"Definitely!" Qing'er clenched her fists, as if cheering herself on, and also looking forward to a bright future.
Time passed uneventfully. Since returning to the palace, An Ke had been using her illness as an excuse to stay home.
Anyway, it's better to avoid trouble. I've seen all the sights in the Imperial Garden before. Staying in the Cining Palace is actually better.
However, even in quiet days, there is always one restless creature—the little swallow.
"Oh my god, really?"
"That's right, the Empress Dowager threw a huge tantrum."
"Isn't this Princess Huanzhu incredibly audacious?"
The chatter outside is bothering Anke while she reads her storybook.
"Xingxing, what are we talking about outside?" Anke was a little curious. Following the timeline, she wondered if they were burning the Empress Dowager's Dharma boat.
"Yes, I'll go ask." Xingxing knew Anke well, so she learned the whole story before coming back to explain it to Anke in detail.
"The whole affair of Princess Huanzhu burning down the Empress Dowager's Dharma boat ended with Princess Huanzhu being confined to her quarters," Xingxing said, still feeling a bit unsatisfied.
"Hmm, where's Qing'er?" An Ke remembered that the Empress Dowager had also asked Qing'er to go.
"Princess Qing is with the Empress Dowager. Is the Princess going to summon Princess Qing here?" Xingxing asked without hesitation. Princess Qing and her own Princess got along extremely well.
"No need, Xingxing, I want to eat milk cake," Anke said in a coquettish tone. If you were to ask who made the best milk cake in the entire palace, it would undoubtedly be Xingxing.
"Okay, if the princess wants to eat it, this servant will make it right away." Xingxing went out happily.
Anke, worried that her eyes were getting too tired after reading for most of the day, started doing some calisthenics.
Three circles to the left, three circles to the right, twist your neck, wiggle your butt.
Luckily, no one saw it, otherwise everyone would have thought the princess had twisted her neck or strained her back. And An Ke is very sensitive about her image; she would probably feel like she had embarrassed herself in front of the entire palace.
*
"How boring! Ever since the Empress Dowager came back, I feel like I've been under house arrest the whole time." Little Swallow slumped listlessly on the stone table, groaning.
"Alright, Little Swallow. Since the Empress Dowager has made you reflect on your mistakes in seclusion, let's just sit in the Shufangzhai and read some books." Ziwei sat opposite Little Swallow, holding a book in her hands, and said with great interest.
"Huh? Reading again? I recognize the words in this book, but I don't know them." Little Swallow flipped through the book in her hand and then covered her head with it.
"I knew you'd be bored. Look what I brought!" Yongqi's voice arrived before he did.
"Yongqi, Banjiu, Erkang? Ertai? What brings you here?" Ziwei put the book on the table when she heard the voices.
As soon as Erkang entered, he looked at Ziwei with deep affection, as if afraid that others wouldn't know that the two of them were secretly dating.
"We brought this balloon with us because we knew the Empress Dowager had punished Xiao Yanzi by making her reflect on her actions in the Shufangzhai." Benjamin said in his broken accent.
"Ah! Balloons are popping out! Perfect, let me show you the power of Little Swallow!" Little Swallow was having a great time playing with the ball.
On the other side
"An'an, is everything alright?" the Empress Dowager asked with a smile.
"That little injury is nothing to me, it's already healed," Anke said casually.
"You little rascal, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and you're still not resting in bed properly. When Qing'er and I go for a walk, you come along too. If you get tired, just say so, and the maids around you will help you rest," the Empress Dowager said with concern. She then tapped the maid beside her again, still worried.
“Yes, Your Majesty, you’ve said that many times since we left. An’an remembers it,” An Ke said playfully. She wasn’t ungrateful; the Empress Dowager was her grandmother, and she would definitely care about her.
"You little rascal!" the old lady said, pointing at Anke with a smile.
After enjoying the scenery of the Imperial Garden, the Empress Dowager led Qing'er and Anke to the vicinity of Shufangzhai.
Hearing the laughter and chatter inside, the Empress Dowager decided to go in and find out what was going on.
"I'm punishing Princess Huanzhu to face the wall and reflect on her mistakes. Granny Gui, didn't you say it was my decree?" The Empress Dowager said with displeasure as she listened to the playful sounds inside.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty, I have conveyed the message." As soon as Granny Gui saw that the Empress Dowager's expression was not right, she immediately knelt on the ground.
"Alright, get up." The Empress Dowager knew that Granny Gui must have relayed the message, but she still wanted to ask. "Qing'er, An'an, shall we go and see how this Princess Huanzhu is reflecting on her mistakes?"
That's it! Looks like we can't stop Little Swallow from popping out of the air!
Anke was originally thinking of changing the route on the way, but it seems that the Empress Dowager just wanted to go this way.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Qing'er and An Ke exchanged a glance and quickly replied.
So, a large group of people headed towards Shufangzhai in a menacing manner.
Upon reaching the main gate, Anke saw the servants inside gathered around; no wonder there wasn't a single person to inform them. It was truly beyond saving them, and she sighed helplessly. Of course, Anke didn't necessarily want to save them; she simply didn't want to upset or harm the people she cared about.
"Little Swallow, that's not how you play this ball," Yongqi said with a smile.
“This ball belongs to my little swallow. That’s how it plays. It should listen to my commands,” the little swallow replied to the Fifth Prince while kicking the ball.
They really have a death wish!
A servant beside the Empress Dowager announced, "The Empress Dowager has arrived! Princess Yong'an has arrived! Princess Qing has arrived!"
"Ah!" Little Swallow probably has a phobia of the Empress Dowager. So much so that her legs tremble at the mere mention of the Empress Dowager's name.
"Your Majesty, be careful! There's a hidden weapon!" Eunuch Pu shouted.
No one had time to pay their respects, because with a flick of Xiao Yanzi's leg, the ball flew towards the Empress Dowager.
Just as Qing'er was about to rush forward and grab the ball again, An Ke rushed forward, even though she was wearing platform shoes. An Ke arrived in front of Qing'er like a gust of wind. With a swift grab and a flick, the ball obediently stayed in An Ke's hand.
Anke felt a little silly balancing a ball on his hand. So he put the ball on the ground and kicked it back.
The ball rolled perfectly to Little Swallow's feet.
Before anyone could even marvel at Anke's superb skills, they hurriedly paid their respects to the Empress Dowager. Only one person in the crowd, however, had their eyes sparkling as they noticed Anke.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Little Swallow quickly bowed and said.
"Your subject Fu'erkang (Tai) greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. May Your Majesty be blessed, Princess Yong'an be blessed, and Princess Qing be blessed."
Benjamin naturally followed his foreign etiquette.
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