Cui Wei was startled-not by her mistress’s suspicions, but—
“Did you take that hit on purpose?”
To make the Emperor punish the concubines involved in Fang He’s drunken incident out of guilt?
Good heavens, her mistress was truly ruthless, not even fearing disfigurement.
Fang He: “…”
Who would believe she hadn’t done it on purpose?
It wasn’t even her who got hit.
Having served Kangxi for nearly thirty years, Liang Jiugong could practically tell whether his master was about to pass gas or something else just by the way he shifted.
His understanding of Emperor Kangxi was so profound that, if he dared to speak without fear of startling others, he could claim to know the Emperor better than the Emperor knew himself.
It was he who first noticed the Emperor’s unusual fondness for Consort Zhao back then.
In the main palace hall, he hadn’t dared to look too closely, but now in the Qianqing Palace, under the bright lights, he immediately spotted something amiss.
The Emperor’s complexion was slightly darker than usual.
Liang Jiugong was absolutely certain-His Majesty had applied powder!
Though the application was even and the difference subtle, those freckles he’d been observing for nearly thirty years were gone!
He quickly lowered his head, his expression shifting dramatically as he speculated inwardly:
Could the Emperor have indulged Consort Zhao to the extent of joining her in applying makeup?
There was an even bolder suspicion, but even if threatened with death, Liang wouldn’t dare entertain that thought.
He could only edge closer to the Emperor.
Thus, the imperial ministers attending court that day, along with the Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince, noticed that Chief Eunuch Liang behaved like a lapdog catching scent of meat-practically clinging to His Majesty’s side!
Emperor Kangxi, sensing something odd, halted abruptly and felt Liang’s hat brim bump against his back.
With a cold glare that sent Liang into a sweating panic, the Emperor sat down without a word, leaving the kneeling eunuch terrified.
Even as the Emperor displayed uncharacteristic temper, harshly reprimanding negligent officials, Chief Eunuch Liang remained distracted, completely unaffected.
Back in the Hongde Hall, Kangxi kicked Liang Jiugong awake with a boot to the rear.
“What’s gotten into you today, you dog of a slave?”
Staggering from the kick, Liang Jiugong rubbed his sore backside but couldn’t contain himself.
Seizing the moment of privacy, he knelt boldly at the Emperor’s feet.
“This slave deserves punishment! May Your Majesty grant this unworthy servant some lashes! Have mercy and apply medicine to my wounds!”
Kangxi: “……”
The Emperor concluded Liang Jiugong was courting death.
Kangxi naturally realized his disguise had failed, but for this dog of a servant to suggest applying hemorrhoid ointment to him…
“Get out! Keep your mouth shut tight! If I hear one improper word from you, forget ointment-you’ll be joining your ancestors underground!”
Defiant, Liang Jiugong suddenly- smack! smack!-slapped himself twice across the face before the Emperor could react.
Bowing deeply, he then went to fetch medicine from the imperial pharmacy.
After all, the Qianqing Palace’s ointment had been left at Consort Zhao’s residence.
Kangxi massaged his temples, feeling that since Fang He entered the palace, even his closest servants had grown audacious.
Yet he understood Liang Jiugong’s behavior stemmed from concern, venting frustration through petty rebellion rather than daring to criticize his master directly.
The Emperor let it pass.
But what truly angered him was how Tong Guogang and Tong Guowei had corresponded privately.
Enabling Tong Guowei’s conveniently timed leg injury while withholding crucial northern Mongol intelligence from the throne.
Similarly, Suo’etu conspired with the Tong family for the Crown Prince’s benefit, scheming to claim military honors for the heir’s faction— all showing blatant disregard for their Emperor.
Nor could he overlook the incompetent officials or Nalan Mingzhu’s growing closeness to Yinreng, emboldening Consort Hui’s palace intrigues.
Fang He was right—while he agonized over every consideration for the realm, who among them ever considered their Emperor’s burdens?
The next day, an imperial edict was issued from the Qianqing Palace.
