Anke only paused for a moment at the palace gate, looking at the scene before her, and felt happy to have met the right person.
An Ke didn't linger for long, only glancing at it a few times before turning her gaze away and heading towards the Cining Palace.
This left the guards at Yonghe Palace quite puzzled. The princess had already reached the entrance, so why wasn't she going in? Could it be that the Fifth Prince had angered the princess?
An Ke was unaware that because she hadn't entered Yonghe Palace, the guards there were secretly plotting against the Fifth Prince.
*
Shufangzhai
Ever since Ziwei sobered up, she had been sitting listlessly at the stone table. Jin Suo called her to eat, but Ziwei wouldn't listen. Xiao Yanzi tried to tease her, but Ziwei didn't smile.
The two had no other choice, but they couldn't just stand by and watch Ziwei freeze outside, so they took a thick cloak from inside and draped it over her shoulders. Xiao Yanzi sat quietly beside Ziwei, keeping her company.
Ziwei sighed almost imperceptibly, and Xiaoyanzi quickly asked what was wrong. Ziwei's brows were filled with sorrow, "Xiaoyanzi, I was really drunk at the time, otherwise I wouldn't have said such things to Father Emperor."
Ziwei was now truly terrified. She never imagined that, after getting drunk, she would publicly beg her father, the Emperor, to arrange a marriage between her and Fu Erkang in front of so many people. She really hadn't expected it; otherwise, she wouldn't have drunk so much.
No matter how distressed Ziwei was, her words were like water spilled and could not be taken back. Moreover, the Emperor's words were law; how could they be taken back so easily? Especially since it happened in front of all the civil and military officials. If she took it back, where would the Emperor's face be?
Ziwei felt a pang of panic. She hadn't even regained her father's favor yet, and Erkang hadn't been reinstated. If they were to get married now, it would be a far cry from the marriage she had imagined. Moreover, she didn't want to get married in such a muddled way.
But now Ziwei can't even leave the gate of Shufangzhai. The guards outside said that the Emperor has issued an order that Princess Ziwei must not step out of Shufangzhai before her marriage.
Ziwei could only obediently retreat, after all, she couldn't afford to displease her father again. But Ziwei still felt uneasy, as if she had lost something important, and felt a stifling discomfort.
"It's alright. In the end, didn't the Emperor still agree to let you and Erkang get married? The Emperor still cares about you and Erkang." Xiao Yanzi didn't know how to comfort Ziwei. She was also somewhat shocked that night.
I never imagined that Ziwei would say such a thing. But then I thought, maybe Ziwei had been suppressing her emotions for too long, and it's my fault for not noticing Ziwei's emotional distress immediately.
"Little Swallow, think about it carefully again. What was Father Emperor's expression like back then?" Ziwei held Little Swallow tightly, like someone who had fallen into the water clinging to the last piece of driftwood.
Xiao Yanzi felt as if Ziwei's fingernails were digging into her flesh, but Xiao Yanzi remained silent and carefully recalled the question before answering Ziwei's question in detail.
After hearing Xiao Yanzi's explanation, Ziwei immediately felt utterly hopeless and removed her hand from Xiao Yanzi's arm. As if all hope had vanished, Ziwei silently withdrew her hand and mechanically walked towards the house.
Xiao Yanzi looked at Ziwei with a pained expression from behind, and Jin Suo also stopped cleaning and watched Ziwei's every move.
As for the others in Shufangzhai, they were busy with their own affairs. Since the master of Shufangzhai changed, Jin Suo had been in charge of everything. In Shufangzhai, she was the head maid who had the final say.
The people who used to be so kind and amiable now seem to have changed completely. However, the people in Shufangzhai have gotten used to it by now, busy with their own tasks and no longer stopping to pay attention to anything else.
*
Imperial Kitchen
Chef Zhuang was busy in the small world of the Imperial Kitchen. One moment this nobleman wanted to eat crab meat pastry, and the next he wanted to eat lotus root starch dumplings.
Master Zhuang directed the eunuchs inside to do this and that.
