After Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi finished their conversation with Consort Yu, they resumed their after-school tutoring session.

The days passed by unhurriedly. Two days later, after they finished their lessons with Ji Xiaolan as usual, Yongcheng invited them to Qixiang Palace.

Xiao Yanzi hesitated for a moment, but they couldn't refuse Yongcheng's kind invitation.

So Yongqi, Xiaoyanzi, and Qing'er went to Qixiang Palace together, while Yongzhang and Yongrong did not go with them because their mother was still waiting for them.

"Qing'er, I remember you rarely come to our Qixiang Palace, do you?"

Qing'er nodded, "Yes, before I attended classes with you, I mostly stayed in the Cining Palace. I only went out with the Empress Dowager when she went out!"

As for Yongqi, he actually had little contact with the mistress of Qixiang Palace, Consort Jia, the mother of Yongcheng and Yongxuan.

Aside from when they were required to perform a ritual of greeting, they had almost no interaction.

Without Consort Yu accompanying him this time, he came to Qixiang Palace with Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er, and he was actually a little apprehensive.

He didn't know why, but when he arrived at the entrance of Qixiang Palace, he felt uneasy.

But since we've already come this far, it's not a good idea to turn back now...

"May the Fourth Prince be blessed, may the Fifth Prince be blessed, may Princess Qing be blessed!"

After greeting them, Yongcheng led Yongqi and the others into the main hall. "Greetings, Mother! Your son is back!"

"Yongqi/Xiaoyanzi greets the Imperial Concubine, may Your Highness be blessed!" Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi bowed in turn.

Qing'er followed closely behind, "Qing'er greets Consort Jia..."

Consort Jia smiled slightly and said, "No need for formalities, Qing'er. What brings you to my Qixiang Palace today?"

Qing'er explained, "After class, the Fourth Prince invited us to visit you at Qixiang Palace..."

Consort Jia was delighted to hear this, "No wonder she grew up by the Empress Dowager's side, she has such a sweet tongue!"

However, this is only on the surface.

Ever since she found out that Qing'er was hanging out with Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi, her attitude towards Qing'er has changed dramatically.

Although she still praised and flattered her verbally, she actually disdained to associate with Qing'er at all!

"This Miss Xiao Yanzi, I only caught a glimpse of her before and didn't get a good look at her. Now that I see her up close, I understand why the Fifth Prince cares so much about you. Since you're all here, please take your seats..."

Consort Jia had West Lake Longjing tea served to them, saying, "Try it and see how it tastes."

The palace maid serving tea accidentally spilled tea on Xiao Yanzi's clothes while pouring tea for her.

Although Yongqi reacted quickly and blocked some of the spray, a little bit still splashed onto Xiaoyanzi.

The palace maid was so frightened that she immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Fifth Prince, please forgive me..."

But Yongqi had no time to pay attention to her. "Little Swallow, how are you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Little Swallow shook her head. "I'm fine, I'm not hurt. What about you? You just blocked it for me, were you hurt?"

She anxiously tried to lift Yongqi's sleeve to check on him, but thankfully Yongqi stopped her in time. "It's good that you're alright. I'm a grown man, I'm not that fragile. I'm fine!"

Seeing that Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi were unharmed, Consort Jia scolded the palace maid who had spoken earlier, "What's wrong with you? You can't even pour tea properly! Quickly take Miss Xiaoyanzi to change into some suitable clothes!"

The palace maid quickly looked at Yongqi, "Fifth Prince, it will be very uncomfortable to wear wet clothes. Let me atone for my sins and take you to change your clothes!"

Yongqi shook his head, "No need, I'll take Xiaoyanzi back to Yonghe Palace right now!"

I should have known better than to come in when I started to feel uneasy!

I had barely sat down when I almost burned my hands!

Seeing that Yongqi was determined to leave, Consort Jia quickly stopped him, "Fifth Prince, my people injured Miss Xiaoyanzi, you have to give me a chance to make amends, don't you?"

"Otherwise, if she goes out like this, who knows what outsiders will say about me..."

Qing'er frowned and advised, "Yongqi, I think Her Majesty has a point. It's really not appropriate for her to go out in this state..."

Clothes are secondary; at worst, Yongqi can just take Xiaoyanzi back!

But what's even more troublesome is what Consort Jia said...

If Xiao Yanzi had left Qixiang Palace looking like this the first time she visited, the harem would have been in an uproar, and the Empress Dowager would have had a hard time explaining herself.

If Yongqi insists on going out, it's obvious that he's after a beautiful woman and doesn't even know how to respect his elders. The Empress Dowager will definitely take her anger out on Xiaoyanzi!

Thinking of this, Yongqi had no choice but to stop leaving.

When Consort Jia saw that Yongqi had stopped, she told the palace maid to quickly take Xiaoyanzi to change her clothes.

Seeing Yongqi's worried expression, Qing'er quickly said, "Your Majesty, I think I should go help Xiaoyanzi change her clothes. You can just have a maid lead the way..."

Qing'er and Yongqi have spent a considerable amount of time in the palace; changing clothes could easily lead to an accident...

They dare not gamble, so it's best to keep a close eye on things. If someone takes advantage of them, they'll have nowhere to turn for help!

Consort Jia smiled and said, "It seems that you and the Fifth Prince don't trust me. Are you afraid that my people will harm her again? Fine, I'll change it for her myself. You can trust me then, right?"

Before Yongqi and Qing'er could refuse, Xiao Yanzi was so frightened that she immediately knelt down on the ground, "No, no, Xiao Yanzi is just an ordinary commoner, how could I dare to trouble Your Highness to help Xiao Yanzi change her clothes? Please let this sister lead the way!"

She didn't want to escalate the situation and damage the relationship between them and Consort Jia, so she preemptively agreed to let the palace maid help her change her clothes!

Watching Xiao Yanzi follow the palace maid inside to change clothes, Yongqi felt increasingly that something bad was about to happen.

But he couldn't just barge in now, so Qing'er could only whisper to comfort him, "Calm down. If something really happens, you still have to protect her!"

Yongcheng, who was standing nearby, comforted her, "Fifth Brother, don't worry. That palace maid is usually very honest and dutiful. She probably just got too excited today, which is why she made a mistake!"

After waiting for a while, Xiao Yanzi, having changed her clothes, finally came out.

When Qing'er saw that Xiao Yanzi's clothes were appropriate for her current status, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She was afraid that Xiao Yanzi might come out wearing inappropriate clothes.

But Qing'er never expected that Xiao Yanzi would still fall for her clothes.

However, what caused her to fail was not the new clothes she had changed into, but the old clothes she had worn before!

When Consort Jia saw the girl come out, she teased, "Fifth Prince, look, this girl looks even more beautiful now that she's changed into my clothes. You must pamper her when you get back..."

Yongcheng looked at Xiaoyanzi and smiled, "Not bad, Mother, this dress is quite nice. Let's sit down and continue enjoying our tea!"

Consort Jia said, "Alright, everyone, please sit back down. Let's continue drinking!"

However, it was clear that only Consort Jia and Yongcheng seemed to want to enjoy their tea.

Yongqi, Xiaoyanzi, and Qing'er, however, wanted to leave Kaixiang Palace as soon as possible!

The three of them had only been seated for less than a quarter of an hour when Yongqi couldn't help but stand up. "Your Highness, we've almost finished our tea, so we'll be leaving now!"

Qing'er chimed in, "Yes, if we don't go back soon, the Empress Dowager will come looking for Qing'er!"