Chapter 272 Hunting Again

Just as Emperor Qianlong was preparing to return to Beijing, he received news of the death of Prince Guo, Hongzhan.

The procession was once again plunged into a somber atmosphere, mainly because Emperor Qianlong was deeply saddened.

Little Swallow had heard about the stories of Emperor Qianlong and Hongzhan. It could be said that Hongzhan was raised by Emperor Qianlong, but as Hongzhan grew up, he became somewhat arrogant and fearless.

On the fifth day of the fifth month of the twenty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign, the Dragon Boat Festival, a fire broke out at Qianlong's residence. Everyone came to help put out the fire, but Hongzhan, who lived closest to Qianlong's residence, arrived the last and showed no concern for Qianlong whatsoever.

In addition to some other matters, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Qianlong demoted him to the rank of Beile and dismissed him from all his official posts.

Hongzhan, who was dismissed from his post and stayed at home, soon fell ill.

When Emperor Qianlong visited him, the two brothers finally opened up to each other, and Emperor Qianlong restored Hongzhan's title of Prince of the Second Rank. However, Hongzhan's illness never improved.

Unexpectedly, he has now passed away from illness.

Emperor Qianlong was filled with remorse and subsequently fell seriously ill.

As a result, the originally planned itinerary was postponed once again.

After being ill for half a month, Emperor Qianlong recovered and returned to Beijing with everyone.

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When I returned to the capital, it was already April 21st.

Inside the Prince Guo's mansion, the mourning hall was no different from what it had been a month ago.

Emperor Qianlong didn't even enter the palace; he went directly to the residence of Prince Guo.

"Yongtu greets Your Majesty." Kneeling to the side was Hongzhan's eldest son, 13-year-old Yongtu.

Emperor Qianlong valued Hongzhan highly, and naturally extended that favor to Hongzhan's son as well.

"Yongtu, I'm late..."

Yongtu shook his head, "Father is already very satisfied that His Majesty is willing to come and see him."

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During the month after returning to Beijing, Emperor Qianlong spent most of his time reminiscing about Hongzhan, aside from handling official business.

Yongqi and the others knew that words couldn't persuade him about this; they could only wait for time to pass so that Qianlong could come to his senses and forgive himself.

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Another year of Mulan Autumn Festival has arrived, and Emperor Qianlong, leading his entourage, is heading to the hunting grounds with high spirits.

"Every time I come to Weichang, it's the happiest time for me..." Little Swallow shouted as she rode her horse.

Yongqi laughed and said, "What? Weren't you happiest when I was by your side?"

Fu Erkang couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Seriously, can't you guys be a little more mindful of your image? In public, could you please tone it down a bit..."

Yongqi laughed loudly, "What's there to be afraid of? Benjamin isn't here now, so we don't need to worry about hurting anyone's feelings. If you're not happy watching this, you can watch with Ziwei..."

The guards following behind: Okay, let's pretend we're dead!

When we arrived at the boundary of the enclosure, it was the hour of You (5-7 PM) on the 14th of August.

As usual, Emperor Qianlong instructed everyone to rest and recuperate on the first day and begin hunting on the second morning.

After Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi went into the tent to have their meal, they sat side by side outside the tent and looked up at the moonlight.

"Yongqi, how should we compete tomorrow?"

"Little Swallow, why are you still so keen on competitions?"

Little Swallow pouted, "Isn't the point of coming to the hunting grounds to compete?"

Yongqi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Father has made arrangements."

Little Swallow looked at him in confusion, "What arrangements? How come I didn't know about this?"

Yongqi explained, "This year, Father Emperor has arranged a competition between married couples and single young masters and ladies."

"In other words, the competition we're going to have tomorrow is against other married people."

Little Swallow smiled and said, "That sounds quite interesting. There should be a lot of people participating in the competition, right?"

Yongqi nodded, "Of course, besides us acquaintances, many young masters and ladies from ministerial families will also participate."

Little Swallow raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Even with so many participants, I believe we will win!"

"But what's the reward for the winner?"

Yongqi said, "Father said to keep it a secret for now, and he will announce it after the competition is over."

Little Swallow laughed and said, "Father Emperor is making it so mysterious, I'm getting more and more interested."

They watched the moonlight until 9 PM before going inside to rest.

The hunt began the following day at dawn, after Emperor Qianlong fired the first arrow.

Along the way, Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi caught all the prey they encountered.

Everyone else could only watch with envy.

After all, these are the future emperor and empress; they're not to be trifled with!

Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi searched everywhere. When Xiaoyanzi looked back, they could no longer see their tent. "I wonder how far we've gone."

Yongqi laughed and said, "No matter how far away it is, it's still within the hunting grounds."

Because this competition was more important, Yongqi asked Tianfeng and Tianyi to come and help them collect their prey.

Around noon, they rested under a towering tree.

As usual, Yongqi set up the barbecue grill, caught a chicken, did some simple processing on it, and then put it on the grill to roast.

Little Swallow, leaning on Yongqi's shoulder, started to rumble incessantly from the smell.

"Yongqi, when will it be ripe?"

Yongqi smiled and said, "We can eat it in a little while..."

When Yongqi said it was time to eat, Xiaoyanzi eagerly took the roast chicken back. Before she could even taste the meat, Yongqi stopped her, saying, "Idiot, this chicken is so hot. Are you in such a hurry to eat it? Don't you want to lose your tongue?"

Upon hearing Yongqi's words, Xiaoyanzi subconsciously licked her lips, "Yes, thank you, my husband, for saving my tongue in time..."

However, seeing Xiao Yanzi licking her lips, Yongqi's eyes darkened, and he smiled, "Then how will you thank me?"

“…I…I’ll break off a piece of roast chicken for you…” Although she saw what Yongqi meant, it didn’t mean she had to agree.

Yongqi chuckled, "I caught this chicken, and I roasted it. Is it appropriate for you to give me a chicken I roasted as a thank-you gift?"

Little Swallow smiled and said, "How is that inappropriate? After all, this chicken has passed through my hands, so it's different. It's like I'm giving you Little Swallow's chicken..."

"..." Hearing Xiao Yanzi's words, Yongqi felt utterly helpless. "I must have owed you something in my past life..."

"Okay, now's not the right time. I'll thank you when I get back, okay?"

Hearing Xiao Yanzi's coquettish words, Yongqi subconsciously felt that the two little tagalongs behind him were a bit superfluous.

Tianfeng and Tianyi looked at each other: We came here to scavenge for prey, and it's so miserable that we have to find our own food. On top of that, you two are showing off your love and complaining that we're superfluous.

"Be serious..." Xiao Yanzi glared at Yongqi before going to get the roast chicken that had cooled down a bit. The two of them devoured the whole chicken.

"This chicken is so delicious, Yongqi, you're amazing..."

"But what if I'm not full yet?"

"Then..." Before Xiao Yanzi could speak, her mouth was covered.

"It tastes really good, I'm full now." After a moment, Yongqi looked at Xiaoyanzi with a sly grin.

Little Swallow's face turned as red as a monkey's bottom. She glared angrily at Yongqi, "You really do want to be a bad guy!"

Yongqi leaned close to Xiaoyanzi's ear and said with a wicked smile, "If I really wanted to be a bad guy, I would skin you alive right now and eat you up piece by piece..."

Little Swallow reached out and covered his mouth, "Don't say anymore!"

With a thud, the two masked men in black suddenly fell to the ground, leaving Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi somewhat bewildered.

The two men in black were dumbfounded. Their first thought was to run, but they couldn't escape at all. Little Swallow frowned and asked, "Who are you?"