This made Fu Erkang, the cook, somewhat more relaxed. Fu Erkang was naturally happy to see this happen.
After all, in Fu Erkang's mind, he should be the center of attention, pampered and cared for in luxury. He shouldn't be living such a miserable life, where he, the most valiant warrior, has been demoted to the lowest level of cook.
Fu Erkang was unwilling to accept this, and even felt that the Emperor was no longer as wise and insightful as before. How could he, someone with such great potential, be demoted to this place?
Here, he can only help start the fire. It would be better to send him to the front as a guard to protect the emperor, or even to fight on the battlefield. That would be a better use of the martial arts skills he has learned.
Fu Erkang was filled with resentment, wondering if Benjamin would relay his words to Princess Yong'an. The thought of Princess Yong'an made Fu Erkang's teeth itch with rage.
Princess Yong'an is truly the nemesis of the Fu family. Not only does she bring misfortune to their father and mother, causing their marital discord, but she also brings misfortune to him and Ziwei, causing him to be demoted repeatedly and Ziwei to lose the Emperor's favor. Furthermore, she brings misfortune to the entire Fu family. Ertai had already achieved great things, but he still threw a tantrum and broke away from the Fu family.
Fu Erkang grew angrier the more he thought about it, even imagining Princess Yong'an and Fu Ertai in his hands, and shoved the firewood into the fire with all his might. It was as if doing so could vent his anger.
Master Zhuang didn't bother with him. He was just doing what the princess instructed, so he let the rest go.
Seeing the once smug Master Fu now toiling away in the imperial kitchen just like them, Master Zhuang felt a surge of satisfaction. After all, Master Zhuang still remembered how Fu Erkang had caused a scene in the imperial kitchen because of Princess Ziwei.
Even though Ziwei is now a princess, Master Zhuang still feels uneasy, as if there's a thorn in his side. And now, Fu Erkang, who once looked down on them the most, has become one of them, and even has to enjoy what he once said about the imperial kitchen not being hot.
With that in mind, how could Master Zhuang not feel happy?
"Fu'erkang, what are you doing there? Turn the fire up a bit!" Master Zhuang immediately complained, looking at the small flames. "This is going to be served to the Empress Dowager right away. This fire is too small. If you delay the Empress Dowager's meal, how many heads do you have to pay for it?"
The other kitchen staff were still busy with their own tasks, but Fu Erkang felt extremely ashamed, as if some eunuch was laughing at him.
But Fu Erkang dared not complain at all, fearing that the walls might have ears and that what he said would soon reach the Emperor's ears.
He still remembers the earnest advice his father gave him after the banquet yesterday.
Yesterday, when his father told him that Ziwei had asked him to marry her at the banquet, Fu Erkang was so happy that he was almost disoriented.
But Fu Erkang was very perceptive. Seeing his father and mother's worried and gloomy faces, he knew he had been too happy too soon. He had assumed the Emperor didn't approve of the marriage, but his father's next words completely overturned his understanding.
Yes, he's still just a lowly cook in the imperial kitchen, not a guard, much less the once proud and powerful imperial bodyguard. Even if he marries Ziwei, what then? It's still not a glorious life.
Moreover, for such a marriage proposal to require Ziwei to petition the Emperor in front of so many people, the Emperor must be extremely displeased.
Fu Erkang felt as if he had just ascended to the clouds and then instantly plummeted back to hell, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him.
After calming down, he also felt something was amiss, but he couldn't let Ziwei go to the Emperor again to ask her to retract what she had said the night before. If she did, Ziwei's image in the Emperor's eyes would suffer greatly.
Then he thought of his younger brother and Princess Yong'an, whose wedding would surely be the grandest ever. This thought only fueled Fu Erkang's resentment. He was clearly full of talent and learning, yet the Emperor seemed oblivious to his worth.
While it must be admitted that his younger brother was indeed quite capable, it was all just a lucky break. Fu Erkang still refuses to admit that he is inferior to Fu Ertai, naturally unwilling to be inferior to him in anything.
But the thought of Fu Ertai reminded him of Princess Yong'an, so Fu Erkang had no choice but to entrust this task to his former good brother Benjamin.
