Seeing the waiter serve the wine, Cheng Hao reached out to grab the large wine bowl on the table. Suddenly, he heard Wei Dongling give a soft cough. Cheng Hao felt a bit embarrassed and weakly withdrew his outstretched hand. He complained pitifully, "Princess, can I just drink a little?"
Wei Dongling was speechless. It wasn't that she was afraid of him drinking! What if he got drunk and hugged Jing Zhe while crying his heart out?
Yu Zixi thought to himself: Wife, you're not much better!
Jing Zhe cast a pleading look. He seemed eager to drink a bowl with Cheng Hao. Wei Dongling had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Before long, the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish was served. Everyone at the table reached out their chopsticks in unison to pick up the fish and put it into Wei Dongling's bowl.
Wei Dongling's nose twitched, and tears welled up in her eyes.
In the palace, she had to be extremely cautious and face many hardships. Fortunately, she had these uncles, which made her feel the warmth of home.
"Eat slowly. Be careful of the bones!" Uncle Li felt heartache seeing Wei Dongling eating the fish with big mouthfuls while tears streamed down her face. Could it be that there was no mandarin fish in the palace? The poor child was so excited!
Sure enough, as Wei Dongling had expected, after only a few mouthfuls, Cheng Hao started crying on Jing Zhe's shoulder.
Cheng Hao's mother, who was sitting at another table, felt quite embarrassed and wanted to come over to stop him. But Cheng Hao, full of sorrow, clung tightly to Jing Zhe's arm and refused to let go.
Wei Dongling didn't want Cheng Hao to talk about the unpleasant things in the palace in front of everyone. She gave a soft cough as a reminder and said, "If you're a bit drunk, you might as well step back and take a rest for a while. Let Jing Zhe have something to eat to fill his stomach!"
Only then did Cheng Hao reluctantly let go of Jing Zhe's shoulder.
Cui Huan had a very poor tolerance for alcohol and didn't drink at all. Wei Dongling actually wanted to drink with these uncles. But Yu Zixi, who was sitting beside Cui Huan, coughed frequently as a hint. Wei Dongling had no choice but to follow his suggestion and use tea instead of wine to toast everyone.
As they clinked glasses, the sky gradually darkened. A maid came up and whispered a reminder.
Wei Dongling could only smile helplessly at everyone and said, "It's getting late. I have to go back before the palace gates are locked."
Everyone didn't expect her to leave so soon and felt a bit reluctant in their hearts.
Wei Dongling took out the token from her clothes and showed it to everyone. She raised her head and said with a smile, "I asked the emperor for a token to leave the palace. From now on, I can sneak back whenever I'm free!"
Only then did everyone nod.
Yu Zixi got up reluctantly to see her off. Since there were maids following behind, they couldn't say some sweet words, let alone be affectionate.
Yu Zixi drove the carriage to send her back to the palace. When they were about to part at the palace gates, Yu Zixi carefully helped Wei Dongling out of the carriage. Suddenly, he sighed softly and said, "I'm going back to Yan Gu Mountain. Please take good care of yourself, Princess." The way he called her "Princess" sounded a bit desolate. Wei Dongling was startled and couldn't help feeling sad.
Was he leaving?
Under everyone's watchful eyes, she could only nod and say okay.
Yu Zixi lowered his head and said nothing. He had thought that Wei Dongling would ask him something, but she didn't say a word.
As the sun set in the west, the two of them nodded their goodbyes with their own concerns and turned around to leave.
When Wei Dongling returned to Yaoguang Pavilion, the sky was already dotted with a few stars and a bright moon. Lights were lit up in every palace.
La Mei was pacing back and forth at the door. When she saw the group of Princess Five coming back, she quickly stepped forward to pay her respects and welcomed Wei Dongling in.
In the bedroom, Wei Dongling took off her hairpins and ornaments. With the help of the maids and grannies, she took off her clothes. La Mei washed her hands and came over to clean and change the dressing on the wound on Wei Dongling's back. Seeing that all the maids had gone out, La Mei suddenly sighed softly and said, "This servant is really reluctant to part with Your Highness the Princess."
Wei Dongling thought she was talking about the wound on her back. She showed a smiling face and said, "This wound is almost healed. There's nothing to be reluctant about! This princess has suffered many injuries. Why would I care about just this one?"
La Mei was at a loss for words. She carefully wiped the wound on her back with the handkerchief in her hand and said in a low voice, "This servant went to the Imperial Household Department to collect some items today. I met the granny beside Noble Consort Rong. That granny has always been on good terms with this servant, so we chatted for a few words."
Only then did Wei Dongling realize that La Mei had something else to say. She quickly asked, "Did that granny tell you something that made you feel so emotional?"
Seeing that there was no one around, La Mei sighed and said, "I heard that the prince of Xiliang entered the palace to pay homage to the emperor today... and proposed a marriage alliance to the emperor."
"Marriage alliance?" Wei Dongling widened her eyes in disbelief and turned to look at La Mei.
La Mei said in a solemn voice again, "The prince of Xiliang claimed that he fell in love with you at first sight and specifically asked to marry Princess Five, you!"
Wei Dongling's head buzzed. She sat up suddenly and said angrily, "He's daydreaming!"
La Mei quickly comforted Wei Dongling in a low voice. Although she was a bit reluctant to see Princess Five get married, wasn't that the fate of princesses in previous dynasties? Their marriage was entirely for the stability of the country. How many princesses could be an exception?
Moreover, there were only two princesses of marriageable age in the palace. According to seniority, it was indeed Princess Five's turn. Noble Consort Rong would definitely not let Princess Seven get married first! And the prince of Xiliang specifically insisted on Princess Five.
La Mei felt sad. She had finally come to like Princess Five and thought she was perfect in every way. But unexpectedly, she was going to end up in a marriage alliance.
Wei Dongling gritted her teeth and said angrily, "What did my father say?"
La Mei shook her head dejectedly and said, "This servant doesn't know."
Seeing Wei Dongling quickly put on her clothes and get out of bed to put on her shoes and was about to go out, La Mei softly called out, "Princess, you should apply the medicine first before going?"
Wei Dongling was so anxious that she didn't care about the wound on her back at all. She hurriedly called the maid over and sat in front of the bronze mirror to dress up.
La Mei was a bit in a dilemma. She only knew about this matter after chatting with the granny beside Noble Consort Rong. Why was Princess Five so impatient and in such a hurry to go out to find the emperor?
Wei Dongling couldn't wait for a moment. That prince of Xiliang was a troublemaker! He had colluded with the Zhao family! During the war in the northwest, he had also colluded with the Iron Cavalry Army in private! Such a two-faced person, she would never marry him! Moreover, her man was cute and innocent, and when it was time to be tough, he was never ambiguous. He had already fascinated her so much that she only wanted to throw herself at him. How could she have the leisure to get involved with other men?
No, she had to go quickly and explain it clearly to her father. She would rather die than marry that man!
La Mei watched as Wei Dongling tidied herself up and then rushed out in a hurry. She took the maids and chased after her as fast as she could.
Well! Sure enough, they couldn't catch up! Princess Five disappeared from sight with just two quick steps, leaving the servants staring at each other in bewilderment.
La Mei suddenly remembered that before, because Yue E couldn't keep up with the princess, she had been very angry and punished her. At that time, Princess Five had even defended Yue E, and she had thought it was just an excuse. Unexpectedly, it was really impossible to keep up!
Wei Dongling didn't care about all this. She rushed towards the Taiji Hall where the emperor was.