Qing'er felt like her mind was about to explode. If she was the emperor's daughter, then who was Xiao Yanzi? Qing'er knew they had a secret, but she never imagined it would be such a big secret, a secret that could implicate nine generations of someone's family.
Ziwei ran to Qing'er's side again, took her hand, and pleaded with her. "Qing'er, could you please keep this a secret? It's our biggest secret." Ziwei wanted to see what Qing'er would say next. This would determine whether she herself would reveal those words.
Qing'er felt her mind was in complete turmoil, but her intuition told her she couldn't so easily agree to her request. Even if they were innocent, this was still deceiving the emperor.
Qing'er quickly calmed down and asked Ziwei with feigned composure, "So Xiao Yanzi isn't the Emperor's daughter?"
“Yes,” Ziwei glanced at Qing’er cautiously again and patiently explained. “Back then, I traveled all the way from Jinan to Beijing, only to find that I had nowhere to turn and had almost run out of money. That’s when I met Xiao Yanzi, who was performing on the street, and I went with her to a tenement. Later, Xiao Yanzi told me that the Emperor would be hunting in the Western Hills. We were really desperate at the time, so we could only try our luck there.”
Ziwei spoke for a while, then paused before continuing, "It's just a pity that I was too weak at the time to cross that mountain. I could only entrust the token to Xiaoyanzi and ask her to deliver the message for me. But fate played a cruel trick on her; Xiaoyanzi was shot by the Fifth Prince's arrow and fell unconscious. She was carried into the palace for treatment. After waking up, she was afraid of being beheaded, so she could only vaguely accept her role as Princess Huanzhu." As she spoke, Ziwei lowered her eyes, making it impossible to discern the emotions within them.
"Your journey has indeed been arduous and fraught with difficulties," Qing'er remarked, but this was no excuse for their deceiving the Emperor. "Afterwards, didn't Xiao Yanzi ever think of explaining?" This was also a point of curiosity for Qing'er. In her view, Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei were so close, and Xiao Yanzi knew from the beginning that Ziwei had come to find her relatives. How could she have clung to Ziwei's keepsake? Even if she was worried about being beheaded, the Emperor wasn't a tyrant who would execute people at the slightest provocation. After all this time together, did they still see the Emperor as that kind of person?
“Both Xiao Yanzi and I are fatherless. She was also moved by the Emperor’s deep fatherly love. In addition, the Empress and Rong Momo repeatedly said that confusing the royal bloodline would be beheaded. How could Xiao Yanzi dare to say it?” Ziwei said, appealing to her emotions and reasoning with her.
"So how did you enter the palace? I heard it was recommended by Consort Ling?" Qing'er asked, pretending not to know anything.
"Back then, when the Emperor took Xiao Yanzi to offer sacrifices to Heaven, I saw Xiao Yanzi on the road. I chased after her carriage and called out to her; it was Erkang who saw me. He then asked me some questions. After that, Xiao Yanzi also left the palace dressed as a eunuch and met me. Later, under the arrangement of Lord Fu and Consort Ling, she entered the palace. You've probably heard about what happened after that, right? This is our secret." Ziwei only recounted some trivial matters and did not mention that she had stayed at the Fu family's house.
"So, did Yongqi and Benjamin know as well?" Qing'er had wanted to ask this question for a long time, but it had been lingering on her lips, and she didn't know how to ask. Now that she had already explained most of it, she might as well ask this last question.
Ziwei could only nod, "I know that when Xiaoyanzi left the palace, it was with the help of the Fifth Prince and the others that she was able to come out together."
"So what are you planning to do next? Aren't you going to tell the Emperor about all this?" Qing'er really couldn't understand their actions. They were afraid of being punished by the Emperor before, but now they're not afraid anymore?
"So the main purpose of our trip is to get a promise from the master. That is, to keep Xiao Yanzi alive, otherwise I won't be able to recognize my father." Ziwei said worriedly, as this was indeed their biggest concern. Ziwei didn't want Xiao Yanzi to lose her head because of her recognizing her father.
Qing'er took a deep breath. "So you're telling me this today? Aren't you afraid I'll go and tell the Emperor?"
"I believe you won't. You've always been so kind and generous along the way. I believe you won't easily reveal our secret, right?" Ziwei looked at Qing'er expectantly.
