Ziwei didn't know if what she was doing was right or wrong, but now that she had done it, she had no choice but to go down this path to the bitter end.
Looking up at the sky above, watching the free birds perched on the palace eaves, and feeling the warm sunlight shining on her, Ziwei felt that everything around her was so vibrant and full of life.
"Little...Princess," Jin Suo stepped forward slowly, looking at her with worry in her eyes. She subconsciously wanted to call her Miss Ziwei, but then suddenly realized that they were in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and immediately changed her address.
Hearing the sound, Ziwei turned around and met Jin Suo's worried and doubtful eyes. Ziwei comforted herself, thinking that no matter what, she still had Jin Suo and Xiao Yanzi by her side, and that was enough, wasn't it?
Ziwei patted Jinsuo's hand reassuringly, as if to tell Jinsuo that she was alright and that she no longer cared about this so-called father-daughter relationship.
Jin Suo seemed to understand Ziwei's hint, and then helped her young mistress step by step back to Shufangzhai.
The Emperor watched Ziwei depart into the distance, picked up his tea, which had grown somewhat cold, took a sip silently, and then stopped reviewing memorials, sitting on the dragon throne without uttering a word.
Li Yu saw this and was anxious. Who could he find to persuade the emperor?
The Emperor seemed to have noticed Li Yu's little actions as well. "I haven't even started to worry yet, what are you doing loitering around here?" The fact that the Emperor was still interested in saying this meant that nothing serious had happened.
"This servant is concerned for Your Majesty, fearing that this matter will anger and distress you." Li Yu wasn't exaggerating; after all, with the Emperor present, he was only in this position as the Grand Eunuch. He hoped more than anyone else that the Emperor would be well.
"I'm fine, I was just wondering how my daughter with Yuhe could have turned out like this?" The Emperor's eyes couldn't hide his desolation. He really didn't know where the understanding and well-mannered Ziwei had gone. Why had she become like this?
"Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with you. Don't blame yourself for all of this. It's very difficult to stay true to yourself in this palace." Li Yu has been with the Emperor for so many years, how could he not understand the Emperor's thoughts? If he really couldn't understand him, then his time as the chief eunuch would truly be over.
The Emperor sighed. Everyone longed for life in the palace, saying it was the most luxurious and carefree place. But once inside, if you didn't fare well, your life was like an ant's; if you did well, you lost your freedom. What was the point?
"You old codger, you're the only one who knows how to comfort me." The Emperor pointed at Li Yu and laughed and scolded him. Although he said this on the surface, he felt much better inside.
Immediately afterward, the Emperor went back to diligently reviewing memorials, and casually mentioned, "Summon the officials from the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Rites to see me." After saying this, the Emperor buried himself in the memorials.
Li Yu quietly withdrew, then instructed the eunuch beside him to announce that the person the Emperor had just mentioned had arrived.
*
"You've finally come back, why don't you stay a little longer?" Princess Rui held An Ke's hand with a face full of reluctance. Her own daughter had been separated from her for so many years because of her poor health. Now she could finally see her daughter properly, but her daughter also had her own things to do.
"Alright, she's been in the capital all along, hasn't she? It's not like she's going to some remote place." Prince Rui put his arm around Princess Rui's shoulder and gently comforted her.
Princess Rui immediately became anxious upon hearing this. "What do you mean by that? Then you can stay at the Prince's residence by yourself tonight. An'an and I will go to the palace to stay right now." The Princess was a fiery person, and once she said something, she was determined to do it.
The princess's personal maid simply covered her mouth and laughed before quickly running away.
Prince Rui never expected that even comforting the Princess Consort would lead to such a disastrous outcome. He should have let An'an handle this kind of comforting; now he'd truly lost both his wife and his money.
Looking at this loving family, Anke felt very fortunate to be here and to feel the warmth of family.
However, now is not the time to appreciate the saying "harmony brings prosperity." "Mother, I still have some things to take care of, so I'm afraid I can't return to the palace right now. How about I wait until I've finished my business and then come back to take you to the palace for a few days?" An Ke said, winking at Prince Rui.
Prince Rui immediately understood and took over the conversation, "Yes, after all, our daughter has her own things to do. As her parents, we shouldn't hold her back." As he spoke, he reached out to pull the princess back to the mansion.
