Since Ziwei was present today, the two of them naturally couldn't point out the Emperor's mistakes anymore. They could only leisurely stroll around this vast grassland.
To give Meng Dan and Han Xiang some space, the four of them could only sit and chat at a distance from them.
As Anke and his companions chased after them, they discovered that their destination was the Heartland Grassland, and immediately felt that there was nothing new about it.
When Ertai saw that it was so close to their camp, he immediately sighed, thinking that if he hadn't gone to the palace, he probably would have met the princess too.
To get a better view, Anke quietly climbed the tree without Xiao Jian and the others noticing.
Seeing An Ke's actions, Qing'er was in a dilemma. An Ke originally wanted to test the strength of the tree trunk before going down to get Qing'er, but just as she was about to go down, she saw Ertai also preparing to climb up her tree.
Anke was completely baffled. There were so many trees around, why did she have to target this one? She was only doing this because the tree couldn't talk. If it could speak, she would have started cursing already.
An Ke was in a state of anxiety, and Qing'er was also a little anxious. She originally wanted to follow An Ke up a tree, but Ji Chu behind her spoke up in a low voice, "Does Princess want to climb a tree? I can help you."
To avoid being discovered, the group was standing very close together. Ji Chu had been silently observing Qing'er from behind. So when Ji Chu leaned close to Qing'er's ear to speak, his warm breath reached her ear, causing her to blush slightly.
She was about to refuse, but when Xiao Jian glanced cautiously in their direction, Qing'er froze.
Ji Chu chuckled softly, his chest trembling with the sound, and Qing'er's face flushed red.
Ji Chu coughed lightly, suppressing the urge to laugh, and asked politely, "What does Princess think?"
In Qing'er's eyes, the boy lowered his eyes and asked her respectfully. Qing'er felt as if she had been bewitched and blurted out "okay" uncontrollably.
Ji Chu smiled slightly and winked at Qing'er. Then, she wrapped her arms around Qing'er's waist, spun around, and leaped onto the tree trunk.
Qing'er found this feeling quite wonderful. Although An Ke had wanted to try taking her to do something like this before, Qing'er was too scared to let An Ke take her to use her light-body skills.
Ji Chu had thought Qing'er would be scared, and had even prepared what to say to comfort her. But all his preparations were in vain; he had no chance to use them at all.
Qing'er didn't show any fear or apprehension at all; instead, a hint of excitement appeared in her eyes.
Ji Chu felt that the woman he had fallen for was like a book, and he needed to observe and learn from her carefully.
Just as Ertai came up, Anke turned around and saw Qing'er and Jichu already sitting on another tree. Anke was still a little stunned, but he had a feeling that Ertai was covering for him.
Only after Ertai sat down on the tree trunk did Anke feel relieved and reached out to pinch him.
Ertai forced himself not to make a sound, his expression somewhat aggrieved as if he didn't know why the princess was pinching him like that.
Anke pinched him lightly, then patted him, and asked softly, "What kind of person is Ji Chu? Have you investigated him thoroughly? Were you covering for him just now?" It concerned her best friend. Anke declared: I will protect my best friend's love.
Ertai pouted, feeling even more aggrieved. He had been inexplicably attacked, and he had intended to have a proper conversation with the princess, but instead, the princess was talking about another man.
An Ke knew, of course, that Ertai must be feeling wronged, but given the situation just now, how could An Ke not overthink it? The two of them were covering for each other.
Fortunately, Ertai knows how to support himself. The princess must care about him, otherwise why would she only punish herself and not others?
He calmed himself down and then began to answer the princess's questions word by word. "The investigation is complete. I am innocent. I really did not cover for him. Ji Chu only has one younger sister who is still unmarried. He has no other relatives. He went out on his own. He has no relatives." Ertai explained the details of his investigation to An Ke.
After all, sometimes relatives and elders are more troublesome than family elders. They constantly pressure you with traditional etiquette and filial piety. Without them, you feel much more relaxed and at ease.
Anke pondered carefully, "How old is his sister, who is still unmarried?"
