"Is this news reliable?" Fourteen asked. He felt that if Consort Yi knew, his mother would surely know as well, yet she hadn't revealed a single word.

“Indeed. Fourteenth, if we can see what’s written on that will, then we’ll be prepared,” Ninth Master said in a low voice.

At this moment, the Fourteenth Prince was filled with a sense of loss at being forgotten by Consort De, and seemed not to be very interested in the imperial edict.

"Fourteenth, did you hear what I said?" Ninth Master asked again when he saw that Fourteenth seemed out of sorts.

"It's not difficult to see the contents of that edict. Just bribe a eunuch to take it down while he's cleaning the Qianqing Palace, and you can see it," said the Fourteenth Prince.

“You make it sound so easy, but there has to be the right opportunity. The Qianqing Palace isn’t a place you can just walk into. Father Emperor lives there, so how can we go see him?” Ninth Prince said. “But now that we know, it’s really hard not to go and see him.”

Fourteen said, "Besides you, isn't anyone else itching to see the contents of that will? Maybe he's also trying to find a way to read it."

Ninth Master nodded and said, "So we need to find a way to go and see, otherwise if others seize the opportunity first, we will be even more passive."

Fourteenth Brother then pondered, “Ninth Brother, we have enough money, you don’t need to send any more. The most important thing now is that imperial edict.”

"It seems I'll have to ask my mother for help," said Ninth Master.

After the two finished their conversation, the Fourteenth Prince had his most trusted eunuch lead the Ninth Prince, who was already wearing a hood, to rest. The two had been plotting for a long time, and their plan was that after the Ninth Prince rested, they would immediately set off back to the capital the next morning. The Fourteenth Prince then began to thoroughly investigate all the spies around him.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince also received a message by carrier pigeon from the person he had placed by the Fourteenth Prince's side, which reported that the Fourteenth Prince had begun to thoroughly investigate the identities of those around him.

Although the two never met, their struggle and rivalry were unfolding silently, their respective networks and plans gradually becoming apparent. While Lanqin didn't sense much of the conflict between the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince—because the Fourth Prince hadn't returned to tell her—the sharp decrease in his visits to the inner quarters suggested he was too busy with court affairs to attend to matters of domestic life.

Lanqin then devoted all her energy to managing her children and the daily affairs of the inner quarters. Life went by in this way, and before long, it began to snow in the capital.

The scenery of Yuanmingyuan in winter has a unique charm. Wuxiha and a few others wanted to stay at Yuanmingyuan for a while. They were really tired of living in the mansion and wanted to go somewhere else to have some fun.

Lanqin thought about it and then made the arrangements, letting Wuxihabechuk, Hongli and Hongzhou stay at Yuanmingyuan for a while. Anyway, the things and servants there were already available, so there was no need to make any other arrangements.

Before leaving, Wuxiha came to Lanqin and said that he wanted Ulanara Xueying to come and stay at Yuanmingyuan for a while. Lanqin thought about it and felt it was inappropriate. She was afraid that Hongzhou and Xueying would cause some trouble. However, later Hongli also came and said that Hongzhou had probably asked him to say so. She told them not to mess around, so she agreed.

After they all left, Lanqin began preparing for the New Year. She had already instructed her subordinates to be on high alert and to prepare for the New Year according to the usual practice. These were all experienced managers, and Lanqin didn't need to say much; they all knew how to prepare.

The hot pot restaurant was operating normally, bringing Lanqin a large sum of money every month. One day, she went to check the silver she had put in the bank and thought that she hadn't done much with it. Apart from giving money to Lingzhu and Anjia and subsidizing her brothers, the silver was just earning interest in the bank.

Lanqin stood under the eaves, gazing at the gloomy weather outside, lost in thought.

"Master, it's cold outside, come inside!" Baoqin took Lanqin's snow fox cloak and draped it over her from behind.

"Winter seems to have come even faster this year. Hongli and the others must have arrived at the Yuanmingyuan by now, right?" Lanqin asked, shrugging her shoulders.

“We’ve arrived. The servant who went with us to deliver the gifts has returned with news. He said that the Fourth Princess, the Fifth Princess, and that Xueying Princess are all staying at Changchun Immortal Residence; the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince are naturally staying at Wanfang Anhe Residence,” Baoqin said.

"Yes, did you instruct the person in charge there not to let them go too far? They're all grown up now, they can't play around like they did when they were children," Lanqin instructed.

“The message has already been delivered, and those people wouldn’t dare to be disobedient. The master pays them a good wage every year, and they’re all thinking about how to show their loyalty to him. Now that the brothers and sisters have gone over, they have to serve them well,” Baoqin said.

Lanqin nodded and muttered to herself, "Winter has come so early this year. I'm afraid some places will experience heavy snowfall, and there will probably be disaster victims."

Baoqin, unaware of Lanqin's thoughts, replied upon hearing her words, "Is Your Highness worried that the Prince will be busy with disaster relief again?"

Lanqin nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "Anyway, the steward is busy with the New Year's affairs, and the children have all gone to the Yuanmingyuan. I have some free time for now, so I might as well go out for a stroll. Perhaps I can be of help to Your Highness."

When Baoqin heard Lanqin say she was going out, she was startled and said, "Master, you mustn't! It's freezing outside. Where are you going? The whole manor depends on you for discipline."

Lanqin saw that Baoqin's face had turned pale with fright and laughed, "Look how scared you are. I just went out to take a look, I'm not going far."

Lanqin actually wanted to use this as an excuse to go out and take a stroll. Now, "Da Qing Hot Pot" has branches in many prefectures and states across the Qing Dynasty. She handed over these businesses to Cui Da and Cui Er, as well as her half-brother, to manage.

“My lady, you are of noble status. What if something happens to you again? Absolutely not! The prince is so busy right now that we can’t see him. What will he do if something happens to you?” Baoqin was frightened by what happened to Hongli and Hongzhou. Now that Lanqin wanted to leave the manor, she was a hundred times against it.

"Alright, you silly girl, I was just saying. I don't have time to go out. I'm too busy with things in this manor, and Consort Nian is about to give birth." Lanqin turned around and nodded her forehead.

"My lady, it would be wonderful if you could have the prince accompany you next spring," Baoqin said with a smile when she saw that Lanqin had given up the idea of ​​going out.

Lanqin smiled gently, thinking that Fourth Master had promised to take her to travel to Jiangnan, but all these years it had never happened.