After the court session, the Fourth Prince returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation in a huff, with Su Peisheng jogging behind him.
"Does my word as emperor truly have no effect whatsoever? The Eighth Prince harbors wolfish ambitions; I have already shown mercy by not killing him!" The maidservant who was about to serve tea was startled by the Fourth Prince's stern rebuke, causing her to tremble and smash all the teacups.
Su Peisheng quickly straightened his expression and angrily rebuked, "What kind of work are you doing? Get out of here now!" The maid bowed and retreated.
While personally cleaning the teacup dregs, Su Peisheng advised, "Your Majesty, please calm down; your health is paramount!" Seeing that the Fourth Prince was frowning and silent, Su Peisheng tentatively asked, "The Noble Consort Xi came to the Hall of Mental Cultivation this morning to invite Your Majesty to Changchun Palace. Does Your Majesty wish for me to prepare a sedan chair now?"
Upon hearing that Lanqin had been there, the Fourth Prince's expression immediately softened. He had been too busy with state affairs to spend much time with Lanqin lately, so he said, "I also want to see Qin'er. Let's go!"
Lanqin heard early in the morning that a great fire had broken out at the Eighth Prince's residence the previous night, burning the main hall to the ground. Fortunately, no one else was in the main hall; only the Eighth Prince's wife perished. When she was found, she was still lying curled up on the bed, showing no sign of trying to escape. Lanqin silently thought to herself, this was clearly self-immolation!
The Fourth Prince arrived at Changchun Palace with a cold face. The maids, sensing their mistress's somber mood, dared not laugh or speak. After bowing to the Fourth Prince, they quickly made way for him. As the Fourth Prince approached, Lanqin had changed into a casual pale yellow silk dress that flowed down from her chest. She wore a soft silk shawl embroidered with pomegranates and a hundred flowers, and leaned against the imperial concubine's couch, silently playing with her teacup.
Fourth Master turned Lanqin's shoulder and slowly said, "Qin'er..."
Lanqin sat up, turned around and smiled, then pulled Fourth Master to sit down with her, leaning against his chest and whispering, "Master, are you troubled by something?"
The Fourth Prince breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Lanqin in his arms, a warm feeling rising in his heart: "You must already know about the matter of the Eighth Prince's Mansion. The Eighth Prince's old faction from the previous dynasty used the Eighth Princess's self-immolation to force me to compromise." Speaking of this matter, the Fourth Prince was still indignant and gritted his teeth.
Lanqin sensed the Fourth Prince's heart pounding and knew he was troubled, so she asked softly, "Will the Emperor release him?"
The Fourth Prince was taken aback, already knowing the answer in his heart. How could he just let go of the leverage he had finally managed to seize? Lanqin understood, slowly propped herself up, and said to the Fourth Prince, "Since I am unwilling to let go, why not just exile her..."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince stood up angrily and said, "Wouldn't exiling him be the same as setting him free? I don't believe he'll behave himself..."
Lanqin hurriedly stood up, grabbed Fourth Master's sleeve, and explained, "Master, please let me finish. Eighth Master's old clique just needs an explanation. Eighth Master has no chance to turn things around now, how could they not know that? This exile is not the same as the exile of the past; it's just a change of place of imprisonment."
A glint of cunning flashed in the Fourth Prince's eyes as he murmured, "You mean I ordered the Eighth Prince's exile? In name only, an exile, but actually a transfer to a different place where he's being held?" Lanqin nodded slightly, knowing the Eighth Prince was unlikely to be released. She felt a pang of sadness at the death of the Eighth Prince's wife, but still firmly said, "Your Highness should announce publicly that the Eighth Prince has been exiled and dismissed from his post. This would satisfy the demands from both the court and the public for his release, and would also prove to the world that the Emperor is benevolent. But in reality, we could secretly transfer the Eighth Prince's place of confinement..."
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