The following day, as agreed with Kangxi, Lanqin took Hongli to the Qianqing Palace. Liang Jiugong specially sent a eunuch to pick up Lanqin and her son.
Along the way, Lanqin led Sihua, and Lanqi carried Hongli, following the little eunuch along the palace path with its blue stone walls and red walls.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared around a corner ahead. Lanqin saw him from afar; the Fourth Master was dressed in court robes, standing there silently.
"Your Excellency, I have something to discuss with my concubine. May I have the convenience?" the Fourth Prince said to the eunuch across the street.
The eunuch who was leading the way immediately bowed and stepped aside, allowing Lanqin and the Fourth Master to look at each other.
"Qin'er, I have something to say to you," said the Fourth Master.
Lanqin looked at Fourth Master. Although she knew he wanted to reconcile, and although she didn't know why he wanted to reconcile with her so quickly, the anger in Lanqin's heart just wouldn't dissipate.
"Please speak your mind, Your Highness. Father is waiting for Hongli to come over. I'm afraid if we delay too long, Father will blame us!" Lanqin said calmly.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the maids behind her, as well as the eunuchs from the Qianqing Palace, and the words he had been holding back remained unspoken.
"It's nothing, just checking to see if Hongli is alright!" The Fourth Prince inwardly cursed himself for being so cowardly, not daring to apologize to her. Last night, what Cuiyun had said completely relaxed the Fourth Prince. He fell asleep as soon as he got back. Even the Fourth Prince himself was surprised; after hearing what Cuiyun said, he relaxed so quickly, as if all the unpleasant feelings weighing on his heart had vanished instantly. It turned out that what had been bothering him wasn't Wuya Shi, but rather that he had suspected Lanqin. The Fourth Prince couldn't accept that Qin'er, whom he had doted on for seven years, could be such a ruthless woman. Only after overhearing Cuiyun's words last night did he finally relax.
"Lan Qi, show Hongli to the master." Lan Qin said to Lan Qi behind her.
When the Fourth Prince glanced at Hongli in Lanqi's arms, Lanqin turned her face away to look at the distant palace.
The Fourth Prince glanced at Lanqin every now and then, and seeing that she refused to look at him and Hongli, he could only say to Lanqi, "Take good care of the Sixth Prince and the Consort. Go now!"
Lanqin naturally heard the last few words the Fourth Master said, but she pretended not to hear them.
After walking quite a distance, Si Hua couldn't help but look back, only to see that Fourth Master was still standing there, looking towards Lan Qin.
“Master, the master is still standing there!” Si Hua said, supporting Lan Qin’s hand.
"Don't look back!" Lanqin said, pulling on Sihua's arm. "Now that I am not in the Fourth Prince's residence, I am no longer under his control."
Lanqin and the others followed the young eunuch into the Qianqing Palace.
"Daughter-in-law greets Father Emperor, and Hongli greets Imperial Ancestral Emperor!" Lanqin personally carried Hongli in her arms as he greeted Emperor Kangxi, who was reading memorials in the main hall.
"Oh, hahaha, come here, Hongli, come to the Imperial Ancestral Temple!" Kangxi immediately put down the memorial in his hand and stretched out his hand to Hongli in Lanqin's hand.
So, Lanqin carried Hongli to Kangxi and handed him over.
"Oh, my little Hongli has gotten fatter and heavier." Kangxi held the nearly one-year-old Hongli and decided that he was a bit heavy.
"Father, why don't you let Hongli get down and walk? He can walk all the time," Lanqin said quickly, genuinely worried that Kangxi would get tired.
As Hongli, holding Lanqi's hand, strolled around the palace with a whisk in Liang Jiugong's hand, laughing and joking, Kangxi said to Lanqin, "Girl, your joke yesterday made me think a lot."
Lanqin's heart skipped a beat; her joke from yesterday had only come to mind on the spur of the moment. Afterwards, she did think about what Consort De had said about being impolite, but decided it didn't matter; Consort De was just too thoughtful.
"I have offended you, Father Emperor! Please punish me!" Lanqin quickly took a few steps back and curtsied to Emperor Kangxi.
"Don't be nervous. I'm telling you this now, I'm not blaming you. Sit over there and chat with me, just like you would with your father-in-law," Kangxi said, waving his hand at Lanqin.
Good heavens! Emperor Kangxi asked me to chat with him like an ordinary father-in-law, but I still didn't dare. Serving an emperor is like serving a tiger.
"Hehe, what does Father Emperor want to talk about?" Lanqin could only laugh and say, "Let's talk and see at the same time."
"Let's talk about the joke you told the other day. This joke actually came from Ji Kang during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Girl, you told that joke very well," Kangxi said.
Mom, if I had known this joke would cause so much trouble, I definitely wouldn't have told it!
"Your Majesty, I am ignorant. I only learned about it from an old storybook. I really didn't know that Ji Kang said it," Lanqin said truthfully.
"Hmm. I believe you don't know the meaning behind this joke, otherwise you wouldn't dare to say it. This joke was made by Ji Kang to mock Sima Zhao. It mocks him for holding the reins of government but being like a blind or lame man, ignorant and incompetent. How could such a person hold the reins of government?"
Upon hearing this, Lanqin broke out in a cold sweat. She suddenly realized that she had offended Emperor Kangxi by telling him such a joke. Kangxi was at his most suspicious at this time.
"Please punish me, Father Emperor!" Lanqin stood up from her chair and curtsied.
"Get up. I said I don't blame you. Besides, I think the joke you told was very enlightening to me," Kangxi said.
Mom, I really didn't mean it, I really didn't mean to say anything meaningful to you!
Lanqin thought to herself, "Has my bad luck touched a nerve with Kangxi?"
"Your Majesty," Lanqin said, "how can our Great Qing compare to the chaotic period of the Wei and Jin dynasties? The Wei and Jin dynasties lasted only a few short reigns before they perished. Our Great Qing will surely last ten thousand years, ten thousand years!" Flattery never fails!
Sure enough, Kangxi smiled kindly and said, "You little girl are just like my third daughter. Whenever she offends me, she always comes to me afterwards to talk her way out of things and then flatter me to appease me."
Lanqin chuckled like a lackey, "Your daughter-in-law knows that the Third Princess wants to make Father Emperor happy."
Kangxi smiled and said, "Girl, how about you come and serve as my lady-in-waiting? Tell me jokes from time to time."
Lanqin was a little dumbfounded. What did Kangxi mean by this? Did he intend for her to live in the palace long-term? Although Kangxi was a bit... well, she had no intention of being tied to him like this. Besides, she was Kangxi's daughter-in-law. How could she stay by her father-in-law's side all the time? Who knew what kind of scandal might be caused?
"Just come while Hongli is in the palace," Kangxi added immediately, seemingly noticing Lanqin's worry.
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