Kangxi burst into Yinreng’s tent, but didn’t spare a single glance at the son who had always caused him such inner turmoil, stumbling instead straight behind the screen to the soft couch.
Yinreng instinctively took a step forward, wanting to help.
But when he saw Liang Jiugong rush over, he gritted his teeth, forced himself to stay put, lowered his gaze, and stood by coldly.
The others might not know, but he did—this woman was faking it!
When she burst in, Liang Jiugong hadn’t even arrived yet.
Yinreng had seen the riding whip in her hand and thought she was going to strike, so he’d gotten up to defend himself at once.
Even if he wanted to use his own death to make his Father regret, to even go down in the history books as the Crown Prince driven to death, he refused to be humiliated by this woman before he died.
But Fang He, for all her posturing, had no intention of raising a hand against him.
She wasn’t stupid—if Yinreng let her use both arms, she still wouldn’t be a match for him!
As Liang Jiugong stepped in, she mouthed a single sentence to Yinreng.
“Is the water in your brain not clear yet? Just wait!”
With that, Fang He collapsed softly to the side, fainting… and fainted… and fainted…………
Liang Jiugong’s eyes widened as if he’d seen a ghost.
He immediately called for Jinghao to come carry Fang He to the couch, then hurried out.
Yinreng had been furious at Fang He’s obviously fake fainting, unsure if she’d just mouthed “water” or something else…
He was about to erupt, when he saw the blood on Jinghao’s clothes.
It had come from Fang He.
Yinreng was stunned.
For a woman to faint at the sight of blood—there was only one possibility!
He even started to doubt whether he’d dreamed that sentence Fang He had mouthed to him.
Would this woman really use her own child just to teach him a lesson?
He was mad, not stupid—he just couldn’t believe it, so he just bottled up his anger and waited to see what trick Fang He was playing.
Kangxi came around the screen, and when he saw Fang He lying there lifeless and pale, his own face went even paler than hers.
He rushed forward, but his legs gave out, and he collapsed to one knee in front of the couch—right in front of Lu Wuning.
Yinreng’s gaze flickered slightly, the hatred in his eyes deepening.
He’d never seen his Father so disheveled before.
So, in his Father’s heart, this woman really did matter more than him.
Lu Wuning was scared out of his wits and immediately let go of Fang He’s wrist, ready to kneel and bow to Kangxi.
Kangxi, unable to get up in his panic, rasped out hoarsely, “Continue feeling her pulse! If anything happens to the Imperial Noble Consort, I’ll have your whole family’s heads!”
Lu Wuning trembled, forcing himself to calm down, and quickly resumed checking Fang He’s pulse.
Liang Jiugong helped Kangxi up, but he refused to move, sitting right there on the bloodstained couch beside Fang He, not caring about the mess.
He stared unblinking at Fang He’s ashen face, and with Lu Wuning’s silence, his regret only grew deeper and deeper.
He hadn’t called Fang He here to test this bewitching woman.
Though part of the reason was to prevent Suo’etu from using her and the child as leverage—keeping her near would be safer, and it would keep Suo’etu wary, making it harder for him to act against Shoukang Palace.
But there were other solutions.
The real reason… was something far more shameful: selfish desire.
No matter how sweet Fang He’s words might sound, Kangxi, as an emperor capable of ruling the world, was unmatched in reading faces and hearts—he’d long sensed she wasn’t truly devoted to him.
The more he liked her, to the point he wanted her with him always, propriety and rules be damned, the more he cared about these things.
He was the emperor, but to her, he was the one person in the palace she had no need to fear.
Yet, he found himself unable to part from her.
For someone accustomed to control, Kangxi found this hard to swallow.
This time, falling ill, he’d even felt a perverse anticipation.
He hoped this damn woman, hearing he was ill, would worry for him, would put aside Jiujiu and Er Bao for him, and choose to come to his side.
Only seeing his life on the line would make her realize she couldn’t be without him…
The more Lu Wuning checked her pulse, the darker his face grew.
He even had Jinghao swap to Fang He’s other hand for another pulse check.
He took so long that even Fang He, pretending to be unconscious, began to worry.
