Chapter 32 Qianlong's Attitude

Upon hearing Yongqi's words, Fuertai laughed and said, "Really? Will I be the first one? Well then, I'll take your good wishes!"

Yongqi and the Fu brothers chased each other around the field, while Xiaoyanzi and Qing'er tried their best to shoot arrows into the bullseye. Finally, Yongqi and his team finished their match. "I can't compete anymore, Erkang, you won. Looks like I'll have to find you a fairy-like wife!"

"Fifth Prince, don't try to fool me! If the Emperor suddenly arranges a marriage for me, I'll definitely drag you down with me!"

Yongqi laughed and said, "Don't worry, I definitely won't lie to you!"

Then, Yongqi looked at Xiaoyanzi, who was still battling with her bow and arrow. Xiaoyanzi had shot several arrows but missed, but unexpectedly, as soon as Yongqi looked in her direction, she hit the target. Xiaoyanzi looked at Yongqi happily and said, "Yongqi, I succeeded!"

Qing'er exclaimed enviously, "Little Swallow, you're so amazing! I can't even hit the target!"

Little Swallow comforted me, "It's okay, we can practice more and we'll definitely succeed. Besides, I only hit the target because Yongqi was watching me. If he hadn't been watching me, I might not have hit it!"

Qing'er sighed inwardly. With the power of love on her side, Xiao Yanzi's abilities would naturally be better than hers. She wondered when her true love would finally appear.

After practicing for another quarter of an hour, Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er stopped to rest. "Xiao Yanzi, come here."

Yongqi and the Fu brothers were already sitting in the pavilion, with all sorts of delicious food laid out on the table. Xiaoyanzi couldn't help but laugh and said, "Did you go to rob the imperial kitchen?"

Yongqi said helplessly, "Are you kidding? Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, we're supposed to eat and drink well, these are just a piece of cake!"

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they prepared to head back to where everyone else was. However, they were unexpectedly strolling in the Imperial Garden when Yongqi and the others bowed and took their places. Qianlong asked, "Yongqi, Erkang, where have you all been? I was just about to ask you to compose poems when you vanished..."

The Empress Dowager chimed in, "That's right, you all went off to play, and you even took my Qing'er with you!"

Yongqi explained somewhat awkwardly, "We went to the archery range. Xiaoyanzi and Qing'er can't hit the bullseye while riding horses yet, so we went to continue teaching them!"

Emperor Qianlong laughed heartily and said, "Really? Today we finally get a day off, yet you all go to the archery range to practice archery. Are you working so hard?"

Standing beside the Empress Dowager, Qing'er looked at Emperor Qianlong and said, "Your Majesty, Qing'er is really anxious to become a hero like Father as soon as possible, which is why I asked the Fifth Prince and Erkang to lead us to continue training!"

Little Swallow quickly added, "Your Majesty, Qing'er was part of the reason, but more importantly, it was because of me, Little Swallow. I wanted to become more capable than Qing'er, so I ran away!"

"I haven't said anything yet, why are you all in such a hurry? Are you afraid I'll blame you? You're working so hard and diligently, I'm happy enough, how could I blame you?"

Seeing Qianlong's smile, everyone felt a little relieved, but Yongqi felt that this was expected. Qianlong then said, "However, Qing'er, Xiao Yanzi, whether it's practicing martial arts or riding horses and shooting arrows, you have to take it slowly. You can't rush it. You can't ruin your health by practicing martial arts, otherwise, the Empress Dowager and Yongqi will not forgive me!"

When the Empress Dowager was mentioned, no one found it strange. But when Yongqi was brought up, everyone fell silent. Even Consort Yu, as the mother, didn't say anything, so the others naturally didn't bother to comment. At most, they would just gossip about it in private.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, Qianlong has no objections and even teases them in public. Who knows, this little swallow from outside the palace might really be able to fly up to the top and become a phoenix!

"Father..." Yongqi was worried that Qianlong's teasing would cause trouble for Xiaoyanzi again, and his tone was a little anxious. But unexpectedly, Qianlong said, "Yongqi, Xiaoyanzi is such a lively and lovely girl. If you don't like her, I can treat her as my daughter and let her marry someone else!"

Yongqi was about to speak when Xiaoyanzi stopped him, saying, "Your Majesty, if you truly consider Xiaoyanzi your daughter, then please don't make me leave Fifth Prince!"

"Really? I wonder who will be leaving a year from now?"

Xiao Yanzi also fell silent, while the others, unaware of the inside story, were completely confused, not knowing what Qianlong and Xiao Yanzi were talking about. Qianlong continued, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. You've had your fun and practiced today, so go back to your respective palaces..."

"Yes." Everyone responded and took their leave. Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi also followed Consort Yu back to Yonghe Palace.

Back at Yonghe Palace, Consort Yu sat in the main seat of the hall, looked at the two people in front of her, and asked, "Yongqi, have you made any arrangements in advance for Xiaoyanzi's departure? Have you decided where Xiaoyanzi will go after leaving the palace? How many people are you going to send to follow her?"

"Your Majesty, I don't have a specific plan for where we're going yet, but as for how many people I'm taking, I think Xingchen and Shizhu will be fine with me!"

Yongqi continued, "I have two more people I can arrange for you too! They're a brother and sister who have already completed their training. I think I'll feel more at ease with them around!"

"Just four people? Isn't that too few?" Consort Yu looked at Xiao Yanzi with some concern. "You're only nine years old, still a little girl. Isn't it too unsafe for you to go out with four people?"

Although Yongqi was worried, he knew that Xiaoyanzi had her own thoughts, so he didn't say much. Xiaoyanzi said, "Your Majesty, I know you are worried about me, but you must know that the place I am going to is not a place that is completely unfamiliar to me. It is the Jianghu (martial arts world) where I used to live. Xiaoyanzi came from the Jianghu, and naturally she will return to the Jianghu!"

Seeing that Consort Yu's brows were still furrowed, she stepped forward, squatted down in front of Consort Yu, took Consort Yu's hand, and continued to comfort her, "Don't worry, I was all alone before, but I still survived until I met Yongqi. Now that I have a capable assistant, I'm sure that no matter what, things won't be worse than before, right? At least I have enough money in my hands, so I don't have to live in a dilapidated temple or eat other people's leftovers, right?"

Consort Yu sighed, "I don't know why, but although I've only known you for a month, it feels like we've met before. I just don't know why, but I feel a lot of guilt towards you. Maybe I met you in my past life, but I hurt you, so this life allowed me to meet you so early and give me the opportunity to make it up to you!"

Upon hearing Consort Yu's words, Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words. "Don't worry about me, I don't know why I suddenly said those things..."

Little Swallow couldn't hold back her tears any longer. "Your Majesty, you've been so good to me. I know how much you cared for me during my time at Yonghe Palace, so I'm really grateful to you. You've shown me what it's like to have a mother!"