Chapter 318

Chapter 318

When the First Prince opened his eyes for the fourth time, his previously heated mind had cooled down completely—so much so that it couldn’t possibly be any calmer. He had to stay calm—no other option. The pain in his neck had swollen into a large lump, working like a sedative.

This time, when he met those smiling eyes again, he no longer dared to speak recklessly. Instead, he cautiously held her gaze, his nerves taut.

Su Yi’s smile deepened slightly, her eyes carrying a hint of relief. "It seems our First Prince has finally calmed down."

That instantly set the prince off again. What kind of calm was this?! She’d knocked him out three times and dragged him back each time!!

The First Prince didn’t speak, but his eyes betrayed his emotions—shooting daggers at her. Su Yi, however, was quite understanding of such petty grievances and chose not to nitpick.

High emotional intelligence: understanding.

Low emotional intelligence: turning a blind eye.

"What are you doing here?" Su Yi asked amiably, as if genuinely concerned—though she hadn’t batted an eye earlier when knocking him out.

Now that he had calmed down, the First Prince only now realized how impulsive it had been to confront Rong Noble Consort. And to think he had come to question her! He hadn’t even managed to finish a single sentence before this woman knocked him out—not once, but three times!

Though the First Prince knew he had acted rashly, his pride still made him stubborn. "What, can’t I come? Father Emperor put you in charge of my recovery, yet you’ve been nowhere to be seen, and you’ve even blocked outside news from reaching me! Are you afraid that I—"

Su Yi’s tone lifted slightly, a questioning "Hmm?"

The First Prince backpedaled hard, gulping like a fish. "Afraid—afraid it’ll affect my recovery, right? Right!" His voice was loud, but the words themselves were the wimpiest he could sound.

Su Yi let out a light chuckle, making the prince’s face flame with shame. He knew his excuse was flimsy—after all, he had stormed in here in a rage—but when in someone else’s house, you swallow your pride.

"Oh, so you’re still here? I thought you’d already moved to another place to recuperate. No wonder—despite being so badly injured, you still managed to come all this way, raring to go, just to start trouble. You’re one tough cookie, huh?" Su Yi had completely forgotten that this matter was supposed to be her responsibility.

Kangxi hadn’t even expected her to handle it, having sent his own people to oversee things instead. After all, if anything happened, she’d just bail.

Su Yi hadn’t taken it seriously, and neither had Kangxi. So… had the prince actually bought that?

Ah, to trust such nonsense so sincerely.

No wonder he had been so easily provoked into storming over here. Su Yi’s gaze at the First Prince carried a hint of pity for his dumb brilliance.

But this didn’t conflict with the fact that Su Yi had no patience for his whining.

The First Prince was thoroughly frustrated by Rong Noble Consort’s expression—first blank, then slowly recalling that such a responsibility even existed—as if he had punched a cloud. And her words made it sound like he had traveled a great distance in his rage, leading her to conclude that he was… resilient?!

Tough enough to endure?!

So she’d just clocked him without a second thought?!

The First Prince couldn’t detect even a trace of guilt or evasion in Rong Noble Consort’s demeanor. Her attitude was so natural that he began to wonder if he was imagining things—but his neck throbbed like hell!

To think that he, a noble prince, had been knocked out repeatedly by her. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Just as he managed to blurt out a single word—"You!"—he immediately choked it back, reflexively flinching when Su Yi lightly tapped her fingers.

Three knockouts had trained him well.

The imperial physician watching from the side felt his heart was in his throat. If this continued, he wouldn’t be able to take it!

Su Yi had merely fussed with her sleeves, yet the First Prince had already flinched preemptively, not even caring about the pain in his neck. "Agh!"

Then, meeting Rong Noble Consort’s utterly baffled gaze, the First Prince wanted to vanish on the spot, feeling he had completely lost face in front of her.

"Servants! Where are you?!"

The First Prince brought this up to divert attention and find some confidence, but he truly wondered where those servants had gone. Now he was alone facing Consort Rong, surrounded only by her people. Where were the servants who were supposed to be taking care of him?

"They failed in their duty to care for a prince, allowing him to disregard his health and act recklessly. Such negligence must be punished."

Su Yi spoke gently, mouthing the proper phrases, but in reality—hah. If they couldn’t restrain him, fine, but they had to foist this nuisance upon her? How infuriating.

Of course, outright violence was unbecoming.

Better to punish them according to palace rules. Was she the type to say, *"You’ve picked the wrong fight?"*

Qinxin had been quite efficient in this short time, uncovering two provocateurs who had deliberately whispered goading words within the First Prince’s hearing—instigated by Noble Lady Hui. After all, as a long-standing figure in the palace, she had her informants and agents.

Now stripped of her high rank, Noble Lady Hui could no longer sit still. Though ill in bed, she was desperate to keep the First Prince firmly under her control and refused to let Consort Rong oversee his recovery.

