The next day, the Fourth Master indeed ordered the steward of the Lu residence to buy some of all the traditional delicacies of Jinan. The steward was quite surprised upon hearing this, because there were countless traditional delicacies in Jinan. If he really bought them all, could he possibly finish them all? There were no refrigerators in ancient times; if he bought them all at once, wouldn't they spoil? However, he naturally couldn't say anything about this. The man had already given him the money, so he simply had to do as he was told.

Lanqin was exhausted from being tormented by the Fourth Master last night and didn't get up until noon. When she got up, the steward of the Lu family had already brought over the food he had bought, which covered the table. In addition to the food that Lanqin had mentioned, there were many other foods that she had never seen before.

Nianxue, Ziran, and Li Shubao were stunned as they watched the endless stream of things being brought in.

Lanqin, however, said nonchalantly, "What are you standing there for? Let's eat! These are all traditional Jinan delicacies. Since we've come all this way to Jinan, wouldn't it be a waste of our trip if we didn't try the local specialties?"

Nianxue said in disbelief, "Princess, did Master order these to be bought for you to eat?"

Lanqin smiled, sat down amidst the mountain of food, and said, "Yes, do you have any objections?"

Immediately, Nianxue, Ziran, and Li Shubao all shook their heads, and then, at Lanqin's invitation, they sat down around her.

"Nianxue, pick some out and take it to Princess Yanyu later. Just say that Fourth Master bought it for her. Don't say a word more, understand?" Lanqin looked at the mountain of food and thought that they couldn't possibly eat it all, so it was better to share some. Although she disliked Yanyu, she was still of the same status as her. She would share some of the things Fourth Master had given her so that Yanyu wouldn't gossip about it later.

Nianxue nodded in agreement, and then Lanqin had Li Shubao select some more to send to the stewards of the Lu family mansion so they could distribute them.

After finishing most of the food, there was still a lot left on the table. Lanqin said to the three of them, "What are you all standing there for? Let's eat!"

...

The Fourth Prince, Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince, Thirteenth Prince, and Fourteenth Prince were currently in the Mingzheng Hall, discussing with Emperor Kangxi and several trusted ministers a joint memorial submitted by scholars from Shandong Province, requesting to discuss their studies before Emperor Kangxi. This memorial was naturally presented by the Prefect of Jinan Prefecture, who was currently seated at the end of the table among the ministers.

"Your Majesty," said the Prefect of Jinan, "the scholars sincerely pray for an audience with Your Majesty. If a public calligraphy competition could be held here, it would firstly declare to the world that Your Majesty is a man who loves and cherishes talent; secondly, it would help the court recruit talented individuals; and thirdly, it would announce to the world that all talented people have the opportunity to serve the court faithfully."

After listening, Kangxi looked at the ministers and then at the princes, clearly indicating that he wanted them to give their opinions.

Zhang Tingyu, who was accompanying the emperor, then said to Emperor Kangxi, "Your Majesty, I basically agree with what Lord Li said. Jinan Prefecture has been a place where talents from Shandong Province have gathered since the founding of the Qing Dynasty. It is indeed feasible to hold a debate competition for talented people here."

Then, the other ministers looked at each other and all agreed with what Minister Zhang had said.

Seeing this, the Eighth Prince said to Emperor Kangxi, "Your Majesty, I have long heard that Shandong is a land of outstanding people and abundant resources. Many of the pillars of the court come from Shandong. Your Majesty's discussion of books with the students of this place will surely inspire the scholars to study harder and serve the court."

Kangxi nodded, took a small sip of the Imperial Longjing tea brewed by Liang Jiugong, and asked, "Fourth Prince, why are you so quiet today?"

The Fourth Prince had been listening to the words of the various officials and the Eighth Prince. He didn't really have any objections. It was just a book discussion among scholars, nothing big. However, he was worried that it might be too hasty to do it without any prior preparation.

When Emperor Kangxi asked, the Fourth Prince cleared his throat and said, “Your Majesty, I think what you gentlemen and my eighth brother said is very true, but I am only worried about one thing, and that is Your Majesty’s safety. After all, we are not in the capital at this time, and we have not made any preparations beforehand. The Yu Ming rebels have been working to eliminate them. If they are allowed to infiltrate the students, I am worried that they will be detrimental to Your Majesty.”

After hearing the Fourth Prince's words, the Ninth Prince curled his lips into a disdainful sneer and said to Kangxi, "Your Majesty, I think the Fourth Prince is being a bit too pessimistic. There are several thousand guards accompanying Your Majesty, plus these people from Jinan Prefecture. I believe no one would dare to disrespect Your Majesty here!"

The Tenth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince echoed the Ninth Prince's concerns, expressing their disagreement with the Fourth Prince's worries. They implied that the Fourth Prince was merely flattering Emperor Kangxi and using the Yu Ming rebels as a pretext to intimidate him, all in an attempt to win Kangxi's favor.

The Fourth Prince did not argue with them, and the Thirteenth Prince naturally sided with the Fourth Prince. Kangxi did not say a word about what everyone said, but in the end he still agreed to hold a scholarly conference in Jinan. At that time, regardless of status, all scholars could register to attend the lectures.

By this time, Kangxi and his entourage had been in Jinan Prefecture for seven or eight days. To hold another calligraphy conference would require at least three or four days of preparation, and then another three or four days of the conference itself, and another seven or eight days would have passed.

When the Fourth Prince came out of the Mingzheng Hall, he was silently counting the days that Kangxi had spent inspecting the banks of the Yellow River and the prefectures and counties he had visited, so he did not notice the Thirteenth Prince behind him.

"Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother!" the Thirteenth Prince called out several times, but the Fourth Prince seemed not to hear him and continued walking forward.

"Fourth Brother, why are you ignoring me?" the Thirteenth Prince said, tugging at the Fourth Prince's arm. After taking Luo Ge under his wing, he placed her in a carriage. The Fourth Prince had been keeping it a secret; Emperor Kangxi was unaware, and no one else noticed that the Thirteenth Prince's entourage had such a rarely used carriage. The Thirteenth Prince, however, often entered this carriage and stayed for most of the day. His companion, Princess Chen, was honest and kind; although she was somewhat suspicious of the Thirteenth Prince's actions, she never dared to interfere with what happened in the carriage.

"You're busy spending all day with your Luo Ge girl, so why are you blaming me for ignoring you?" Fourth Master teased, seeing that it was Thirteen.

"Fourth Brother is indeed angry with me. What I heard from you just now makes perfect sense. Eighth Brother was just echoing you. I think what you're worried about is very likely. Father Emperor's sudden visit to Jinan Prefecture has attracted countless rebels who are dissatisfied with our Qing Dynasty. I believe that holding a book discussion here does indeed pose a great security risk," said the Thirteenth Prince.