Oh heavens—she’d only meant to use her period as an excuse, to remind Yinreng that the reason he’d once had his Father’s care was because of his own willfulness, to teach a lesson to this brat who always thought of dying and dragging others down with him.
But at Lu Wuning’s reaction… could she really have some terrible illness?
Fang He grew anxious, only to feel her wrist suddenly freed.
Kangxi, with his harsh, hoarse voice, could hardly wait.
“Well?”
Lu Wuning lowered his head and said, “Replying to My Lord, it feels like a slippery pulse, but it’s still early, and I’m no specialist in gynecology or pediatrics, so I can’t be sure.”
Fang He nearly shot upright.
“How can that be! The Imperial Noble Consort has always been drinking Contraceptive Soup!” Kangxi blurted out her inner thoughts.
Lu Wuning explained helplessly, “That’s why I can’t be certain. The Contraceptive Soup doesn’t always work at all times—if she ate some antidotal food after taking it, or if too much time passed between doses, it could fail.”
Both Kangxi and Fang He fell silent.
Eating antidotal food seemed unlikely—with Fule watching over her.
But she always took her medicine after meals.
Even after noisy nights, she could still keep up, but before morning court… well, there had been plenty of close calls.
Since her investiture as Imperial Noble Consort, their feelings had only grown deeper, always sneaking time together, with spontaneous “rides in the carriage” here and there… cough, cough, it was only natural.
Kangxi saw the blood on the edge of the bed and wanted to slap himself.
He immediately ordered Liang Jiugong, “Tell Zhao Chang to summon all the Imperial Physicians under guard here for a consultation with the Imperial Noble Consort at once! Go, get my tiger-skin blanket over here, and bring the one-hundred-year-old ginseng root from my tent, too. Send someone to Rehe to fetch a doctor skilled in gynecology and pediatrics, and stock up on every nourishing tonic you can—more is better!”
Hearing Kangxi rasp out instructions, his voice nearly gone, Yinreng, who had just been full of resentment, suddenly found it all rather familiar.
A swarm of Imperial Physicians crowded into the tent, all gathering around the couch.
Kangxi never let go of Fang He’s hand, rubbing it over and over like a frightened, lost child, forcing himself to stay calm as the Imperial Physician specialized in gynecology finished feeling her pulse—his face dark and grave.
“Replying to My Lord, Imperial Consort Zhen does indeed have a slippery pulse. She is less than a month pregnant, but with all this travel, exhaustion, and emotional turmoil, she’s showing signs of miscarriage…”
Fang He nearly sprang up from the bed—her stomach only hurt a little and the bleeding had stopped!
If she was really pregnant, was it so serious??
Thinking there might be a little life in her belly that might not come into this world because of her carelessness, Fang He wanted to slap herself.
Kangxi’s eyes instantly reddened.
He opened his mouth, but his lips just trembled, and instead, he turned his head and spat up another mouthful of blood.
“Your Majesty!”
“My Lord!”
Liang Jiugong and the Imperial Physicians all called out in alarm.
Lu Wuning hurried forward to check his pulse, but Kangxi kicked him away.
Kangxi wiped the blood from his lips, fighting down the remorse and pain in his heart, and ordered coldly, “Stabilize the Imperial Noble Consort’s pregnancy at once! If anything happens to her, you’ll all join her in the afterlife!”
Imperial Physicians long used to living with their heads on the line shivered in fear—but were already somewhat numb to it.
Actually, Fang He’s body wasn’t that fragile.
After all, she’d been carefully looked after for years by two renowned former court physicians, and both times she’d been in confinement she’d been given the finest care.
This pregnancy was actually quite stable.
It’s common to spot a little blood in early pregnancy—hers was only due to fatigue from the long journey, which made her pulse a little unsteady.
But the Imperial Physicians knew… the Emperor and Imperial Noble Consort didn’t!
First, if anything went wrong, they’d be digging their own graves by giving too many reassurances.
Second, it was because they’d all just been detained.
Now, apart from Lu Wuning, all the Imperial Physicians shared a tacit understanding to describe the Imperial Noble Consort’s condition as weaker than it really was.
If they saved her, perhaps the credit would win them a safe return?
