Second, as Deputy Steward of the Imperial Household Department, investigate its personnel records-especially all kitchen eunuchs recruited from two years before Esen’s death to the present.
Lastly, using his authority over outer treasury stipend distributions, have Qiao Cheng connect with the medical apprentices and orderlies serving the imperial physicians to identify all palace staff and eunuchs associated with Qin Xinrong.
Once all three lists were complete, she could begin cross-referencing them pairwise.
The resulting names would undergo further cross- analysis and any recurring individuals would…
The name must certainly be the responsible party… or rather, the list of people who might be working for Consort De.
It was a clumsy method, but also the most effective though it involved considerable effort and had to be done without drawing attention in the palace.
In over twenty days, she had only managed to gather a third of the list, yet she had already identified several suspicious individuals, some even outside the Qianqing Palace!
Fang He had been so absorbed in the task that she hadn’t spared a thought for Kangxi.
Of course, even if she had the time, she wouldn’t have bothered sending him soups or snacks, nor offering him solicitous care.
If a favored concubine became too attentive, it would only invite others to scheme against her.
Between suffering harm and inflicting it, the latter was always preferable.
After Wei Zhu left, Fang He quickly calculated the time and hid the list inside the silver box, locking it away in her jewelry chest.
Then she rubbed her eyes vigorously and positioned herself by the door.
The moment she heard Wei Zhu’s loud greeting outside, Fang He took a deep breath and rushed out.
As soon as Kangxi entered, he saw Fang He trotting toward him with sparkling eyes, barely stopping at his side, grinning like an eager puppy, flashing her neat little teeth.
“Your Majesty, you’ve finally come!”
“Your Majesty, why did it take you so long? I… your concubine missed you.”
Fang He twisted her fingers and clung to Kangxi’s arm, whispering softly.
“I thought you’d never speak to me again.”
Kangxi had initially considered that Fang He might have been frightened, but seeing her now, so spirited she might as well have wagged a tail, he couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.
Once inside the hall, Kangxi pulled his arm free and sat imposingly on the couch, eyeing Fang He with cool detachment.
“Speak. What do you want this time?”
Before she could answer, he added pointedly, “Even beggars know to chase after someone with sweet words. Yet you, heartless as you are, wouldn’t even remember which way the Qianqing Palace faces unless I came to you, would you?”
Fang He sidled up to Kangxi, nuzzling against him.
When he tried to push her away, she simply wedged herself into his lap.
“Wasn’t I just worried the marks on your face hadn’t healed yet? I thought seeing me might upset you.”
“But I missed you so much…” She took Kangxi’s hand and pressed it lightly against her belly.
“Your concubine has fully recovered now… I’ve been waiting for Your Majesty~”
Kangxi: “….”
Waiting to infuriate him to death?
He didn’t want to let this little troublemaker disarm him so easily.
Having lived over thirty years, he never imagined he could be so easily placated.
Irritated, he gripped her slender waist and shoved her aside.
“Truly nothing to ask of me? Then in a few days, when I leave the palace to escape the summer heat, you’ll stay behind!” he said coldly, deliberately.
Fang He froze, staring at him in disbelief.
“You actually considered not taking me?”
She then feigned sudden understanding, perfectly timed.
“No wonder you looked so displeased when you came in, you’re still angry about me hitting… about my mistake.”
“Of course, someone like me, a criminal, has no right to accompany you, much less bear your children. I was just being presumptuous…”
Covering her face, she stood up and made a dash toward the bedchamber.
Nothing hurt or itched at the moment, and pinching her thigh wouldn’t help she couldn’t even squeeze out tears.
She’d have to fake sobs once inside.
But this time, Kangxi didn’t let her escape.
His long arm hooked around her waist, pulling her back against his chest as he nipped at her ear, growling.
“If I were truly angry with you, I wouldn’t have come to your palace at all!”
Fang He sniffled pitifully and nodded, “This concubine understands. Your Majesty is rightfully angry, and I fully comprehend…”
She raised her hand, about to strike her own face, “Then let this concubine take the punishment for you…”
A vein pulsed at Kangxi’s temple as he seized her wrist, deftly pulling her down across his lap.
“You striking yourself? How could that compare to the satisfaction of me doing it myself? One strike isn’t enough-don’t you agree?”
Fang He: “…Wuwu, I was wrong, wrong, wrong!”
Forget it this lord was becoming less and less tolerant of teasing.
He was far more amusing back in Jiangnan when he’d just stared blankly at her hitting herself.
She quickly settled down and obediently explained:
“I was truly afraid. If I’d ‘been punished,’ it would only be natural for me to stay secluded. If I’d still gone to seek favor before the Emperor, given the Empress Dowager’s sharp mind, she might have guessed something. How could this concubine survive then?”
She lightly traced circles over Kangxi’s chest, “Besides… I didn’t want to be like the others. If I just brought soup like everyone else, over time, Your Majesty would surely chase me out of here.”
Kangxi knew her words held some truth, but that didn’t erase the fact that she had deliberately provoked him.
He closed his eyes briefly, his jaw tightening for a moment before he finally gave in to his frustration.
Abruptly standing, he scooped Fang He into his arms and carried her into the bedchamber, kicking the door shut behind them.
“Ah ! Be gentler, or the Empress Dowager will hear us again—mmph—!”