An Ke watched her loving father and mother depart, then her gaze quickly turned from tender to cold. She boarded the carriage and instructed the driver, "Go to Huibinlou, and be quick."
The coachman, of course, obeyed his princess's orders and urged the horses onward at breakneck speed. Before long, they arrived at Huibinlou.
But now is the time when guests are about to arrive, so why is the guesthouse's door tightly closed? An Ke had doubts and did not get off the carriage, but simply asked the coachman to go up and knock on the door.
After all, whether Xiao Jian is here or not, it's best for her to stay out of the public eye. The coachman is fine; nobody here knows him anyway.
The door to Huibinlou was quickly knocked open, and a strange servant boy came out. After a brief conversation, the coachman hurried back.
Then, he respectfully said to the princess, "Your Highness, I have found out that the owner of this shop is renting it out. He said he doesn't plan to stay in the capital anymore, and his employees are packing up their things upstairs."
An Ke's mind was full of question marks. What was going on? Liu Qing and Liu Hong actually refused to do it? Even if her presence here would create a butterfly effect, this butterfly effect was too strong.
Helpless, Anke could only instruct the coachman to turn around, but as soon as they turned around, they saw a familiar figure at the corner of a small alley.
Anke stopped the carriage, then used her light-footed skills to leap onto the roof beam and quietly followed behind the man.
Then it quickly landed on the house the person had entered, and carefully moved the roof tiles so that it could hear the conversation inside without being discovered.
An Ke's eyes were right; the person inside was indeed Xiao Jian. An Ke narrowed her eyes warily. It seemed they were about to discuss something important, having rented such a secluded place.
I had to go through so many twists and turns to get here. I really don't know what kind of people could find such a place for Xiao Jian? They must be people who have lived in the capital for a long time. Otherwise, why would the residents here rent their houses to them?
Meng Dan's voice came from below. An Ke frowned. She hadn't expected that this idiot hadn't left yet. Did he still want to take Han Xiang away? Wasn't that just wishful thinking? Han Xiang had already resigned herself to her fate.
A moment later, someone arrived who was exactly as Anke had guessed—Fu Erkang.
"Is anyone following you?" Xiao Jian cautiously glanced behind Fu Erkang, afraid that he might be followed by someone. After all, what they were plotting was serious enough to lead to the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire clan.
"No, why would anyone be following me now? When you're out and about, do you ever check if anyone's following you?" Fu Erkang said irritably, feeling as if Xiao Jian's words were an invisible slap in his face.
After all, if he were still that illustrious imperial bodyguard, still the eldest son favored by his father, how could he be without servants now? It's clear that Xiao Jian's words were meant to pierce Fu Erkang's heart.
An Ke secretly watched them from the rooftop. Indeed, no one was following Fu Erkang. However, Xiao Jian was too confident. Although he took several detours, An Ke still managed to keep up with him.
Xiao Jian wasn't angry at Fu Erkang's furious words; this was exactly the effect he wanted, wasn't it? "So? Has your wedding been arranged?" Xiao Jian only cared about his own affairs.
This tone was hard for the arrogant Fu Erkang to accept, but what could he do? He had embarked on this path of no return from the very beginning. He said in a muffled voice, "It's settled, the tenth of next month."
This hasty marriage was not what Fu Erkang wanted. He wanted to give Ziwei a grand wedding, one that would be the envy of the entire capital. But now, he could not do it.
"That makes things easier. We'll blend into your wedding procession, and no one will be able to tell," Meng Dan said happily. After all, he had already had Fu Erkang draw up a map of the palaces, so he already knew where Hanxiang's Baoyue Tower was.
He was confident that he could persuade Hanxiang to elope with him.
While Meng Dan was still daydreaming, and Fu Erkang seemed lost in thought, Xiao Jian thought that at least his two teammates were somewhat useful. The three then whispered amongst themselves, thinking no one would hear them, but every word reached An Ke's ears.
After listening to their conversation, Anke quickly and securely covered the tile again, and then left quietly.
This trip was really worthwhile; I finally managed to gather some useful information. The only problem is that I didn't find out where the remnants of the White Lotus Sect are hiding.
