Chapter 210

Chapter 210

Kangxi had only muttered a couple of sentences before Su Yi covered his mouth with her hand, signaling that enough was enough and any more would be annoying.

Being woken up after pulling an all-nighter really makes you want to destroy the world out of sheer irritation. Su Yi, half-holding Kangxi, couldn't be bothered to think of a response and simply pushed him down.

First, push him down, then we'll talk.

When Kangxi was pushed down, he really didn't know what to say. Couldn't the Consort be a bit more reserved??

Don't just push people down at every opportunity.

Just as he thought this, before he could object, Su Yi kicked his calf. Before Kangxi could even get angry, this little troublemaker immediately changed her expression, her bad mood clearly written on her face.

Her mood was so bad that Kangxi didn't dare to reprimand her. What's wrong now?

Su Yi almost forgot that Kangxi hadn't taken off his shoes yet and urged, "Take off your shoes." Thinking of sleeping without taking off his shoes, as if it wasn't his bed, he didn't know how to take care of it.

"Consort, I don't really want to..."

Kangxi wasn't the type to nap during the day, even after pulling an all-nighter.

Kangxi was the type to drink strong tea to stay alert, working until the midday break before taking a short nap.

Su Yi looked at him expressionlessly, "Take them off for me." You both have dark circles under your eyes, and you're telling me you don't want to? Hmph, you're both night owls, so don't judge each other.

Men just like to say one thing and mean something else.

Kangxi: "...."

Kangxi obediently sat up, took off his shoes, and then lay back down, holding Su Yi to get some sleep.

He was a bit tired, so he wouldn't force himself to stay up. It wasn't like this every day.

Kangxi's quirk was that after pulling an all-nighter and lying down to catch up on sleep, he could sleep for only two hours and then get up, never lingering in bed. He was that kind of disciplined person.

After all, he was the kind of disciplined person who could get up at 3-5 AM every day, rain or shine. A little extra sleep meant nothing to him. This was the professional quality of a diligent Emperor.

By the time Su Yi finally woke up after getting enough sleep, Kangxi had already finished reviewing a round of memorials.

Su Yi thought she should show some concern and insincerely asked Kangxi, "Your Majesty, you've worked hard. Shall we have a meal together?"

How pitiful, having to attend court and review memorials every day, never getting to sleep in. It can't be helped, it can't be helped. He simply can't understand the joy of waking up naturally.

It was already nearing afternoon, and Kangxi had already had lunch alone.

If he hadn't woken her up once in the morning, calling her up for lunch at noon would probably have caused a scene. Kangxi had considered having someone wake her up for lunch.

Kangxi, being health-conscious, strongly disapproved of such unhealthy behavior as missing breakfast and then lunch due to oversleeping.

"Hmm," Kangxi responded indifferently.

Although they were supposed to have a meal together, almost all the food ended up in Su Yi's stomach. Kangxi had just eaten and couldn't eat much, barely touching a few dishes.

After Su Yi finished her meal, Kangxi, who had been quiet all along, finally made his move.

The imperial physician had come in the morning and prescribed a health tonic. After pulling an all-nighter, one needed to replenish some vitality. The imperial physician was also a health-conscious person.

Kangxi also thought it was very necessary.

Su Yi: ?!

We both pulled an all-nighter, so why am I the only one who has to drink this?

She wasn’t buying it.

Of course, Su Yi wasn’t thrilled about it. After saying this, she saw that Kangxi had already taken a sip first.

“Imperial Consort, don’t worry, it’s not bitter,” Kangxi said soothingly.

It was a simple taunt, a straightforward tactic, completely transparent. Really just a plain provocation, with no pretense at all.

Using overly complicated tactics on the Imperial Consort might backfire.

What could Su Yi do? She didn’t want to argue with Kangxi over this health tonic and look like a coward.

Su Yi fell for his trick; it wasn’t bitter, but he conveniently left out how weird it would taste.

How could it taste so awful?!

How could something taste this bad? It shouldn’t even exist. Drinking this can’t possibly be healthy—it’s mind-numbing.

How could that jerk Kangxi drink it so casually, like it was water?

So scary—how far will people go for their health?

Utterly horrified, Su Yi drank it with a grimace.

If she hadn’t tried it herself, she’d have sworn this wasn’t fit for human consumption.

No way! Even a dog would turn its nose up at this. What did she do to deserve this?

Su Yi’s fighting spirit was crushed by this concoction, leaving her looking like she’d just survived a disaster, too weak to even lift a sword.

