The Empress Dowager also subtly mentioned the fun of horseback riding and hunting to Fang He, urging her to persuade Kangxi to go out.
But the Empress Dowager never expected that the two would encounter an assassination attempt…
She didn’t even know if this had anything to do with Tana!
Now, with the hunting grounds tightly secured, she couldn’t go and ask Tana.
If anything happened to Fang He, she feared she would regret it for the rest of her life.
Kangxi was also tormented.
The sweet fruit he had nurtured with his own hands had finally willingly chosen to accompany him, yet he had left her in the forest.
Whether as an emperor or a man, the guilt and torment of fleeing made him burn with anxiety, and he failed to notice the Empress Dowager’s unusual behavior.
But he was the emperor; he couldn’t let anyone see his weakness, nor could he let Fang He become the target of public criticism.
So he forced a smile to comfort the Empress Dowager:
“Mother, don’t say that. It was I who indulged her. It’s not her fault, nor yours. It’s the fault of those traitors who sent the assassins, and I will never let them go!”
The Empress Dowager was somewhat comforted and wanted to ask Kangxi in detail about the extent of his injuries.
The news of the emperor’s assassination attempt couldn’t be kept secret.
She had to clarify things with her aunt before the news spread, so that her aunt would not worry in the palace.
But before she could speak, Li Dequan reported from outside—
“Your Majesty, Prince Gong has returned.”
Kangxi’s heart jolted, and he immediately said, “Summon him!”
Changing strode into the imperial tent with a bloody scent, his expression not particularly good.
Seeing the Empress Dowager present, he paused and first greeted Kangxi and the Empress Dowager respectfully.
The Empress Dowager, however, couldn’t wait and urged,
“Get up quickly, where is she?”
Changing didn’t move, only lowering his head to reply,
“Reporting to Mother Empress and Your Majesty, of the guards who followed, except for Ma Jiarong’s team and Your Majesty’s rescue, all others have died in battle. I have already sent people to collect their bodies…”
“What about Fang He?” Kangxi asked, gripping his thumb ring tightly, his voice seemingly calm.
Changing hesitated, “Your servant is incompetent…”
Both Kangxi and the Empress Dowager’s hearts sank, especially the Empress Dowager, whose face instantly turned pale.
“…We only found traces of Lady Fang fleeing southwest. It seems she was pursued by assassins. Further south is a cliff. I found fragments of clothing…”
Changing pulled out a piece of purplish-brown cloth from his sleeve.
It was the fabric of the dress Fang He had worn for the first time that day.
Kangxi had never hated Changing’s voice more, but all he heard was his own unusually calm command—
“Send people to search below the cliff. I said it before: I want to see her alive or dead!”
The Empress Dowager grew increasingly breathless as she listened, her body swaying before she suddenly fainted.
Wuyunzhu was terrified, and Changing quickly stepped forward to support the Empress Dowager, allowing Wuyunzhu to call for help.
After sending the Empress Dowager back and instructing the imperial physician to attend to her, Changing immediately took people to search below the cliff.
After all, it was a major incident involving an assassination attempt on the emperor.
Even though Kangxi ordered the hunt to continue as usual, the princes and the Manchu-Mongol nobles who received the news and returned as quickly as possible.
The Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince requested to attend to the Emperor’s illness in the imperial tent, and Kangxi granted their request.
In the evening, Kangxi, as usual, rewarded Borjigit Celeng for his outstanding performance and ordered the continuation of the banquet.
He attended with the Crown Prince and the other princes, sharing a drink with Celeng’s father, Khalkha Taiji Namjil, appearing no different from usual.
Regardless of what the Mongolian nobles thought, seeing Kangxi seemingly unharmed and his demeanor unaffected after the assassination attempt, even the previously provocative tribes became more respectful.
Early the next morning, Fuquan and Changing returned, both looking pale.
Fuquan spoke first: “Your Majesty, I pursued the assassins to the other side of the Kurchi River. They fought and retreated, and those captured committed suicide. Three escaped.”
Changing, his voice hoarse from a sleepless night, followed: “I led a team down the cliff and found several bloodstained cloth fragments along the way. After searching the bottom of the cliff… we found remains gnawed by wild beasts and this—”
He held up a bloodstained pouch.
Kangxi knew what was inside without looking-two plum blossom silver ingots bestowed by the Empress Dowager to that scoundrel.
She even named them, as if she couldn’t count, always taking them out to count.
Kangxi’s expression remained unchanged, not even glancing at the pouch, and he calmly ordered-
“The matter of the assassins need not be pursued further, but since I decided to travel on a whim, the assassination attempt was so precisely timed that there must have been inside help.”
“Fuquan, work with Alan Tai to find out who it was and make up for your mistake.”
Fuquan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.
Hearing Kangxi’s voice even hoarser than Changing’s, he asked with concern:
“How is Your Majesty’s health? I will spare no effort in the investigation. Please take care of your precious health!”
“I am fine,” Kangxi calmly reassured Fuquan before turning to Changing.
He lowered his eyes, rubbing his ring, and after a moment of thought, ordered in a hoarse voice:
“Issue my decree: all the guards who died in battle are to be buried with honors.”
“Those with eligible sons in their families shall have their positions inherited by their families. Those without eligible sons shall have their female relatives ennobled one rank higher by the Imperial Clan Court, according to the guards’ ranks.”
Changing thought, this compensation was generous enough.
In the future, the guards would surely risk their lives to protect the Emperor.
Although not a single coin was given, both the palace guard positions and the noble titles could ensure the family’s glory for generations.
