Just then, Princesses Qing Le, Qing An, and Qing Shun, along with Bie Chuke, came to pay their respects to Lan Qin. Upon entering the room, they saw their cousin Hongli and immediately suppressed their laughter, walking quietly and gently to Lan Qin's side.

"Greetings to Consort Xi..."

"Biechuk pays his respects to the Empress Dowager..."

Lanqin smiled and waved. Bechuk stood up and rushed into Lanqin's arms. Lanqin wiped Bechuk's sweat while smiling at the three princesses, saying, "You..."

The three princesses quickly turned around and bowed to Hongli, respectfully saying, "Greetings, Fourth Prince..."

Hongli smiled and returned the greeting, his face slightly flushed.

Bechuk noticed and teased, "Brother, are you so happy because you're about to marry your wife?"

Hongli was taken aback, raised his hand to touch his face, and seeing that his sister and cousin were present, he didn't know what to say, but glared at Biechuke: "This little girl dares to make fun of her brother now, she's really grown up, I wonder who was crying not long ago..."

Bechuk pouted, tugged at Lanqin, pointed at Hongli, and said angrily, "Empress Mother, look... my brother is bullying me..."

Seeing that Hongli was embarrassed, Lanqin deliberately changed the subject and asked, "How was your boxing practice today?"

These words reminded Bechuk, who stood up, rolled up his sleeves, clenched his fists, and pointed them at Hongli, tauntingly saying, "I know martial arts. If you bully me again, brother, I won't be so polite..."

Bechuk's appearance caused everyone present to burst into laughter. Lanqin was speechless: "Your mother taught you boxing not to spar with your brother, but to defend yourself..."

Bechuk said seriously, "I'm just protecting myself..."

Hongli shook his head helplessly, stood up, affectionately patted Bechuk's head, and bowed to Lanqin: "I won't disturb Empress Dowager and the princesses any longer, I'll take my leave now..."

Lanqin nodded, and Hongli turned and left Changchun Palace, still looking preoccupied as he left.

Bechuk, on the other hand, looked smug and struck a victory pose, shouting, "Hahaha, I scared Fourth Brother away..."

Lanqin smiled without saying a word. Baoqin and Yuxiao brought in several bowls of chilled mung bean soup and said without any politeness, "It seems that the princess is being unreasonable. The fourth prince is deliberately avoiding you..."

Bechuk stuck out his tongue and snuggled back into Lanqin's arms. The three princesses stood to the side, watching with envy as Bechuk indulged himself in Lanqin's embrace. Noticing their expressions, Lanqin smiled and beckoned the three princesses over: "You must be tired. I specially ordered some chilled mung bean soup to be made; it's perfect for cooling down and relieving the summer heat. I've been waiting for you to finish your boxing practice so you can have a bowl..."

Bechuk was overjoyed and exclaimed, "That's wonderful! I love Mother's chilled mung bean soup the most..." The three princesses also sat down. Without Hongli present, the three princesses immediately relaxed, having already become quite at ease after spending so many days with Lanqin. They quickly sat down with Bechuk to taste Lanqin's mung bean soup, praising it repeatedly, making Lanqin blush and only watch with a smile.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince summoned Sun Jiacheng to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Su Peisheng gently placed a teacup on the table, and the Fourth Prince picked it up, lifted the lid, took a sip, and began to talk about the matter of offering sacrifices to the late Emperor.

"This is the first time I have offered sacrifices for the late Emperor. Has the Ministry of Rites made all the necessary preparations?"

Sun Jiacheng hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites has made all the preparations and is just waiting for Your Majesty to set the date for the sacrificial ceremony."