Chapter 288

Chapter 288

She didn’t move, and the palace servants were just as stiff, not daring to make any sudden movements.

After exchanging nervous looks, it was finally the maid closest to Consort Ping who gathered her courage and stepped forward to help her up.

"My lady, allow this maid to assist you," the maid said, her voice trembling despite her best efforts to steady it. She spoke with extreme caution, afraid Consort Ping would blow up—making her the unlucky scapegoat.

But that wouldn’t do. If no one helped, it would be unacceptable. As those who served her daily, they couldn’t just leave Consort Ping there stiff and unmoving, or else they would be the ones to suffer later.

The maid’s heart pounded as she cautiously approached, carefully supporting Consort Ping to rise, careful not to make any abrupt movements.

To her surprise, the process went smoothly—Consort Ping didn’t snap.

She had fully expected Consort Ping to explode in rage after the Emperor’s departure, yet the lady remained strangely quiet.

Perhaps her surprise showed too plainly, for Consort Ping’s gaze swept over her. The maid immediately lowered her head further, not daring to meet her eyes.

Her hands, still supporting Consort Ping, trembled slightly, and she looked so nervous it was almost pathetic.

Consort Ping stared at the top of the maid’s head but ultimately did nothing else.

Not out of sympathy, but because she knew her every action would now be scrutinized. Losing her temper would only give others ammunition for gossip or schemes.

The Emperor had only just left. If she immediately vented her fury, people would definitely think she resented him. There were no secrets within these walls.

Kangxi had likely already noticed her recent behavior and was displeased.

Staring at the icy cold favorability value, Consort Ping had no choice but to choke down her rage—she had no right to act recklessly now.

"Have the meal prepared," Consort Ping said, speaking slowly as she struggled to suppress her emotions.

Though she didn’t snap, the tension hung thick. The servants could only pretend not to notice, but they all tensed up, walking on eggshells around her, moving with heightened caution.

Consort Ping wasn’t blind to their wariness—how they tiptoed around her, watching her every expression.

But she thought it was already generous of her not to take her anger out on them. Did they expect her to comfort them, to ease their fears?

Like hell she would.

Consort Ping was suffering now. Though she suppressed her emotions, she had no intention of letting others feel at ease either.

Meanwhile, after leaving Consort Ping’s quarters, Kangxi changed course, surprising Liang Jiugong, who had assumed they would head straight to Rong Noble Consort’s palace. Instead, they returned to the Emperor’s residence.

Though His Majesty rarely rested there, quarters were always ready for him.

Kangxi bathed, changed into casual attire, and only then made his way to Rong Noble Consort’s palace.

This made sense, but something wasn’t right. Upon reflection, he realized the Emperor always changed into casual clothes before visiting Rong Noble Consort.

Earlier today, Kangxi had gone to Consort Ping’s place without changing, which hadn’t struck Liang Jiugong as unusual. But now, after returning to change, the Emperor seemed unhurried. Though he had come back earlier than usual, he no longer appeared in any rush.

It didn’t add up.

However, when they arrived at Rong Noble Consort’s palace, even an old hand like Liang Jiugong couldn’t hide his shock at the sight before him.

Had the messenger been downplaying things? Because aside from the hall itself still standing, everything inside seemed completely wrecked.

This was their idea of "a few broken items"?!

How dare they? The messenger really had the nerve to say that. Liang Jiugong felt a sense of being deceived by false information at this moment.

Indeed, what had happened at Consort Ping's place was already known to the Emperor.

But knowing was one thing; seeing it in person was another.

Servants scurried around like ants, frantically cleaning up. Clearly, they’d been at this for hours—this mess wasn’t getting fixed anytime soon.

But the servants moved like lightning, single-mindedly clearing debris. Every last servant was tied up here, even Qinxin was inside directing the cleanup, utterly swamped. Others scrambled to set up a temporary room for Her Ladyship.

In short, pure chaos—like a kicked beehive. They were stretched so thin, they wished they could clone themselves. They were already short-staffed from the start, and now they were stretched even thinner.

No way they could post guards outside now.

They didn’t even notice the Emperor arriving, let alone greet him. Everyone was too busy cleaning up inside.

No surprise nobody was out there!

With manpower already stretched to the limit, how could anyone be spared to stand by outside?

The Emperor, though, looked unshaken. Talk about unflappable—if you ignored that sigh, sure, he seemed calm, showing not a hint of shock.

It hit Liang Jiugong then—no wonder the Emperor had seemed rushed but not frantic. If it was already like this now, what had it been like before the cleanup?

Hell, the door nearly fell off its hinges when they opened it.

When the servants saw the devastation inside, they freaked out, sure an assassin had struck.

Honestly, an assassin might’ve been less messy.

Originally, when they failed to stop Consort Ping from disturbing Her Ladyship’s peace, and she started smashing things inside, the servants had panicked but dared not enter, kneeling outside instead.

When the door opened and they saw the inside, their hearts sank. They were grateful they had listened to Her Ladyship’s order not to enter—had they gone in, they might have ended up as shattered as the debris strewn across the floor!

When Su Yi stepped out, the servants held their breath.

Then, sweet as poison, she asked them whether they would clean up the mess inside or continue kneeling—a simple either-or choice.

All smiles—except for the war zone behind her.