"He should be around the age of 'Golden Hairpin,' Ji Chu himself said so a few days ago," Ertai said in detail.
"Oh." Anke responded with an "oh." At the age of 18, her coming-of-age ceremony and marriage were not far off.
Afterwards, Anke asked Ertai some questions about himself, and Ertai felt that this was the right question.
If Anke's situation is like a favorable wind and sunshine, then Hanxiang's situation is like a storm.
When the two of them first met, they embraced each other excitedly. After seeing that the group of people had the sense to leave, Meng Dan no longer showed any restraint.
He picked up Hanxiang directly, spun her around, and then put her down.
"How have you been in the palace these days?" Meng Dan asked, cupping Hanxiang's face in his hands, his eyes bloodshot, though he managed to suppress his anger.
"Things have been alright these days. I live alone in Baoyue Tower, and none of those concubines have come to cause trouble. The food and clothing I'm provided for are also good," Hanxiang said truthfully, because these were all facts.
Whether it was because Hanxiang had lost her charm or because the emperor had too much self-control, the emperor was not particularly surprised when he first saw Hanxiang, and he did not make a special trip to Baoyue Tower to favor her.
Hanxiang felt a surge of relief; she could still cherish her untainted body and reminisce about her love with Mengdan. But she was also filled with lingering fear, worried that once her father left the capital, the Emperor would come to favor her.
"Those two princesses are our benefactors; they were sent by Allah, the true god, to help us." Hanxiang mentioned Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei with great gratitude.
Although she had been learning palace rules and etiquette from Granny Fang for a few days, she still didn't know that Xiao Yanzi was wearing a palace maid's outfit. After all, Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei were like sisters, and Ziwei's attire was different from the other palace maids in Shufangzhai, so it would naturally be the same for Xiao Yanzi.
Moreover, Hanxiang rarely left Baoyue Tower and had no chance to see other concubines and palace maids.
Meng Dan, who had only learned about the situation from others, was even less aware of these details. He had originally thought that only Xiao Yanzi was a princess, but he didn't expect that Ziwei was also a princess. He immediately had another good idea.
"Hanxiang, do you still love me?" Meng Dan grabbed Hanxiang's arm anxiously, wanting to hear the word "love" from her lips.
Hanxiang did not disappoint him and blurted out "I love you".
“Then let’s proceed with the plan. Hanxiang, you follow our plan.” Meng Dan was confident that it wouldn’t be long before he and Hanxiang could live happily ever after, leaving the palace and the shackles they had once carried.
Meng Dan's eyes were full of ambition. In his heart, what did the Hui people have to do with him? When he was still a nobleman, Ali Khoja couldn't wait to arrange his marriage with Hanxiang.
But after his downfall, she couldn't wait to break off his engagement with Hanxiang. How could it be so easy? They had been through thick and thin together for so many years. So when he proposed eloping, Hanxiang agreed without hesitation.
Meng Dan was always unconvinced, feeling that Ali Hezhuo was a snob who loved the rich and despised the poor. So he always thought that as long as he insisted on being with Hanxiang, Ali Hezhuo's snob mentality would be impossible to change.
“Since they are the emperor’s two daughters, why don’t we have them take the opportunity to bring you out of the palace, and then we can just escape. Let’s leave Beijing and not go back to the Hui people. There’s always a place for us to stay wherever we are.” Meng Dan said with eyes full of affection, his gaze filled with Han Xiang.
Although Hanxiang was love-struck, she wasn't blinded by it. She hesitated for a moment and said, "But if that's the case, the Hui people will have no hope at all." There was no way around it; Hanxiang had been instilled with the idea since childhood that she was a princess and had to bear the responsibilities that came with her.
She can't bring herself to disregard the Hui people for the sake of love. Besides, does she want to drag those two kind-hearted girls into the abyss as well?
Hanxiang felt a pang of pity. These two girls were clearly sent down by the true God Allah to protect them. How could they be so ungrateful as to push them into the abyss?
