After the two finished their business in London, Eighth Master called for water, washed himself thoroughly, and got dressed before lying down in bed.
“My lady, today I met someone over the overpass who you would never have imagined,” said the Eighth Prince.
"Who?" Eighth Prince's wife asked, nestled against his shoulder.
"Eighteenth Brother!" The Eighth Prince squinted his eyes, turned to the side, and embraced his Eighth Princess Consort.
The Eighth Prince's wife indeed looked up in surprise at the Eighth Prince and said, "Eighteenth Brother? How come he's just a child there? Is someone with him?"
Eighth Prince nodded and said, "It is indeed Fourth Prince's concubine, Niohuru, leading Eighteenth Brother."
The Eighth Prince's wife's eyes flickered slightly as she asked, "Didn't the Eighteenth Brother go out for recuperation? Did he go to the Fourth Prince's residence for recuperation?"
A shadow crossed the Eighth Prince's eyes as he said, "I heard that Consort Wang went to Huangjue Temple. I will send someone to check on her tomorrow."
Hearing the implication in the Eighth Prince's words, the Eighth Princess said, "I will go to pay my respects to my aunt tomorrow and ask her about it. Your Highness suspects that the Eighteenth Prince went to the Fourth Prince's residence, and wonders if Consort Wang is also there?"
The Eighth Prince narrowed his eyes and said, "If that's true, Father Emperor's actions will make the ladies of the harem uneasy."
The Eighth Prince's wife bowed slightly and put her arms around his neck, saying, "Now that you are working in the Imperial Household Department, and with the Ninth Prince acting as your matchmaker, I believe you will definitely reach that point."
The Eighth Prince patted his wife on the back and coaxed her, "Go to sleep. You should wait until tomorrow when I go to see if Consort Wang is at Huangjue Temple before you go to the palace."
The Eighth Prince's wife nodded.
The next day, the Eighth Prince went directly to the Ninth Prince's residence.
Upon hearing that Eighth Master had arrived, Ninth Master forgot all about breakfast and immediately put down his chopsticks to go out and greet him.
"Ninth Brother, Eighth Brother hasn't had his meal yet, so he's come to your residence for breakfast." Eighth Master greeted Ninth Brother, who was dressed in casual clothes.
“It’s an honor to have you here, Brother Ba. Why don’t you use it with me? It’s all ready-made,” said Ninth Master.
The two dined together, and Eighth Master recounted what had happened the previous day. Ninth Master was eager to send someone to Huangjue Temple immediately to take a look.
"Father, what you're doing is really unfair. Why does Consort Wang get this special treatment? Fourth Prince just knows how to flatter and bring everyone to his villa," the Ninth Prince said indignantly.
Ever since they learned that Yan Yu was gone, the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince were depressed for a long time. They had finally managed to place someone in the Fourth Prince's mansion, and not only was Fang Yun removed, but Yan Yu was also gone.
"Ninth Brother, why don't you go to Huangjue Temple today and see for yourself if Consort Wang is there? Then we can go to Fourth Brother's courtyard in Changping, and everything will be clear soon," said Eighth Master.
Old Nine nodded and then instructed Little Five to make preparations immediately.
After the two finished their meal, the Eighth Prince took his own carriage to the palace. The Ninth Prince, on the other hand, took his own carriage all the way to Huangjue Temple.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince and Lanqin had naturally spent another night together. The next day, the Fourth Prince had nothing to do in the palace and did not attend the morning court, so he came to the villa the night before.
Early in the morning, Fourth Master still got up. Lanqin rarely got up with Fourth Master, so naturally she didn't want to get up at this time.
Fourth Master hadn't visited the villa in a long time, and there were some things he needed to take care of, so he took Su Peisheng with him to get things done.
When Lanqin woke up, both children were already playing in the yard, being held by their wet nurse.
Her mother is quite lazy; she gets up later than the children.
"Nianxue, quickly comb my hair. I miss Wuxiha and Xichen so much, I didn't see them last night." As soon as Lanqin opened her eyes, she heard the children's babbling in the yard, and immediately got out of bed, slipped on her shoes and ran to the window to look.
"Master, Consort Wang sent someone early this morning, saying she wants to invite you over." Nianxue said as she took clothes from Lanqin.
"Can she not go? Fourth Master is here early today. If she has anything to do, she can go to Fourth Master." Lanqin was really reluctant to deal with Consort Wang.
“Master, they’ve already invited you, you can’t refuse,” Nianxue said.
Lanqin changed her clothes, combed her hair, dawdled as she put on her jewelry, and cleaned her face.
"Master, Consort Wang has sent someone to invite you again." Nianxue urged Lanqin when she saw her dawdling.
"I have to use it for breakfast, right?" Lanqin said, a little annoyed.
“Master, it will be lunchtime in another hour. You should save room for lunch,” Nianxue said.
“No, I want to have breakfast. Lunch is lunch, and I can’t skip a single meal,” Lanqin protested.
Nianxue knew that Lanqin was reluctant to go to Consort Wang's place, so she deliberately delayed.
"Your Majesty, the Eighteenth Prince has arrived," Xi Cha reported from the doorway.
Lanqin liked him very much and quickly called him in. The eighteenth prince was beaming with joy and greeted Lanqin very obediently as "sister-in-law".
"Sister-in-law, my mother invites you to have breakfast. Why aren't you going?" The Eighteenth Prince saw that Lanqin was all dressed up but still wasn't going, so he came to invite her himself.
Lanqin was momentarily speechless; how could she explain...?
They are, after all, important figures. If you don't go when they ask you to, you're disrespecting Emperor Kangxi.
"Sister-in-law just finished getting ready. Come on, let's go to your mother's." No matter how much Lanqin tried to be unreasonable, she couldn't be unreasonable with the child anymore.
The two chatted and laughed all the way to Consort Wang's courtyard. Consort Wang was wearing a cheongsam of the color of a concubine, with her hair styled in a large, elaborate updo, and her jewelry was also exceptionally extravagant.
Lanqin looked at the jewels and jade on that head and felt a pain in her scalp.
"Lanqin greets Your Excellency." Lanqin bowed to Consort Wang.
"The Consort has arrived. I specifically wanted to tell you today that my son and I have been bothering you for many days, and we think it's best to return to the palace. The Fourth Prince has arrived, so Consort Jing can convey my message," said Consort Wang.
Oh, so they're leaving. No wonder they're dressed so elaborately; they're going back to the palace.
"Is the Eighteenth Prince feeling better? Why don't you stay a little longer?" Lanqin urged.
Eighteen didn't realize his mother was planning to leave, which was why she had sent him to fetch his sister-in-law. He immediately became anxious and almost cried, looking at Consort Wang and saying, "Mother, I want to stay here a few more days. Mother~"
“Nonsense! Now that you’re better, if you don’t go back soon, your father will worry. We can’t just stay here forever; even Mother has time limits for leaving the palace,” Consort Wang said hurriedly.
"Eighteenth Prince, since it's what your Emperor Father said, you should listen to your mother. Your sister-in-law will visit you in the palace when she has the chance, okay?" Lanqin quickly comforted the child, seeing how pitiful he was.
The eighteenth prince pouted in grievance and could only nod.
"Since you are leaving, there is no need for you to make preparations. It is only right that my master and I prepare a feast for you and your eighteenth brother," Lanqin said.
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