Even he felt a warmth in his heart.
This was the Heavenly Khan that the Manchu and Mongolian sons were willing to pledge their lives to!
In Changing’s resolute response, Kangxi seemed to glance casually at the pouch Li Dequan had already taken.
The bloodstains on it pierced his eyes, leaving a hollow in his heart.
Kangxi took a deep breath imperceptibly: “Imperial Lady Fang He, who took an arrow for me and diverted the pursuers, saving me twice, is hereby posthumously ennobled as Consort Xi, with the rites of a noble consort… buried with honors.”
Fuquan and Changing were both stunned.
Changing instinctively said: “Your Majesty, this is against the rules…”
Fuquan pinched him hard on the buttocks.
This fool, she was just an orphan, without children or relatives.
No matter how noble, it was only posthumous, with no worries.
What was he objecting to!
Changing gasped, finally realizing his mistake.
He sheepishly slapped his own mouth and fell silent.
Kangxi calmly explained, “Before I abandoned her and fled, I promised to protect her life. Perhaps some assassins overheard it. I’ve already abandoned her once; I cannot break my promise again.”
Fuquan immediately responded, “Your Majesty is right. Changing and I will immediately arrange for the preparation of a coffin for Consort Xi. She saved Your Majesty, and this is the dignity she deserves.”
Kangxi said nothing more, waving his hand to dismiss the two.
Li Dequan wished he could swallow the pouch whole to spare His Majesty the pain of seeing it.
But to his surprise, Kangxi showed no sign of sorrow.
He simply ordered Li Dequan to deliver the pouch to Changing.
After washing up, Kangxi even ate a hearty breakfast and rewarded the imperial kitchen.
Li Dequan was momentarily dazed.
In the past, when His Majesty encountered such matters, he was always the most composed, just as he was now calm and normal, as if Fang He had never appeared before the throne.
Yet, Li Dequan felt uneasy.
He found an opportunity to visit his adoptive father, who was still recovering from his injuries.
Liang Jiugong sighed but said nothing.
As he turned away from Li Dequan, he struggled to swallow, easing the lump in his throat.
Fuquan and Alan Tai took only three days to uncover the traitor who had leaked the information.
It turned out to be a groom from the Imperial Stables who had once led the Emperor’s horse.
However, it wasn’t their investigative skills that led to the discovery; the groom was found poisoned to death behind the stables.
Along with him died Adun, the guard who had changed Kangxi’s horse that day.
The saddle had been tampered with, leading to the wolf attack.
As Adun’s duty was to train and care for the imperial horses in the Imperial Stables, all officials from the stables were interrogated by Fuquan, but nothing was found.
Only a young eunuch responsible for cleaning the stables mentioned that he had seen two recently deceased guards who had become quite wealthy, buying a lot of hides and hiding them in their tents.
The hides were found, and the extra silver was also discovered, but the silver bore no markings, and the trail went cold again.
Kangxi wasn’t surprised.
Given Galdan’s ruthlessness, it was no wonder he had bribed the groom and kidnapped Adun’s beloved to threaten him into revealing his whereabouts.
However, the guard’s actions didn’t seem like Galdan’s style.
Kangxi had a vague idea but he chose to keep it to himself.
Zhao Chang dispatched thirty secret agents to closely monitor Galdan while he led a team on a thousand-mile expedition to investigate.
He was more successful than Fuquan and Alan Tai, uncovering evidence of the deceased woman and the groom’s gambling debts being used as leverage.
Unfortunately, the Junggar tribe wasn’t directly involved.
The dead assassins could only be confirmed as Northern Mongols, with no evidence linking them to Galdan.
That was enough for Kangxi.
He didn’t need concrete evidence.
He ordered Zhao Chang to stir up chaos in Junggar before returning.
Now, with the negotiations with the Rus, the western desert and the Rus are only separated by Khalkha and the northern desert.
If a conflict were to break out simultaneously, both sides would be caught in a pincer attack, leaving the Qing and Northern Mongolia in a very passive position.
Thus, he dealt with several negligent officials from the Shangsiyuan and punished some soldiers who were patrolling near the western forest.
With that, the matter was considered resolved.
The hunting continued, and the bonfire banquet grew increasingly lively.
On the day the hunt concluded, Emperor Kangxi stood on the high platform and accepted offerings of deer tails and fierce beasts from the Mongolian princes and the Eight Banners’ descendants.
He laughed heartily and rewarded them generously.
The Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince each presented tiger and fox pelts, earning praise from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
During the final bonfire banquet before the end of the Mulan Autumn Hunt, despite his injuries, Kangxi boldly clinked cups with the Mongolian nobles, sealing several marriage alliances between the Manchu and Mongolian tribes.
Fuquan and Changing each received a Mongolian concubine, bringing the banquet to a perfect close.
Under the enthusiastic toasts of the Mongolian men, Fuquan and Changing unsurprisingly drank too much again.
Even Kangxi returned to the imperial tent with a flushed face, in high spirits.
As soon as he entered the tent, Kangxi’s smile faded.
As usual, when he drank too much, he became quiet and sat silently on the dragon bed.
Li Dequan came to attend to him, “Your Majesty, you’ve had quite a bit to drink. Would you like some sobering soup?”
Kangxi slowly lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, then ordered in a deep voice,
“Summon Liang Jiugong to attend to me!”
Li Dequan hesitated, meeting Kangxi’s unusually cold gaze, and dared not speak further.
He hurried out and sent Qi Sanfu to fetch Liang Jiugong.
Liang Jiugong knew in his heart that the master wanted to see someone else, but he still limped over.