Time travel is risky, and love requires caution

As the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet is planned to be very grand, not only because of the birth of two more princes, but also to see off the two princesses who are about to marry far away.

There is another reason. The emperor recently summoned the Ninth Prince, who was in his fiefdom in the north, back to Beijing to discuss matters and spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together.

The family dinner was arranged in the Baihui Pavilion in the Imperial Garden, surrounded by autumn chrysanthemums, with bright moon and shining stars, and the evening breeze. The water of the Qiongchi Pool not far away reflected the night sky and the splendor of the Imperial Garden, making one feel like it was heaven on earth.

After the Emperor helped the Empress Dowager to sit down, he led everyone to take their seats in order.

The two little princes, who were still in swaddling clothes, were held by their respective wet nurses. After being seen by the Emperor, the Grand Empress Dowager and everyone else, they were taken back to the palace.

The other princes and princesses sat next to their mothers, while Ling Qiqi sat next to the Empress Dowager.

Ling Qiqi looked around and felt that this kind of gathering was really full of hypocrisy and shallow feelings.

The queen naturally sat at the head of all the concubines. The power in the harem had long been returned to her hands. Now with the fourth prince by her side, she was naturally more confident and looked much more energetic than before.

In comparison, Concubine De looked eclipsed. Ever since Concubine De handed over the power of the harem to the Queen, the Queen had suppressed Concubine De in various ways, both overtly and covertly. The other straw that broke the camel's back for Concubine De was the Fourth Princess, her mother. The Fourth Princess had been weak since childhood and had been bedridden for years. She had taken all kinds of famous medicines and folk prescriptions, but her health had not improved and she eventually died last winter.

Seeing Defei's condition, Ling Qiqi was afraid that she would follow the Fourth Princess sooner or later.

Ling Qiqi looked at the eldest princess and the second princess again. Girls have really changed a lot when they grow up. Although they cannot be called beauties, they have grown into graceful, dignified and elegant girls.

Ling Qiqi watched the clinking of glasses and the polite compliments at the table, and thought of the uncertain future of the two princesses after they got married and how no one would care about them. She suddenly felt suffocated at heart, so she went out to get some fresh air under the pretext of going to the bathroom.

Yu'er noticed that the Seventh Princess was in a low mood, so she let her stroll around the Imperial Garden to relax, and she just followed silently behind her.

After many twists and turns, they unexpectedly arrived at the other side of Qiongchi. Looking at the splendidly lit and bustling Baihui Pavilion, Ling Qiqi couldn't help but smile bitterly. The people on the other side were from another world, and she didn't know why she had a bond with them. If she went back one day, would she still remember them?

She had always deliberately not invested too much emotion in them, but she still cared about them and empathized with them unconsciously. How ridiculous it was that she had real feelings in an illusory world. She didn't know whether she should be happy or sad.

Ling Qiqi bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it into the center of the pool. She wanted to break the tranquility of the pool and also break her wild thoughts.

The stones drew beautiful arcs in the pool, one, two, three.

Three? Damn! Ling Qiqi refused to accept it and bent down to pick up the stones, the flatter the better.

So, Ling Qiqi focused all her attention on skipping stones, and had a lot of fun.

When Ling Qiqi finished relaxing and returned to Baihui Pavilion, she found that there were three more young men at the banquet. One of them was Lu Cheng, and the other two were strangers and she had no idea who they were.

Ling Qiqi made a face at Lu Cheng across the table. Lu Cheng glanced at her and ignored her, so she made another face and then began to seriously worship her own stomach.

I went out for a long walk and felt hungry.

While Ling Qiqi was working hard to eat, she was silently observing the situation at the family dinner. She didn't know what happened during the time she was away, but the atmosphere became more lively.

The fifth and sixth princesses always looked a little shy, and from time to time they looked at the two strange boys opposite them.

Ling Qiqi has seen it. One of the two boys should be three or four years older than her. He is in puberty, his voice has changed, and there is a circle of light blue fuzz on his mouth. Ling Qiqi thinks that all boys at this stage should sign up to watch it.