But when Kangxi kept droning on about healthy habits, Su Yi felt her resolve return.

She got where Kangxi was coming from with his health routines, but she wasn’t having it.

It’s the jerk who’s the workaholic—why should she, a lazy bum, follow his schedule?

No way, not happening.

Su Yi shot him a look that screamed, “You just don’t get it,” and said, “You have no clue how fun it is to stay up late.”

Kangxi: Huh? Imperial Consort, you’re being defiant again.

Do you even listen to yourself?

Who was the one who conked out first, huh?!

“Oh really?” Kangxi sighed, cruelly pointing out what the Imperial Consort had missed. “Imperial Consort, ask your maid—when she made the bed today, did you shed more hair than usual?”

Su Yi was instantly struck where it hurt, turning to Qinxin with a look that said, “Is that true?”

She’d just pulled an all-nighter—it couldn’t be that bad, right? No way she’d missed something Kangxi had noticed.

Qinxin was about to shake her head truthfully, but under the Emperor's piercing, almost palpable gaze, she wrestled with herself before finally nodding reluctantly.

The Emperor was also concerned for the Empress's health; she really couldn’t keep burning the midnight oil like this; it’s too damaging to her health.

Qinxin’s hesitant and torn reaction only confirmed the truth of Kangxi’s words.

Su Yi took a deep breath; such things shouldn’t be shared with her.

Kangxi reached out and touched her hair, seamlessly shifting from playing the villain to soothing her as the hero,

“But it doesn’t seem to have any effect, just a few strands of hair; losing a bit more won’t make a difference. As long as the Consort is happy, I love seeing her joyful.”

Su Yi twitched the corner of her mouth, forcing a smile. Thanks, but no thanks.

Shut up, it’s not your hair—you don’t feel the pain.

Is this how he speaks now?

Ugh, I’m so tired.

“Next time you want to cut paper window decorations, do it during the day.” Kangxi knew when to stop and didn’t provoke further.

Su Yi wasn’t being difficult; she really felt this way, “It doesn’t feel right during the day; it has to be at night, when it’s dark and windy… yes, the perfect time to cut red paper.”

She almost blurted out that it was the perfect night for murder—it just slipped out.

It’s all about the atmosphere—that’s what makes it special!

Anyone who’s never cut red paper at night just wouldn’t get it!

Kangxi, who had no idea paper cutting required any sense of atmosphere, fell into deep thought. He really wanted to know, what exactly was going on in the Consort’s mind??

“Isn’t the light better during the day? It won’t strain your eyes.” Kangxi tried to reason with her.

“As long as I light enough candles, eye strain won’t stand a chance.” Su Yi also had her own methods to deal with it. Wasn’t it just a matter of lighting more candles?

If she wanted, she could light up the entire room with a thousand candles! It’d be as bright as daylight!

“If that’s not enough, there are also night pearls—set out a dozen, and there’s nothing to fear.” Su Yi said boldly. Usually one was enough, but with a dozen, wouldn’t the eyes be dazzled? Hehe.

Kangxi’s mouth twitched, his temple throbbing as he fought the urge to flick her forehead.

The Consort now is even more mischievous than Baocheng and Bao Qing were as kids.

When Baocheng and Bao Qing didn’t get along, Kangxi didn’t think it was a big deal—the kids were easy to manage.

The Consort, however, was quick to rebel at the slightest provocation, reviewing those long-winded, nonsensical greeting memorials gave Kangxi a headache like no other.

Greeting memorials were sent by officials stationed far from the imperial city, who feared the Emperor might forget them over time, so they would send these memorials periodically.

Basically, they could ramble from the ends of the earth to the weather, never forgetting to center around flattering the Emperor, and after the flattery, it was just greetings.

When Kangxi reviewed them, it was like being an emotionless ‘read’ machine.

In summary, it was heartfelt flattery: How are you, Your Majesty?

Kangxi: I am well.

How are you, Your Majesty?

Kangxi: I'm doing well.

These repetitive responses, when Kangxi was reviewing the so-called greeting memorials, which were essentially flattery, left him feeling cold as iron. No amount of exaggerated flattery could faze Kangxi anymore.

Now, when facing the Imperial Consort, Kangxi often feels genuinely 'surprised.'

Kangxi composed himself and continued to maintain a gentle attitude, patiently saying to the Imperial Consort, "While candles won't strain your eyes, doing such things at night is quite unusual. It might make people think the Imperial Consort is up to no good at night, which is a bit unsettling."

He tactfully hinted, "Are you crazy to do such things at night?"

