If there was no Little Swallow, the Empress Dowager would not have liked Ziwei.
In "Returning Pearl", the Empress Dowager dislikes both Little Swallow and Ziwei. Many people believe that this is because Little Swallow has no rules and always makes a mess all over the palace, which makes the Empress Dowager so disliked. If there was no Little Swallow, the Empress Dowager would have felt like it when she saw the sensible Ziwei. But in fact, the Empress Dowager does not like Ziwei, not only because she has a Little Swallow on her side, but also because she is of unknown origin, a daughter from outside the palace.
Ziwei's mother was not a woman from the palace, and her union with Qianlong was not allowed. So from the bottom of her heart, the Empress Dowager had no way of accepting Ziwei as a child, no matter whether she was knowledgeable or not, there was no way for her to get into the Empress Dowager's eyes. I can only say that if there was no Little Swallow, no Little Swallow caused so much trouble, the Empress Dowager would not be so hateful to Ziwei, but definitely can not say that she likes. The empress dowager thinks that Ziwei's origin is unknown, and she herself doesn't trust her enough, so of course she won't love her as her own granddaughter.
What the Empress Dowager really likes is Qing'er, who was originally in love with Erkang, and the Empress Dowager also very much hopes that the two of them can be together. However, Ziwei's appearance made it impossible for Erkang and Qing'er to be together. Because of this, the Empress Dowager was even more displeased with Ziwei. Coupled with the instigation of the Empress, the Empress Dowager's attitude towards Ziwei became obvious. But then again, without Little Swallow, Ziwei would most likely not have had the means to get close to the palace, much less the opportunity to recognize Huang Amma. People's hearts for people's hearts, and then Ziwei's knowledge, kindness and gentleness still touched the empress dowager, even if the empress dowager didn't like her so much, but it's not so annoying.