She knew Ban Xia would never return.
“Mistress? Mistress!” Du Juan cried out in panic.
“Someone! Fetch the imperial physician!”
The news reached the Cining Palace, where Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was puzzled.
She expressed her disapproval to the Empress Dowager, who had come to dine with her.
“Even the servants from Consort Hui’s palace have been arrested? Surely Nala couldn’t have been so foolish as to be involved with assassins. What is the Emperor up to?”
“At the very least, he should consider Baoqing’s reputation. Nala has served for so many years. If this gets out, people will say the emperor is heartless.”
The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes, her chopsticks pausing briefly.
Calmly, she said, “If they had nothing to do with the assassins, then they must have been involved in Fang He’s injury. They deserve punishment.”
Before leaving the grasslands, Tana had informed the Empress Dowager about what Naren had seen- Consort Rong and two guards behaving suspiciously.
When the Empress Dowager learned that Fang He had been severely injured and taken away, her anger outweighed her sense of resignation.
Even if Fang He was gone, she wouldn’t allow those who had harmed her to live comfortably in the palace.
Though she couldn’t interfere with matters in the Qianqing Palace, those two guards had dealings with the Northern Mongols.
When Kangxi sent people to investigate, she had Tana spread the information, mixing truth with lies.
It seemed both Consort Hui and Consort Jin had dirty hands.
With Yinzhi involved, the Empress Dowager hadn’t expected Consort Hui to face severe punishment, but a scare wouldn’t hurt.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang glanced at her subtly and said:
“I’ve already issued an edict in your name, granting that girl honors she could never have dreamed of. You should let it go.”
The Empress Dowager could no longer eat.
She put down her chopsticks, her eyes red as she looked up and said:
“Aunt, my bond with Wulinzhu was shallow, and so was my bond with that girl. It pains me.”
“Wulinzhu is already part of the Zashuhuli clan. Back then, I could do nothing. Can’t I at least show a little favor to her descendants?”
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang fixed her with a steady gaze, making the Empress Dowager uneasy.
She quickly lowered her head, pretending to wipe her tears with her handkerchief.
“Enough, the punishment has been meted out, the scare tactics have been employed, and the Golden Festival is upon us. Let this matter be put to rest. We cannot afford to let the royal family become a laughingstock.”
The Empress Dowager dared not say more and obediently acquiesced.
However, after she left the Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang instructed Sumala:
“Go and ask Wuyunzhu about what Qiqige has been doing on the grasslands. Find out every detail and report back to me.”
Sumala sensed the underlying tone and softly inquired, “Your Majesty, are you concerned about Lady Fang He…”
“Enough,” Xiaozhuang curtly interrupted Sumala.
Since she had already been interred in the royal mausoleum, Lady Fang He of the Xu family was as good as dead.
“Even if she were alive… she could only be a dead woman.”
She had thought that her poor health over the past two years had kept her oblivious to the outside world.
But as Emperor Kangxi made his northern tour and returned to the capital, she had always found ways to learn what she wanted to know.
Initially, she had thought it better to have a woman who pleased The Emperor serve him rather than directly confront Prince An’s household.
But now, she was beginning to feel a twinge of regret.
After all, she was a descendant of Wulinzhu.
Perhaps she should never have entertained the thought of keeping Fang He in the palace, even if it meant arranging a marriage for the girl.
She called out to Sumala, who was about to leave: “Tomorrow, during the morning court session, go to the Office of Imperial Affairs and have Gu Wenxing bring the historical records to me.”
“Bring him back with you, and don’t give him a chance to relay any messages.”
“This servant understands,” Sumala replied, inwardly alarmed, sensing that another storm might be brewing in the palace.
Soon, the day of the Golden Festival arrived.
The palace had become much livelier.
The snow had not yet melted, but everywhere was adorned with red and green, dressing the silver landscape in vibrant colors, making the icy world appear more lively.
Emperor Kangxi personally led the princes and ministers in worship at the Fengxian Hall, and then accompanied the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager to Beihai to watch the ice performances.
In the evening, a grand banquet was held at the Qianqing Palace.
Xiaozhuang observed coldly that her somewhat abnormal grandson was behaving exceptionally normal today.
His smile seemed measured, and he drank with Fuchuan, Changning, and several other relatives with unusual gusto.
Such normalcy was, in fact, the most abnormal thing.
If The Emperor had truly let go of Fang He, why had he not summoned any of the concubines for the past half month?
The more she thought about it, the more her anger grew.
What was wrong with the descendants of the Aisin Gioro clan!
But considering the importance of the Golden Festival, she concealed her emotions, forced a smile, and exchanged pleasantries with the concubines and various ladies before excusing herself early due to fatigue, returning to the Cining Palace.
Watching Kangxi drink like water, and recalling the grievances Lady Tongjia had recently confided in her, she feared that staying longer might cause her to lose her temper.
After the banquet ended, Fuchuan and Changning were not heavily intoxicated, but Kangxi was so drunk he could barely stand and was carried back to the Zhaoren Hall in a sedan chair.
He hadn’t eaten much, so he didn’t vomit.
Even when Wei Zhu nervously brought him the sobering soup, he merely stared at it for a moment before silently downing it in one gulp, more boldly than he had drunk the wine.
Liang Jiugong stood outside the hall, not daring to show his face.
Afraid that the Emperor might see him and remember the incident of looking for ‘Liang Jiugong,’ which was both heartbreaking and frustrating…
Most importantly, there was a sword inside the hall at this moment!
He wasn’t the least bit afraid of Wei Zhu climbing the ranks; in fact, he wished the boy could replace Fang He outright.
