Chapter 037

Chapter 037

Kangxi woke up at the usual hour of Yin time every day.

As usual, he slowly opened his eyes, but before his vision could focus, he saw a dark mass in front of him. His pupils dilated, and he couldn't help but let out a startled "Ah!" as he bolted upright.

Liang Jiugong, who was outside, heard Kangxi's cry and thought something had happened. He rushed in hastily, "Your Majesty, what's wrong?!"

Through the curtain and screen, he saw that the Emperor was already sitting up, and sitting opposite him was Consort Rong. The two were sitting face to face, staring at each other.

Hmm? What's happening?

After Kangxi realized it was Consort Rong, his heart settled back into place.

But Consort Rong had been quite frightening early in the morning. Her skin was naturally pale, and her hair was disheveled, covering half her face. She was dressed in white sleeping robes, propping her chin with her hand, and staring at him blankly. It looked particularly eerie, like something supernatural.

Consort Rong watched as Kangxi suddenly sat up, sighed, and gave him a look that seemed to say, "What are you doing?" She just stared at him quietly.

She said, "Good morning, Your Majesty."

Her exasperated expression made Kangxi feel a bit embarrassed. His earlier reaction had been quite unbecoming.

"I'm fine," Kangxi said to Liang Jiugong, who was waiting. Liang Jiugong, having just arrived, arranged for people to bring in the washing utensils to attend to the Emperor.

Consort Rong leaned against the bedpost, looking sickly and not speaking. She seemed downcast, with dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well.

Seeing her like this, Kangxi assumed she had been frightened by the incident the previous day and hadn't slept well. He sighed and said, "Consort Rong, the imperial physician examined you yesterday and prescribed some ointment. Have your maid apply it as directed, and the red marks on your body will fade in a few days."

Consort Rong leaned there, her eyelids drooping slightly, and replied with a weak "Oh," looking as if she were at death's door.

Kangxi assumed she was worried about her appearance.

Since he had woken up early today, Kangxi had some time to spare. He sat down beside her, intending to comfort her, saying that it was no big deal, just a few red marks, and that they would heal in a few days with the ointment.

But then,

'How can the Emperor sleep on such a hard bed?!'

'It's making my whole body uncomfortable.'

Kangxi, who had thought she was upset about her appearance: ...

Remembering that he had something to ask, Kangxi tried again, casually asking, "You can't touch acacia flowers, didn't you know that?"

"Seems like it," Consort Rong replied weakly.

Kangxi waited for a while, but Consort Rong remained unresponsive. "Yesterday, the petals you used for your bath contained acacia flowers."

If Consort Rong knew she couldn't touch acacia flowers, wouldn't she have noticed when she saw the petals?

"Oh," came another weak response.

At this moment, it was particularly frustrating, making one wonder if she was even listening.

Kangxi felt somewhat brushed off and silently took a deep breath.

"Didn't you react when you saw them? Or..." Did you deliberately ignore it to avoid attending to the Emperor, even if it meant risking your life?

At this thought, Kangxi's eyes turned cold, and a palpable tension began to emanate from him, quite visibly.

However, he encountered someone with morning grumpiness, who was even more irritable and completely indifferent to his mood.

"Mhm," Su Yi's eyelids were almost closed, and she responded with a couple of half-hearted sounds.

'Blah blah blah, what on earth is he going on about?'

'So irritating!'

'Just be quiet already!'

Well, the case is solved. Consort Rong wasn't paying attention at all; she simply couldn't focus.

Kangxi's expression was momentarily complicated.

"Your Majesty?" Liang Jiugong cautiously reminded Kangxi of the time from the side, his voice low.

If he didn't change into his court attire soon, he would be running late.

Kangxi coughed deliberately a couple of times and said, "Ahem, I need to get dressed."

"Alright," Su Yi stood up with a very dejected expression, took two steps, and Kangxi thought she understood, about to extend his arms for her to help him change.

Previously, since Consort Rong hadn't gotten up, naturally, he didn't expect her to assist, but today she got up early, so she might come to help him change.

However, Consort Rong, like a wandering spirit with her long hair flowing, walked past Kangxi and headed out.

Her face was extremely pale, her steps unsteady, and Yun Hua hurriedly went up to support her, "Your Highness, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, help me back to my room."

Her goal was clear; she wanted to return to Yonghe Palace to catch up on sleep before dawn.

As long as the sky wasn't bright, then she wasn't pulling an all-nighter, just staying up late at most, the last stubbornness of a night owl.

Yun Hua quickly grabbed her, "Your Highness, you haven't washed up yet, how can you go out like this?"

Her clothes weren't properly changed, her hair wasn't combed, how could she go out to meet people? After much persuasion, she was finally convinced to stay.

Kangxi, who had half-opened his arms waiting for Consort Rong to help him change into his court attire, froze. Fortunately, the maids were quick-witted as usual, pretending not to notice anything and proceeded to change Kangxi's court attire as usual.

But unfortunately, Kangxi overheard the maids' whispers.

'No way, was His Majesty just now waiting for Consort Rong to help him into his court attire?'

'Consort Rong didn't seem to notice.'

'She looks like she's not fully awake.'

....

Kangxi's face was tightly controlled, expressionless, resembling a handsome emperor devoid of emotions.

