Su Peisheng glanced cautiously at the Fourth Prince and continued, "But this servant remembers that Consort Xi has been at the Yuanmingyuan for more than ten days. Thinking that there was no one to serve His Majesty in Changchun Palace, I took it upon myself to let His Majesty spend the night in Yangxin Hall... This servant deserves to die..."
Fourth Master's heart tightened. Lanqin! Lanqin had been at the Yuanmingyuan for more than ten days. Although Fourth Master did not want to face the reason why Lanqin was angry with him, he kept numbing himself with other things and forcing himself not to think about Lanqin. But his heart was honest. When he was drunk, Lanqin was all he could think about.
The Fourth Prince suddenly turned to Su Peisheng and said, "Go and bring Hongli and Hongzhou's exam papers..." Su Peisheng was startled, but immediately understood and quickly brought the exam papers. The Fourth Prince tidied his clothes, took Hongli and Hongzhou's exam papers, and left the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Su Peisheng followed behind, shouting, "Your Majesty hasn't had breakfast yet, where are you going?"
But there was no sign of the Fourth Prince anywhere. Su Peisheng could only shake his head helplessly and mutter to himself, "I wonder if Consort Xi has prepared breakfast for His Majesty..." The eunuch beside him was puzzled and asked, "How did you know that His Majesty went to see Consort Xi?"
Su Peisheng said smugly, "His Majesty has found a good excuse to swallow his pride and go to the Yuanmingyuan to see Consort Xi. The Thirteenth Prince has really brought some very nice gifts..."
The eunuch, not understanding, scratched his head and frowned, asking, "What gift did you mention, sir? What excuse did you give?..."
Upon arriving at the Yuanmingyuan, the Fourth Prince, dressed in plain clothes, was not recognized by the garden guards, who naturally stopped him. The Fourth Prince showed his identification badge, and the garden guards exclaimed "Long live the Emperor!" their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, unable to believe that the current emperor would be making an incognito visit to the Yuanmingyuan.
Fourth Master missed Lanqin and was anxious. He ignored the gatekeeper and went directly to Wan'an Fanghe, where Lanqin lived.
The palace maids and servants were so startled by the Fourth Prince's sudden arrival that they were thrown into disarray. The Fourth Prince didn't say a word, but simply wandered around the room a few times without seeing Lanqin.
Only then did they realize that all the servants in the room were kneeling on the ground, not daring to make a sound. The Fourth Master gestured for them to dispense with the formalities, and only then did the servants become trembling with fear.
Although the Yuanmingyuan Garden was not far from the Imperial Palace, it was still a separate residence, and the Emperor and his concubines rarely visited it on ordinary days.
They were terrified by the Emperor's sudden visit, but fortunately, the Fourth Prince's mind was entirely on Lanqin. He casually pulled up a palace maid and asked, "Where has Consort Xi gone?"
The young palace maid was so frightened by the Fourth Prince's question that she couldn't speak, stammering, "Consort Xi... and Princess Biechuke... went... went fishing..."
Seeing the Fourth Prince's anxious expression, the palace maid assumed he had come to interrogate her and was naturally terrified. Although she told him about Lanqin's whereabouts, she was constantly thinking about how to inform Lanqin.
Although Lanqin only stayed at the Yuanmingyuan Garden for a little over ten days, she got along very well with the maids and palace servants there. Despite being a concubine, Lanqin was incredibly approachable, kind and friendly, and never discriminated against anyone based on rank. Even the cleaning staff, whom she encountered, greeted her with a smile every time. However, everyone knew that Lanqin had fallen out of favor in the palace and had requested to come to the Yuanmingyuan Garden. They didn't mention it openly, but privately they all felt sorry for her. How could such a good mistress have displeased the Emperor…?
The palace maids Baoqin, Yuxiao, and several others were not in the room; those standing here were all palace maids who had served in the Yuanmingyuan Garden.
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