“That year, he was six years old, and I was nine. Father would sometimes arrange for us to play together. I knew that his mother was my mother, and I also knew that I had been adopted by the Empress. So whenever I had something good, I would think of him and want to give it to him to play with. Because he was my younger brother, I also wanted to take the opportunity to see my own mother more often. Back then, she wasn't like this to me now.” The Fourth Prince's voice was choked with sobs, a deep baritone voice crying.

Lanqin was momentarily at a loss. The usually aloof and expressionless Fourth Prince had cried in front of her, his little princess.

Freud said: Every abnormal adult has a tragic childhood.

Well, while the Fourth Prince isn't a pervert, his personality is among the most reserved and aloof of all the princes.

“Your Highness, everyone makes mistakes. The greatest virtue is to correct them after recognizing them.” Lanqin felt her words were somewhat inadequate. She understood that the mistake the Fourth Prince had made might be a knot in his heart that he could never let go of for the rest of his life. This knot had caused his already thin mother-son relationship with Consort De to become even more distant and estranged, and it had also made it difficult for him to get close to his own younger brother, the Fourteenth Prince.

"He's allergic to peanuts, but I've never given him any. I really don't know how a single peanut could kill someone!! How could it be?" Fourth Master looked up at the starless night sky, where even the moon, which had been so bright just moments before, had now hidden behind the clouds.

The Sixth Prince, Yinzhuo, died from a peanut allergy!?

Upon reaching this conclusion, Lanqin was astonished and speechless. She knew that children with peanut allergies should absolutely avoid any food containing peanuts. Many people with allergies become very sensitive after eating peanuts, immediately experiencing respiratory symptoms such as coughing and asthma. Asthma sufferers, in particular, experience a rapid worsening of symptoms after eating peanuts. In severe cases, acute laryngeal edema can occur, leading to suffocation and endangering life.

"Master, don't you know that the Sixth Prince is allergic to peanuts?" Lanqin asked.

“I know, Mother once told me he couldn’t eat peanuts or nuts. I shouldn’t have given him anything to eat, but it was just chestnut cake, which I thought was delicious, so I specially gave him a few pieces to try, and then…” Fourth Prince probably still doesn’t understand why his chestnut cake took Sixth Prince’s life. When he recounted this secret, his mood and tone were still unusually agitated and incredulous.

A terrible thought flashed through Lanqin's mind: someone had used the then nine-year-old Fourth Prince to kill the Sixth Prince, Yinzhuo.

Damn it, Lin Mengyao, have you been watching too many palace dramas? Maybe Yinzhu really did die from an accidental food allergy.

Lanqin tried to shake off the jumbled thoughts in her mind: so many years had passed, the people involved were probably all gone, how could she possibly find out? But this was too cruel for the Fourth Prince; Lanqin didn't know how he, only nine years old at the time, could bear the death of the Sixth Prince. How did Consort De cope with this? Did this event further rift their mother-son relationship?

"Master, it's all in the past. You didn't mean it. It was the Sixth Prince's fate. He won't blame you." Lanqin decided not to voice her wild thoughts and could only comfort him in this way.

"But she will always blame me. I will never get her forgiveness and love." Fourth Master turned around and looked at Lanqin behind him. His eyes were already wet with tears, but at this moment they shot out a look of despair that even Lanqin was moved by.

Facing this seemingly insightful woman, the Fourth Prince revealed a secret he had never told anyone before. Since the death of the Sixth Prince, he had never visited Yonghe Palace or seen Consort De. Although she hadn't said anything, Consort De had never opened her heart to the Fourth Prince since then. Even after the death of Empress Xiaoyiren, the ten-year-old Yinzhen did not return to his biological mother's side, but instead lived with Emperor Kangxi for two years before being sent to the Princes' quarters.

Heaven knows how much he hoped Consort De would take the initiative to bring up the matter with Emperor Kangxi, asking for the Fourth Prince to return to Yonghe Palace. However, when he learned that Consort De was more than five months pregnant, he understood that she would not ask for him back. With his sixth brother dead, Emperor Kangxi, perhaps out of guilt or to appease the then "advanced age" of 29, gave her another child.

"Your Highness, Consort De may not be blaming you; she's just protecting you. If her concern for you continues beyond what she was given at the time, then both your situation and hers may face new crises." Lanqin racked her brains, searching through the secrets and unofficial histories of the Qing Dynasty. She found no mention of the death of the Sixth Prince, Yinzhuo, only a single sentence. Lanqin tore off a handkerchief from her chest and handed it to the Fourth Prince.

Suddenly, a startled heron's cry came from the lotus pond, interrupting their conversation.

“Let’s go back in a few days. There are so many letters at the manor that they’re piled up like a mountain. Geng Shi even wrote you a letter.” Fourth Master took the initiative to change the subject.

"Really? What did Sister Geng say? Why didn't Master show it to me?" Lanqin asked in surprise. Although Madam Geng had been trying to curry favor with her, she knew that what she wanted was the Fourth Master, and that was something she couldn't give him unless the Fourth Master took the initiative to do so himself.

The two stood by the lotus pond for a while before holding hands and walking back.

After they had walked so far that they could no longer hear their footsteps, a figure suddenly emerged from the bushes behind where they had just stood. The figure was elongated and thin in the moonlight.

Su Peisheng was talking to Nianxue, instructing her on how to serve the master the next morning, when Lanqin came back with the Fourth Master, whose expression had softened.

"Let's go back to sleep," Lanqin said without any hesitation.

The Fourth Prince looked bewildered... Sometimes, this little princess speaks too bluntly, completely lacking the demeanor of a master.

Su Peisheng, Nianxue, and Huanbi could only pretend they hadn't heard anything and followed behind the two of them with their backs bent.

After the two finished washing up, took off their outer clothes, and got into bed, Lanqin slept soundly in Fourth Master's arms.

She was exhausted that day. However, it was also a day she was genuinely happy. The Fourth Master had opened his heart to her; he was no longer the aloof and unapproachable Fourth Master.

Seeing the little princess fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, the Fourth Prince shook his head, thinking to himself: When have other women ever dared to fall asleep before me? They're all craving my favor. However, after what happened at the lotus pond, the Fourth Prince had finally poured out his heart, a knot that had been in his heart for years. Although nothing was resolved, it felt good to have someone to talk to. That knot in his heart had truly been a burden he carried for far too long, too exhausting.

Fourth Master held Lanqin in his arms and closed his eyes, silently saying in his heart: Qin'er, although I can't have only you, I will always be good to you. I want you to stay with me for the rest of my life.