Chapter 101: Autumn steps and falling parasol trees, thinking about the future, palace lanterns reveal the past
The air of autumn permeated the courtyard of the Fang residence. The night wind blew sycamore leaves across the bluestone slabs, making a soft rustling sound. Ziwei sat by the window of the west wing, embroidering a peace knot. The silk thread shone softly in the candlelight. She worked very slowly, her stitches meticulous, each one a heartfelt confession. When she reached the swallow's wings, her fingertips paused, her gaze fixed on the pot of orchids on the windowsill—a variety that Xiaoyanzi had specially brought from Jinan when she first arrived at the Fang residence.
"Are you daydreaming again?" Xiaoyanzi walked in with a plate of sweet-scented osmanthus cake. Her lilac skirt swept across the threshold, bringing with it a waft of sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance. She placed the plate on the table and, noticing Ziwei staring intently at the peace knot, reached out and poked her cheek. "Embroider slower. This peace knot won't be finished until next spring."
Ziwei was amused by her and put down her needlework. "You're just worried you won't embroider it well." She picked up the peace knot with two little birds embroidered on it. "Take it with you. Tomorrow... are you really going?"
"Hmm." Xiaoyanzi picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and stuffed it into her mouth, the sweet fragrance spreading on her tongue. "Some things can't be avoided. Your mother's letter must be delivered. I can't let you live in fear like you do on the streets." She walked to the window and looked at the moonlight in the courtyard. "My brother said that the guards in the imperial study have a regular rotation. I'm good at light work, so I can sneak in and out without anyone noticing."
Ziwei held her hand, her fingertips cold: "But the palace is so big, what if someone finds out..."
"Don't worry!" Xiaoyanzi patted the pouch at her waist, which contained the token and the sleeping pills given by Xiao Jian. "The token my brother gave me can pass through three checkpoints, and there's also this." She fished a small copper whistle from her sleeve. "If you're in danger, blow it three times. He's arranged for people outside the palace to meet you." Seeing that Ziwei was still worried, she suddenly leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Actually... I knew the emperor in a previous life. He's not as difficult to talk to as you think. He just likes to put on airs sometimes."
Ziwei didn't understand the meaning of "previous life" and just thought she was comforting herself. She nodded gently: "Then you must take the peace knot I embroidered with you and keep it close to your body." She took out the freshly embroidered peace knot from her sewing basket. It still had a faint scent of lavender. "This is what my mother taught me. She said lavender can calm the mind."
Xiaoyanzi took the peace knot, feeling the fine stitches with her fingertips, and her heart warmed. She tied the peace knot around her waist and patted it: "Don't worry, it's more useful than my brother's token!"
Late at night, the light in Xiao Jian's study was still on. He was marking a route on a piece of rice paper, highlighting the guard posts surrounding the imperial study with cinnabar ink. Seeing Xiao Yanzi enter, he pushed a glass lamp over to her. "The lamp oil will last until the morning. Follow this route and avoid the patrols in the northwest corner. E Min's men are watching you there." He then handed over a nightgown. "It's made of shark silk, light and hard to detect."
Xiaoyanzi took the nightgown and ran her fingertips across the smooth fabric. "Brother, do you think...will he recognize Ziwei after seeing the letter?"
Xiao Jian put down his pen, his gaze fixed on the moonlight outside the window. "Whether you recognize him or not, he's Ziwei's father. But remember, the palace is not like the Fang family. Keep your words to yourself and don't reveal everything." He pulled a small porcelain bottle from behind the bookshelf. "It contains a drug. Don't use it unless absolutely necessary. It's not going to end well if you hurt someone."
The midnight gong struck, and the streets of the capital were so quiet that only the chirping of insects could be heard. Little Swallow, donning her nightgown, swept past the high walls of the Fang Mansion like a falling leaf, and in a few leaps and bounds she was outside the palace. She zeroed in on the old locust tree in the southeast corner, tapped its trunk with her toes, and leaped upward, landing silently in the shadows just inside the palace wall.
Warm yellow candlelight shone through the window lattices of the imperial study, and the scent of sandalwood mixed with the fragrance of ink wafted through the cracks. Little Swallow crouched behind a stone pillar in the corridor, watching the guards change shifts. Then, like a civet cat, she scurried under the window, dipped her fingertips in saliva, and gently tapped the window paper.
"Come in, don't freeze outside." Qianlong's voice came from inside, calm with a subtle gentleness.
Little Swallow entered through the window, the wind from her landing causing the candlelight to flicker. She stood three steps away from the dragon table, pulled the neatly folded letter from her bosom, and held it forward with both hands. "Your Majesty, this is a letter from Ms. Xia Yuhe of Jinan. Her daughter, Ziwei...is currently being raised in my family."
Qianlong put down his brush and gazed at the letter. The edges were frayed, evidently from repeated handling. His fingertips trembled slightly as he took the letter, and he unfolded it with extreme caution, as if afraid of disturbing anything. The candlelight illuminated the delicate handwriting, and as he read, tears welled in his eyes.
