Chapter 304

Chapter 304

The First Prince was blindsided by the verbal venom, momentarily stunned, doubting his own ears. After replaying the words in his mind, he confirmed—Noble Consort Rong had really just cursed him out.

"You dare—how dare you call me that?!" The First Prince was both shocked and disbelieving. Even when butting heads with the Crown Prince, he had never been so bluntly called a dog.

Su Yi, with her gentle demeanor, didn’t seem like someone who had just hurled an insult. She even countered, "What, do I need to pick a special day for it?" Her tone held no mercy.

She even added humorously, "Today’s a lucky day—great for journeys." Blood’s red, and red means prosperity—wasn’t that a sign of great luck?

You and your imperial dad both had it coming.

Ah, isn’t that just lovely?

But the First Prince wasn’t laughing.

It grated on him like sand in rice—had the First Prince ever eaten such rice?

Of course not!

The First Prince was left speechless by Noble Consort Rong’s sheer audacity. He never expected her, with her delicate and gentle appearance, to spew venom without hesitation. In his young, unhardened heart, it left a lasting shadow over women of her type.

Su Yi couldn’t care less about the First Prince’s worldview-shattering disbelief. Instead of learning anything worthwhile, he had already started spouting high-and-mighty lecturing. How shameless—did he really dare say such things?

That bastard Kangxi used to pull the same crap, but look at him now—does he still act like that?

As she spoke, Su Yi pressed down on the wound on his leg. The First Prince shrieked like a scalded cat, his pretty-boy face contorted in agony, unable to maintain any composure.

The First Prince believed in shedding blood, not tears—but this time, the pain broke him.

But there were different ways to cry. The First Prince wailed loudly, and once he started, he embraced the breakdown, his cries growing louder. He wiped his tears roughly, like a rugged man, completely shattered—a full-blown macho meltdown.

Su Yi felt no guilt about bullying a child. She plucked a hairpin from her updo and began twirling it like a pen.

He bawled; she twirled her pin.

As for the First Prince’s meltdown—though a bit noisy—wasn’t it still far more pleasant than his patronizing garbage? It was almost tolerable.

During a brief pause in his sobbing, the First Prince glanced at Noble Consort Rong to see if she was at least flustered by his tears. Instead, he nearly choked on his own anger all over again. At first, it was the pain—now, it was genuine frustration. He had never felt so wronged.

Not only was Noble Consort Rong unbothered, she had even started amusing herself, completely ignoring him as if he weren’t there. She twirled the hairpin between her fingers with such skill it was like a performance—yet paid no attention to him, who was crying his heart out beside her.

She had a heart of stone!

When Su Yi noticed the silence, she asked softly, "Done already? Why not milk the alone time and really let it out?" She even offered sincere advice.

If he didn’t cry now, once the rescuers arrived, his princely pride would lock it down.

Her words practically encouraged him to keep going—what did she take him for?!

Before the First Prince could flare up again, Su Yi earnestly analyzed, "Right now, only I will know if you cry. But when the rescuers come, if you can’t hold back from the pain, then many more will see. Don’t waste this chance—opportunities like this are rare."

Later, when your imperial father starts becoming tyrannical, you won’t even get the chance to cry.

Su Yi’s gaze held a hint of pity. Her sweet tone, when not dripping poison, could lead a saint astray—enough to lure someone straight into a trap.

The First Prince almost nodded along, swayed by her reasoning, before violently shaking his head—No!

This was all Noble Consort Rong’s fault!

Suddenly putting direct pressure on his injured leg—who could take that?!

It happened so fast he didn’t even have time to react before suffering the blow. The Crown Prince wished he could black out right then, even mad at himself for not passing out. At least if he had, he wouldn’t have to endure this torment!

And now, Rong Noble Consort was telling him to let it all out while no one’s around?!

What, she didn’t get enough of it? Did she want an encore?!

Was she even human?!

Before the Crown Prince could see red, the late-arriving rescue team finally arrived to save him.

The rescue team was also stunned—weren’t they only here for Rong Noble Consort?

Since when was the Crown Prince here too?!

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince—" Just as they were about to report to the Emperor that the Crown Prince had also fallen into the same trap, they saw Kangxi already tying a rope around himself, ready to descend. Terrified, they rushed to stop him, "You can’t, Your Majesty!"

But no use. They could only hurriedly follow, sending men down after him to ensure nothing went wrong.

Kangxi, always sharp with his archery and riding, descended effortlessly. But when he saw the scattered animal traps on the ground, his expression darkened.

The Crown Prince barely held out hope for his father to save him, as Rong Noble Consort had mentioned earlier. If the Emperor had made it out unharmed, that was already a blessing. Given the assassination attempt, heading straight back to camp was safest.

So when Kangxi actually appeared, the Crown Prince was overjoyed. "Father!" he cried out excitedly.

If not for his injured leg, he’d have jumped up.

But the sight of the Crown Prince—a mess of pain and over-the-top excitement—was truly hard to watch.

"Bao Qing, what are you doing here?" Kangxi approached and asked, then turned to the others, "See to the Crown Prince."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Those who had followed him down steered clear of the traps, some clearing them away while others checked on the Crown Prince.

As the Crown Prince listened to his father’s question and saw him approach, he got ready to calm his father and inquire about the assassination attempt—whether the mastermind had been uncovered.

