When Crown Prince Qi Ling came over from the Eastern Palace, Qi Yu was lying on the small couch in the warm chamber, leafing through the travelogue he had already read several times. Gray Rabbit lay by his feet, and Light Gray Rabbit lay on Gray Rabbit's back, the two rabbits dozing in a pile. Hearing footsteps, he tossed the travelogue aside, jumped off the couch, planted his bare feet on the carpet, and called out, "Brother." Qi Ling was carrying a food box and had not yet had time to put it down before Qi Yu caught his sleeve and dragged him into the warm chamber.
Qi Ling set the food box on the table and lifted the lid. Inside was a plate of braised pork hock, still steaming. Qi Yu leaned over to sniff it, his eyes lit up, and he reached for a piece. Qi Ling slapped his hand away and told him to fetch chopsticks. Qi Yu said there was no need, grabbed a slice, and stuffed it into his mouth. His cheeks bulging, he mumbled that the Eastern Palace still had the best cooks. Qi Ling said this was a new method Fu Shun had learned, with dried tangerine peel added to the braising stock, making it even more flavorful than the previous batch of ten-year-old master stock. Qi Yu grabbed another slice, finished chewing, and licked his fingers. Then he suddenly asked, "Brother, what happened to all those people?"
Qi Ling's hand paused as he poured the tea. He set the teapot on the table, lifted his cup, took a sip, and said they had all been dealt with. Qi Yu said, "What do you mean, dealt with? Those people from the Sun Family, Zhou Wenhan, and that eunuch who served the wine, and