Chapter 235

Chapter 235

The fur was indeed combed, but...

At first, both Kangxi and the chubby cat were a bit resistant. However, better late than never.

Getting brushed actually felt pretty good, especially around the head and under the chin.

The chubby cat's expressions went through quite a transformation—starting with ears pinned back and eyes squeezed shut. When the comb approached, the cat shrank down, tucking its neck in so far it nearly vanished, its claws gripping the clothes tightly.

Clearly, it was wary of this pesky human pulling something.

Then came the phase of uncertainty… Let’s try again… Hmm… seems a bit addictive. The head feels a little off, and before long, the cat started rumbling like a bubbling kettle.

Soon, its eyes narrowed into slits, its expression grew dazed, and it slumped into a puddle of purring fluff.

Aw, just a baby, really.

At first, Kangxi just phoned it in, running the comb through the chubby cat’s fur a few times with little care. But he couldn’t completely ignore the cat—he had to keep an eye out in case the chubby feline suddenly lashed out.

Cats with split personalities couldn’t be trusted.

And then there was the issue of shedding.

Even though Kangxi didn’t usually hold cats, he often ended up with a few stray hairs on his clothes, which drove him up the wall.

At first, he would immediately change outfits upon spotting them. Later, he grew too lazy to bother and would just pat them off, shaking loose whatever he could. Eventually, he just tuned them out, pretending not to notice to avoid frustration.

Kangxi combed absentmindedly, stopping when the comb caught on a tangle and having to look down to check.

To be fair, though the chubby cat wasn’t long-haired, its fur still got tangled, especially when shedding like crazy.

As he looked, Kangxi noticed the comb was pulling out quite a lot of fur.

He stared at the clump of fur on the comb, seemingly pausing for a moment before picking it off and discreetly tucking it away—whether intentionally or not, just out of Su Yi’s line of sight.

When Kangxi resumed combing, for some reason, he seemed way more into it now. Compared to his earlier careless strokes, he now looked like he was actually taking the task seriously.

Though it did seem like he kept focusing on the chubby cat’s giant fuzzy noggin. Even when he occasionally brushed elsewhere, he quickly returned to that big head.

The chubby cat, now a happy, boneless blob, lay there completely at ease, letting this human do as they pleased.

All its usual sass was gone.

Now, lost in brushy bliss, it was rare for the cat not to poof up like a dandelion.

Liang Jiugong watched from the side, missing the weirdness at first.

But as the small pile of fur gradually grew into a fluffy monstrosity—outstripping the cat’s entire skull—he began to suspect something.

For a moment, he was trying not to lose it, though he made sure to keep his expression and gaze carefully controlled.

His Majesty really was combing the cat... just a little too thoroughly.

No way His Majesty was... nah.

Liang Jiugong acted clueless, playing statue, eyes glued forward.

Su Yi only glanced occasionally, seeing Pothead slumped into a puddle of cat while Kangxi combed with unexpected diligence, clearly growing more skilled as he went.

Pothead seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it, as if his soul was being gently combed out.

The scene looked quite pleasant.

Yeah, right!

When Su Yi saw the freshly groomed Pothead, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Pothead was covered in white fur except for the black patch on top of his big head, complete with jaunty little side-swept bangs—a rather handsome little cat, though a total weirdo.

But precisely because that patch was inky black, popping against his snow-white fur, any irregularity there stood out glaringly.

Now, the black fur on Pothead’s head—yes, right at the center—was noticeably thinner, sparse enough to vaguely reveal the skin beneath.

This created a patchy look—the black wasn’t pure anymore!

It wasn’t as dark as before, though the surrounding areas remained deep black, making it look like he was balding.

Not truly bald.

But basically a cat comb-over.

Ugh, this patchy mess—who knew black fur could have shades? Inky black vs. washed-out gray.

It was as mind-blowing and ridiculous as discovering that black could somehow be "multicolored."

Though Pothead had been shedding heavily lately, this… this was *not* the plan.

