Chapter 62: Yangxin Palace, formerly known as Hidden Heart
The golden glow of the setting sun filtered through the window lattices of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, casting slender spots of light on the golden brick floor. Qianlong sat on a rosewood chair covered in bright yellow cushions, clutching a memorial in his hand, his gaze fixed on the old locust tree outside the window. His fingertips unconsciously tapped the cover of the memorial, making a rhythmic "thump, thump" sound.
The hall was so quiet that he could hear the ticking of the clock. The ambergris in the incense burner burned to the end, and the last wisp of green smoke curled up and slowly dissipated in the beam of light, just like the clear voice of "Emperor" in the alley just now, light and floating, but hitting his heart heavily.
"Your Majesty, it's time for dinner." Eunuch Su walked in quietly, holding a gold-painted food box in his hand. Seeing that Qianlong didn't turn the page for a long time, he knew that his mind was not on the memorials.
Qianlong said "hmm" but did not look up. His fingers were still on the four words "Jiangnan Flood" on the memorial, but the scene in the alley appeared in front of his eyes - the little girl in a stone-blue dress suddenly grabbed his sleeve, her face full of panic, and she blurted out "Emperor Father" with a crying tone, which was exactly the same as the tone she used when she asked him for help countless times after getting into trouble in her previous life.
"Su Peisheng." He suddenly spoke, his voice a little hoarse.
"I'm here." Eunuch Su quickly put down the food box and bowed in response.
Qianlong finally put down the memorial and turned around. The setting sun's light fell on his face, the silver hair at his temples particularly clear in the halo, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, filled with uncontrollable excitement: "You... today in the alley, did you hear it?"
Eunuch Su's heart skipped a beat; he knew the Emperor hadn't forgotten. He replied cautiously, "Your servant...your servant seemed to hear Miss Fang call out 'Your Excellency'. It was so chaotic, I couldn't quite hear it." He dared not tell the truth; if word of "Emperor Father" got out, it would alarm everyone.
Qianlong smiled, not the usual dignified smile he wore in court, but one that held a hint of relief and joy. The fine lines around his eyes smoothed out. "You didn't hear clearly, but I did." He stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the setting sun beyond the palace walls. His back seemed especially gentle in the twilight. "She called out 'Huang Father,' clearly and distinctly, not a single word was wrong."
Eunuch Su stood there in a daze, opening his mouth but not daring to respond. The emperor's tone didn't sound angry, but rather like... he had obtained some treasure.
"I knew it." Qianlong turned around, his fingertips lightly tracing the windowsill, his tone filled with certainty. "When I first saw her, the cleverness in her eyes, the evasive look, was just like when she first entered the palace in my previous life. I was afraid I had made a mistake, afraid I was just thinking too much..." He paused, a warm light in his eyes, "This voice today, there is no mistake. It's her, it really is her."
She was the wild girl who climbed trees and robbed bird nests in the imperial garden, the fool who pronounced "transform into a butterfly" as "transform into a spy," and the little swallow who made him angry and heartbroken, yet ultimately felt so indebted. In this life, she became Fang Ci, daughter of the Fang family in Jiangnan. Doted on by her parents and protected by her older brother, she learned the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, yet her spirit couldn't hide its vibrant energy.
"Your Majesty," Eunuch Su saw that his expression was moved and asked tentatively, "Then... Miss Fang..."
"She's afraid of me." Qianlong chuckled, walked to the desk, and picked up the copy of the Jiangnan Yuefu music score—the one he had copied based on the one he gave to Xiaoyanzi. His fingertips traced the three characters of "Lotus Picking Song." "She's lived a peaceful life and doesn't want to be entangled in the palace anymore. That's why she hides when she sees me and panics when she hears the word 'enter the palace.'"
The palace in her previous life had caused her so much pain, with her family separated and her life drifting from place to place. She was afraid and resentful. Qianlong thought back to the last few years of his previous life, when Xiaoyanzi always looked at him with a distant look in her eyes, unlike when she first entered the palace and used to cling to him and call him "Emperor Father". He felt like something was blocking his heart, making him feel sour and bitter.
"But she called me 'Emperor Father,'" he repeated, as if confirming this reassuring fact, a faint smile on his face. "In times of crisis, the words that come out of your mouth are the truest. In her heart, she still recognizes me as her father."
Eunuch Su listened with his head bowed, and gradually understood in his heart that the emperor was determined to recognize Miss Fang.
"Go check," Qianlong suddenly said, his tone regaining some of the emperor's composure. "What are the Fang family's plans for tomorrow? Where does Miss Fang usually go?"
Eunuch Su quickly responded, "I'll check right away."
"Don't make it public," Qianlong instructed, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table. "No need to make any special arrangements, just... drop by on the way. For example, after tomorrow's morning court session, I 'happen' to go to the Fayuan Temple in the west of the city to burn incense, and 'happen' to pass by the Fang family."
Eunuch Su knew exactly what was going on. This wasn't just a coincidence; it was clearly the Emperor looking for an opportunity to meet Miss Fang. He nodded quickly, "I understand. I'll take care of it right away."
After Eunuch Su left, silence returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Qianlong picked up the zither sheet music and, in the last ray of daylight, flipped through it. Next to the "Lotus Picking Song," he lightly circled it with a red pen. In her previous life, when Little Swallow had learned this tune, she'd always sung it with such treble-sounding abandon, even boasting, "As the lotus blossoms, so too must the music."
She'd practiced for so long in her life, but I wondered what it would sound like when she played it. Would it still have that wild charm, or would it have truly acquired the gentle grace of a Jiangnan woman?
He closed the music sheet and walked over to the clock, watching the pendulum swing back and forth, producing a rhythmic sound. Time flies. The regrets of his past life are still vivid in his mind, and now he actually has the opportunity to make up for it.
"Xiaoyanzi... Fangci..." He whispered the name, the smile in his eyes so gentle that it could drip water, "This time, I won't let you suffer any more grievances."
The last ray of sunlight outside the window faded behind the palace walls. As dusk deepened, candles in the Hall of Mental Cultivation gradually lit up, stretching the emperor's figure. The call of "Emperor Father" from the alley was like a stone dropped into the lake of his heart, rippling through the waves and reaffirming the reborn emperor's resolve to bring his lost "daughter" back under his wing. And this resolve, as the night fell, quietly spread towards the Fang family.
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