“Come, come,” Ziker said, pulling his daughter Saiya over. “This is my precious daughter Saiya.”
Saiya finally recovered from her daze over Anke's beauty and bowed to the Emperor in their Mongolian greeting. Dressed in red, Saiya possessed an exotic beauty unlike that of people from the Central Plains. Moreover, her momentary daze only accentuated her delicate and adorable charm.
The Emperor quickly introduced them to Ziker, saying, "These are my sons." The princes all clasped their hands in greeting. Anke looked at her fifth brother, who stood out in red in the crowd, and couldn't help but chuckle.
No wonder some people complained that Yongqi's outfit was similar to his wedding outfit.
"Not bad, not bad, they all look very energetic." Ziker smiled, but then he realized something was amiss. "Eh, Your Majesty, where are your daughters?"
At this moment, Princess Hejing stepped forward to answer on behalf of Prince Ziker, bowing to him with a Mongolian salute. "Uncle, according to palace rules, princesses cannot easily come out to receive guests, but I am different. I am a Mongolian wife. I have been married into the Borjigit family for many years."
Ziker laughed heartily, “Your Majesty, Princess Guren Hejing, whom we haven’t seen for many years, is still as young and beautiful as ever. Although the princess has married into our family, you and your husband live in Beijing, and your family misses you dearly.”
This was a very polite and elegant statement.
Immediately afterwards, the prince consort stepped in to smooth things over and had a few subtle words with the Mongolian prince.
Ziker then turned to look to the Emperor's right rear and saw Anke with a smile on her face. He couldn't help but wonder, Princess Hejing had just said that Qing Dynasty princesses couldn't easily receive guests, so who was this?
Ziker was very straightforward and asked the question that was on his mind. "Your Majesty, if your own daughter cannot come out to receive guests, then how can this daughter of yours be allowed to?" Ziker's outstretched right hand was pointing directly at Anke.
Ziwei was watching intently from that direction. Hearing Qiker's words, she also wanted to know how the Emperor would respond. If none of the princesses or noblewomen could come, she wouldn't think there was a problem, but the fact that there was that one exception made Ziwei feel a pang of sadness and a tightness in her chest.
The Emperor glanced at her and laughed heartily, "This is my favorite niece, Princess Yong'an. Come, An'an, greet the Mongolian Prince."
Anke walked out confidently and gave the Mongolian prince a standard bow.
"Haha, Your Majesty, your sons are all handsome and dashing, and your niece is as beautiful as a flower," Ziker said sincerely, then changed the subject, "I wonder if your niece is married?"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor couldn't help but feel relieved that he had previously promised An'an that she could choose her own marriage partner. Otherwise, this would have been another dangerous situation. "My niece is not yet married, but I have already promised her that she can choose her own marriage partner. Everything is up to her." This effectively put an end to Ziker's hopes.
Your Majesty: Isn't it enough that you've taken one of my daughters? You want to take your beloved niece too? You're dreaming.
Upon hearing this, Ziker could only sigh with regret. It seemed that the princess could not marry his son; his son was simply unlucky. "Such a beautiful princess, Your Majesty, you must carefully select a suitable match for her."
The Emperor: "Of course."
Saiya then walked up to Anke, gave her a sweet smile, and said, "On the way to the capital, I heard people saying that Princess Yong'an was incredibly beautiful. I thought it was just a rumor, but seeing her today, I can confirm it's true. I'm new to Beijing, so I wonder if you could show me around, sister?"
Not only did Saiya enjoy being close to beautiful women, but Anke also couldn't refuse an invitation from one. "Sure, I'll do my best to be a good host."
And just like that, the two girls inexplicably developed feelings for each other.
Seeing that An Ke didn't seem annoyed, the Emperor said, "Then let Princess Yong'an take Princess Saiya to play in Beijing." The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief; otherwise, he wouldn't know who to send to accompany Princess Saiya.
“Yes, His Majesty should let these children play by themselves,” Ziker agreed cheerfully.
Just as the two of us were laughing together, Xiao Yanzi made a commotion. Benjamin happened to be passing by at that moment, and was spotted by the sharp-eyed Ziwei.
Ziwei quickly called out to Benjamin, who was about to leave, "Benjamin, you've come at the right time! Please help me persuade Xiaoyanzi." Ziwei thought Benjamin had come looking for Xiaoyanzi, so she asked him for help.
Benjamin glanced at Xiao Yanzi, then at the Emperor and the Mongol prince who were laughing and joking. He had a headache and didn't want to get involved. But if he lost face in front of the Mongol prince, the entire Qing Dynasty would lose face along with him.
