Er Bao seemed frightened, lying on the soft couch with wide, glossy eyes fixed on his sister, a confused yet oddly excited expression on his face.
Kangxi couldn’t help but laugh.
The siblings’ bond was sometimes truly baffling.
“Didn’t Mama tell you only two candies a day?” Fang He, unaware Kangxi had entered, sat facing Jiujiu.
“You ask Mama for two, then get two from Liu Anda, and at Ruijing Pavilion ask the Empress Dowager and other consorts for candy too. If you don’t get cavities, who will? Even if you eat, you still dare go to bed without brushing. If Father finds out, all the palace staff around you will get beaten!”
Kangxi:”….”
Cui Wei, Chunlai, and others noticed Kangxi’s signal.
No one dared speak and all knelt in despair, silently praying, ‘Master, please don’t say more; if you do, we who normally wouldn’t get punished will be in trouble!’
Naturally, Fang He could not hold back.
Looking at Jiujiu’s swollen face, she felt both pity and amusement.
“Now you know how it hurts. How embarrassing~”
“Did Mama tell you that having worms in your teeth hurts worse than getting pricked by Aunt Xinzi’s needles? Our Ninth Princess doesn’t believe it, and insisted on verifying it herself, right?”
Jiujiu covered her mouth, sobbing with slurred words, “Nooo~ Mama clearly said, to trick others, first trick Jiji, wuwu~ Jiujiu tricked Jiji, not sweet, Jiujiu believed, wuwu~ No brushing, why do worms still come, wuwu~”
“Worms are unreasonable, wuwu~”
Fang He almost burst out laughing.
If the worms were reasonable, they’d definitely scold Jiujiu for self-deception—they were only appearing quite naturally.
She stifled her laughter and said, “I told you to soothe your Father, not yourself.”
Everyone: “…………”
‘Ancestor! Please look back before you say that!!’
Kangxi curled his lips, crossed his arms, and leaned against the door, waiting to see how this rascal would trick the child next.
Fang He didn’t continue.
If she hadn’t been so annoyed with Kangxi today, she wouldn’t have kept the palace staff entertained with such matters.
Her promotion was swift; with two children and more palace servants and eunuchs at Jiayin Hall than before, she was truly Imperial Noble Consort and had to maintain her dignity.
She just scared Jiujiu: “If it keeps up, Imperial Doctor Zhang will come with big pincers and pull your tooth out. No more treats for you today… If you keep eating sweets, your teeth will all fall out, and you’ll never eat your favorite chips, meatballs, barbecue, crayfish again…”
Before Fang He finished, Jiujiu was overcome with grief, tilting her little face and wailing with huge tears streaming down.
Mother and daughter, one took schadenfreude, the other was inconsolably sad, neither noticing the light dimming slightly in the hall.
Er Bao, lying on the couch quietly amused, suddenly noticed Kangxi at the door and called out.
“Ah ah—Ah Lai~”
Fang He turned her head.
Jiujiu tilted her head, mother and daughter stared at the tall shadow backlit in the doorway with nearly identical big eyes.
Fang He:”……”
‘I’m so tired of this bastard; how did he manage to eavesdrop again, wuwu~’
She wanted to cry too but braved Kangxi’s daunting aura, quickly stood, and greeted him.
“Your Majesty, why have you come at this hour? I had planned to bring the freshly baked treats for your dinner.”
Kangxi replied coldly, “Oh? The kitchen’s dinner was also prepared for me?”
Fang He:”….”
‘…Yes, it was prepared for you!’
She eagerly stepped forward aand said, “Your Majesty, are you hungry? Are you tired? Your Majesty…”
Before she could flatter further, Jiujiu’s sobbing resumed loudly in the hall, startling Fang He.
She took a deep breath and gave Jiujiu a thumbs-up in her heart—’no wonder she’s my daughter, such a brilliant distraction!’
She quickly checked on Jiujiu worriedly and explained to Kangxi, “Jiujiu has a cavity and her face is swollen. I feel so heartbroken that I forgot to send someone to inform Your Majesty at Chunhui Hall. Look how badly she’s crying—it really hurts!”
Kangxi: “…………”
Wasn’t she scared by herself?
But Jiujiu cried so pitifully that Kangxi’s heart softened.
He crouched beside her and picked her up.
“Liang Jiugong, summon the Imperial Doctor.”
