Perhaps due to having committed too many wrongdoings, Yehe's mind began to deteriorate. Whenever she saw someone wearing white clothes, she would mutter "ghost!"
After leaving the palace, the Fourth Prince returned to his residence and went straight to the South Courtyard to have dinner with Lanqin. The Second Princess's meals were still provided by the small kitchen, but she rarely came to eat there, and Lanqin didn't force her; everyone understood. The Second Princess was already twelve and had her own mind, so Lanqin was too lazy to have a heart-to-heart talk with her—it was unnecessary and a waste of time. Some people could never be the same kind of person.
Ushiha was dressed in a red silk cotton coat, with two pigtails on her head adorned with strings of coral, agate, and other beads, looking quite festive. Bechuk, who was already six months old, was also dressed in a pink cotton coat and was crawling and playing on the warm couch.
"Father!" Ushiha called out in a childish voice to the Fourth Master who had just entered the room.
"Hey, come here, Ushiha, let your father hug you." Fourth Master had been in a bad mood, but when he suddenly heard Ushiha's voice, which was full of a sweet, childlike tone, his heart warmed.
"Master, let's get rid of the chill in your body first. Nianxue, help me wash my hands and face." Lanqin carried Biechuk down from the warm couch.
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master immediately stopped his hand from hugging Wuxiha. The little boy standing on the ground immediately wilted, staring at Fourth Master with his big, bright eyes, and then followed behind him with his chubby little legs.
Looking at Wuxiha's expression, Lanqin laughed and said, "They say daughters like their fathers more than their mothers, but it seems Wuxiha likes her grandfather more. He sticks to me every time he comes."
With Nianxue's help, Fourth Master washed his face and hands, and removed the chill from his body, before reaching out to pick up Wuxiha from the ground and holding him in his arms.
“You’re always staring at her, so naturally she’s not interested. When I come here, they’re all asleep, so they’re naturally excited to see me.” Fourth Master immediately felt much better. He and Lanqin each held one of their daughters and stood under the eaves of the main house, as fireworks began to rise in the sky outside.
As the year draws to a close, some people in the capital have already begun setting off fireworks. The two, each holding a child, stood on the steps, watching the sky, brilliantly colored yet returning to calm, in silent admiration. Their two children, Ushiha and Bechuk, babbled as if sharing their thoughts on the fireworks. The maids inside the house remained undisturbed by the family's tranquility.
"Master, the pots are all ready. We can't stand outside for too long." In the end, it was Cui Niang who walked to the door and said to Lan Qin and Fourth Master's backs.
The two then withdrew their lingering gazes and returned to their rooms. The maids had already set the dining table and placed the pots on it. The wet nurses of the two children took their respective young masters from Lanqin and the Fourth Master's arms.
Ushiha, however, was reluctant to get down from Fourth Master's arms, clinging to his neck and whining, "I want Father to hold me, I want Father to hold me."
Lanqin watched her eldest daughter snuggling in Fourth Master's arms and said with a smile, "Wuxiha, don't delay your father's meal. Go play with your sister for a while, okay?"
The little girl looked a lot like the Fourth Prince, and reluctantly reached out her chubby little hand to her wet nurse.
"Ushiha, your father will play horseback riding with you later. Now go play with your sister for a while," Fourth Master said, looking at her.
Ushiha loved playing horseback riding with Fourth Master, and immediately began waving his hands wildly in the air, an exaggerated smile appearing on his face.
Lanqin sat opposite Fourth Master and asked, "Your face was frighteningly dark when you came back, did something happen?"
The Fourth Master was no longer feeling so uncomfortable. He picked up a piece of tofu and said, "What's wrong? Does my face look so bad?"
Lanqin smiled and said, "It's like someone owes you a million taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master couldn't help but laugh; no one had ever described his expression like that before.
“Those people in the Imperial Household Department are truly despicable. As soon as Thirteenth Prince left, they dared to casually offer some things to Thirteenth Prince’s family. I went and scolded them,” Fourth Prince said.
“The Thirteenth Prince is usually good-tempered, but those people are very good at reading the room. Has someone hinted to them to do this?” Lanqin said, thinking that this was the crucial moment when the Crown Prince was to be deposed.
"I don't know. Thirteen has always been kind to everyone, so who would want to kick someone when they're down?" A sharp glint flashed in Fourth Master's eyes.
“The Thirteenth Prince has always been on good terms with Master, but now that he has suffered such a calamity, who would have thought that this would be adding insult to injury? He must be targeting Master,” Lanqin said.
"Alas, Thirteen has been truly wronged this time. He was originally sent by Father to keep an eye on the Crown Prince, but he was implicated by the Crown Prince instead. The Crown Prince is perfectly fine in the palace, while he was sent to such a place." Fourth Prince immediately lost his appetite and put down his chopsticks.
Seeing the pain on Fourth Master's face, Lanqin quickly reached out and patted the back of his hand on the table, saying, "Master, everyone has their own destiny. Perhaps Thirteenth Master is destined to face this calamity. After he passes through this ordeal, his path will be smooth and successful."
Fourth Prince looked at Lanqin, nodded, and said, "Now that the Crown Prince is about to be deposed, Prince Zhi has returned to the capital without permission, and the Third Prince is having a long talk with his advisors behind closed doors; the Eighth and Ninth Princes are also making trouble. I'm afraid things won't be peaceful this year."
Lanqin pondered the events of the Kangxi reign that year. It seemed that at the end of the year, the Crown Prince was deposed for the first time. Then, the Eighth Prince was recommended by the officials to be the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, the decision on whether to depose or establish the Crown Prince should be made by Father Emperor and the court officials. Your Highness should not get involved." Lanqin almost blurted out that she wanted to warn the Fourth Prince not to get involved at this time.
"Why? Does Master also want to compete?" Fourth Master asked subconsciously. He knew that Lanqin often had some unexpected thoughts.
“The Crown Prince hasn’t been deposed yet. In fact, at this time, the Emperor is most afraid of anyone making a scene in front of him. Think about it, the Crown Prince is, after all, the heir apparent whom the Emperor has been raising since childhood. Now that he has been deposed, doesn’t that, from a certain perspective, indicate that the raising of the Crown Prince was a failure?” Lanqin immediately quoted what her mentor had told her and her doctoral students when they were learning about this history.
The Fourth Prince was secretly startled, thinking to himself: This little woman is indeed very clever. Yes, the Crown Prince being deposed means that the Crown Prince personally groomed by Father Emperor is not up to any good. At this moment, Father Emperor must be in a very bad mood, because no one likes to deny their own decisions, especially when that person is the supreme emperor.
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