"Three months." Qianlong suddenly spoke, his voice a little hoarse, and looked up at Xiaoyanzi. "Does she like wearing moon-white clothes? Is she always lost in thought while looking at flowers and plants?"
Xiaoyanzi was startled and suddenly looked up at him. Moonlight filtered in through the window, illuminating the silver strands of Qianlong's temples. The guilt in his eyes was so clear, and it was not the tone he used to speak to a stranger. She clenched the peace knot at her waist, her voice trembling, "You... you remember everything?"
"How could I not remember?" Qianlong put down the letter and looked at her with understanding and pity. "I remember Yuhe Aihe, the poems she wrote, and even more so... I made you suffer so much in your past life." He pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Sit down, Xiaoyanzi, stop pretending. I recognized you the moment you called me 'Emperor Father'."
"I'm not pretending!" Xiaoyanzi said stubbornly, but tears welled up uncontrollably and fell on the cold blue bricks. "I'm Fang Ci! But Ziwei is your daughter. She stares at the jade pendant you gave her every day at the Fang family, and she always dreams of her mother at night..."
"I know." Qianlong interrupted her, his tone very light. "I know she has suffered, so in this life, I will never let her suffer any injustice again." He picked up a jade pendant from the dragon table. The jade pendant was warm and transparent, with the word "Wei" engraved on it. "This is another token I gave to Yuhe back then. Take it back to Ziwei and let her feel at ease."
Xiaoyanzi took the jade pendant, her fingertips touching the warmth of the jade. Suddenly, she remembered Ziwei embroidering the peace knot, and her tears fell even harder. "Then you have to protect her! Emin is doing something behind my back, trying to harm my father, and he's even targeting Ziwei..."
"I know about E Min's activities." Qianlong's eyes suddenly became sharp. "Li Yushi is already investigating him. It won't be long before I give you an explanation." He looked at Xiaoyanzi's red eyes and suddenly sighed. His voice was as soft as if it were soaked in warm water. "Silly girl, why are you crying?" He took a half step forward, his eyes filled with deep expectation. "But... I haven't heard you call me those three words for a long time. Xiaoyanzi, call me 'Emperor Father' more often, let me hear it, okay?"
Xiaoyanzi was stunned, tears still lingering on her eyelashes like dew-soaked butterfly wings. She clutched the jade pendant with the Chinese character "薇" (Wei), her fingertips white from pinching it. Her heart was filled with both pain and warmth. In her past life, she had called out these three words countless times, in moments of coquettishness, begging for mercy, and feeling wronged, but never like this moment. Her throat felt like it was clogged with cotton. She turned her face away, her voice as thin as a mosquito's: "I'm not screaming..."
"Just call out once." Qianlong's voice was coaxing, and the guilt and tenderness in his eyes almost overflowed. "Just think of it as... letting me make up for the debt I owed in my previous life."
The night wind blew in through the window, making the candlelight crackle softly. Little Swallow looked at the silver hair at his temples, the red marks under his eyes, and suddenly remembered how he had cried "My daughter" in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in his previous life. She sniffed, shrugged her shoulders slightly, and finally lowered her head and called out muffledly, "Emperor..."
As soon as these two words came out, Qianlong's eyes instantly turned red. He raised his hand to press the corner of his eye, and his voice trembled slightly: "Hey... scream again."
"Emperor Father." This time her voice was brighter, with her usual frankness, but the ending tone was still tearful.
"Hey..." Qianlong responded, and suddenly smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed out. "Good girl, my little swallow is back." He patted her shoulder, his palm warm. "Don't be afraid. In this life, the emperor will protect you and Ziwei. No one can bully you."
Xiaoyanzi sniffed, then suddenly remembered something, her eyes widening. "As for Ziwei...when can I recognize her as my biological parent? She's timid, and there are so many rules in the palace. I'm afraid of her..."
"Once I've dealt with E Min, I'll bring her into the palace." Qianlong looked at her nervous expression and said solemnly, "I will give her a proper status and won't let her wander around outside the palace like she did in her previous life." He paused and added, "The same goes for you. The Fang family is your home, and there's a place for you in the palace..."
Xiaoyanzi held the jade pendant in her hand, feeling relieved. She sniffed and nodded vigorously, "Then you have to keep it a secret! Don't let Ziwei know about this, she'll be scared."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Qianlong looked into her sparkling eyes, as if he saw the noisy but loyal girl from the past. "Go back quickly, it's almost dawn, don't keep Ziwei waiting anxiously."
Xiaoyanzi nodded, turned, and climbed out the window, her figure quickly disappearing into the moonlight. Qianlong stood by the window, watching her retreat, stroking Xia Yuhe's letter in his hand, his eyes moist. In this life, he would never let regrets happen again. Whether it was Xiaoyanzi or Ziwei, he would protect them well.
At that moment, in the Fang family's west wing, Ziwei sat beneath the lamp, waiting for Xiaoyanzi. She placed the newly embroidered peace knot beneath Xiaoyanzi's pillow, her fingertips gently brushing the stitches as she softly prayed, "Please come back safely..." The moonlight streamed in from the window, illuminating the hope in her eyes and the prologue to the upcoming chapter of protection and rebirth.
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