Before her demotion, Noble Lady Hui wouldn’t have panicked—she had the status of a Consort and the First Prince as her son, ensuring her standing. But now, with her rank reduced and high-ranking concubines bearing no children, only those of concubine rank or above could raise imperial sons. Yet the Emperor had entrusted Consort Rong with overseeing the First Prince’s recovery!

This sent Noble Lady Hui into a frenzy. She plotted for the First Prince to cause trouble at Consort Rong’s quarters. As the Emperor’s eldest son, he would face no severe consequences, while Consort Rong would have to endure the humiliation and grow resentful, making her less likely to win him over.

The First Prince lived in the princes' quarters with no shortage of attendants. Even if he couldn’t be as close to her as before, he would still remember his birth mother. Knowing her son well, she knew exactly how to provoke him into storming over in a rage.

Once the matter escalated, the prince’s dignity would ensure that the blame fell entirely on Consort Rong.

A fine plan—except Su Yi knocked him out the moment he arrived.

Like a firework that never got the chance to explode, doused before it could even ignite. She didn’t let the First Prince make a scene, opting to *calm him down* first.

If once wasn’t enough, well, a few more times would do the trick. And look—it worked splendidly. The First Prince, who had been utterly unreasonable earlier, was now capable of rational discourse.

Qinxin hurried to report the findings. Her mistress’s patience was thin, so results had to be delivered promptly.

The two provocateurs were dragged forward, trussed and silenced. Su Yi’s people had learned in an instant—the technique mastered immediately.

"Was it them?" Su Yi asked the First Prince casually, flipping through the written statements. She read a few choice phrases with amusement, her smiling face anything but reassuring.

The First Prince knew this was merely a pretense. His objections wouldn’t matter—she might decide he needed *another* moment to *come to his senses*. His neck ached at the thought, but he maintained a frosty, unbending demeanor.

"Yes."

He wasn’t yielding—he was just telling the truth.

Su Yi was pleased. The First Prince had come to his senses. How much easier it was to communicate with someone who understood human speech.

"To dare goad the prince to disregard his health—fifty lashes to start. Let’s see if their lives are as tough as their tongues." Her bright tone made the First Prince feel strangely implicated.

Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Do it here. We’ll watch together."

She missed the coppery tang—the nauseating excitement of it.

With the manner of a hostess at tea, she had the First Prince carried out to observe. He desperately wanted to refuse and return to bed, but Consort Rong *willfully misinterpreted* perfectly.

*Oh, you’re saying since you’re already here, it’d be rude not to stay and watch the people who tricked you suffer? Wonderful, let’s go.*

The First Prince: *Since when has she become deaf?!*

By the time the servant sent to fetch the Emperor returned, the scene was one of bloodied punishment, with everyone pale-faced—except Consort Rong, who sipped scented tea with a smile, as if enjoying a leisurely afternoon. The First Prince sat stiffly on a couch, looking queasy.

The fifty lashes were expertly delivered, making sure the person stayed conscious until the very end, guaranteeing they suffered every single one.

The palace maid, who had left and returned to find the situation completely transformed, felt her legs nearly give out in terror. Realizing she hadn’t brought the Emperor back, she trembled even more, fearing punishment. Her voice shook as she forced out the words.

Su Yi’s face didn’t so much as flicker, replying casually, “I’m already handling it.” Then she gestured for the maid to find a good spot to watch.

“Isn’t that right, First Prince?” This was something the First Prince was most qualified to comment on.

The First Prince’s lips twitched, praying for this nightmare to be over so he could leave immediately—preferably without being dragged into the conversation again.

He really didn’t feel "neglected," given how often she kept involving him.

If one had to describe the First Prince’s current mood, it might resemble a public roasting, with someone constantly replaying his cringe-worthy blunders.

Stop, stop—he got that he’d screwed up today, but he wasn’t actually an idiot!!

The moment the punishment ended, the First Prince immediately tried to speak up and leave. His mouth had just opened when—that same damn neck pain, that same blackout—lights out, again.

Before losing consciousness, he heard Rong Noble Consort’s exaggeratedly shocked voice, “Oh dear! How did my elbow just happen to bump into you?!” as if her arm had moved on its own and accidentally struck his neck, causing him to faint.

Bullshit. Total bullshit.

First Prince: *That* ‘accidental’? Yeah, right!

Though his injury was in the leg, the First Prince felt like he’d taken an arrow to the chest, just like Consort Ping—otherwise, why did he want to cough up blood?!

The imperial doctor’s nerves were fried from the start. Now, seeing the First Prince’s familiar method of fainting, the lingering scent of blood in the air, and Rong Noble Consort’s bright “fetch the doctor!”—like this was part of the script—he finally understood why she’d told him not to leave earlier.

First it was: “Doctor, if you’d be so kind…”

Then: “Doctor, thank you for your trouble.”

Now: “Doctor.”

No frills, no act—just business.