Chapter 115

Chapter 115

Su Yi slowly turned around, putting on a fake smile, "How about you give it a try?"

If you're so great, why don't you do it?

Kangxi was momentarily speechless, then with a stern face, he refused, "I won't."

Su Yi gave a soft smile, not saying anything in response to Kangxi's cold refusal, but she thought to herself, 'Then what was that scoff for?' 'Honestly, tsk.'

Then Su Yi got back into the groove, picked up a new piece of wood, and started carving once more, using the carving knife like it was cutting through butter, wood shavings kept falling, piling up in a thick layer.

The wood was shrinking before her eyes, shrinking, shrinking, until only a small piece remained, and with one more cut, it would be gone.

This piece of wood was disappearing much faster than the first one.

Su Yi stared at the tiny piece of wood, lost in thought, hmm, I must have used too much force.

Seeing Consort Rong ready to continue, it seemed she was determined to spend the night with these pieces of wood, Kangxi, who was sitting nearby, said, "Leave it for tomorrow. I need to rest, and your noise will keep me up."

Su Yi reluctantly set the carving knife down, first, not letting others rest, and now complaining about the noise.

"Alright then," she said with another fake smile.

This time Kangxi didn't indulge her, "Your smile is really unattractive." So fake.

Su Yi's smile vanished instantly, she glared at him, take it or leave it.

After closing the boxes, she glanced at the pile of wood shavings on the table, her eyes flickered; a sneeze now would be perfect to blow the shavings away, or sweep them off with her hand...

Kangxi's eyelid twitched, and he quickly reached out to pull Consort Rong away, until she was far from the pile of shavings, only then did Kangxi breathe a sigh of relief.

He shot Consort Rong a cold look, there's no relaxing for even a moment, if you're not careful, she'll cause trouble.

"Your Majesty, why did you pull me? I wasn't done cleaning up yet." Su Yi looked puzzled, giving no hint of her earlier mischief, instead accusing Kangxi of being unreasonable.

What could Kangxi say, "Have the maids clean it up tomorrow." In any case, she couldn't be allowed to touch those wood shavings again, who knows if she would 'accidentally' or 'slip' and cause more trouble.

Seeing that Consort Rong clapped her hands, shaking off the wood shavings and was about to go to bed, Kangxi, who was a bit of a neat freak, endured and said, "Wash your hands before sleeping."

"There's no water, I don't want to wash." Su Yi was already sitting on the bed, hugging the bedpost, indicating she was going to sleep like this.

Then, just as Kangxi was about to say something, she preempted him, "The water you soaked in doesn't count."

Rounding it off, that's bathwater, she didn't want to use bathwater to wash her hands, she'd rather not wash, make do for the night.

Su Yi's uncooperative attitude clearly displayed her disdain.

This reignited Kangxi's nearly calmed anger, even when Baocheng was young, Kangxi hadn't been so infuriated, day after day Consort Rong was nothing but trouble.

If one could describe Kangxi's mood at this moment, it was almost like encountering a naughty child, wanting to roar a couple of times, but forcefully holding it back.

And now Consort Rong was the one showing disdain.

She played with the wood, got her hands full of shavings and didn't wash them, and he was the one who was supposed to be disdainful!

Kangxi tried to pull up the uncooperative Consort Rong, but he couldn’t move her. When he turned, he saw her clinging to the bedpost, refusing to let go, with a look that seemed to dare him, "Go ahead, try to pull me."

"Let go," Kangxi said to her, struggling to stay calm.

"I won’t," Su Yi replied, gripping the bedpost tightly with one hand, her face set in defiance.

"Let go," Kangxi’s voice turned icy, his tone commanding, as he held onto Consort Rong’s wrist.

"You let go first," Su Yi shook her hand, trying to shake off Kangxi’s hold, but she was afraid that if she shook too hard, he might topple over like a noodle, and then she would be blamed.

"Consort Rong!" Kangxi raised his voice slightly.