Anyway, as long as they stabilized her pregnancy, even if other doctors checked her later, no one could say for sure that there hadn’t been signs of miscarriage before.
So, hearing Kangxi’s threat, they all shivered symbolically, then set to work drafting prescriptions to protect the Imperial Noble Consort’s pregnancy.
But Yinreng, who’d been quietly schadenfreude a moment ago, suddenly froze.
He remembered a scene much like this from his childhood—his Father had said nearly the same thing, when he was four and came down with smallpox.
His Father had stayed by his side, haggard and sleepless, no matter what the Imperial Physicians or Wuku Mama did, or what state business called—his Father never let go of his hand.
When the pox itched the worst, his Father gently blew on it and rubbed his hand to soothe him, giving him strength.
At that time, Yinreng felt that his Father belonged to him alone, and he needed only his Father.
No one could steal his Father away, not even his jealous brothers.
They all had mothers—he alone had none, so that made things fair.
Later, when he was six with a lingering fever, and eight with hives so bad he cried his heart out, it was always his Father holding his hand and seeing him through.
But as he and his brothers grew, and court business multiplied, his Father seemed to look his way less and less.
So he felt wronged, resentful, and eventually obsessed, determined to prove himself worthy of all his Father’s love… forgetting to grow up.
He couldn’t see the evenhanded way his Father treated both him and the Imperial Noble Consort, nor the roads paved and opportunities granted, nor the messes cleaned up for him.
He forgot that his Father could be hurt by the obsessions in his own heart.
So, was this what Imperial Consort Zhen wanted him to see?
She used her own child to awaken his guilt toward his Father, to help him recover his long-lost clarity, and to appeal on his Father’s behalf.
Yinreng gave Fang He a complicated look—this woman… truly did feel more deeply for his Father than other women.
If Fang He knew what he was thinking, she’d probably wail on the spot.
She’d only had a dull ache in her belly since morning, thinking it was just her period coming, the pain mild and nothing else feeling off, so she dared use it as a scare tactic.
She wasn’t doing this to frighten herself!
Hearing the Imperial Physician’s words, she couldn’t help sniffling, her emotions surging, tears threatening to fall.
Kangxi, tightly gripping her hand, paused and looked at the way her eyes rolled anxiously beneath her lids, his own worry and remorse freezing.
‘Was this wretch awake, or still faking it?’
But just as he began to wonder, he saw a single tear slip down from Fang He’s tightly shut eyes, followed by more and more as her nose quivered and her lips, pale as cherry petals, were bitten by her own teeth.
Kangxi’s mind emptied.
He reached out with trembling hands to wipe her tears, but Fang He turned her head away.
At that moment, oddly enough, both father and son shared the same thought.
Whether or not Fang He had fainted, with the threat of miscarriage looming, Kangxi’s remorse and anxiety were as deep as ever.
He couldn’t even recall why he’d been so selfish and possessive before.
All he wanted now was for Guoguo to stay by his side, safe and sound.
He should have accepted his fate long ago, shouldn’t he?
Yinreng stared at his Father’s bloodshot eyes, feeling on the verge of tears, yet wanting to laugh as well.
He, too, couldn’t remember when he’d changed into such a violent, selfish fool, despite all the teachings from his Father and the scholars.
If only he’d fulfilled his duties as Crown Prince, none of this would have happened.
Now that he’d lost control, he was doomed to lose everything, even to the point of wishing to die to make his Father regret it forever.
What on earth was he doing?
The prescription was quickly written out, and Liang Jiugong and Jinghao went to receive the medicine themselves.
As soon as she was deemed fit to move, Kangxi had Fang He wrapped up and carried back to the imperial tent.
He didn’t let go.
After all, someone had died in Yinreng’s tent—inauspicious.
Afraid of giving Fang He his own sickness, Kangxi moved to the couch himself, letting Jinghao and Liang Jiugong carefully tend to Fang He, feeding her medicine, wiping her down, and changing her clothes.
He only kept Li Dequan by his side.
Except for dozing off on medicine and handling frontline affairs, he never took his eyes off Fang He.
Sometimes when the Imperial Physicians came to check her pulse, it seemed as if the Imperial Noble Consort were the emperor, and the one on the couch was the Imperial Noble Consort instead.