The Changchun Palace team travels back in time to Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

Although the Mulan Autumn Hunt had some twists and turns, it ultimately ended successfully. The hunting season, which had been dormant for a long time during the reign of the late emperor, was held again, signaling the emperor's close relationship with the Mongols.

Furthermore, the second son of Prince Chaoyong, Cherdenjab, and his granddaughter, Aodeng, performed a great service in saving the emperor, earning the emperor's praise and generous rewards. The emperor treated the Khalkha tribe and Prince Chaoyong even better, which made the forty-nine Mongol tribes feel honored.

Junbu was even more anxious.

Last year, Galdan Tsering died, passing the Khanate to his youngest son, Tsewang Dorji Namjar, rather than his eldest son Dorji, who was betrothed to Princess Duanshu. Dorji was dissatisfied, and relying on his age and marriage to a Qing princess, he gathered a group of nobles. The Dzungar Khanate was showing signs of splitting. At this delicate moment, Prince Chaoyong, who had dealt a heavy blow to Galdan Tsering, was receiving generous treatment because of the merits of his descendants. In Tsewang Dorji's view, the Qing emperor's intention to ally with the Mongols in the north to resist the Dzungar Khanate was obvious. The Dzungar Khanate was now in trouble both internally and externally.

Tsewang Dorji dared not act rashly. Without the probing and disturbances of the scattered Dzungar forces, the entire Northwest region was much calmer for a time.

The Mongolian people are peacefully preparing red and white food, and cutting and sewing auspicious white costumes in preparation for the upcoming fire-worshiping ceremony and Chagansar.

Officials and generals in Gansu breathed a sigh of relief, as the waterways were crucial for local irrigation and shipping, and extremely important for defense. Some soldiers were transferred to various waterways.

As a result, river management in Gansu has become smoother, and drainage ditches and dams have even been built ahead of schedule.

When Qiu Yuexiu returned to the yamen from the river work, before he could even change out of his mud-stained official robe, he saw a letter on the table. It was signed by his wife, Xiong, and was in Ying'er's handwriting.

He thought of his pregnant wife, and calculating the days, realized that her due date had passed. He felt uneasy and took several deep breaths before trembling as he opened the letter.

The letter read "Mother and child are safe" and included a small, bright red footprint.

When the news of Qiu Yuexiu's son's birth spread, his subordinates came to visit and congratulate him. Qiu Yuexiu thanked them all. In addition to returning gifts to his colleagues and subordinates, he also paid out of his own pocket to give the river workers celebratory eggs. However, he felt a mix of emotions.

He was overjoyed that his wife had given birth safely, but also felt guilty for not being by her side during the delivery. He was also worried that his wife had no other relatives to take care of her besides her mentally ill sister, which made him very uneasy.

Fortunately, the river embankment has been completed, and I will be returning to Beijing to report on my work at the end of the year, at which time I will be able to see my wife.

He hadn't slept well for days, and even on his days off, he paced back and forth in the courtyard. A servant couldn't help but say, "Sir, aren't there people taking care of things at home? You don't need to worry so much. If you're really anxious, why don't you go out for a walk to clear your head?"

Qiu Yuexiu thought for a moment and said, "Let's change into casual clothes and take a walk along the riverbank!"

Although the dam has been completed, it is still guarded. As Qiu Yuexiu walked along, he was recognized by many people and received a lot of congratulations. Several people even stuffed him with yellow and white paper money and steamed buns, saying that they were to give money and food to the messenger who was sending off children.

Qiu Yuexiu knew that the local people were very poor, and these things were already precious to them. How could he accept them? But people said that Lord Qiu shared weal and woe with the people, and it was only right for everyone to do their part.

Moreover, the tax exemption happened to extend to Gansu that year, which made the locals feel a little more relaxed.

The two men on duty today are one who is nine feet tall, strong, with prominent cheekbones and a spiky beard, and the other who is of medium build, with a kind face and a big beard.

Qiu Yuexiu recognized them. The tall one was named Gao Tianxi, from Xining Prefecture, and served as a junior officer in the river army camp. However, he did not look like a local, but rather had some exotic features. According to the soldiers who were also sent from Xining Prefecture, he was a foreigner who had been adopted by the locals. The one of medium height was Zhao Jiuxiao, who had come from another place to join the army. He was Gao Tianxi's subordinate and spoke with a mix of Fengtian and Beijing accents.

These two people were quite different from other ordinary people, so Qiu Yuexiu was very impressed with them.

Qiu Yuexiu observed from a distance and was very satisfied to see that the river soldiers on duty were disciplined and did not slack off.

A soldier went to report, and the two men quickly came out to salute.

Qiu said, “No need for formalities. I just came over for a stroll on a whim.”

Gao Tianxi, observing the situation, said, "Sir, you seem to be concerned about your wife and young master, and your worries are hard to dispel."

Qiu Yuexiu sighed when his thoughts were exposed.

It was time for the shift change. After the two handed over their duties, Gao Tianxi said, "How about I accompany you for a walk around, sir?"

