for us for a long time. This morning, she made me stand as punishment. I just ran into Xinyi and Shuhui, and that's how I was able to escape. You agree, don't you?" Lanqin said to Xinyi and Shuhui.

"Yes, Consort De was quite worried. Fortunately, it was found. That's why she asked you to come over so early today," Xin Yi said, immediately understanding.

“That’s right, Her Majesty only asked you to go over and listen to her admonition; she hasn’t punished you yet,” Shuhui added.

After listening to their back-and-forth conversation, as if they had really gone to see Consort De, Shi stopped questioning Lanqin about it.

“Niohuru clan, what happened in the dense forest yesterday? I heard from Li that when the Fourth Prince found you, did he bring many corpses with him?” Shi asked.

Both Xinyi and Shuhui looked at Lanqin with surprise.

Lanqin looked at Shi Shi, wondering what her intentions were in asking these questions. She thought that Li Shi had already told her, so why did she still have to ask her?

"Oh dear, Your Highness, please don't mention those things anymore. I was terrified yesterday. I don't even know what happened, I was so scared I didn't sleep well all night. Sister Li, you too, right? I see dark circles under your eyes." Lanqin was going to play dumb.

"Did the Fourth Prince say anything?" The Crown Princess looked at Lanqin, who seemed completely terrified, and her eyes were filled with contempt.

"I went straight to my tent as soon as I got back last night, and I haven't even seen my master yet. Your Highness, what is it you want to ask?" Lanqin looked at the Crown Princess innocently.

Shi Shi hadn't expected Lan Qin to ask her so bluntly, and for a moment she was speechless. She had originally intended to use the opportunity of asking Lan Qin about the events in the forest last night to see how Fourth Master was reacting. However, according to Shi Bingde's report, it was as if nothing had happened, and they went hunting as usual today. All this unusual behavior suddenly made the Shi family feel somewhat insecure.

The most terrifying thing is not that the other party bares their fangs, but that after a series of actions, they completely conceal their intentions, and you have no idea when they will bare their fangs again.