Having made up her mind, Ziwei stopped hesitating and walked directly toward Anke.
Anke was having a lively discussion with Qing'er when they were suddenly interrupted.
"Princess Yong'an, please save the princess!" Ziwei pleaded without saying a word, her eyes reddening. Anke really wondered if she was a water pipe in her past life, how could she cry so easily and so readily.
"The two of them were competing, how could it be a matter of saving lives?" An Ke said coldly. If she didn't want Xiao Yanzi to compete, why didn't she stop her just now?
“But,” Ziwei hesitated, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t, her eyes welling up with tears. Anke frowned, a little annoyed.
Ziwei glanced at the people around her and pursed her lips. "Princess, the princess's whip was knocked away by that Mongolian princess, and now the princess is just passively taking a beating. Regardless of any past grievances between the princess and the princess, this competition is ultimately a contest between the Qing Dynasty and Mongolia. Surely the princess doesn't want the Qing Dynasty to lose?"
An Ke glanced at Ziwei meaningfully. Not bad, she's even trying to morally blackmail her now. Too bad, she has no morals.
"Oh, then tell me, what grudge does this princess have against Little Swallow?" An Ke looked at her with a leisurely expression, wanting to see what she could say. "Besides, are you seeing things? There's clearly a truce gong over there. If she surrendered, she would have just rung that one." An Ke said lightly.
In previous competitions, there was no truce gong. Anke planned that no one would stop Xiao Yanzi today, and she might fly onto the stage to compete with someone. So, she set up a truce gong in advance before the competition started.
This was also part of Anke's plan, because Anke knew that Xiaoyanzi would never ring the truce gong in front of Saiya.
Upon hearing An Ke's words, Ziwei stiffly turned to look at the arena. A gleaming gong hung on the left side of the arena. Ziwei felt a little dizzy. She understood Xiaoyanzi's personality; after competing with that Mongolian princess for so long, asking her to strike the truce gong was absolutely out of the question.
But hearing Xiao Yanzi's painful wails, Ziwei pinched her palm hard to steady herself. "Princess, the princess is a bit arrogant, and besides, she's been beaten by the Mongolian princess for so long, the princess..."
An Ke waved her hand; she didn't want to listen to Ziwei's incessant nagging anymore. Seeing that Saiya had already whipped Xiao Yanzi to pieces, if Saiya continued, the Emperor would likely become displeased with the Mongols. Besides, this was on their Qing territory; no matter what, Saiya whipping their Qing princess like that was a loss of face for the Qing Dynasty.
An Ke flew onto the arena, and when he saw that Saiya was about to strike Xiao Yanzi with her whip again, he pulled out a folding fan from his clothes and directly blocked Saiya's whip.
"Princess Saiya truly wields a fine whip, wielding it with remarkable skill. Consider this a loss for our Great Qing." An Ke said, clasping his hands in a gesture of respect as he stepped onto the stage, ensuring that neither the Great Qing nor Saiya would lose face.
"Sister, you use your fan so well." Saiya had put away her whip as soon as it was deflected, and then walked to Anke's side with an admiring look. She reached out and touched Anke's folding fan. "How amazing! Such a thin folding fan can actually block my whip."
As expected, the Emperor's expression softened slightly. He was somewhat annoyed that Xiao Yanzi had jumped onto the stage without warning and challenged the Mongolian princess. However, this did not mean that the Mongolian princess could whip a Qing princess in front of Qing officials and concubines.
Is this a humiliation of the Qing Dynasty's princess? It's practically rubbing the Qing Dynasty's face in the dirt. An'an's approach was excellent; it preserved the Qing Dynasty's dignity without damaging relations with the Mongols.
"Haha, Your Majesty, your niece is truly skilled!" Ziker looked at the dazzling woman on the stage with admiration. "Excellent, truly excellent!"
"Haha, my niece is both scholarly and martial, a talent she has possessed since childhood." The Emperor no longer bothered with modesty and readily accepted Ziker's praise.
Although Xiao Yanzi had been whipped a few times, she still didn't learn her lesson. Now, relying on someone backing her up, she stood up and hid behind An Ke, defiantly challenging Saiya. "Saiya, if you're so capable, then fight An Ke! Didn't you want to fight the masters of the Qing Dynasty?"
