Chapter 176

Chapter 176

"Incompetents! How could you lose track of someone so conspicuous? What good are you to me?" Kangxi bellowed in fury, taking a few quick steps and kicking the guard kneeling on the ground. The guard, aware of his failure, dared not dodge and took the kick.

If it were just a kick, it wouldn’t be so bad, but if the Imperial Noble Consort couldn't be found, then...

Initially, Liang Jiugong noticed that His Majesty had already set the stage in their exchange, ready to step down and send someone to retrieve the Imperial Noble Consort. After all, it wasn't the first time His Majesty had lowered his head; this time, things were just a bit more tangled.

But who would have thought that those assigned to follow the Imperial Noble Consort would return and report losing her in the crowded lantern festival.

This was a thunderbolt—the Imperial Noble Consort was missing!

His Majesty was seething with rage.

To make matters worse, it was raining outside, making the ground slippery and the situation chaotic. The Imperial Noble Consort was alone out there—this was a disaster.

Moreover, nightfall made everything more difficult.

Searching for her in the vast capital would require many people, and it was unclear how long it would take or if they’d succeed.

But sending more people would cause too much commotion. If it became known that the Imperial Noble Consort had stayed outside the palace, even though His Majesty had taken her out unofficially, it would be a scandal!

They had left the palace in secret.

If it were discovered that His Majesty had taken her out secretly, it would cause even more trouble. The concubines in the rear palace would surely cause a fuss.

But without action, how could they find her?

If something happened to the Imperial Noble Consort—heaven forbid! Liang Jiugong’s thoughts darkened.

His Majesty’s face was grim, his eyes closed, fist pressed to his forehead, veins bulging—clearly holding back his anger.

After a while, Kangxi opened his eyes and calmly ordered, "Issue my decree: thieves have infiltrated the Imperial Study and stolen important documents. Send people to search immediately and recover them! Until they’re found, the city gates will allow entry but no exit!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liang Jiugong considered this a clever move. If something valuable was stolen from the Imperial Study, it made sense for His Majesty to send a search party. They should be able to find her quickly.

Just as he was thinking this, Liang Jiugong saw His Majesty flash past him, already heading outside. Blinking, Liang Jiugong realized His Majesty had already walked a considerable distance. He hurriedly jogged to catch up.

He wanted to advise His Majesty to stay in the palace and wait for news. With the rain falling, it wasn't appropriate for His Majesty to go out and rush about. What if something dangerous happened? "Your Majesty, you..."

"Until I return, I will see no one." Kangxi's patience was unusually thin at this moment, and he didn't want to hear Liang Jiugong's nagging. He issued the command directly.

Seeing this, Liang Jiugong dared not press further. He knew His Majesty wouldn't listen now, and further words would be useless. His Majesty had made up his mind. Liang Jiugong stopped and bowed his head, replying, "Yes, Your Majesty."

His Majesty going out overnight without staying in the palace must not be known. Liang Jiugong had to stay behind to handle any emergencies.

Although many people had returned home due to the rain, some were still out, walking slowly under their umbrellas. The rain wasn't too heavy, and a stroll in the rain had its own charm. If it were a downpour, even these people wouldn't stay out.

But suddenly, a group of people appeared on the streets, clearly searching for something. They were armed with swords, all looking very serious, almost menacing, and not to be trifled with.

Fearing trouble, the remaining people thought it best to disperse quickly and quietly avoided them. However, those wearing fox masks were stopped and asked to remove them for a facial check. Though some were anxious, they were soon let go.

The commotion in the palace was also significant. The guards suddenly began searching every palace, claiming that a thief had been spotted in the palace. To ensure the thief hadn't lingered, every palace needed to be searched.

The lower-ranking concubines, despite their dissatisfaction, dared not speak up as the Noble Consorts appeared calm and unperturbed. They could only silently lament their low status, not daring to voice any opinions.

Moreover, the guards looked extremely stern and cold, so even if they were unwilling to endure it, they had to grit their teeth and bear it.

After all, if the Imperial Study had been burglarized, interfering with the guards' search could lead to accusations of colluding with or harboring the thieves.

That would be a disaster.

Rather than that, it was better to endure the inconvenience. If nothing was found, they would remain unharmed; if the thieves were not found, it would be the guards' problem.

Even though Consort Yi and the others were displeased, they had just received their conferment edicts, and the ceremony had not yet taken place. They didn’t want to stir up trouble and ruin the event, so they cooperated.

Seeing that the guards searched with some restraint, they simply had the maids keep an eye on things while they kept their distance.

