Bumping into a ghost in the middle of the night… or rather, bumping into someone pretending to be one, scared away most of Fang He’s tipsiness.
By the time she returned to the main hall, her entire being had become much more listless.
Even when Consort Duan and Consort Xi, who were close to Consort Hui, mocked her with cold sarcasm, Fang He didn’t really bother responding.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t win a verbal spat; when it came to arguing, they were no match for someone who had been an old friend of theirs for two lifetimes.
She simply didn’t want to act like a performing monkey while all the princes and high-ranking officials were present.
That dog thing who would protect her unconditionally wasn’t here.
Now, although the Empress Dowager still looked out for her, she had to be sensible and not cause trouble for others.
Having switched timelines, she realized that in the face of the Empress Dowager’s kindness, she only wanted to reciprocate and not let the Empress Dowager’s protection go to waste.
She was very clear that the Empress Dowager also had her own difficulties.
Kangxi was not her biological son after all, and the original intention behind the Empress Dowager’s kindness toward her wasn’t actually for her sake.
Only that dog thing, along with her Jiujiu, Er Bao, and the three little rascals, truly loved her and were an indispensable part of her.
After Kangxi arrived accompanying the Empress Dowager, the sound of silk and bamboo instruments echoed endlessly throughout the hall.
Everyone toasted and exchanged cups, making the scene even more lively, yet Fang He felt more lonely than ever.
Misfortunes never come singly; eating a tasteless imperial banquet with a heavy heart wasn’t the end of it.
Fang He, who hadn’t slept well all night, had to follow palace rules on New Year’s Day and go everywhere to pay her New Year’s respects.
Bowing to the Empress Dowager, bowing at the Fengxian Hall, bowing to the Xiaokang Empress at the Jingyang Palace, bowing to the two Empresses at the Kunning Palace, bowing to the Noble Consort…
In short, she did nothing else all day.
Even as a Second-Class Female Attendant, although Fang He’s flower-pot heels weren’t particularly high, by the end of the day, her feet and knees were so swollen they were unbearable to look at.
When Cui Xi applied hot salt bags to her legs, the pain was so intense that Fang He bit her pillow and wailed for a long time.
The next morning, the pair of swollen eyes nearly gave the Empress Dowager a fright.
She was already in such a pitiful state, yet in the middle of the afternoon, just as she was preparing to attend another imperial banquet, she was greeted by a smiling Liang Jiugong.
Seeing Liang Jiugong with a smile that was three parts condescending, three parts respectful, and four parts gloating as he bowed at her door, Fang He’s vision went dark, and she desperately wanted to faint.
It had been far too long since she had seen this Liang Anda, who disregarded people’s lives and pulled them in to fill holes.
Yet, he had no self-awareness at all and had the nerve to smile and say, “Congratulations to Little Master Lan!”
Fang He: “…”
At this moment, the only thing that could make her happy was attending Liang Jiugong’s funeral banquet early!
Liang Jiugong inexplicably felt a chill on the back of his neck.
Thinking it was just the cold weather, he rubbed his hands and continued to smile.
“My Lord has summoned you to provide night service tonight! Master, please go directly to the Side Hall to wait after the imperial banquet; there is no need to return to the Shoukang Palace.”
Fang He: “…”
‘Serve your Lord! Did you hear that? Provide night service to your Lord!!’
The imperial banquet wouldn’t end until nearly midnight.
After saying a few words, doing some foreplay, and then performing some physical labor, it would be dawn, and she would have to get up to continue accompanying the Empress Dowager to see guests.
Oh wait, the Kangxi here probably hadn’t experienced the process of being despised by her yet.
He was still in the stage where he would pull the curtains and just get straight to work.
After the physical labor, he would let the concubines find their own place to clean up while he could sleep for an hour or two.
The only one who would have to stay up all night would likely be her.
Was this night service?
This was taking her life!
Cui Xi heard the Great Steward of Qianqing’s voice and saw him still waiting.
She was extremely anxious.
There weren’t many chances for her Master to gain favor; once this opportunity passed, there might not be another one!
She hurried forward to bow to Liang Jiugong and hurriedly stuffed a pouch into his hand.
“Our Master is overcome with joy. Please forgive her, Liang Anda. Tonight, this servant will surely serve Master well and take her to the Side Hall!”
Liang Jiugong couldn’t see Fang He’s expression inside.
She was leaning away with her back to the door.
Hearing Cui Xi say this, he didn’t think much of it.
In this Imperial Palace, was there anyone who didn’t want to serve the Master Lord?
That would be a joke.
After Liang Jiugong left, Cui Xi hurriedly stomped her feet and came over to Fang He.
“Oh, my Master, you—”
Just as she was about to tell her Master not to be temperamental and to seize the opportunity for night service, Cui Xi was startled by Fang He’s face, which could almost be described as hideous.
She quickly poured a cup of tea for Fang He and asked: “Master, what is wrong with you?”
Surely she wasn’t actually overjoyed to the point of madness?
Fang He took several deep breaths before suppressing the urge to curse out eighteen generations of the Aisinjueluo ancestors.
Over these years, she had been pampered so much that her temper was no longer as mild as it had been two lifetimes ago.
If she weren’t clearly aware of her current situation, she would have told Liang Jiugong to get lost just now.
She took a sip of warm tea, trying her best to calm down, and asked Cui Xi, “Is my monthly cycle coming soon?”
Cui Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said with joy, “Yes, it should be in about three days. This is the best time for you to conceive.”
“As long as you serve My Lord well, and if you can later conceive a little imperial prince, with the Empress Dowager supporting you, we will truly have a firm foothold in the Imperial Palace!”