"I can hear you just fine," Su Yi retorted, pursing her lips in defiance.

No need to shout. Where’s your dignity?

Forget dignity! Consort Rong still has the gall to think about it.

Kangxi sighed, clearly frustrated, then suddenly said, "Do you want to go another half month eating only vegetables?" The topic shifted elsewhere.

Su Yi: !?

Su Yi’s eyes went wide as she looked at Kangxi. "What are you saying?!"

"Or do you not care about your hidden storybooks anymore?" Kangxi gradually calmed down, speaking with a composed expression.

Every day she hides a stack, tosses some, and hides more.

Su Yi glared: !!

I give up. Are you even playing fair?

Do you think I’ll give in?!

Kangxi just smiled, tilting his chin up slightly, and pointed at her hand holding the bedpost, speaking with apparent patience, "Let go?"

Su Yi pursed her lips, remaining silent, her body language screamed refusal, but her body was honest, and she released the bedpost.

It wasn’t about the food or those silly storybooks; she just didn’t want to continue the stalemate!

Jingren Palace

Late at night, Consort Tongjia was still awake, restless, her palms scratched raw by her nails, bleeding, but she didn’t seem to feel the pain.

As she had planned, Consort Liang had been dealt with, and she would never have to see Consort Liang again, but why.

The Emperor’s gaze before he left made her heart race, as if he’d seen right through her schemes.

He even left despite her pleas. Consort Tongjia chased after him, watching his retreating figure, feeling that if she let him leave this time, she would never see him turn back again.

That sense of panic almost made Consort Tongjia forget her dignity. She stepped forward, grabbing the Emperor’s arm, begging him to stay. Even if Consort Liang was no longer an option, weren’t there others?

She had prepared another palace maid. Why did the Emperor have to leave now? Where was he going? She nearly blurted out that she wasn’t actually menstruating, but the Emperor pushed her away, leaving with the words, "You have greatly disappointed me," before departing.

Consort Tongjia was pushed away, almost falling, but the Emperor didn’t even turn his head. If it weren’t for the palace maid catching her in time, she might have fallen to the ground.

She stood there, stunned, unable to comprehend how things had turned out this way. Why had he said that?

Even before, when the Emperor had neglected her, he had never spoken to her in such a disappointed tone.

At first, Consort Tongjia was initially angry because the Emperor had once again gone to Yonghe Palace, claiming he was deeply disappointed in her, but in reality, his body was here, but his heart was still in Yonghe Palace.

Consort Tongjia instinctively dismissed the idea that her schemes had been uncovered, stubbornly pointing the finger at others.

But it wasn’t until the maid responsible for handling her clothes and blood-stained items came back in a panic, reporting that all the items meant for disposal had vanished!

They had been carefully hidden, ready to be disposed of after tonight.

Just then, the Emperor had left, thinking it wiser to dispose of them under the cover of darkness rather than waiting until morning, as delays could spell trouble.

However, when they checked the hiding spot, they found nothing, and the maid was so terrified she collapsed to the ground.

She searched again, unwilling to give up, but the items were truly gone.

Her first thought was that it was all over—they’d been found out, and at such a crucial moment, she didn’t even dare to think about who might have taken the hidden clothes.

She had no choice but to inform Consort Tongjia, asking what they should do next.

"What?! They’re missing?!" Consort Tongjia exclaimed in shock.

She collapsed into her seat, her hands trembling uncontrollably on the armrests, her face ghostly pale, a chill running through her entire body.

"Go and check—was the soup taken care of?" Consort Tongjia said urgently.

The wait was unbearable, and when the maid returned, before she could speak, Consort Tongjia’s heart sank at her grim expression.

"All the maids involved with the food have been taken away, and the soup wasn’t disposed of in time," the maid said, not daring to look at Consort Tongjia's face.

If the clothes and other items hadn’t vanished, they could’ve pinned it on Consort Liang, as the items were found in her room, making her the ideal scapegoat. But now, with the items gone, things had become far more complicated.

