Chapter 322

Chapter 322

To put it simply, Rong Noble Consort was absolutely capable of dragging him into staying up all night together, adhering to the principle of "acknowledged but disregarded."

Tch.

Noble Lady Hui had initially schemed for the Eldest Prince to come and bring her some good news that would lift her spirits. But after waiting endlessly, there was still no sign of him. Unable to hold back any longer, she sent someone to inquire. Even if the Eldest Prince had been delayed, he wouldn’t just skip visiting his mother.

She even began to worry that his injuries might have worsened. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. If not for fear of ruining things, Noble Lady Hui would have rushed to see the Eldest Prince herself.

Before the palace maid she sent to investigate could return, she was confined to her quarters by the Emperor, who declared that since she was ill, she should rest properly. Agitation would slow her healing. As for the Eldest Prince, there was no need to worry—he had already been assigned caretakers.

Noble Lady Hui paled upon hearing this and quickly realized the reason. She swayed unsteadily, her earlier forced composure crumbling into genuine distress. The Emperor hadn’t spared even a shred of face for the Eldest Prince. Yet she dared not show any dissatisfaction outwardly, lest it be interpreted as defiance toward the Emperor.

When the palace maid finally returned with news of why the Eldest Prince had been delayed on his way, Noble Lady Hui nearly bit through her lip in fury. Rong Noble Consort had some nerve!

She stood to leave but froze—she had just been confined and couldn’t step out. Previously, it had been an implicit rule, trusting her compliance. Now, it was official, and the reason was obvious: the Emperor didn’t want her using the Eldest Prince to stir trouble.

At this critical moment, Noble Lady Hui knew she couldn’t afford to cause any more trouble. She feared that any misstep might drag the Eldest Prince down and incur the Emperor’s displeasure.

Before, Noble Lady Hui had been confident that no matter what, the Emperor would show some consideration for his sons. After all, during Empress Hesheli’s time, many children in the harem had died young, so the Emperor cherished the few surviving princes.

Only her Bao Qing and the Crown Prince had received childhood nicknames from the Emperor. Thus, even with the Crown Prince in the picture, Noble Lady Hui had been brimming with confidence, certain that her Bao Qing was in no way inferior. Her Bao Qing was the eldest son—historically, succession favored either the eldest or the legitimate heir. How could he be any less than the Crown Prince?

Now, she no longer dared to be so certain.

The Emperor’s crackdown on bondservant clans sent chills down spines. Whether minor or major, none escaped unscathed. By the time they realized it, the situation was already irreversible. The path to advancement for all bondservant women in the harem had been cut off. Noble Lady Hui feared that her family’s past connections might now taint Bao Qing, leading the Emperor to dislike him as well.

She’d attained Consort status not only because she was a senior palace member with seniority but also because she was the mother of the Emperor’s eldest son. With so few princes at present, the mothers of the princes couldn’t be relegated to low ranks. The day she was enfeoffed as a Consort had been glorious—she could now reign supreme, watching lesser concubines claw their way up, no longer needing to lower herself to their level.

However favored Rong Noble Consort was, Noble Lady Hui had always believed that, in the long run, she posed no real threat. Without bearing a son, Rong Noble Consort would inevitably age and lose her beauty, and her favor would eventually fade. What would she have to rely on then? Without a son, everything was hollow.

As for the Crown Prince, even if he was close to Rong Noble Consort now, how could that compare to a bond between mother and child? Thus, Noble Lady Hui had always remained smugly dismissive of Rong Noble Consort’s current favor, even daring to confront her directly—because she had the Eldest Prince, and that gave her confidence.

Now, after repeated setbacks, the Eldest Prince had gone to vent her grievances, yet Rong Noble Consort hadn’t backed down. Instead, she had detained the Eldest Prince and even dared to lay hands on him!

Noble Lady Hui was itching to rush over and fight Rong Noble Consort herself. How dare she treat the Eldest Prince like this! The Eldest Prince was young and impulsive, and his status was noble. Even if he said or did something rash in the heat of the moment, Rong Noble Consort should have been more forgiving!

Su Yi, who already considered herself extremely tolerant, wasn’t staying up late at all—she was simply enjoying a pleasant late night. Whether others were doing the same didn’t matter. What mattered was that the longer she stayed awake, the more energetic she became. The palace maids could handle it—after all, some were used to night shifts. But the Eldest Prince?

He had zero experience with all-nighters.

The Eldest Prince, who had already been struggling to sleep due to his leg injury, now found himself unable to sleep at all. The moment his eyelids drooped, the deafening sound of gongs and drums would jolt him awake like a nightmare. And he couldn’t even lose his temper. When he tentatively suggested leaving, citing how late it was and how inappropriate it was to stay any longer,

Su Yi adhered firmly to her "seen but ignored" policy. "How could it be inappropriate? There are so many of us here, hearing Buddhist sutras purify our minds. If anything, it’s clearing our minds wonderfully."

Her sweet voice dripped with indifference to his misery, nearly breaking the Eldest Prince’s spirit.

Humiliated, he admitted outright that he was exhausted and needed rest. Surely, if he was this direct, she wouldn’t just flat-out refuse to let him go, right? He was covered in injuries—even a mule would’ve collapsed by now!