Even if it were a little Princess, the two of them, master and servant, could live a more peaceful life.
They wouldn’t have to constantly worry about what to do if the Empress Dowager’s health declined or how to handle being targeted by the concubines of the Imperial Harem.
Fang He lowered her eyes and remained silent.
She knew Kangxi’s character very well.
He was someone who could love a person to the point of life or hate them to the point of death.
Toward those he recognized and kept within his circle of protection, his patience was exceptionally high.
But for strangers or those he didn’t care about, he was extraordinarily harsh, even bordering on mean, causing many civil and military officials to walk on thin ice because of it.
Her current identity… if she wanted to keep her life, she had to be twelve thousand times careful.
Fang He didn’t dare to gamble on whether she could return to that dog thing’s side if she died.
She felt that she had to remain alive in this dream to eventually wake up.
Because of this inexplicable intuition, Fang He suppressed all her temper.
Even at the imperial banquet, when the concubines who knew she was to provide night service spoke with hidden malice, she only acted obedient and shy, pretending not to understand.
This ended up infuriating those concubines who had nearly exhausted their tongues with sarcasm.
Although Kangxi was far from Fang He, because he sat at the head, he saw all of Fang He’s performance.
He had a subtle, scrutinizing look toward Fang He.
Although Fang He appeared extremely submissive, he could sense that she didn’t care at all about the difficulties posed by these high-ranking concubines.
Out of respect for the Imperial Mother, the concubines wouldn’t openly target her.
Similarly, the Imperial Mother had to consider the concubines’ face, so she couldn’t take charge for Fang He regarding these hidden troubles.
So here was the question: where did her confidence come from?
Due to curiosity, Kangxi didn’t drink too much wine.
He dismissed the imperial banquet early and didn’t make Fang He wait long before inviting her, cleaned and changed into new clothes, to the Zhaoren Hall.
Before entering the hall, Fang He knew exactly what would happen.
She had lived to be over fifty after all; she wasn’t as pretentious as when she was young.
Naturally, she would do her utmost to avoid providing night service, but if the choice were between losing her head and night service, she had no choice.
At least it wasn’t some other person… Fang He felt she should barely be able to accept it.
But after entering the great hall and kneeling unhindered at Kangxi’s feet, seeing those bright yellow soap boots with dragon patterns she had almost forgotten, and seeing the unfamiliar scrutiny and indifferent interest in Kangxi’s eyes from the corner of her eye, she discovered she couldn’t do it.
Before meeting Kangxi, she had always held a sliver of hope.
She and that dog thing had clearly fallen asleep together; it made no sense for only her to travel over here!
Maybe that dog thing was teasing her on purpose?
Maybe that dog thing had lost his memory, just like that time Yin Hui went to Jiangnan?
But the moment she saw Kangxi, she confirmed that this really wasn’t her dog thing; it was just the Master Kang from a parallel space-time.
Fang He’s nose suddenly felt a sharp sting of sorrow.
In the blink of an eye, her vision became so blurred she could hardly see the shape of the dragon patterns.
She used every ounce of strength she had to keep herself from crying out.
She didn’t know that even if she lowered her head, Kangxi, sitting above, could easily see the changes in her expression.
He frowned and ordered in a deep voice, “Raise your head!”
Fang He paused, took a deep breath, and followed the rules in her memory, slowly raising her chin.
She only kept her eyes downcast to hide the moisture that hadn’t yet fully dissipated.
“What? Does serving me make you feel wronged?”
Fang He suppressed her disappointment and lowered her head again.
“Your servant wouldn’t dare. Serving My Lord…” is your servant’s honor.
A clearly simple sentence felt as if a piece of cotton was stuck in her throat; she couldn’t say it no matter what.
‘Honor, my foot!’
Right now, she just wanted to have a good cry and curse that dog thing who wanted to be buried with her, yet had now thrown her into this familiar yet strange space-time.
She thought she could remain calm and rational.
But at this moment, she realized that the dog thing’s affection—which was rarely expressed in words yet permeated every bit of her life—had made her unable to endure this kind of grievance.
Liang Jiugong looked at the little Second-Class Female Attendant who suddenly puffed out her cheeks and began wiping tears, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
‘This little ancestor actually felt wronged serving the Master Lord? Has the world gone mad!’
He hurriedly waved his hand to the servants, wanting to have this audacious Second-Class Female Attendant pulled out to prevent the Master Lord from getting angry and taking Fang He’s life directly.
Kangxi suddenly ordered coldly, “Except for Liang Jiugong, everyone get out!”
‘Hmm?’ Fang He, who was deeply trapped in her feelings of grievance and couldn’t pull herself out, didn’t leave her ears at the Shoukang Palace.
She heard Kangxi’s words clearly and was instantly overjoyed.
This time, even if Liang Jiugong were fast, he wouldn’t be able to run, right?
It was finally her turn to bolt first!
She didn’t care what Kangxi thought she scrambled up, turned, and ran, leaving both Kangxi and Liang Jiugong, master and servant, dumbfounded.
The other servants were also speechless, watching Fang He’s lightning-fast movements.
For a moment, they forgot which leg to move to get out.
The veins on Kangxi’s forehead throbbed.
He took a deep breath and pointed at Liang Jiugong—
“Don’t make any noise!”
Liang Jiugong snapped out of it, hurriedly said “Yes,” forgot even to bow, and rushed out to bring her back.
Of course, Fang He hadn’t expected to actually escape.
She was just trapped in that emotion and couldn’t get out.
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