“My lady, I… I don’t want to do these impossible things. But I do like him, and it’s enough for me to like him silently in my heart,” Si Hua said.
Seeing Si Hua's one-sided devotion, Lan Qin felt truly sorry for her and said, "Si Hua, if Young Master Du also has feelings for you, then I will naturally grant your wish. But if Young Master Du has no interest in you, you should withdraw your heart as soon as possible, understand?"
Si Hua's eyes were filled with tears, and she felt both ashamed and embarrassed. She quickly nodded. Shui Ling, who was standing to the side, was also moved and heartbroken to see her like this.
Now, the Fourth Prince was quite excited to see that Du Zhiqian's knowledge of agriculture was indeed profound. In fact, he was very dissatisfied with the fact that land was becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of landlords. However, the Fourth Prince was too busy dealing with various court affairs to have studied the land issue as seriously as Du Zhiqian had. Now, after hearing what Du Zhiqian said, the Fourth Prince was deeply moved and had a long talk with Du Zhiqian in the carriage.
The carriage finally arrived in the ancient capital of Xuchang at dusk, where Fourth Master and his companions found a decent-looking inn to rest. After seven or eight days on the road, with poor food and sleep, everyone wanted to find a place to bathe and get some proper rest as soon as possible.
Fourth Master arranged four rooms for everyone, all top-tier rooms in the inn. Fourth Master and Lanqin shared one room, Sihua and Shuiling shared another, Su Peisheng and Du Zhiqian shared a third, and the two grooms shared a fourth.
After everyone returned to their rooms, Lanqin went back to her own room with Fourth Master. Lanqin immediately rushed to the bedside, looked at it, and then threw herself onto it, spreading her arms and collapsing onto the bed.
"Oh, finally I can sleep in a bed, Master!" Lanqin hadn't had a proper bed for the past few days and had been wanting to find a good bed to get a good night's sleep.
"Why don't we have someone fetch you water so you can take a bath first? Then we can order a whole table of dishes and have a proper meal. If you want to sleep, you still have the whole night to go!" Fourth Master laughed.
"Okay, let's take a hot bath first. Grandpa, shall we stay in Xuchang for a few days?" Lanqin sat up and asked.
"Yes, I've made an appointment with that Young Master Du to go to the outskirts around Xuchang and take a look at the land conditions here. You lot don't need to come along; just rest well at the inn and catch up on some sleep," Fourth Master said.
"Master, may I go out for a stroll?" Lanqin had no desire to stay in the inn.
“You’re unfamiliar with this place. If you run out and something happens, what will you do without me by your side? It’s better not to go out. It’s cold outside, and I’m worried about leaving you women out there,” Fourth Master said.
Lanqin immediately said, "Just have Eunuch Su come along, along with the coachman, it'll be fine."
Fourth Master pondered, “Then Su Peisheng and Gesang must go with us, otherwise I really won’t feel at ease. Also, you can take this thing of mine. When necessary, you can go to the county government office and show it to them, and they will obey your orders.”
After saying that, Fourth Master took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Lanqin. Lanqin thought that Fourth Master would give her some kind of golden token or jade decree, but it turned out to be just an envelope.
Lanqin took out the contents of the envelope. It was a piece of paper with some official documents from the imperial court written on it, and then stamped with the imperial seal.
"Master, this can mobilize troops from the prefecture, making it more powerful than a county magistrate or prefect," Lanqin said as she approached Fourth Master.
"Yes, keep it safe and close to your body. Don't lose it, otherwise you won't be able to ask for help if you encounter any danger. Even if you run to the yamen and say you are a prince's concubine, no one will believe you. After all, they have never seen you before," said the Fourth Prince.
Upon hearing this, Lanqin immediately felt the paper in her hand weigh a ton; it was a symbol of the Fourth Prince's status. Indeed, there were no photographs in ancient times. Once a prince left the Forbidden City, no one would recognize him. After all, there weren't many officials qualified to report to Beijing, and remembering the faces of all the princes was no easy task.
“My lord, you should take him with you yourself. In case of any trouble, you can identify yourself. I won’t run around. With Master Gesang with me, what is there to be afraid of? His martial arts are so good.” Lanqin said, “If you are going away for a few days, I will simply stay home.”
Seeing that Lanqin was quite sensible, Fourth Master thought to himself, "He and I will be gone for three or four days. You must not be able to stand being cooped up here every day. It would be good to let Gesang accompany you to wander around. Remember what I said, don't cause trouble, don't run around, and be sure to take Gesang with you. He is very good at martial arts."
Lanqin nodded and said, "Yes, Master, you should take this with you. Su Peisheng, you should also go with you to serve. I have two maids and Gesang, so there won't be any problems."
The Fourth Prince nodded, then instructed the maids to fetch water for Lanqin to bathe. With the maids' help, the two finally managed to take a bath. The Fourth Prince ordered a feast downstairs, and the eight of them enjoyed a good meal. During their journey, Lanqin hadn't slept or eaten well, and had lost weight.
The Fourth Prince felt sorry for her. When he held Lanqin in his arms to sleep that night, he saw that the little woman had lost weight, but he couldn't bear to hurt her.
"Come sit down and join us, Master?" Lanqin looked at Fourth Master and blinked, "Master is Master Ai now, don't be so formal!"
Fourth Master nodded and had Su Peisheng, the two coachmen, Si Hua, and Shui Ling all get on board.
Lanqin personally served food to Fourth Master, while Du Zhiqian on the other side was talking to Fourth Master. The hostility between them had long since disappeared, and they seemed to be two good friends drinking and chatting together.
Lanqin glanced at Sihua and found that she admired Du Zhiqian greatly. Unfortunately, Du Zhiqian seemed not to notice at all and did not look at Sihua during the meal.
The two coachmen were rather dull and taciturn. Lanqin gestured for Su Peisheng to speak to them and serve them food. Perhaps they had never dined with the Fourth Master before, so they remained very cautious. It wasn't until Su Peisheng repeatedly poured them wine that they relaxed somewhat. The two maids, Sihua and Shuiling, were not afraid at all.
After the meal, both coachmen were a little drunk, and Du Zhiqian was also slightly tipsy. After Lanqin and Fourth Master returned to their rooms, they also went back to their respective rooms.
The next day, the Fourth Master instructed Su Peisheng to stay and serve Lanqin, and also instructed Gesang to take good care of Lanqin's safety. After giving these instructions, the Fourth Master and Du Zhiqian, along with another coachman, boarded a carriage and left the city, agreeing to return in three days.
When Fourth Master left, Lanqin was still asleep; she was too tired. When Lanqin woke up, the outside was already bustling with noise.
"Sihua, Shuiling!" Lanqin sat up and pulled back the mosquito net.
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