Little Milk Dragon, watching nearby, also noticed the change in Pothead’s fringe. He reached out a tiny finger to touch the spot, as if confirming whether fur was really missing, his expression totally baffled. "Dude, when did you go bald?"

Su Yi swallowed hard at the question. Yeah… when *did* that happen?

Pothead, noticing the sudden attention from the humans—especially since that annoying human had left—looked stupidly pleased with himself.

He had just been groomed—yes, by that detestable human!

His current mood was probably something like, *Better than a double serving of tuna!*

Clearly aware that grooming made him look sleeker, he now basked in the attention, preening like a furry little emperor, oozing smug vibes.

Pothead lazily stretched a paw, ready to strut a bit before flopping into a human’s cozy lap for a roll.

Completely oblivious to his current… situation.

When Su Yi picked him up, he even purred and headbutted for cuddles.

Little Milk Dragon was examining the small pile of shed fur. "Honored Mother Consort, Pothead’s shedding’s gone wonky—only from his head. He’ll be a baldy for weeks." He held it up for her to see, sagely nodding.

After all, during shedding season, Pothead always looked slimmer—a fake diet victory—before fluffing back up again once his fur regrew.

Little Milk Dragon had been a bit annoyed at Pothead earlier—after all, thanks to him, he got stuck doing squats. But now… well, never mind. Can’t stay mad at this doofus.

He was grinning like a loon, ear to ear.

Su Yi looked at the cat fur in his hand—clearly, in terms of length, it wasn't the kind that would come from the top of the head.

She twitched the corner of her mouth. "Hmm... seems so."

The colors aren’t even the same, kid!

That was all white, with just a few black strands mixed in. Do you think this is the amount that would fall from the head??

But by now, the person who had been grooming Bowl Cut had already excused himself, claiming he was busy with piled-up tasks and wouldn’t be back until late, so there was no need to wait for him.

Seriously? She knew it. He had something to do earlier but didn’t leave, yet had the leisure to actually groom Bowl Cut.

Good grief, he must have gone all out brushing the fur on Bowl Cut’s head, only occasionally touching the body.

How ruthless! Kangxi practically took all the mischief to himself [Footnote: A play on the Chinese idiom “stealing bamboo shoots,” used here humorously to imply cheekiness].

He nearly brushed Bowl Cut into a water-sprite cat!

Her dashing little boy!

Over at the study, the first thing Kangxi did after sitting down was to pull out a clump of black cat fur from a hidden pocket in his sleeve.

With an act of feigned surprise, he muttered, "How’d this end up here? No wonder I felt something weird."

As if the black cat fur had conveniently slipped into his sleeve unnoticed and was only just discovered now.

Liang Jiugong: [Silence.]

Liang Jiugong quickly offered to dispose of the "accidentally" smuggled cat fur.

Thus, Kangxi casually passed the "evidence" over to Liang Jiugong for disposal.

Despite grooming Bowl Cut earnestly, Kangxi had been keeping an eye on Consort Su and the others. Timing it just right, he prepared to leave, casually stuffing the clump of black fur into his sleeve while solemnly declaring that he suddenly remembered some unfinished business and had to attend to it.

Better to avoid being caught red-handed once the concubine had the energy to ask for the cat back—that would be way too awkward.

Best to wait until the next day.

Kangxi totally wasn’t feeling guilty. It was just that grooming the cat had taken up quite a bit of time, delaying official duties. Now he had to play catch-up, or the backlog would pile up.

That wouldn’t do at all.

Later that night, Kangxi returned—not exactly sneaking, but definitely acting a bit sneaky—and went to lie down, completely failing to notice the pancake-flat cat that was Bowl Cut sprawled across the bed. He landed right on its tail.

An ear-splitting yowl instantly shattered the silent night.

After Kangxi’s loud complaints, Bowl Cut had rarely been allowed to claim a spot on the bed anymore. After all, Kangxi didn’t want to wake up feeling like a boulder was crushing his chest—whether the cat took over before or after he fell asleep, it always ended up treating him like a mattress.

