Chapter 316

Chapter 316

Although Su Yi usually acts as a figurehead, delegating tasks to Kangxi whenever something comes up—after all, a man who can wake up at 3 a.m. daily won’t be bothered by minor issues—she might as well let him handle a bit more.

It wasn’t laziness before, and it certainly isn’t laziness now.

Su Yi was currently struggling to digest the "tonics," her body somewhat unable to handle the supplements.

Much like when she first arrived in this world, her body—untempered by heavenly lightning—couldn’t process even a small amount of "tonics" and was now on the verge of collapse, liable to start bleeding any second.

Having not coughed up blood in a long time, Su Yi considered the consequences of giving in to the urge—being subjected to nasty herbal brews again, which were useless yet required prolonged consumption. Deciding she could endure a little longer, she felt even more justified in ignoring the matter.

Indeed, Su Yi wasn’t idle either. The moment Kangxi took action, she was already lurking nearby, ready to swoop in for leftovers.

But she wasn’t targeting Consort Ping. If she were, Su Yi would’ve been the first to strike.

No, her real target was the "system" hiding within Consort Ping.

Last time, they had outright clashed, with two against one, determined to overthrow this cursed Heavenly Dao and replace it with a better one—only for "It" to escape.

Hiding right under their noses was arguably the best move, and even going so far as to disguise itself as a "system" showed an attempt to stay relevant.

At first, Su Yi hadn’t noticed, instinctively assuming it was one of those typical transmigration tropes—transmigrating into a book, side character’s rise, palace intrigue, fellow transmigrator—plenty of elements to work with.

First, there was the so-called sister Niohuru, then her, the "little Niohuru." Since none of them were the right fit, why not add a Xiao Hesheli to the mix?

And right off the bat, it handed the other party a made-up transmigration backstory, blowing her cover.

When the other party uttered Su Yi’s real name, she could sense it immediately and swiftly ambush from the shadows.

This world didn’t cultivate immortality, so people didn’t know that reaching a certain level of cultivation allowed one to vaguely sense when their true name was called. At the Nascent Soul Realm and above, honorific titles replaced names—calling someone’s true name was like ringing them up directly, though most only did it out of sheer boredom.

Despite the other party’s frantic efforts to hide, Su Yi’s intuition was too sharp. It didn’t matter how convoluted her reasoning was—she could start from the wrong premise, follow a chaotic process, and still luck into the right answer in the end.

The absurdity was akin to an algorithm that was entirely wrong from start to finish yet somehow produced the right result.

Out of the three of them—the so-called sister Niohuru, Xiao Hesheli—both had backdoors opened for them, while she was the one given the cold shoulder. And now, after being snubbed, they still expected her to grind herself to dust? Who could possibly be more aggrieved than her?

Feeling deeply wronged, Su Yi played it cool this time, holding back to prevent the other party from escaping again.

But the other side was truly cautious, keeping its distance at first.

As for Kangxi—perhaps it was true love, and the bias was strong. Maybe there was some misunderstanding about "Its" favored son.

Su Yi’s feelings toward these so-called "fate’s favorites" and luck magnets were complicated. It was like the salt in the wound for an unlucky person to witness was an actual lucky person demonstrating just how absurdly lucky they could be.

Yesterday’s assassination attempt had been aimed at her.

Then Consort Ping butted in, disrupting the plan. Rushing to block an arrow—though Consort Ping’s target definitely wasn’t her—close enough, it might as well have been.

Could Su Yi really stop her?

Otherwise, if even one arrow managed to hit Su Yi, she’d make sure two struck Kangxi in return. The motto was: "If we’re injured, no one walks away unscathed. Let’s see who’s tougher, and if we can’t die from recklessness, we’ll drag each other down trying."

Honestly, if someone else took over, Su Yi would gladly step into the trap for a time-out. Any extra acting would just be overtime work!

In the end, Consort Ping took the arrow. The good news? No matter how fatal the injury, she wouldn’t die. The bad news? She was definitely going to die.

The moment Kangxi left, Su Yi immediately went to camp out there early. Truth be told, she arrived even before Kangxi did.

So even though the 'system' fled the moment it sensed Kangxi's murderous intent to kill Consort Ping, Consort Ping was wrenched awake by agony.

She ran straight into Su Yi, who had been waiting to pick up the pieces, and the latter immediately went on the offensive. The other party was also ruthless, dumping most of its energy to split off a small avatar and escape.

How could it run so fast? The speed of its escape felt eerily familiar.

Coming away with something was still a win. The priority now was to quickly digest what she’d gained and make it her own.

Su Yi, having absorbed a sudden influx of energy, now suffered from an energy overload. The delicate balance between her body and soul was disrupted again. If not for her forcefully suppressing the effects and not letting it show, she would’ve had to dismiss everyone and vomit blood in bursts—then suppress it again, only to fail and vomit once more. The intermittent bleeding was truly annoying.

