Chapter 125

Chapter 125

"The rope," Kangxi said, extending his hand to the side, signaling his intention to descend personally.

"Your Majesty!" Liang Jiugong's voice cracked with panic. The Emperor’s life is too valuable to risk!

He was about to argue further, insisting that someone else should go down instead, as the Emperor must not risk himself.

Kangxi gave Liang Jiugong a calm look, which silenced him instantly.

He could only repeatedly instruct the guards as they tied the rope around the Emperor, emphasizing that it must be securely fastened, with no room for error. His heart was racing; if he weren’t afraid of causing more trouble, he’d have gladly taken the Emperor’s place.

As Kangxi was lowered down, the guard was shocked, never imagining the Emperor would descend himself.

"Your Majesty!"

Using the light from the firestarter, Kangxi spotted Consort Rong lying motionless nearby. He rushed over, knelt down, lifted her, and cradled her in his arms, then checked her breathing.

This time, the cat didn’t hiss but sat nearby, meowing softly.

Feeling her breath, Kangxi let out a subtle sigh of relief. He wanted to check her injuries, but the situation was unclear.

They needed to get back up immediately. He untied the rope from his own waist and secured it around Consort Rong. Kangxi had watched the guard tie it earlier and had learned how to do it himself. Once it was secure, he gave it a firm tug to test it. Satisfied it was safe, he lifted her in his arms.

The guard finally caught on and shouted, "Pull the rope!" He untied his own rope, ready to hand it to the Emperor later.

As Consort Rong was being pulled up, the cat pawed at the ground before leaping up the rough wall in a few bounds.

The guard couldn’t help but admire the cat’s agility, realizing it could truly climb walls and roofs.

No wonder the cat had made it back to the Emperor; it must have escaped this way.

Yun Hua hurried over to take Consort Rong, quickly checking her for injuries. Just as she started to relax, she felt something sticky on the back of Consort Rong’s neck. She looked at her palm and saw it was smeared with blood.

Just then, Kangxi climbed up. Liang Jiugong, quicker than her, cried out in a shrill voice, "Your Majesty, you’re injured?!" His hand shook as he pointed at Kangxi.

Kangxi glanced down and saw blood on his clothes. He immediately looked at Consort Rong, just in time to see Yun Hua’s bloodied hand. "Call the imperial physician now. I’m fine," he said briskly, walking over to lift her as he spoke.

In the dim light below, the injury on her back had gone unnoticed.

After a few steps, he remembered something. "Seal this tunnel immediately and search the surrounding area for any other tunnels."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The imperial physician arrived swiftly. Initially startled by the blood on the Emperor's clothes, thinking he was injured, he calmed down upon hearing it was just smeared blood. However, when he turned to Consort Rong, his head began to ache again.

He approached to examine Consort Rong's condition. The injury was on her head, near the back of her neck, and was still bleeding. The wound appeared deep, as the bleeding hadn't stopped. If not discovered soon, she might have lost too much blood and perished.

Kangxi asked, "How is she?"

"She must have hit something sharp when she fell, causing a deep wound. She's lost a lot of blood. If we can't stop the bleeding soon, it could be dangerous."

As the imperial physician spoke, a cat appeared, sitting by Consort Rong's pillow and licking her forehead.

Seeing it was dirty, he was about to shoo the cat away.

They saw the Emperor already reaching out to grab the cat by the scruff of its neck and lift it.

Kangxi threw the cat to Qinxin, who was waiting nearby, "Get someone to clean this cat." Then he pointed warningly at the cat, who wanted to jump down and run back, "Hmm? If you don’t behave, you’re going in the cage." Kangxi gestured to the cage placed nearby.

The message was clear; he wasn’t worried the cat wouldn’t get it.

At the sight of the cage, the cat immediately wilted and stayed obediently still in the arms.

This annoying human only knows how to bully a cat!

But the cat is one that knows when to yield, not bothering to argue with this annoying human. Actually, it’s because its favorite human hasn’t woken up yet, and without backup, the cat had no choice but to give in.

After the recent earthquake, Kangxi had many matters to handle, so he temporarily moved government affairs here for processing.

"Your Highness! You’re awake!" Yun Hua, who was standing by, exclaimed in surprise.

"Ouch..." Su Yi opened her eyes; she was lying face down and reached to touch the back of her head, but Yun Hua stopped her.

Yun Hua held Consort Rong’s hand, stopping her from touching the wound to prevent the barely stopped bleeding from starting again, "Your Highness, don’t touch the wound."

Su Yi lay on the pillow, her head to the side, "I remember I..." as if trying to recall something.

"I stepped into thin air and fell somewhere?! Where’s the cat?"

Kangxi had already walked over by then and, hearing Consort Rong looking for the cat, sat down, "It’s injured too, limping now."

Qinxin thought, huh? Isn’t the cat fine?

It didn’t seem hurt at all when it was causing a fuss during the bath.

"What? It got hurt falling with me?!" Su Yi suddenly thought of getting up, "Let me see." Kangxi pressed her shoulder blades down again, and Su Yi immediately looked like a turtle stuck on its back, flailing but unable to turn over, then pulled at the wound and lay there listlessly.

"Let go!" Su Yi’s voice was muffled into the pillow.

"I was kidding, your cat’s fine," Kangxi said coolly, then released his hand, "If you move again, I can’t guarantee the cat will stay fine."

Su Yi let out a few awkward chuckles.

First time seeing someone show care with threats instead of kindness.

You could stand to be a bit more honest, really.

"How did you end up in that tunnel?" Kangxi asked as he sat beside her.

"I was chasing the cat too fast, stepped on something, fell, and hit my head, then I don’t remember," Su Yi said, belatedly realizing, touching the bandage around her neck, "So I hit my head?"

Then she remembered something and asked nervously, "Was it the back of my head? Did they shave the hair there?"

Yun Hua didn’t expect Her Highness to worry about this first thing, about to say, Your Highness, your hair’s fine, it wasn’t shaved; the injury was on the back of the neck, just a bit away from the hair.

But Kangxi coolly chimed in, "Half of it was shaved."

Su Yi’s expression froze, her eyes widened as she looked at Kangxi despite the pain, speaking quickly as if forcing herself to stay calm, "I don’t believe it, you’re not tricking me again, are you?" Her expression was starting to crumble.

Kangxi gave a kind smile, "Why would I trick you? I just tricked you once; do you think I’d do it again?"

Yun Hua: You would!

Qinxin: ....

Liang Jiugong: Your Majesty, you’re tricking her right now!