"Gurgle~"
The sound of Little Swallow's stomach rumbling made the two of them stop their antics.
"I'm hungry." Little Swallow nestled against Yongqi. "I want to eat the food you cook."
Yongqi smiled and replied, "Okay, I'll make it for you."
He got up to get dressed, but Xiao Yanzi came over to help him. "I asked you to cook, so I'll help you get dressed. It's a give-and-take situation..."
Getting dressed takes less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, while cooking takes anywhere from half an hour to one or two hours, so she considers her job to be relatively easy.
Unexpectedly, Yongqi grabbed her hand as she helped him dress. "Madam, in Yonghe Palace, I'm the one who helps you dress, not the other way around, unless..."
Little Swallow asked, puzzled, "Unless what?"
Yongqi chuckled softly, leaned close to Xiaoyanzi's ear, and whispered something. Xiaoyanzi's face instantly turned bright red. "You rascal!"
"Since we're bastards, we have to do bastard things!" Yongqi put his arm around her waist and left another mark on her body. "Okay, I'm going to the kitchen to cook."
After leaving Xiao Yanzi in the room, he went to the kitchen.
Little Swallow slowly put on her clothes, combed her hair briefly, and then left the room.
It was still snowing heavily outside, and the wind was howling. "It's really cold."
"Madam, it's so cold outside, you should go back to your room," Xiaomeng said to Xiaoyanzi.
Where is Mother?
"Of course, Her Majesty is taking care of the young prince and the young princess."
"Take me to see it."
"Yes." Xiaomeng walked ahead, leading Xiaoyanzi towards where the two children lived.
"Mother." After entering, Xiao Yanzi bowed to Consort Yu.
However, when Xiao Yanzi came in, she saw that there was not only Consort Yu, but also two other people she did not recognize.
Consort Ling and Consort Shu both looked at Xiao Yanzi excitedly. Consort Yu quickly said, "Xiao Yanzi, this is Consort Ling and that is Consort Shu. They used to have a good relationship with you."
"Consort Ling, Consort Shu."
Consort Ling smiled and said, "When I first heard that you had gone missing on the battlefield, I was terrified. But when I heard that Yongqi had found you, my heart finally settled down."
"When I learned you were back yesterday, I wanted to come see you as soon as possible, but the Emperor said that you and Yongqi needed some time, so I didn't come..."
Consort Shu chimed in, "Yes, that's why Consort Ling and I thought we'd come and take a look today, but we didn't expect..."
The unfinished words were something neither of them had expected; Little Swallow would stay inside for so long.
"I'm sorry to have made you two ladies laugh." Xiao Yanzi was also a little embarrassed, and secretly cursed Yongqi a few times in her heart.
Yongqi, who was busy in the kitchen, suddenly sneezed.
"Fifth Prince, why are you sneezing all of a sudden?"
"I think it's the Princess Consort who misses him..."
While busy working, Yongqi talked to the two lively kids, Xiaoshunzi and Xiaoguizi, "You two, stop talking so much and get to work. Making sure Xiaoyanzi has a full stomach is the most important thing!"
Xiao Yanzi chatted with Consort Ling and Consort Shu for about half an hour, while Yongqi had already served the meal in the dining room.
"Xiao Shunzi, go and call Xiao Yanzi over for dinner."
"Yes," Xiao Shunzi replied and left.
When Xiao Shunzi learned that Xiao Yanzi had gone to see the children, he naturally headed towards Mianhua and Mianyao's room.
"Your Highnesses, Madam, and the Fifth Prince have prepared the meal. You may now proceed to the dining room for your meal."
Consort Ling smiled and said, "It seems that today we can enjoy the Fifth Prince's cooking again, thanks to Xiao Yanzi."
Consort Shu nodded in agreement, "Yes, it's almost impossible to remember the last time the Fifth Prince cooked..."
Consort Yu stood up and said, "Now that the food is ready, let's all go over there."
Consort Yu then looked at Mingyue, Caixia, Meier, and Ying'er beside her, "It's too cold now, so you can stay here and take care of them. There's no need to bring them over..."
Children have their own food, and adults have their own food.
"If the child cries, one of you should notify us, and we will come over."
Instead of sending the children over, it would be better for the adults to come and find the children.
At least the adults could endure the abuse; she couldn't bear to let the child suffer any more.
"Mother, Consort Ling, Consort Shu, please sit down."
Consort Yu sat in the head seat, with Consort Shu and Consort Ling to her left, and Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi to her right.
"Everyone, let's eat! Let's see if Yongqi's cooking skills have improved since then..."
After the meal, Consort Ling and Consort Shu praised Yongqi's culinary skills.
Consort Yu smiled and said, "If you like, you can come often when Yongqi is in the palace."
Yongqi laughed and said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to cook for a while. I'll be leaving for disaster relief in a few days, so I won't have much time to cook."
"Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll invite the two ladies over for a banquet and personally cook for them."
Consort Ling waved her hand, "I know you're a very busy person, helping the Emperor with important matters, so there's no need for a special banquet. We'll come over next time you return."
Consort Shu chimed in, "Yes, but Little Swallow, you must take good care of yourselves this time you go out, and don't let anything happen again, otherwise our little hearts can't take it!"
Consort Ling nodded, "Yes, none of you have noticed that the Emperor's hair has turned quite a bit whiter since he learned about your incident..."
Yongqi felt a little guilty upon hearing this. "Your Majesties, please rest assured, Yongqi has learned from his mistakes and will definitely protect himself and Xiaoyanzi. I will definitely return safely!"
After watching Consort Ling and Consort Shu leave, it was already 1:45 PM.
Afterwards, Tianyi came to report on the recent situation of Wuxiang Valley, with Xiaoyanzi accompanying him.
"Master, everything else in the valley is progressing smoothly, but..."
"But what?" Yongqi asked, somewhat annoyed that Tianyi was stammering again. "Just say what you have to say."
Tianyi looked at Xiaoyanzi with some fear. Xiaoyanzi subconsciously thought that it was inappropriate for her to listen in. "If I can't listen, then I'd better leave..."
Seeing that Xiao Yanzi was about to leave, Yongqi pulled her back and made her sit on his lap. "There's nothing you can't hear..."
Seeing Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi staring intently at him, Tianyi swallowed hard. "This is what you wanted me to say..."
He suppressed his fear and blurted it all out in one breath, "Some people in the valley said that you got drunk and had sex with a girl, getting her pregnant..."
"You're only thinking about the Valley Master's wife and unwilling to take responsibility for that girl..."
Tianyi lowered his head, not daring to look at Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi's expressions.
When Yongqi heard this news, he almost laughed in anger. "Which bastard spread this rumor? When did I ever get drunk and lose my mind?"
Tianyi was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground with a thud, "Master, please forgive me..."
"Tianyi, I need to know exactly who witnessed the crime. I want them to tell me the exact time and location of the crime..."
"Last year on the night of Qixi Festival, at an inn outside the Summer Palace, one of our Wuxiang Valley's strongholds, it was said that after you and the mistress got drunk, you didn't stay with the mistress, but instead dragged in the woman who was serving you at the time..."
"The woman knew how deep your feelings were, so she didn't want to make it public and ran away the next day..."
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