Jiujiu nestled into Kangxi’s arms, crying harder, “Wuwu, no tooth pulling! Jiujiu wants to eat chips, meatballs, barbecue, crayfish, crystal noodles, gold rice cakes, wuwu~”
Kangxi twitched his lips, “Alright, that’s even more than her mother remembers.”
He gently comforted her, “Once your tooth is healed, and you control yourself from secretly eating sweets, Father will have someone make these treats for you, okay?”
Jiujiu shook her head so hard tears flew everywhere, her little face full of despair.
“Wuwu, Father hurts~” She grabbed Kangxi’s finger and placed it on her chubby cheek, tearful and begging, “Father punish the worms! Jiujiu doesn’t want to hurt~ Wuwu, Father hit and wash them away!”
Kangxi: “…..”
“That, Father really can’t punish them.”
Could he possibly spank a tooth cavity?
Jiujiu’s face showed disbelief, “Father lies! Mother said Father is the Emperor; he can punish anyone!”
Fang He couldn’t hold it in any longer and flopped onto the couch, hugging her son and burying her head in his little belly, her shoulders shaking violently.
After the two finished debating whether the worms belonged to ‘someone,’ and before Jiujiu flooded the hall with tears again, the Imperial Doctor arrived.
Jiayin Hall’s familiar Physician Zhang Ziqin was off duty today, replaced by another veteran Imperial Doctor named Zhao, who looked rather stern.
Seeing him, Jiujiu immediately shut her mouth and buried her face deeper into Kangxi’s arms.
She really didn’t want a tooth pulled.
She still wanted to eat lots and lots of delicious food, wuwu~
Sweetness betrayed her, wuwu~
Soon, the hall descended into chaos.
They managed to give Jiujiu some swelling-reducing medicine, soothed the frightened Er Bao who cried at the taste, then coaxed Jiujiu to take her medicine…
By the time both children were sent to the side hall to sleep, it was well past dinner time.
Fang He was so hungry she didn’t have the strength to argue with Kangxi about the day’s matters and quickly fed him and herself two chilled egg tarts each.
Fortunately, the tart shells were crispy enough, chewy inside, and had the unique gentle sweetness of butter.
Inside, the custard mixed with milk was tender, soft, and smooth—when extremely hungry, almost as satisfying as warm.
Although Kangxi found them delicious, he didn’t care for overly soft textures and still ordered dinner to be served.
After washing up and lying in the canopy bed, the two surprisingly had no desire to do anything.
Anyone who has soothed children knows once they start crying, it’s hard to stop.
Soothe a child, and your body doesn’t tire much, but your mind aches, yearning to just lie down wherever you are.
But Fang He wasn’t sleepy.
She turned to look at Kangxi lying on the outer side.
“I just got back from Ruijing Pavilion and heard you summoned the Crown Prince?”
Kangxi reached out and pulled her into his arms, resting against him lazily, humming softly, “I know you don’t want me to interfere, and I know you’re very discreet. But after all, he is the heir…”
He paused and lowered his head to meet Fang He’s eyes.
“Guoguo, I can let all other things go as you wish, but the succession is non-negotiable. Throughout history, whenever succession changes, the court and even the entire nation become unstable. Now Jungar may return at any time. To the north are the Luosha, to the south the Yunnan region—Great Qing cannot fall into chaos.”
Fang He responded lazily, imitating him with a long hum.
“I’ve told you, I have no intention of changing the heir. You should know I’m not interested in court politics. As for Yin Hui, he’s still young. Who can say what the future holds?”
Her son.
She tapped his chest lightly with her chin and said, “I stand by my words. If I say Yin Hui will have no ambitions for succession, then he’s acting presumptuously. But I can guarantee, my son will never be like the Crown Prince—resorting to unscrupulous means, treating lives like grass.”
Kangxi was silent.
Fang He had only seen the Crown Prince’s reckless side.
Perhaps because he had been overprotected, the Crown Prince’s favor far exceeded what an heir should have.
His energy was always limited.
She paid more attention to her children, while his side relaxed a little.
Yinreng was immature and thus resorted to such tactics to draw attention.
Yet Kangxi thought Yinreng’s handling of state affairs was commendable.
Though a bit soft-hearted, he was adaptable, cautious with ministers—no pioneer, but a capable custodian.
