Chapter 016

Chapter 016

"It must be my lady!" Yun Xiu exclaimed anxiously upon hearing the news and quickly ran over. Seeing it was indeed her, she rushed forward and half-carried her up.

Su Yi's eyes were tightly closed, her face pale and covered in cold sweat, her lips colorless, looking utterly drained. Yun Xiu quickly took out a small snuff bottle from her pouch and placed it under her nose for her to smell, which slowly brought her back to consciousness.

Someone had already gone to report the incident.

All the guests had fled except for these two, and even the staff and the shopkeeper, who had been hiding under the counter, were found. Especially since the one who fainted seemed to be the lady from the Niohuru family.

Normally, they would all be taken back for questioning, but if it turned out to be a misunderstanding, it would be troublesome.

"The Niohuru family," Kangxi murmured, his gaze falling on the person upstairs who was being supported by a maid, her head slightly bowed and her eyes downcast, looking very weak. "Then let someone escort her back."

Su Yi, looking weak, was internally panicking. This was a disaster. If they escorted her back all the way, wouldn't the family know what had happened as soon as she returned?

Given Shushu Jueluo's temperament, she wouldn't be able to go out again until she entered the palace.

She had planned to feign a near-death state, then recover once she got into the carriage, and discuss with Yun Xiu to return as if nothing had happened, so she could still go out again.

But now, with someone escorting her back, Su Yi was truly feeling exhausted. Yun Xiu, thinking she was extremely uncomfortable and weak, supported her even more firmly.

Su Yi: ...

She refused to go down, weakly holding onto the stair railing and softly sitting down, murmuring weakly, "I have no strength, let me rest for a while." She weakly leaned into Yun Xiu's fragrant embrace.

Why go down now? She didn't want to face Kangxi just yet, okay?

Just now, she could pretend not to know, but now, should she go down and kneel to him?

She didn't go down; her legs suddenly gave out.

When Su Yi spoke, her face was ghostly pale, her voice soft and weak, looking very deceptive.

Luckily, Kangxi didn't linger downstairs. Given the assassination attempt, it was not suitable to stay outside for too long.

Once Kangxi left, Su Yi sat for a while longer before slowly standing up with Yun Xiu's support.

When they returned to the Niohuru residence, it was just as she had feared. Shushu Jueluo, not expecting such an encounter with an assassination scene during their outing, immediately forbade her from going out again until she entered the palace, to avoid any further accidents.

Upon learning she had fainted, she immediately had a doctor summoned.

Su Yi tried to persuade, "Actually, I'm fine now, it was just that the cabinet was too cramped, and I couldn't breathe for a moment."

She knew she was just pretending at that time.

She didn't want the doctor to prescribe her some calming soup for shock.

But Shushu Jueluo was not reassured and firmly insisted on calling the doctor. She had to drink that strangely flavored calming soup again.

Under Shushu Jueluo's watchful gaze, Su Yi had to sip it reluctantly, without any chance to pour it away once she left.

Qianqing Palace

Kangxi looked at the information presented to him about Niohuru Min Yi.

His gaze lingered on the words 'slept for three years, recently awakened' for a long time, his expression inscrutable.

Three years... what an eerie coincidence.

Liang Jiugong watched as Kangxi stared at the document for a long time without shifting his gaze, wondering if His Majesty had taken an interest in the young lady from the Niohuru family, perhaps considering her for the imperial harem.

He thought to himself that even with just a fleeting glance, the young lady dressed in men's attire was strikingly beautiful. If she were to dress in women's attire, she would surely be even more stunning.

Moreover, this year's selection of imperial consorts included the young lady from the Niohuru family, who was of the right age, and her name would surely be on the list of maidens.

In the Yikun Palace, the Imperial Noble Consort Niohuru lay on a soft couch with her eyes closed, allowing the maids to paint her nails. A maid whispered that today, the Emperor had not chosen any consort to visit.

This information was leaked by a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department who was familiar with the palace affairs.

Hearing this, Niohuru's face showed no joy. Instead, she pondered that if Kangxi frequently visited the harem, it would be less of a headache than his current infrequent visits.

Kangxi was so difficult to please. Even if she tried to be gentle and act as a confidante, it was hard to win his favor when he rarely visited. Without frequent meetings, how could she gradually win his affection?

If he visited the harem more often, she would see him more frequently. Unlike now, when even the soups sent to the Qianqing Palace might not reach him, and the consorts could not often go to the Qianqing Palace to seek him out.

Even she, in her current position, faced the same restrictions.

Perhaps Kangxi was simply bored with the older consorts in the harem. With new maidens entering this year's selection, he might find some fresh faces to favor.

Niohuru thought of her younger sister, Min Yi. When she entered the palace, Min Yi was just a child. Now, in the blink of an eye, she had reached the right age to enter the palace and become one of Kangxi's women. How ironic.

Thinking of the hints from the Niohuru family, suggesting that her sister had blossomed into a stunning beauty who could surely assist her, Niohuru couldn't help but sneer. After all, which woman in Kangxi's harem was not beautiful?

Lady Guoluoluo was indeed radiant, outshining the other women in the palace, but that didn't mean Kangxi visited her more often. It had initially made Niohuru feel threatened.

If such a level of beauty could be considered favor, it would be an insult to her title of favored consort for over a decade.

The urgent matter now was to have a child as soon as possible.

——

The Niohuru family sent Su Yi to the Shenwu Gate, accompanied by A Ling'a, a brother she was not very familiar with. They barely spoke during the journey, only exchanging a few words when necessary.

The atmosphere was frosty. Finally arriving at the Shenwu Gate, Su Yi was eager to get out. She dreaded the awkward silence that made her want to curl her toes.

At the front were relatives of the imperial consorts, and Su Yi, with her sister being the Imperial Noble Consort, naturally stood at the front. After getting off the carriage, she entered the Shunzhen Gate under the guidance of the palace eunuchs.

The selection of imperial consorts was held at the Jingyi Pavilion. Six maidens stood in a row, waiting for the eunuchs to call their names and enter the hall.

Su Yi stood out among them. Even without deliberate adornment, she was strikingly beautiful, her appearance and demeanor unmatched by the other maidens. The other maidens standing in the same row looked displeased, knowing that with such beauty beside them, the Emperor would hardly notice them.

Even those who considered themselves attractive felt overshadowed, relieved not to be standing in the same row as Su Yi.

With such beauty, how could the Emperor possibly notice them?

Moreover, being from the Niohuru family, her background was enviable, and with the Imperial Noble Consort as her sister, they dared not even challenge her.