"I don't know why, but I seem to be particularly infatuated with her body. However, I don't really care about it afterwards. Qin'er, I've said something to you today that I've never said to anyone else. Even yesterday, when I was with Mother, I didn't say it so clearly," said the Fourth Prince.
Lanqin looked at Fourth Master with an air of matter-of-fact and asked, "How are you now, Master? Is there anything else you need inside?" After saying that, she obediently snuggled into Fourth Master's arms like a little squirrel.
Fourth Master embraced Lanqin and said, "I can't bear to use my Qin'er as an outlet for my frustrations."
Lanqin nestled in Fourth Master's arms, and with a gentle movement, the uneasy feelings in her heart were slowly soothed by Fourth Master's soft words.
"My lord, the imperial physicians have said how to remove this heat from your body. Do you have a plan? If Yehe Shi really drugged you, I'll tear her apart!" Lanqin was furious. She found Yehe Shi truly terrifying; she had secretly given her the jade bracelet without her noticing. If she hadn't suspected it earlier, she might have let her succeed. Now she was targeting the Fourth Prince. Indeed, with the arrival of women from Yehe Shi, the Aisin Gioro clan was facing immense disaster. Lanqin thought of Empress Dowager Cixi of the late Qing Dynasty, a woman from the Yehe Nara clan, and her fear of Yehe Shi grew even stronger.
"The imperial physician has prepared some medicine for you, and you are feeling better now. I have already sent people to investigate her maid again. If I find anything, I will punish her severely without exception," the Fourth Prince said coldly.
"My lord, I suspect that Yehe Shi didn't know the secret of that bracelet back then. She and the Fujin have always had close ties." Lanqin could no longer hold back and simply spoke out.
"Why didn't you tell me back then?" Fourth Master said, pulling Lanqin's shoulders up.
"Your Excellency showed such pity for Sister Yehe back then. If I had said anything then, you might have thought I was determined to kill Yehe," Lanqin said with a hint of sarcasm.
"If it really is her, then this woman is even more despicable than the Fujin!" the Fourth Prince said with disgust.
Meanwhile, Yehe also felt that it was rather strange that the Fourth Prince had suddenly summoned her over today.
"Princess, let me help you wash your face and hands. I reckon the master won't be coming." Yuhen saw that Yehe looked uneasy.
"Yuhen, go to the main courtyard and find out who Zhao Quan is. Tell him to come see me!" After returning, Yehe Shi suddenly felt her palms go cold as she recalled every word the Fourth Master had said to her.
The night outside was pitch black, with almost no light in the winter night. Yuhen hurriedly carried a gas lamp to the front yard. She didn't dare to go looking for Zhao Quan so rashly, knowing that Fourth Master had already gone to the south courtyard.
In order to keep track of Fourth Master's movements, Yuhen made an agreement with Zhao Quan that if she wanted to see him, she should imitate the call of a cuckoo three times on the back side of the front yard, the side closest to Zhao Quan's room.
This is their pre-arranged code!
The wind lashed against them like blades. Yuhen stood in the corner, stamping her feet and muttering under her breath, "Damn weather! It's colder than when it's snowing!"
The Yehe clan is becoming increasingly difficult to please. Despite the cold weather, they insist on sending me out to investigate.
“Yuhen~” A deep voice suddenly came from behind.
Yuhen was frightened all day. She turned to look behind her and saw a thin figure walking towards her!
"Sister Yuhen, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for so long," Zhao Quan said excitedly as he stepped forward.
"What's wrong?" Yuhen asked hurriedly when she saw Zhao Quan's condition.
"It seems that Master has sent someone to investigate Consort Ye's family background and her sister's records of coming and going from the manor. I overheard this, and I don't know anything else," Zhao Quan said.
Yuhen's expression had already changed, but because it was dark, he didn't see it at all.
"Sister Yuhen, I knew it was something. It's so cold, you should go back and tell Gege. I have to go back now," Zhao Quan said, shivering.
"Don't you want the reward?" Yuhen hurriedly took off the gold bracelet that Yehe had given her.
Zhao Quan was about to leave, but upon hearing Yu Hen's words, he immediately stopped in his tracks. He had actually given up on communicating with the Yehe clan, lest he be implicated. But upon hearing Yu Hen's words, his legs involuntarily stiffened.
"This is a gift from the princess. Try to find out what the master is investigating." Yuhen shoved the gold bracelet into his hand.
"Well, my good master kept it a secret very well; I couldn't get any information out of him at all." Zhao Quan weighed the gold bracelet in his hand; it was worth several dozen taels.
"Is this enough?" Yuhen immediately pulled out a money pouch from her bosom, the one Yehe had given her. It contained about fifty taels of silver, which she immediately placed in Zhao Quan's hand.
Zhao Quan weighed the money pouch in his hand, and with the gold bracelet, this reward alone amounted to at least several hundred taels.
"Alright, I'll try to find out more." Zhao Quan finally couldn't resist the temptation of the money and agreed.
After Zhao Quan's figure disappeared into the darkness, Yuhen's expression improved slightly, and she immediately turned around and walked quickly towards the North Courtyard.
After having Yu Lu help her wash up, Yehe went to bed, but she couldn't sleep. The Fourth Master hadn't kept her today, nor had he come, which worried her greatly. The drug Yuhen had given her was actually the most potent aphrodisiac used in brothels. This drug caused the user's internal heat to rise and their yin energy to fall, and after taking it, the user would become particularly infatuated with the first woman in London. This was a common tactic used by brothel women to secretly keep their clients.
She lay in bed, unable to fall asleep, until she heard noises outside. Then she called out through the gauze curtains, "Has Yuhen returned?"
Yu Lu, who was keeping watch outside, said, "Princess, Yu Hen has returned."
"Let her in!" Yehe immediately sat up and said hurriedly.
Yuhen had already pushed open the door to Yehe's room and quietly walked to Yehe's bedside.
"What did Zhao Quan say?" Yehe asked, sitting inside the gauze curtain.
"Princess, Zhao Quan said that Master has begun investigating my whereabouts. I'm afraid Master suspects you," Yuhen said in a low voice. Yulu outside was unaware of their plans.
"Investigate? Investigate what?" Yehe Shi sat up in surprise, her mind racing as she calculated how to deal with the Fourth Prince's suspicions. If he found out that Yuhen had gone to the brothel, the Fourth Prince, being so suspicious, would definitely be suspicious.
"Princess, we need to make plans early. What if the master finds out that we gave him that kind of drug?" Yuhen felt her heart jump into her throat.
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