An Ke was really annoyed with Xiao Yanzi. She'd just thought she was carefree, but now she was just plain brainless. Did she even realize the situation? And she dared to hide behind her and provoke them?
They couldn't beat them and were beaten so badly they had to run away with their tails between their legs. Now that someone was coming to mediate, they were even trying to drag them down with them. An Ke's eyes turned cold, and she turned back to glare fiercely at Xiao Yanzi.
Xiao Yanzi froze on the spot after being glared at by An Ke. She found An Ke terrifying, and the look An Ke gave her made her feel that if they weren't on the competition field, An Ke might very well slap her.
Seeing that Xiao Yanzi had behaved herself, An Ke then spoke to Saiya again, "If you like them, I'll give you a few after we return to the palace."
“Okay, okay, sister, where do you live? I’ll come find you then,” Saiya said, her eyes shining.
"Saya, what are you still doing standing on the stage? Come back here!" Ziker called out at this moment.
Saiya smiled at Anke, then turned and went back to the stands. She then affectionately took Ziker's arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
An Ke glanced at Xiao Yanzi behind her and whispered, "You should be able to walk, right? If you can, then come down from the stage with me."
Little Swallow didn't dare to utter a sound at this moment. She obediently nodded and silently followed behind Anke. She sat obediently in the stands, no longer as energetic as before, challenging Saiya.
The rest of the competition went very smoothly, and in the end, the Qing Dynasty emerged victorious.
The emperor also had a beaming smile on his face, but he restrained himself slightly because Ziker was still there.
After the match, it'll be time for a banquet!
The state banquet that followed that evening was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Anke felt his bottom was a little numb from sitting on the bench all morning. Finally, the competition ended, and Anke quickly stood up and stretched. The Mongolian prince and Saiya also returned to their current lodgings.
Now only the people of the Qing Dynasty remain. The Emperor, his face ashen, ordered Fu Lun to take Fu Erkang and Xiao Yanzi to his Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Anke and Qing'er followed the Empress Dowager back to Cining Palace. After having lunch with her, the Empress Dowager went for a nap.
Seeing that Qing'er also looked listless, An Ke knew that Qing'er must have had back pain from sitting all morning. So An Ke simply made an excuse to go back to her own palace.
After returning to her bedroom, Anke took off her outer robe and lay down comfortably on the soft couch by the window.
The Cining Palace has never run out of ice; even now, at the end of summer, there is still ice available for use.
Xia Zhi stood behind a vat filled with ice, gently fanning An Ke with a fan to cool her down. Listening to the incessant chirping of cicadas outside, An Ke fell asleep comfortably on the soft couch.
The Empress Dowager originally intended to have all the cicadas outside Anke's bedroom caught, but Anke felt that having the palace maids and eunuchs catch cicadas in the middle of the day could easily cause them to suffer from heatstroke, so she set a rule for them: wait until the sun was setting before taking sticky sticks to catch all the cicadas.
The palace maids and eunuchs were all very grateful for An Ke's kindness, after all, no one wanted to do physical labor under the midday sun.
After Anke woke up, she vaguely took the handkerchief from Xingxing's hand, wiped her face, and immediately became fully awake.
Seeing Xingxing's expression of wanting to laugh but holding it back, Anke knew that she had probably heard some gossip somewhere and was now eager to share it with someone.
Anke reached out her slender, white hand, pinched a grape, and slowly put it into her mouth. This made Xingxing, who was standing nearby, very anxious, wanting to share it with the princess.
"Princess." Xingxing finally couldn't contain herself and called out softly.
"Alright, tell me, what did you find out this time?" Anke opened her eyes with amusement. Xingxing had been serving her since childhood. She had learned a lot from being by her side, but she had never learned to keep her emotions in check.
But that's fine too, at least this girl can't keep things to herself.
"Princess, you're teasing Xingxing again." Xingxing blushed, and when she saw Anke's expression, she knew that Anke had just been teasing her.
In the end, the desire to share overcame her blushing. "When I came back from the Imperial Kitchen, I heard the palace maids in the corridor talking. I was curious, so I went over to listen."
Anke ate her fruit leisurely, looking rather lazy, but her ears were clearly listening attentively to Xingxing's gossip.
"So, Princess, do you know what happened?" Xingxing's eyes widened. Anke shook her head in agreement.