The Imperial Noble Consort was a bit of a hassle. The guard commander had to explain thoroughly before she finally nodded in agreement, but she had her maids keep an eye on them, vowing not to let it slide if anything was damaged.

Thus, the guards proceeded cautiously, going through the motions nervously. After finding nothing, they breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the Imperial Noble Consort was indeed temperamental.

Then they heard the Imperial Noble Consort ask if they had searched Yonghe Palace.

The leader respectfully replied that they had divided into teams to search each palace separately, so naturally, no palace was overlooked. By now, the search should be complete.

The Imperial Noble Consort did not seem satisfied with the answer. She had assumed they would search together, but seeing that she could not get more information, she waved them away to leave quickly.

Yonghe Palace had indeed been searched, but Rong Noble Consort was feeling unwell, and the Emperor had ordered not to disturb her.

Therefore, they tiptoed around, searching only the other parts of Yonghe Palace, avoiding the chamber where the Consort was resting.

It seemed Rong Noble Consort was genuinely ill, as she did not appear during the entire incident, only sending her personal maid to deal with things, fearing that the disturbance might worsen her condition. This would have been on them, especially since Rong Noble Consort was currently favored by the Emperor, who had given explicit instructions, so they dared not be negligent.

Thus, they searched with the utmost care. Finding nothing wrong, they quickly left and moved on to search other palaces.

There were still other areas in the palace that had not been searched, so they couldn’t let up and had to keep searching to ensure the thieves were not still hiding within.

Both inside and outside the palace, searches were being conducted.

If they still found nothing, they would inevitably be questioned by the Emperor for their inefficiency.

Outside the palace, the person holding Kangxi’s umbrella struggled to keep up, and parts of his body were already wet from the rain. He wanted to say something but dared not speak at this moment.

The hem of Kangxi's robe was slightly damp, as his boots had stepped into shallow puddles, splashing water onto his clothes.

Even Kangxi himself had a few wet spots on his body.

Because he was walking so fast, the umbrella holder, hurrying to keep up, occasionally missed covering him.

Normally, such negligence would have been considered a serious mistake. Failing to keep the Emperor dry while holding an umbrella was unacceptable, even if the holder himself got wet.

Moreover, the rain was not heavy, but it was more than a drizzle.

Splashing through puddles without wearing a raincoat, it was no wonder his clothes got wet.

Originally, Kangxi had been wearing a raincoat, but finding it cumbersome, he had torn it off.

In his hand, he tightly clutched a somewhat crushed fox mask.

Initially, they had not found anyone, and as the rain dispersed the crowd, they still had not located the Consort. However, on the road, they found a trampled fox mask.

Before losing track of her, the Consort had been wearing a half-faced fox mask. Now, they had only found a distorted fox mask, and they were filled with dread, fearing the Consort might have come to harm.

Hopefully, it was just that the mask accidentally fell off when the Imperial Concubine was jostled in the crowd and was trampled by the passing crowd.

They sent people back to request the Emperor to dispatch more manpower for the search, but unexpectedly, not only was there enough manpower, but it seemed enough to search every street in the imperial city.

Not only that, the Emperor also joined in the search.

The Emperor's expression was dark and forbidding, and for a while, no one dared to persuade him to go back and wait for news.

As time passed, the atmosphere became increasingly tense and anxious, and the Emperor's expression became even more grim, like a tightly drawn bowstring that could snap at any moment.

Suddenly, someone hurried over with a joyful expression, indicating that the separate search parties had good news to report, "Found her, by the river, where people often release Heavenly Dao lanterns!"

Upon hearing this, Kangxi's expression was inscrutable; he threw away the fox mask he had been holding and silently changed direction towards the river.

This was indeed good news; finally, she had been found.

Now, those who had initially lost track of the Imperial Concubine felt much more at ease, at least their heads were safe, and at most, they would receive some punishment, but at least their heads were still intact.

The evening had been an emotional whirlwind.

——

A man in a black cloak, wearing a half-mask, stood where Su Yi had fallen, lost in thought.

He had arrived too late; the rain had washed away all traces.

During the previous earthquake, he had harbored suspicions, one wanted to kill, the other to protect, perhaps it was someone the Heavenly Dao had sent specifically to guard against him.

He had intended to use an 'accident' to kill the Crown Prince, to cut off the heir, but the people he sent never returned, and the same 'accident' replaced the young Crown Prince, who died under the collapsed palace.

If this wasn't a 'reciprocal gift,' he wouldn't believe it for a moment.

