After Lanqin and the others stayed at the Shuntian Prefecture's temporary palace for three or four days, Kangxi planned to set off again. This time, Shuntian Prefecture provided a total of one hundred horses, a large amount of grain, and some charcoal. When the imperial carriage left Shuntian Prefecture, the Shuntian Prefect and the officials, as usual, lined up to see him off, making Lanqin feel the honor of being a family member of a national leader. As for the Fourth Prince, Kangxi appointed him as the "Temporary Chief of Staff of the Imperial Carriage," meaning that whatever happened should be reported directly to him for handling, and if he couldn't handle it, he would report to Kangxi. Upon hearing this appointment, Lanqin thought to herself: "That old man Kangxi is quite good at shirking his responsibilities. Isn't this going to kill my Fourth Prince with work?" Because of this job, the Fourth Prince rode around the imperial carriage every day, handling all kinds of emergencies and reporting everything to Kangxi at any time.
This journey was expected to last at least ten days. Kangxi designated Dezhou as the destination for resupply. There were no major cities in between, so they generally camped in the suburbs. To take the shortest routes, the imperial carriage sometimes traveled for days on end in the wilderness. For Lanqin, who always loved to play, these days were quite boring, while for Yanyu, it was like hell. Although the accompanying doctor gave her medicine to alleviate motion sickness, Yanyu had always been frail and, previously a sheltered young lady confined to her residence, found this military life too difficult. Chunliu, along with several maids including Yunyuan and Chuntao, took turns caring for her. The Fourth Prince, seeing this, also frequently visited. Lanqin visited a few times, but seeing Yanyu constantly in a semi-conscious state, she stopped going.
That day, the imperial carriage stopped for a meal in a desolate place. The eunuchs from the imperial kitchen began to cook together, and it was at this time that those who had been sitting in the carriages could get out and move around. Lanqin, holding onto Nianxue's arm, jumped out of the carriage. Xicha, Ziran, and Li Shubao also got out of their carriages; their backs and legs were sore from sitting all day.
“Princess, we must be approaching Cangzhou soon. The mountains here are rolling, so we should be close to Cangzhou.” Li Shubao, who was from Cangzhou, said to Lanqin. He had fled to the capital after a famine in his hometown, and was later tricked into becoming a slave.
“You recognize this place? I’ve never been to Cangzhou before. It doesn’t seem to be a tourist hotspot!” Lanqin said casually, gazing absently at the mountains.
Li Shubao clearly didn't know what "tourist paradise" meant. He blinked at Lanqin's profile, unsure how to respond.
Lanqin suddenly realized that she had used a new word again, and said to Li Shubao, "Let's go, let's walk around and see if there's anything fun."
So the master and servants strolled around the Fourth Prince's carriage. Lanqin found everything fascinating, looking at this and that, and even caught a few grasshoppers to scare Xicha.
The actions of the group brought a touch of joy to the otherwise somber evening, as the imperial carriage was filled with laughter. Lanqin was heard shouting that she wanted to catch grasshoppers, and then instructing Li Shubao to catch guinea pigs in the grass. Even the princess from the Fifth Prince's house behind the Fourth Prince's residence was attracted by Lanqin's playful noise.
"What are you doing?" A soft, melodious voice, like a nightingale's song, came from behind Lanqin. It was Princess Shumulu, whom Fifth Master had brought with him this time. She was fair-skinned and beautiful, and wore a pale yellow cheongsam. Standing there, she was as agile and lively as a yellow oriole.
“We’re catching loaches. There seem to be some in this puddle.” Lanqin told Li Shubao to take off his boots and socks, roll up his trousers, and walk barefoot into the puddle to catch loaches.
“Then I’ll watch it with you. Being cooped up in that car, I’m practically getting moldy,” said Shumulu.
The two princesses and several maids chattered around the muddy patch, instructing Li Shubao to dredge here and there, completely unaware that more and more people were gradually gathering behind them.
"Why didn't you call me, Your Highness, if there's something so fun to do!" The Fourteenth Prince rode over on his horse.
When Lanqin saw it was him, she couldn't help but frown and said, "It's better not to dirty the Tenth Prince's hands. I'm just having some fun with the servants. Fourteenth Prince, you should go do whatever you need to do!" After saying that, she turned her head back to watch and ignored him completely.
Seeing Lanqin's disrespect towards the Fourteenth Prince, Shumulu suppressed her doubts and bowed to the Fourteenth Prince.
But the Fourteenth Prince seemed not to see her at all, and did not respond to her bow. Instead, he rode up to Lanqin and said, "I'm not afraid of being smuggled. I just like playing with Princess Niu!"
He spoke these words to Lanqin in a very low voice, leaning down, so that almost no one but Lanqin could hear him clearly.
Lanqin turned her head and glanced at the Fourteenth Prince. As soon as she saw his face, which was in the middle stage of the Qing Dynasty, Lanqin wished she could kick the horse's leg under his buttocks so that this troublemaking Fourteenth Prince would disappear from her sight as soon as possible.
“If you want to play, come down and catch it yourself,” Lanqin said.
"How about we start with a contest and see who can catch the first loach?" The Fourteenth Prince was so bored he was practically going crazy. He had finally found Lanqin here and ordered people to catch loaches, so he wasn't going to let it go easily.
At this moment, Lanqin wished she had a needle in her hand so she could pierce the horse's rump and then throw the person in front of her to the ground.
"Begin!" Lanqin stopped talking and continued to Li Shubao, "If you can catch the loach as soon as possible, I will reward you handsomely." Lanqin's playful nature was also aroused.
"You're cheating!" The Fourteenth Prince hurriedly jumped off his horse, took off his straw hat, and threw it to the little eunuch following him.
"You didn't say I couldn't cheat!" Lanqin stuck her tongue out at Fourteen.
Seeing Lanqin's smug expression, Fourteen immediately rolled up the hems of his robe on both sides, then found a hemp rope to tie the clothes to his waist, revealing his undergarments. Several princesses couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh.
The Fourteenth Prince took off his boots and socks and, like Li Shubao, walked barefoot down the muddy puddle, almost slipping and falling.
Seeing this, Li Shubao couldn't help but reach out to help, but was pushed away by him.
"Wait a minute, when I catch a loach, let's see if you can still laugh then!" Fourteen rolled up his sleeves again and started catching loaches.
Seeing that the Fourteenth Prince ignored her, Shu Mulu felt a little displeased. After observing his actions with Lanqin, she had a plan in mind. She whispered a few words to the maid behind her and then stood not far behind Lanqin, watching the people in the mud pit.
Gradually, the news of the Fourteenth Prince catching loaches began to spread among the imperial entourage without anyone noticing.
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