Chapter 67 Old Friend Xu Haoxuan

The Empress Dowager sighed, "Silly girl, what kind of girl never gets married? Even if I like you very much, I can't delay your marriage!"

At most, she just hoped that Qing'er would marry someone nearby so that Qing'er could come back to visit her, this old woman, after marriage. "Qing'er, when you grow up, if you still choose Xiao Jian, I won't stop you and will grant your wish. But if Xiao Jian dares to bully you, I don't care if you like him or what, I will definitely not let him get away with it!"

Qing'er was both touched and helpless. "Your Majesty, please rest assured, if Xiao Jian dares to bully me, Xiao Yanzi will be the first to punish him! She's on my side!"

The Empress Dowager asked curiously, "Really? She's not helping her own brother, but helping you?"

Qing'er nodded, "Yes, so Your Majesty doesn't need to worry! You should get some rest!"

Two days later, after Yongqi asked Emperor Qianlong for leave, he took Xiaoshunzi and Xiaoguizi to visit an old friend who had recently returned and was currently in Biboting. "Master, we have arrived at Biboting."

Yongqi got out of the carriage and went inside, where he saw his old friend, Xu Haoxuan, fishing. "Are you fishing now so you can have fish for dinner tonight?"

Xu Haoxuan didn't turn around to look at Yongqi, but whispered, "Keep your voice down, or you'll scare my fish away!"

Xu Haoxuan stared intently at the river, and said in a low voice, "You didn't come here today just to chat idly, did you?"

"We haven't seen each other in so long, what's wrong with me coming to chat? You're not happy about it?"

Xu Haoxuan shook his head, "You wouldn't come to me unless you had something important to say!"

He saw movement in the water and quickly reeled in his fishing rod. Sure enough, it was a big fish. "So, you'd better tell me the truth. What's going on?"

"What happened to what I asked you to do?"

After putting the big fish into the bucket, Xu Haoxuan took out a booklet from his pocket. "It's all recorded in here."

Yongqi opened the booklet and exclaimed, "Xia Yuhe is sick?"

Xu Haoxuan nodded, "Yes, I reckon when your wife arrives in Jinan, I can give her a ride."

"But how could this be?" Yongqi couldn't understand. Why would someone who lived to the twenty-third year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in his previous life...

"Fifth Prince, since you can live again, this world will naturally change. Just like you met Xiao Yanzi earlier, and Xiao Yanzi became Princess Fei Yan. The stories of this world will not remain unchanged!" The speaker was not Xu Haoxuan, but an old monk in a cassock. Yongqi looked in the direction of the voice and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

“My Buddhist name is Wuxiang, and I come from Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou.”

"Master Wuxiang?" Yongqi looked at him in surprise, then at Xu Haoxuan. "What's going on? Is Wuxiang Valley's name something else?"

Xu Haoxuan nodded, "You're right. It was Master Wuxiang who suggested it. Coincidentally, he felt that he had a connection with you and your wife, so he took the initiative to come to us. Now, there is also a Lingyin Temple in our Wuxiang Valley, and the local people often come to burn incense and worship Buddha!"

"Fifth Prince, I will not stay in Beijing for long. If you have any messages for Princess Feiyan, please feel free to say them. Afterwards, I will rush back to Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou and send a message to Princess Feiyan when she arrives in Hangzhou!"

Yongqi frowned and said, "So, you'll arrive in Hangzhou before Xiaoyanzi?"

Master Wuxiang nodded. "That's right. Princess Feiyan needs to go to Jinan first. Some other things will inevitably happen along the way, which will take up a lot of time. Then, the journey from Jinan to Hangzhou is another long one, which will probably take up even more time..."

"Please wait a moment, Master, I'll go write a letter right away!" Yongqi immediately went inside, had someone bring him pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and quickly wrote several letters before handing them to Master Wuxiang. "Please, Master Wuxiang, be sure to deliver these letters to her personally!"

"Fifth Prince, rest assured, this old monk will certainly fulfill your request. In that case, this old monk will take his leave first!"

Master Wuxiang's coming and going in a hurry made Yongqi very curious about his background. "What is the background of that Master Wuxiang?"

"The information I've gathered is that this Master Wuxiang is a good monk who often helps the people, and everyone in Hangzhou praises him."

"If you put it that way, wouldn't you be comparable to Ji Gong from the Southern Song Dynasty?"

Xu Haoxuan nodded, "You could say that!" As he spoke, he set up the barbecue grill. Yongqi took a small stool and sat down next to him. Xu Haoxuan then asked, "What are you planning to do next? If Xia Yuhe really dies, are you going to have your wife bring your sister back ahead of time?"

Yongqi shook his head. "I don't know right now. Consort Jia in the palace is always eyeing us covetously. If we bring Ziwei back to the palace at this time, it probably won't be a good thing for her. If I can't ensure her safety in the palace, then I absolutely cannot bring her back and let her into the tiger's den!"

"So you want to wait until Consort Jia is gone before bringing her back? At that time, your father's guilt towards Xia Yuhe will make him pay more attention to Ziwei, and then Ziwei can live safely in the palace?"

Yongqi sighed, "I'm afraid the Empress Dowager is still dissatisfied with Ziwei's background. In that case, things will probably be very difficult between Ziwei and Erkang..."

Although the Empress Dowager's attention is currently focused on Qing'er and Xiao Jian, it's hard to guarantee that Er Kang is also someone she has her eye on. If she feels that Ziwei, who comes from outside the palace, is not good enough for Er Kang, then things will be terrible...

"Can you guarantee with absolute certainty that your sister and Erkang will really be together in this life? Maybe in this life, they will each have their own thoughts, or even their own loved ones..."

"No, Ziwei and Erkang's fate was predetermined. They will definitely be together!"

Xu Haoxuan sighed, "You, Fifth Prince, should be worrying about important matters of the court, but you're always troubled by your brothers' love affairs. Since you care so much about them, why don't you help me find one too? I also want a wife!"

"..." Yongqi glanced at Xu Haoxuan in silence, speechless. "Don't you even know how old you are? You're a forty-five-year-old man. Where do you think you're going to find a girl who wants to marry you?"

He and Xu Haoxuan were, in a way, close friends despite their age difference. Xu Haoxuan was 45 years old but still unmarried and alone. In his previous words, he believed that by not marrying and having children, he could live a carefree life and do what he liked. For him, that was happiness!

But now, seeing Yongqi busy with marriage and relationships all day, he's been provoked and wants a wife. Yongqi's words make him resentful: "Your father is over forty now, and he still takes teenage girls as concubines, doesn't he? Why can't I? Besides, this is my first marriage! Someone like me is practically a rare species, okay?"