Over there, Yun Hua had already started helping Su Yi onto a soft couch, dressing her in a qipao. When dressing her, Su Yi would extend her arms when told, lift her legs when instructed.

It made Yun Hua somewhat amused.

Her Highness looked so obedient.

Just as Kangxi, having finished changing into his court attire, walked over, he heard Yun Hua describe Consort Rong in such a manner, and immediately felt uneasy.

Consort Rong isn’t exactly obedient—she’s quite the powerhouse!

The qipao prepared in the Qianqing Palace was apricot-colored, adorned with red plum blossoms, elegant with a hint of red, making her appear even more fragile, and the red marks on her neck and hands didn’t seem out of place.

"Come, Your Highness," Yun Hua said, helping Consort Rong to her feet.

Su Yi took a few steps, her gait unsteady, but her figure exuded a delicate, willow-like grace, every movement resembling a beautiful landscape painting.

"Your Highness!" Yun Hua cried out in panic, tugged by Consort Rong and stumbling but not falling.

But upon closer look, Consort Rong had fallen face-first, sprawled flat on the ground.

The incident happened so suddenly and unexpectedly that there was no time to react. Yun Hua rushed over immediately, "Your Highness, are you okay? It’s all my fault—I didn’t hold you steady enough."

Her heart was in turmoil; how could she have failed to steady Consort Rong? Now, the lady had lost her composure in front of the palace—what should be done?

Kangxi’s hand froze mid-air, unable to match the speed of Consort Rong’s fall, as she suddenly tumbled forward.

With a thud, Su Yi hit the ground without a sound, then slowly lifted her head, calm and expressionless, saying, "Just a minor incident, no need to panic."

As Kangxi stepped forward to help her up, he noticed the spot where Consort Rong’s head had hit the floor, and his eyes widened in shock.

Consort Rong was fine, but the spot where her forehead had hit the ground... the floor was cracked!!!

He couldn’t help but glance at Consort Rong’s forehead, which was only slightly red, not even scraped.

For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether the floor was fragile or Consort Rong’s head was made of iron.

Kangxi couldn’t resist poking Consort Rong’s forehead to check if it was actually made of iron, but he didn’t feel anything special. But this action instantly earned him a death glare from Consort Rong.

As the saying goes, the desire to kill someone with a look cannot be hidden.

"Ahem, how could you be so careless? I was just making sure your forehead was okay."

Realizing his earlier move was a bit inappropriate, Kangxi hastily explained.

Then, with a firm tug, he helped her up, his eyes still darting to the floor.

Su Yi had fallen flat on her face, but when she got up, she acted like nothing had happened, so composed that it was hard to believe it wasn’t an illusion—if not for the cracked floor.

'Curse these flowerpot shoes—destroy them!'

'As long as I don’t feel embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to others.'

Su Yi looked at Kangxi calmly, saying softly, "Your Majesty, your court beads are a bit messy—let me fix them for you." She naturally adjusted the court beads hanging on him.

She looked every bit the considerate concubine, gentle and virtuous as she slightly bowed her head to adjust the court beads.

Kangxi snorted coldly—now she’s awake from the fall.

Just now, she hadn’t seen the person in front of her, but now that she was awake from the fall, she remembered him, the living person.

"Consort Rong has good eyesight, I didn’t even notice," Kangxi said with implication.

He was hinting that she hadn’t been so attentive before, but now that she was awake, she suddenly remembered, her eyes could see again—huh, women.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. I do have good eyesight—it’s all about perception. Ordinary people can’t do it; they can’t learn it."

Su Yi looked as if she had been praised, with an expression that said you really have good taste, and she gladly accepted Kangxi’s insincere compliment.

'As long as I pretend not to know, you can't insinuate anything about me.'

Her smile was perfectly sweet.

Liang Jiugong, standing nearby, couldn't help but admire Consort Rong's boldness. She really dared to play dumb when something happened, without a hint of fear.

The court necklace was just adjusted a bit and that was it, nothing really needed to be fixed. Su Yi, noticing Kangxi staring at her without speaking, grew a bit impatient.

"Alright, Your Majesty, it's getting late. You should attend court," she gently reminded him, pointing to the sky outside.

'How pitiful, the Emperor has to attend court, while I can just go back to sleep.'

Su Yi could barely contain her inner schadenfreude.

This kind of secret joy, where others are busy as bees while one can laze around, who could understand?

Kangxi reached out and held Consort Rong's hand, his hand large enough to completely cover hers. He softened his expression and spoke gently, "It's rare for you to be up so early today. After I return from court, join me for breakfast."

Then he watched as Consort Rong's smile froze, replying somewhat stiffly, "No need, Your Majesty, it's not appropriate."

'What's up with this guy? Does he really need someone to join him for breakfast???'

'No, I'm in such a mess, can he really eat while looking at me?!'

Consort Rong's displeasure made Kangxi feel better, instantly rejuvenated. "It's just breakfast, no biggie."

The implied meaning was that Consort Rong had to stay in the Qianqing Palace until he returned.

"I'm thrilled," Su Yi said in a saccharine tone, her hand trying to pull away to give him a playful punch to the chest.

But Kangxi, anticipating her move, tightened his grip, and she didn't succeed.

"Alright, Consort Rong, no need to be so thrilled. I'll return after court to keep you company."