After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Hongli suddenly felt a strong urge to see his mother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, so he headed straight for the Changchun Palace.
Lanqin was overjoyed to see Hongli visiting her. "Hongli, it's been so long since you last visited your mother. I've missed you so much! How have you been? Look at me, you must be hungry at this hour. What would you like to eat? I'll have Baoqin prepare it for you right away."
Seeing how much his mother cared for him, Hongli felt a warmth in his heart and said, "I want to eat the osmanthus cake that Mother made by hand. I haven't had it for so long, I'm so hungry for it."
Lanqin smiled and turned to the maid beside her, saying, "Baoqin, quickly go and get Hongli the osmanthus cake I just made, and also prepare a serving of chilled mung bean soup."
Baoqin nodded and went to prepare.
"You, your father just sent someone to say he'd be here soon, so I made osmanthus cake early, but you little glutton ate it all. Look at you, you're all sweaty."
It was already the height of summer, and Hongli had just come running, so his clothes were soaked with sweat inside and out. Lanqin said to her maid Yuxiao, "Go and help the prince change his clothes quickly, so he won't catch a cold later."
Hongli let the two maids give him their orders. When Hongli came out after changing his clothes, fragrant osmanthus cakes were already laid out on the table.
Hongli quickly picked up a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. "Um... Mother, I've eaten... so many osmanthus cakes... but... yours is still the best."
Hongli's mouth was stuffed full, making his speech unclear. The maids beside him watched him and secretly laughed.
These maids usually had a good relationship with Prince Hongli, and they often had minor squabbles. Lanqin let them do as they pleased, since in modern times, there was no real distinction between master and servant.
“Prince Hongli, eat slowly, don’t stuff your mouth full and not be able to taste anything!” Baoqin teased from the side, which drew another round of laughter.
Lanqin was also amused and laughed.
"Really, eat slowly, don't choke. Nobody's going to take it from you," Lanqin reminded him affectionately.
"Who could resist Mother's osmanthus cake? It's so delicious!" Hongli said, taking another sip of chilled mung bean soup.
Lanqin felt a sweet warmth in her heart. By today's standards, this child was already an adult, yet he still liked to cling to her. "You child, you always know how to make your mother happy."
"Mother, I never get tired of your osmanthus cake!" Hongli said with a smile.
Lanqin saw that Hongli had almost finished eating, so she asked him about his recent situation.
"It's been so long since I last saw you, Mother. How have you been?" Hongli suddenly remembered the sacrificial ceremony that his father had entrusted to him, and his brows furrowed slightly. But then he remembered that his father had said not to tell anyone, so he forced a smile and said to Lanqin, "Your Majesty, I have been doing very well, but I often miss you, Mother."
Lanqin took in Hongli's expression. It seemed that Hongli had encountered some troubles recently, but since he was unwilling to talk about it, she did not want to force him. "That's good. Since you miss your mother, you should come and visit her more often. Your mother misses you very much too."
After the mother and son talked for a while, Lanqin told Hongli to eat and sleep well and not to ruin his health by studying too hard.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two saw Bechuk and three other princesses enter from outside the door, chatting and laughing.
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