Chapter 306

Chapter 306

Due to his injuries, lifting Bao Qing without aggravating his condition was quite troublesome. For instance, while Bao Qing was still waiting for his stretcher to be completed, Su Yi was already seated and ready to be pulled up first, as if she were on a swing.

To make matters worse, Su Yi waved cheerfully with a smile, "Then I’ll go up first~"

Even her ethereal beauty couldn’t mask her mischievous little gremlin energy.

Bao Qing nearly blurted out "Damn it!" in frustration, so angry that even the pain in his leg couldn’t distract him.

Kangxi made no move to 'defend fairness,' pretending to be occupied with giving orders and not paying attention, deliberately avoiding Bao Qing’s gaze.

In reality, it was more like, "If you speak up, she won’t be able to make *him* her next target." After all, saying anything might redirect her mischief toward him. The Rong Noble Consort never held back just because others were around, but Kangxi couldn’t—he had face to maintain.

Especially today, when the Rong Noble Consort was uncharacteristically subdued—it was only because Bao Qing had fallen into the trap with her, temporarily diverting her attention from tormenting Kangxi. Otherwise, Kangxi would have been the one suffering the drama.

The unluckiest thing today wasn’t entirely without reason. Bao Qing wasn’t just some hapless victim.

As Su Yi was being pulled up, she was utterly unbothered by the sensation of being suspended in midair, showing no signs of panic from the weightlessness. Her posture was so graceful that, if not for the ropes, she might have seemed ready to float away with the wind. Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed hers, causing her to sway slightly.

Looking down, Su Yi silently stared at Kangxi, her expression clearly conveying, "This had better be good."

Kangxi calmly guided her hand back to the rope and gave it a light pat. "Grip it properly—it’s steadier."

His words sounded like nothing more than a safety precaution, masking the brief moment of panic when he feared losing his grip on her.

Since he’d phrased it so reasonably, what could Su Yi do but accept? If she fell, she’d just use them as cushions—though the rope was sturdy enough that such a scenario was unlikely unless she deliberately sabotaged it.

She gave a noncommittal ‘Mm.’

Bao Qing watched bitterly, thinking the Rong Noble Consort was being ungrateful. The Emperor cared so much for her, yet she responded with such a dismissive attitude—how disrespectful!

But soon, Bao Qing no longer had the energy to dwell on such thoughts. He felt dizzy, woozy from blood loss, yet frustratingly, he didn’t pass out completely. This was ridiculous—he’d rather just faint outright. The ordeal was pure agony.

Without external stimulation, his spirit waned, leaving him in a semi-conscious state as he was transported back. In his daze, a piercing shriek jolted him awake.

For a moment, his heart skipped a beat, and his breath hitched.

Before he could react, he was jostled again, nearly seeing stars. His face turned even paler as he struggled to focus. It was his mother, wailing. "Mother, I—" Bao Qing wanted to say he wasn’t dead yet, but Consort Hui’s voice drowned him out.

"Bao Qing! My Bao Qing! How could you be hurt like this? What were those useless servants doing to let this happen?!" Consort Hui was beyond reason.

The moment she heard of her son’s accident, her legs gave out, and she collapsed. If not for the quick support of her attendants, she might have fallen hard. She had been waiting in dread, her face growing increasingly grim—especially upon learning that the Crown Prince had returned safely. The seething hatred in her eyes was almost palpable, downright terrifying.

Now, seeing her son return covered in blood, Consort Hui couldn’t hold back her cries.

Meanwhile, the little milk dragon, who had been maintaining a regal front like a proper heir in Kangxi’s absence, hurriedly checked on his dear father before anxiously fluttering around Su Yi. He wanted to approach but was afraid of accidentally hurting her, so he settled for carefully supporting her arm. "Honored Mother Consort, let me help you. The imperial physicians are ready."

In his adoring eyes, the Honored Mother Consort had always been fragile and in constant need of coddling.

He had already been put at ease about Kangxi—after all, the one seriously injured by an arrow was Consort Ping, while the Emperor had been well-protected and unharmed.

