Chapter 31 Yongqi Leads the Escape

Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi slept peacefully, but the people from the Imperial Household Department and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were already extremely busy, all for the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival, and the palace will also have corresponding activities, such as dragon boat races and eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). However, because there are many people in the palace, they start preparing well in advance. On this day, Emperor Qianlong will summon everyone to the Qianqing Palace for a banquet.

The night passed by unnoticed, and the sun slowly rose. Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi changed their clothes and prepared to go to Qianqing Palace with Consort Yu.

After everyone arrived, they bowed to those of higher status one after another. Emperor Qianlong waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities, please sit down!"

Everyone took their seats, and then all sorts of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) were laid out. Xiao Yanzi and the other young princes were dazzled by the variety. Seeing the children all staring at the zongzi on the table, Qianlong smiled and said, "If you want some, just grab some..."

However, Emperor Qianlong did not allow them to finish eating all at once. After they had eaten a few, he tested them again, saying, "If you want to eat more, you must tell a story related to the Dragon Boat Festival and zongzi. Xiaolan said that you can continue eating only after you pass the test!"

The princes were devastated, inwardly crying out, "Weren't we supposed to be able to rest during holidays? Why won't Father Emperor even spare us during holidays?"

But they were also craving food, so they had to rack their brains and recite a few lines of poetry about the Dragon Boat Festival and zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) written by their predecessors. Only after Ji Xiaolan nodded could they eat. However, the number of poems written by predecessors was limited, and there weren't enough for them to eat. So Ji Xiaolan suggested, "If you gentlemen can't think of any other poems, you can compose one on the spot. If you compose one, you can eat a few more..."

Everyone was stunned. Were Father Emperor and Master Ji really going to keep targeting them? It was one thing to make them write poems in class, but now they had to write poems even on holidays!

Xiao Yanzi wasn't good at poetry, so she couldn't participate in reciting or composing poems. Yongqi, of course, would do his best to win more zongzi for Xiao Yanzi. "Xiao Yanzi, what else would you like to eat? I'll go get it for you..."

Little Swallow quickly shook her head, "No need, you've already taken a lot!" She silently looked at the twenty zongzi in front of her, somewhat speechless. She wasn't a big eater and couldn't possibly eat so many!

The other princes also did their best to win the zongzi they wanted. The eighth prince, Yongxuan, who couldn't compose a poem yet, had the fourth prince, Yongcheng, win him a few zongzi. The younger ninth prince couldn't eat zongzi yet, so he could only be held in his nanny's arms and watch everyone eat zongzi!

After eating zongzi, Emperor Qianlong arranged a dragon boat race. Afterwards, he took everyone to watch the dragon boat race. Yongqi, Xiaoyanzi, and Consort Yu went to their designated stands and watched the people paddling the dragon boats. Xiaoyanzi became interested and said, "I want to go paddling a dragon boat too!"

Yongqi couldn't help but ask, "I thought you wanted to fly in the sky, but I didn't expect you to go dragon boating on the water..." Speaking of water, he thought of Benjamin, who was always at odds with water. It's a pity that he's still in his own country right now. It's such a grand festival, and he's not here. No one can draw them. It's really a shame!

"I want everything that flies in the sky, and everything that swims in the water..."

Yongqi asked curiously, "Then is there nothing you don't want?"

"I don't want to be unhappy, I don't want to be sick, and there are so many other things I don't want. Do you think I'm being too greedy?"

Yongqi shook his head. "No, your thoughts are the same as everyone else's. Nobody wants to be unhappy or get sick..."

Fu'ertai walked over and complained, "Fifth Prince, it seems you've stopped caring about your brothers ever since you got Xiao Yanzi!"

"Yeah, every day after class, you grab Xiao Yanzi and leave. You might call Qing'er at most, but then you ignore us!"

Hearing the two brothers' sarcastic remarks, Yongqi couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Hahaha, do you think you two would be lonely if I didn't invite you?"

Fortaire muttered, "Life is so boring without you!"

Yongqi clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "I was wrong. I'll definitely call you all next time I can, okay..."

Qing'er also came over from the Empress Dowager's side, "If Xiao Yanzi and I weren't friends now, I might have been excluded by them!"

Little Swallow quickly said, "No, no, how could I exclude you?" If her brother found out that she excluded Qing'er, what would happen?

Oh, she's thinking too far ahead. She doesn't even know where her brother is, or when she'll see him again...

"Qing'er, I wouldn't dare to reject anyone but you. With you by Xiao Yanzi's side, I feel a little more at ease!"

Qing'er retorted, "So, according to what you're saying, it's like you and I aren't friends..." She felt that her relationship with Xiao Yanzi determined her relationship with Yongqi. "Sometimes, when you two leave us behind to do your own things, I always feel like I can't fit in!"

When the Fu brothers saw that Qing'er had also come to denounce Yongqi, they echoed her. Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi had no choice but to beg for mercy and promise that they would definitely take them along when they did things in the future, and only then did they stop!

Consort Yu, watching them chat so happily, also felt a sense of joy.

When Emperor Qianlong had everyone watch the dragon boat race, he was inspired to compose a poem on the spot. Yongqi, not wanting to waste any more brainpower, pulled Xiaoyanzi away, and Qing'er and the Fu brothers naturally followed suit.

"How exciting! I've never done anything like this before!" Qing'er said as she rode her horse to the archery range. "I used to obediently follow the Empress Dowager until the banquet ended before I had a little time to myself. This is the first time I've ever sneaked out before the banquet was even over!"

Yongqi laughed and said, "So let's do something different today. Little Swallow, Qing'er, you two have been training for more than half a month. Today, let's try it out. Ride horses and shoot arrows. Let's see if we can hit the bullseye, how about it?"

Little Swallow and Qing'er nodded in unison, "No problem!"

Then, Yongqi looked at the Fu brothers and said, "Erkang and Ertai, let's have a competition to see who can hit the bullseye the most times!"

Fu Erkang laughed and said, "So what if we win? So what if we lose?"

Yongqi thought of someone and laughed, "If I lose, I'll find you a wife who's as beautiful as an angel. If I win, you'll run a errand for me somewhere!"

Fu Erkang's intuition told him that the consequences of this competition seemed to be beyond his control, but he also felt that there was no problem in accepting it. "Okay."

Fu Ertai protested, "Why are you only looking for my brother? Why aren't you thinking about me?" To be honest, he and Yongqi are closer.

Yongqi laughed and said, "You're still young, what's the rush? Besides, you might be the first among us to get married!"