"Your subject Erjitu/Your subject Hongyun kowtows to Consort Yu, may Consort Yu live a thousand years!"
When Consort Yu saw her father and mother, whom she hadn't seen for many years, appear before her, she was completely dumbfounded.
"Father, Mother..." Consort Yu quickly helped the two elders up after realizing what had happened. "Why are you here?"
She thought she would never see her parents again in this lifetime, but unexpectedly, she and her father and mother would meet again.
"It's all thanks to the Fifth Prince's good character that we two were able to come to the palace to see you," Erjitu said with a smile to Consort Yu. "Go and show me the Fifth Prince's two children."
When Erjitu arrived, Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi were both in Shufangzhai. They only rushed to Yonghe Palace after receiving the news.
When the two returned to Yonghe Palace, Erjitu and Hongyun played with the two children with Consort Yu.
"Mother." After calling out to his mother, Yongqi looked curiously at Erjitu and the woman beside him. In his previous life, he had no chance to see her, and now that he had, he didn't know what to say.
Erjitu is 65 years old this year, with a full head of white hair, and looks like an old man in his seventies or eighties.
Standing next to him was Hongyun, who was two years younger than Erjitu. Although she was older, she looked like she was in her thirties or forties.
“Yongqi, Xiaoyanzi, come here quickly. This is your maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother.”
Erjitu and Hongyun were about to bow when Yongqi stopped them, saying, "You are my Guo Luoma Fa, it is I who should bow to you."
Erjitu frowned and said, "No matter what the relationship is, we are still ruler and subject. You are the emperor's son, so your status is higher than mine. You should still pay your respects to him, so that no one can see it and use it as a pretext to say that you do not know how to distinguish between superiors and inferiors."
"Yes, Yongqi has learned a lot."
"Little Swallow has met Guo Luo Mafa and Guo Luo Mama."
Erjitu and Hongyun then looked at Xiaoyanzi beside Yongqi. Erjitu laughed and said, "Although I had seen your portrait before, seeing you in person now, I know what it means to be so beautiful that you could topple kingdoms. No wonder you were able to capture the heart of the Fifth Prince."
“Guo Luo Ma Fa is joking. Little Swallow is not worthy of the words ‘beauty that could topple kingdoms’.”
Hongyun raised an eyebrow at Yongqi and asked with a smile, "What does Fifth Prince think? Is she worthy of these four words?"
Yongqi nodded, "Of course I'm worthy!"
"The Emperor has arrived!" Emperor Qianlong, who had just finished his morning court session, also came to Yonghe Palace.
Seeing everyone's smiling faces, Qianlong was also pleased and asked, "What are you all talking about?"
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" After everyone bowed and sat down again, Hongyun said, "Your Majesty, we were discussing whether the Fifth Prince's Consort's beauty could be described as breathtakingly beautiful..."
Emperor Qianlong raised an eyebrow at Xiao Yanzi and said, "Whether she is considered a beauty that could topple empires or not is not up to us to decide, but up to Yongqi. If Yongqi says she is, then she is."
"Father Emperor!" Little Swallow's face turned bright red, and she didn't know what to say to ease the extremely awkward atmosphere.
"Father, it's almost time for dinner. You and Mother should go to the dining room first, and I'll go to the small kitchen to cook for you."
"Father, Mother, I'm going to help Yongqi." Little Swallow quickly followed Yongqi and slipped away, making Qianlong and the others laugh.
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Yonghe Palace Kitchen
Yongqi is the head chef, and Xiaoyanzi is his helper, assisting him in cooking.
"Yongqi, is this the first time you've met your maternal grandparents?" Xiaoyanzi was still a little uncomfortable using Manchu terms, so she used Han Chinese terms in private.
Yongqi nodded, "Yes, in my memory, this is the first time I've seen my maternal grandparents in both my past and present lives."
"I remember there was a rule in the palace that it was very difficult for concubines to see their families after they entered the palace. Was it a special permission from the Emperor that they were able to come this time?"
Yongqi replied, "I think so. Apart from Father Emperor, no one else has the ability. But don't worry, whether you want to leave the palace or let them in, it's up to you."
"Yongqi, tell me, what exactly is the purpose of the people behind this who want to deal with us?"
Upon hearing Xiao Yanzi's words, Yongqi's smiling face instantly turned serious. "Either they're after people, or they're after power. It's that simple."
They either want to break them up and ruin their relationship, or they want to achieve other goals by ruining their relationship.
Little Swallow asked, "So, do you think it's more likely that they're after people or power?"
Yongqi sighed, "I think it's more likely that they'll both be involved."
Both of them were exceptionally capable, and given their status, position, and power, if they were truly separated and turned against each other, it would not be a good thing for the Qing Dynasty.
Xiao Yanzi had finished the chores she needed to help with. She reached out from behind Yongqi, hugged him, leaned against his back, and whispered, "Then you'd better keep a close eye on me, don't let anyone else snatch me away."
"Will someone else take you away?" Yongqi put down what he was doing, turned to look at her, and asked, "Will you?"
"That's hard to say. With my memories, I naturally remember who you are to me. But if I lose my memory and don't remember you, or even if I'm taken to a place where you don't exist at all, then I can't say for sure..." Little Swallow waved her hand.
Her simple words made Yongqi panic. He immediately covered her mouth, trying to swallow all of Xiaoyanzi's words and pretend she had never said them.
After the kiss, Yongqi pulled away from her lips, looked down at her, and said, "You are mine, and always will be. No one can take you away from me!"
At that moment, he naturally couldn't have imagined that one day, Xiao Yanzi's words would come true, but that's a story for later.
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Once the food was ready, the talented men and beautiful women served the dishes one by one, and Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi also took their seats.
Looking at the dishes on the table, Emperor Qianlong was very pleased. He took the first bite and exclaimed in surprise, "Yongqi, your cooking skills are getting better and better!"
"Little Swallow, you're so lucky to have such a delicious meal!"
Little Swallow said modestly, "Everyone is lucky to have such a delicious meal, but Yongqi is a man destined for great things, and I can't bear to have him constantly busy in the kitchen!"
Yongqi smiled and served Xiaoyanzi some food. "What are you saying? No matter what I do in the future, I will always be your husband. Taking good care of my wife is my duty. Cooking is just cooking; it's not that difficult. If I can't even take care of you, what else can I do?"
Yongqi's words made Consort Yu and Hongyun very envious, and Qianlong and Erjitu found them quite novel. Qianlong laughed and said, "It seems that the happiest person in this harem is you, Little Swallow!"
Little Swallow laughed and said, "That's all thanks to Father Emperor's good fortune, that's why I, Little Swallow, am where I am today!"
Yongqi raised his glass and replied, "Yes, if it weren't for Father Emperor protecting us all the way, where would we be today? Father Emperor, this glass is for you!"
Xiao Yanzi asked Mingyue to pour her some tea, and then said, "Father, I can't drink alcohol right now, so let's use tea instead to toast our greatest emperor, our most loving father who cherishes his children. May all your wishes come true, and may the Qing Dynasty be prosperous and peaceful!"
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