The Empress Dowager was rather curious. "It seems Qing'er has something on her mind. Fine, then so be it. I want to see if the person you trust can live up to your trust!"
Qing'er smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"
"Alright, the emperor and the others are going hunting tomorrow. Aren't you going with them? Go back and get some rest!"
"I will first attend to the Empress Dowager's rest. Once the Empress Dowager has fallen asleep, Qing'er will take her leave!"
Those who were supposed to accompany Emperor Qianlong on the hunt had all gone to bed early.
The next morning, everyone who needed to go to the hunting grounds changed into their clothes, mounted their horses, and set off for the Mulan Hunting Grounds in a grand procession.
As night approached, they finally arrived at the hunting grounds. Emperor Qianlong instructed them to set up camp and pack their belongings, and to begin the hunt the next day.
Yongqi didn't rest so early. He took Xiaoyanzi out of the tent, and Xiaoyanzi asked curiously, "Yongqi, where are you taking me?"
"Come with me and you'll see." Yongqi took Xiaoyanzi's hand and led her to a place. Yongqi slowly said, "This place holds my deepest memories. It's where I first saw you in my past life, and it's also where I died for love..."
"I've brought you back to this place today because I hope our future will be bright, free from those hardships and dangers, and that we can always be together happily!"
Little Swallow laughed and said, "Then from now on, let's create even more beautiful and happy memories together, and let those past events go with the wind!"
"Oh, you two, you sneaked out again without letting us play!"
"Xiao Jian, you'd better keep an eye on your sister..." Qing'er, Xiao Jian, and the Fu brothers appeared again.
Yongqi looked up at the sky speechlessly, muttering to himself, "Qing'er, instead of focusing on building your relationship with Xiao Jian, why did you come here to find us?"
Hearing Qing'er's words, Xiao Jian glanced at her helplessly, "My brother, who appeared halfway through his life, is probably not as capable as the Fifth Prince..."
"Hey bro, what's wrong with you? With such a great opportunity, why don't you hurry up and find me a sister-in-law!"
Their date was ruined, and Xiao Yanzi naturally didn't hold back her words. Hearing this, Qing'er quickly chased after Xiao Yanzi, yelling, "Xiao Yanzi, what are you saying? What sister-in-law!"
Little Swallow grinned mischievously, "I didn't name names, why are you so anxious? What's wrong? Does Princess Qing like my brother?"
"Little Swallow!" Qing'er blushed with embarrassment. "You're not allowed to say that again!"
Little Swallow ran away, but then hid behind Yongqi. Xiao Jian also spoke up to stop the two of them, "Little Swallow, that's enough, stop teasing her!"
"I don't care, I've already made up my mind about Qing'er, and if you can't win her over..."
Before Xiao Yanzi could finish speaking, Qing'er suddenly stepped forward and covered her mouth. "Qing'er..."
Yongqi couldn't help but say, "Alright, stop fooling around. Xiaoyanzi and I just came out to look at the night sky. It's late now, so everyone should go home. Otherwise, we won't be able to get up tomorrow, and that would be terrible!"
They're still growing, so this isn't a good time for them to stay up late!
Only then did Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er stop completely. Xiao Yanzi obediently held Yongqi's hand and followed beside him, while Qing'er and Xiao Jian walked side by side. Only the Fu brothers looked at each other in bewilderment, with the two of them lagging behind.
Fu Ertai muttered, "Brother, I think we're really superfluous right now. Before, at least we had Qing'er to keep us company, but now, as soon as Xiao Yanzi's brother appears, Qing'er runs off with him..."
"I always felt that Fifth Prince seemed to have known all along that Qing'er and Xiao Jian would end up together. Maybe he even knew who we would meet in the future!"
"Really? I'll have to go ask around. What kind of person will I marry in the future?"
Fu Erkang pulled Fu Ertai back, "Don't just think things through. You can't ask such questions casually. Since the Fifth Prince didn't say it directly, let's just pretend we don't know! Maybe when the time is right, the Fifth Prince will tell us himself."
"That's right, let's hurry back then."
The two brothers caught up with the group ahead and then heard Yongqi explaining to Xiaoyanzi what activities would be happening at the hunt the next day. "After Father Emperor finishes speaking with the ministers and soldiers tomorrow, he will take us hunting. However, the results of the hunt will depend on our own abilities. If we perform well, Father Emperor will reward us."
Little Swallow asked curiously, "Is there a reward for shooting a certain number of prey? Is it gold and silver treasures, or weapons?"
Yongqi explained, “Those who hunt deer are usually rewarded with a yellow riding jacket. There is also an archery competition. Han people can shoot three arrows and Manchu people can shoot five arrows. Those with high official rank can also get a yellow riding jacket. However, so far, I have not seen anyone receive a yellow riding jacket as a reward from the Emperor.”
"Yellow jacket? It sounds pretty high-class, but why doesn't anyone get it? It's one thing to miss a running deer, but is it really that hard to hit it with three or five arrows?"
Yongqi laughed and said, "You'll see for yourself when you see the scene tomorrow. But the yellow jacket isn't actually that useful. The imperial pardon and the imperial sword are the real things. However, there are even fewer people who can get those two items."
"Is the Shangfang Sword the one mentioned in the book, the one that allows one to execute first and report later?"
Yongqi nodded. "Yes, what's wrong? You're interested in it? Well, getting it will be extremely difficult!"
Little Swallow muttered, "That's hard to say. Who knows, I might actually be able to get this sword! When I travel the world and encounter any bad people acting as officials, I can bring them to justice on the spot!"
"Then I'll be waiting to see!"
Yongqi turned to the group behind him and said, "How about we have a competition tomorrow to see how well we've trained? Xiao Jian, you come too. I want to see just how skilled Jiang Ying's master really is."
Qing'er nodded quickly, "I think Yongqi is right. Xiao Jian, you should come with us too. I want to see how strong you are!"
Little Swallow continued, "There has to be a rule, right? What if you win, and what if you lose?"
Fu Erkang stepped forward and said, "Since we're here to hunt, how about the last person to come make a weapon for the first person by hand?"
Fu'ertai quickly chimed in, "I think this is a good idea. Fifth Prince, what about you?"
Yongqi smiled slightly and said, "I have no objection."
Xiao Jian had no objections to Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er, so the matter was settled. "Alright, let's go back and rest quickly. After we've had enough rest, we'll start the competition tomorrow. We'll be staying in the hunting grounds for a month this time, so let's make it a half-month period!"
"I'll have Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Guizi record our results. To ensure fairness, after they finish recording the results, they'll stay in Father's tent for half a month. Then Father will announce the results. How does that sound?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, "Okay, let's do it that way!"
After that, they all went back to their respective places to rest.
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