The other one should be one or two years older than herself. He will be very impressive when he grows up. His facial features are very handsome. He is definitely a good-looking man in ancient costume. Ling Qiqi feels that this kind of appearance should be able to enter the TF series on the 18th floor in the real world.

Humph, no wonder the fifth and sixth princesses are so abnormal. I thought girls in ancient times wouldn't mature so precociously. It seems that no matter what time it is, girls' reactions when they see handsome guys are almost the same. They are so unreserved.

Fortunately, she was well-informed, and she was already aesthetically fatigued by the constant stream of young handsome men online. However, after she came here, she had been staying among the women and eunuchs in the harem, and her opportunities to meet young people of the opposite sex were very limited.

The noble young men in the Imperial College were very unpleasant with their pedantic looks like little adults. Most importantly, they all looked different and none of them was pleasing to her eyes. Ling Qiqi didn't like to pay attention to them.

Lu Cheng was not good at teasing and had a bad mouth, so she always got into trouble in front of him. So she was more restrained and tried not to provoke him.

Senior Brother Jingshan has a good temper, so when she has nothing to do, she likes to "tease" Senior Brother Jingshan, often making Du Jingshan's face turn red. Every time she sees his face flushed and hesitant to speak, Ling Qiqi feels a sense of pleasure as if a prank has been successful, and this feeling is quite addictive.

Ling Qiqi's trance was interrupted by a burst of laughter, and the atmosphere of the family dinner instantly became lively. She was afraid that she had missed something exciting, so she quickly focused her attention.

The Emperor and the Ninth Prince were recalling the fun of hunting at the border when they were young. Then the Emperor suddenly had an urge to relive the flamboyance and happiness of his youth, so he decided to go out of the palace for autumn hunting with the Ninth Prince three days later. In addition to bringing Lu Cheng, he would also bring the Ninth Prince's two sons, the two strange boys, who seemed to be named Lion Spirit and Rooster, what a weird name.

How could she miss such excitement? It didn't matter whether she went hunting or not. The key was that she could leave the palace. It was a rare opportunity.

So Ling Qiqi didn't hesitate at all and took the opportunity to speak:

"Father, Empress Dowager, Qi'er also wants to go out of the palace with you to hunt."

All eyes were on Ling Qiqi. She didn't feel embarrassed at all and continued:

"Qi'er rides his horse in circles in the martial arts arena all day long. Not only is it boring, but it's also hard to improve your riding skills."

"Can the Seventh Princess ride a horse?" the Ninth Prince suddenly asked.

Ling Qiqi nodded quickly and said to the Ninth Prince:

"I can, but I don't know what level I'm at. The guards always praise Qi'er for riding well, but Qi'er is worried that they are just trying to comfort her and don't want her to be unhappy. So Qi'er really wants to find an opportunity to practice."

Ling Qiqi turned around and said to the emperor:

"Father, why don't you take Qi'er with you when you go out hunting? It will be a good opportunity for you to test Qi'er's riding skills."

The emperor smiled and asked Ling Qiqi:

"Okay, Qi'er, if you ride well, I will reward you, but if you don't ride well, what will Qi'er do?"

Ling Qiqi reacted quickly and did not respond to the emperor's words, but quickly asked:

"Father has agreed to take Qi'er with him, right?"

"I agree." The emperor nodded. "Now Qi'er, tell me what to do if you can't ride well?"

"If Qi'er doesn't ride well, the Sixth Prince should be punished." Ling Qiqi said shamelessly.

"Why should the Sixth Prince be punished?" asked the Emperor.

"It was the Sixth Prince who volunteered to teach Qi'er how to ride. If Qi'er doesn't ride well, it must be the Sixth Prince who misled the young man. Of course he should be punished." Ling Qiqi shirked the responsibility with certainty.

The Sixth Prince was listening to this and wanted to strangle her to death. She was such a scoundrel.