"What? Sending New Year's gifts to all the officials in the capital?" Madam Song exclaimed in surprise after hearing Lanqin's words.

"No, they said it was for the heads of various departments in the capital; the deputy heads wouldn't receive any," Wu said.

Lanqin nodded and said, "This is an idea she came up with to win over the officials for our master. It seems to make some sense. She's doing this for our master's own good and even asked me to pass it on."

"With so many officials in the capital, is it even possible to send them all over?" Madam Song said, feeling that it was somewhat impractical.

"Does she think the Prince Yong's mansion has as much money as her brother?" Madam Wu said contemptuously.

Lanqin knew that the Yong Prince's mansion didn't have as much silver as General Nian Gengyao's mansion. The Fourth Prince's annual salary was almost fixed, and his rewards were also traceable. But Nian Gengyao was different. As a regional governor, in addition to the salary given to him by the court, he also received various tributes from local officials and some material wealth captured from enemy troops. Sometimes, he didn't necessarily hand it all over; he certainly kept some for himself.

"Qin'er, do you really want to tell the master what she said?" Madam Song asked.

“Of course I have to tell her. It was her idea, and if I don’t, she’ll badmouth me to the Emperor later,” Lanqin said. In truth, Lanqin had essentially rejected Nian Shi’s idea, because the Fourth Prince wasn’t the type to win over officials with gifts. Nian Shi only knew how to use gifts to win people’s hearts for the Emperor, but she didn’t consider what kind of person the Fourth Prince truly was. Clearly, her understanding of him was unclear, which explained his ambiguous attitude towards her. Historically, it’s said that Emperor Yongzheng doted on Consort Nian, but Lanqin felt that if a man truly loved a woman, he would never allow her child to be lost again and again.

“According to Consort Wu’s opinion, the Prince may not necessarily agree with her idea?” Wu Shi noticed a clue and said.

"Sister Wu is clever," Lanqin said with a smile.

After they all left, Lanqin began to instruct Sihua, saying, "We need to prepare a gift for the Fourteenth Prince's wife. She has given birth to a legitimate son, so the gift cannot be too small, after all, the Fourteenth Prince is the prince's own brother."

“Yes. This gift doesn’t need to be taken from the master’s private treasury; it should be taken from the master’s storeroom. After all, Fourteenth is the master’s own younger brother,” Si Hua said.

"Hmm, Si Hua is right, we should take it from Master's storeroom!" Fourth Master's voice came through the cotton curtain.

Immediately afterwards, Su Peisheng lifted the curtain, and Fourth Master's long legs strode in.

Si Hua immediately blushed and retreated to serve tea to the Fourth Master.

"Master, why are you back so early today?" Lanqin asked as she got up to brush some snow off Fourth Master's clothes.

"Nothing much, so I came back." Fourth Master's expression was somewhat indifferent, indicating that he was not in a good mood.

Si Hua brought out the tea, which Lan Qin took personally and waved for them to leave.

"Master, is it that the old man still refuses to confess?" Lanqin asked, bringing the tea to Fourth Master.

"Hmm, he won't confess no matter what. He's getting old, and I'm afraid he won't be able to withstand too much torture," Fourth Master said.

Lanqin also knew that the Fourth Prince wanted to get the truth out of this fake Taoist priest about their fabrication of immortality and to find out who was scheming to curry favor with Kangxi. However, the priest was stubbornly refusing to talk, which immediately put the Fourth Prince's plan into a stalemate.

“You just said that the Fourteenth Prince’s primary wife gave birth to a prince, so we should prepare a grand gift to send over,” the Fourth Prince added.

"I'm still considering it. My lord, why not send a set of expensive writing implements for the children, along with some toys that they like? Firstly, it would show your close relationship with the fourteenth brother. Secondly, sending gold and silver would seem vulgar. It would be better to send something unique, something that isn't too expensive, and something with a good meaning that would make them happier," Lanqin said.

"The Four Treasures of the Study?" Fourth Master said, "Isn't that too light?"

"Master, what is heavy? The heaviest thing is gold, so if you send a chest of gold, wouldn't that be heavy?" Lanqin asked doubtfully. "Master, I feel that Fourteenth Brother lacks nothing, does he really lack your gold?"

Hearing her say that, Fourth Master thought to himself, "That's true, then let's prepare as you suggested. We'll also make a set of gold necklaces and other auspicious items to symbolize longevity for his son; that won't be a small expense."

Lanqin said, "Well then, I will prepare accordingly."

"Father Emperor must be very happy that Fourteenth Prince has now had a legitimate son. He might even prepare something for the New Year," Fourth Prince suddenly said.

Lanqin sensed his envy for a legitimate son in his words, and felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. She pouted and said, "Does Your Highness also want a legitimate son? Unfortunately, I am not Your Highness's principal wife, and I cannot bear you a legitimate son!"

"What are you saying! I don't need any legitimate son, Hongli is enough for me." Fourth Prince pulled Lanqin into his arms and said.

Lanqin felt a little relieved. She knew that she had felt really bad when she saw the way the Fourth Prince talked about the Fourteenth Prince's legitimate son. She was destined not to bear the Fourth Prince a legitimate son.

“But Father Emperor once scolded the Eighth Prince, saying he had no heir. In fact, the Eighth Prince did have a son, I think he was born to one of his concubines,” Lanqin said. “In other words, in Father Emperor’s mind, only the legitimate son is a true son.”

"I did have a legitimate son, but Honghui was unlucky and couldn't be raised. So it doesn't mean I had no legitimate son. Qin'er, don't overthink it. I don't want any legitimate son. Hongli is also very much liked by Father Emperor now," the Fourth Prince said.

“Hongli is very much liked by Father Emperor, but I’m afraid some people will use this to their advantage,” Lanqin said. “Now, the only one who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him is probably the Fourteenth Prince. No matter how much the Eighth Prince causes trouble, he probably won’t catch Father Emperor’s eye. The Fourteenth Prince, on the other hand, is Mother’s son and has been loved by Father Emperor and Mother since childhood. Now that he has a legitimate son, he is in the prime of his life, just over twenty years old.”

Fourth Master's face gradually darkened. He knew that Lanqin was right. Did he really have to compete with his own brother in the end?

Lanqin wondered to herself, "Is this how the wheels of history turn? In the end, the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince really did begin their final struggle?" She remembered that one of the doubts about the succession to the throne for the Yongzheng Emperor was: was his throne legitimate or not? Did Kangxi pass the throne to the Fourth Prince or the Fourteenth Prince?

“Your Majesty, I think Father’s affection for the Fourteenth Prince is just affection; he may not be able to entrust him with such a heavy responsibility as the Qing Dynasty,” Lanqin couldn’t help but say.