Chapter 78 Arrival in Jinan

After Mo Menglan learned everything, she naturally refused to marry him and abandoned him in an instant. Just then, Zhou Wenxuan, her childhood sweetheart, appeared and confessed, "Because you two had been engaged early on, even if I liked you, I didn't dare to say it, for fear of hurting you. Now that you have seen his true colors, do I have the opportunity to stay by your side?"

Mo Menglan agreed, hoping to reciprocate with the same sincerity and make up for all the years she had wasted in the past.

"Fortunately, Miss Menglan saw through his true colors early on, otherwise things probably wouldn't have been resolved so easily!"

Mo Menglan smiled and said, "Yes, it's good that I saw it clearly, otherwise I wouldn't have known that Wenxuan had been waiting by my side for so long."

"In that case, I wish you two a happy ending!" After leaving her blessing, Xiao Yanzi met up with Qingyun and the others who had gone to eat steamed buns, and they continued their journey of training.

April 25th arrived in the blink of an eye. All the concubines in the palace gathered at Yikun Palace. Emperor Qianlong paced back and forth outside, very anxious, until the imperial physician and midwife came to say, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, the Empress and her child are safe and sound!"

Emperor Qianlong had already chosen a name for the child: "Let's call him Yongqi."

The arrival of the Twelfth Prince Yongqi eased Yongqi's mind somewhat. "I hope that this time, Mother Empress won't push him too hard..."

Although Emperor Qianlong had told him before that the Empress did not want her child to inherit the throne, people can change, especially since they were born into an imperial family.

Moreover, even if they don't vie for the throne, the empress will still hope that her sons can be both scholarly and martial, or rather, that's what the entire harem hopes for: the princes must be both scholarly and martial.

"Little Swallow, Her Majesty the Empress has given birth to the Twelfth Prince, Yongqi. We'll probably be setting off for the Summer Palace in a month or two. Where will you be then? If you have the chance, I really hope you can come..."

Yongqi wrote a letter to Xiaoyanzi and had it sent out. Xiaoyanzi naturally sent back a message: "Yongqi, you have no idea, a few days ago when I was eating wontons, I was so hungry that I ate too fast and burned my mouth! It hurt so much! Actually, I didn't want to tell you about this, but I was afraid you'd worry even more if I didn't, so after thinking it over, I decided to tell you anyway. Don't worry, I'm fine now..."

The letters they wrote to each other were very long, as if they wanted to explain everything in great detail. They read each other's letters over and over again, and as they read them, it was as if the other person was right in front of them, face to face, explaining things one by one.

More than a month later, the palace finally welcomed a newcomer, who was none other than Yongqi's best brother, Benjamin.

Yongqi, the Fu brothers, Qing'er, and others gathered together to hold a welcome ceremony for Benjamin.

"Benjamin, welcome to our family!" Everyone raised their glasses in celebration. Benjamin was delighted. "Thank you very much!"

After nightfall, Qing'er had to return to Cining Palace, and the Fu brothers also had to return to the Scholar's Residence, leaving Yongqi alone to entertain him. "Benjamin, this is Ruyi Pavilion."

Giuseppe Castiglione spends his days at the Ruyi Pavilion and his nights at the East Hall. Now, only Benjamin and the few eunuchs who work at the Ruyi Pavilion remain.

"If you encounter any problems in the palace in the future, remember to come to Yonghe Palace to find me."

Benjamin nodded. "Okay, I will..."

Yongqi stayed at Ruyi Pavilion for more than an hour before returning to Yonghe Palace to continue writing to Xiaoyanzi: "Xiaoyanzi, Benjamin came to the palace today. It's a pity you weren't there. If you were in the palace, that would be wonderful."

Although he sometimes gets jealous, he really misses the time the three of them spent together.

By the time the news reached Xiao Yanzi, she had already arrived in Jinan. After reading the letter Yongqi had written to her, she immediately replied, "Yongqi, I have finally arrived in Jinan. Soon, I will see Ziwei."

Xiao Yanzi was full of anticipation, wanting to see Ziwei, but unexpectedly, she saw the news that Xia Yuhe was critically ill. "How could this be? Wouldn't Ziwei be heartbroken?"

Xingchen frowned and asked, "Miss, shall we go to the Xia residence?"

"I want to go see her. I can't leave Ziwei alone at a time like this!" Although she had never met Xia Ziwei in this life, she had heard a lot about Xia Ziwei from Yongqi. She felt that in this life, she and Xia Ziwei would still be good sisters!

Since they were destined to be best friends, she naturally couldn't stand idly by when her sister was in trouble. "Let's go, we'll go to the Xia residence!"

When they reached the entrance of the Xia residence, Xiao Yanzi stopped again. "What are we going to say if we suddenly go in like this?"

With her current medical skills, she has no way to alleviate Xia Yuhe's pain, so what could she do if she went there?

"Young lady, why don't we go in as royalty? Maybe things will turn out differently?"

If someone from the royal family were to enter, Xia Yuhe would inevitably associate it with Emperor Qianlong. Since she planned for Ziwei to go to the palace to claim her family after her death, having someone from the royal family here would allow Ziwei to enter the palace sooner…

"That seems like a good idea, but I think we shouldn't say that when we go in. It would be better to just say that an old friend has come to visit."

"That works too."

After discussing it, Xiao Yanzi and the others entered the Xia residence under the pretense of visiting an old friend to see Xia Yuhe. When they arrived at Xia Yuhe's bedside, they saw that Xia Yuhe's face was pale, and it was clear that she did not have much time left to live.

"May I ask where you ladies are from? And why do you say that old friends are visiting?"

"Lotus flowers after the rain receive the grace of dew..." Little Swallow had barely uttered a sentence when Xia Yuhe's pupils widened, "Could it be that you are...?"

"In the autumn of the Xin-You year, by the Daming Lake..." After reciting the words on the folding fan and the scroll, Xiao Yanzi bowed and said, "Xiao Yanzi greets Aunt Xia."

"Little Swallow? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Xia Yuhe frowned, thinking carefully about where she had heard the name Little Swallow before.

"Mother, I remember now, Little Swallow, Princess Feiyan!" Xia Ziwei's voice came from over. Xia Yuhe then remembered and struggled to get up. "So it's Princess Feiyan. Yuhe has failed to greet you properly!"

Little Swallow quickly stepped forward to stop her, "Aunt Xia, there's no need for this. If it weren't for the coincidence, I wouldn't have come here."

Supported by Xiao Yanzi and Xia Ziwei, Xia Yuhe sat by the bedside and said weakly, "I wonder what purpose Princess Feiyan has come here?"

"Little Swallow should ask Aunt Xia first what she plans to do with her daughter?"

"I..." Xia Yuhe hesitated and glanced at Xia Ziwei. Of course, she wanted Xia Ziwei to go to her father and ask if he still remembered Xia Yuhe.

"If Aunt Xia doesn't want that family to know, then I can help you ensure your daughter lives a happy life for the rest of her days. Conversely, I also have ways to help her be recognized by her ancestors as soon as possible!"

Although Yongqi had told her the story of Ziwei and Erkang falling in love at first sight, she felt that if Ziwei didn't want to return to the palace in this life, staying in the martial arts world and living in seclusion among the mountains and rivers would also be acceptable.