The next day, the Fourth Prince took a day off and did not attend court, so he did not get up early in the morning, but slept with Lanqin until Chenshi (7-9 AM).
The two called in a maid to help them change. Lanqin thought for a moment and decided to tell the Fourth Master that Lady Wuya had a fever last night.
"Master, after you fell asleep yesterday, someone from the Uya clan came to invite Doctor Lin." Lanqin was having Sihua comb her hair, and the Fourth Master was also opening his arms, letting Nianxue and Xicha help him change his clothes. Nowadays, Su Peisheng no longer comes in to serve him in such matters; it is Lanqin's maids who serve the Fourth Master when he changes clothes and washes.
Fourth Master was taken aback and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lanqin couldn't detect any emotion in Fourth Master's question; it sounded like a very ordinary question. So she replied discreetly, "He said he had a fever. Doctor Lin went over and prescribed some medicine; he should be fine. I'll send someone over to check on him later."
Lanqin could only say this much; she would never suggest that the Fourth Master go and take a look, as that would be too much of a pretentious display of virtue.
After thinking for a moment, the Fourth Master said, "Alright, I'll go take a look later!"
Upon hearing this, Lanqin felt a pang in her heart and fell silent, letting Sihua comb her hair.
The Fourth Prince seemed oblivious to Lanqin's displeasure and continued, "You're almost three months pregnant now. I'll be going to Mount Wutai with Father Emperor in five days. Help me pack some things."
After putting aside her discomfort, Lanqin quickly asked, "Master, you'll be gone for several months, right? Who will you take with you to serve you?" She was newly pregnant, and with Fourth Master leaving again, she certainly couldn't go with him.
The Fourth Prince seemed not to have even considered this question, casually saying, "Why bring women along when going to a temple with Father Emperor!"
Lanqin's earlier discomfort was somewhat relieved by the Fourth Prince's words. She thought to herself: His feelings for Wuya cannot be erased; after all, she is still his cousin.
"I'm hungry, let's set out breakfast!" Fourth Master glanced at Lanqin's back and saw the little woman's rosy-white face in the bronze mirror.
Lanqin noticed that the Fourth Master was looking at her in the bronze mirror, and she met his deep eyes. She then curled her lips and said, "I want to drink chicken porridge! Master, go to the kitchen and tell Chef Niu that you want the very tender chicken breast."
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master immediately felt a taste in his mouth, nodded, and strode out.
After Fourth Master left the main room, Cui Niang walked up to Lan Qin with a light blue family-style qipao and said, "Master, I sent someone to ask early this morning. They said that Doctor Lin prescribed medicine, and after drinking it and staying up all night, the fever has subsided."
Lanqin breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "Cui Niang, go and invite Sister Geng and the others over. Tell them I miss her and haven't seen her for a while."
Upon hearing this, Cui Niang said, "Does Master want Geng Gege to help look after this person?"
Lanqin nodded and said, "Wuya is definitely not simple. She couldn't hold back any longer and used this method to see Fourth Master."
Cui Niang said, "Does the master suspect that she is pretending to be sick so that the master will go to see her?"
Lanqin nodded and said, "It's just suspicion, so we need to keep an eye on things. I don't like planting spies in other people's areas, but there are some people we have to be wary of."
When breakfast was served, Lanqin had already dressed and come out. She saw that Fourth Master was sitting at the table, ladling porridge for Lanqin.
“I’m afraid I’ll need to bring several trunks of clothes. The temperature in the mountains is unpredictable, and there are also things that I’m used to using. Can Su Peisheng take care of them all by himself?” Lanqin said as she sat down opposite Fourth Master.
"I want to bring Cui Da and Cui Er along, and also have Li Wei come along." Fourth Master placed a bowl of delicious-looking chicken porridge in front of Lanqin.
The maids were all standing around and didn't need to be served anymore. Lanqin could even order the Fourth Master around, so it wouldn't be appropriate for them to interfere.
"Yes, take them with you. It'll be good to have someone to look after you. Does Master have any guards with him?" Lanqin asked.
"No need, Father will take care of them. I'll just take a few of them myself." The Fourth Prince thought of what the deposed Crown Prince had done, which had indeed violated one of Kangxi's biggest taboos.
"Your Majesty, if Father Emperor makes any decision, you don't need to investigate it thoroughly. Just follow it. Father Emperor must have his reasons for doing so," Lanqin couldn't help but advise.
"Yes, don't worry. I know what I'm doing!" Fourth Master said.
After the two finished their breakfast, Lanqin began tidying up Fourth Master's things, and Fourth Master naturally returned to the front yard. Su Peisheng helped tidy up the things there.
This was the first time Lanqin had worried about the Fourth Prince's travel plans. Before she became a concubine, she never seemed to have to worry about these things. Now that she was a concubine, she didn't have the title of principal wife, but she was doing all the work of one.
Seeing that Fourth Master had left, Cui Niang blushed as she left Lanqin's bedroom. She had just asked Jinju to tidy up Lanqin's bed, intending to take advantage of the good weather to air out the quilts and other bedding. But as soon as she pulled back the covers, Jinju saw the marks. Last night, Lanqin and Fourth Master had masturbated in bed, and Fourth Master had ejaculated inside the blankets. Because they were too embarrassed to call someone to change the blankets immediately, they hadn't. After sleeping through the night, the two of them had completely forgotten about it.
“My lady, you haven’t been three months yet, so you can’t do that too often.” Cui Niang always spoke her mind to Lan Qin, and Lan Qin never took offense.
Lanqin hadn't come to her senses yet when she saw Jinju blushing and hugging the blanket, she immediately remembered.
Lanqin felt a little awkward, but forced herself to remain calm and said, "Cui Niang, well, it's not what you think! But the blankets do need to be changed and washed."
Seeing that Lanqin was also embarrassed, Cui Niang could only wave to Jinju, signaling her to go wash and dry her clothes away from the crowd.
Lanqin was embarrassed for a moment before saying to Cui Niang, "Let's start packing Fourth Master's luggage. Just pack it into four categories: food, clothing, medicine, etc."
"Your Highness, please rest. I'll take them to tidy up," Cui Niang advised, seeing that Lan Qin was still doing things herself.
"I'll sit here and direct you. Go get the boxes and get ready to pack. Make sure the luggage is all organized so it doesn't become a mess and something gets left out." Lanqin can no longer maintain the relaxed demeanor she had when she was a princess.
"Master, why do we have to organize our luggage according to these four categories?" This was the first time Cui Niang had ever seen someone organize luggage according to this standard.
“Think about it,” Lanqin said. “When Fourth Master goes out, all he needs is food, clothes, and things to carry on the road. Maybe he’ll run into someone who’s sick or in pain. What else could he possibly encounter?”
"Your Majesty's thinking is truly thorough. I am ashamed of my own in comparison," said Cui Niang.
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