Chapter 279

Chapter 279

The next line, if not handled well, could very likely be, "As if you could freeze to death!"

This was totally something Rong Noble Consort would say.

"I won’t catch a cold," Kangxi sighed. "But my heart feels a bit chilled."

It sounded like someone whose feelings had been hurt. With his troubled sigh outside the door, it truly painted the picture of a dejected man.

Or so it seemed.

Liang Jiugong: "..."

Qinxin: "..."

They fought the urge to cover their ears. Weird.

But they both quietly backed away, leaving the space for His Majesty to handle on his own—since they clearly couldn’t.

After a pause, Su Yi’s voice finally came from inside. "Really?"

She sounded hesitant.

Her tone was casual, but a hint of excitement slipped through.

Maybe she’d composed herself first, ensuring her words didn’t sound too eager.

Now, her voice was closer.

Before, she’d kept her distance, clearly not in the mood to talk.

Go on.

At first, the request might confuse.

Knowing Su Yi, she was already demanding details.

She might as well have said, "Tell me all about your ‘cold heart’—I’m listening."

Whether your heart was cold or not, since you brought it up, she was going to listen.

"You didn’t even let me explain tonight. I feel that you..."

Kangxi’s voice took on a strange tone as he spoke, softening before trailing off into silence.

Behind the door, Su Yi stood with her arms crossed, ready to hear what excuse—no, explanation—he’d cooked up, frowned when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Cutting himself off again.

She almost leaned in, then stopped herself—why bother?

"And?" Su Yi’s tone rose slightly.

Kangxi, outside, had clearly been waiting for that. "You’re being unreasonable."

"Oh?" Su Yi's tone sounded somewhat surprised.

Then she naturally followed up with, "Did you just realize that today?" That can't be right.

Completely unbothered to conceal or deny it, Su Yi carried the knowing air of someone who’s seen everything.

Her bluntness was... something else.

Kangxi also laughed without any pressure, "Not really."

"I never got the chance to mention it to the Noble Consort before."

Meaning he had noticed long ago but had refrained from saying so due to certain 'special' reasons.

Su Yi: ...

So today’s your big opportunity, huh?

Liang Jiugong and Qinxin shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact.

Though what the Emperor said was... *awkward cough*.

Given how the situation was unfolding, it was nothing like the imagined scenario where the Emperor gently coaxed Rong Noble Consort into calming down outside the door. Instead, it felt more like poking the bear—calling out the Imperial Noble Consort to her face.

"Uh-huh." Su Yi snapped coldly, abandoning any pretense of gentleness.

Kangxi’s lips, at a perfectly warm thirty-something degrees, spouted nothing warm.

Though Su Yi wasn’t the type to explode over something like this, she also had no intention of continuing this standoff at the door. She wasn’t a damn watchdog, after all.

Not being a damn watchdog, Su Yi turned to storm back to bed.

"So temperamental too—what a headache." He even sighed afterward, dripping with exaggerated despair.

The kind where silence spoke louder than words.

Su Yi paused mid-step, then turned back, already tugging at her sleeves, pissed.

She managed to hold back, though. Hands-on-hips Su or fists-up Su—both were bad ideas.

Not good. Very irrational. Emotions shouldn’t fluctuate too much before bed—must stay calm and composed.

"Your Majesty outshines me."

Kangxi wasn’t exactly a saint either—a real piece of work.

How dare someone with eight sneaky schemes up his sleeve criticize others?!

Screw staying calm and composed!

Su Yi glared at the door as if her gaze could shoot daggers straight through at Kangxi.

For fuck’s sake, was this jerk taking advantage of being stuck outside, unable to enter, and her unwillingness to open the door, to finally air every petty grievance he’d bottled up?

Kangxi indeed seemed to be doing just that. "These things are still tolerable, though."

His tone practically dripped with fake martyrdom.

"Pfft." Su Yi was done talking. She gave a razor-thin smile.

A smile worthy of Zuan, truly worth having.

Liang Jiugong: Everything His Majesty says is true.

Qinxin: That's way too blunt.

At this point, just by the sound, it's clear Her Ladyship must be right by the door. At this distance...

Apart from the wooden door panel in between, it's practically face-to-face.

"They don't compare to half of the Consort's morning mood." Here, Kangxi's tone noticeably stiffened.

Clearly, compared to the earlier remarks, this was no drizzle—it was a full-blown thunderstorm.

Su Yi: This jerk is definitely using reverse psychology!

He must be trying to trick me into opening the door.

Seriously, walking right into his trap would mean falling for it.

If he thinks I wouldn’t notice, he's underestimating me.

