With this question in mind, the princes withdrew at Kangxi's signal. Some secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while others were annoyed that Prince Zhi had beaten them to it again. After everyone had left, Liang Jiugong noticed that one person remained before Kangxi.

"Why are you still here?" Kangxi asked, his eyes slightly closed. He had been leaning there ever since the Prince Zhi left.

"Your Majesty, I would like to request a decree from you," the Fourth Prince said, patting his sleeves and kneeling down to ask for permission.

"Speak, what decree do you wish to request?" Kangxi slowly opened his eyes again.

"Your subject wishes to request permission to prepare a dowry for your eldest brother's eldest daughter!" the Fourth Prince said, bowing his head.

Looking at the body prostrate on the ground, Kangxi finally sighed softly and said, "Fourth Prince, it's good that you have this intention. Ailanzhu is a good child. I understand how you feel, Eldest Prince. Every time your sisters are sent away, it pains me. I swear, this is the last time I will send a royal princess to the Dzungars. Cough, cough..."

Kangxi suddenly became excited and started talking, but he even coughed at the end.

"Father, you are the pillar of the Qing Dynasty. Please take care of yourself. Your son is willing to request an imperial decree to quell the Dzungars. The Crown Prince is of noble birth. Father, you must not let him take such a risk," the Fourth Prince kowtowed.

"Fourth Prince, you should just do your job well in the Ministry of Revenue. Your elder brother will take care of leading troops into battle. The Ministry of Revenue controls the Qing Dynasty's treasury. Wars are all about money. If you can manage this treasury well for me, it's the same as helping your elder brother. Do you understand?" With Liang Jiugong's help, Kangxi slowly got off the bed.

"Your subject will obey the Emperor's decree." The Fourth Prince bowed again.

"Alright, I grant you permission to handle Ailanzhu's dowry. Take your leave now." Kangxi said to Liang Jiugong, "Help me to rest for a while; I'm feeling increasingly tired right now."

As for Prince Zhi, after leaving the Qianqing Palace, he returned to the Ministry of War where he was stationed. After sitting for a while, he really wanted to go back and see the eldest princess, so he said to another vice minister of the Ministry of War, "I will go first. Please have Lord Guo take care of the matters at hand."

“If Prince Zhi has something to attend to, please return. Your humble servant will take care of it,” the Vice Minister of War said, bowing slightly to Prince Zhi.

As soon as Prince Zhi, who had changed out of his court robes, stepped out of the Ministry of War's palace gate, he saw the Fourth Prince walking towards him.

"Brother, are you going out?" Fourth Prince saw that Prince Zhi had changed out of his court robes and knew that he was planning to leave the palace and return home.

"Fourth Prince, I suddenly feel a bit unwell and want to go back early. Did you come to find me?" Prince Zhi looked at the Fourth Prince with a puzzled expression and asked as he walked.

"Then I'll accompany you to the Meridian Gate, brother. I do have something to discuss with you." The Fourth Prince followed the Prince of Zhi toward the gate of the Ministry of War.

“Brother, Father has already told us. Ailanzhu will be bestowed the title of Princess Gulun. As her fourth uncle, there's nothing I can do to help her. This time, Father specifically asked me to prepare a dowry for Ailanzhu!” Fourth Prince said earnestly. When he heard that Ailanzhu was going to ally with the Dzungar Khanate, his selfish wish for Moyaqi was finally fulfilled. But this time it was Ailanzhu; who knows if it would be Moyaqi next time? So he petitioned Emperor Kangxi, understanding the meaning behind Kangxi's words. The annihilation of the Dzungar Khanate was only a matter of time; hopefully, the princesses of the Qing Dynasty would no longer have to go to that cold and harsh land and die far from home.

Prince Zhi was taken aback when the Fourth Prince came to him about this matter. He then said, "I thank you on behalf of Ailanzhu. This child is my first with my wife, and I truly don't know how to tell her mother." Prince Zhi and his wife had always had a good relationship, and so far, Prince Zhi's household only had two concubines. He had no secondary wives. Among all the princes, he had the fewest wives and concubines.

"My sister-in-law has always been wise and intelligent, and she and my brother are deeply in love. She will surely understand Father Emperor's predicament and be able to sympathize with my brother's difficulties. Alas, it's just that our Great Qing is not yet strong enough to completely eradicate this cancer. After my brother killed Galdan, I never expected that his brother Geling would be able to gather some remnants of his army. Now, after seven years of recuperation, they have become a wolf in the rear of our Great Qing."

"Hmph, this time, I will definitely wipe out Galdan's tribe and leave no survivors. If they do not treat Ailanzhu well, I will trample every inch of Dzungar territory with my iron hooves." Prince Zhi suddenly said fiercely.

As expected, Father Emperor is probably preparing to completely annihilate the Dzungars! However, to let a princess marry under these circumstances... sigh! Fourth Prince thought to himself, a slight chill running down his spine. If it were Moyaqi this time, how would he react? Would he be as distressed as Prince Zhi just now? With this question in mind, Fourth Prince escorted Prince Zhi to the Meridian Gate and then returned to the Ministry of Revenue.

When he entered the Ministry of Revenue, he saw the Eighth Prince talking to the Vice Minister of Revenue. Upon seeing him return, they immediately turned away as if nothing had happened.

"Fourth Brother, Ninth Brother and I are discussing whether we should send a gift to his eldest daughter. Sigh. I'm really surprised that Eldest Brother would be willing to give away his eldest daughter." Eighth Prince sighed. He actually didn't have any daughters of marriageable age; so far, only Princess Zhang had given birth to a prince for him.

"When has Eighth Brother ever asked his Fourth Brother for his opinion on anything? I'm afraid Eldest Brother won't like this gift. Eighth Brother and Ninth Brother, please consider it carefully. I have things to do, so please excuse me." The Fourth Prince took off his court robes and left the palace ahead of schedule.

After the Fourth Prince returned, he immediately summoned Mr. Dai to his study and recounted the events of the day to him. Judging from the reactions of the Emperor and Prince Zhi, the Fourth Prince felt that there must be something between them that they hadn't said. What exactly did the Emperor say to Prince Zhi while they were waiting outside the Qianqing Palace?

After listening to the Fourth Prince's detailed account, Mr. Dai bowed to the Fourth Prince and said, "Your Highness, what you said to the Emperor is very good. I think the Qing Dynasty has begun to prepare to completely eliminate the threat posed by the Dzungars."

The Fourth Prince raised an eyebrow and said in confusion, "Why would Father Emperor bestow the title of Princess Gulun and send her over at this time, especially since she is my eldest brother's eldest daughter? I've heard that my eldest brother dotes on this girl because she is his and my sister-in-law's first child. I can tell that my eldest brother is very unwilling, but Father Emperor has already made the decision."

Mr. Dai also fell into deep thought, but couldn't come up with any conclusion. The two then discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate, chatting until dinnertime. Fourth Master thought of Lanqin, perhaps she had some extraordinary ideas, so he sent Mr. Dai back, while he himself went to the South Courtyard.