Qing'er couldn't bear that gaze, so she simply waved her hand. "My mind is a bit of a mess right now, let me sort it out."
Ziwei wasn't in a hurry; she simply nodded obediently.
Just then, Shuangxi pushed open the door and walked in, breaking their stalemate. Qing'er gave Shuangxi a wink: Well done!
That's right, Shuangxi was cooperating with Qing'er to put on this act for Ziwei. After Ziwei finished revealing all her secrets, Shuangxi was responsible for knocking on the door, and then naturally let Ziwei leave.
As expected, after seeing Shuangxi, Ziwei also felt that now was not a good time to talk, and hurriedly stood up and said, "Qing'er, you should rest well, I won't disturb you."
Qing'er smiled faintly and nodded to Ziwei.
Shuangxi, on the other hand, kept her eyes down, avoiding looking at Ziwei. It was as if looking at her would bring bad luck.
A while after Ziwei left, Qing'er asked Shuangxi to invite An'an over.
Anke wasn't surprised at all when she saw Shuangxi. It seemed she had already revealed everything, which made things much easier from there.
When An Ke arrived at Qing'er's room, she found Qing'er leaning against the bed, looking worried. Half-jokingly, she asked, "What's wrong? What did Ziwei say to you that made Qing'er look so distressed?"
Qing'er first patted her chest, as if she had been startled, and said, "Why are you walking so quietly? But she did tell us a big secret."
"I didn't make a sound when I walked?" An Ke exaggeratedly stepped forward and touched Qing'er's forehead to check her temperature. "You don't have a fever, so why are you talking nonsense? Are you thinking too much? What did she say? What kind of big secret is it?"
Encore: The Oscars owe me an Oscar!!!
"Little Swallow isn't the Emperor's biological daughter; Ziwei is," Qing'er whispered in An Ke's ear.
"What?" An Ke dramatically sprang up from the bed. "Ziwei is the Emperor's daughter? Then aren't they committing a heinous crime of deceiving the Emperor?" An Ke exaggeratedly took a few steps in Qing'er's room.
"Yes, at most I thought they would be like the Empress Dowager said, trying to climb the social ladder. Ziwei is just a pawn of the Fu family, sent to the harem to compete for favor. I never expected it to be like this." Qing'er felt that today's events had been too shocking. Then, she told An Ke everything that Ziwei had just told her, word for word.
"Hiss, what does she mean by this? Is she trying to drag you into this?" An Ke slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly. What did she mean by keeping their secret? Did knowing their secret mean she was part of their group? How could she be so shameless?
"I really didn't expect that either." As for what she really didn't expect, only Qing'er herself knew.
"Luckily you were careful and didn't agree right away. If you had, you would be the biggest fool in the world." An Ke pouted. "But it's pretty much what I suspected."
"Huh?" Qing'er felt her brain was completely blank tonight. An'an actually knew all along?
"I don't know if you've noticed, but when we were in the palace, Ziwei's clothes were always different from the other palace maids." An Ke stroked her chin and speculated. "At first, I thought all the palace maids in Shufangzhai wore such clothes, after all, there are so many palace maids in the palace, and their clothes are all different."
"But do you remember? That time we accompanied the Empress Dowager to Shufangzhai?" An Ke abruptly changed the subject, "Wasn't it Ziwei who was dressed a bit different back then?"
Qing'er thought about it carefully, and it really was true.
"Besides, think about it again. Once you enter the palace, don't you know the palace rules? How many times has Ziwei outshone Xiaoyanzi? And Xiaoyanzi has been so protective of her, it's hard not to have doubts." The more An Ke spoke, the more she felt she made sense.
"Besides, since this trip, haven't you seen how much Ziwei's eyes are glued to her uncle? At first, I also thought she was trying to climb the social ladder. I was thinking, wasn't she so righteous in the pavilion? How come she's so hypocritical when it comes to herself?" An Ke calmly analyzed for Qing'er.
“What you said is indeed correct. Looking back at those details we overlooked, there are indeed many things that don’t seem right.” Qing’er pondered for a moment, then finally nodded. “So what should we do next? Should we tell the Emperor about this?”
