At that moment, Xiao Yanzi, who was in Shufangzhai, felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart, and two lines of tears involuntarily slid down her cheeks.
Ziwei found it strange that Xiaoyanzi seemed to know something, but she immediately denied it in her heart. Xiaoyanzi did not know that Xiao Jian was her biological brother. She thought that the White Lotus Sect had rebelled and instigated a conflict between Erkang and the Emperor.
But no matter how she looked at it, something seemed off. At such a crucial moment, Ziwei didn't want to cause any trouble, so she immediately asked with concern, "Little Swallow, what's wrong?"
Little Swallow wiped her tears with the back of her hand and intermittently pretended to sneeze twice. "I didn't close the doors and windows properly these past two nights, so I caught a bit of a cold. Sneezing and tearing up are common occurrences," Little Swallow quickly made up an excuse for herself.
Upon hearing Xiao Yanzi's explanation, Ziwei immediately stopped asking questions. Sometimes, she would even shed tears of irrationality from sneezing.
But Ziwei still didn't want to give up. After all, this was the most important step in her revenge. If Xiaoyanzi didn't go with her, how could she pin all the trouble on her and Hanxiang?
Although Xiao Jian is dead, Xiao Yanzi was, after all, the one who usurped his place. Moreover, Ziwei didn't derive any pleasure from Xiao Jian's death. Seeing Xiao Yanzi like this, she was also conflicted. However, Fu Erkang had won her heart now.
"It's been quite a while since I've left the palace to see Liu Qing and Liu Hong. Little Swallow, don't you miss them?" Ziwei continued to coax her, completely unaware that the more she spoke, the tighter Little Swallow gripped the broom. "Just think of it as keeping me company and helping me relax. Ever since Erkang left, I've often dreamed of him. I also want to go to the Fu family to see him one last time."
That was indeed true. Ziwei's eyes reddened slightly. After all, everyone knew that Fu Lun was resigning from his official post. Although she hadn't married Er Kang, in her heart, she and Er Kang were practically husband and wife. Even so, she still wanted to see Er Kang off on his final journey.
Xiao Yanzi remembered what An Ke had told her before, and turned around to agree, "Okay, but it won't be easy for us to leave the palace."
Xiao Yanzi thought of Consort Ling, who now treated them like a monstrous flood, and knew that everyone in the palace was only trying to protect themselves. But she couldn't help feeling disheartened; Consort Ling herself was barely able to protect herself, let alone plead for them and let them leave the palace.
Ziwei bit her lip secretly, then said confidently, "It's alright, Little Swallow. I'll go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to see Father Emperor later, and we'll leave the palace tomorrow." After saying that, Ziwei went to the small kitchen to tinker with things.
Little Swallow didn't ask any questions. She just dutifully swept her floor, and after sweeping, she wiped the tables and windows, keeping herself busy like a spinning top.
Ziwei stayed inside for less than a short while before making her best pastries. She then happily carried the plates towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
"Princess, did you two have a falling out?" Xiao Dengzi, who was wiping the tables and chairs, asked Xiao Yanzi as she saw Ziwei and Jin Suo leave.
"Why would you ask such a question? I'm no longer a princess. I'm just like you all. You can just call me Little Swallow." Little Swallow didn't want to involve more people. She only hoped that they could be safe and sound, especially after learning that her own brother had passed away today. She hoped even more that the people she cared about could be healthy.
"But something seems off about the situation between you two," Mingyue said, stepping forward to voice her doubts. "Is there some misunderstanding?"
"It's nothing, really nothing. It's just that I'm having some trouble figuring things out and I'm getting stuck on one thing." After saying that, Xiao Yanzi didn't dare to stay there any longer, afraid that she would burst out telling them about it the next second.
After Xiao Yanzi ran away with the basin, the palace maids and eunuchs behind her huddled together and chattered, "It feels like Princess Huanzhu isn't as bright and cheerful as she used to be."
"Yes, no matter what, the princess was helping her deliver a message to the emperor, but now..."
Everyone was a little down, but they quickly recovered; life goes on.
Hall of Mental Cultivation
An Ke arrived early in the morning, but instead of doing anything, he sat with the Emperor on the dragon throne and reviewed memorials.
The Emperor felt as if the sun had risen in the west. While reviewing memorials, he couldn't help but glance at her several times. When An Ke put down the memorials and pressed her arm, the Emperor finally found an opportunity to speak, "What's wrong with you today? Has the sun risen in the west? Are you here to fawn over me?" The Emperor was greatly puzzled.
