Chapter 278

Chapter 278

Liang Jiugong: Look, there’s the troublemaker.

Talk about having a death wish.

The moment that maid of Consort Ping stepped forward, Liang Jiugong relaxed a little.

If the maid hadn’t spoken up, Liang Jiugong might still have felt somewhat uneasy.

Then, those serving by His Majesty’s side would have been more likely to set off a bomb.

Now, thank God, someone dumb enough to think she’s smart has stepped forward.

It’s probably a case of "Better you than me."

Kangxi’s tone was calm, "Enough with the chatter." His gaze didn’t even flicker downward.

Yet, he had already signed her death warrant.

The maid of Consort Ping paled completely, like she’d been hit by a bolt from the blue, her ears ringing deafeningly.

By the time she realized what his words meant, her hands and feet went numb, her body weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

Survival instinct kicked in, and she started begging.

"Your Majesty, spare me! This servant… Mmm!"

But she could no longer run her mouth as she had before.

Her pleas were immediately muffled by a palace attendant who had been holding back for a long time. Almost simultaneously, another person stuffed the handkerchief she had used earlier right back where it came from—her mouth.

It was a filthy rag, something already meant to be discarded afterward. Now, she got to taste her own filth.

The person responsible for gagging her immediately wiped their hand on their robe, disgusted.

There was no time to fetch a new handkerchief—if they didn’t act fast, who knew what crap she’d spew next? If she managed to turn the situation around, they’d be screwed!

She could have returned unharmed, but she just had to act smart and stir trouble. Truly, it was like asking for a one-way ticket to the afterlife.

It could be said that working under a noble consort, even without full immersion, still imparted some lessons.

What a coincidence—the quick reflexes and stomach for nastiness, as if rehearsed countless times, belonged to the same eunuch who had once been sent on the suicide mission of fetching the royal doctors when Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia, then still Consort Tongjia, demanded all on-duty physicians for the ailing Fourth Prince.

Even though the noble consort preferred maids for personal service, the eunuchs were also groomed as overseers. Even if Qinxin wasn’t present now, there were still those who knew how to act decisively.

And so, jumping at the chance, they exchanged glances, subdued her, and swiftly gagged her—all like a well-oiled machine.

They left no room for her to cause a scene before their master and only react afterward.

At first, they hadn’t guarded against it—truly a miscalculation—allowing her to make a scene before His Majesty. Now, they couldn’t afford another mistake.

It was clear that both the one restraining her and the one gagging her carried some resentment in their actions.

If not for this wretch’s recklessness earlier in the night, her refusal to learn her lesson, and her persistent scheming—

Her attempts to sow discord between the Emperor and the noble consort would have indirectly wrecked their careers as well.

Of course there's resentment! If only Consort Ping's people hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened!

If it weren't for fear of going too far, they would have seized the chance to reprimand her further, to really nail her coffin shut.

But in reality, nobody dared breathe a word at this moment.

Over there, Su Yi made a show of storming off, but she was indeed in a hurry to return.

She went inside, turned around, and slammed the door poker-faced, leaving Qinxin outside—the universal 'pissed off, don't mess with me' vibe.

Before Su Yi even turned around after closing the door, a glimmering, aqua-colored butterfly dotted with pinpricks of light zipped toward her with eager warmth.

Like a moth to a flame, it fluttered onto Su Yi's back and vanished without a trace, the scattered sparkles dissipating along with it.

When Su Yi turned around, her face went from blank to downright pissed.

She yanked off the medicated patches from her face and began removing her outer robe, followed by her inner garments.

Then, she groped around to strip off all the medicated patches stuck to her body—the stench was unbearable.

The pile of peeled-off patches in her hand made quite the pile.

And even then, gunk still stuck to her skin.

In less than a night, she had already absorbed the scent, like a walking pharmacy.

Su Yi wadded up the gross handkerchief in warm water from the teapot, gave it a quick wring, and began wiping her face to remove the lingering stickiness.

Once the cloth got dirty, she rinsed and wrung it again, repeating the process several times.

The once-pristine handkerchief was now barely recognizable, looking like a dirty dishrag—and not even a clean one at that.

Finally feeling somewhat refreshed, she had previously felt like a side of smoked salmon.

The excessive application was meant to ensure thorough saturation.

Godawful—who could take this?!

Su Yi mashed them into a ball, crumpling the used handkerchief and the peeled-off patches together until they formed a messy lump.

With a toss, the roughly formed "paper ball" went rolling under the bed, disappearing from sight in no time.

Like she'd solved some big problem, Su Yi's scowl faded.

Only then did she put her white inner robe back on, taking her sweet time now, unlike earlier when it felt like the fabric was prickling her skin.

Consort Ping wasn’t seriously harmed, which wasn't exactly bad news for Su Yi.

The carrot and the stick.

After all, since it wasn’t a life-or-death situation, she wasn't about to bite over something this small.

But the clock was ticking.

The sound of the door being knocked.

"Imperial Noble Consort."

If there were a visual, it would probably resemble the vibe of someone "skulking like a guilty dog" pressed against the door.

Liang Jiugong steeled himself to knock, his back prickling with tension. Beside him stood others watching expectantly.

Was the whole thing really going to collapse without him?!

Qinxin, you’re really something—first one out here guarding, and yet you didn’t even lift a finger, did you?!

Perhaps reading Liang Jiugong’s expression, Qinxin showed no emotion on her face, her gaze drifting evasively, refusing to meet his.

She had tried, but it was useless.

Liang Jiugong cautiously called out twice, but not a sound came from inside.

"……"

Though silent, a certain image emerged—the clear 'heard-but-ignoring-you' vibe.

"Imperial Noble Consort, please calm your anger first. Tonight’s incident was stirred up by those lowly troublemakers skulking about, leading to this farce. It’s late and the air’s damp—how about letting His Majesty in first before discussing anything further?"

The unnecessary onlookers had already been dismissed. After all, they couldn’t let anyone see His Majesty being shut out by the Rong Noble Consort—was that something they were allowed to see?!

But now, standing here watching His Majesty barred from the door, Liang Jiugong was sweating bullets.

He scrambled for something to say.

His Majesty’s glare boring into his back doubled the pressure unbearably.

Your Majesty, maybe you’d better handle this—Liang Jiugong truly wanted to say.

"Liang Jiugong, surely a grown man won’t catch cold from standing a moment?" A gentle voice drifted from behind the door.

Clearly, they’d have to be pitifully weak.

Liang Jiugong: Gulp!

Of course, standing a while wouldn’t lead to illness, let alone for His Majesty, whose imperial health had always been robust.

How was he supposed to respond to that?!