If Fang He heard this, that bastard might immediately bow and bite him.
Though silent, Fang He sensed Kangxi’s disapproval, unsurprising.
They were like a remarried couple with children ahead—always cautious in words and deeds.
She tilted her head, listening to Kangxi’s steady heartbeat, then spoke again.
“Just now when I was soothing Jiujiu to sleep, she cried and asked me if her tooth must be pulled, whether she’d look ugly. She buried her head in the quilt crying—so heartbreaking.”
“But on the other hand, if she hadn’t been so cunning, so opportunistic, abusing her cuteness to get her way, playing with sweets like it was a game, she wouldn’t be in this mess. In a way, she brought this on herself. No matter how much I pity her, I didn’t soothe her. She has to learn her lesson.”
Fang He paused, voice falling, “But when I got back, I felt some regret for not comforting her and blamed myself… really, it was because I could never make up my mind to control her sweets. When I saw her sneak some, I often turned a blind eye, and that’s why she’s hurting like this. No matter. I’ll soothe her tomorrow.”
Kangxi gently patted her shoulder and said, “Let me soothe the eldest one first today; I’ve seen enough tears for one day.”
“No way!” Fang He instinctively raised her voice.
“Then she’ll go to heaven!”
Kangxi:”……”
‘That depends on who she follows!’
Fang He looked up, seeing Kangxi smirk and glance at her sideways.
She rubbed her nose sheepishly and said, “Well, I just don’t want her to forget the pain before her scar heals. No matter what, she must understand the severity and learn to control herself.”
She quickly changed the subject, “But my regret and guilt are real. I just want Your Majesty to know, if you don’t want to change the heir, you must face the Crown Prince’s flaws. Only by cutting out the rotten parts can new shoots grow. A heavy hand will make the child clearly understand what can and cannot be done, so he won’t go astray. Don’t you think so?”
Kangxi’s gaze was complicated, “You… want to use a heavy hand on Yinreng?”
He laughed wryly, reminding her, “You really shouldn’t get involved.”
“You told me not to interfere, but this is a sensitive matter. I can only reprimand Yinreng privately. Don’t blame me for warning you—Yinreng’s previous acts were merely tests, more to get me to pay attention. If you truly confront him, you might not come out ahead.”
Not to mention the Crown Prince was taught by him, and once ruthless, his methods would be fierce—like old fox Suo’etu, who, if desperate, could tame even the fiercest tiger.
Fang He nodded knowingly.
She agreed the Crown Prince wasn’t so easy to handle; his current antics were probably feigned ignorance.
Everyone was more scheming than her.
But she didn’t plan to handle it herself; there was the famous Shangguan Nü Xiang waiting for the County Princess title.
She smiled and looked up at Kangxi and asked, “So, do you agree with what I said earlier?”
“The people around Jiujiu really need to be dealt with properly.” Kangxi neither confirmed nor denied.
If Yinreng was to be rid of the rot, Hesheri must be dealt with.
Yinreng wouldn’t just do minor skirmishes anymore.
But recalling Jiujiu’s tear-streaked, swollen face trembling from the medicine’s bitterness in her arms, Kangxi sighed inwardly and had to admit Fang He had a point.
He half-closed his eyes and softly said, “This year I plan a northern tour. The capital must not be disturbed.”
“Rest assured, I understand your thoughts and won’t cause you difficulty.” Fang He smiled and nestled into Kangxi’s arms, yawning.
No matter what tactics the Crown Prince has, as long as he’s kept busy with his own troubles, she didn’t believe he’d have the energy to scheme outside.
***
Early next morning, Fang He had Gu Wenxing personally deliver a message to Concubine Jing.
“Master says we can’t always be passive and take hits. Master also says many consorts have been traveling lately, and the records delivered to Master are quite unsightly. Please, Concubine Jing and Consort Yi, mind your manners.”
Concubine Jing immediately understood—they meant no moves at court or outside.
That made it easier!
Gu Wenxing had served Kangxi before, so the message quickly reached Kangxi’s ears.
He stroked the Buddhist prayer beads recently fetched back from Tanzhe Temple for calming the mind and looked at Liang Jiugong reporting.
“What do you think Consort Zhen wants to do?”
Liang Jiugong: “…..”
‘How am I supposed to answer that? With that ancestor, whatever she does is normal!’
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.