Moreover, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had instructed them long ago that Princess Huanzhu was not allowed to leave Shufangzhai today. But clearly, they had sneaked out. Benjamin, being sensible and knowing his place, could only try to speak calmly, "Didn't the Empress Dowager tell you not to leave Shufangzhai? Why did you come to the front?"
The result was quite obvious: Little Swallow wouldn't listen at all, and Benjamin lost his temper, just as he was about to push her away.
However, the sharp-eared and sharp-eyed Saiya noticed that Ziwei and Jinsuo saw that the Mongolian princess had turned her head to look at them, so they thought of pulling Xiaoyanzi and running away quickly.
Saiya sensed something was wrong, so she used her lightness skill to step on the shoulders of one or two guards and flip over to appear in front of Xiao Yanzi. Xiao Yanzi, due to inertia, almost fell in front of Saiya.
Saiya arrogantly raised her head at her and asked in Mongolian, "Who are you?"
Little Swallow couldn't understand at all; she looked completely bewildered.
At this moment, Ziker also noticed the commotion and shouted at Saiya, "Saiya, didn't I teach you Chinese? You're not allowed to speak Mongolian in the Qing Dynasty's palace."
Of course, Ziker didn't mean to criticize his daughter, but speaking his own language on someone else's territory was still impolite. Ziker glanced at the Emperor subconsciously, only to see the Emperor smile and shake his head, seemingly unconcerned. Ziker relaxed and smiled as well.
"You must be Princess Huanzhu, right?" Saiya looked Xiao Yanzi up and down. Then she turned her gaze to Benjamin beside her. "Who are you? Why do you look so strange? And why are you dressed so strangely? Your eyes and hair don't look like those of a Qing Dynasty person, nor do they look like those of a Mongolian. Could you be a foreigner?"
Although it was very impolite of Saiya to say that, Saiya did not mean any harm.
But Little Swallow didn't think so. She pointed directly at Saiya's nose and yelled, "What did you say? Who's a foreign devil?" Little Swallow then took three steps at a time and walked up to Benjamin. "Open your eyes and look carefully. This is our court painter, Benjamin. He comes from Great Britain, a country you've never even heard of. Don't talk nonsense."
Benjamin was at his wits' end. Little Swallow was always like this; just when he decided to give up on her, she would always stand in front of him, whether to defend him or not, always making him waver. That's why he had been so indecisive before.
So the current situation is that Saiya didn't do it on purpose, and Benjamin, who was called, didn't mind. Only Xiao Yanzi was jumping up and down on the side.
Saiya, a princess pampered by the Mongolian prince, would never suffer such humiliation. She directly challenged Xiao Yanzi on the spot. "What Great Britain? Anyway, they're not Chinese, just foreign devils." After saying that, she glanced at Benjamin somewhat guiltily.
When Xiao Yanzi heard someone yelling at her, she got angry and retorted, "What? Are you a Mongolian devil?"
Then the two of them started arguing, calling each other "foreign devils" and "Mongolian devils."
On such an important occasion, a Qing princess actually lost all face by shouting and yelling at a Mongolian princess in public. The civil and military officials below could not help but shake their heads in disapproval.
The Emperor also felt somewhat embarrassed and could only speak up to stop her, "Little Swallow, come here."
When Xiao Yanzi heard the Emperor's angry voice, she instinctively shuddered. She could only lower her head and tiptoe over, looking like a defeated rooster, completely devoid of the imposing manner she had displayed when challenging Saiya.
Xiao Yanzi and Saiya had no choice but to give up their bickering and walked over to each other. When Saiya went over, she pretended to bump into Xiao Yanzi's shoulder as if it were an accident and gave a cold snort.
Little Swallow could only swallow this bitter pill in front of the Emperor and respectfully bowed to him.
Saiya walked directly to Ziker's side, took his arm, and tugged at his sleeve playfully.
"This is my other daughter, Princess Huanzhu." Now that she was out, the Emperor could only introduce her to Ziker.
Ziker nodded; the Emperor didn't want to argue with Xiao Yanzi about right and wrong. "Alright, Xiao Yanzi, go back to your Shufangzhai. You've had your fill of the limelight today." The meaning behind his words was self-evident.
Even if Little Swallow was a bit muddle-headed, she knew she must have just caused trouble for her father, the Emperor, again. She felt a pang of regret; she should have found a secluded spot to argue with that Mongolian princess.
