"You mean the 'North Pole'?" Fourth Master said. "In the books left behind by Johann Adam Schall von Bell, he once said that the 'North Star' is near the North Pole. If you find it, you can find due north."

"You know that!" Lanqin suddenly grabbed Fourth Master's arm, looking like she'd been teased. She turned her head and leaned in at a 45-degree angle to Fourth Master's face, pouting coquettishly.

"The weather's nice today, let's find the North Star," Fourth Master said, taking Lanqin's hand and pacing around the campfire.

They looked up, searching for the North Star. Fourth Master pointed out the stars to Lanqin while recounting the legends surrounding the constellation. When Lanqin noticed discrepancies between what she knew and her own, she would offer subtle hints, which intrigued Fourth Master.

As night deepened, a chill crept up from the soles of her feet. Lanqin couldn't help but sneeze.

"Forget it, let's stop looking. Let's sit down by the fire and rest. They should come looking for us first thing tomorrow morning." Fourth Master pulled Lanqin down to sit by the fire.

"Master, can't we sleep at the same time? What if wild beasts come?" Lanqin snuggled into Fourth Master's arms and looked up at his face, which was illuminated by the firelight.

"Hmm. You go to sleep for a while. I'll take care of things." Looking at the delicate face in front of him, the Fourth Prince felt a surge of joy and comfort. This little princess was quite sharp-minded; she was someone he could talk to for a bit.

Lanqin disregarded the rules and peacefully fell asleep in Fourth Master's arms.

The damp branches in the fire creaked and groaned, as if in mournful complaint. The scorching heat pounded against the leaves, causing them to murmur and rustle in alarm. Streaks of golden and red flame danced merrily, sparking and even the stars in the sky seemed to wave to them.

Looking at the girl in his arms, the Fourth Prince felt a sense of peace, just like Lanqin's serene sleeping face. Thanks to Lanqin's mediation, the two young princes finally stopped clashing with each other and began to play together like brothers. Thinking of this, the Fourth Prince tightened his grip on Lanqin's lower back.

Gradually, his handsome eyes closed, and he fell asleep.

As the sun peeked out from the horizon, the fire in the bonfire gradually died down. The woods were bustling with activity in the early morning, the calls of various birds rising and falling like a concert, never ceasing.

Lanqin pouted and lay on Fourth Master's lap, occasionally turning her head away in dissatisfaction.

Fourth Master had already woken up. He huddled up, watching the first rays of sunlight stream into the woods. The chill of the early morning, like the last gasp of a fierce ruler, was often the coldest.

Fourth Prince wanted to get up and move around to warm himself up, but the little princess in his arms was sleeping soundly.

Seeing her cowering in his arms, Fourth Master raised his hand to hold the back of her head, then whispered in her ear, "The wild beast is coming!!"

Lanqin felt an itch in her ear, so she slapped it onto Fourth Master's mouth.

Fourth Master's face darkened...

Just then, a series of shouts came from over.

“Master…Princess…” It was Su Peisheng’s voice, hoarse with anxiety.

"Fourth Brother... Fourth Brother..." It was a young boy's voice. The Fourth Prince frowned as soon as he heard it: Why is the Fourteenth Prince here?

Before Fourth Master could wake Lanqin, the shouts grew closer and closer. Finally, Su Peisheng, the servant, cried out with a joyful and tearful voice, "Master, we've finally found you!"

Immediately afterwards, more and more footsteps approached.

Then everyone saw this scene: Fourth Master was sitting on the ground, with Princess Niu still lying in his arms, and in front of them was a pile of burnt black wood ash.

At this moment, apart from the Fourteenth Prince and Su Peisheng, everyone else automatically and neatly turned around.

This Princess Niu, even in this situation, still let her master force himself to hold her and sleep! Su Peisheng hurriedly rushed over, trying to wake Lanqin, but was stopped by the Fourth Master.

"Did you bring any clothes?" Fourth Master asked in a deep voice.

"I brought it, I brought it. Master, you scared this servant to death." Su Peisheng scrambled to his feet, ran to a horse carrying a bundle, and pulled out a cloak belonging to the Fourth Master.

"Put it on her!" Fourth Master said softly as Su Peisheng tried to put it on himself.

Su Peisheng was taken aback, but immediately crawled over to Lanqin's side, and carefully draped Fourth Master's cloak over her.

A sharp-eyed servant rummaged through the bundle and brought over a cloak. Su Peisheng took it and draped it over the Fourth Master.

The Fourteenth Prince was surprised to see that his usually cold and taciturn Fourth Brother had such a tender side, and he became extremely curious about Lanqin.

What kind of woman is she that could make Fourth Brother lower himself in front of so many people, sitting on the ground and refusing to get up, just for the sleeping person in his arms?

A row of people stood quietly around Lanqin and Fourth Master without saying a word.

Perhaps it was because the gazes of the crowd had electric waves, Lanqin began to dream. In her dream, she felt that many eyes were staring at her from all around.

A sense of dread washed over her, and she suddenly opened her eyes. Sure enough, there were many eyes!

"Eunuch Su, you've arrived!" Lanqin looked up and saw Su Peisheng kneeling beside Fourth Master, and immediately felt at ease.

“Princess Niu, after you rushed into the woods yesterday, we servants thought you and the master were just running around for a while, so we didn’t pay any attention to it. After waiting for half an hour and seeing that you still hadn’t come out, I sent someone to ride in and find you. Coincidentally, the Fourteenth Prince just arrived at the estate, so we came together.” Su Peisheng was truly adept at handling people, explaining the whole story clearly in just a few words.

Seeing that Fourth Master remained silent with a sullen face, Lanqin thought that he had been holding her like this all night and his legs must be numb. So she nodded to Su Peisheng, and the two of them helped Fourth Master up, one on each side.

However, the Fourth Prince was too tall, and Lanqin, who was 1.6 meters tall, seemed too short. The Fourth Prince said to the Fourteenth Prince, who was standing to the side, "Yinti, come and help me."

The Fourteenth Prince responded and went over, glancing at Lanqin before taking the Fourth Prince's arm. Because he had been sitting on the cold ground for too long, his legs felt extremely sore and stiff.

Fourth Master was practically half-carried and helped onto the horse.

Lanqin felt deeply guilty, but also very moved. A question suddenly occurred to her: Fourth Master was indeed very good to her; the fact that he took care of her all night like this must mean more than just doting.

Fourth Master, is it true love? She had never thought that Fourth Master would really fall in love with her, or what it would be like if she fell in love with Fourth Master.

Lanqin was startled by her own doubts, and so after mounting the horse, she remained out of sorts. The Fourth Master looked back at her several times, only to see Lanqin looking completely bewildered and clueless.