But
Kangxi didn’t cause any trouble today.
Or rather, ever since that stumble, he had never caused any trouble again, only occasionally remembering that there had once been a little rascal in his presence.
But
He refused to lie down and sleep either.
Leaning on Wei Zhu, he staggered to the window, his breath cold and heavy as he gazed outside in silence for so long that one might suspect he had fallen asleep standing up.
Wei Zhu, trembling with fear, dared to peek over cautiously.
It was freezing outside, and His Majesty had been drinking, which made his body warm.
If he caught a chill from the wind, Wei Zhu didn’t have the courage of his sister to risk his life like that.
Just as he tilted his head forward to take a closer look, Kangxi suddenly pointed out the window and spoke-
“There’s someone there. Go! Bring them here!”
Wei Zhu was so startled he nearly fell to the ground.
For one, he didn’t see anyone outside, and secondly… the moment His Majesty’s order was given, a shadow instantly darted in the direction he had pointed.
In the middle of the night, this sudden commotion made Wei Zhu’s heart race, and he didn’t dare to look again.
But when the shadow guard returned, he knelt outside the window and reported, “Your Majesty, the place you pointed to is the imperial tea room. The servants are boiling water and making tea at the door. No one is by the window.”
As he spoke, the night-duty servants, Ran Xia and Cen Ying, arrived trembling, not daring to speak, and knelt on the ground.
Kangxi commanded in a deep voice, “Lookup!”
Ran Xia and Cen Ying obediently raised their heads, their eyes lowered.
Ran Xia’s face was pale, while Cen Ying’s cheeks were tinged with a faint blush.
Among the servants in the Qianqing Palace, who didn’t have ambition, except for someone like Cui Wei?
It was just that they lacked the opportunity.
At this moment… Cen Ying secretly glanced at Kangxi, only to be startled by the profound coldness in his eyes and quickly bowed her head.
Kangxi turned to Wei Zhu, “It’s not them. Go and call the person over. I won’t punish her.”
Wei Zhu’s heart sank.
The imperial tea room had been busy all day during the Banjin Festival, and two servants had caught a cold.
The other two had to be on duty during the day, so tonight only Ran Xia and Cen Ying were serving.
He knew exactly who the Emperor was referring to, but he could only grit his teeth and respond with red-rimmed eyes, then go out to find her.
Seeing him leave, Liang Jiugong sighed and had no choice but to go in and attend to His Majesty.
He gently urged Kangxi, who was still looking out the window, “Your Majesty, the person won’t be able to come until tomorrow morning. Why don’t you rest for now?”
Kangxi didn’t respond but allowed Liang Jiugong to help him sit back on the bed, asking for tea.
Liang Jiugong quickly brought over the calming tea and held it to Kangxi’s lips, which were pale from the cold.
Kangxi instinctively leaned his head back slightly, then suddenly chuckled helplessly, “Be good. Don’t talk while I’m drinking water, alright?”
This sentence nearly brought tears to Liang Jiugong’s eyes.
Everyone thought the Emperor wouldn’t grieve over a woman, and even His Majesty himself believed he wouldn’t.
But Liang Jiugong knew that the Emperor couldn’t let anyone see his sorrow, not even himself.
Ever since leaving the grasslands, these past few months, His Majesty had either abstained from alcohol or gotten drunk.
And when drunk… he always seemed to believe that the person who had left was still by his side.
Earlier, when the Emperor went to the Chengqian Palace to visit the Imperial Noble Consort, and she softly called him “cousin,” he almost changed his expression.
After dining with the Tongjia family, the Emperor, in a gentle yet firm tone, instructed her not to call him “cousin” anymore before leaving.
This infuriated the Tongjia lady, who covered her face and stormed back into her chamber.
Due to the Banjin Festival, the Imperial Household Department sent someone to inquire about the designs for the gold and silver ingots, hoping to bring some auspiciousness to both the palace and the outside world.
The Emperor immediately ordered the Imperial Household Department to make a hundred palm-sized golden boxes, which startled Hailasun.
As for the southern pearls from Jiangnan and Huguang, a portion was usually reserved for the concubines, while the rest was sent to the Empress Dowager and the Empress.
This time, however, the Emperor stored a large box of them in his private treasury, leaving the six concubines without their usual share of southern pearls this year.
Not to mention the calligraphy practice sheets that were written and then burned, and the side rooms that no one was allowed to enter…
Such incidents occurred frequently.
Yet, their master acted as if nothing was wrong.
After finishing his tea, he lay down calmly without waiting for Wei Zhu to return and soon fell asleep.
Liang Jiugong wished he could cry on behalf of his master, to vent his emotions and let go of the burden.
If things continued like this, he feared a major problem would arise!
However, as much as he thought about it, Liang Jiugong never expected the major problem to come so quickly.
Early in the morning, after the court session, Kangxi took Liang Jiugong to the Cining Palace to pay his respects.
As soon as they stepped into the Cining Palace, the chief eunuch Yu Quangui ordered the palace gates to be closed.
Kangxi frowned, “How dare you!”
Yu Quangui promptly knelt down and kowtowed to Kangxi.
“Your servant is following the Empress Dowager’s orders. Whether to kill or punish me afterward is up to Your Majesty. I apologize for the offense!”
With that, Sumala stepped in front of Kangxi, and Yu Quangui waved his hand.
Immediately, two burly eunuchs rushed over…
They twisted Liang Jiugong’s arms behind his back and pressed him onto a bench in the courtyard.
When the board came down, Liang Jiugong finally came to his senses: “Ah…”
He covered his mouth, tears streaming down his face.
The ancestor was already gone, so why was he the one suffering again!!
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