Moreover, the maids who had handled the items were taken away with alarming speed, intercepted halfway.

Consort Tongjia’s face was deathly pale, her body cold and rigid, unmoving. In the end, she simply dismissed all the maids and remained alone.

At this moment, Consort Tongjia's mind was filled with the Emperor's words before he left,

'You have greatly disappointed me.'

Suddenly, Consort Tongjia began to recall the things she had overlooked.

Why had the Emperor acted so swiftly in dealing with Consort Liang, not even listening to her defense? At the time, she had thought it was because the Emperor didn't want to hear the wretch's excuses, and because he had been drugged, there was no time to delay.

She had ordered Consort Liang to be dealt with quickly, caught red-handed with no chance of recovery.

This had been Consort Tongjia's plan.

All the evidence pointed to Consort Liang, caught in the act, and the secret medicine had been found. The Emperor, in his fury, would surely deal with Consort Liang immediately, without listening to her excuses, and the news would be sealed.

Then she would have the prepared maid serve the Emperor.

To prevent another situation like Uya, who had secretly vomited the contraceptive soup and conceived a royal child, Consort Tongjia had made the maid drink a sterilizing soup beforehand, ensuring that the maid would remain under her control, with no worries about her ambitions, eliminating any future troubles.

After that, she would clean up the traces, pinning everything on Consort Liang. When the Emperor recovered from the drug the next day and investigated the matter, all the evidence would lead back to Consort Liang.

It was Consort Liang who had secretly hidden the medicine, who had bribed the maids to drug the food.

The medicine was also found in Consort Liang's room.

Even her menstrual cycle had been calculated and exploited by Consort Liang.

Consort Liang, eager to please her, often personally made and sent her favorite rose pastries daily, biding her time for this day. On the day she invited the Emperor, she laced the rose pastries with a drug to induce early menstruation.

Given that the rose pastries had been safe for days, Consort Tongjia naturally saw no reason to distrust Consort Liang.

Moreover, the Imperial Hospital had records of Consort Liang procuring the medicine, as she claimed irregular menstruation and had maids fetch it for regulation.

Consort Tongjia watched Consort Liang walk right into the trap she had set.

It was laughable that Consort Liang thought her subservience could completely deceive her.

After nanny Wang's death, she stopped trusting these silver-tongued schemers.

That day, she did listen to Consort Liang's bold proposal, but she saw through Consort Liang's instigation, only pretending to be swayed.

Drugging the Emperor, if undetected, could have been effective, but if discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Consort Liang aimed to instigate her, likely planning to expose her afterward, thereby stealing her success.

If the Emperor's wrath fell on her, Consort Liang might benefit!

By the time she realized Consort Liang's instigation, the Emperor might already despise her, while Consort Liang could step over her to rise, especially since she had not yet served the Emperor, and Consort Liang would never be at ease with her position.

Such a scheme might have trapped her before, but since she no longer had nanny Wang to plan for her, Consort Tongjia could only plan for herself.

Additionally, with Uya's prophetic dream, Consort Tongjia immediately devised a plan to use these two events to eliminate two nuisances and win back the Emperor's favor.

Consort Tongjia feigned being swayed, even deceiving her father to get the secret drug, which she indeed intended to use.

However, the one who would administer the drug was not her, but clearly Consort Liang.

Everything went smoothly; Consort Liang was dealt with, and she could use Uya's prophetic dream to win back the Emperor.

If those things had not gone missing, and the Emperor had not said those words, everything would have gone smoothly, with no suspicion falling on her.

Consort Tongjia's heart was pounding, wondering if the Emperor already knew. Just the thought of this possibility made her shiver with cold.

She shouldn't have used the blood pack. Taking the drug would have confirmed Consort Liang's bribery to drug her and the Emperor. But she didn't trust the drug, fearing it might affect her health, so she used the blood pack instead.