The two walked on the riverbank. Gansu is arid and has little rain, with vast deserts. After Qiu Yuexiu took office here, he built many irrigation canals to irrigate farmland and pastures, and also built dams to block water for people to use.

It is now late autumn, the harvest is over, and there is only a patch of yellowish-brown wheat stubble in the fields.

The mountains stretch far and wide, the Gobi Desert is vast, and wisps of smoke rise gently from the distant chimneys as herdsmen lead their flocks of sheep slowly by.

Qiu Yuexiu exclaimed: "The bright moon rises over the Tianshan Mountains, amidst the vast sea of ​​clouds. The long wind blows for tens of thousands of miles, passing through the Jade Gate Pass."

Zhao Jiuxiao scratched his head: "Sir, what did you say?"

Gao Tianxi tapped him on the head, pointed to a house not far away, and said, "That is my residence. If you don't mind, sir, would you like to come to my humble abode for a drink?"

The three arrived at Gao Tianxi's residence. It was clean and tidy, but it was clear that it was not often inhabited.

Gao Tianxi said, "My wife and children are in our hometown in Xining Prefecture. My subordinates are often working on the river and don't come back often."

He wiped the kang table with his sleeve, invited Qiu Yuexiu to take a seat, and went down into the cellar to take out two jars of liquor and three large bowls.

The wine seal was opened, and the slightly cloudy liquid flowed into the bowl, emitting a spicy aroma, indicating that it was homemade wine by local farmers.

Gao Tianxi sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), raised his wine bowl and said, "My lord, you come from the gentle lands of the south, yet you have never shown any disdain for this barren northwestern wilderness. You have always been dedicated to your duties, bringing benefits to the local people, and sharing hardships with us soldiers and civilians. This bowl is my toast to you, my lord!"

Zhao Jiuxiao said, "I'll drink with you."

Qiu said, “I am ashamed. I am only doing what I should do now, and I have not done much to benefit the people. Moreover, because Gansu is far from the capital, it is difficult to balance public and private affairs. I have not taken good care of my wife and children. Alas, I have failed the way of the sages.”

He sighed, raised his wine bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.

The wine was quite strong, and Qiu Yuexiu didn't drink often. He passed out after just one cup and fell asleep on the table.

Although Zhao Jiuxiao had a decent capacity for alcohol, he couldn't compare to Gao Tianxi, who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. He quickly became intoxicated and started chanting a name: "Lan Cui, Lan Cui..."

Looking at the remaining wine, Gao Tianxi suddenly felt a sense of loneliness, as if he had no equal. So he put down his wine bowl, picked up the wine jar, and drank the remaining half jar of wine before standing up, dragging one of them with him, and going out the door.

In the twelfth lunar month, Qiu Yuexiu, who was eager to return home, finally returned to the capital and saw Shuangluo and her newborn son.

Shuangluo's figure was a bit plumper than before, and she looked to be in good health.

Qiu Yuexiu wanted to ask how Shuangluo was doing, apologize for being late, and see the child. Despite having so much to say, he couldn't utter a single word.

Shuangluo comforted him, saying, "Ying'er has been a great help all along, and the Jiang family and Lord Guiduo's family have also sent many things. Everything is fine here with me, so please don't worry, my husband."

Qiu Yuexiu swallowed hard, nodded, and tiptoed closer to the cradle, looking at the baby in the swaddling clothes.

The child had never met his father before, but he wasn't shy at all, staring at him with his big eyes.

Shuangluo whispered, "The baby is almost a month old and still doesn't have a name. Husband, please come up with a name for him."

Qiu Yuexiu pondered for a moment and said, “The Analects says: ‘If one is respectful and simple in conduct, how can one govern one’s people?’ Let us call him ‘simple in conduct.’”

Shuangluo smiled and picked up the child: "It's a good name. Does Jian'er like it?"

She teased Qiu Yuexiu for a while before putting Qiu Xingjian back in the cradle, and then said, "Husband, there is something I would like to discuss with you."

Qiu asked Xiu what was the matter.

Shuangluo said, "Before, when my husband was unable to return to the capital for the New Year, I spent it with Ying'er and Shuangxi at the charity hall. After I finish my postpartum confinement, I still want to go to the charity hall with my husband and spend the New Year with them."

Qiu Yuexiu agreed: "Ying'er is a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl with a seven-year-old boy. They are all alone and helpless. It's a big holiday, so it's time to spend time with them. Please ask the Princess to grant you leave so you can take them out for a stroll."

As an eighth-rank official in the Qing Dynasty, Deqibu had a one-month vacation.

He took Hailancha away from the northern desert and returned to his hometown beyond the Great Wall. He offered incense at his parents' graves and then opened the door to his home.

He now works in the northern desert and only returns home for the Chinese New Year. His house has been uninhabited for a long time, and the sunlight is filled with flying dust.

The two cleaned up, and then Deqibu went to the market to buy meat and vegetables. Following his memory, he stewed a pot of meat and vegetables, which served as their New Year's Eve dinner.

The food no longer tasted the same as he remembered, and the people beside him now were no longer the same.

Hailan noticed that he had stopped eating, so she quietly slipped off the kang (a heated brick bed), took a wine flask out of her bundle, and tossed it to him.

