New Return of the Pearl: The Group's Pet Swallow Flies

(The previous chapter didn’t have enough words, so I added 2,000 words. Please review it.)

That night, Xia Yuhe was so exhausted that she didn't get a good rest.

That night, Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei, who were full of expectations, slept soundly.

At four o'clock in the morning, the sky was slightly bright. Hongli, who was about to attend the morning court, woke up and did not disturb the sleepy Xia Yuhe. He got up quietly and walked to the outer room, where Xiaoluzi helped him to dress and wash. After everything was ready, he carefully returned to the inner room and gently kissed Xia Yuhe on the face, who was so sleepy that she could not open her eyes.

Feeling a little itchy on her face, Xia Yuhe tilted her head slightly, opened her eyes hazily, smiled sweetly at him, and said in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, you are awake."

Hearing this soft and cute voice, Hongli's eyes became a little dangerous, but when he thought about going to court, he rubbed his eyebrows and said softly, "Yes, I have to go to court, you can continue to sleep."

After saying that, he tucked the corner of the quilt for her and turned away.

Seeing the emperor leaving, Xia Yuhe opened her eyes, her eyes clear.

Regardless of whether the emperor's favor towards her is real or fake, she must stay sober and not be attracted by this short-lived tenderness and sweet words. Otherwise, if the emperor turns around and favors someone else, she will only be able to stand there and look at that person with envy and jealousy.

She didn't want to be a scheming woman, nor did she want to do things she didn't want to do in order to win favor.

After thinking for a while and reminding herself to wake up, she yawned sleepily with her mind still not quite clear, and fell into a deep sleep again.

Nanny Wu and Lulu, who were serving at the door, saw the emperor and others come out quietly. Before leaving, they told them to be gentle so as not to wake up Concubine He. They all had the same thought in their minds: the emperor doted on Concubine He too much.

When Xia Yuhe woke up naturally, the two of them came into the room with smiles on their faces to get water for the empress to wash up. Lulu even joked that the emperor really doted on the empress too much.

Xia Yuhe smiled calmly, her eyes clear. She didn't explain much, but just asked about the children.

"By the way, are Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi awake? Aren't they going out of the palace today?"

"Your Majesty, you haven't gotten up yet. I'll ask Hongdou and Lvdou to ask the princess to get up."

"Okay, let's go."

----

After getting up, Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei dressed up carefully, put on cute little skirts, and tied two small buns on their heads. They looked quite playful and cute. It was hard to tell that they were princesses, but one could recognize them as rich girls at a glance.

When the two got on the carriage, they found two people secretly sitting outside the carriage.

Yongqi and Benjamin.

"Why are you here?"

Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei asked them curiously.

Yongqi and Benjamin looked at each other and laughed, "Maybe we won't see Erkang Ertai anymore, right? So, I specially went out to play with you guys."

"Do Madam Yu and Pastor Lang know about this?"

Ziwei asked the two curiously, and they nodded in affirmation, "I know, I told them."

Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei nodded and said nothing more, just chatting with them about fun things.

But he didn't notice the somewhat unnatural expressions on the two's faces just now.

Yongqi thought silently in his heart: I hope my mother won’t find out that I’ve sneaked away, and if she does, please don’t punish me.

Benjamin glanced at Yongqi with some resentment, and said silently in his heart: Master, I just went out to collect folk songs, not to play, please don't blame me.

After the two of them silently prayed in their hearts, they seemed to feel more at ease and continued to talk and laugh with Xiaoyanzi and the others.

------

Yonghe Palace.

If a child is quiet, he must be acting like a monster.

Concubine Yu, who just wanted to see what her son was doing, felt that it was too quiet this morning. She didn't hear Yongqi coming to pay his respects to her, so she prepared some cakes and went to take a look at Yongqi's room.

Upon closer inspection, there was no one in the room.

Go to the study again.

I looked again, and still no one was there.

Concubine Yu finally couldn't help it and asked about Yongqi's young eunuchs.

"Where is the Fifth Prince?"

Xiao Guizi and Xiao Shunzi were two young eunuchs that Concubine Yu admired the most. They were smart and well-behaved. Seeing that they were older than Yongqi, Concubine Yu specially transferred them to Yongqi's side to look after him.

At this time, hearing the Queen's question, the two of them knelt down hurriedly.

Xiao Shunzi stammered, "Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince, he, he, he and the painter Ban, have left the palace."

Concubine Yu was stunned for a moment, and then quickly asked, "Yongqi and Benjamin left the palace? Did the emperor allow it?"

Xiao Guizi swallowed, closed her eyes, and spoke with a stiff neck, "My queen, it is said that the emperor agreed to let Princess Huanzhu and Princess Mingzhu leave the palace to find their families, so the Fifth Prince and the painter Ban secretly got on the carriage of the princesses. Now, they should have left the palace."

After hearing this, Concubine Yu frowned slightly, waved her hand, and signaled them to get up and leave. Then she was supported by the palace maids beside her and walked back, feeling confused and surprised.

The emperor actually allowed the two little princesses to leave the palace. It was obvious that the emperor was quite fond of them. It was said that the emperor stayed in Concubine He's Chengqian Palace last night. It seemed that the emperor must like the three of them quite a lot.

Thinking of the relationship involved, Concubine Yu pursed her lips and suppressed the discomfort in her heart. Then she thought of her stupid son who actually sneaked out of the palace, and she couldn't help but want to catch the brat and beat him up.

However, she wanted to maintain her dignified and elegant demeanor, so she took a deep breath to make herself appear less angry.

----

"Ache, Ache."

Yongqi in the carriage suddenly sneezed several times for some reason, and his saliva almost sprayed on Benjamin who was sitting opposite him. He scratched his nose in embarrassment.

Benjamin dodged to the side without leaving a trace, and asked with concern, "Yongqi, did you catch a cold?"

Yongqi Yaoyao thought, "It shouldn't be, most likely, someone is thinking about me."

As he thought about it, the little boy couldn't help but laugh proudly.

Xiaoyanzi smiled and joked, "Maybe someone scolded you."

Yongqi's back stiffened. He suddenly remembered that he left without saying goodbye. He touched his nose awkwardly and smiled awkwardly, "It shouldn't be that serious. I'm so cute, who would scold me?"

Ziwei covered her lips and chuckled, not joining in their banter.

He just lifted the curtain and looked outside. The carriage drove out of the palace, drove on the quiet and deserted road for a while, and slowly came to the bustling downtown street.

At this time, Xiaoyanzi and the other two stopped laughing and talked. They leaned against the car window, looked outside, and discussed with each other which restaurant had the best food.

Xiaoyanzi hadn't even had a good look around the shops in the capital when she heard Yongqi and Benjamin almost quarreling over whose food was the best.

She scratched her ears helplessly, looked out, and suddenly saw a few familiar faces. Her eyes lit up and she shouted, "Stop, stop."