Su Yi let out a long, drawn-out "Oh," as if she got it.

Kangxi smiled and was about to nod.

Su Yi retorted defiantly, "So what?" That's exactly the effect she was going for—totally cool, right?

Doing such things at night is all about being scary—even scaring ghosts!

If it weren't for this, she wouldn't feel the least bit interested. Who would do such things during the day? She wasn't that desperate for entertainment.

If she were full, she'd just feel sleepy and lie down on the Imperial Consort's chair to nap and digest. Who would use such precious time to do such boring things!

Kangxi was speechless.

So doing such things at night isn't boring?!

No, Imperial Consort, you just want to cause trouble, don't you?

"Is that so?" Kangxi forced a smile, clearly unconvinced.

But Su Yi was the type who didn't care for anyone's approval. She just wanted to cause trouble at night and refused to let anyone interrupt her. She wouldn't involve anyone else; she wanted to do it solo.

"Didn't you see the paper cutouts I sent you?" Su Yi suddenly realized, squinting at Kangxi sharply.

Oops, he really hadn't.

When he learned that this little troublemaker had pulled an all-nighter, fearing she might have some problems, Kangxi came directly to see her.

After arriving, they barely spoke before she had him lie down and nap for an hour. When he got up, Kangxi had the day's memorials sent over to be reviewed, so he wouldn't have to go back and forth while dining with the Imperial Consort.

If he didn't make sure she drank the health tonic prescribed by the imperial physician, she'd just skip it.

So he really hadn't thought about the paper cutouts the Imperial Consort had sent over.

He really hadn't seen them!

Kangxi felt a twinge of guilt but kept a straight face, remaining as calm as ever, "Of course I did; it's truly the Imperial Consort's handiwork."

Kangxi hadn't seen them, but this reply seemed to have no issues for now, a faultless response.

Whether the cutouts were good or not, for the Imperial Consort, praising her was always right.

It must be said, Kangxi understood Su Yi well. Honest advice was not effective with Su Yi; flattery was the way to go.

But...

Su Yi's tone was subtly different, carrying a firmness she had never displayed before. "No, you haven't. If you had seen it, you wouldn't have mentioned cutting paper during the day." She spoke with absolute certainty.

Don’t think you can sweet-talk your way out of this.

Kangxi: ...Huh?

So, what exactly did this little troublemaker cut out?

"How could that be? When it comes to Imperial Noble Consort's tasks, how could mere daylight pose a challenge? Is it only achievable at night?" Kangxi felt he could still hold his ground a bit longer, tossing the question back.

This flattery made Su Yi too sheepish to press further. She pretended to be indifferent, "That's true," though her lips curled into a smirk.

Seeing that the little troublemaker finally dropped the subject, Kangxi let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief and decided to change the subject, lest it come up again.

But what exactly did the Imperial Noble Consort cut out?!

Taking advantage of the Imperial Noble Consort's bath time, Kangxi finally found the opportunity to ask Liang Jiugong what the paper cuttings sent by the Imperial Noble Consort in the morning actually were.

This time, Liang Jiugong was truly at a loss; he genuinely hadn’t seen them.

When the Imperial Noble Consort had them delivered, the box was never opened.

Liang Jiugong thought it best to wait until His Majesty wished to see them before opening, to avoid any damage.

Kangxi couldn’t help but shoot Liang Jiugong a look of utter disappointment.

Liang Jiugong explained with a hint of grievance, as it was a gift from the Imperial Noble Consort, it wouldn't be appropriate for a servant to open it before His Majesty had seen it.

In response, Kangxi kicked him without a word.

When the Imperial Noble Consort had asked if he had seen it, how guilty he felt was something this dog servant had no clue about.

He didn’t even bother to remind him all day.

He nearly got caught by the Imperial Noble Consort, but luckily Kangxi was quick on his feet.

However, it’s better left unsaid, but once brought up, Kangxi grew genuinely curious—what exactly was it?

Seeing this, Liang Jiugong quietly suggested to His Majesty, "Should we have someone bring it over to see what it is?"

Though Kangxi was eager to see, he firmly refused.

What’s the point of looking at paper cuttings now? Of course, it’s better to focus on the Imperial Noble Consort. What if it's delivered just as she comes across it?

Wouldn’t that be getting caught in the act!

Then this little troublemaker would recall that he had been bluffing earlier.

Well, that’s the crux of the matter.

What a lousy idea from this useless servant Liang Jiugong.

He didn’t want to end up sleeping alone in the Qianqing Palace again.