"Oh right, I almost forgot. Ziwei has been traveling all over the country with me these past few years. What do you think about this family reunion?"
Xiao Yanzi's words brought Yongqi back to his senses. He sighed, "Now that Consort Jia has passed away, no one in the palace is against us. As long as there are enough witnesses and evidence, Father will surely believe us." Not to mention, now that Xia Yuhe is dead, even if the Empress Dowager is angry and dissatisfied, she would never lay a hand on Xia Ziwei!
Little Swallow nodded. "Alright, I'll handle this. If you get involved, people will probably start talking badly about you again!"
She was the one who found Ziwei in the first place, and she even spent several years with Ziwei experiencing life in the martial world. It's most appropriate for her to make the arrangements!
Three days later, after Emperor Qianlong had lunch, Xiao Yanzi brought Xia Ziwei, the midwife from that year, and her great-uncle and great-aunt who could prove Xia Ziwei's identity to Emperor Qianlong. When Emperor Qianlong looked at Xia Ziwei standing next to Xiao Yanzi, he felt that she looked familiar, but he could not remember who she was.
Emperor Qianlong frowned and looked at Xiao Yanzi. "Xiao Yanzi, who are they?"
Xiao Yanzi glanced at Xia Ziwei, "Ziwei, you should tell the Emperor yourself."
Xia Ziwei looked up at Qianlong and slowly recounted her background, "...Before my mother passed away, she asked me to ask you a question: Do you still remember Xia Yuhe by Daming Lake?"
Xia Ziwei also handed the folding fan and the scroll to Qianlong, saying, "These two items are your work, aren't they?"
Emperor Qianlong looked at the folding fan and scroll in his hand, then stared at Xia Ziwei in shock, "You are actually Yuhe's daughter!"
“My mother passed away a few years ago. At that time, I happened to meet Xiao Yanzi, who was traveling around. I followed her and experienced life in the martial arts world for a few years. Xiao Yanzi said that the palace was relatively safe now, so she brought me to see the Emperor…”
Emperor Qianlong was somewhat incredulous. Looking at Xiao Yanzi, he hurriedly asked, "Xiao Yanzi, has she been with you all these years?"
Little Swallow nodded in agreement, "Yes, because this matter is of great importance, I dare not bring her back rashly. I might as well keep her with me for now and go on this adventure together. Firstly, if she really is the Emperor's daughter, going on this adventure with me will be beneficial to her when she returns to the palace. Secondly, if what she says is all false, keeping her with me can also serve as a precaution in case she harms you..."
Qing'er didn't come out because the Empress Dowager was worried about her; otherwise, she would have been even happier with Qing'er by her side.
"Your Majesty, when I first met Ziwei, she had already learned a great deal about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Now, she has also learned medicine and has the ability to defend herself. If Your Majesty is certain that she is your daughter, please bring her back to the palace. If any unexpected events occur, she can protect herself!"
These days, people with medical skills are highly sought after, especially those with superb medical skills. There's a saying in the medical world: "Don't offend a doctor, because you never know when you might need their help!"
The same applies in the palace; if you offend someone who knows medicine, they might just give you a dose of medicine and send you to your death at any time!
Emperor Qianlong exclaimed, "Little Swallow, you truly are a lucky star for our palace! You first brought peace to the Hui people, and now you've brought my daughter back..."
Xiao Yanzi smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, you gave me your favorite son, and I only sent your daughter back. Compared to what you gave me, what is this? Your Majesty, are you acknowledging Ziwei now?"
Emperor Qianlong nodded. "Of course, I trust the people you found."
"Ziwei, the Emperor has already acknowledged you, why don't you change your address and call me 'Father Emperor'..."
"I..." Xia Ziwei hesitated, looking at Xiao Yanzi, then at Qianlong, "May I call out?"
"Of course, silly child, now that Little Swallow has brought you back, you're part of this family!"
After Xia Ziwei's identity was confirmed, she asked Emperor Qianlong if she could live with Xiao Yanzi. "Father, I just came back and I don't know anyone here. Can I live with Xiao Yanzi?"
"Of course that's fine, but Xiao Yanzi has always lived in Consort Yu's Yonghe Palace in the palace. As for where she will live after returning, I have no idea... By the way, Xiao Yanzi, since you brought Ziwei back, why don't you think of her title?"
Little Swallow was a little dumbfounded. "Huh? Let me think of it?"
She looked helplessly at Xia Ziwei, then at Qianlong, and after a moment of thought, said, "Ziwei is the apple of your and Aunt Xia's eye, so why not bestow upon her the title of Princess Mingzhu!"
"Princess Mingzhu, yes, Princess Mingzhu is the one!"
The imperial edict conferring the title of Princess Mingzhu upon Xia Ziwei was quickly drafted and spread throughout the palace and beyond. Because Xiao Yanzi had taken Ziwei to see Emperor Qianlong alone, the Empress Dowager and the others were unaware of it. Emperor Qianlong then personally led them to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
After Qianlong told the Empress Dowager the truth about Ziwei's background, the Empress Dowager's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. However, Qing'er said from the side, "Little Swallow, I really didn't expect that you would find a princess on your trip out of the palace, and a well-educated and reasonable one at that!"
Little Swallow laughed and said, "Qing'er, Ziwei's background may be a bit lacking, but her talent is no less than yours. Moreover, she has been learning a lot of martial arts from me in recent years. Let's have a competition sometime, and maybe she will bring you even more surprises!"
"That's wonderful! I have another sister!" Qing'er's eyes lit up. Even though the Empress Dowager wanted to say something, she couldn't say anything more. "Alright, since she's back, she should stay here. Xiao Yanzi, Qing'er, you two should take good care of her and tell her all the rules of the palace..."
"Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured." If even Little Swallow could handle it, how could it be difficult for Xia Ziwei?
After leaving the Empress Dowager, only Xiao Yanzi, Qing'er, and Xia Ziwei remained. "Ziwei, why do you want to learn martial arts?" She wanted to learn martial arts to become a great hero like her father. Xiao Yanzi wanted to learn martial arts to fight alongside Yongqi. But why would Xia Ziwei, who looks so weak, want to learn martial arts?
"I have been frail and sickly since childhood. Xiao Yanzi told me that if I wanted to gain a foothold in the palace, having martial arts skills would be better than not having them. I also wanted to protect myself and the people around me!"
After all, relying on yourself is worse than relying on anyone else. If you don't have martial arts skills to defend yourself, it would be too dangerous to wait for others to save you when you encounter danger!
Moreover, Yongqi once told Xiaoyanzi that Ziwei had been on the verge of death several times, so Xiaoyanzi felt that if Ziwei also knew martial arts, the situation might be different!
"By the way, Ziwei, you probably don't know these people yet, right?" Qing'er glanced at Yongqi and the others, and introduced them to Xia Ziwei one by one.
Xia Ziwei smiled and said, "I may not know about others, but I have long heard of the names of Xiao Jian, the great swordsman, and the Fifth Prince. In the past few years, Xiao Yanzi has always mentioned them to me!"
Little Swallow looked at the Fu brothers and Benjamin, "That foreigner is our court painter Benjamin, and these two brothers are the two sons of Grand Secretary Furen..."
"Greetings, Princess Mingzhu."
"My name is Fu Erkang/Fu Ertai. I have met Princess Mingzhu."
Xia Ziwei returned the greeting and said, "I've heard a little about it, but Little Swallow is always fickle when it comes to beauty, and she mentions you far less often than Fifth Prince and the others..."
Voltaire chuckled helplessly, "We've already learned that lesson the hard way!"
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