I must have died, Xiao Yan Zi thought when she woke up in a warm and comfortable bed. Is this heaven? Her mind was still foggy, and the Emperor came to question her. He asked her how old she was and she said groggily, 18. He then asked her what her birthday was, and because she became sworn sisters with Zi Wei, she replied, "My birthday...is...August 1..." The Emperor was becoming more and more positive that this was truly his daughter, but he asked her another question - what was her last name? Xiao Yan Zi answered, "I don't know...no, Zi Wei said...Xia...my last name is Xia."
The Emperor gave her the title of Huan Zhu Ge Ge, the Princess of Returned Treasure, because she was his precious daughter and she had finally been "returned" to him after all these years. After Xiao Yan Zi woke for real, she learned what had happened - she became the princess instead to Zi Wei! She knew that she should tell the Emperor the truth, but he was so kind to her that didn't want to give it all up just yet. When she learned that life in the palace isn1t always luxurious, she tried to tell the Emperor the truth, but it was too late. She tried to tell one the Emperor's wives, Ling Fei, that she wasn't a princess, but Ling Fei told to never say something like that. Since she had become a princess already, if it turned out that she wasn't, she could be executed for lying to the Emperor, which was one of the biggest crimes. And everyone who had helped her would be killed too.
Ling Fei was the cousin of Fu Pu, Er Kang and Er Tai's mother. Xiao Yan Zi had a funloving and boyish personality and quickly became good friends with her "brother" Yong Qi and his best friend, Er Tai. But she was still thinking about Zi Wei and how she had stolen the kind of life Zi Wei should have. A few times she dressed up as a servant and tried to escape but was always caught. She was often breaking the rules, but the Emperor never punished her because of his love for Yu He. He saw how much Xiao Yan Zi wanted to see the oustside of the palace, so he took her on a parade.
The streets were teeming with people. The procession was an amazing sight. Under the high-flying flags, there were hundred of soldiers, servants, and musicians from the Palace. Emperor Qian Long sat in an ornate carriage. Next to the carriage, princes and guards rode on horseback. Now and then, the Emperor would pull open the curtain and wave to the crowds.
In a carriage not far behind his was another carriage. The girl sitting inside was waving exuberantly, leaning out of the window. Her bright eyes were opened even bigger than usual, and a huge smile lit up her face. All around her carriage, there were guards and officials from the Emperor's court.
The crowd was shouting "Huang shang wan sui, wan sui, wan wan sui!" and "Ge ge qian sui, qian sui, qian qian sui!"
Within the crowd, there were a girl, her maid Jin Suo, and a brother and sister named Liu Qing and Liu Hong staring at the princess with disbelief all over their faces. The girl, Zi Wei, was speechless. The princess was Xiao Yan Zi, her best friend.
The crowd was now shouting "May Huan Zhu Ge Ge live for a thousand years!" Zi Wei was shocked. Xiao Yan Zi wouldn't do this to her...would she? Liu Qing and Liu Hong were shouting to Xiao Yan Zi, trying to get her attention, but their voices were lost in the clamor of the crowd. Finally, Zi Wei couldn't control her self anymore. She ran out onto the street yelling, "She's not a princess, she's a thief! Huang shang, you've been tricked! I'm the real princess! ...Xiao Yan Zi, how can be so cruel to me? We became sisters, and you betray me like this? If youo're Huan Zhu Ge Ge, then who am I?"
The emperor's bodyguard, Er Kang, saw this beautiful girl, yelling like a madwoman. He feared for the Emperor and princess's safety, so he ordered the guards to stop her. Zi Wei was instantly surrounded by soldiers. Liu Qing and Liu Hong leaped to protect her and fought with the soldiers. Other soldiers started beat her, Zi Wei was hurt and was losing her energy, but she kept talking. "Huang shang, the fan is mine...the painting is mine...Xia Yu He is MY mother..."
Those words were like a blow to Er Kang. He immediately ordered the soldiers to stop. Zi Wei looked up at him, badly wounded. She struggled to pull herself over to where Er Kang stood. She reached for his robe and said with the last of her energy, "Please tell this to the Emperor for me." She recited a poem and said, "...the Emperor's poem...the poem he wrote for Xia Yu He..." Then she collapsed at Er Kang's feet. Er Kang was astounded. She knew about the poem. She had even memorized the poem! How could she know all this? Who was this girl?
At this moment, Jin Suo squeezed to the crowd and reached Zi Wei. She hugged Zi Wei and cried. Jin Suo saw how wounded Zi Wei was and thought she was dead. She was shaking Zi Wei while saying hysterically, "Please Miss, you can1t die! If you do, I'll have let Madam down. I promised her I would take care of you after she passed away. If I'd known this would have happened, we should have stayed in Jinan!"
Er Kang was becoming more and more confused. Jinan? Madam? Passed away? Miss? At this moment, Er Kang's father, Fu Lun, reached the scene of the riot. "Er Kang, what happened? Is there a lunatic disturbing the peace?" Er Kang turned his eyes away from Zi Wei and answered his father, "The situation is unclear, let's take her home first and slowly question her later."
Far away, the Emperor knew nothing about what had happened. He had no idea that behind him was his true "returned treasure." Xiao Yan Zi was sitting in her carriage looking at the crowd, searching. I thought I heard Zi Wei's voice, she said to herself. She looked everywhere, but all around her she could only see soldiers. The people in the crowds seemed as small as ants, and it was impossible to pick out any certain face. I promise, Zi Wei, she thought, when I've had enough fun being a princess, I will return your father to you! I will!
