Lanqin never expected that her attempt to have some fun would lead her to provoke the Fourteenth Prince, and ultimately even Emperor Kangxi.
"I never expected that my Fourteenth Prince would like to play like this!" Lanqin and several maids stood on the edge of the mud pit cheering for Li Shubao. Not only was Shumulu standing beside her, but also Zhang, the Eighth Prince's concubine, and Zhong, the Ninth Prince's concubine, couldn't resist their curiosity and came over from the horse team, which was almost a kilometer away, wading through the mud. The eunuchs and palace servants who accompanied the team had already surrounded the mud pit.
"Father, what brings you here?" The Fourteenth Prince's hands were covered in mud. When he saw Kangxi sitting in a sedan chair, his heart sank. He glanced at the Fourth Prince, who was standing on horseback beside Kangxi, and said sarcastically, "Fourth Brother is really busy. Even such a small matter requires Father to come over!"
Upon seeing Emperor Kangxi arrive, everyone immediately bowed down and knelt on the muddy ground, shouting in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" Even Li Shubao, who was still in the mud, dared not disobey and knelt down.
"Don't wrong your fourth brother. I was also feeling quite annoyed. I heard you were catching loaches here, so I came to see. Get up, all of you!" Kangxi's attitude was quite relaxed, which made Lanqin, who was kneeling on the ground, feel relieved. But when she stood up and saw the fourth prince staring at her with a gloomy face, that feeling of relief vanished instantly.
The meaning in Fourth Master's eyes was very clear: You little brat, you've caused trouble again, let's see how you clean this up!
Lanqin couldn't help but look up and meet that gaze again, replying: "I was just feeling bored, what's wrong with catching a loach? It can be a wild game for you to enjoy!"
"Father, your son has caught a lot of loaches! Look!" The Fourteenth Prince saw the smile on Kangxi's lips and knew that everything was alright. He immediately became childlike and pointed to his personal eunuch.
The little eunuch immediately scurried out of the crowd, his robe tucked into his hand. It turned out he was carrying the loach that the Fourteenth Prince had caught!
Emperor Kangxi looked at the loaches the little eunuch was carrying and smiled slightly, saying, "You've caught quite a few. How about using them as a side dish with my wine?"
Upon hearing this, Lanqin immediately gave Fourth Master a big smile.
"Girl, what are you laughing at!" Suddenly, Kangxi noticed that Lanqin seemed to be smiling at him, and immediately narrowed his eyes and spoke in a more serious tone.
Lanqin was utterly wronged. She was clearly smiling at the Fourth Prince, but she had unexpectedly offended Kangxi again. She immediately withdrew her somewhat smug smile, nodded, and replied, "Your Majesty, I was smiling because of what Your Majesty just said about 'making appetizers'."
Lanqin naturally couldn't say that she was smiling at the Fourth Prince, otherwise it would still be disrespectful to Kangxi: the emperor was speaking, and you were smiling foolishly at your own man, which would be a crime of disrespecting the emperor!
Kangxi turned his gaze and said, "Continue!"
Lanqin suppressed her nervousness and gritted her teeth, saying, "Your Majesty, I originally intended to make a bet with the Fourteenth Prince, that whoever caught the first loach would win. The winner's loach would then be presented to Your Majesty as a wild game treat. However, before we knew it, the Fourteenth Prince and my servants had already caught quite a few loaches. When I heard Your Majesty say this, I couldn't help but laugh."
The Fourteenth Prince was quick-witted. Upon hearing Lanqin's words, he immediately replied, "That's right. Your Majesty and Consort Niu made a bet. Whoever catches the first loach to serve Father Emperor with his wine will win."
In fact, Lanqin had only thought of this in a flash, and she didn't expect the Fourteenth Prince to be so quick to help her cover up the lie. Shumulu, who was standing next to Lanqin, had no idea that they had said such a thing before. She wanted to say that Lanqin had deceived the emperor, but then she remembered that they had whispered a few words to each other that she hadn't heard. If she spoke rashly now, she was afraid that it would cause trouble for herself, so she held back.
Kangxi chuckled, seemingly accepting Lanqin's explanation. He understood the flattery in her words and didn't pursue the matter further. He deliberately put on a stern face and said to the Fourteenth Prince, "Come up here quickly, change your clothes, and have dinner in my tent! Everyone else, return to your own tents. You are not allowed to wander around like this anymore. You can only move within 10 meters of your tent. Otherwise, if we encounter the enemy, the consequences will be unimaginable."
As he spoke these words, Kangxi's expression became extremely stern. He glanced at Lanqin and said to the Fourth Prince beside him, "Let your princess come along too!" Then he said nothing more. Liang Jiugong immediately ordered the eunuchs carrying the palanquin to turn around and carry Kangxi away.
The Fourth Prince said to the crowd who were still standing there, "What are you all standing here for? Hurry up and go back to your tents! Fourteenth Prince, Lanqin, come with me!" After saying that, he turned his horse around and rode towards Kangxi's tent without looking back.
The crowd dispersed, and the Fourteenth Prince, supported by Li Shubao, went ashore. Lanqin instructed Nianxue to fetch water for the Fourteenth Prince to wash up before riding off with him to catch up with the Fourth Prince. Of course, they also took the loaches with them. In addition, Lanqin also asked Nianxue to fetch a large cushion to take with them.
When the Fourteenth Prince saw the large thing trailing behind Lanqin's horse, he couldn't help but ask, "What's that you're carrying now?"
"Of course, it's to please your Emperor Father, so as not to cause trouble again if I'm not careful." Lan Qin thought to herself, "I could have stayed in my tent and had a nice dinner, but now I have to go to the Emperor's tent. Although the food there is better than anywhere else, it's not an easy thing to eat with the Emperor."
Lanqin had never seen Emperor Kangxi's imperial tent before. When she arrived in front of it with the Fourteenth Prince, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly: the emperor's treatment was truly excellent; this tent was even more spacious than a yurt. Compared to her own tent, it simply couldn't compare to this imperial tent.
The Fourth Prince was standing in front of the imperial tent, watching them dismount with a dark expression. After the horses were led away, he walked towards him.
"What are you carrying?" Fourth Master naturally noticed that Lanqin was holding something that looked like a pillow, wrapped in cloth.
"I noticed that Your Majesty is sitting in a palanquin without a cushion, and I would like to offer this to Your Majesty." Lanqin thought that the Fourth Prince would agree, but she didn't expect to be met with a "Nonsense!" from him.
In the past, when he said these words, Lanqin heard nothing but doting and indulgence. But now, looking at the Fourth Master's gloomy eyes and hearing those two words come out of his mouth, Lanqin felt the Fourth Master's anger and reproach for the first time.
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