Fortunately, they will all come out in full force and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
As dusk fell, An Ke leisurely returned to the palace, without even going back to Cining Palace, and went directly to Yangxin Hall to meet the Emperor.
"I heard from Li Yu that you returned to the Prince's residence today. Why didn't you stay a few more days?" An Ke returned just as it was time for dinner.
Seeing that An Ke looked exhausted, the Emperor knew that she had not eaten dinner, so he immediately ordered Li Yu to serve her the meal.
Upon receiving the decree, Li Yu immediately set out dinner in the dining hall. An Ke ate slowly yet quickly. The Emperor watched with a smile.
After dinner, An Ke sat on the Emperor's soft couch, drinking flower tea to aid digestion. She also played chess with the Emperor, telling him about her experiences and observations of the day.
The Emperor's expression turned serious for a moment, but he quickly relaxed. "It seems that this time we won't need to search everywhere for the remnants of the White Lotus Sect."
"Why is An'an looking at me like that?" The Emperor finished speaking and, not hearing his niece respond, looked up and met An's bright, large eyes.
"It's not that I'm a little dazzled by the Emperor's wisdom and might," An Ke said with a smile, flattering him.
The Emperor knew exactly what she was thinking and immediately called her out, saying, "Speak your mind, don't try to flatter me."
"I just want to know, does Your Majesty really want them to cause trouble on the day of Ziwei's wedding?" An Ke asked with some doubt. After all, Ziwei is the Emperor's daughter. What if the Emperor regrets it later?
The Emperor was momentarily stunned, holding the white flag in his hand, unable to place it on the chessboard for a long time. After a long while, he sighed helplessly, "She asked for this herself, so she should bear all the consequences."
She should have known this day would come when she asked the Emperor to arrange her marriage at the banquet.
An Ke then felt relieved and quietly played chess with the Emperor. They played game after game, and the laughter and chatter in the Hall of Mental Cultivation never stopped.
Li Yu served him with a smile, and indeed, apart from Princess Yong'an, no one in the palace could make the emperor smile like that.
Time flies, and the seventh day of the Lunar New Year is here in the blink of an eye.
Early in the morning, the news spread throughout the palace and beyond that the generals who had escorted the Burmese troops had all returned.
Upon hearing the news, Qing'er immediately ran to An Ke's room to ask An Ke if it was true or false.
After receiving Anke's affirmative answer, Qing'er was also filled with excitement. These days, Qing'er had also figured it out: if she had fallen in love, she had fallen in love. She couldn't let a wrong relationship prevent her from starting a new one.
Anke and Xinrong were also happy for Qing'er, but Anke had more on her mind. She was thinking about getting married together with Qing'er.
So he thought about waiting until a certain time, then secretly going to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to ask his uncle for help.
Soon the emperor organized the concubines and civil and military officials to welcome them on the city tower.
Anke looked at Fu Ertai riding a tall horse ahead and couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat. She still waved to Fu Ertai.
Fu'ertai responded enthusiastically when the princess waved to him. Ji Chu, who was standing to the side, was somewhat absent-minded, but his eyes lit up when he saw Princess Qing on the city wall.
Princess actually came. When he received the amulet from her, he was delighted, but he was also afraid that she had given it to him on a whim.
He clutched the amulet tightly all night; without it, he couldn't sleep peacefully. He kept thinking that once he returned, he would immediately ask Princess Qing for her opinion of him.
But now, looking at the woman smiling radiantly at him from the city wall, Ji Chu thought he already knew the answer. This was more gratifying than any promotion or reward.
Looking at Ji Chu's state, Fu Ertai seemed to see his own past self. "See, I told you Qing Gege had feelings for you."
Yes, when Ertai saw Ji Chu looking so absent-minded, he thought that although Ji Chu was physically there, his mind had already wandered to the capital. So he couldn't help but remind him and then comfort him.
The Emperor was very pleased to see everyone return safely. He was overjoyed and said "good" several times.
Fu Ertai and Ji Chu, leading the generals behind them, knelt before the emperor and said loudly, "We have successfully completed the task Your Majesty ordered."
Those who knew the situation naturally marveled at their luck. Those who didn't know the truth thought it was just a simple escort mission, yet these Burmese envoys received such praise from the emperor, and for a moment they regretted not going along.
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