"What did you say?" Eighth Master asked kindly.
"Let me tell you the truth! My brother, the Crown Prince, is busy attending court every day, and my fourth brother is busy procuring provisions. Anyway, I can't help there, so I begged my fourth brother to let me come to the battlefield," the Fourteenth Prince said innocently.
"Fourteenth, your tenth brother is also a bit injured, go and see him." Ninth Master said when he saw Eighth Brother wink at him.
"Alright, Eighth Brother and Ninth Brother, you two rest well. I'll go check on Tenth Brother," Fourteenth Brother said.
After he left, Eighth Master said to Ninth Master, "Quickly send someone to kill that Zhou, understand?"
Old Nine, puzzled, said, "Why? I spent a lot of money to cultivate him, and he controls our money in Jiangnan!"
Eighth Prince glanced at Ninth Prince and said, "It's been almost half a month since that incident, but Father Emperor hasn't done anything! Do you think that's normal? It's very abnormal. Even if they don't believe that dragon robe you deliberately left behind, even the Su family hasn't made a move. I'm worried that Father Emperor isn't just inactive, but is preparing for something bigger!"
Ninth Prince gritted his teeth and said, "Is Eighth Brother worried that Father is also investigating?"
Eighth Master nodded: "Let's clean that area thoroughly! We'll feel more at ease once it's clean!" Ninth Master was still unwilling to give up: "We were doing everything perfectly fine, how did we end up with that plague! It's like we're getting a headache just from drinking water!"
Eighth Master said bitterly, "It really is fate! I never expected that the place where they dumped the molten iron would be the only river that could pass through the underground water source!"
Ninth Master was also furious and said, "Fine, I'll immediately send assassins to silence them, and also cut off all the connections in Jiangsu!"
The Eighth Prince was clearly heartbroken. Those forces were built up with great effort by him and the Ninth Prince, and now he had to sever them himself. It was incredibly frustrating, but failing to do so could lead to even greater trouble. The Fourth Prince had already wiped out the cave, and everything there would surely be reported to Kangxi. Manufacturing weapons and dragon robes privately were capital offenses punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family! Although he had ordered Su Fusheng to place a letter framing the Crown Prince, it probably wouldn't be able to hide it from the Fourth Prince.
That's right, all of this was the work of the Eighth and Ninth Princes. They won over a large number of officials in Jiangnan, and even people like Su Fusheng became the Eighth Prince's loyal followers, although he was eventually killed by his henchmen to prevent him from revealing a single word.
Eighth Master poured himself a cup of tea, then poured another for Ninth Master, his expression as calm as if they were simply enjoying afternoon tea. This man's face never seemed to show any anger; even after his near-self-inflicted injury, he showed no dejection, no hostility. He knew he had lost this time inexplicably, defeated by fate. If their method of disposing of the molten iron hadn't resulted in it being poured into the underground river, none of this would have happened. Fourth Master wasn't a god; he couldn't possibly know all this.
"Eighth Brother, how can you still drink tea? It's Fourth Brother again this time. He's practically your nemesis. He always ruins everything we do," Ninth Brother said with a gloomy face.
"What can you do if you're unhappy? Since we've already decided to give it up, we should do it happily. Otherwise, do you want Father Emperor to see that you're unhappy?" Eighth Prince pushed the teacup in front of Ninth Prince.
When Ninth Prince heard this, he realized that it made sense. Now that they were injured, if they put on an unhappy face, it might make Kangxi suspect that they were unhappy because they were injured while fighting for the country.
A few days later, the Fourth Prince, who was far away in Yangzhou, began his journey back to the capital. Because of seasickness, Lady Nian opted for a carriage instead of traveling by water. Throughout the journey, Lady Nian always found various excuses to keep the Fourth Prince in her carriage, while Lady Geng barely touched him. The journey lasted six or seven days; they hardly stopped anywhere, and the carriage was constantly in motion.
On this day, the Fourth Prince and his party stopped in Jinan for a meal. The Fourth Prince was exhausted from traveling for several days, so he decided to rest in Jinan for a day before continuing his journey.
They settled in the best restaurant in the city, booking six or seven rooms. Fourth Master booked three top-class rooms, one for himself and Nian Shi, one for Geng Shi, and one for Thirteenth Master. He also booked five bottom-class rooms, one for Li Fang and Su Peisheng, one for Cui Da and Cui Er, and then seven or eight guards shared two rooms each.
The Fourth Prince didn't disturb any of the local officials, and he planned to visit several Confucian scholars in Shandong incognito. Thirteenth Prince wasn't interested in going; Cui Da accompanied the Fourth Prince. Everyone else was given a day off for free. The Fourth Prince had declared that even the Nian and Geng families could go out freely, but they needed to be accompanied by guards.
After Fourth Master left, Thirteenth Master also went out to explore Jinan on his own, without anyone else. Li Fang, who was already very familiar with Jinan, went out alone as well. The rest of the group stayed at the inn.
Geng and Lülan opened a window facing the street and saw the bustling crowd, which made them want to go out.
"Princess, why don't we go out for a stroll?" Seeing that Madam Geng had been looking worried these past few days, Green Orchid suggested that she go out for a walk. This was a rare opportunity for her to go out, as she wouldn't be able to go out again after returning home.
"It's fine to just look around here, why go out?" Madam Geng stood by the railing, watching the bustling lives of the street vendors, her thoughts unreadable. Ever since Madam Nian's miscarriage, the Fourth Prince seemed to favor her even more, while he had returned to a state of indifference, ignoring her completely.
"Princess, let's go out for a walk and see if there's anything we can buy. We can bring some for the concubine and some for Princess Song. After all, you've been out with the master before," Green Orchid advised.
“What you said makes sense. Why don’t we take a look around that area where they sell general merchandise? I’ll take some back with me. It doesn’t matter how much the gift is, it’s the thought that counts,” said Madam Geng.
“Yes, Princess, you’ve come all this way to Jinan, what are you doing cooped up here? Bring two guards with you, nothing will happen.” Green Orchid also wanted to go out and see what was new and exciting.
So, the master and servant tidied themselves up and went to Su Peisheng's room. He arranged for two guards to follow them, and then they went out.
The guards followed Madam Geng and her servants into the crowd, quickly disappearing into the flow of people. This street was the most bustling street in Jinan.
Meanwhile, Fourth Master didn't return until it was dark and dusk had fallen. But as soon as he returned, Su Peisheng came to greet him and whispered a few words in his ear. It turned out that Madam Geng and her servant had not returned and no one knew where they had gone.
Fourth Master was surprised that Madam Geng had gone out, so he asked her a few questions about how she went out, and then said, "We had no choice but to go out and look for her."
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