"Yongqi, take Xiaoyanzi back. Your mother and children must miss Xiaoyanzi very much." Emperor Qianlong waved for Yongqi and the others to leave.
Yongqi responded and then left the Qianqing Palace with Xiaoyanzi.
But Xiao Yanzi kept looking at Xinrong and refused to move.
Xinrong said with some helplessness, "Fifth Prince, why don't Anlang and I go to pay our respects to Consort Yu together?"
“…Alright then.” Yongqi nodded helplessly.
Judging from Xiao Yanzi's attitude, she probably wouldn't go back unless he nodded.
The group headed towards Yonghe Palace. Consort Yu, who was inside the palace, had already received the news and was anxiously waiting at the palace gate.
"Why haven't they returned yet?" Consort Yu asked, looking at the sky, which was approaching noon. "They should have arrived by now..."
Suddenly, Mei'er exclaimed, "Your Majesty, look..."
Consort Yu looked in the direction Mei'er pointed and saw that her beloved son and daughter-in-law had returned.
"Little Swallow!" Consort Yu greeted her happily. "Little Swallow, you're finally back."
Bright moon and colorful clouds, the four great talents also gathered around.
Little Mosquito: "Good heavens! The Princess Consort is finally back!"
Little Stool: "The talented scholar said that the Princess Consort is very lucky and that the Fifth Prince will definitely bring you back!"
Mianhua and Mianyao, nestled in Mingyue and Caixia's arms, also looked at Xiaoyanzi excitedly. Xiaoyanzi, of course, also noticed the children's expressions. "They are..."
"Little Swallow, this is Mianhua." Yongqi pointed to the little boy Mingyue was holding.
"That's Mianyao, Xiaoyanzi. Look how bright their smiles are when they see you come back..."
Consort Yu looked at Xiao Yanzi before her, momentarily at a loss for words. "Xiao Yanzi, it's your mother..."
“Mother, don’t be too anxious. Xiao Yanzi is not familiar with everyone yet. It will take time for her to regain her memories…” Yongqi saw that Xiao Yanzi was still a little scared and did not respond, so he helped her out of the predicament.
Afterwards, Xinrong and Sheng Anlang bowed to Consort Yu. Consort Yu was extremely warm and welcoming to the two of them after hearing that it was Xinrong and Sheng Anlang who had saved Xiaoyanzi.
"You are Little Swallow's benefactors, and so are our family's benefactors. It's noon now, so why don't you come in and have a meal together?"
Yongqi also looked at Xinrong and Sheng Anlang, "Since Mother has said so, then you may come in."
On the table were the foods that Little Swallow loved to eat. "Little Swallow, these are all your favorite foods, try them."
Consort Yu picked up a piece of chicken and gave it to Xiao Yanzi. After eating it, Xiao Yanzi nodded quickly and said, "Delicious."
Seeing Xiao Yanzi smile, which was a rare sight, Yongqi was happy too, but...
"Little Swallow, I didn't have time to cook today, but I'll show you my skills tonight..."
On the way back, he was busy traveling and naturally didn't have time to cook.
Now that he's back, he naturally has to make time to cook for himself.
Upon hearing Yongqi's words, Xiaoyanzi couldn't help but ask curiously, "You're a prince, how come you can cook?"
She was quite surprised, "Why do you want to learn cooking?"
Logically speaking, a prince who has been waited on since childhood would not need to learn any cooking skills.
Yongqi sighed, "It's always good to have more skills. Besides, one of the reasons I could make you give up your freedom and stay by my side is naturally my cooking skills..."
"..." Little Swallow didn't believe this reason at all.
Is she the kind of person who would give up her beloved freedom for the sake of satisfying her appetite?
Consort Yu, standing nearby, chuckled, "Back then, whenever Yongqi wasn't busy with official duties, he would always cook for you, which spoiled your palate..."
"The chicken I just gave you was from Yongqi's apprentice. He taught you some skills, which is why you find it delicious."
Otherwise, she would say the chicken doesn't taste good enough.
In short, it was all sorts of disdainful remarks.
Xinrong and Sheng Anlang, who were standing nearby, were both stunned by their conversation.
Xinrong laughed awkwardly, "It seems we still benefited from the Fifth Prince's favor..."
Consort Yu then turned her gaze to Xinrong and Sheng Anlang, "Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi have both restrained themselves now, otherwise, I wouldn't even want to come to this restaurant..."
Xinrong swallowed hard. "(Is it really that exaggerated?)"
Yongqi was also embarrassed, "Mother!"
Consort Yu glanced at him and said, "You dare to do it, so why are you afraid of what people will say?"
The meal was finished amidst their casual conversation.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your hospitality today. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave now."
Then, Xinrong looked at Xiaoyanzi and said, "Fifth Prince's wife, I'll go to Shufangzhai first. You and the Fifth Prince should stay at Yonghe Palace and familiarize yourselves with the surroundings. Who knows, staying here longer might help you recover some of your memories..."
Before Xiao Yanzi could answer, Xinrong and Sheng Anlang left together.
"Little Swallow, come on, I'll show you around Yonghe Palace."
After the two came out of the main hall, they could see the towering tree to their right, but now it was bare; to their left were Consort Yu's flower garden and swing set.
"Little Swallow, want to go try it?" Yongqi was naturally pointing to the swing set on the left front.
"Okay." Little Swallow nodded and walked with Yongqi toward the swing set.
The two sat on the swing set, swinging gently. "Remember that time you didn't want to take the usual route and insisted on testing your lightness skill, trying to climb over this wall in front of you? In the end, you got up there, but you were too scared to get down..."
"When I saw you climb up, I was terrified and rushed over to catch you..."
Little Swallow asked curiously, "Was I scared to tears back then?"
Yongqi shook his head, "No, you just said that you must master your lightness skill so you can get out of here as soon as possible..."
Yongqi then pointed to the corner of the wall to the left front, "In that corner lies the secret you buried back then."
"What?" Little Swallow asked, puzzled. "The secret I buried back then?"
Yongqi nodded and said, "I don't know what the secret you buried is..."
"Can I go dig now?"
"Of course!" After all, that's Little Swallow's secret.
It's only natural for Little Swallow to dig up her own secrets!
"Xiao Shunzi." Yongqi called out to Xiao Shunzi, who was in the distance, and Xiao Shunzi immediately understood.
They got a shovel and the two of them went to the corner of the wall and started digging.
They dug it out in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
"A box?" Little Swallow opened the box and found a letter inside. "What's this?"
There was nothing on the envelope, so Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi were very curious about what was inside.
The letter was opened, and it read:
"If you can see this letter, it means that you and Yongqi have overcome all the obstacles and that you two are finally together."
"If you've been wandering the world for a long time and haven't managed to get separated from Yongqi, then it means that your fate is truly deep. So, you should cherish every day you spend with Yongqi!"
“Yongqi may seem domineering, but he's actually quite vulnerable inside. He's terrified that you'll leave him, terrified that you'll abandon him. So, you need to tell him in the firmest tone that you won't leave him…”
When they saw the signature "9-year-old Xiao Yanzi" at the end, they realized that this was a letter from Xiao Yanzi of that time to Xiao Yanzi of the future.
Yongqi then realized that if he and Xiaoyanzi had been separated, he might never have known the contents of that letter in his entire life...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com