"You really can't think of me in a good light. Can't I just feel sorry for you, my uncle? Seeing you working so hard day and night, I feel really bad." After saying that, An Ke continued to bury herself in the memorials.
The more An Ke looked at him, the angrier he became. What were these ministers doing? They were paying their respects every morning and evening. If they were really so idle, they could have thought about how to build more water conservancy projects and weapons.
Seeing his sullen niece, the Emperor quickly poured her a cup of tea and placed it next to her. He also sped up his work of reviewing memorials.
When only one or two books remained to be approved, An Ke had already stopped and sat down to enjoy the maid's shoulder massage while she closed her eyes and meditated.
Just as he guessed that the emperor had finished approving the documents, An Ke opened her eyes. "Uncle, I have something to tell you, but please don't be angry." An Ke quickly moved closer to the emperor.
The Emperor looked at her with amusement. "Oh, so you've come so early to help me review memorials because you've gotten into trouble? Tell me, and I'll see if I can help you resolve it." The Emperor picked up a teacup and took a sip.
An Ke waved her hand, and all the palace maids and eunuchs serving in the Hall of Mental Cultivation withdrew. The Emperor, seeing An Ke's actions, felt that the news she brought this time would be quite shocking.
After all, the last time this happened was when she was about to travel the world with her younger brother, and she secretly came to tell him so that she wouldn't be discovered.
"Are you leaving the capital again? Where are you planning to travel? How many guards are you taking? Did your father agree? Your father and mother have already decided not to leave, so what are you up to now?" The Emperor thought An Ke was going to travel around again and couldn't help but feel a little worried.
An Ke listened to the Emperor's long, rambling speech, none of which seemed to be on point, and for a moment found it somewhat amusing. "What? When did I say I was going to travel the world?"
The emperor suddenly felt that things had taken a turn for the better, and hurriedly said, "Then tell me, what is it that has made you go to such lengths?"
An Ke recounted in detail to the Emperor the events of the past two days and her upcoming plans. The Emperor was shocked and incredulous. "Are you sure? Ziwei is going to drug me and send Consort Xiang to assassinate me?"
For a moment, the Emperor could hardly believe his ears. Was this still the same delicate Ziwei from before? Just because he ordered the execution of Fu Erkang, was she going to treat her father like this?
Noticing the Emperor's confusion, An Ke spoke up, "When I was traveling around, I heard a very meaningful story. A handsome young man in the area fell in love with a Miss Xu who was his equal in social standing. They spent their days composing poems together and their winters sitting around the fireplace enjoying the warmth of spring. Their lives were quite blissful."
The Emperor nodded in approval from the side, listening with great interest to An Ke's story.
"But that young master was the most philandering. He felt that since he had married Miss Xu, who was of equal social standing, he didn't need to worry about things at home. He could go out and seek pleasure with other women. Miss Xu only tried to dissuade him when she found out. But he not only didn't listen, but also thought that Miss Xu was not following the precepts and virtues of women." An Ke simply recounted this story in a calm tone, without the slightest fluctuation on her face.
In contrast, the Emperor's brows were furrowed, as if he were trying to glean some inspiration from this. Seeing that An Ke had stopped, the Emperor immediately said, "Continue."
"He even threatened to divorce that Miss Xu, saying he would find another virtuous and gentle woman to manage his household. The woman could only temporarily give up, and she spent her days in tears, but she couldn't win back even a shred of the young master's conscience. While the woman was seriously ill, he even took a woman he was in love with outside the marriage as a concubine. He was utterly heartless and fickle, and ultimately passed away the day after the woman's marriage." As she said this, An Ke's eyelids drooped slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes, almost spilling over.
The Emperor was also furious and said, “This heartless man is not worthy of such a virtuous and righteous Miss Xu.”
“Who says otherwise?” An Ke laughed sarcastically. “Yet on the day Miss Xu was to be buried, he rushed over, stood in front of the coffin, and wept uncontrollably. He even cut his hair in public, his eyes bloodshot and quite frightening. After settling his official wife, he turned around and blamed the girl he was in love with, accusing her of seducing him. How ridiculous! If he didn’t want it, how could that woman have forced him?”
The Emperor nodded in agreement once more, almost like a nodding machine.
