Please enter the main text. Please note: According to relevant national laws, on the day before the Emperor's birthday, the palace was bustling with people. The birthday gifts brought by the princes were delivered to the palace, and all the lanterns along the roads in the capital had been replaced with all red lanterns and are now lit up.
Yin and Qingyan sent the twins to the palace. When they returned, it was evening. Hafeng was sleeping in the carriage. Qingyan checked on him, covered him with a brocade quilt, and sat on a cushion next to him.
"Little darling, shall we go see the lanterns?" Yin really enjoys spending time alone with Qingyan, so when the twins Halong and Fengtian are not around, the two of them try to go out as much as possible.
"Tomorrow is the Emperor's birthday, and you're still going to see the lanterns?" Qingyan looked at Yin in surprise.
Yin nodded. When the emperor's birthday arrives, the people of the capital will all go out on the streets. In order to avoid any danger, the princes must go directly back to their residences and are not allowed to go out to enjoy the lantern festival or other activities.
"After tomorrow, there will be no time. You will have to wait until a month later to go to the night market!" Emperor Kangxi issued a secret decree during the Spring Festival this year. All the princes received the decree, and if they went out again, Emperor Kangxi would definitely remember it.
Yin's explanation made Qingyan's mouth drop slightly. It turned out that Yin's occasional outings with her before were also against Kangxi's orders.
"Fourth Prince, let's stay in the mansion." Qingyan didn't want to put Yin in a difficult position, so she suggested going out.
Yin shook his head: "We still have that much time. The lantern festival is always held two or three days in advance."
"Alright!" Qingyan conceded.
Every year, after attending the banquet on the main day, the two of them would occasionally go to see the lanterns.
The two first returned to the mansion to change into their everyday clothes, and then asked Suzhu to stay and take care of Hafeng before they took their carriage and went out again.
On the street, Qingyan noticed that there weren't many pedestrians. Some people were still busy decorating their front doors, so very few people went out.
On the actual day, people would happily take their wives and children to the streets to bring joy to their families.
At the entrance of Dashilan, the carriage slowly came to a stop, and the guards surrounded the two people to ensure their safety.
"Let's go to a roast duck restaurant. Didn't you want to eat it a few days ago?" Yin remembered that Qingyan had eaten the one made by the imperial kitchen, and the taste was not quite the same as the ones outside.
Qingyan nodded quickly; roast duck was definitely one of her favorite foods.
"Let's go quickly. It's a private room on the second floor. You can see the most bustling and prosperous parts of Dashilan from there." Qingyan happily gave a thumbs up.
To satisfy Qingyan's cravings, Yin booked a private room in the roast duck restaurant year-round, so that even when there were many customers, they could go in and eat directly.
In a private room on the second floor, Qingyan leaned against the window, looking at the crowd below. As night fell, the streets became increasingly crowded.
"Fourth Brother, look over there! There's such a long lantern!" Qingyan looked outside and quickly called Yin over.
The two fought side by side, and Yin looked down and saw that the number of people had indeed increased.
"Master, all the dishes are served!" Su Peisheng walked in from outside and spoke to Yin and the others.
Yin accompanied Qingyan out. She looked at the table, which was full of her favorite dishes, and happily picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
"I'll start eating first!" Qingyan said cheerfully.
Halfway through the meal, Bayan hurriedly walked in. Seeing that his two masters were still eating, he paused for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Yin noticed that Bayan was acting strangely and asked directly.
"Master, something was set on fire outside the street because of fireworks!" Bayan said, glancing at Yin.
Qingyan was slightly taken aback. She remembered that when she came out before, she had once set fire to the surrounding houses.
"Su Peisheng, pack up a roast duck and some rice and dishes, we'll eat them when we get back!" Yin said directly.
They needed to leave as quickly as possible. Qingyan was somewhat reluctant, but she still followed Yin's footsteps and left.
The carriage had left the area of Dashilan. Qingyan kept looking out and saw many carriages coming out from the direction of Dashilan.
"It seems the fire is quite large!" Qingyan said, looking at the increasing number of carriages.
"Let's not meddle!" Yin didn't want to get involved in other people's business. The fire that was rewarded was caused by someone, and who could guarantee that this one wasn't?
Qingyan leaned on Yin's shoulder and closed her eyes to rest.
Just as the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) arrived, Yin was woken up by Su Peisheng. Emperor Kangxi summoned the princes to the palace, and Yin immediately got up.
"Little darling, sleep a little longer, I'm going to the palace first!" Yin leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Today is the Emperor's birthday, and he shouldn't have had to get up so early. The Emperor's sudden summons must be due to some special circumstances.
At breakfast, Qingyan sat at the table, and Sulan began to report news from inside and outside the mansion.
"Master, a fire broke out in Dashilan yesterday, burning down many shops," Su Lan reported directly.
Qingyan put down her chopsticks and stared blankly outside.
"Today is the Emperor's birthday, and the large-scale shipments started yesterday. If it were a natural disaster, His Majesty would probably issue an edict of self-reproach. This year's birthday celebration is probably going to be a disaster." Qingyan said with some helplessness.
Su Lan was helpless. The situation outside was unstable, and all sorts of rumors were circulating. Many people even believed that this was a warning to Emperor Kangxi!
"Alright, just keep the people in the manor under control, and don't let anyone cause any trouble!" Qingyan said directly.
After breakfast, she carried Hafenga and prepared to enter the palace. No matter what happened, she had to enter the palace today.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty said that you must be careful in everything you do when you enter the palace today!" Su Lan instructed.
Qingyan held Hafenga in her arms and sat in the carriage.
Now, Hafenga woke up very respectfully, and seeing his mother's appearance, he clapped his hands happily!
"Hafeng, you have to give me some face today, don't fall asleep halfway through!" Qingyan said directly to Hafeng.
Hafeng looked at his mother with adorable eyes. Qingyan sighed. This little guy...
Upon arriving at Chengqian Palace, Qingyan brought Hafeng'a along. Qingyan's carriage could enter the palace directly.
"Mother, I'm here!" Qingyan carried Hafeng'a into Chengqian Palace, only to find that there were no concubines there.
"You've arrived?" Consort Tong's face looked somewhat tired.
"Mother, why do you look so unwell?" Qingyan asked, puzzled.
well
Consort Tong sighed: "The fire at Dashilan yesterday burned until 11:45 AM."
"Yesterday, we went over to eat roast duck. It wasn't until we were on our way back that we heard about the fire." The two of them had agreed that this was the safest explanation.
"It's good that you're all alright. In the future, don't go to these kinds of events near festivals," Consort Tong instructed with concern. (Note: The last sentence appears to be a separate, unrelated statement: "Laws and regulations require that you do not upload any pornographic, vulgar, politically sensitive, or other illegal or inappropriate content. We will review and process such content and report it according to regulations.")
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