But Su Yi wasn’t the type to yield just because someone was straightforward. Her "fake sympathy" was a practiced art. "The Eldest Prince gets tired too?" she said, her expression one of utter disbelief.

Then, with a faint frown and a troubled sigh, she continued, "If you were gallivanting instead of resting, it’s clear you didn’t want to rest. Since you came to me, as your host, I couldn’t just pretend you weren’t here. What choice did I have but to entertain you?" She didn’t bother with a handkerchief, just dryly wiped her eyes with her hand.

She defended herself with bulletproof logic. "At first, the atmosphere was too tense, so I thought it’d be better to lighten the mood first. That way, when we moved on to the scriptures, it’d be easier to internalize."

Her expression clearly said, "After all I’ve done for you, you’re still complaining?" She was so smug and unrepentant that the Eldest Prince was seething.

"I’m flesh and blood! Obviously I’m exhausted!"

Who wouldn’t be dead tired after being dragged through a series of activities by you, only to be forced to listen to Buddhist scriptures—like a sleep aid—when they should be resting? Everyone present was drowsy; even beasts of burden need rest at night!

The Eldest Prince stared at Rong Noble Consort, who looked as radiant as ever, no different from daytime, and choked back his words. Indeed, there was one person who didn’t rest and wouldn’t let others rest either, even insisting that no one was tired—pulling off the ultimate 'look-you-in-the-eye-and-lie' move.

The Eldest Prince raged—for all of two seconds.

Fool me once, shame on you, but the Eldest Prince had already stumbled more than twice—four times, in fact—and now his upper lip and under-eyes throbbed even more!

He absolutely could not fall into the same pit a fifth time!

Endure it, endure it. The Eldest Prince refused to believe Rong Noble Consort could stay awake forever.

Yet the evidence proved she could. By 3 AM, she showed no signs of fatigue, while the Eldest Prince was half-dead from sleep deprivation.

He couldn’t even escape under the pretense of relieving himself after drinking too much porridge, because Rong Noble Consort sweetly reminded, "Light the lanterns to guide the way—we wouldn’t want the Eldest Prince to get lost. Searching for someone in the middle of the night would be quite troublesome."

The Eldest Prince suspected she was threatening him: if he dared to slip away, she would play dumb and turn it into a manhunt, likely without even bothering to disguise the reason, letting everyone know he had "disappeared while relieving himself."

Such humiliation he’d never live down.

Good heavens, what did he do to deserve this?

He never imagined Rong Noble Consort’s mental state could be like this—cool-headed but batshit crazy, the kind of madness that, once provoked, would ensure no one else had peace. Worst of all? Nobody could stop her.

When Rong Noble Consort suggested a midnight snack and served him plain porridge again, the Eldest Prince’s resentment grew heavier than a ghost’s. His left eye was a dark purple bruise, the right not much better, his dark circles making him look haggard, his eyes glazed over like a fish on ice.

Every sleep-deprived soul carries a heavy aura of resentment.

Just as the Eldest Prince, expressionless, was about to lift the bowl to his lips, he got the creeps. He froze, then glanced over to see Rong Noble Consort studying him intently, as if deep in thought. A flicker of hope rose in him—was she cutting him loose?

Then came the familiar darkness over his vision, the pain following a heartbeat later. After a sleepless night, he truly couldn’t hold on any longer. The room spun, and he slumped onto the table, seeing stars. Now both his eyes were symmetrically bruised.

Faintly, he heard Rong Noble Consort say, "There. Now they match. The lopsidedness was driving me nuts." As if that explained everything.

But since when was that a thing?!

Woozy but still awake, the Eldest Prince: ?!

He had been too naive—he actually thought, for a moment, that Rong Noble Consort had relented and would let him go. Instead, she had just wanted to punch his other eye to match the first!

Since when was symmetry a thing? He’d assumed it was because of his sour expression, but even that would’ve been better!

Then Kangxi arrived. In an instant, the lifeless eyes of everyone present lit up with hope.

Hearing the commotion, the Eldest Prince felt he had finally endured to the end—Dad was here to put her in her place. He couldn’t help but stir excitedly, trying to sit up, but stopped mid-motion.

Then he remembered how many times Rong Noble Consort had knocked him out, the sorry state of his shiner-covered face. So he kept his eyes shut, forcing himself to stay still, his face turned to display the twin bruises prominently. Now how’s she gonna talk her way out of this one?

Kangxi, who had risen at the hour of Yin without the burden of morning court, found no relief in the early hour. Normally, the Noble Consort would still be asleep at this time—but today, she hadn’t slept at all. When Kangxi heard the news, he was stunned by her endurance.

Dozens of people were barely holding on, yet the Noble Consort remained unaffected, somehow getting *more* hyper. By the looks of it, she could’ve waited for sunrise and continued—apparently, the performers from yesterday were still on standby, well-rested and awaiting summons. Liang Jiugong put it *diplomatically*.

Inevitably, Kangxi recalled the Noble Consort’s frequent mentions of "sudden death." Worry about *that* is why he’d rolled out of bed at dawn. After a hurried wash, he rushed over to share breakfast with her.

Ignoring the sea of groveling servants, he strode straight to the Noble Consort’s side. As she rose from her seat, he began to say there was no need for formalities—

*A crisp slap!*