Cui Wei and Wei Zhu, who had been straining to listen, finally relaxed at this point, unable to suppress small smiles.
Li Dequan and Chunlai were equally relieved-even if the timing was… somewhat inappropriate, at least their masters had reconciled!
Their own lives would be much easier now, so they couldn’t be bothered with the details.
If their masters weren’t worried, why should they be?
Only Liang Jiugong remained unflustered as he calmly closed the main hall doors, waving a hand dismissively at the increasingly suggestive sounds inside.
“Go, have someone fetch the noon meal from the imperial kitchens. Bring back plenty of cold water too-say the fire prevention vats are running low. And have them heat it over a small clay stove later.”
After all, daytime indiscretions were hardly proper to speak of.
The Imperial Household Department couldn’t be fooled, but only the Empress Dowager and the Empress could access the palace records.
As long as they kept things quiet, it wouldn’t be a major issue.
Not like when the Empress Dowager and His Majesty had previously erupted in fury, leaving the entire palace cowering in fear.
The commotion inside wasn’t actually loud-Fang He’s mouth was muffled, after all.
Though her clothes were disheveled, not a single layer had been removed, leaving her stifled and drenched in sweat.
The man behind her had shed his inner trousers, forcing her to assist in the process, until the heat brought tears to her eyes.
Soon enough, it seemed he simply wanted to see her cry to vent his anger.
Only when he felt her tears wet his palm did he finally toss her own inner trousers beyond the bed curtains, allowing some relief.
Unfortunately, the man was working up such a fervor that inside and out, she remained scorching, her sobs growing more desperate.
By the time either remembered their hunger and the neglected noon meal, Kangxi’s usual midday rest had long passed.
They lay together, still fully clothed but as if dredged from water, leaving Fang He so miserable she briefly considered another act of insubordination.
Since they had to wash up and change clothes anyway, what difference did it make?
It was like taking off your pants just to fart-utterly pointless.
Oh.
Well, there was a slight difference.
Glancing at the discarded undergarments bearing traces of their entanglement, even someone as experienced as Fang He couldn’t help but blush.
At least the bed was somewhat tidy…
Tidy her foot!
Tangled and crumpled everything had to be changed!
By the time the water was brought in, Fang He had no strength left.
She simply buried her face in Kangxi’s chest and let him carry her to the bath.
As long as she couldn’t see it, it was basically the same as not being embarrassed…
But once they finished washing and stepped out, Kangxi, under Fang He’s urging, silently and somewhat awkwardly put on his inner robe.
When Chunlai and Cui Wei entered to help them dress—
They froze the moment they stepped inside.
“Your Majesty, you…” Cui Wei instinctively started, but the rest of her words stuck in her throat, unsure how to continue.
Chunlai, having been through this before, immediately bowed her head, eyes fixed on the floor.
As long as she didn’t look, it was basically the same as her mistress not being embarrassed!
Fang He sensed something was wrong and hastily wrapped herself in her inner robe before rushing to the bronze mirror.
There, she saw a faint but unmistakable handprint slowly emerging on her cheek-
A horizontal one.
Fang He: “…Your Majesty!!!”
Ahem.
“Chunlai, is there any more of the ointment sent from the imperial physician? Go ask Liang Jiugong for another jar,” Kangxi said calmly.
“After all, it’s not the first time. Your mistress should be quite used to it by now, right?”
Tit for tat he hadn’t meant to do it, so they were even.
“You two serve the meal. The others don’t need to come in.”
Fang He shot icy glares at Kangxi, her strength somewhat restored.
She’d rather wobble on her own than let him carry her again, so she indignantly pushed him away and sat at the table, fuming.
When Liang Jiugong heard Chunlai ask him to fetch the ointment again, he couldn’t hold back this time.
Even if that woman was a handful, his master was the Son of Heaven!
No matter how much he doted on a woman, there was no reason to let her trample over him again and again, was there?
Hmph!
Frowning, he ordered Li Dequan to fetch the ointment.
Once it was brought back, Liang Jiugong steeled himself and marched inside, expression stern.
Even if it cost him his life, he had to speak his mind this time.
If that woman didn’t know how to cherish his master, he did!
But the moment he stepped inside, cold-faced and ready to lecture, Liang Jiugong saw the master he was so worried about sitting there, suppressing a laugh, coaxing someone in a soft voice.
The one being coaxed had… wow.
A massive handprint on her mouth.
No wonder things had been quieter than usual earlier…
Fang He looked up and saw Liang Jiugong standing there, ointment in hand, his expression awkward and conflicted.
She wasn’t stupid.
It was obvious who he had come to serve or rather, who he had come to scold.
She sneered, “What? Is Eunuch Liang worried I’m too badly hurt? Feeling sorry for me and planning to apply the ointment for His Majesty?”
Kangxi’s lips twitched, and he shot Liang Jiugong a cool glance.
“Go take ten lashes yourself!”
Fang He continued coldly, “Oh no, don’t. Come here. My lips are the most swollen, and His Majesty was just about to use his mouth to apply the ointment for me. Eunuch Liang, why don’t you—”
Kangxi: “…Twenty lashes! Get out!”
Liang Jiugong: “…”
Well.
This was what he got for meddling in his masters’ affairs!