Chapter 124

Chapter 124

“Isn’t it natural for Consort Rong to be close to Baocheng since she cared for him during his illness?” Kangxi spoke calmly.

At this, the Grand Empress Dowager recalled that when Baocheng had smallpox, Consort Rong was also in the Qianqing Palace. With the palace sealed, Consort Rong had no choice but to stay.

If Consort Rong stayed by Baocheng’s side to care for him during that time, it’s no wonder Baocheng, young and motherless, grew attached to her, especially since Consort Rong was gentle.

Back then, she didn’t think much of it, never expecting that Consort Rong and Baocheng would become so close.

However, “After all, Consort Rong is from the Niohuru family. Her sister is hardly worth mentioning, but Consort Rong’s status should not be too close to Baocheng. After all, Baocheng’s maternal ties lie with the Hesheri family,” the Grand Empress Dowager hinted.

As Baocheng grows closer to Consort Rong, he’ll likely become more dependent on her. Since Consort Rong is from the Niohuru family, it’s easy for her to influence Baocheng’s attitude toward the Niohuru family.

He might even show favoritism toward the Niohuru family because of her.

Baocheng is too young to grasp the complexities of human nature.

Consort Rong could very well sway Baocheng’s views on the Niohuru family.

Would the Hesheri family stand by while Baocheng favors the Niohuru family over his own?

It’d be odd if the Hesheri family didn’t have concerns about this.

Moreover, without a mother to protect him and as the crown prince, Baocheng will need the support of the Hesheri family in the court. A strong maternal family is crucial for Baocheng’s stability as crown prince.

The Emperor is well aware of this.

At the mention of the Hesheri family, Kangxi’s expression stayed neutral, only saying, “I know.”

The Hesheri family, as a prominent maternal force, offers both support and control.

If the Hesheri family falls, so will the crown prince, who depends on them.

In the past, Kangxi acknowledged the Hesheri family as Baocheng’s maternal ties, thinking that Baocheng, being young, would need their support in the court. Out of concern for Baocheng, he gave the Hesheri family more leeway, allowing Baocheng to interact more with Suo’etu, given that Baocheng has no mother to protect him.

But this very closeness drew the crown prince deeper into his maternal family and Suo’etu’s influence. Suo’etu’s ambitions expanded with his power, and the consequences of this were far more severe than if Baocheng were not close to his maternal family.

Why was the crown prince deposed? Wasn’t it Suo’etu’s constant incitement that led to it, causing a rift between ‘him’ and the crown prince, and making their father-son relationship increasingly distant?

Eventually, Suo’etu went as far as plotting rebellion, attempting to make the crown prince revolt and control the empire through him.

How could Kangxi rest easy with the crown prince so close to the Hesheri family and Suo’etu?

If Baocheng is not close to his maternal family, would the Hesheri family ignore him?

The Hesheri family can’t afford to lose Baocheng!

He understands the Grand Empress Dowager’s concerns, but Consort Rong is not truly from the Niohuru family. From Kangxi’s observations, Consort Rong doesn’t strike him as a schemer for her family’s benefit.

Kangxi has to admit that Consort Rong treats Baocheng much better than he does. Initially, Kangxi did have concerns, thinking that allowing Consort Rong to get close to Baocheng might lead to her having ulterior motives.

But later, Kangxi changed his mind.

Rather than letting Baocheng depend on Suo’etu and be led astray by his incitement, it’s better to let Consort Rong and Baocheng grow closer, fulfilling Baocheng’s longing for a mother’s presence.

This would reduce Baocheng’s excessive dependence on his maternal family and prevent him from becoming a crown prince controlled by his maternal family.

A crown prince under his maternal family’s control is a grave obstacle to the throne.

Even Suo'etu couldn’t control him and was instead manipulated by him. Kangxi would be disappointed, and this was also a reason.

Kangxi’s reaction was puzzling to the Grand Empress Dowager. She couldn’t tell whether the emperor had heeded her advice or not.

"I remember, before Hesheli left us, there was still a younger sister in the family. By my reckoning, she must be nearing the appropriate age. When the time comes to summon her to the palace, she will be Baocheng’s aunt. Naturally, she will be more attentive to Baocheng, after all, she is his own aunt."

She would have a closer bond with Baocheng than Consort Rong.

Having this closer aunt would alleviate the absence of Baocheng’s birth mother, providing some comfort. This would be preferable to Consort Rong, preferable to the Niohuru family.

Moreover, bringing Hesheli’s sister into the palace would also console the Hesheri family.

"We’ll discuss it when the time comes." Although Kangxi didn’t refuse, he didn’t immediately agree either.

But Kangxi was raised and taught by the Grand Empress Dowager, and thus she knew the emperor’s temperament. His lack of immediate agreement suggested he disagreed, though he didn’t directly contradict his grandmother.

The emperor now appeared as calm and composed as usual, so that others could hardly detect his emotional changes, but could the Grand Empress Dowager not see that the emperor was distracted?

At that moment, a small figure slipped in so swiftly that the Grand Empress Dowager couldn’t see what it was. "What just came in?!"

The guards, who were on duty, rushed in immediately. The Grand Empress Dowager gripped her prayer beads tightly, her face displeased, and said, "What’s going on? Something just darted in. Find it quickly."

"Meow!"

"Meow—!"

At last, they realized what it was—a cat.

The guards traced the noise and saw a dirty white kitten with black fur on its head. The little white cat was filthy, its face blackened, and no one knew where it had been to get so dirty.

It had entered so quickly, sneaking in undetected and startling the Grand Empress Dowager and the emperor.

"Your servant will immediately remove the cat."

