After the three princesses left, Lanqin felt empty inside for the first time. Although the three little girls, Qingle, Qing'an and Qingshun, came to comfort her, they could never replace her own daughters.
"Baoqin, Yuxiao, I want to go for a walk. It's been a long time since I've gone out for a walk," Lanqin suddenly said to her two most trusted maids.
"Your Majesty, where would you like to go?" Baoqin asked.
"I just want to walk around and see the Forbidden City. Come to think of it, I've lived here for so long, but I haven't had a proper chance to explore," Lanqin said.
"Wherever Your Highness wishes to go, this servant will accompany you," Baoqin said.
Lanqin instructed that no sedan chair was needed, and she was helped out of Changchun Palace by two maids.
“Let’s walk along the west passageway and stroll around the entire Forbidden City,” Lanqin said. “Right now, everyone should be heading towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony, so there will definitely be fewer people behind here. This will give me a chance to walk around in peace.”
Baoqin and Yuxiao knew that Lanqin was upset, so they didn't ask any more questions and helped Lanqin walk down the west passageway.
The long palace walls stood there silently, and the sky outside was divided into small pieces by these towering buildings.
"Yuxiao, Baoqin, if nothing unexpected happens, I may live in this Forbidden City for the rest of my life. You have followed me for so long, and I want to find you a good marriage." Lanqin said with a sigh as she walked.
“Your Highness, why are you saying these things again? This servant doesn’t want to get married and serve Your Highness for the rest of her life,” Baoqin said, pulling on Lanqin’s arm and frowning.
“This servant will also serve Your Highness for the rest of my life, along with Baoqin,” Yuxiao hurriedly added.
"No, I want to hold my grandson and my great-grandson. With them by my side, why are you two causing trouble?" Lanqin felt a warmth in her heart. These two maids had taken meticulous care of her all these years. Although they were almost ten years younger than her, and although they were her daughters, it wasn't really a daughterly relationship.
Lanqin had come to regard the two maids as family.
"Your Highness!" the two maids exclaimed in unison, their eyes filled with tears.
"You two should find good husbands and have children around you, just like Cui Niang, Nianxue, and Xicha in the past! Among the maids who served me, Sihua married the best; she is now a fourth-rank lady," Lanqin said. "I haven't seen them for a long time. Unconsciously, so many years have passed."
At this moment, Lanqin thought of her parents from another time. She had been in the Qing Dynasty for seventeen years, and her parents were already old men. How were they?
"Your Highness!" Both maids could see the loneliness and desolation in Lanqin's heart.
"I'm fine, just a little sentimental. After all, it's a daughter's wedding!" Lanqin's eyes welled up with tears, for her parents in another time and space. She wondered if they had recovered from losing her seventeen years ago.
Lanqin now understood what her "death" meant to her parents. She was already so heartbroken even though Bechuk was still married; her parents had lost her forever!
“Your Majesty, the Emperor still favors you the most. Your Majesty also has Hongli, and in the future, Your Majesty will also be the Empress Dowager of the Great Qing!” Baoqin said, wiping her nose.
"Baoqin, don't talk nonsense!" Lanqin said quickly.
“This servant is not talking nonsense. Didn’t His Majesty say that the Fourth Prince should go and offer sacrifices to the late Emperor on his behalf?” Baoqin said.
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