Fortunately, Benjamin didn't betray them like Yongqi did; they didn't bother with him at all. However, Benjamin was ultimately just an artist and couldn't play a significant role, but even a simple message from him would suffice.
What Fu Erkang didn't know was that Benjamin actually didn't want to take on this hot potato either, but was only going through the motions out of consideration for their past friendship. As for saying nice things, forget about it; he was just stating the facts.
Fu Erkang, however, was still fantasizing that Princess Yong'an would actually run up to the Emperor and speak well of him and Ziwei. After all, no matter what, the person she loved was his younger brother.
Although Fu Ertai has been removed from the Fu family, the blood ties are still there, and they cannot be severed. Can one stroke write two "Fu" characters?
Fu Erkang decided that if Princess Yong'an helped him, he wouldn't necessarily stop treating Ertai as a younger brother. After all, with Princess Yong'an backing them up, they would truly have the strongest support.
Unfortunately, dreams are often grand, but reality is often harsh.
No matter what Fu Erkang fantasized about, at this moment he could only light a fire in this small corner of Yushanfang.
*
Huibinlou
Liu Hong smiled as she calculated how much silver she had earned that day, while talking to Liu Qing.
Liu Qing took a sip of tea and then said with a furrowed brow, "It seems like quite a long time has passed since Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei came to visit us."
Liu Hong paused in her work on the abacus beads, then silently calculated in her mind before exclaiming in surprise, "Yes, it's been almost half a month." Liu Hong couldn't help but wonder if they had done something wrong in the palace that had confined them to the palace and prevented them from leaving.
After all, that's what Xiao Yanzi said back then, isn't it? But no matter how big a mistake they made, they were only confined to their quarters for a while. They would eventually come out for some fresh air, especially someone like Xiao Yanzi. Liu Hong found it unbelievable that she could stay cooped up in the palace for so long.
As Little Swallow herself said, unless the sun rises in the west, the palace can't hold her back.
Liu Qing, however, sensed something was amiss and detected something unusual. "Something's not right. If they were really confined to the palace, they would find a way to sneak out. Think about it carefully. Back then, Xiao Yanzi said she would be confined to the palace for a month, but she slipped out in less than half a month."
Liu Hong thought back carefully, and it was true. Back then, Xiao Yanzi, dressed as a palace eunuch, had secretly slipped out of the palace. Even if she were truly confined, Xiao Yanzi would always find a way to escape. But now she couldn't leave the palace, which meant…
Liu Hong felt a sudden tightness in her chest, as if something bad had happened. Just as she was about to say something, she looked up and saw the private room upstairs. She quickly regained her composure, leaned close to Liu Qing, and whispered, "Brother, should we leave Beijing right now?"
Liu Qing calmly put down his teacup. "We can't alert them yet. What if someone investigates us after we leave Beijing now?"
After all, when Xiao Yanzi and her friends left the palace, they mostly came to Huibinlou. Even if they didn't run into familiar palace maids and eunuchs outside the palace, surely they wouldn't run into some familiar ministers or nannies who were out making purchases?
If an investigation were to be launched, their use of the openwork Huibinlou would become the prime suspect.
"What should we do? We still have the tenement, and we have a whole family to support, young and old." Although Liu Hong wanted to be loyal to Xiao Yanzi, after an old woman in the tenement passed away this year, Liu Hong felt that it was her and Liu Qing's responsibility to support the family in the tenement.
Moreover, when Xiao Yanzi lived in the tenement, the old lady doted on her the most. But when the old lady passed away, Xiao Yanzi was confined to the palace and couldn't come back. Liu Hongxin was heartbroken.
Liu Hong knew she couldn't blame Xiao Yanzi from back then, but she didn't know who to direct her anger at.
There are still quite a few elderly and young people living in this courtyard. We can't let so many people lose their lives because of their so-called loyalty. Grandma Ding has trouble walking, and Grandma Ye needs to get medicine all year round, not to mention those children. If we don't let them read and write now, who knows what kind of future they'll have?
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