As expected, spring pancakes were served early the next morning.
Yinzhen picked up the thin pancake, rolled up some shredded potatoes, stir-fried mixed vegetables, and also picked up a few bites of braised beef. It was indeed very seasonal.
Besides spring pancakes, Eunuch Ma also brought in a dish of golden scrambled eggs and a stewed tofu that was exceptionally tender. Yinzhen ate a bowl of millet porridge with these two dishes and felt very soothed.
Changning was unusually early today, enjoying her spring pancakes with relish, but she was also worried about Yinzhen's health. In the palace, it wasn't so easy to get away with this; Su Peisheng was probably the only one who truly cared whether Yinzhen had eaten.
Given his status, there must be many people in the palace watching him. It would be impossible for him to eat well while the emperor was seriously ill. For the sake of his reputation for filial piety, it would be best if he starved himself for a few days and became emaciated to highlight the deep affection between father and son.
But this person is about to suffer greatly.
Logically, Changning should also enter the palace with them, but now that things are going on, Consort De specially sent a message saying that Changning should keep a close eye on Hutuli and Yierha to learn the rules, and that the two princesses would enter the palace on the day of the Golden Banquet.
It's only April now, and the Golden Week is in October.
The Empress's intention is that you should not enter the palace recently, so as to avoid causing any trouble.
The closer we get to this point, the more we need to stay calm.
Changning had no choice but to have Eunuch Ma make more roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) and danji guanbing (egg pancake), as these small items could be eaten easily by holding them in one's hand.
After the meal, Yinzhen called the children together and gave them a few more instructions, telling them not to go out and wander around in the coming days, and to come to his wife immediately if anything happened or any situation arose.
The children, knowing the importance of things, all nodded in agreement.
Yinzhen glanced at Changning again before turning and leaving the mansion.
After Yinzhen left the mansion, the children all turned to look at Changning, their expressions somewhat fearful.
Not wanting them to worry, Changning smiled and said, "It's a beautiful spring day today. Although it's not a good time to leave the manor, we can still enjoy the spring scenery here. Why don't we have a barbecue in the garden?"
Hearing that their mother would take them out to play, the children were all overjoyed. Hongzhao was the most enthusiastic: "Great! Great! Mother! I can bake! I can bake! I learned how to bake last time I went out with my older sister and brother!"
Changning looked at his confident and enthusiastic appearance and wanted to laugh: "Okay, okay, you can grill it."
Hongmin and Hongchen are in a very active phase, and they always follow Hongzhao around like two little shadows.
Hutuli grinned and put her arm around Changning's: "Mother, is it really alright for Father to go to the palace?"
Changning tapped her forehead with her finger: "Why are you such a child, worrying so much? Are you afraid your father will be eaten? The Forbidden City is his home. It's just a trip home, what's the big deal?"
Hutuli was immediately relieved. Judging from her mother's tone, her father would definitely be alright, and what she said was so powerful! The Forbidden City is her father's home!
Perhaps fearing that her words might be misunderstood, Changning added, "The princes' homes are all there, and the thirteenth and fourteenth princes went along this time as well."
"Have Uncle Thirteen and Uncle Fourteen also entered the palace?" When Hutuli heard that his two uncles were also there, he felt that his father had more help and became more confident.
It's no wonder the children are worried; the news of the Emperor's serious illness is indeed alarming.
The darkness before dawn is often the most chaotic and unbearable, because all sorts of demons and monsters will come out to cause trouble.
The children are precocious and are no longer at an age where they know nothing. However, Changning does not want them to worry too much at such a young age. There will be plenty of things to worry about in the future, so why rush things?
So she happily took the children to prepare for the barbecue, and even sent someone to Yierha and Honghui's place to see if they would like to come along.
Although they had weak stomachs and couldn't eat much, this was a rare opportunity for the brothers and sisters to spend time together, so the two of them went into the garden without much hesitation.
Honghui and Yierha met on the road and walked together.
"Big sister," Honghui called out, seemingly wanting to say something, but before he could speak.
Yierha knew what he was thinking, and said, "I'm doing very well. The things my stepmother left me are all well preserved. If you want them, I'll have someone send them to you."
Honghui's expression was a mix of sorrow and joy. After a long while, he shook his head and said softly, "No need."
Yierha knew he was deeply saddened, but never dared to show it to others, so she could only offer a few words of comfort: "Honghui, your mother said before that she only has us two children. We must live well for her to be happy."
Upon hearing this, Honghui almost couldn't hold back his tears. He quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, his voice slightly choked: "I know. Everyone advises me to think more positively, and I want to too... but..."
Yierha's gentle voice rang out: "You still have family in this mansion. Father, me, Chun'e Mother, and your brothers and sisters are all your family. Honghui, it doesn't matter if you don't share the same mother, as long as we are connected by blood, we are family. Don't isolate yourself and think that your stepmother is gone and you are all alone. Dwelling too much on grief will only make you suffer."
Honghui is actually very intelligent and sensitive. He has tried his best to become more outstanding, hoping to protect the Ulanara clan in place of his mother in the future. However, he still feels somewhat lonely sometimes.
In the entire mansion, he was the only child without a mother.
Yierha said all she could say; she couldn't say much more. Some things she had to figure out for herself. Besides, her mother had said, "Don't advise others to be kind if you haven't experienced their suffering."
The two walked in silence to the Prince's Garden.
Honghui took a few deep breaths, composed himself, and tried his best to put on a gentle smile.
In spring, the flowers all compete with each other in beauty, blooming in a very splendid display.
Hongyang is two years old now and can walk quite well. He is not as old as Hongmin and Hongchen and can study in the study room, which is a rather awkward age. Changning also feels a little guilty.
There were several older brothers studying in the study, and Yinzhen watched over them every day.
With an infant brother and two sisters below, they are even more likely to require a lot of attention.
This made Hongyang, who was in the middle, seem a little pitiful.
However, he wasn't the type to be too concerned about such things. He had the most beautiful face of all the children, which made him very eye-catching.
Changning held him in her arms, and sometimes she felt that none of her three daughters were as charming as this son.
Hongyang also likes beautiful things and dislikes ugly things.
As soon as Honghui and Yierha arrived, he waved and called out, "Big brother! Big sister!"
Honghui never came empty-handed; every time he saw his younger brothers, he always had some food in his pocket.
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