The guard rushed over to catch the cat, but it was very agile. Small as it was, it moved swiftly, causing the guards to miss and nearly collide, resulting in a farcical situation.

The kitten ran straight towards the emperor, meowing loudly as though it meant to leap at him. The guards were about to draw their swords to drive it away.

Then they heard the emperor exclaim uncertainly, "Pothead?" He raised his hand to stop the guards’ actions.

Pothead kept meowing, its expression rather fierce. 'Finally recognized me, huh?' It yowled at Kangxi, took a few steps forward, then turned back and meowed at him, as if saying, 'Why aren’t you following me, you human?'

Kangxi:...

This cat was as unceremonious with him as ever.

"Emperor?" The Grand Empress Dowager was surprised that the emperor knew this cat, which looked quite fierce and not very tame.

"This is Consort Rong’s cat," Kangxi explained, already standing up. "Grandmother, you’ve had a long and tiring day. It’s best to rest early."

He looked at Pothead, who had hurriedly returned and started biting the hem of his robe, leaving black paw prints on the fabric. Kangxi’s eyes showed a hint of disdain, and he said somewhat impatiently, "Alright, stop biting. I’m coming."

Pothead then let go and led the way, occasionally looking back to see if Kangxi was following.

Kangxi didn’t walk slowly; he moved quite briskly compared to usual.

Yet Pothead still seemed to think he wasn’t fast enough, occasionally letting out gruff meows as if urging him on. Kangxi followed behind, his expression cold, but he didn’t say anything.

This left the onlookers astonished. The cat was truly bold, its meows not sounding like affectionate purrs but more like a bossy scolding, getting angry if he walked too slowly. This cat was really...

Although the Emperor maintained a stern face, he still followed behind the cat, muttering as he walked, "Who told you to wander off like that? Now you decide to come back?"

Consort Rong was nowhere to be seen, but Guogaitou had returned. Something unexpected must have happened, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been just the cat running back.

Guogaitou led the way, occasionally turning back to argue with Kangxi, meowing back as if in argument.

"You still dare to act tough with me? Later, I’ll have Consort Rong put you in your place and see if you dare run around anymore, making a mess everywhere," Kangxi said, though his steps didn’t falter.

Kangxi was using Guogaitou to vent his growing worry. What exactly had happened to Consort Rong?

Thus, those following Kangxi listened as the Emperor and the scruffy cat bickered in their respective languages, creating a scene where, despite the language barrier, they argued just fine.

Guogaitou led them a good distance until they reached the rockery.

When they arrived, Guogaitou sped up, running toward a certain direction, forcing the others to jog to keep pace.

When Guogaitou stopped in front of a patch of overgrown grass, it started meowing loudly at the grass.

Kangxi followed quickly, and Liang Jiugong rushed to catch up, not daring to slow down, fearing danger. If there was danger, he had to be ready to protect the Emperor.

Kangxi stopped by the grass, where Guogaitou had already gestured repeatedly, urging him to look, and even began pawing at it.

But no matter how they looked, it was just a patch of grass, albeit somewhat tall, reaching up to an adult’s knees. Even if Consort Rong were there, the grass wouldn’t completely hide her.

Liang Jiugong also caught up and said, "Your Majesty, let me take care of it."

Kangxi nodded slightly, and Liang Jiugong stepped forward, using a duster to sweep the grass aside. There was nothing out of the ordinary—just a patch of grass.

"Your Majesty, this—ah!" Just as Liang Jiugong turned to walk back, his foot seemed to give way, as if stepping into nothingness.

This wasn’t an illusion—it was real. If not for a nearby guard who quickly grabbed him, he would have fallen in entirely.

However, Liang Jiugong was now in a rather sorry state, half of his body having fallen through. He clung to the guard’s hand, too scared to let go, and the guard helped pull him back up.

It turned out he had stepped on a movable plank. When he stepped on the edge, nothing seemed amiss, but as he walked back, it tipped like a seesaw, throwing him off balance. The grass flipped open, exposing a hidden tunnel below.

This was a small mechanism, and the seemingly lush grass was just a disguise.

Guogaitou circled around before jumping down, making it clear that Consort Rong had fallen into the tunnel.

Kangxi stepped forward, crouching down to look inside. His eyes turned icy. This was a secret passage, and he had no idea when it had been dug. Could this be how the assassins infiltrated the palace?

"Consort Rong?" Kangxi called down.

There was no response, but based on the echo, the tunnel’s end was some distance away.

If Consort Rong had accidentally fallen, she might have been injured or knocked unconscious. She hadn’t made a sound, even with people there. "Send someone down," Kangxi ordered.

A guard quickly tied a rope around himself and jumped down. When he landed, his feet went numb—it was a long drop.

As it was already night, the tunnel was hard to see. The guard took out a fire starter and used its light to illuminate the surroundings.

He was nearly startled by a pair of fierce cat eyes, but then realized it was the cat that had led them here.

Beside the cat lay a figure. The guard moved closer and saw that it was none other than Consort Rong.

Consort Rong lay there with her eyes closed, completely still. The guard immediately called up, "Consort Rong is here!"

"How is she?" Kangxi asked urgently.

Someone had gone down, so why hadn’t Consort Rong made any sound?

The guard wanted to check if Consort Rong had been hurt in the fall and was still unconscious.

However, the cat, which had been sitting nearby, suddenly stood up, its fur bristling and its body arched, emitting a low growl as if ready to attack at any moment, warning the guard not to approach.

Seeing this, the guard had no choice but to stop. "Your Majesty, it seems Consort Rong has fainted from the fall. I wanted to check on her, but the cat is too fierce and won’t let me get close."