"Him?" Fourth Master was surprised that Lanqin suddenly brought up Liang the Blind. "Father has now completely severed ties with countries like Britain. If he has a Western doctor by his side, I'm afraid it will arouse his suspicion."

Lanqin anticipated that Fourth Master would say this, and replied, "Dr. Liang also knows traditional Chinese medicine. I will have him accompany you under the guise of a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. When it is necessary for him to use Western medicine, he will play a crucial role for you."

Looking at Lanqin's resolute gaze, Fourth Master was actually convinced by this young woman's words. He didn't know when it started, but Fourth Master's attitude towards Lanqin's words had changed from curiosity and skepticism to conviction, and he even felt that this young woman seemed to be guided by a magical, unseen force.

“My lord, when things get dangerous, it’s always good to have a doctor with you. Western medicine is very effective for knife wounds, and he might even play a crucial role. You should take him with you. Dr. Liang is a medical genius, and I’ve even had someone buy him some Western medical equipment and some Western pills. You just need to tell outsiders that he’s just a bodyguard, and a doctor won’t attract much attention,” Lanqin said.

Fourth Master nodded and said, "I've taken Doctor Liang with me, but what about you and the children? I'll be away for a while, and you and the children are bound to get sick. Why don't we go and invite another doctor to the other courtyard?"

Lanqin quickly stopped her, saying, "Of the two disciples taught by Doctor Liang, there is a female disciple who would be perfect to stay by Lanqin's side and serve her at any time. Master, you don't need to worry."

The Fourth Prince took Lanqin's hand, and for the first time, he truly felt a sense of happiness from being cared for and taken care of. Neither Consort De nor Lady Ulanara had ever given him this feeling before; only this little woman beside him had given him this experience.

Just then, a breeze blew by, and the sea of ​​flowers rippled in the rhythm of the spring wind. Both Fourth Master and Lanqin were so captivated by this beauty that they couldn't bear to disturb it.

Soon, the day for the imperial concubine selection arrived. That year, Emperor Kangxi truly had no interest in the selection, barely appearing at the event, leaving everything to his four consorts. Thus, under the fourth prince's arrangement, the seventh prince married Niohuru Xinyi as a secondary consort, not his primary consort, simply because she was a concubine's daughter and not yet qualified to directly become a prince's primary consort. Fortunately, Xinyi and the seventh prince truly loved each other and she wasn't unhappy about it. Shuhui naturally entered the tenth prince's harem smoothly, while Chen Xiuzhu entered the eighth prince's harem without incident. It is said that the eighth prince's consort, Lady Guoluo, even went to see her aunt, Consort Yi, desperately wanting to prevent the eighth prince from taking any more concubines. However, Consort Yi turned her away, refusing to reveal the reason, only telling her to go back and ask the eighth prince herself. Only three women entered the harem; all the others were assigned to relatives of the imperial family or other princes.

After the imperial concubine selection, Kangxi immediately summoned the commanders of several major military camps to an audience with him. For a time, the court and the country were shrouded in an atmosphere of war preparation. Kangxi rarely even set foot in the inner palace, spending his time in the Qianqing Palace meeting with officials from all sides.

The Fourth Prince had no choice but to return to the Fourth Prince's residence, where he stayed in the front courtyard every day and rarely went to the back courtyard.

At this moment, in the main courtyard, Madam Song and several other princesses came to pay their respects to the Fujin (the wife of the deceased).

"Everyone, please get up and sit down. It's been a long time since I've seen you all. The weather has finally warmed up." Ulanara was wearing an autumn-colored qipao, still looking the same, but her eyes seemed to have lost the smugness and pride of the past. The Fourth Prince had spent the entire winter in the villa with Lanqin, treating his principal wife like a decoration, leaving her unattended and indifferent in the mansion.

"Madam, when will Consort return? The Prince has been back for some time now." Madam Song was worried about Lanqin. She had seen that the Fourth Prince had been back for several days, but Lanqin had not returned with him. She wanted to ask, but dared not go to the front courtyard.

"Since Consort Song cares so much about the concubine, why don't you go and ask the master yourself?" the concubine said with a sneer.

"I dare not. If there is nothing else for you, Madam, I will take my leave now." Madam Song stood up, curtsied to Madam, and prepared to leave.

"Disperse, all of you. I have nothing to say to you now," the Princess said, looking at Madam Song.

"This concubine takes her leave." Both Wu and Geng stood up and curtsied to the Fujin.

After they all left, the Fujin said to Lingxiu, "Did you see that? Even that clay figure, Song, dared to disrespect me. That slut is now being hidden away in a separate courtyard by the Fourth Prince, and I have no way to deal with her. She even thinks she's a Fujin now."

Lanqin's life with the Fourth Prince at the villa, as well as the news of the princes going hunting there together, more or less reached the ears of the Fourth Prince's wife. She could pretend not to know before, but when the Third Prince's wife told her those things, the Fourth Prince's wife could only hold back her anger, but had no one to vent it on.

The only thing that comforted her was that Hongshi was showing more and more talent than other children. He was already over two years old, but he could already recognize characters and recite long primers like the Three Character Classic. After the Fourth Prince returned, the Princess Consort used Hongshi as an excuse to invite him several times, and the Fourth Prince came once, but the Princess Consort felt that she and the Fourth Prince seemed to have nothing left to say to each other except for Hongshi.

“Lingxiu, you saw it, that man came, there were so many dishes on the table, but he didn’t touch a single one. Although this is called the main courtyard, it’s really like a cold palace. He left in such a hurry, as if he couldn’t wait to get away. If it weren’t for Hongshi being here, he probably wouldn’t have come at all.” The Fujin’s words were tinged with sorrow.

Lingxiu didn't know how to comfort the Fujin, so after thinking for a moment, she said, "Our master has two people in this selection, right?"

The princess seemed to have forgotten about it, but Lingxiu reminded her, and she said, "Now the master is only infatuated with that slut. When the new lady arrives, I'm afraid he won't even be able to see her."

Lingxiu said, "After all, they are princesses bestowed by the Emperor. Master can't let them remain virgins forever. It's only a matter of time before he favors them. Let's train them properly and then see how capable these new princesses are."

The princess sighed and said, "One is from the Yehe clan, and the other is from the Nian clan of the Han Banner. When will they come to the manor?"

Lingxiu then said, "When a new lady enters the manor, it's still necessary for the Fujin (principal wife) to discuss it with the master. We can't just leave her outside without her coming in."

The Fujin then sat up straight, straightened her sleeves, regained some of the demeanor of a primary Fujin, and raised her hand to adjust the silk flower at her temple, saying, "Yes, go and invite the Fourth Prince, and tell him to discuss the matter of the new bride entering the manor."