Of course, the servants unanimously chose the first option! Option one! Nobody asked how Su Yi wrecked the place—some questions are better left unasked.

In fact, there was a sense that dismantling a room was nothing—at least she was still alive. If she’d aimed that rage at them, they’d be paste.

Before starting the cleanup, they made sure to settle Su Yi temporarily in another area, too preoccupied to even consider the fallout after Consort Ping left.

They were drowning in this mess already.

Especially now that Her Ladyship had even sent Qinxin to join the cleanup crew, finding the crowd around her annoying. If not for needing people to tidy up, she wouldn’t have been able to sleep in such a wrecked place tonight.

Right now, Su Yi was nowhere to be seen.

It was as if the space had been divided into two zones—one where servants scurried like ants cleaning up, and the other where Su Yi stayed.

Even when passing by Su Yi’s area, they instinctively lowered their voices.

Words fail me.

In the courtyard, Su Yi sat casually on a temporarily moved daybed, tossing birdseed and watching sparrows flutter down to feed. Her movements were indifferent, radiating calm.

Her delicate wrist, exposed as she scattered the seeds, looked like it could break at the slightest touch. Her complexion was excessively pale, almost translucent, with faintly colored lips. Draped in a simple cloak, she appeared utterly fragile.

Yet she was the one who’d practically wrecked the whole bedroom!!

Go figure.

Noticing the sound of footsteps and seeing Kangxi approach, she spoke naturally, "Oh, you’re here."

Not a shred of guilt—just cool confidence.

As if she hadn’t been the one causing trouble again.

The palace servants, scurrying like ants, only then noticed the Emperor’s arrival. Without even pausing their tasks, they hurriedly bowed in greeting.

Kangxi had nowhere to sit—there were too many broken items. Even the daybed had been moved from another area, and not one chair leg was left whole. Getting another would take a while.

Kangxi sat down on the remaining space of the daybed. "Pitch in, all of you."

Without Su Yi needing to say anything, Kangxi had already ordered the attendants who had come with him to join in.

Liang Jiugong’s eyes widened.

So, before arriving, His Majesty had brought along twice the usual crowd. Another team had been sent to fetch supplies, which hadn’t arrived yet because there was just too much to count.

And now, the attendants who had come with Kangxi were immediately put to work.

The newly joined servants froze for a second, then jumped into action without complaint.

Even Liang Jiugong got roped in.

Thus, the two masters remained on one side, while the other side was occupied by an army of cleaners.

Su Yi continued feeding the sparrows. Soon after the well-fed birds flew away, they would return with their friends for another meal.

Weirdly enough, it was fun—boring but weirdly satisfying.

But Kangxi wasn’t particularly interested. He reached out and touched her forehead—still feverish, but not as bad as earlier.

Hmm. Confirmed—the Imperial Consort still had a fever.

Meaning, she wasn’t all there.

She seemed normal, but she wasn’t actually better!

Her seeming fragility vs. the reality? Night and day.

Being sick just made her worse.

Of course, the palace servants knew better than to gossip anyway—they never dared to speculate in the first place.

Even Kangxi, who had mentally prepared himself beforehand, had still lowballed the Imperial Consort’s talent for chaos.

Sigh, she trashed the entire hall.

Kangxi felt as conflicted as someone leaving home while worrying about a sick cat, feeling uneasy and planning to return early to check on it.

Yet upon returning, he found the place wrecked, and the cat greeted him with an innocent meow, completely unfazed.

Kangxi reached out to adjust Su Yi's cloak, wrapping her up so she appeared petite and delicate.

But her talent for destruction was unmatched.

"What happened?" Kangxi asked casually, though it was the first thing he'd said since arriving.

He already knew the situation beforehand, but he wanted to hear how the Imperial Consort would spin... or rather, explain it.

Su Yi scattered the remaining birdseed in her hand before picking up a handkerchief draped over the small side table, slowly wiping her hands clean. Kangxi didn’t rush her.

Why not? Because he didn’t want to?

"My head hurt, it was noisy, my hands were itchy, and I wanted to break something. By the time I snapped out of it, it was already like this."

Though brief, it could be interpreted as: if it hadn’t been so noisy, this wouldn’t have happened. How could it be her fault? Clearly, it was someone else’s problem.

With a 'I didn’t expect this either' expression, Su Yi sighed, sounding rather world-weary.

It was just like someone waking up after a drunken rampage, claiming they blacked out and remembered nothing.

What a bullshit excuse—she couldn’t even be bothered to make one up properly.

God, she was infuriating.

The sparrows that had been pecking at seeds stopped eating when Su Yi sighed. One fluttered over and perched on her shoulder, trying to snuggle up to her.

Kangxi had intended to tell her to speak properly, but when he saw the sparrow—originally eating on the ground—not only fly over but also try to snuggle with the Imperial Consort, his words changed to, "No."

He reached out to shoo the bird off her shoulder.

The sparrow did fly up in that instant, but instead of flying away, it circled and landed on Su Yi’s other shoulder.

It chirped twice, its tiny black eyes looking utterly innocent as it burrowed into the fur trim of her cloak.

Its actions clearly declared, _I’m gonna snuggle, and I will snuggle._

Kangxi swore the damn bird was challenging him. Little sparrow.