But then he watched as Kangxi brushed right past him, crouching instead before Rong Noble Consort with a grave expression and a voice dripping with concern, "Are you hurt anywhere? There are so many traps here."

His gaze swept over her, as if searching for injuries.

The Crown Prince: ??

Huh?!

Wasn’t he the one being addressed?!

He was the one visibly wounded, looking far worse off than Rong Noble Consort!

She looked perfectly fine—not a single sign she’d stepped on a trap.

With him right there as living proof, how was Father even asking her that?!

Meanwhile, Rong Noble Consort—who had just finished spewing venom at him and spinning wild tales—flipped the script like it was nothing. Softly, she replied, "Yes, my foot seems a little twisted. It hurts. But thankfully, I didn’t step on any traps." She sounded way too relieved.

Too young to know the meaning of "spitting blood," the Crown Prince now felt his chest tighten, his breath turning ragged.

Fine, fine, Rong Noble Consort, you were lucky not to step on one, so he's the unlucky one, is that it?

Rong Noble Consort didn’t say it outright, but based on the sharp words she just threw at the First Prince, she was absolutely implying he was the unlucky one!

Could you at least consider the feelings of the person next to you while celebrating your good fortune?!

He had actually experienced schadenfreude and pity earlier—now, who was the one worse off here? The First Prince’s face remained stony, not even distracted by the people examining his leg injury.

Kangxi’s expression didn’t lighten upon hearing this. Still concerned, he said, “Let me check if the bone is injured.” As he spoke, he moved to block the First Prince’s view, ready to examine Su Yi’s injury, reaching out to feel for any bone damage.

The First Prince glanced at his father’s back, then at Rong Noble Consort, now obscured except for her hair bun, and finally at his own leg. He blinked, his bushy brows and wide eyes making him look oddly simple-minded for a moment.

The person checking the First Prince’s injury even remarked thankfully that the bleeding had been stopped in time—otherwise, if it had continued until they returned to camp, it would have been troublesome.

First Prince: “…”

Wait, this is considered *not bad*??

The First Prince, who had nearly passed out from the pain several times, was completely baffled.

This was partly because those attending were guards, not imperial physicians. Consort Ping had been shot alarmingly close to her heart and had to be rushed back to camp for medical treatment. The rest had followed the Emperor to rescue Rong Noble Consort.

No one expected the First Prince to be here too. Though injured, the guards—who had suffered their own cuts and bruises, some with flesh torn open—considered his condition manageable by their standards.

Even the Emperor had been nicked, yet he was walking it off without breaking stride. Compared to that, the guards weren’t inclined to raise alarms—today had already been far too perilous.

Thus, the clash in perspectives had the First Prince questioning himself, wondering if he was overreacting. Everyone else seemed composed, even Rong Noble Consort, who looked like she couldn't lift a finger.

Was he really exaggerating??

Kangxi, who had trained in wrestling and archery in his youth and occasionally suffered minor injuries, had often treated himself with medicinal wine rather than summoning the imperial physician. After a quick examination, he determined, “The bone is fine. It’s dislocated. We’ll reset it once we return.”

Su Yi gave a weak nod, as if the pain in her foot had sapped her energy. Kangxi reached out to comfortingly pat her head.

Su Yi: !

You just touched her foot without washing your hands, and now you’re going to touch her face? Have you no decency?!

Su Yi swiftly shifted to avoid Kangxi’s hand, throwing herself into his arms instead. She rested her hands on his arms, pressing them down, putting on an act as a poor frightened thing in need of comfort. With a delicate, trembling voice, she said,

“Why did you take so long? Today was so terrifying—I nearly died of fright! First assassins, then falling into a trap—it’s been disaster after disaster. I must have forgotten to check the almanac before leaving today. Everything just kept going wrong.”

The First Prince felt his blood pressure rise. *Who* had declared today an auspicious day for travel?

*Who* was it?!

Listening to Rong Noble Consort’s shameless lies—delivered as if they were the absolute truth—the First Prince’s face twisted momentarily.

Did Rong Noble Consort look even remotely frightened? She had been unnervingly calm!

Wasn’t *he* the one who had been terrified? Rong Noble Consort hadn’t shown a hint of fear back then!

And wasn’t *he* the one who had suffered the most—falling off his horse, tumbling down, and landing on a bear trap?!

Was Rong Noble Consort’s twisted foot somehow worse than his leg that's practically hanging off?!

If not for the fact that the First Prince had no way of knowing the truth, he would have assumed Rong Noble Consort’s claim of a foot injury was just an excuse. After all, aside from sitting in one spot, she showed no signs of pain whatsoever.

Is it starting to hurt now...?

Besides, Rong Noble Consort's twisted ankle didn't hinder her sharp tongue or knack for tricking people at all.

The eldest prince was just about to expose this woman's lies—the Emperor mustn't be fooled by her nonsense, as not a single word from her mouth was true, all made up.

Kangxi listened to this mix of complaints and whining, his expression showing no impatience as he replied gently, "My apologies for arriving late."

After a pause, he added, "It won't happen again." These words seemed to refer to this incident, yet also carried another unspoken meaning.

The eldest prince, who had been ready to expose the deception, watched as his imperial father appeared completely oblivious—even offering tender comfort. He was baffled—and completely floored.

The eldest prince: Are you really the same strict, eagle-eyed dad who’d catch me slacking off in a heartbeat?!