Chapter 20: The Jealous One

Chapter 20: The Jealous Type

Constant Attendant Zhang had given birth to a princess, yet there was no sense of celebration in the palace; it remained calm and quiet.

Fang Yu was summoned to the study of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Today, the Emperor wore a casual robe with silver-threaded, subtly embroidered cloud patterns, his expression serene, giving off an air of refinement and elegance.

"Practice your writing over there," he said lightly.

Fang Yu nodded in acknowledgment.

The servants of the Palace of Heavenly Purity placed an additional Huanghuali wood chair carved with chi-dragon patterns beside the Emperor. While he reviewed memorials, she sat nearby reading and practicing her writing, with two servants grinding ink for them.

The study was quiet, with only the occasional rustle of paper.

After finishing the memorials, Kang Xi turned his head to look at Wuya Shi beside him. She sat upright before the imperial desk, her spine straight, eyes lowered, holding a brush in her right hand as she practiced her characters with focused dedication.

The reason he enjoyed teaching Wuya Shi to read was that she genuinely wanted to learn. Unlike some women who sought favor by deliberately pleasing him without real interest in studying, Wuya Shi, though she couldn’t yet recite the Four Books and Five Classics, recognized many more characters now, and her handwriting had improved. Only when a teacher sees a student’s progress does he feel a sense of accomplishment.

Feeling his intense gaze, Fang Yu also set down her brush, picking up the characters she had written to show the Emperor. "Master, do you see any improvement in your student’s writing?"

"Same as always," Kang Xi deliberately withheld praise.

"Hmph, Your Majesty must be short-sighted."

Chuckling at being called short-sighted, Kang Xi reached out and touched Wuya Shi’s face. Annoyed, she opened her mouth and bit his finger, though with little force—it was more like holding it gently. He stared at her with burning intensity.

The atmosphere in the study instantly turned intimate. Realizing things were amiss, Fang Yu quickly released his finger and made to pick up her brush to continue writing, but the Emperor waved his hand, dismissing all the servants.

"You’ve grown bold, daring to harm the imperial body. It seems you’ve forgotten all your lessons on propriety."

Fang Yu retorted, "Who told you to say my writing isn’t good? And I didn’t really bite you—your skin isn’t even broken. How can that be considered harming the imperial body? Your Majesty shouldn’t falsely accuse me."

"Come here."

Fang Yu saw they were already very close. Where else was there to go? Meeting the Emperor’s intense gaze, she still rose and straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck before lightly pecking his thin lips.

Kang Xi thought Wuya Shi smiled like a little fox—cunning and adorable. He gripped her waist, wanting to kiss her, but she dodged playfully.

"What’s all this fuss?"

"I won’t let you kiss me unless you admit my writing has improved."

Kang Xi obliged, saying it had improved, much better than her previous "dog-scratched" characters.

"Your Majesty, don’t think I won’t use my 'dog claws' to scratch you."

Wuya Shi scowled at him, every expression vivid and lively. Kang Xi felt she was no longer as reserved as she had been two months ago, changing day by day. Seeing her flushed cheeks, he held her waist to keep her from escaping and kissed her firmly, feeling her go soft in his arms.

The kiss lasted quite a while. Kang Xi knew he couldn’t do more during the day, so this was the only way to soothe his restlessness. Wuya Shi buried her face in his chest, too shy to look at him.

"Do you still want me to teach you to read?"

"I don’t need you to teach me. I’ll learn on my own."

Kang Xi laughed. "Fine, you may go back now."

Fang Yu looked up. "Your Majesty, this is... kicking the bridge after crossing the river. If you didn’t want to teach me, you shouldn’t have summoned me during the day. You’ve stirred me up, yet you won’t keep me here for the night, and you refuse to teach me. How could you be like this?"

Hearing Wuya Shi’s coquettish tone, Kang Xi laughed again, reaching through her clothes to fondle her softest parts. Who was really stirring up whom? He teased her, saying he wouldn’t keep her for the night—he would flip another consort’s plaque instead, as he needed to spread his favor evenly.

Fang Yu pretended to be angry and tried to get off his lap.

Kang Xi held her waist, not letting her leave, and said with a laugh, "You really are a jealous type."

"Your Majesty must never mention other consorts in front of me again, or I’ll never spend the night with you again. Since you enjoy seeking out others so much, go find them. You have so many women—you won’t miss me."

No other woman in the harem would dare speak like this. Only Wuya Shi had the audacity to "talk nonsense" in front of him. Kang Xi wasn’t angry and had her sit back in her chair as he taught her to read.

Fang Yu genuinely wanted someone to teach her, especially Manchu and Mongolian. Without instruction, she was completely lost. She didn’t want to remain illiterate—she had to learn. Though he was busy with state affairs and could only teach her occasionally, she was truly grateful that the Emperor was willing to teach her.

"And you say it’s not dog-scratched writing."

Kang Xi held Wuya Shi’s hand, guiding her as she wrote. He noticed she struggled with Manchu and Mongolian, often copying the strokes incorrectly, though she knew how to write Chinese characters well enough.

They spent an hour like this. After night fell, Kang Xi had Liang Jiugong prepare the evening meal, and Wuya Shi naturally stayed.

Another good thing about Wuya Shi was that she enjoyed her food thoroughly. Eating with her, he unconsciously ate more as well.

That night, Wuya Shi attended him in bed. Though it was called "attending," she was lazy and disliked moving, preferring to lie still. Occasionally, she would whimper softly and direct him where to move—it was hard to say who was serving whom.

Afterward, they called for water to clean up and lay comfortably in bed. Kang Xi gazed at the canopy, not yet sleepy, while the woman beside him nestled close, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

"Thank you for teaching me today, Master."

She whispered this close to his ear. Her voice was already soft and sticky-sweet, but now it was especially husky, making his ear itch.

"How do you plan to thank me?"

"That just now was my thanks."

Kang Xi pinched her small hand. "What did you say? That was thanks? Wasn’t I serving you just now?"

"But didn’t Your Majesty also find pleasure? Shouldn’t it be the man’s duty to serve the woman in such matters?"

"Sophistry."

"Hehe…"

Wuya Shi giggled again by his ear. Kang Xi turned over and tickled her, making her laugh even louder. They playfully wrestled in bed for a while, until a light sweat broke out on them both.

"Alright, Your Majesty, it’s time to rest. You have to rise early tomorrow."

"You have to get up with me tomorrow too—no sleeping in."

Seeing Wuya Shi’s wide-eyed, reluctant expression, he couldn’t resist pinching her cheek again. Who else dared to sleep in after attending him? Others always rose before he woke to serve him, yet she consistently slept late, never once rising early to attend him. Though he didn’t actually need her to serve him, he enjoyed teasing Wuya Shi.

"You must get up. If you don’t, I’ll punish you."

Fang Yu pouted and reluctantly agreed, though she knew she truly couldn’t wake early and doubted he would actually blame her.

The night deepened. Outside the bed curtains, candlelight flickered, while inside, all was quiet as the two settled down to sleep.

The servants on night duty in the Palace of Heavenly Purity dared not rest until they heard no further movement from within, only then leaning against the wall outside the bedchamber to doze briefly.