Chapter 249

Chapter 249

There were clearly many methods, yet she chose to roll—simply because flipping midair was more effort than just rolling a few times.

What’s the difference between looking cool when no one’s around and always being caught at your most embarrassing moments?

This is beyond frustrating.

"Your Majesty, what brings you here?" Su Yi slowly opened her eyes, with a hint of surprise in her tone.

Of course you’d show up now.

Kangxi sat down on the edge of the bed. "Naturally, I came to see my precious consort. Who knew you could be so lively all by yourself?"

Walking in just in time to witness her rolling on the floor after falling—and still looking pleased with herself.

Su Yi: *Can we even have a normal conversation?*

She was about to let out a hollow laugh and brush it off when it suddenly hit her—Wait, no—this wasn’t right. Her expression darkened, and her tone turned sharp. "What’s so funny? Is this how you visit someone?"

This is outrageous!

Couldn’t even lend a hand to help her up, then having the audacity to replay the whole scene?

Su Yi sat up against the headboard, visibly furious—the kind of anger that wasn’t easily soothed. She glared at Kangxi and said, "You’ve changed in just a few days. You weren’t like this before."

He hadn’t been such a jerk back then. *Absolute jerk!*

"And how was I before?" Kangxi drawled, sounding genuinely curious about what kind of answer she’d give. He took her hand and gave it a playful shake.

Su Yi: ...

She had a strong suspicion this man just wanted to hear some flattery that’s obviously fake.

Because if they were being truly honest with each other, someone’s going to snap.

After what felt like an eternity of mental wrestling, she finally squeezed out a few words: "...I don’t want to answer you."

She snatched her hand back and, still unsatisfied, lightly smacked the back of his hand before leaning against the pillow, brooding.

Kangxi shifted closer until their shoulders touched. Su Yi stayed silent, shooting him a look that clearly said, *What nonsense are you up to now?*

And then, like an oblivious boyfriend who insists on bothering his partner when they’re clearly in no mood, Kangxi completely ignored personal boundaries.

Su Yi burrowed under the covers, leaving only a blanket-wrapped burrito of a back for Kangxi to stare at.

*Give it a rest, will you?*

Was he making up for all the days he’d been absent at once?

Kangxi pulled her halfway into his arms, leaning in. "Consort, acknowledge me."

He gave her a little shake, then gave her cheek a playful pinch. "Consort."

And as if aware that prolonged pinching would only irritate her further, he quickly switched tactics—running his fingers through her hair instead, pretending to tidy the strands.

It seemed that even if Su Yi continued ignoring him, he’d find amusement in these little antics, undeterred as he kept at it.

A pinch here. A touch there. A stroke of her hair. Nuzzling closer. Doling out the occasional ‘Consort.’

He's just like a cat that can't keep its paws to itself, yowling until you acknowledge him. Honestly, he never seems to tire.

Like a cat that’s slept all day and is now full of energy at night, zooming around and begging for cuddles—if you don’t let it in, it’ll just sit outside the door, scratching and meowing nonstop.

And right now, this one is even more irritating than a bad bowl cut.

Su Yi: "..."

Su Yi barely held back the urge to grab him. She forced a smile and said in a strained, faux-gentle voice, *Hmm? What exactly is the matter?*

*You’d better have a good reason.*

Kangxi chuckled overhead, "I haven’t had dinner yet. Dine with me, Consort." Finally, he stated his purpose.

All this fuss just to share a meal?

Su Yi, who had been pestered for quite a while: Seriously? *This* is what you wanted?!

What are you, five? Need a babysitter to eat??

"Was it *that* hard to ask sooner?" Su Yi’s words abruptly halted, like slamming the brakes. Her eyes widened slightly, resembling round almond eyes.

She suddenly realized—wasn’t this *her* exact excuse just days ago?!

Her mouth moved faster than her brain, but thankfully, it caught up in time.

"...Was it *that* hard to ask sooner?" Her tone softened instantly. "You should’ve told me earlier, and I would’ve joined you." There was even a hint of playful reproach in her voice.

Su Yi: Almost skewered by my own logic!!!

——

Meanwhile, the concubines who had been waiting for their servants to bring back good news were fidgeting, antsy with impatience.

They waited and waited, but why was there still no news?

Some even wondered if the servants were slacking off—had they gotten delayed on the way? Did they stop for a nap?

Why hadn’t they returned to report yet? Were they secretly slacking somewhere?

Finally, the dispatched servants returned with updates.

But the news was a letdown.

The Yonghe Palace was completely quiet—no drama, just… normal.

Not even a sign of the Emperor leaving the palace.

Did they even fight?

Or was it brewing?

Especially Consort Ping, who couldn’t fathom being wrong about everything being under her control, found it hard to accept.

If sneaking out now wouldn’t draw attention, she would’ve gone herself to see what was really happening.

This makes no sense.

In denial, Consort Ping convinced herself that it was too soon—it hadn’t been long enough, so the fireworks hadn’t started.

Indeed, who would start causing trouble the moment they meet?

So Consort Ping sent the palace servants to make another trip.