So, Su Yi steadied herself and pointed out, "Reverse psychology won’t work. Your Majesty should get some rest early. You've got that early hunt tomorrow—if you're too drowsy and your aim is off, that wouldn’t be good."

You workaholic who has to rise early tomorrow, still want to stay up late here? Don’t blame fatigue when you can't see straight and your arrows miss.

That would be quite amusing.

Su Yi smiled gently, confident she’d struck a nerve.

She saw through it but was still furious!

You absolute jerk, saving tonight’s verbal barrage for now—I really owe you one.

"So what?" Kangxi remained utterly unruffled, replying with perfect calm.

Left speechless by her own words again: You learn fast and waste no time putting it to use!

But Kangxi wasn’t done. Perhaps being locked out unleashed long-held grudges.

He continued his onslaught: "I’ve long grown accustomed to early rises. Even if I stay up a little tonight, it won’t delay me tomorrow.

After all, unlike the Consort, who not only sleeps late but also wakes up grumpy, seeing her rest so soundly does stir some resentment in me."

The bitterness of an early-riser forced to work was palpable.

Wait—so this jerk occasionally made noise to wake her because he resented her sleeping peacefully while he had to rise at dawn?!

Just to annoy her—how pathetic.

Since it only happened occasionally, Su Yi, after falling back asleep, would forget how she’d woken up by the time she properly roused.

Well, well. So Kangxi’s petty schemes were deliberate.

She'd suspected before, but now he's outright admitting it.

Jerk!

"Is the imperial physician still around? Perhaps we should summon him to examine Your Majesty." Su Yi’s tone was tactful, but not overly so.

The meaning of this sentence is pretty much the same as "Have you lost it?"

Kangxi was clearly not okay.

Liang Jiugong and Qinxin gradually shrank back more and more, both thinking of the palace servants who’d been sent away earlier—how they wished they could switch places with them, rather than being stuck here watching gods clash while fearing for us mere mortals.

One bombshell after another still wasn’t enough.

Things had gotten this far, and it was no longer a situation where Liang Jiugong or Qinxin could interject.

Catching the subtext—'Are you sick?'—Kangxi took it at face value and replied with a faint smile, "I am well, no need for concern, Noble Consort."

Selective hearing—you’re a fast learner.

"What do you want?" Su Yi asked.

What the hell else have you got up your sleeve?

In a tone that said he didn’t care, Kangxi delivered infuriating words: "Since Noble Consort won’t open the door anyway, I might as well take this opportunity to speak my mind. Odds are, I won’t sleep a wink."

Su Yi: No way you’re actually gonna talk all night.

Su Yi didn’t believe Kangxi could really drag this out all night—wouldn’t he get tired?

Besides, she wasn’t *that* flawed to deserve a whole night of nitpicking.

Hmph.

Standing by the door had started to tire Su Yi out, and she felt lazy, wanting nothing more than to go back and lie down, letting Kangxi simmer outside alone.

However, as she turned and took her first steps, she made sure her steps were feather-light, planning to retreat silently without making a sound.

No normal walking noises—just sneaking off without a trace.

Let that *bastard* Kangxi think she was still standing by the door, locked in a silent standoff.

Su Yi leisurely made her way back to the bed, plonked down, pulled the covers over herself, wriggled into a comfier spot, and prepared to drift off to sleep.

If she didn’t respond, could Kangxi really keep up a one-man show outside the door all by himself?

Monologuing with no audience would get old fast. Could he really last the whole night?

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Su Yi reached over, grabbed the pillow beside her, and tossed it to the foot of the bed. She then shimmied to the middle until she was perfectly aligned before settling in.

As for Kangxi’s usual pillow now lying at the foot of the bed—she hadn’t thrown it on the floor because she could still use it to prop up her feet!

Might as well put it to use.

But before Su Yi could actually do so, a sharp *rap-rap-rap* came from the door.

In the quiet of the night, the sound was like nails on a chalkboard.

Like hell!

Su Yi: *Oh, come on!*

At Kangxi’s nod, Liang Jiugong began knocking on the door.

Certainly, the Emperor shouldn’t be the one knocking himself, so it had to be Liang Jiugong.

If necessary, Liang Jiugong would have to become a mindless door-knocking automaton.

You could just imagine how the Imperial Noble Consort would react upon hearing the knocking.

Liang Jiugong: This wasn’t my idea—I didn’t want to do it either.

After a while, the rhythmic “knock-knock-knock” started up again.

The knocking wasn’t continuous—three knocks, a pause, then three more.

It was downright impossible to ignore.

Su Yi: !

Wait—did I make noise coming back just now?

I didn’t even blow out the candles!