It's just a pity that the other party was well hidden, and with the Heavenly Dao covering for them, he couldn't figure out their hiding place for the time being, the only thing he could be sure of was that they were also within the imperial city.

Perhaps they had reached some tacit understanding with the Heavenly Dao.

He sought to find this person; if he could persuade them to assist him, they could coexist peacefully.

If not, he would eliminate them to forestall any future trouble, lest they interfere with his grand plan at a critical moment.

——

Su Yi, clutching the umbrella she had purchased earlier in the day, sat down on a large rock by the river, quietly watching the occasional Heavenly Dao lanterns floating by.

If it hadn't rained, there would definitely be more Heavenly Dao lanterns in the river, not just a few, which were almost non-existent, occasionally sinking because they were filled with rainwater, their light vanishing with them.

If there were more people, releasing Heavenly Dao lanterns in twos and threes, the entire river would almost be filled with lanterns; it must be a beautiful sight.

The moonlight shone down, the lunar halo making her appear as fragile as glass.

The previously exposed skin had regained its vitality; the cracks had vanished, and she looked as radiant as ever, as though nothing had transpired.

If not for the marks from her fall still on her garments, it would truly seem like an illusion.

Su Yi heard footsteps behind her, her expression unchanging, her head unmoving, and she struck the rock beneath her with her hand.

'Bang'

A hole was made in an instant, and when Su Yi withdrew her hand, a fist-sized hole was left on the rock.

It was a blatant threat.

"Go away."

She didn’t want to hit anyone now, fearing she might accidentally kill them with a single punch. After all, beating someone half to death takes some serious skill.

Not to mention, there were two more fist-sized holes like this.

Kangxi was startled by her move and froze, finally understanding why she could sit so calmly by the river.

Most people have never seen someone punch a hole in a stone. If they had, they’d have bolted on the spot. If they were to actually take a punch, they might really be done for.

Who could match the toughness of a stone?

Hearing the footsteps stop, as if the person was scared off, Su Yi didn’t bother to look. They’d wisely run off earlier, too scared to come closer. If they were really brave, they’d have stepped up.

The river was full of fish. If anyone dared come closer, they’d just be fish food.

Su Yi gazed at the scattered lanterns by the river, her expression distant, as if lost in thought.

The footsteps resumed, slowly fading away.

But soon, the footsteps returned.

It was him again.

He walked closer, stopping right in front of her, blocking her view of the river.

Su Yi looked up and recognized him. "It’s you."

No wonder he’d come back.

Su Yi noticed his clothes were damp from the rain, leaving him looking a mess. "Didn’t you have an umbrella?"

She had her umbrella, staying perfectly dry.

Kangxi, umbrella and all, still got soaked. Not a good look.

Kangxi, finally finding her, felt a flash of relief, but his pent-up anger quickly took over.

He’d been searching high and low for her, and there she was, lounging by the river.

Finding her brought relief, but seeing her so calm, oblivious to the chaos she’d caused, made his anger boil over. "Where the hell did you go?!"

"You vanished into the crowd! Are you some kind of ghost?!" When he realized she was gone, it had terrified him.

And now, here she was, perfectly fine, without a worry! It made his frantic search seem completely ridiculous!

If it hadn’t been raining, she might have even joined in the lantern festivities!

Thinking about this, both old and new anger welled up inside him.

Kangxi grew even angrier as he spoke. "Yes! I was harsh with you today, but you just turned and left, leaving me behind without a second thought. You didn’t even spare me a bit of face, and now you’re having a grand old time by yourself! You! You really infuriate me!"

By the end, his voice was a low growl.

Kangxi had been bottling up his anger the entire journey, and now it finally exploded.

The guards on alert in the distance heard his roar and instinctively ducked their heads.

Isn’t that just maddening?

After searching all night, only to find her sitting by the river, perfectly dry under her umbrella, not a drop of rain on her, looking fresher than the rest of them.

The Emperor himself was barely dry, looking utterly disheveled.

After Kangxi finished shouting, he regained a bit of his composure. He was surprised Su Yi didn’t retort. She just sat there quietly, neither laughing nor speaking, which struck Kangxi as odd.

This little troublemaker hated losing more than anything. If you scolded her, she’d surely fire back, saying ten words for every one of yours.

Sure, she didn’t retort much in the afternoon, but that only made her even more infuriating!

But now, after he’d ranted so much, she didn’t say a word. Kangxi wondered if he’d been too harsh, his voice too loud.