Yes, when Hanxiang was learning palace rules and etiquette from Granny Fang these past two days, she couldn't help but ask a question: what would happen if a princess in the palace helped a concubine escape from the palace?
Hanxiang has never forgotten what Granny Fang said back then. That night she had a nightmare in which two princesses rescued her, but then those two princesses were about to be beheaded and displayed to the public.
Meng Dan didn't have such a big heart, and immediately said with dissatisfaction, "Hanxiang, you still care about the Hui people? Where do you put me?" Meng Dan felt like he was about to explode.
Hanxiang's arms were gripped tightly by Meng Dan's hands. She felt his grip tightening and her shoulders were getting more and more painful. "Meng Dan, let go!"
Meng Dan was already quite provoked, and now this word of letting go had further aggravated him. He not only increased his strength but also shook Han Xiang violently, questioning her as he did so, "What do you mean by this? Do you want to be the Emperor's Consort Xiang forever?"
Hanxiang was in tears, completely at a loss for how to explain to the furious Mengdan. "That's not how it is, let me go first."
"If it's not like this, then what is it?" Meng Dan couldn't hear anything at all now, he only knew that Han Xiang wanted him to let go.
Is this even possible? He's liked this person for so long, put in so much effort. Can he just let go like that? Especially since he came all the way from Hui ethnicity to Beijing because of her, and his brother also came to Beijing because of their relationship.
How could he just give up like that? All his efforts would be in vain, and what would his brothers think of him? He had already told his brothers more than once that Xiang still loved him and would elope with him again, and his brothers believed him without a doubt.
After all, how could someone who abandons their princess status to follow Mondan on a life of wandering not be driven by love? Although such behavior might seem foolish to them—giving up a life of luxury to experience hardship and displacement—what could be more foolish than this?
"Have you fallen in love with that emperor?" Mondan blurted out, "Has he favored you? Have you let that emperor touch you?"
Hanxiang shook her head in anguish, tears streaming down her face and dripping onto Mengdan's hand.
Meng Dan felt only pain, and felt that his pain was no less than that of Han Xiang. His beloved woman, the woman he had always restrained himself from touching, had been taken by that emperor.
Meng Dan felt his anger escalate and couldn't help but roar loudly. Han Xiang was frightened by his appearance, and her tears stopped instantly.
Little Swallow felt that they should be given space and kept their distance. They were already quite far apart, but after listening to Little Swallow, they moved even further apart, so no one noticed Meng Dan's angry roar.
The four people in the tree saw everything. Anke clicked her tongue, and Ertai immediately noticed and asked in a low voice what was wrong.
"Don't you think this Mondan is just a volatile maniac?" Anke whispered to Ertai.
Ertai glanced at Mengdan, who was still furious, and nodded in deep agreement. It was an eye-opener for him. He had always thought that men should be arrogant in public but humble and courteous at home. He never expected that Mengdan would behave like this in front of his beloved girl, which showed that his character was utterly despicable.
"Speaking of this matter, Fu Erkang was also involved. What do you think?" An Ke changed the subject and directly asked Ertai about his opinion on his brother.
Ertai followed the princess's lead, frowning as he glanced at the four people chatting and laughing in the distance. He said irritably, "He's courting death. Ignore him. I have nothing to do with him anymore. Whatever happens to him is none of my business."
Ertai's expression was indifferent; if it weren't for the hint of annoyance in his eyes, Anke would have truly believed that Ertai wasn't angry.
"Since you said it's okay, why did you frown just now?" An Ke raised her hand and gently stroked Ertai's eyebrows and eyes.
Ertai felt a slight itch on his eyelids, chuckled softly, and raised his hand to catch the hand that was lightly touching his eye. "I am not angry, but I am a little annoyed. The princess always puts me and him together, even though I have nothing to do with him anymore."
He sounded incredibly aggrieved, and Anke smiled, raising her hand to pat Ertai's head. A big dog like him, naturally you have to stroke its fur gently. "Okay, let's not get involved with him~"
The word "us" excited Ertai again. If he really had a tail, it would probably have spun into a propeller by now.
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