If only the servants could get closer to Yonghe Palace instead of just observing from a distance—she would have loved to have a live update to see what was really happening now.

But it was just wishful thinking.

Consort Ping wasn’t without the idea of planting informants in Yonghe Palace. After all, it wasn’t unheard of to place agents in others’ palaces—hadn’t she herself fallen victim to such tactics before?

If not for her system’s assistance in identifying them, who knows how she might have been tricked?

Seeing that the informants in her own palace were from other consorts’ circles—and quite a number at that—she had assumed it would be easy to do the same. Weren’t things like this common in the harem? Who wouldn’t want to get information faster than others?

To obtain more accurate information, Consort Ping had also wanted to plant her own informants. At the time, Rong Noble Consort wasn’t even in Yonghe Palace—wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to insert an agent while the master was away?

After all, when a palace was without its mistress, the staff changes were often overlooked. By the time the owner returned, the new staff would have become established.

But when she actually tried, she realized it wasn’t so simple. The servants in Yonghe Palace had been scrutinized repeatedly, with many replacements—all of them her trusted people.

For outsiders to plant an informant inside, they’d need both the right opportunity and a background clean enough to withstand scrutiny. Any rash attempt would stand out glaringly.

Thus, the only option was to observe the comings and goings near Yonghe Palace to assess the activity.

So now, everyone was anxious—but their anxiety was useless.

——

Though the earlier dinner had been served to the staff, Yonghe Palace also had its own small kitchen.

The imperial chefs’ skills were quite good, and Su Yi hadn’t grown tired of their dishes. The small kitchen mostly prepared snacks like spicy strips.

While it couldn’t produce dozens of elaborate dishes like the imperial kitchen, managing dinner perfectly well was no problem.

This time, they simply prepared a communal pot—whatever they wanted to eat, they could just dip it in. The broth, made from chicken stock, looked light but was rich with flavor.

Su Yi barely ate anything, instead getting caught up in the process of dipping ingredients. She eagerly added them, only to scoop them all out onto Kangxi’s plate.

Kangxi kept eating, but his bowl never seemed to empty.

Kangxi: "…"

Su Yi: It wasn’t that she didn’t want to eat—she just enjoyed the dipping process more.

It was rather addictive.

Then she dumped another plate of shrimp into the pot.

Watching her actions, Kangxi’s brow twitched reflexively. If not for the size of the pot limiting her, would the Noble Consort have tossed everything on the table into a single massive stew?

This eating style quickly left them about seventy to eighty percent full.

Then Su Yi was stripped of her right to add ingredients—Kangxi sternly forbade her from adding anything else.

He even piled her bowl high with just-cooked items.

Su Yi went quiet.

She glanced at Kangxi, her eyes dropping. Had he reached his limit already?

Is this really your limit?

Kangxi took a deep breath, seeming slightly winded.

Su Yi, hearing this, immediately asked considerately, "Is it too stuffy? Should we wrap things up?" She suggested having the servants clear the table so he wouldn’t have to deal with the mess in his bowl.

Even though it wasn’t a spicy hot pot but a mild one, the steam made it stifling in this heat—exhausting.

Kangxi glanced at the pot and flat-out refused.

Then he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

He began scooping everything out of the pot.

Su Yi fell silent again upon seeing this. Hold on, did we add this much earlier? Probably not, right?

Now Kangxi was the one eyeing her plate.

Su Yi: Ugh. All clumped together like this, it looks gross.

Just as she was about to say she was full too, Kangxi spoke up, "You’ve barely touched your food tonight, busy preparing ingredients for me. You should eat more." He said with gentle reproach, adding more food to her bowl and accurately pointing out how little she had actually eaten.

Su Yi: "..."

Su Yi reluctantly took a few strategic bites.

She picked at the thinly sliced fish, which was already boneless, and now completely deboned, making it easy to eat.

She picked at nothing else—especially the veggies, which she outright ignored.

She paused at the shrimp, considering peeling them, but found it too troublesome. Calling a servant over would be more trouble than it’s worth—might as well just have them clear it away.

Kangxi watched her like a parent watching their once-easy eater turn fussy.

His eye twitched, clearly wanting to scold her, but seeing her listlessness, he bit his tongue.

Instead, he washed and dried his hands, then began peeling the shrimp. He quickly got the hang of it, peeling them like a pro in no time.

By the time Su Yi finished the fish, Kangxi pushed a bowl of peeled shrimp her way. "Eat a bit more, hmm?" His tone was gentle.

Pre-peeled shrimp? Now that was motivation to eat.

She ate them one after another, barely pausing between bites, dipping each in sauce.

A whole plate of shrimp disappeared, the shells piling into a small mountain.

Ah, the classic "I’m not hungry (for things I don’t like)" act.

Su Yi set down her chopsticks. "I’m done." Nothing else tempted her.

She truly couldn’t bring herself to eat the rest, and this time, Kangxi didn’t push her.

Had it not been for her liking the shrimp but being too lazy to peel them, she might’ve ducked spoon-feeding like a bratty kid.

Sometimes, she could be downright petty when cranky.

Kangxi, had he come another day, might’ve missed Su Yi’s moody spell.

But of course he showed up today.