When he spoke again, his voice was calmer and softer, feigning indifference. "Why aren’t you talking? Cat got your tongue? Usually, you’re so talkative, but now you’re silent."

"You’re so loud." Su Yi finally spoke, but her words were as infuriating as ever.

Hearing this, Kangxi’s anger, which had just cooled, nearly flared up again. She actually called him loud?!

He was about to snap back when the little troublemaker suddenly tossed her umbrella and hugged him, burying her face in his chest, muttering, "Why did you take so long to come?"

Her voice held a hint of a sob, sounding unusually aggrieved.

Kangxi paused, thinking how she could be so infuriating yet always manage to defuse his anger before it boiled over.

Seeing the rain fall on Su Yi, Kangxi tilted his umbrella slightly, leaving his own back exposed. The fine rain dampened his clothes, but he kept Su Yi dry.

"What’s wrong? Who could’ve wronged you? Isn’t it usually you who drives others crazy?" Kangxi said this, but his eyes grew colder.

Wasn’t she fine in the afternoon?

Could it be that at the crowded lantern festival, she ran into someone rude?

"It was so crowded, I fell."

Kangxi thought of the trampled fox mask, realizing she must’ve been pushed and dropped it. It was clear how crowded it was, and she must have panicked and fallen.

"Serves you right! Thinking crowded places are fun? Falling in a crowd like that, you could’ve been trampled."

Was she actually hurt?

He paused. "Where did you fall? Let me see." Kangxi pulled her away, first checking her hands. They were a bit dirty, smeared with mud, but thankfully not broken.

Her clothes were also a bit soiled, so she must have fallen to the ground. Kangxi frowned, thinking she had been sitting there for who knows how long. He then pinched her ankle; it wasn’t swollen, and her shoes were clean, so she probably didn’t sprain it.

Kangxi pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her hands. "You went straight into the crowd. It’s a miracle you weren’t trampled."

Kangxi bent down and patted the dirty spots on her clothes, but it was of little use. It wasn’t dust that could be brushed off.

Su Yi just sat there, pouting silently, her eyes misty, like a little cat who’d come home aggrieved, too tired to even lift a paw, listless.

Not like her usual self, always carefree, eating and drinking well, in a good mood, lazy like a pot lid.

She can be pretty moody at times, and she doesn’t hold back when she lashes out. She’s got some quirky little habits, like being into good-looking things—whether they’re human or not. She even thinks a little white snake is good-looking.

She’s into hand skeletons too—her odd interests just keep coming.

She’s usually great at getting under people’s skin, a real troublemaker.

But Kangxi still adores her.

Now she’s just listening quietly, not talking back. It makes Kangxi feel bad, not like she’s finally realized she was wrong and stopped arguing.

Kangxi crouches down in front of her, holding her hand, and asks gently, "Did you hurt yourself when you fell? We’ll have the royal doctor take a look when we get back."

Su Yi shakes her head.

"So what’s got you down?" Kangxi says, pauses, then adds, "I was just mad this afternoon—I shouldn’t have left you like that. This trip didn’t go well, but next time I’ll make sure you have a great time, okay?"

Once he said it, Kangxi felt there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Su Yi gazes at him, her expression serious. Kangxi doesn’t look away, meeting her gaze directly.

After a while, "No one set off lanterns—I’d been looking forward to it," she pouts with some grievance.

The rain ruined everything—only a few lanterns were floating in the river, and those had been released earlier by someone. Now it’s just us—not a soul in sight. Stupid weather!

She fell, got her clothes dirty, it’s raining, and she didn’t even see a lantern—what a lousy day!

Seeing her speak, Kangxi subtly breathes a sigh of relief. Hearing the reason for her unhappiness, he smiles somewhat helplessly, reaches out to touch her head, "Why are you acting like a kid, upset just because you missed the lanterns? Next lantern festival, I’ll take you again."

"It’s not the same," Su Yi says.

Even if the next lantern festival is great, it won’t be the same as this one. She’ll keep feeling bad about missing it until the next time.

Kangxi lifts her up, and Su Yi leans her head on his shoulder. She’s so small, she looks like a kitten in his arms.

Kangxi sits down on the stone from before, placing Su Yi on his lap. Su Yi rests against his chest, listless, like nothing can cheer her up.

"You really want to see the lanterns?" He reaches out to touch her hair.

Su Yi nods.

Kangxi looks in a certain direction, after seeing the other's gesture, "Let’s wait a little longer—maybe someone will set off lanterns when the rain stops."

