After finishing her dinner, Lanqin returned to her study alone to continue drawing the unfinished painting of the lotus pond.

Granny Wang's words kept echoing in her mind: she should be like all the other women in the inner quarters, hoping for the master's favor, enduring his suspicion and neglect, and gradually growing old in this small world of the inner quarters...

"Yinzhen, Lanqin doesn't want to be that kind of woman," Lanqin said, gazing at the ethereal painting of a lotus flower before her, a painting that exuded a noble and pure beauty.

"What kind of woman do you want to be?" Fourth Master couldn't help himself and came to the South Courtyard early. He didn't let anyone follow him or announce his arrival, and walked straight in. Sure enough, he saw the little woman standing in front of the desk, staring blankly.

Lanqin looked in the direction of the voice and, sure enough, it was the man she missed day and night, the man who caused her so much heartache. Lin Mengyao thought her 30-year-old heart could hardly bear this kind of agonizing pain for a man anymore. She never wanted to experience the heartache she felt when she broke up with that boyfriend again, but now, when that feeling came over her again, the pain was almost unbearable.

The Fourth Prince looked at the little princess and found that she had indeed lost weight. No wonder, she couldn't get used to the food from the Imperial Kitchen.

Lanqin looked at Fourth Master, whose face was still so cold it could freeze a person. He seemed to have lost some weight. Humph, without Chef Niu's meals, how could those people in the main kitchen truly serve him with their hearts!

"This humble servant greets Your Highness!" Lanqin stepped out of the chair and greeted the Fourth Master.

"What kind of woman did you just say you didn't want to be?" Fourth Master slowly walked up to Lanqin, suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her close, then held her waist with one hand, pulling Lanqin into his arms.

Lanqin hadn't seen the Fourth Master this closely in a long time. He had indeed lost weight, and even had stubble on his chin.

Has he not been very happy these past few months?

Lanqin couldn't help but think this, but she didn't realize that he was feeling just as bad as she was!

"You've lost weight..." Lanqin couldn't help but reach out and stroke the Fourth Master's chin. She had just been struggling with whether or not to let her heart flutter for this man. But the next moment, she felt an overwhelming pity for him...

Looking into those eyes as clear as autumn water, the words that Yingying uttered from her red lips caused a sharp pain in his heart.

Without saying a word, he suddenly pressed his lips to hers, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her passionately.

Lanqin was initially a little stunned, but as the Fourth Master's actions became more intense, her initial resistance gradually wavered.

The two of them groped around each other, hoping to find a sense of familiarity in one another.

Lanqin wanted to continue indulging in this familiar feeling, but the pain of being suspected and confined by the Fourth Master could not be ignored.

She clenched her teeth, and he sensed her resistance, so he gradually released her.

"Strange Master?" Fourth Master had never been rejected by a woman before, but today he was being rejected by this little woman, and he felt a little uneasy.

Yes, Fourth Master was actually afraid that Lanqin would always hold a grudge about this matter and would never be able to open up to each other and express their true feelings like they used to.

The reason he felt she was different from others was that she didn't fawn over him, wasn't hypocritical, and wasn't scheming...

"Yes, it's strange that you don't believe Lanqin. I'm very injured here." Lanqin pointed to her heart.

"I had no choice back then. Many times, I was powerless to change my situation," the Fourth Prince said. He had never confided these innermost thoughts to any woman before. A prince, yet he was powerless to control his own destiny!

"I understand, but I don't want to understand," Lanqin said.

In that wicked feudal society, women had absolutely no human rights.

Fourth Master looked at Lanqin. He knew that this young woman's thoughts were indeed different from those of other women. Yet, he actually liked this difference in her!

"I'm investigating Huanbi!" Fourth Master said.

“Huanbi is just a pawn. If you don’t deal with the person who played the pawn, there will probably be more turmoil in the backyard,” Lanqin said.

"Who is the one playing the game?" Fourth Master asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This concubine does not know who could have stirred up such a storm in the inner court, causing Your Highness to imprison a concubine and a favored concubine?"

After Lanqin finished speaking, she curled the corners of her mouth and said.

Fourth Prince gave Lanqin another deep look, thinking to himself: Little Princess is indeed a clever one.

"Master is going to Jiangnan. May I come with you?" After saying this, the Fourth Prince never expected that he would ask a woman's opinion. In fact, he never needed to ask any woman in the inner quarters whether she wanted to accompany him.

"I am still under house arrest, and I am also burdened with the crime of plotting to harm Yan Yu and the child in her womb! If you say you will take me to Jiangnan at this time, I'm afraid it will be difficult to bear the weight of this responsibility!" Lanqin raised her eyebrows again.

"I told you I'm investigating Huanbi!" she protested. He reached out and pulled her up by the waist, his voice hoarse.

Lanqin wanted to say something, but her mouth was sealed shut once again.

The Fourth Master had probably not been to the inner quarters for a long time, and he roamed over Lanqin's body with insatiable desire.

The two embraced and kissed so passionately they could barely breathe before Fourth Master finally released Lanqin.

He suddenly scooped Lanqin up in his arms and carried her to the couch behind the desk.

It was quite some time before Fourth Master personally wiped Lanqin's body, and then they each got dressed.

"I'll go back to the front yard," Fourth Master said.

"I won't see you off!" Lanqin said with a hint of sarcasm.

Fourth Master flicked Lanqin's head and solemnly said, "I promise you, as long as the person who played the chess piece is investigated and punished, I will not tolerate it."

After Fourth Master left, Lanqin specifically called Nianxue over for questioning.

"When did you start hiding things from me?" Lanqin stared at Nianxue and asked.

"Princess, I didn't mean to deceive you. I wanted to tell you that you have something on your mind." Nianxue saw that the Fourth Master came out of the study very late and thought that Lanqin had made up with him. However, judging from the meaning of her question, it seemed that she didn't mean that.

"Do you know that if I let this matter go easily, it will happen again in the future? Can I avoid it every time? Will Master always believe me?" Lanqin said seriously.

"This servant did not think as carefully as Your Highness, please punish me!" Nianxue had never seen Lanqin speak to her so seriously before, and she immediately felt uneasy, so she knelt down and wept.

"Why are you kneeling down? Don't kneel down all the time, get up!" Lanqin hurriedly stood up from the chair, walked to Nianxue's side, and pulled her up.

"Princess!" Nianxue couldn't help but shed tears.

"Silly girl, I don't mean to blame you. I'm just telling you that if we want to live a good life in this inner courtyard, we can't do it the way we used to." Lanqin picked up a handkerchief and wiped Nianxue's tears.