It also interfered with private time, much to Kangxi’s displeasure.

So Bowl Cut had little chance to be a nuisance anymore, which was why Kangxi hadn’t noticed the extra cat in bed.

Bowl Cut reacted as if its tail had been stepped on—the whole cat poofed up like a dandelion.

And it wasn’t just Bowl Cut; Kangxi jumped out of his skin too.

Talk about a wild night.

In the end, Kangxi attended court with dark circles under his eyes, having chugged strong tea to fight off exhaustion.

The matter of selecting the concubines to accompany the emperor during the Mulan imperial hunt was indeed left to the Imperial Noble Consort’s discretion.

Although the Imperial Noble Consort would still seek the emperor’s input first, and the final list of accompanying concubines would be submitted for his review, aside from the emperor’s preferences, the selection of other candidates was entirely up to her.

Because of this, even though the Imperial Noble Consort was not the easiest to get along with, the threshold of Jingren Palace was nearly trampled flat by concubines who flocked to her, falling over themselves to win favor.

Apart from the high-ranking concubines with self-respect and those with imperial sons who remained composed, most were unable to stay calm and jumped into the competition, even at the cost of lowering their own status.

Jingren Palace became quite lively for a time, so much so that the Imperial Noble Consort couldn’t catch a break. Every day, simply dealing with these visitors drained her energy. It drove her up the wall—she couldn’t outright shoo them away, nor could she simply close her palace doors and refuse to see anyone.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Study received twice as many soups and stews, so much that they could hardly keep up. The palace servants tasked with handling them were stuffed to bursting, and some even grew a bit rounder.

The imperial kitchens were working overtime, smoke practically pouring out, with chefs spinning like tops without rest. Many pots and utensils had already been worn out from constant boiling.

The palace servants fetching and delivering meals put on another spectacle, squabbling over whose lady’s meal should be prepared first or who should "yield" to whom—like a full-on brawl.

The number of concubines strolling about to admire flowers also increased, all hoping to "accidentally" run into the emperor. Of course, everyone exchanged pleasantries like, "What a coincidence!" or "You’re out for a walk too?"

After all, banking only on the Imperial Noble Consort’s say-so wasn’t enough—since nothing was truly finalized yet, changes were still possible, and the Imperial Noble Consort wouldn’t give any definitive promises, would she?

Noble Lady Qing, also the younger sister of the Imperial Noble Consort, Xiao Tongjia Shi, was currently in Jingren Palace, as she often had been since entering the palace, frequently chatting with her big sister, the Imperial Noble Consort.

Under the Imperial Noble Consort’s care, though Noble Lady Qing had kept a much lower profile compared to the flamboyant Consort Ping after entering the palace, her life in the inner court was a cushier deal than the lower-ranked concubines.

Not only did her elder sister, the Imperial Noble Consort, frequently send gifts to her residence, but by all reasoning, she should have been arranged to live in a side hall of Jingren Palace alongside her sister, just like Consort Yi and her younger sister, Le Guiren.

Yet, for some reason, she was instead placed in the palace where Concubine Duan resided.

Even so, Noble Lady Qing’s treatment and allowances were never neglected or reduced. In fact, her privileges nearly matched those of the concubine rank—though compared to Consort Ping, such special treatment still paled in comparison.

Nevertheless, despite this, Concubine Duan, as the primary mistress of that palace, wouldn’t dream of pushing around Noble Lady Qing as she might with other minor concubines under her roof.

Everyone knew that Noble Lady Qing was not only the Imperial Noble Consort’s sister but also a member of the Tongjia clan—just like the Imperial Noble Consort, she was the emperor’s cousin.

Naturally, she was no ordinary figure.

The Imperial Noble Consort looked at Noble Lady Qing—her half-sister—who had come yet again, her eyes flashing irritation. "Since your health isn’t well, why not rest more and recuperate?" Did she think coming here every day would make her recover faster?