Chapter 269

Chapter 269

Why won't you believe me when I'm telling the truth? You all read too much into things.

Qinxin quickly snapped out of it and hurried forward to support her. "Consort Ping, why have you come out? Please be careful with your health. The person who was making a commotion earlier has already been stopped. What would you like to do with them?"

Consort Ping need only give the order—there’s no need to meet them personally. That's too good for them.

"Handle them?" Su Yi said with a sweet smile. "But that’s Consort Ping’s servant. How could I possibly deal with her people so casually?"

She spoke as if the matter wasn’t serious at all, all sweetness and light.

But if that were truly the case, Su Yi wouldn’t be standing here right now.

Anyone who believed her was truly naive.

Normally, no one had ever dared to go this far—at most, they’d try to "coincidentally" intercept the Emperor halfway. But making such a scene? This was a first.

Liang Jiugong certainly wasn't fooled.

As for Qinxin… well, Qinxin wasn’t entirely convinced either.

Knowing how Her Highness hated leaving her bed unless the palace was burning, it was rare for her to rise without good reason.

But if Her Highness *did* get up, then there'd be hell to pay—even if there was none to begin with.

In short: you’d better have a good reason.

Qinxin said nothing more, simply keeping her face carefully blank—a chief maid’s essential skill.

Su Yi rested her hand on Qinxin’s and started strolling forward, leaving Liang Jiugong behind. After all, Qinxin was all she needed.

As soon as Liang Jiugong saw the Consort leave, he waited until her figure had disappeared before rapping lightly on the door.

His voice was hesitant as he called, "Your Majesty?" Truthfully, he also wanted to ask, *Are you alright?*

But there was no response.

So Liang Jiugong bent double, softened his tread, and hurried inside—just in case His Majesty had actually been knocked unconscious and couldn’t answer.

When he entered, he found Kangxi lying motionless on the bed with his eyes closed. Liang Jiugong nearly dropped his ceremonial whisk in shock, rushing forward in a panic.

His high-pitched voice broke as he cried out,

"Your Majesty—What happened—?!"

Kangxi abruptly opened his eyes, his chilling glare fixed on Liang Jiugong.

His expression was sharp and clear—definitely not the confused stare of someone who’d just been knocked out and woken up.

Liang Jiugong, who had just thrown himself at the bedside like a mourner at a funeral, felt his heart stop under that frosty stare.

He instantly fell silent, like a duck whose neck had been wrung.

*Your Majesty… You're… unharmed?!*

Now this was truly awkward.

He’d spoken too rashly just then, but fortunately managed to stop himself in time before fully voicing his thoughts.

Liang Jiugong, who had nearly blurted out those words, was still rattled.

Because of Liang Jiugong's earlier actions, though he had restrained himself in time, the air had grown thick with awkwardness.

After all, his earlier shout nearly summoned others over.

If Kangxi had truly been knocked unconscious, well—then everyone would know that the Emperor had been knocked out by the Imperial Noble Consort. Such a scenario sounded terrifying in itself.

I mean, come on, how could the Imperial Noble Consort possibly knock out His Majesty? The Imperial Noble Consort is clearly gentle and frail!

How could she do something like—keeping His Majesty from visiting another consort by knocking him out and then going to dismiss the other party herself?!

Feigning ignorance, Liang Jiugong attempted to smooth things over. "Her Highness has already left, so this lowly one came in to ask if Your Majesty wishes to change attire."

Though his words made no mention of the earlier "misunderstanding" where he had assumed something had happened to Kangxi.

But putting it together, it wasn’t hard to guess what Liang Jiugong had initially suspected.

Kangxi sighed heavily.

In truth, Kangxi had been mentally preparing himself ever since the Imperial Noble Consort mentioned making trouble—though she hadn’t explicitly said so, she might as well have announced it.

No use trying to rein her in compared to her determination to cause a scene.

At this point, he might as well steel himself—what’s done is done.

But then Liang Jiugong’s sudden cry nearly gave Kangxi a heart attack.

Realizing what Liang Jiugong had misunderstood, Kangxi’s expression turned plainly furious, looking thoroughly displeased.

Truly, no rest for the wicked.

Over at Consort Ping’s quarters, several imperial physicians had hastily thrown on their robes and rushed over.

At first, seeing that a colleague was already present, they wondered if Consort Ping was once again crying wolf.

Because the colleague seemed unnaturally calm—almost too serious.

Yet at a glance, Consort Ping’s condition did seem genuinely concerning this time, not just a false alarm. But then again…

If Consort Ping were truly in distress, how could she sit so calmly? Yet she did appear unwell now.

Those who became imperial physicians were skilled at gauging moods, and this one clearly wasn’t straightforward.

So they too remained cautious, holding their tongues until they understood the full picture.

One physician took her pulse while the others questioned the palace maids to get the full story.

The first physician who had arrived earlier, seeing that others had come, put his brush aside.

He hovered, ready to discuss the diagnosis with the other physicians at any moment.

He didn’t interfere or give anything away, appearing entirely neutral.

Yet after the later physicians took turns examining her, their conclusions turned out nearly identical to the first physician’s.

Had they not arrived one after another, one might have suspected they had colluded on their answers—they were that consistent.

The palace maids were bewildered upon hearing this.

But seeing the imperial physicians all saying the same thing, could Consort Ping truly be unharmed?!

With all the physicians in agreement, what more could they say?

The physicians, who had reached a consensus, exchanged few words with the first physician during the process, yet their final conclusions were nearly identical to his.

The physicians only exchanged occasional glances.

Even those who arrived later quickly grasped what to say and do under the circumstances.

Without the Emperor's orders, the imperial physicians would not interfere without orders. But since they had stepped in, even though they knew the prescription was not the most suitable and that gentler alternatives existed, they went ahead anyway.

Given the current situation, the imperial physicians had likely foreseen this long ago. They were not speaking up for the physicians or covering up their 'mistakes.'

The imperial physicians were diligent and devoted, solely focused on Consort Ping's swift recovery. How could their efforts be misguided? It was absolutely impossible that they intended to harm her.

The key point was that if one failed to grasp this, it wouldn’t just be the imperial physicians who were slighted or offended.

Rather, the entire Imperial Medical Bureau often spoke as one, always clear on what to say and when.

Meanwhile, Consort Ping's chief maid had yet to return, leaving hardly anyone competent in charge. Though the physicians had arrived, they proved useless.

All they could do was hope for her swift return to summon the Emperor and take charge.

But even the hope of her returning quickly seemed slim now.

Because at this moment, Consort Ping's chief maid was in critical condition!