"Whether it's intentional or unintentional, I'll just ignore it. If they dare to pester me, I'll just chase them away, won't I?"
Seeing Yongqi's unhappy expression, Consort Yu couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Little Swallow, now that you're back, Yongqi's expressions have become more varied. Now we can even see him being jealous..."
"Mother!" Yongqi looked at Consort Yu, who was now completely devoted to Xiaoyanzi, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Consort Yu laughed and said, "What's wrong? I didn't say anything wrong. The air here is full of the smell of vinegar, so sour!"
After dinner, they all went to rest. However, Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi lay in bed without closing their eyes to sleep. Yongqi pondered the various difficulties they might face next, while Xiaoyanzi was thinking about the mysterious man she had seen that day who claimed to have saved her. "Who exactly is that person?"
But after thinking and thinking, he couldn't figure it out, so he fell into a deep sleep.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Consort Ling has safely given birth to a prince!" The news of Consort Ling's safe delivery reached the Summer Palace, and Emperor Qianlong and the Empress Dowager were overjoyed. Various rewards were showered upon Yanxi Palace. Xiao Yanzi and Yongqi were also happy for Consort Ling.
Yongqi and the others gathered together and chatted idly. "Father hasn't been this happy since Yongyue passed away..."
Qing'er sighed and said, "Although His Majesty has quite a few children, many of them died young. His Majesty must be very sad!"
"The Emperor is grieving, but the concubines who have lost their children are even more heartbroken, watching helplessly as their children leave them..."
Seeing that everyone's joy had turned into melancholy, Xiao Jian changed the subject, "Sigh, we're going hunting in the hunting grounds tomorrow. What are your thoughts this time?"
He looked at Xiao Yanzi, "You've always had a lot of clever ideas, how are we going to play this time?"
Little Swallow thought for a moment, "Let's pair up and see which team catches the most prey. That team will be the winner. As for the punishment, we're all grown up now and should have some savings, so let's just have a fine..."
Qing'er was surprised. "What? A fine? I don't have any money!" She hadn't been living outside the palace. For the past few years, she had been obediently being Qing Gege in the palace. All she had saved over the years was a little over a thousand taels of silver, which was definitely less than what Xiao Yanzi, who lived outside the palace, had.
"Let's form teams first. Yongqi and I will be in one team, Erkang and Ziwei in another, my brother and Qing'er in another, and Ertai and Benjamin in yet another. That's four teams in total. The fourth place team will give the first place team forty taels of silver, and then the team will decrease by ten taels each time. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
Qing'er breathed a sigh of relief. She thought it would be in units of hundreds. "That's fine. If no one has any objections, then it's settled."
Fu Erkang had no objection to teaming up with Ziwei, and it was also a good match for Ertai and Benjamin, both of whom were single.
However, Benjamin preferred painting; hunting wasn't his forte. Fortaire knew what he was thinking and advised, "Benjamin, you can't bear to see me all alone, can you? We brothers can make do for now, but once we find wives, we won't have to make do anymore..."
Benjamin sighed helplessly, "Ertai, you'll definitely get married, but as for me, I'm afraid it's not so easy. My parents are still waiting for me at home, and they're unlikely to let me marry a Chinese girl. So in the end, I'll still have to go back..."
Even if his parents agreed, the parents of Chinese girls wouldn't agree to their daughters marrying so far away!
Moreover, given Benjamin's background, the only women who could be a good match for him would be noble ladies. Therefore, it's better for people from the same country to be matched with people from the same country.
The next morning, everyone set off for the hunting grounds. This time, the girls stayed in the carriage to chat with Emperor Qianlong, while the young men rode horses outside.
"Little Swallow, what new tricks have you and Yongqi come up with this year?"
Little Swallow laughed and said, "It seems that the Emperor knows us well. We have another competition this year. The loser has to give silver to the winner."
Emperor Qianlong looked at Xiao Yanzi curiously, "Really? Xiao Yanzi, are you short of money?"
Qing'er was displeased. "Your Majesty, are you tacitly acknowledging that Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi will win? Does that mean Ziwei and I have no chance of winning?"
"I was just joking. I'll be happy no matter who wins, and I'll reward you accordingly. Since Little Swallow mentioned silver, I'll give you silver too!"
Little Swallow chimed in, "Great! If the Emperor is going to reward us, how much will it be? We reduce our rewards by ten taels each time, so wouldn't the Emperor be reducing his rewards by a hundred taels each time?"
After Xiao Yanzi and the others discussed the competition and the rules of reward and punishment, the hunting grounds were almost in sight. "Yongqi, this time, I won't go easy on you!"
Yongqi laughed and said, "No need to be modest, just show your true skills! If we cheat and Xiaoyanzi finds out, the consequences will be dire!"
Fu Ertai gloated, "You guys with wives and sweethearts are naturally in a terrible state, but Benjamin and I have no ties, so we can go all out. Brother, Fifth Prince, if Benjamin and I win, don't cry!"
After arriving at the hunting grounds, they rested for a night before starting the hunt the next day, and Yongqi and his team's competition officially began.
Xia Ziwei's birthday arrived quietly after they arrived at the hunting grounds. "Happy birthday to you..."
Everyone presented gifts to Xia Ziwei. In addition to rewarding Xia Ziwei according to custom, Emperor Qianlong also specially ordered the imperial kitchen to make her favorite lotus flower cake, which moved Xia Ziwei deeply.
"Today is Ziwei's fifteenth birthday. Since her mother is not here, I will do it." At fifteen, she is of marriageable age. Emperor Qianlong celebrated her birthday with a coming-of-age ceremony, having the Empress comb her hair in place of Xia Yuhe, while reciting a blessing, "...Abandon your childish ways, and follow your virtuous path..."
Afterwards, Xia Ziwei changed into an outfit that matched her hairstyle. By the time she finished her coming-of-age ceremony, Xia Ziwei was exhausted. "Little Swallow, I don't think you've ever been like this before?"
Little Swallow laughed and said, "I found it troublesome, so I didn't ask them to help me. Besides, I'm not a proper member of the royal family, so I don't need that much. But you're different. You're the Emperor's own daughter, and you'll be staying in the palace for a long time to come..."
"Little Swallow, I'm so envious of you! You can do everything and you're amazing at everything. I really only have two words for you: I admire you!"
Little Swallow sighed, "But I'm so tired. Many times, I've wished I could just be an ordinary person and not have to learn so much. But I can't. I want to live in the palace. I want to stay by his side and watch him do things that benefit the people. So I have to learn everything so that I can stay by his side better!"
Xia Ziwei smiled and said, "Little Swallow, even though you were tired, you still persevered, didn't you? Besides, didn't you say before that even without Yongqi, you wanted to do what you could on your own? So, as long as you feel it's worth it, that's enough!"
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