After the mother and son finished talking, Yongqi returned to his room and lay on the bed, still feeling a bit unreal.
He was always afraid that when he woke up, he wouldn't see her again, but now was not the right time for him to go and look for her, so he forced himself to fall asleep.
Around dawn, Yongqi got up and went next door to knock on the door. "Little Swallow, are you awake? May I come in?"
Little Swallow yawned before answering, "I'm awake, come in!"
Yongqi not only went in himself, but he also brought two palace maids with him. "You two quickly help Xiaoyanzi wash up."
"Yes." The two palace maids fiddled with their things, while Yongqi watched from the side.
Without realizing it, Yongqi suddenly felt as if this were the time he and Xiaoyanzi had spent together after their marriage...
After Xiao Yanzi finished washing up, breakfast was ready. "Xiao Yanzi, come on, let's eat."
Xiao Yanzi was still a little unaccustomed to wearing platform shoes, so Yongqi continued to help her walk towards the restaurant, saying, "Greetings, Mother."
Little Swallow followed suit, bowing and saying, "Greetings, Consort Yu!"
Consort Yu waved her hand and said, "Alright, there's no need for formalities in your own palace. You two hurry up and eat, and then go to the Imperial Study for your lessons."
"Yes." After they were seated, the two quickly ate their breakfast.
Afterwards, Yongqi continued to help Xiaoyanzi walk outside, asking, "Xiaoyanzi, are you alright?"
"It's alright, just like you said, I'll get used to it. I think if I walk a little more, I'll get used to it!"
The two walked for almost a quarter of an hour before reaching the outside of the Imperial Study. The brothers Fu Erkang and Fu Ertai had already arrived at the Imperial Study ahead of them. "Greetings, Fifth Prince!"
"No need for formalities." Yongqi looked at the two brothers and then introduced them to Xiaoyanzi: "Xiaoyanzi, you've met these two before, so let them introduce themselves today."
The two brothers looked at each other in bewilderment. Yesterday, after their mother returned home, she told them about the situation in the palace.
They couldn't believe that Yongqi had actually managed to persuade both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager on his own!
Seeing the current situation, I am even more certain that this little swallow is no ordinary creature!
"My name is Fu Erkang. I am the eldest son of Grand Secretary Fu Lun and the Fifth Prince's study companion."
"My name is Fu Ertai, the youngest son of Grand Secretary Fu Lun, and also the Fifth Prince's study companion."
"Little Swallow greets the two young masters of the Fu family." Little Swallow bowed slightly.
The Fu brothers quickly replied, "We wouldn't dare. You were brought back by the Fifth Prince, so you're naturally different from ordinary people. If you bow to us, I'm afraid the Fifth Prince will cause us trouble!"
"Erkang, what are you saying!" Yongqi was a little embarrassed by the teasing from Fu Erkang and the others.
"Your subject Ji Xiaolan greets the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, and Sixth Prince. May all the princes be well!" Ji Xiaolan arrived after the other three princes had arrived one after another. "His Majesty mentioned to me that Miss Xiaoyanzi will also be attending classes with everyone, so I am a little late. I hope you will not mind!"
Yongqi spoke first, "Master Ji, what does it matter if you arrive a little late? Besides, it was Father Emperor who summoned you to give instructions, so how could we blame you?"
The Third Prince Yongzhang, the Fourth Prince Yongcheng, and the Sixth Prince Yongrong echoed in succession, "Yes, Master, let's go inside and start the lesson!"
"Alright, then please, princes!" Ji Xiaolan let the princes go in first before slowly entering himself. "Little Swallow, you can sit next to the Fifth Prince!"
"Yes, Master Ji."
After Ji Xiaolan finished speaking, Yongqi and the Fu brothers helped place Xiaoyanzi's table and chair next to Yongqi. Xiaoyanzi smiled and said, "Thank you!"
"Alright, everyone, please sit down. Now let's begin today's lesson. This is Little Swallow's first day of class. Fifth Prince knows your level and foundation, so we won't test you today."
"Let's take our time with the lessons. After a month, I'll conduct an assessment to see how well Little Swallow has fared, and also to see if any of you have made any progress after taking my classes. How about that?"
Upon hearing about the assessment, the other princes and sons of ministers were somewhat distraught, but the Fifth Prince and the Fu brothers, though troubled, didn't say much. Yongqi nodded and said, "Master Ji, please conduct the assessment. I'm also eager to know how good I am now."
"Fifth Prince, what ambition you have! What about the other princes?"
Seeing that Yongqi had already expressed his opinion, Yongzhang and Yongcheng, as the two older brothers, naturally couldn't fall behind. "Since Yongqi has said so, of course we support Master Ji. Let's go ahead with the assessment!"
Yongrong replied, "I'll listen to Master Ji and my brothers!"
"Little Swallow, what about you?"
"I'll listen to Yongqi!" Xiao Yanzi glanced at Ji Xiaolan, then at Yongqi, before finally speaking.
Then, whether it was the other princes or the rich young men, they were all dumbfounded. How could a little girl with no rank call Yongqi by his name?
This is simply unbelievable!
"Alright, let's cut the small talk and get started!"
Time passed slowly amidst the lullabies that accompanied Ji Xiaolan's lessons.
At the first quarter of the hour, Emperor Qianlong arrived at the Imperial Study. "Your Majesty has arrived!"
The eunuch's announcement of the Emperor's arrival instantly roused those who were dozing off. Ji Xiaolan, the four princes, several young masters, and even Xiao Yanzi all rose to pay their respects to Emperor Qianlong.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well!"
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects. May Your Majesty be well!"
"Little Swallow greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well!"
Emperor Qianlong waved his hand and laughed, "Get up, all of you. Xiaolan, don't let my arrival disrupt your class. You can continue. I'll just observe from here. Please sit down!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
So, Emperor Qianlong sat at the very top and watched the students below take their lessons.
Ji Xiaolan turned to look at the princes again and continued their lessons. They finally finished their lessons at noon. "Alright, that's all for today's lessons."
Because Emperor Qianlong was still watching, the princes couldn't act recklessly. They could only let loose and have some fun after Emperor Qianlong said they could leave!
"Little Swallow, today is your first day of class. There are many things you probably haven't had time to learn yet. After we get back to Yonghe Palace, Yongqi can teach you more so that you can keep up with everyone else, understand?"
Little Swallow quickly stood up and replied, "Little Swallow understands, thank you, Your Majesty!"
Yongqi also stood up and said, "Father, rest assured, Yongqi will definitely teach her with all his heart and will not let her fall behind!"
Emperor Qianlong nodded and smiled, "Alright, since Xiaolan has said get out of class is over, you can all leave now. But remember, you still have to practice horseback riding and archery this afternoon! I have some matters to attend to at the Qianqing Palace, so I'll head back now!"
"Your subject understands. Respectfully seeing off Father Emperor!"
After watching Emperor Qianlong and Ji Xiaolan leave the Imperial Study, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Apart from Yongqi and the Fu brothers, all the other princes and young masters looked at Xiaoyanzi with curiosity. Yongzhang asked curiously, "Yongqi, is her name really Xiaoyanzi? It feels a bit strange..."
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