The Emperor said to Qiker, "This way please," and Qiker, unable to refuse the Emperor's hospitality, could only follow. Saiya, arm in arm with Qiker, stuck her tongue out at Xiaoyanzi as they passed.
When Xiao Yanzi saw this scene, she was so angry that she wanted to jump up and down. Fortunately, Ziwei and Jin Suo had arrived and quickly pulled Xiao Yanzi away with a combination of pleading and persuasion.
An Ke looked at the scene before her and felt a headache coming on. Just a few days ago, she'd heard the Empress Dowager say she'd gone to Shufangzhai to warn Xiao Yanzi and give Ziwei a talking-to, but she never expected to see Xiao Yanzi here today. And in front of so many people, she was arguing with the Mongolian princess with absolutely no manners.
An Ke simply couldn't bear to think about it. This was after being given instructions; if she hadn't, would she have ended up fighting the Mongolian princess on the spot? As she passed by Xiao Yanzi, she also gave her a cold look.
As for Yongqi, he didn't even glance in Xiaoyanzi's direction when she appeared. Yongqi had already realized what was going on.
He just didn't expect that when he realized his mistake and gave up, Xiao Yanzi would run to Yonghe Palace to try and please his mother.
When she returned from her inspection tour, she went to Yonghe Palace to give the hairpin she had bought from a street stall to Consort Yu.
Consort Yu looked at the enthusiastic Xiao Yanzi and remembered that she was the emperor's daughter, so she gave her some face and said that she would wear it in the future. However, Xiao Yanzi did not say a word and directly reached out to put it on Consort Yu.
As expected, she carelessly poked Consort Yu's scalp with the hairpin. Consort Yu immediately cried out in pain, and her head maid, barely suppressing her anger, went to find the imperial physician and escort her away.
From that day on, Yongqi would stay as far away from Xiaoyanzi as possible in the palace.
At night, Yongqi would sometimes reflect on why he had been so infatuated with Xiaoyanzi, running errands for her. Yongqi came to a conclusion: he had been foolish in the past. As a prince, even if Xiaoyanzi really was his father's daughter, he didn't need to do anything for her.
What's more, she wasn't even the Emperor's daughter. I was truly blinded by greed at the time. How could I, a prince, have stumbled into this mess of a real and a fake princess? I was incredibly foolish.
Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi walked along, and Ziwei said to Xiaoyanzi that she shouldn't have done that, arguing with the Mongolian princess without considering the occasion.
Little Swallow complained, "We're both princesses, so why am I so inferior to her? Can't I even teach her a lesson for being impolite?"
Little Swallow forgot again that she wasn't the Emperor's biological daughter, much less a princess. Even if she were a princess, she couldn't argue with a Mongolian princess in front of all the civil and military officials.
Ziwei then told Xiaoyanzi that Mongolia was different from theirs, and that in Mongolia, women had a higher status than men. They even favored daughters more than sons; this was their custom, which is why Mongolian princesses were naturally so proud.
After hearing this, Little Swallow looked longingly at it and muttered, "Oh, Mongolia is quite to my liking."
As they were talking, the palace eunuchs walked and chatted amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to Xiao Yanzi and her companions. Their voices were quite loud, and Xiao Yanzi overheard them.
"I heard there's going to be a martial arts tournament at the palace tomorrow?"
"Where did you hear this news from? Last time you said that Lord Wang's daughter and Lord Li's son were going to get married, but there's been no sign of it at all."
“This time it’s for real. I just heard the guards talking about it.”
"Then why hold a martial arts tournament?"
"Are you stupid? I heard that the Mongolian prince came today with eight warriors, ready to compete with the warriors of the Qing Dynasty."
"Oh, I see. Who are the participants?"
"I don't know about that. How could I possibly find out so much? Anyway, you'll know tomorrow."
"That's true."
Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei listened quietly to the eunuchs as their voices gradually faded into the distance.
"Ziwei, did you hear that? There's a martial arts competition tomorrow!" Xiaoyanzi shook Ziwei's arm excitedly after hearing their conversation.
"I heard it, I heard it. But it has nothing to do with us." Ziwei grabbed Xiaoyanzi's hand.
"How could I, Little Swallow, be absent from such a lively scene?" Little Swallow's eyes darted around.
Ziwei was a little worried, afraid that she would sneak out to watch again like she did today. "You're not going to sneak out to watch again tomorrow, are you?"
"Oh no, I'll go and beg Father Emperor tonight, and we'll go see it together tomorrow." Little Swallow was full of plans on how to get the Emperor to agree.
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