So now, regarding the Eldest Prince, all Su Yi could do was call his parents for him. No need to thank her.

Su Yi had someone inform Kangxi, which effectively meant she was washing her hands of the matter. Still, she went through the motions with some diplomatic words: "After all, he’s a prince. It wouldn’t be proper for me to act without authorization. If anything happens, it’s best to seek His Majesty’s instructions for safety."

Well said. Translated, it meant: A firm no. Take it up with Kangxi.

The palace servants hadn’t expected Rong Noble Consort to dismiss the matter so decisively, immediately directing them to the Emperor—and then that was the end of it?!

She didn’t even bother to check on the Eldest Prince. If the Emperor arrived later and found the Noble Consort still sitting here unbothered, wouldn’t that look bad?

They hesitated to speak up, afraid of offending Rong Noble Consort, and ultimately decided against saying anything.

Kangxi’s side was practically a tense atmosphere. With this series of actions—demotions handed down—it was clear how much turmoil had been stirred up in the capital.

Even Consort Xian and Consort Nara, who had the Eldest Prince and Third Prince respectively, were demoted two ranks. Not to mention the families outside the Empress and Imperial Consorts, who were in deep trouble, terrified of being dragged down alongside them.

Not just the capital—even here at the Mulan Hunting Grounds, many were implicated. Everyone was walking on eggshells, lying low, afraid to draw attention at such a time. It was obvious that seeking an audience with the Emperor now would be futile.

But since Rong Noble Consort had sent someone, they couldn’t just turn them away. They hurried forward to inquire and, upon learning it was about the Eldest Prince, admitted they couldn’t make decisions. While sending someone to report back, they also invited the messenger to rest and served tea.

When Liang Jiugong heard, he inwardly sighed. What a mess. What else could the Eldest Prince be causing trouble for at a time like this? And the Noble Consort had just sent someone straight to the Emperor—what a shamelessly hands-off approach.

Keeping his expression neutral, he approached His Majesty. Kangxi calmly finished reviewing the memorial in his hand, set down the brush, and only then did Liang Jiugong softly mention that the Noble Consort had sent someone. He then fell silent, making himself invisible.

The atmosphere grew inexplicably tense.

Lately, His Majesty had been in a foul mood. Though outsiders assumed it was due to the upheaval in the capital, and even the attendants were on edge, Liang Jiugong suspected the Emperor’s displeasure stemmed from something else.

After a moment, Kangxi spoke evenly, "Let the Noble Consort handle it as she sees fit." He then picked up the vermilion brush again, switching to another memorial, his face unreadable—almost indifferent.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Liang Jiugong didn’t dare say more and carefully withdrew. By the time he stepped out, his back soaked with sweat. Just standing there, unmoving, had left him drenched. He couldn’t help but sigh—what a miserable situation. When would things return to normal?

The Noble Consort had sent someone, but only about the Eldest Prince. Not one word more—not even a perfunctory ‘how are you.’

Was this some power struggle? And likely one-sided at that, since the Noble Consort was likely clueless about it. What a real pain. If it hadn’t been about the Eldest Prince, she might not have sent anyone at all.

There was no way to hint at this without overstepping. Liang Jiugong was at his wit’s end. Even if the Noble Consort found out, she’d likely play dumb—typical of her, really.

A difficult situation, but Liang Jiugong had to press on.

Serving His Majesty meant sharing his burdens. Even if the Emperor didn’t say it outright, failing to grasp his deeper intentions was a sure way to lose favor. Liang Jiugong had served closely for years—he wasn’t foolish.

He approached the messenger sent by the Noble Consort, first relaying the Emperor’s decision, then began probing. He mentioned how busy the Emperor had been with state affairs, how he hadn’t rested properly for days, and inquired after the Noble Consort’s foot injury—had it improved? Were her attendants serving diligently?

At first, the palace servant had been worried about failing their mistress’s task, but as Liang Jiugong segued into discussing the Emperor and asking after the Noble Consort, they initially took it as courtesy before realizing his underlying message.

They couldn’t help but fret. Given their understanding of their mistress, there was little hope of success.

Especially since the mistress wanted nothing to do with the Eldest Prince, and the Emperor had deferred to her—the depth of her resentment was already predictable.

Seeing that the other party finally understood, Liang Jiugong wasted no more time and let them leave.

But of course, nothing would go that smoothly.

Su Yi had little deep understanding of the First Prince's impatience before, but now she was starting to grasp it.

Even if they failed to stop the First Prince from going to see Noble Lady Hui, it would have been fine if he just went. But now, with his wound splitting open and blood gushing out, he still stormed over to her, blood dripping and fury blazing.

Su Yi paused, bewildered: ?