"But no matter how deep his affection, that Miss Xu would never come back. So he wore a white robe every day, gave up drinking, and rarely went to brothels. He even rarely went to see the girl he had taken back. The people who knew about this said: 'The living can never compare to the dead.'" After An Ke finished speaking, she looked straight at the Emperor.
The Emperor instantly understood An Ke's meaning: Ziwei's eyes and heart were probably filled with thoughts of the now-deceased Fu Erkang.
The Emperor doesn't know how he should feel about Ziwei. Does he feel guilty? Yes, he did, after all, he had wronged Xia Yuhe, but Xiaoyanzi came first, and he accepted her as his first love, so he also transferred that guilt to Xiaoyanzi.
As for his other feelings, it was probably more of an admiration at first. After all, she was such a talented and spirited woman. Later, he found himself also having some feelings for Ziwei. But then he discovered that Ziwei was actually his and Yuhe's daughter, and all that remained in his heart was the anger of being manipulated by these children.
He was momentarily embarrassed, unsure how to face his daughter. Yet, she had received no shortage of care and rewards, certainly more than the other princesses in the palace. He considered himself to have treated her fairly well, so how had things turned out this way?
The Emperor couldn't understand it, and didn't want to think about it. He believed his father had shown ample care for his children, and that none of them would harbor thoughts of regicide. Ultimately, none of them had grown up by his side from childhood.
"Uncle, are you alright?" An Ke was afraid that the Emperor might not be able to bear it, so she immediately became obedient and added a few more cushions for the Emperor.
"I'm fine, you don't need to be so nervous. I know what to do. Are you staying in the Hall of Mental Cultivation or going back to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility for lunch?" The Emperor looked at his obedient niece and felt a warmth in his heart. It didn't matter; at least he had such a capable niece.
"I'm glad you're alright. I'll head back to Cining Palace now." An Ke said, getting up to leave, remembering that she had promised Ertai a few days ago to embroider a purse for him.
I need to learn from Qing'er and Xinrong these next few days. After all, they embroidered for Ji Chu and Yong Qi. As a result, those two even went to Ertai to show off after receiving the purses.
This made Ertai so jealous he was practically fuming. He ran straight to the palace, begging Anke to embroider one for him too. After Ertai's persistent pleading, Anke reluctantly gave in. Seeing Ertai's delighted expression, Anke realized that embroidering a purse didn't seem so difficult after all.
An Ke was afraid that the Fujin's words that day would affect Ertai. Now it seems that he has adjusted himself quite well; although his expression was not good at the time, he recovered by the end of the day.
In retaliation for the two people who ran up to Ertai and embroidered, forcing her to pick up a needle and thread and embroider a sachet, Anke directly took Qing'er and Xinrong to her own bedroom.
They even specifically stated that since they were embroidering together, the people at the door should not let the Fifth Prince and General Ji in. And so, the Fifth Prince and General Ji couldn't see the person they longed for for the past two days. The two were filled with regret; if they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have boasted to Ertai in the first place. Now, they had lost both their wife and their money.
"Then I'll also go to Cining Palace for lunch later," the Emperor said with a smile. After experiencing so much, and thinking about his daughter's attempt to kill her father, all he wanted was to have a peaceful and happy meal with his family in one place.
An Ke naturally understood the Emperor's thoughts and smiled in agreement, "Then An An will go back and tell Grandmother that Uncle will be having lunch at Cining Palace this noon, so we can prepare in advance." As she spoke, An Ke ran out.
"Alright, take your time. Xiao Luzi, make sure the princess is safely escorted back to Cining Palace." The Emperor looked at An Ke's cheerful figure and couldn't help but smile. However, he was also a little worried because the snow had just melted and he was afraid that the people carrying the sedan chair might accidentally fall. So he quickly instructed Xiao Luzi to go with them.
Unexpectedly, Ziwei came in right after Anke left.
When the Emperor saw Ziwei approaching, he remembered what Anke had said, and his expression immediately darkened. However, thinking of Anke's plan, he could only soften his tone and say, "Ziwei, you're not feeling well. It's freezing cold and the roads are slippery. Is something the matter?"
Ziwei looked at her father, who still cared about her, and wondered if she had misread it. How could his expression have been so cold just now? But she couldn't think about that now. "It's nothing. I just made some new pastries and wanted to bring them over for you to try."
The emperor glanced at it but didn't taste it, only saying lightly, "You've put your heart into it."
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