"What's wrong, little sister? It seems like something happened?" Madam Li asked with a smile, staring at Lanqin.

"It's nothing, sister, come in quickly." Lanqin grabbed Li's hand and walked inside. First it was the Fourteenth Prince, then the Fourteenth Princess Consort. One after the other, the suddenness of it all almost made her simple little heart explode.

After leading the two to sit down according to their status, Madam Li went straight to the point, taking out a piece of paper from her sleeve and spreading it in front of Lanqin. She said in a low voice, "Please give this to the Fourth Prince. Tell him that Madam Li is asking him to do something for the Crown Prince."

Lanqin stared at the paper in front of her in disbelief, thinking to herself: Is this blatant bribery?

Seeing Lanqin's surprised expression, Li smiled gently and said, "Here, there is also a gift that I have prepared for you, my sister. I hope you will accept it!"

After saying that, she gave a wink to the palace maid Yushan, who then unfurled a scroll, which was the painting that Lanqin had seen in Li's room that day.

Lanqin lingered in front of this painting for a long time, so Li Shi naturally assumed that Lanqin liked it very much. The fact that the Crown Prince sent the painting over today shows that he also showed sufficient sincerity.

"Sister Li, Lanqin really can't accept this painting and this silver note, and the Fourth Prince won't accept them either. Please take them back." Lanqin never expected that the Crown Prince would directly send Li to "bribe" him. Just look at this silver note and that painting; they must amount to tens of thousands of taels. The Fourth Prince once said that the Crown Prince owed a total of over eighty thousand taels of silver.

Li had always thought that Lanqin was a vain little princess who was brought into the palace by the Fourth Prince and was favored by the Emperor at the palace banquet, but she underestimated Lanqin.

Seeing Li's embarrassed expression, Lanqin felt a little sorry for her. In fact, Li had been very kind to her from the beginning, but since this concerned the Fourth Master, Lanqin would definitely not be soft-hearted.

After finishing her story, Lady Yan stormed back to the Fourteenth Prince's quarters, just in time to see him returning from Consort De's place. Without thinking, she grabbed the necklace she was holding and hurled it at him.

The Fourteenth Prince was startled by Wanyan's sudden outburst and grumbled, "What's wrong with you?" But when his gaze fell on the necklace, he was immediately stunned...

Seeing the Fourteenth Prince's appearance, Wanyan was so angry that she trembled. Pointing her finger at his nose, she scolded, "Well, you refused to give me what you wanted, but you turned around and gave it to one of your brother's concubines. You're really something! You're infatuated with your sister-in-law, Fourteenth Prince. Do you think your mother and the Emperor would do if they found out?"

Lady Wanyan was so angry that she wanted to run to Emperor Kangxi and Consort De to complain right now.

"How dare you!" The Fourteenth Prince's eyes were now bloodshot. He glared angrily at Wanyan and said, word by word, "Don't talk nonsense. This was entrusted to me by Fourth Brother to be given to Consort Niu. How did it end up with you?"

Wanyan was stunned by the Fourteenth Prince's roar and was momentarily at a loss. When she saw that what the Fourteenth Prince said was exactly the same as what Lanqin had said, her anger subsided by more than half. She said with some doubt, "Is it really the Fourth Prince who asked you to give it to Lady Niu?"

The Fourteenth Prince suppressed the tremor in his heart and said, "How could it be false? You know nothing and just like to make trouble. Tell me quickly, how did you get this necklace? I clearly gave it to Princess Niu."

Wanyan then recounted everything she had said to Lanqin. By the end of her story, the Fourteenth Prince's face had turned unusually grim, but Wanyan did not notice, or rather, she simply did not take the Fourteenth Prince's current mood into account.

This might explain why the Fourteenth Prince and Lady Wanyan were always like two natural enemies, arguing the moment they met. She still felt she was a princess of the Jin Kingdom and that she didn't need to be subservient to any man after marrying into the family. He, on the other hand, was indeed the most favored of Kangxi's youngest sons, born to receive more of Kangxi's affection than the other princes. One was an arrogant princess, the other a haughty prince; they couldn't stand each other and neither was willing to compromise. Who says princesses and princes are necessarily destined to love each other? Lady Wanyan and the Fourteenth Prince are a classic example of what not to do.

"I'm going out for a bit. You stay here and don't go anywhere." After saying this, the Fourteenth Prince left like the wind.

Wanyan wanted to say something more, but the Fourteenth Prince couldn't hear her anymore and walked out the door in the blink of an eye.

Lanqin and her maids were packing their things because they would be leaving the palace with the Fourth Prince tomorrow and returning to their residence, so they had to pack beforehand.

Lanqin walked to Cui Niang's house, intending to give her a reward, since she had been well taken care of by Cui Niang during her stay.

"Cui Niang! Cui Niang!" Lanqin called out several times from outside the house, but no one answered from inside.

Strange! Cui Niang should be inside the house right now, where is she? Where did she go?

Lanqin was a little unsure, so she reached out and pushed the two red lacquered wooden doors.

"Cui Niang!"

The room was dark, but Lanqin could vaguely see a body lying on a simple wooden bed. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she was shocked to discover that the person lying there was none other than Cui Niang!

She looked sick; her face was extremely flushed, and there was a pained smile on her lips.

"Cui Niang!" Lanqin immediately ran to the bedside, reached out and touched her forehead, and immediately exclaimed, "Cui Niang, you have a fever!"

"Princess, this servant...this servant is fine, I'll be alright after lying down for a while." Cui Niang also heard Lan Qin's voice and said with her lips moving.

"What's wrong with you? You're so hot you could fry an egg in it. We need to go see a doctor." Lanqin was about to leave when Cui Niang grabbed her hand.

"Princess, I am of lowly status and have no right to call a doctor. You should not go." Cui Niang opened her eyes and looked at Lan Qin.

"Don't worry about it, I'll make sure you get it!" Lanqin patted Cui Niang's hand reassuringly, then ignored her attempts to stop her and rushed out of the room.

"Xi Cha, Nian Xue, come here for a moment!" Lan Qin called out from the courtyard.

Upon hearing Lanqin call out, the two maids naturally put down what they were holding and immediately came out.

"Xi Cha, hurry into Cui Niang's room and apply a towel soaked in cold water to her forehead; she has a high fever!" Lan Qin said urgently. "Nian Xue, come with me to the Imperial Hospital to fetch a doctor!"

The two maids immediately went their separate ways. Lanqin, supporting Nianxue's arm, hurriedly left the prince's residence. But as soon as she stepped outside, she suddenly realized that she had no idea where the Imperial Hospital was.

Just as the two were getting anxious, a reddish-brown figure suddenly appeared in front of her, and it was none other than the Fourteenth Prince!