The next day.

The Fourth Prince, along with Consort Lan's carriage, his family, and of course, five hundred guards, bid farewell to Emperor Kangxi and sped off towards Jinan. The departure was utterly sudden; everyone else was still asleep, only hearing the sounds of horses and footsteps outside.

When they opened their eyes, rubbed their sleepy eyelids, got up, and lifted the curtain, they could no longer see anyone.

Upon hearing the noise, Consort Hui got up, put on her robe, and peeked through a crack in the door. Sure enough, it was the Fourth Prince, accompanied by guards, escorting Consort Lan to Jinan for medical treatment.

"Your Excellency, Consort Lan has finally left. This matter can be considered temporarily resolved, so please don't worry," Suoqiu said happily, standing behind Consort Hui. She had been the most worried, and seeing that Kangxi seemed to have given up the investigation and sent Consort Lan away, she felt a huge weight lifted from her heart. To plot against the imperial heir was a capital offense, punishable by death and a thousand cuts!

"Quickly help me with my makeup. How can the Emperor be without someone to serve him!" Consort Hui's face lit up with joy. Things were progressing exactly as she had planned. Before long, she would be able to see her father again and would no longer have to force a smile every day.

Suoqiu readily agreed, and the two lowered the curtain, returning to the makeshift bed to begin their toilette. Little did they know, just as they turned their gaze away, a black horse galloped past from the roadside.

At this moment, Emperor Kangxi sat cross-legged before a Buddha statue. His eyes were slightly closed, his left hand holding two Bodhi seeds, rubbing them incessantly in his palm; his other hand held a string of sandalwood beads, fiddling with them one by one. Smoke curled from the incense burner on the small table beneath the Buddha statue, filling the entire tent with the scent of sandalwood. In recent years, Kangxi's daytime energy had been increasingly depleted, and he suffered from insomnia at night, often needing sandalwood to refresh himself. Only by inhaling that subtle fragrance could he detach his mind from the complexities of state and family affairs, allowing his consciousness to wander freely in the darkness.

"Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince has just sent someone to say that everything is ready." Liang Jiugong's eyes were already dark from staying up all night. He had only slept for two hours last night, and he had been helping Kangxi summon the Eighth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince from time to time.

"Very well, from now on, everything will proceed as usual. Go and accompany Consort Xuanhui!" Kangxi said, his thin lips parting slightly.

Liang Jiugong glanced at Kangxi's retreating figure, then bowed and withdrew.

Meanwhile, on Lanqin's side, the Fourth Prince, with over ten riders and five hundred guards, had been traveling along the road for more than an hour. Lanqin lifted the small "window" on the carriage and looked out. She saw Kangxi's guards running in neat rows behind the carriage, while the Fourth Prince was currently riding alongside her carriage. His handsome but slightly gloomy face now resembled a statue, as if he were deep in thought.

Lanqin wanted to call over the Fourth Prince to ask why they were heading back with Kangxi's guards so early this morning, even though Su Peisheng had already said they were taking Consort Lan back to Jinan for treatment.

"Princess, please rest peacefully in the carriage. We'll just follow wherever Master takes us," Nianxue said, seeing that Lanqin was still worried.

"I have a feeling that something's wrong with Master. Nianxue, go and call Su Peisheng over to ask him." Lanqin couldn't help but worry when she saw that Master looked preoccupied.

Nianxue knew Lanqin's temperament; once she decided to do something, she would do it no matter what. Fortunately, she was also concerned about the Fourth Master, so Nianxue didn't say anything more. She groped her way to the carriage, lifted the curtain, and saw Su Peisheng riding a horse behind the Fourth Master.

"Eunuch Su! Come here for a moment." Nianxue called out in a tone that Su Peisheng could hear.

Su Peisheng looked back and saw Nianxue poking her head out of Lanqin's carriage and saying something to him. He then pulled on the horse's head and slowly moved towards their carriage.

"Miss Nianxue, what's the matter? I'm ordering you to go full speed ahead now, don't stop!" Su Peisheng tried his best to keep the speed of his horse and the carriage the same so that he could still say a few words to Nianxue in the carriage.

"My princess wants to ask, what is it?" Before Nianxue could finish her question, the carriage wheel suddenly hit a large rock, and then the entire carriage shook violently.

Su Peisheng immediately pulled his horse away, otherwise it would have crashed into Lanqin's carriage.

"We'll find a place to eat later, we'll talk about it then. I have to go serve Fourth Master now." Su Peisheng said this to Nianxue, then cracked his whip and spurred his horse after Fourth Master.

Lanqin had already overheard their conversation from inside the carriage. She was filled with worry for Holland's uncertain fate, and also puzzled: it seemed odd that Fourth Master was leaving the imperial carriage with so many people. Actually, escorting Holland back to Jinan didn't require so many people!

With these questions in mind, Lanqin felt a surge of irritation. She took out the peach blossom fan she always carried with her and forced herself to concentrate, staring blankly at the vertical text.

“Princess, at this pace, we should reach Jinan Prefecture in three days. I’m worried that Physician Meng might have a way to help Consort Lan contain the poison,” Nianxue said.

"Nianxue, what do you think of Consort Hui?" Lanqin put down her book and asked Nianxue.

"This servant thinks Consort Hui is a very kind-hearted person. She is dignified and beautiful, and also gentle and kind at heart," Nianxue described Consort Hui as she had seen her.

“Indeed, she is beautiful and dignified in appearance; and she is kind and gentle in demeanor. But the way my sister miscarried and was poisoned is too strange. When we went to the people on the hillside, there was no Consort Hui. That means she was always around my sister. After my sister was poisoned, she was with me in my sister's tent,” Lanqin said.

“Now that you mention it, I really do think Consort Hui is somewhat suspicious. She was present in both incidents, which is very suspicious. But no one has seen her do anything,” Nianxue said, frowning.

"Although no one has seen what she did, it doesn't mean she didn't do anything. So even the Emperor has been ignoring her. Isn't that right? No, I have to go find the Fourth Prince right away and tell him to remind the Emperor." Lanqin seemed unable to hold back any longer and wished she could get out of the carriage and go find the Fourth Prince right now.

“Princess, everyone is moving at full speed right now, we can’t stop. Let’s talk to the master later at the rest stop,” Nianxue said, stopping her arm.

“But I’m afraid it’s too late. If the whole thing was done by Consort Hui, then she’s terrifying; she’s manipulating everyone like puppets,” Lanqin said.