"Mm." Su Yi actually just wants to sit quietly for a while, using the lanterns as an excuse, not really unhappy about not seeing them.

Originally, only the moonlight was dim, but the light suddenly seems to brighten. Su Yi naturally notices the change in light, turns to look at the riverbank, her eyes slightly widen, looking somewhat silly.

The empty riverbank suddenly has many lanterns, compared to the few before, now it really looks like when there are many people, one after another releasing lanterns, the river is filled with lanterns, and the lanterns are not all the same.

There are big ones and small ones, lotus lanterns, and naturally other lanterns, big ones with several layers, small ones the size of a palm.

These lanterns instantly seem to illuminate everything by the river, casting a warm light, softening everything.

Su Yi is actually seeing so many lanterns floating by the river for the first time—it's quite beautiful. "Did you have someone release them?" Although it’s a question, the tone is affirmative.

"Who else could it be but me," Kangxi pretends to be indifferent, but can't help sitting up straighter.

Su Yi's mood suddenly brightens, leans over to hold his face and kisses the corner of his mouth, "You are so good."

Kangxi didn’t dare pull the same stunt he did earlier in the carriage this time; when traveling outside, one must be cautious.

It was only after much effort that he finally saw this mischievous one happily come over to kiss him. Ruining the moment would be a waste of his smarts.

Kangxi hummed in a reserved manner, though the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

He was about to take this opportunity to tell her, "Now that you get it, try not to annoy me as much," but Su Yi had already turned back to look at the lanterns by the river, like she’d stumbled on something exciting. She tugged at his clothes and said, "Look! That dragon lantern is huge!"

Kangxi followed her pointing finger and indeed, it was way bigger than the others, measuring a full seven or eight feet in length.

Kangxi looked at her and said, "I see it, it’s quite big." However, it wasn’t anything extraordinary. Kangxi had seen many fine things before; this was just for fun. Compared to the lanterns, Kangxi was more into seeing her so lively.

Su Yi was watching the lanterns, but Kangxi was watching her.

The lanterns came straight from the vendors.

At first, due to the rain, the vendors had stocked up on lanterns, aiming for a big payday during the lantern festival. However, before they could sell many, the crowd had already thinned out, and everyone had gone back to take shelter from the rain. What could they sell?

It was truly unlucky. The vendors were all bummed out. They had hoped to make a profit during the lantern festival, but they encountered rain. After the festival, the lanterns wouldn’t sell as well as they did tonight. They might be stuck with unsold stock!

With so many lanterns, how long would it take to sell them all? They were packing up, looking glum.

But then, unexpectedly, someone came who wanted to buy them all. It was like hitting the jackpot! Instead of buying one or two, they wanted all of them. The vendor’s frown turned into a huge grin.

Especially this gentleman, who even asked if there were other vendors selling lanterns that could be brought over. He wanted as many lanterns as possible.

Hearing this, the vendor was overjoyed. He’d struck gold!

He hadn’t expected that by packing up a bit later, he would stumble upon such good fortune. The offer was incredibly generous, wanting as many as possible.

Thinking of the other vendors stuck with unsold lanterns, he immediately said, "There are indeed others. I know a few fellow vendors who sell lanterns. Are you planning to buy them all?" If so, he would go tell them right away and have them bring their lanterns over!

This was a one-time deal.

And the pay was great!

"We want them all. Our master wants to light up the whole river for his wife. We’ll take as many lanterns as you have."

A few vendors’ lanterns wouldn’t cut it.

The vendors were somewhat aware of each other’s businesses, so he knew how many fellow vendors were also selling lanterns. Thus, he was sent to spread the word and have them all come over, saving the trouble of collecting lanterns from each vendor individually.

After speaking, someone handed over a bag of silver. "Our master is not short of money. We’ll take as many lanterns as you have."

The vendor saw that there were benefits to be had; he’d really found a big spender.

Presumably, because the crowd had dispersed and no one was releasing lanterns, this wealthy gentleman wanted to cheer up his wife, so he sent his attendants to buy lanterns. A few lanterns wouldn’t suffice; he wanted to light up the entire river. This was a major deal.

If he went to gather the other vendors who had packed up early and taken their lanterns back, not only would he receive a fee for his efforts, but those who sold all their lanterns without loss and even made a profit would surely owe him a favor. It was a win-win situation.

He immediately said, "I really do know who else sells lanterns. I’m very familiar with them; we’re all part of the same circle. I’ll go right away and have them all bring their lanterns over. Please wait a moment, gentlemen, I’ll bring them over shortly."