"No need, let's just wait and see," Anke waved her hand casually. "They still want to take advantage of your kindness to help them achieve their goals. Let's just wait and see what happens. This matter doesn't involve us, so why should we get involved?"
An Ke's eyes narrowed dangerously. They dared to plot against Qing'er? This idea must have come from either Fu Er Kang or Zi Wei. Hmph!
"By the way, this matter involves quite a wide range of people. It's not just Consort Ling of the Fu family, but also the Fifth Prince and Benjamin." The others are fine; how to handle it will depend on the Emperor's decision. But since the Fifth Prince is involved, this matter becomes a bit tricky. And since the painter Benjamin is a foreigner, he can't be punished either.
"Alright, don't overthink it. Why worry so much? Since they've decided to get involved, they should calmly face the consequences. You, just focus on recovering. Don't think about these things. Relax, I'll take care of everything." An Ke raised an eyebrow at Qing'er, patted her shoulder, and promised.
"Alright, then you should get some rest. We have to travel tomorrow." Hearing An Ke's words, Qing'er gradually felt relieved. In short, Qing'er always felt at ease with An Ke around.
Meanwhile, in another pavilion, the small group from Shufangzhai were chattering away, discussing something.
The first one to lose her composure was Xiao Yanzi. Although she hadn't been sitting much anyway, with her injured bottom, she couldn't sit on the hard stone bench. She jumped up and shouted, "What? You told Qing'er our big secret?"
The Fifth Prince immediately turned his suspicions to Fu Erkang and Ziwei. He had previously been plotting against his cousin An'an, and now he's turned his attention to Qing'er? Does he want to drag others down with him for such a heinous crime of deceiving the emperor?
Ertai didn't want to get involved in their squabbles and disputes; he just wanted to gather more information, since they had previously tried to trick the princess into joining them. He wanted to be prepared in case they continued to harm the princess.
Benjamin, meanwhile, kept exclaiming "My God!"
Little Swallow was getting a headache from the noise. "Spotted Dove, please stop reciting."
Ziwei looked innocent and pitiful as she said, "I think Qing'er will keep our secret. Qing'er is so kind. Although she didn't explicitly say she would keep it tonight, I could tell from her expression that she would do well."
Fu Erkang said worriedly, "Ziwei, don't have too much hope. After all, we have no connection with her. She hasn't made any promises to you either. Everyone knows she's on the same side as Princess Yong'an, and it's hard to guarantee she won't tell Princess Yong'an about this. If Princess Yong'an finds out, then this matter will..."
These words undoubtedly added another shadow to Xiao Yanzi's heart.
"What should we do then?" Ziwei hadn't considered this possibility. She only wanted to test Qing'er's attitude. She never expected that An Ke would also be involved.
"Don't rush, let's not panic." It was already quite remarkable that Fu Erkang could remain calm at this point. He glanced at Ertai, who seemed uninvolved, and a calculating thought arose in his mind. "Who said it has nothing to do with us? What if we act as matchmakers between Qing'er and Ertai? Wouldn't that make us accomplices?"
Little Swallow also thought this was a perfect solution and was immediately excited. "Yes, that way Qing'er will be our family."
Fu Ertai gave Fu Erkang and Xiao Yanzi a cold look. "Don't even think about it. I won't cooperate with you."
"What? Ertai, Qing'er is so dignified and elegant, and you still look down on her?" Little Swallow launched the first attack.
"Ertai, don't forget this. Our whole family was involved. Do you want your father to be implicated too?" Fu Erkang's cold voice rang out. He didn't believe Fu Ertai would remain indifferent to the safety of his entire family. Wouldn't they just be at their mercy then?
Unfortunately, Voltaire wasn't having any of it. He simply flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.
The conversation broke down again and ended unhappily when Ertai stormed out.
——
We set off on our journey early in the morning.
While in the carriage, Ziwei's gaze kept drifting towards Qing'er and Anke. However, Anke didn't seem to care, and then pulled Qing'er to lean against the carriage window to look at the scenery outside. Seeing this, Ziwei didn't say anything more and continued to fawn over the master as usual.
An Ke was filled with curiosity about the upcoming story of Magistrate Liu of Xiang County, who was dedicated to his hometown and its people and lived in poverty.
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