The Emperor, distressed by the Noble Consort’s severe illness, ordered her to recuperate peacefully in the Chengqian Palace, transferring the management of palace affairs along with the Phoenix Seal and Golden Treasure to the Yongshou Palace.
A few days later, during the morning greetings, the Empress Dowager was furious when she learned that Consort Hui and Noble Lady Guoluoluo had insinuated that Consort Zhao’s leave was due to the ridiculous incident of being beaten after making a scene.
Before noon, an edict from the Shoukang Palace was delivered to Consort Hui’s Changchun Palace, reprimanding her for failing to set a proper example as a mother-in-law.
She was accused of being loose-tongued and creating discord, and was ordered to be confined for six months to copy the Lotus Sutra as an offering to Buddha to atone for her misdeeds.
This was an unmistakable slap in the face, openly mocking Consort Hui for her gossip.
As for Noble Lady Guoluoluo?
She wasn’t even worthy of an edict from the Empress Dowager, who simply instructed Consort Yi to keep a tighter rein on her.
Still, no one had yet connected this matter to Fang He.
But by the afternoon, after Emperor Kangxi awoke from his midday nap and learned that someone had provoked the Empress Dowager’s anger, an oral decree was sent to the Yikun Palace.
Li Dequan personally came to deliver the edict:
“By His Majesty’s decree: Consort Yi has failed in her duty to discipline the palace ladies, allowing them to act with such disrespect. This greatly displeases Us. She is hereby fined three years’ salary and forbidden from visiting the Fifth Prince until she has properly managed her own palace.”
Consort Yi calmly knelt to receive the decree.
Noble Lady Guoluoluo and the Fourth Princess were both bewildered, unable to fathom why the Empress Dowager was in such a rage.
But neither mother nor daughter thought much of it—just another petty squabble over words.
Consort Yi didn’t rely on her monthly stipend anyway, so it wasn’t a major blow.
At least it wasn’t as bad as what happened to Consort Hui.
However, that evening, before presenting the green head plaques for the Emperor’s selection, Gu Wenxing, in full view of all the eunuchs in the Office of Imperial Household Affairs, took Noble Lady Guoluoluo’s plaque and threw it into a brazier.
As the deputy attendant presenting the plaques trembled in fear, Gu Wenxing remarked nonchalantly, “From now on, Noble Lady Guoluoluo’s plaque need not be sent before His Majesty.”
Gu Wenxing wouldn’t dare make such a decision on his own-it was clear whose will this was.
The news spread throughout the harem the next day.
Noble Lady Guoluoluo collapsed to the floor, too stunned even to cry.
It turned out no one had let her off the hook-she simply hadn’t been important enough for the masters to issue a formal decree.
Seeing her mother’s spirit crushed in an instant, the perceptive Fourth Princess, only nine years old, immediately realized that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were avenging Consort Zhao.
Furious, her face flushed red, she stormed toward the door, ready to rush to the Qianqing Palace and beg her father to revoke his order.
If her mother was forever barred from serving the Emperor, it would be tantamount to trampling her dignity underfoot.
How could she survive in the palace like this?
“Stop the Fourth Princess!” Before she could leave, Consort Yi coldly ordered the palace maids to restrain her, her expression unreadable as she stepped into the side chamber.
“Aunt!” The Fourth Princess, held back by the kneeling maids, looked at her in disbelief.
“Will you just stand by and let a mere consort trample over our Yikun Palace and lord it over us?”
Consort Yi sat down leisurely and dismissed the servants.
“When the two of you schemed behind my back to use others as your knives, you should have expected this day. Now you dare act but can’t bear the consequences?”
The Fourth Princess frowned deeply.
“How can she compare to my mother-to me, a princess?”
“Mother didn’t harm her, she couldn’t hold her liquor. Who’s to blame for that?”
“After all this time, His Majesty suddenly seeks revenge for her. She must have whispered in his ear. Aren’t you afraid, Aunt, that by nurturing a tiger, you’ll one day lose your own favor to her?”