The little milk dragon had been slightly nervous but mostly relieved—his father was safe. However, upon learning that the Honored Mother Consort had fallen into a trap because of Consort Ping and hadn’t returned yet, he immediately commandeered two imperial physicians to stand by.

As for Consort Ping, who was currently in critical condition with an arrow lodged dangerously close to her heart—the physicians were still deliberating on how to remove it—the little milk dragon reasoned: It’s not like she’d drop dead from missing two doctors, even if one of them happened to be the most skilled.

Consort Ping had taken the arrow to protect the Emperor—if she succumbed to her injuries, it would be a martyr’s glory. The physicians could only do so much—it wasn’t about lacking one or two doctors, right? That was the little milk dragon’s attitude as he reassigned the physicians.

The physicians, already worried about their precarious positions due to Consort Ping's tricky injury, felt slightly reassured by the Crown Prince's 'gentle' attitude upfront—even if they couldn't save her.

Consort Ping, unconscious and awaiting treatment, had initially been overjoyed that her act of saving Kangxi had skyrocketed his favorability in her system by thirty-five points, instantly reaching enough to break the ice. She was already fantasizing about deepening her relationship with Kangxi upon waking. But upon seeing this situation, she raged at the Crown Prince, snarling that he deserved to be deposed twice.

Only now, when no one could see her, could Consort Ping vent so freely. Normally, even when dismissing her attendants to rage in private, she had to restrain herself—utterly stifling. Seizing this rare opportunity, she unleashed all her pent-up resentment toward the deposed Crown Prince, along with past grievances.

*A Crown Prince doomed to be deposed—the more arrogance he shows now, the more miserable his downfall will be!*

Consort Ping harbored malice toward the Crown Prince, though she despised this future failure. Disdain was one thing, but the fact that he preferred sucking up to Rong Noble Consort—that two-faced schemer—over her, his own aunt by relation, infuriated her.

Compounded by her repeated failures to outmaneuver Rong Noble Consort, the Crown Prince's closeness to the latter only stoked her fury. How dare he disregard her so completely?

*Hah, a Crown Prince destined for deposition.*

And now, at such a critical moment, he even called away physicians—as if he couldn’t wait for her to die!

If not for her system hack, she might have indeed fulfilled the deposed Crown Prince’s wish. But alas, she wouldn’t die so easily.

Still, the Crown Prince’s move presented a chance to poison Kangxi against him later. Moreover, Consort Ping had always intended to teeter on the brink of death—only by surviving such a life-threatening crisis could she maximize the impact of her rescue.

Past missteps—whether faking illness to get attention or 'accidentally' pushing Rong Noble Consort into the trap—would pale in comparison to her near-death sacrifice for Kangxi. Consort Ping was already envisioning a glorious future.

Meanwhile, chaos unfolded elsewhere.

Had the Eldest Prince not also fallen in, he would have missed the spectacle of *Unfortunate Victim No. 1* and avoided joining the group mishap. Sitting on the filthy ground with the others, Su Yi had to carefully monitor the Eldest Prince’s rapidly draining HP bar to ensure he didn’t die on her watch and pin the blame on her.

Feeling genuinely wronged, she desperately needed a bite of sweet milk bun to barely soothe her soul.

Su Yi glanced at her feet. "Perfect timing."

A gentle smile bloomed on her peony-smooth face. "As thoughtful as ever, Baocheng." She affectionately cupped little milk dragon’s cheeks and squished them—the same way she usually treated the round-faced Guogaitou.

Normally, little milk dragon might sternly declare he was grown-up now and too old for cheek-pinching. But today, heartbroken over his Honored Mother Consort’s fright and injuries, he obediently endured the squishing—especially since the round-faced Guogaitou wasn’t around.

The scene split: Consort Hui sobbed over the Eldest Prince on one side, while Su Yi and little milk dragon shared a tender moment on the other. Kangxi stood in the middle, oddly left out by both groups.

Not that he minded (okay, he totally did!). Given the circumstances, he had plenty to handle.

If everyone simply dispersed to tend to their own affairs—er, injuries—with Kangxi busy elsewhere, a temporary "peace" might have prevailed.

But then, Consort Hui made the first move.