After seeing these gentlemen nod, he quickly ran off to gather the others, not wanting to miss this great opportunity!

While they were collecting lanterns on one side, they were also lighting them on the other. Once lit, they started releasing them into the river, like a well-oiled machine. At first, they were a bit clumsy, but soon they got the hang of it.

They turned into robotic lantern-launching machines.

No one knew how they all got into releasing lanterns.

Even if no one was releasing them, they had to put on a big lantern show.

It seemed that after tonight, they would never be curious about lantern festivals again, as they’d probably released enough lanterns to last a lifetime in one night.

But what was most surprising wasn't the lanterns, but the fact that the Emperor would bother with something like this.

Earlier, the Emperor had been in a dark mood while searching for someone, but in the end, he only gave a few people a mild scolding. After the scolding, it was the Noble Consort who got the comfort in the end.

It was all pretty confusing and hard to make sense of.

It left a bad taste, tsk.

Liang Jiugong, waiting in the Qianqing Palace, was so on edge he couldn’t sit still, pacing and muttering under his breath.

Why aren’t they back yet? Could they still not have tracked her down?

Liang Jiugong had just sent away a concubine from the Fucha family, who’d just been bumped up from noble lady today.

After all, with Consort Hui and others being promoted to consort, someone had to step into the empty concubine spot.

The Fucha noble lady came from a decent family, so her promotion to concubine made sense. But Liang Jiugong truly didn’t expect that this lady, having just been promoted to concubine today, would stir up trouble tonight.

She claimed that a thief had entered the palace, and after the guards searched and found nothing, she was too scared to sleep. So she wanted to see the Emperor to calm her nerves.

Then she slipped him a bulging pouch.

Liang Jiugong really wanted to say, "Lady Concubine, you’ve got terrible timing. His Majesty isn’t even in the palace right now, so what are you here to see?"

Even if His Majesty were in the Qianqing Palace, he’d probably have no patience for you!

Probably because of today's promotion, and with Rong Noble Consort conveniently ‘falling ill.’

And with the incident of a thief in the palace, she used that as an excuse to come.

She was all dolled up, her makeup flawless, not showing a single trace of being frightened. She didn’t even bother to pretend. Liang Jiugong really didn’t know what to say.

Anyone could see she was up to no good.

At any other time, Liang Jiugong wouldn’t be so annoyed.

But right now, he was really annoyed that these concubines couldn’t even pick a good time to curry favor. He still had to put on a smile to send this Fucha Concubine away.

After much persuasion and a lot of talking, she finally left reluctantly. From the look she gave him, she probably held a grudge against Liang Jiugong for not delivering her message.

Now, as it was getting later and later, and still no one had returned, Liang Jiugong was getting more and more anxious.

Fortunately, before Liang Jiugong wore out his soles, Kangxi finally returned.

But he came back alone. Liang Jiugong’s heart sank—could it be that he didn’t find her?

But judging by His Majesty's expression, it didn’t seem so. Liang Jiugong hurried forward and asked softly, "Your Majesty, you're finally back. How is Her Ladyship...?" He was quite adept at reading expressions.

"The Noble Consort is unwell. I will visit her tomorrow," Kangxi replied, evidently in a good mood.

Liang Jiugong’s hunch was correct.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Liang Jiugong replied, realizing the person had been found and brought back to Yonghe Palace.

After all, Noble Consort Rong was unwell today, and the Emperor was tied up in the Qianqing Palace, handling the theft in the Imperial Study, so he hadn’t had time to visit her.

The guards had combed through all the palaces, and the Consort had remained in her own quarters.

So it would’ve been odd for the Consort to show up in the Qianqing Palace.

Once the matter was settled tomorrow, the Emperor would naturally visit the Consort.

Qinxin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Consort return, her anxious heart finally at ease.

“Consort, you’re finally back! I was so worried!” Qinxin exclaimed, still shaken from the trip outside the palace.

Seeing the Consort return safely, Qinxin felt relieved, fearing she might have 'fallen ill' otherwise.

Then she remembered, “Consort, these were just delivered.”

They were little trinkets from outside the palace.

Su Yi glanced at them and recognized a few items—weren’t these the trinkets she’d paused to admire during her afternoon stroll, finding them intriguing?

So not only had they tailed her, but they’d also purchased the items she’d shown interest in.

The guards proved highly efficient, catching the thief, recovering the important documents, and resolving the matter smoothly.

But Kangxi, who’d promised to visit Su Yi the next day, couldn’t make it.

Because he’d fallen ill himself—genuinely ill.