After a pause, the Fourth Princess sat down with a mocking look in her eyes.
“No, Consort Zhao’s favor is now unmatched, which is why everyone turns against her when she’s down.”
Noble Consort Yi couldn’t help but laugh.
When it came to the cunning needed in palace intrigues, Irha had indeed inherited her temperament.
Having borne three sons and maintained imperial favor for a decade without decline, Noble Consort Yi’s schemes were second to none.
Had she been the one accompanying the emperor to Northern Mongolia, she would never have allowed Fang He the chance to escape alive to Jiangnan.
Both Noble Consort Hui and Noble Consort Rong had been to Northern Mongolia and knew about the commotion Fang He caused while drunk by the Kherlen River.
Noble Consort Rong might appear reckless, but her intuition was sharper than anyone’s.
She knew the best time to deal with Fang He was in Northern Mongolia, before the emperor became too attached.
Thus, Noble Consort Rong decisively had the Majia clan act, turning Fang He into the Xifei of the imperial mausoleum.
Even though Noble Consort Rong had to feign devout Buddhist piety after returning to the palace, at least she had eliminated Fang He.
Who would have thought Fang He would survive?
Noble Consort Rong’s Buddhist devotion could only grow more fervent.
Similarly, the day Fang He returned to the palace, Noble Consort Yi knew the best opportunity to deal with her had passed, so she never made any unnecessary moves.
“Do you think imperial favor still matters to me?” Noble Consort Yi calmly analyzed for Irha.
“I don’t need to bear any more princes, and His Majesty won’t allow me to continue having children.”
The Fourth Princess was taken aback.
“But for Fifth Brother, Little Ninth, and Little Eleventh’s sake, our Yikun Palace can’t afford to lose favor!”
“That’s why I stopped you from going before His Majesty.” Noble Consort Yi glanced at her younger sister weeping in the bedchamber, massaging her temples in frustration.
“As long as Yinqi remains in the Empress Dowager’s good graces and I maintain a face before her, His Majesty will never treat us poorly. Your mother will always find a way to get by.”
“But for a daughter to rush forward and question her father about his harem affairs-do you intend to throw away all your favor with His Majesty?”
“You must understand, as a princess, whether you’re married to a poor or wealthy tribe in the northern or southern deserts depends entirely on His Majesty’s will!”
Noble Consort Hui, though without a daughter, feared Fang He might bear a son who would eclipse Yinzhi in the emperor’s favor.
Not daring to act herself, she only incited her sister to do those wicked deeds.
Fang He’s favor indeed made the consorts both jealous and envious, so they naturally took pleasure in seeing her misfortune.
The Imperial Noble Consort, feigning illness, turned a blind eye.
The Niohuru clan, having connections in the Imperial Household Department, facilitated Noble Consort Xuan’s efforts to win people over.
Had Little Eleventh not fallen seriously ill from catching cold, Noble Consort Yi would have locked her sister in her rooms and made amends with Fang He by taking the blame beforehand.
That would have been better than making an enemy like this.
“Your mother may be ruined, but you’re still His Majesty’s favorite princess. Think carefully about what you should do.”
“Until you’ve figured it out, you’re not to step beyond Yikun Palace’s gates!”
***
Meanwhile, Cui Wei and Fang He were also discussing the matter.
“Your guess was absolutely right, mistress! Apart from Yonghe Palace, not a single hand is clean!”
“Too incompetent to compete for favor properly, resorting only to such despicable tricks—yet it’s Noble Consort Hui who benefits in the end!”
Fang He rested her chin lazily on her hand as Fule administered acupuncture to her injured wrist.
When Cui Wei finished, she chuckled softly.
“Who told you managing palace affairs is a benefit?”
She turned her gaze from the window and raised an eyebrow at Cui Wei.
“Everyone else has gotten involved, yet only Yonghe Palace remains silent. Don’t you find that strange?”
Cui Wei was suddenly taken aback-come to think of it, that was indeed the case.