Looking at the lively little swallows, Yongqi thought of how much his father, the Emperor, usually doted on them, and finally put his worries to rest.
After Xiao Yanzi finished observing the procession, they went to Liu Qing and Liu Hong's restaurant and played there for a while before returning to the palace.
Thinking of the gentle and elegant maidservant who served Consort Ling in the palace, Emperor Qianlong felt a surge of interest and decided to visit her palace.
At Yanxi Palace, Consort Ling was secretly delighted to know that the Emperor had arrived. She walked with small, delicate steps to Qianlong's side and said, "Your Majesty, please try my freshly dried chrysanthemum tea. The weather is hot, and this is just the right thing to cool you down."
Emperor Qianlong naturally enjoyed Consort Ling's service. He picked up the chrysanthemum tea from her hand, took a sip, and said, "Hmm, it's really good."
He surveyed the palace, "Where's the maid that Little Swallow brought with her?"
When Consort Ling heard the Emperor ask about Ziwei, she stiffened for a moment, but she quickly recovered and said naturally, "That girl is sick, so I sent her back to her room to rest."
Emperor Qianlong did not miss the hint of panic in Consort Ling's eyes. He raised his eyebrows slightly, said nothing, gave Consort Ling a few perfunctory words, and left, leaving Consort Ling sulking.
Consort Ling was also blind to the obvious; she couldn't see that the Emperor's affection for Ziwei wasn't the affection of a junior, but rather an affection for a woman. She thought the Emperor's fondness for Ziwei was simply a case of loving the house because of Xiaoyanzi, completely failing to grasp Qianlong's true intentions.
After leaving Yanxi Palace, Emperor Qianlong immediately ordered Li Yu to investigate the situation. Li Yu, worthy of being the emperor's chief eunuch, found out the cause before nightfall.
"You mean Yongqi secretly took Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei out of the palace?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Yu wished he could lower his head to the ground to avoid facing the Emperor's anger. Although he couldn't discern the Emperor's emotions in his tone, he was certain that, based on his years of following the Emperor, the Fifth Prince had definitely incurred the Emperor's displeasure.
Indeed, this was the case. Emperor Qianlong harbored a seed of discontent towards his son and Xiao Yanzi, which was just waiting to take root, sprout, and eventually erupt when it became unbearable.
Upon arriving in the capital, Fu Erkang led everyone to a post station specially prepared for the Hui people, and they had no choice but to leave.
He first reported the imperial decree to the emperor and then returned to the Fucha Mansion, never expecting that Princess Ziwei in the palace was eagerly awaiting his arrival.
Back in the palace, Ziwei waited all night but didn't see Erkang. Disappointed, she looked at the door. Jin Suo looked at her melancholy mistress by the bedside with heartache and comforted her, "Miss, Lord Erkang just saw Princess Hanxiang off. He's probably too tired to come see you. You should rest."
Ziwei insisted to the worried Jinsuo, "I'll wait two more hours. If Erkang doesn't come, I'll go to sleep. Jinsuo, you go to sleep first."
Looking at her stubborn young lady, Jin Suo felt both sad and heartbroken. She pretended to be cheerful and said, "I didn't do much during the day, so I'm very clear-headed now. I want to stay with you, young lady."
Ziwei looked at Jinsuo with emotion, but she did not see Erkang that night.
In the past few days, not only have the Qingyin people from the Hui region arrived, but Princess Sayya from Tibet has also arrived in the capital, although the post station where Qingyin is staying is quite far from hers.
Inside the palace, Empress Ulanara was also preparing a banquet to entertain envoys from foreign lands; these were all matters of her own purview.
Thinking of the thankless banquet, the Consort Ling who kept stabbing her in the heart, and Little Swallow who made a mess of the palace, Ulanara felt like she had aged several years from day to day.
Rong Momo was the nanny who had always taken care of Ulanara. She watched with heartache as this girl grew into the graceful and noble empress.
"Your Majesty, as long as things are done well, you don't need to worry about those troublesome matters. Your good fortune is yet to come!"
"Granny, I know." Looking at the nanny who treated her like her own daughter, Ulanara felt a warmth in her heart, and the frustration she had felt these past few days eased a little.
After arranging everything for the banquet, I finally lay down to rest.
As dawn broke, wisps of smoke rose early from the imperial kitchen. The aroma of food filled the land, and servants bustled about in the Bright Hall, the venue for the banquet, as they methodically arranged various decorations and chairs.
The morning light was just breaking through, and the sun had just begun to peek out, clearly indicating a fine day.
The ministers who were attending the banquet, along with their wives and daughters, had already entered the banquet hall in an orderly fashion. After them came several of Qianlong's sons. Qianlong had relatively few sons. Apart from the fourth prince Yongcheng and the sixth prince Yongrong, who were adopted by the imperial clan without heirs at an early age, the only princes who lived to adulthood were the fifth prince Yongqi, the twelfth prince Yongqi, and the fifteenth prince Yongyan.
When the princes arrived at the banquet, they engaged in heated arguments, with the most obvious conflict being between Yongqi and Yongqi. As the Empress's legitimate son, Yongqi and Yongqi, who was favored by Emperor Qianlong, already had an indelible rift in their relationship. Furthermore, the feud caused by Xiaoyanzi's repeated unauthorized intrusions into the Empress's palace only intensified Yongqi's hostility towards Yongqi.
Yongqi also held his old rival Yongqi in contempt. As the Emperor's favorite son, he possessed a natural arrogance, and he probably didn't even realize that he held his brothers in low regard. The astute Yongqi noticed this disdain and grew even more disgusted with his brother.
About half an incense stick's time had passed, and apart from the Emperor and Empress, most of the court officials had arrived. Princess Sayya of Tibet, dressed in their distinctive attire, entered the venue with great poise. She glanced around, focusing her attention on the handsome young men in the men's section. Her eyes met those of the imposing Fu Erkang, who was sitting below her drinking wine. Sayya's eyes lit up, and she immediately asked the maid who had led the way, "Who is this person?"
The maid leading the way was somewhat afraid of the only daughter of the Tibetan king. Without hesitation, she immediately told the princess, "Princess, this is the eldest son of Minister Fucha Fulun, the Minister of Revenue, named Fucha Fu'erkang."
Saiya, clearly satisfied with the reply, sat down and kept staring at Fulkang's seat. When Fulkang looked over, Saiya flashed a bright and generous smile.
Upon seeing this, Fu Erkang immediately lowered his head and ignored Princess Saiya.
At the princes' table, Princess Saiya's gaze was clearly not missed either. The fifteenth prince, Yongyan, looked at Yongqi meaningfully, "It seems that our young master Fu'erkang is quite popular, having caught Saiya's eye directly."
Yongqi was unhappy with Yongyan's sarcastic remarks, and since Fu Erkang was both his good friend and the love interest of his own sister Ziwei, he didn't want others to tease him.
"Fu Erkang is handsome, and Princess Saiya only glanced at him a few times. She didn't say she liked him. If that were true, countless others would have fallen for the emperor's brother."
Yongyan wasn't angry at being rebuffed. He smiled casually, knowing how much his words had affected Yongqi and left him feeling uncomfortable. Anyway, as long as Yongqi was unhappy, he was happy.
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