"I heard the Emperor had a huge tantrum," Xingxing said, taking a few steps toward Anke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "I heard that Fu Erkang was given 20 lashes again, and the Emperor reprimanded him, telling him to discipline his son properly. He also punished Huanzhu Gege by making her copy the palace rules 100 times within three days, and she can't ask anyone else to do it. I heard that if she doesn't finish, she can't leave Shufangzhai."
After saying that, Xingxing looked at Anke with an expression that seemed to be asking for praise.
"Our Xingxing is amazing! She found out exactly what I wanted to find out." Anke showered Xingxing with compliments, keeping her blushing for a full second.
However, punishing Xiao Yanzi by making her copy the palace rules was indeed quite a challenge for her. After all, back then, her copying of the "Great Harmony" chapter of the Book of Rites was done with someone holding her hand. Now, she had to copy it page by page by herself.
Just then, Chunfen came in and said that Xiao Luzi, who was by the Emperor's side, was waiting for Princess Yong'an outside Cining Palace.
An Ke frowned. Why was her uncle calling her at this time? But now was not the time to think or hesitate.
Anke put on her coat and sat down in front of the dressing table, letting Xingxing redo her makeup.
As An Ke stepped out of the bedchamber, she realized it was probably quite late; the sun had already set. It was just that it wasn't dark yet.
Once you exit the Cining Palace, you'll see a small path waiting to the side outside the palace gate.
As soon as Xiao Luzi saw An Ke come out, he hurriedly went to greet her. "Princess, His Majesty requests that you move to the Hall of Mental Cultivation."
An Ke smiled and nodded to Xiao Luzi. When they were almost at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, An Ke asked, "Eunuch Xiao Luzi, may I ask why His Majesty summoned me here?"
"Well, His Majesty said he can't tell you yet," Xiao Luzi said with a smile. "He said you'll know when you arrive."
An Ke didn't ask any further. Judging from Xiao Luzi's expression, it was definitely good news. Since it was good news, there was no need to ask anymore. It must be that her imperial uncle was going to give her something again. After all, she had helped the Qing Dynasty save face that morning.
The Emperor is fair in his rewards and punishments; he has punished those who deserve punishment and rewarded those who deserve reward. Anke seemed to have seen through the truth.
However, Anke's plan is likely to fail this time.
When An Ke stepped into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she felt that everything was quiet. She called out "Uncle" softly twice, but no one answered.
An Ke was starting to suspect that someone was deliberately playing a trick on her, but even if someone wanted to play a trick on her, who could possibly command the emperor's personal assistant?
Just as Anke was about to go out to investigate, a soft cough came from behind her. Anke turned around and her eyes widened in disbelief.
She rubbed her eyes, then closed them again, repeating this several times as she looked at the two people in front of her. Anke could no longer contain the longing that had been building up in her heart and ran straight towards them.
A woman dressed in a magnificent purple brocade robe, tears welling in her eyes, embraced Anke tightly, murmuring, "Let your mother see, I feel you've lost weight. Have you been having a poor appetite lately?" Princess Rui tenderly stroked Anke's cheek. There's a saying: There's a kind of heartache that comes from your own mother thinking you've lost weight.
Prince Rui, standing nearby, felt somewhat at a loss. He put his fist to his mouth and coughed lightly, trying to attract the attention of the mother and daughter.
However, the mother and daughter were focused on each other and didn't pay any attention to Prince Rui's light cough. Prince Rui didn't feel embarrassed either; as long as he wasn't embarrassed, it was others who were.
He had already developed a thick skin while pursuing the princess. So, he walked over to the mother and daughter and put his arms around them. "Alright, alright, aren't you happy to see An'an? Isn't this a good thing? Why are you crying when you see your daughter?"
Upon hearing this, Anke quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears from her mother's face. "Mother, will you go out sightseeing again this time you're back?" Anke felt she had to prepare herself for being abandoned again.
The result was unexpected. Prince Rui angrily said, "Why aren't you going out? What's the point of hiking and swimming? Your own daughter is about to be kidnapped! I saw my brother's letter saying that you and a man are in love. Who is that man? Whose son is he? Who is his father? What is his official position? How many people are in his family?"
Prince Rui, looking determined to get to the bottom of things, was met with a light cough from his wife, who gave him a sharp look. Prince Rui immediately became as obedient as could be.
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