"Brother, why don't you have a drink?"

Deqibu took the wine bag, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), first offered two cups of wine in front of his parents' memorial tablets, then tilted his head back and gulped down two mouthfuls before suddenly remembering something.

"Hailancha, you've been secretly hiding wine again! How many times have I told you you can't drink at your age!"

The Spring Festival in the palace was, as always, a grand and extravagant affair, with flowers in full bloom and an atmosphere of unbearable prosperity.

The trio had long been tired of the tedious rituals of celebrating the New Year in the palace. Fortunately, their AI was capable of handling such routine tasks. Moreover, after the last incident, the trio confirmed that the AI ​​was not human, but a magical object that could move on its own, similar to the wooden oxen and horses made by Zhuge Liang. So, the trio left the AI ​​to handle things and hid in the conference room.

The director and Yuan Yi had prepared a large table of dishes, including the trio's favorite foods from the past, as well as fried chicken, milk tea, hot pot, and carbonated drinks that were popular in later generations.

The God of Noodles also pulled out six pitchers of beer: "Happy Chinese New Year! Carbonated wheat juice, would you like to try some, ladies and gods?"

After pondering for a while and discussing with A'Ruo, the Emperor suddenly realized that the best way to deal with Ruyi at this juncture was not to ask her to do anything, otherwise he would inevitably owe her something again. So during this period, the Emperor in Ruyi's eyes appeared to be feasting and watching plays with the Empress and other concubines, chatting and laughing, but he was often absent-minded, frequently turning back to look at her, his eyes full of suppressed affection and pain.

At this time, the empress would call out to him, trying to draw the emperor's attention back, but the emperor would just stare at her steadily and patiently.

Ruyi was shocked. The Emperor's actions showed that he treated everyone else like trash, only caring about her. His actions in dealing with Ling Yunche, as advised by Zezhi, were also to protect himself and to set an example for others. However, the price of protecting himself was ultimately borne entirely by Ling Yunche.

The emperor didn't care what Ruyi was thinking. He recited "looking at each other from afar on the wall and horse" a few times in his mind, and when he couldn't act anymore, he turned his face away.

On stage, gongs and drums resounded, and the Empress was singing "The Grand Coronation."

Princess Daizhan sang: "You are righteous, we are biased—"

Wang Baochuan replied: "What's the point of talking about right and wrong? I married you before you, the three of us will jointly manage Zhaoyang Courtyard, let's learn a pair of 'ee-ya-ya-hu-ha-ya-hu-hei,' the phoenix girl 'ee-ya-ya-hu-ha-ya-hu-hei,' accompanying you before you 'ee-ya-ya-hu-ha-ya-hu-hei,' 'ee-ya-ya-hu-ha-ya-hu-hei,'"

Upon hearing the line "I married you before my sister," the Emperor recalled how Ulanara had used the past to bring up the fact that Ruyi had received the jade ruyi first. He was displeased, but the Empress, the one who had suffered the most, had personally chosen this performance. She remained unmoved throughout, even showing delight at the most exciting parts, as if she hadn't considered the matter at all, or perhaps didn't care about what happened back then. So what could he, the one who had taken the jade ruyi from the Empress and given it to Ruyi, possibly do?

He could only take a sip of tea to cover up his subtle embarrassment, when he heard the Empress's whisper: "What's on Your Majesty's mind?"

The emperor looked up in surprise and saw the "empress's" deep and calm eyes.

He tried to cover it up by saying, "What could possibly be on my mind during the New Year?"

But then the "Empress" said, "If Your Majesty is reminded of the Jiangxue Pavilion incident because of this play, then I beg Your Majesty not to worry. Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan were formally married after the three letters and six betrothal rites, and only then did Your Majesty marry Princess Daizhan. Your Majesty and Consort Xian married me as your primary consort and then brought her into the household as your secondary consort. Whether in terms of etiquette or order, Your Majesty is not Xue Pinggui, who abandoned his wife to remarry, and Consort Xian is not Wang Baochuan, who endured hardship in a cold cave. I would like to learn from Princess Daizhan, but Consort Xian does not treat me the way Wang Baochuan treated Princess Daizhan. If I kneel before her, she is not the kind of person who would 'come forward and help me up.' Therefore, such an analogy is meaningless, and Your Majesty need not trouble yourself."

The emperor was startled and looked at the "empress" in surprise.

The "Empress" turned around, staring intently at him without a trace of emotion.

In the conference room, Yingluo swallowed a mouthful of cola and exclaimed in surprise, "Is this AI really not human? Why do I feel like it's even more intelligent than last time?"

The director said, "Because a new AI has emerged in the main world, it has the ability to acquire information in real time and has a more complex logical chain, thus achieving better simulation results. Therefore, we have also improved the model accordingly."

The trio only half understood, but they roughly realized that this one was better suited to the current situation and could handle holiday greetings with ease.

The trio then continued eating and drinking without worry, and watched a program called "Spring Festival Gala" in the main world, which was planned by people from later generations to help people pass the time during the New Year's Eve vigil.