"Master, Eunuch Liang has sent someone." Jinju walked in and said to Lanqin, who was playing the zither with Ushihabechuk in the zither room.
"Oh, is something the matter?" Lanqin asked, peeking out in surprise.
"Yes, they said it was urgent!" Jinju said.
Lanqin immediately turned to Wuxiha and said, "You and Bechuk stay here and continue playing the zither. Mother will be right back."
Lanqin followed Jinju outside and saw a young eunuch. She remembered his face; he seemed to be one of the eunuchs who served Emperor Kangxi.
"Eunuch, did Eunuch Liang send you?" Lanqin asked, approaching the young eunuch. The weather outside was so cold that her words immediately turned into white smoke.
The little eunuch's nose was a bit red, probably from the cold he'd gotten on the way here.
"Yes, it was Eunuch Liang who sent this servant. Prince Yong has fallen out with the Emperor, and Eunuch Liang is asking Consort Liang to come up with a solution," the young eunuch said.
Lanqin felt her eyelids twitch and quickly asked, "What's wrong, Your Highness?"
The young eunuch hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should reveal what had happened to the Fourth Prince at Hanjin Hall.
Lanqin noticed his hesitation and quickly took off a jade ring from her hand, saying to the young eunuch, "You've worked hard, sir. Take this and exchange it for some wine. It's freezing cold. Sihua, quickly go and get sir something to warm his hands."
"No, no, this servant wouldn't dare. Consort, you're making me feel terrible. Prince Yong is arguing with the Emperor over there. He was outside freezing for over an hour, and he's completely numb. After he went inside, he started arguing about the construction of the imperial mausoleum. Eunuch Liang knows Consort has a solution, so hurry and go help him," the young eunuch said immediately. He was only afraid of being punished for speaking out of turn.
"Here, take this." Lanqin still placed the jade ring into the young eunuch's hand, saying, "Please thank Eunuch Liang for me. Go back now."
After the young eunuch left, Lanqin felt as if a shadow had fallen over her.
"Master, please take this! It's very cold outside!" Si Hua walked behind Lan Qin and handed her a hand warmer.
Lanqin thought for a moment and then asked, "Where is Hongli?"
"The Sixth Prince is asleep. It's cold, and the little guy doesn't really like to get out of bed," Si Hua said.
"Go, dress him. Go to Changchun Garden!" Lanqin said.
"Now?" Si Hua hadn't heard what the young eunuch had said earlier.
“Go now, immediately.” Lanqin’s face showed a rare calmness and decisiveness.
Si Hua didn't dare to delay and immediately ran into the house.
Lanqin stood in the biting wind, thought for a moment, and then turned and went inside.
To keep Hongli warm, Lanqin draped a thick white woolen shawl over him and had Lanqi and Sihua take turns carrying him. She then held the hands of Shuiling and Jinju, and the group headed towards Hanjin Hall.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince was still kneeling on the unusually cold bluestone bricks, while Kangxi remained as majestic and cold as ever, sitting behind his desk.
The Fourth Prince was silent; his knees were aching from kneeling. He had just said that Zhou Tiangang was not of the right path, which had enraged Kangxi, who had cursed him several times as a rebellious son!
The Fourth Prince, who had always been upright, quiet, and outstanding since childhood, was a reserved and brooding young man. He had never been scolded and punished by Emperor Kangxi like this before, and he couldn't bear it for a moment. In the end, he could only kneel there silently.
"Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince has arrived," Liang Jiugong said as he walked in from outside.
Kangxi, whose face had been cold, couldn't help but say when he heard that Hongli had arrived, "Get up! I don't want Hongli to see you kneeling here."
However, before the Fourth Prince could get up, Hongli had already rushed in.
"Grandpa Emperor!!" He had already been stripped of his white cloak and rushed in like a small cannon. But as Hongli passed by the Fourth Prince and ran towards Kangxi, he naturally saw the Fourth Prince kneeling there.
"Father, why are you kneeling here?" Hongli stopped and looked at the Fourth Prince.
"Hongli, come here, come quickly. Come to your imperial grandfather." Kangxi said hurriedly.
A moment later, Lanqin followed her in. As soon as she entered, she saw Fourth Master kneeling there stiffly, his back not bent at all.
"Daughter-in-law greets Father Emperor!" Lanqin walked to the Fourth Prince's side and bowed to Emperor Kangxi.
"Hmm, why are you here at this time?" Kangxi asked Lanqin while holding Hongli, then glanced at Liang Jiugong. The latter immediately lowered his head, not daring to look directly at Kangxi.
“It was Hongli who insisted on coming to see Father Emperor, wasn’t it?” Lanqin asked Hongli.
"Yes, Hongli misses Grandpa. But, Grandpa, did you make Father kneel as punishment?" Hongli raised his little face and smiled at the child.
"This? Uh, your father made a small mistake, and Grandfather punished him," Kangxi had no choice but to say.
"What exactly did Father do wrong that Grandfather wants to punish him?" Hongli asked, his eyes wide and blinking.
Emperor Kangxi was stumped by this scoundrel. He couldn't very well say that his son had forbidden him from expanding his tomb, which was why he was punishing him!
"Grandpa, why can't you say it? Aren't the mistakes Father makes not necessarily mistakes? Just like when Hongli sometimes disobeys Mother and touches things Mother doesn't allow him to see, Mother doesn't think it's a big mistake. She can't punish him, and she can't not punish him either." Hongli rambled on and on.
Emperor Kangxi was astonished by the child's linguistic talent, even though he was only two years old.
"Um, get up. Hongli has already spoken," Kangxi said to the Fourth Prince.
Lanqin quickly went to help the Fourth Prince up, pulled his arm, and lifted him up from the ground, saying, "Father, the Prince is sometimes a bit stubborn, he really deserves to be punished."
Kangxi snorted and waved to Lanqin and the Fourth Prince, which meant they could get lost.
Lanqin immediately gave her son a wink, and then pulled Fourth Master out of Hanjin Hall in a staggering manner.
As soon as he went outside, Su Peisheng immediately wrapped the Fourth Master's warmest black fox fur cloak around him, and then Si Hua took out some still-hot ginger tea from the basket and brought it to Lan Qin.
"Drink it quickly!" Lanqin brought the ginger tea to Fourth Master's purple lips.
Fourth Master glanced at her, then drank from the bowl she handed him.
"Are you feeling better?" Lanqin asked with concern, noticing that Fourth Master's complexion wasn't as bad as before.
"It's alright! Don't worry." Fourth Master smiled at Lanqin.
"You said you were fine, but look at your hands, they're frozen solid." Lanqin held Fourth Master's hands and breathed on them to warm them.
"How come Hongli is so eloquent? Did you teach him?" Fourth Prince asked, looking inside.
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