The autumn imperial examinations had all concluded. Song Shucheng was unexpectedly retained in the capital as the Registrar of the Court of State Ceremonial, much to Song's delight. Lanqin's fourth brother, Qiufu, was transferred to Xiangyang, Hubei, as a prefectural magistrate, a great distance from home. However, Defu and Runsheng were respectively taken in by Xinyi to serve as stewards in the Seventh Prince's residence, and by Lanqin to work at the Yuanmingyuan Garden. Although Anjia didn't want Lanqin to help her half-brothers, she couldn't simply watch Lingzhu be devoured by them.

To ensure that Emperor Kangxi would be in a good mood during his recuperation, the Fourth Prince put some effort into the Changchun Garden. He had some scenic spots built and instructed his servants to maintain them regularly.

When Emperor Kangxi arrived, Beijing experienced its first light snowfall of winter. Lanqin and the Fourth Prince, both dressed in cotton robes and cloaks, greeted him at the main gate of the Yuanmingyuan Garden. Kangxi didn't bring any concubines, only a few maids to serve tea and one or two minor noble ladies; none of his four concubines were present.

Standing outdoors in the biting wind, Lanqin felt a little out of place. These days she had been using a brazier and dressed warmly every day, living a simple life with Fourth Master and their children in Jiuzhou Qingyan.

"Is the stove in your hand getting cold? Tell them to replace it!" Fourth Master said, standing to the side and noticing the little woman's trembling body.

"Yes, Your Highness, when will Father arrive?" Lanqin and the Fourth Prince had been standing in the cold wind for a quarter of an hour. Today, Lanqin was wearing a pink and white plum blossom qipao, with snow fox fur embroidered on the collar. Her hair was styled with large wing-like ornaments, topped with the most precious jade hair ornaments. Lanqin felt not only cold, but also that her neck was almost bent under the weight of the pile of jewelry on her head.

Si Hua secretly replaced Lan Qin's hand warmer with a new one, and then tied a leather tube to Lan Qin's knees. This was so that when Kangxi came later, Lan Qin wouldn't get too cold kneeling on the hard, cold ground.

"We should have arrived by now, but who knows what might happen on the way?" Fourth Master was dressed in a dark indigo cotton robe with bat and five auspicious symbols, and the collar was trimmed with black fur. His princely hat, belt, and boots gave him a naturally noble air. Lanqin rarely saw Fourth Master like this, as he usually wore casual clothes in front of her and rarely dressed so formally.

"Master, there seems to be some dust on your shoulder. Where did it come from?" Lanqin reached out, turned her body to the side, and couldn't help but brush the dust off the Fourth Master's shoulder.

Fourth Master grabbed Lanqin's small hand; it was indeed quite cold. He said with concern, "Why is it so cold?"

Lanqin shrank her neck and said, "You know perfectly well that I spend all my time in the room with the brazier, unlike now when I'm standing here for so long."

Fourth Master said, "I'll find you a pair of obsidian bracelets to wear, then you won't be so afraid of the cold."

"What is obsidian?" Lanqin asked curiously.

"It's a kind of stone that can generate its own heat. If you make a pillow out of it and sleep on it, the bed won't be cold at all. If you wear a bracelet made from it, you won't feel cold at all," Fourth Master said.

Lanqin had never heard of such a thing before, and immediately exclaimed in surprise, "There are such wonderful things?"

Fourth Master said, "Yes, it is said that such things can be found in the southwest. I will look for them for you."

Lanqin smiled and said, "Then thank you in advance, sir."

Just then, Emperor Kangxi's imperial procession finally arrived. In front of him were people carrying ceremonial tents to clear the way. Kangxi's sedan chair was a golden, eight-treasure glazed sedan chair, followed by rows of palace maids and eunuchs, and at the very back were his personal guards.

When the sedan chair stopped in front of the Fourth Prince and Lanqin, they and the people behind them all knelt down to pay their respects to Emperor Kangxi.

Lanqin knelt on the cold, hard stone ground. Fortunately, Sihua had tied a fur tube around her neck; otherwise, her knees would have been covered in bruises from kneeling like that.

The eunuch who was holding up the curtain lifted the sedan chair curtain for Kangxi, and another eunuch who helped him out stretched out his arm. Then a hand wearing a large gold and blue jade ring was seen reaching out first.

Lanqin kept her head down and knelt on the ground with the Fourth Prince until she saw a pair of golden boots inlaid with black fur walk up to her. Only then did she hear Kangxi's voice coming from above: "Rise, all of you!"

After everyone got up from the ground, the Fourth Prince bowed and said, "Your Majesty, everything in the garden is ready. Please inspect it."

Kangxi nodded and led his entourage through the main gate in a grand procession. The Fourth Prince and Lanqin naturally followed closely behind, and the others followed in order of their rank.

To allow Emperor Kangxi to appreciate the early plum blossoms, the Fourth Prince specially ordered a large plum grove to be planted at the entrance of Changchun Garden. Sure enough, the plum blossoms have already begun to bloom with pale pink petals.

A wave of plum blossom fragrance wafted over, instantly delighting Emperor Kangxi. He glanced at the plum blossoms from afar, nodded, and said, "So early, there are already plum blossoms?"

"Your Majesty, this is an early plum tree that I specially had transplanted," the Fourth Prince said.

"It's only December now, and the early plum blossoms are indeed very early," Kangxi said.

Along the way, various exotic flowers and plants bloomed in fragrant splendor, which put Emperor Kangxi in a very good mood. Even in the dead of winter, seeing so many fresh flowers and plants immediately lifted one's spirits, truly living up to the name "Eternal Spring."

After admiring the sights, the Fourth Prince and Lanqin escorted Emperor Kangxi and his entourage to the main hall of Changchun Garden, Hanjin Hall.

"Fourth Prince, girl, you should both go back first. I want to have someone settle you in. Once you're settled, I'll send someone to call you over." After all this commotion, Kangxi was clearly not in good spirits.

The Fourth Prince and Lanqin quickly took their leave, and Liang Jiugong and the palace servants began to organize Kangxi's belongings.

After the two returned to Jiuzhou Qingyan, the Fourth Prince suddenly felt that perhaps Emperor Kangxi should stay here, since the rooms in Changchun Garden were not as big as those here.

“Your Highness, since Father has designated that you reside in Changchun Garden, you probably won’t find anything wrong with it,” Lanqin said after hearing the Fourth Prince’s words.

“But with so many people, Father Emperor, crammed together in Changchun Garden, I still feel it’s not quite right,” the Fourth Prince said.

“We can’t exactly ask him to move over now,” Lanqin said.

"Why don't we bring it up and see what Father Emperor says?" the Fourth Prince suggested.

"That's fine too. It all depends on what Father Emperor himself says." Lanqin immediately tossed the stove in her hand to Sihua beside her and hurriedly stepped into the room to find a brazier.

"Master, quickly find me that obsidian, so I can go out and play," Lanqin said, running to the brazier to warm herself.