After the Empress Dowager held a birthday banquet for Qing'er and after exchanging greetings with Emperor Qianlong, Yongqi invited Qing'er, Xiao Jian, and the Fu brothers to gather in his tent for a small party!

"Qing'er, the meal we're having now was cooked by Xiao Yanzi and me together. Xiao Jian also came over to help out a little. Try it and see how it tastes?"

Qing'er smiled and said, "If you two can cook for me together, then this food must taste amazing!"

As Qing'er spoke, she picked up her bowl and chopsticks to ladle out the fish soup. After trying a couple of sips, she praised it highly, "Yongqi, you are now skilled in both literature and martial arts, and even your cooking skills are almost catching up with the imperial chef's. You are amazing!"

Little Swallow chimed in, "That's right, that's right! If he keeps practicing like this, even Chef Zhuang and the others in the Imperial Kitchen might have to give way to him!"

Yongqi smiled modestly and said, "It's not that exaggerated. You're only saying that because you're giving me face!"

After drinking the fish soup, Xiao Jian and the Fu brothers echoed Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er's words, feeling that Yongqi was too modest.

As they ate and chatted, Xiao Yanzi suddenly asked, "By the way, Yongqi, is our hunt almost over?"

Yongqi sighed, "Yes, in about ten days we should be setting off back to the capital. We'll have to wait a while longer for these easy days to end."

Little Swallow felt both worried and relieved. "You people who have to stay in the palace forever are really miserable. Luckily, I'll be free next year!"

Qing'er said with a mischievous smile, "Little Swallow, the way you're talking makes it sound like you're very unhappy being by Yongqi's side!"

When Xiao Yanzi saw Qing'er's mischievous smile, she knew she was up to something. She never expected her to say something like that right away!

She quickly explained, "No, that's not it! I just find it boring to do the same things every day in the palace!"

"But with Yongqi around, this kind of boredom will be less, but it will still exist. Can't we even tell the truth?"

Seeing Xiao Yanzi's anxious explanation, Yongqi found it extremely cute and laughed, "Of course you can tell the truth. I love hearing you tell the truth. I'll really miss you leaving alone next year, but what can I do?"

"If you insist on leaving, and it's for our future, then I can only respect your choice!"

Fortaire muttered, "Hey, isn't this a birthday celebration for Qing'er? How did the conversation turn into talking about the two of you again?"

Fu Erkang chimed in, "That's right. Today's main character is Qing'er. Let's ask Qing'er what her birthday wish is."

They simply don't want to admit that it's because they're the only ones who are still single that they can't stand seeing couples showing affection!

"My birthday wish? It's naturally that all my loved ones are safe and happy! And that all the dreams of those I care about come true!"

A few days after the small gathering, the Double Ninth Festival arrived, which also happened to be Consort Ling's birthday.

Emperor Qianlong hosted a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, which brought a lot of excitement to everyone. He also played the trick of reciting and composing poems, which gave the princes and young masters a headache.

Ji Xiaolan announced the rules of the game for today: "Today, we will play a poetry game by passing a flower while beating a drum, and the topic will be chrysanthemum."

"You can recite lines written by ancient people, or you can create your own on the spot. If you can't recite any lines from the ancients or compose a poem on the spot, you'll have to go on stage and perform. You can sing, dance, or even perform a sword dance..."

After hearing the competition rules, everyone had to be on their toes to avoid having to perform on stage.

"Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, I leisurely gaze at the Southern Mountains." Little Swallow was unlucky enough to be the first one to recite a poem. Her current skills were not enough to compose a decent poem, so she chose to recite the verses of her predecessors.

When the poem reached Yongrong, he quoted the lines, "When the Double Ninth Festival arrives, I will come again to admire the chrysanthemums," which is from Meng Haoran's "Visiting an Old Friend's Farm."

After reciting ancient poems, they began composing poems on the spot, each displaying their own style, which made Emperor Qianlong and Ji Xiaolan, both of whom were inspired to write poetry, laugh heartily.

After the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, they presented their birthday gifts to Consort Ling, which brought smiles to the faces of Emperor Qianlong and the others.

A few days after Consort Ling's birthday, everyone finally packed their bags and prepared to return to the palace.

"I really didn't expect this month to end so quickly."

Because Xiao Yanzi had fallen in love with the feeling of riding a horse, she chose to ride a horse on the way back. Yongqi naturally followed beside her, comforting her, "In the future, we will have more time to go out."

The group walked and stopped frequently, finally returning to Beijing and the imperial palace.

Xiao Jian followed the Fu brothers to the scholar's residence, and those who returned to the palace went back to their respective places.

Out of curiosity, Xiao Yanzi dragged Yongqi along to her Shufangzhai.

"Yongqi, what do you think Shufangzhai will look like after the renovation?"

Yongqi shook his head. "I don't know either. Why don't we go and see for ourselves?"

Shufangzhai is very close to the Imperial Garden. If you get bored, it's not far from Shufangzhai to the Imperial Garden, where you can take a stroll!

However, given Xiao Yanzi's personality, this small imperial garden probably won't satisfy her!

Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi, along with Xiaoyanzi's two beauties, four talented men, Xiaoshunzi, Xiaoguizi, Xingchenshizhu, Qingyun and others, headed to Shufangzhai so that everyone could come and get acquainted!

When Xiao Yanzi grows up a bit, or when Xia Ziwei enters the palace, they will all come here...

Of course, this applies to everyone else except Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Guizi; the other two will continue to stay by Yongqi's side to serve him.

Approaching Shufangzhai, the courtyard was still the same spacious courtyard, except that there was a large swing on the right side of the entrance. Xiao Yanzi happily went over and sat on the swing. "Yongqi, Yongqi, come and push me!"

Seeing that Xiao Yanzi was interested, Yongqi happily stood behind her and pushed her as she sat on the swing. The courtyard was filled with laughter and joy.

"Princess, Qingyun has been so bored in Yonghe Palace while you were away..."

Little Swallow looked at Qingyun curiously, "Will we be able to get enough to eat at Yonghe Palace?"

Qingyun nodded, "Yes, I was never hungry at Yonghe Palace, I was always full. It's just that without all of you, we all felt it wasn't very interesting!"

Little Swallow placed her small hand on Qingyun's shoulder to comfort her, "Don't worry, when I leave the palace next year, I'll definitely take you with me. After all, I still need you to help me calculate the money!"

Qingyun looked at Xiaoyanzi excitedly, "Really? Can I really go out with Princess?"

Yongqi looked at Xiaoyanzi with doting eyes, then glanced at Qingyun, and smiled, "Don't worry, with your Fifth Prince here, you'll definitely be able to go out with Xiaoyanzi!"

The four talented men and two beautiful women were getting impatient and wanted to go out with Xiao Yanzi too!

However, Xiao Yanzi did not agree. "I'm going out to gain experience, not to play. I don't need to take so many people with me. Besides, if you all leave, who will take care of Yongqi?"