Chapter 78: The Dragon’s Wrath and a Hidden Heir (1/2)

Li Dequan personally went to Tousuo Hall to escort her, the sedan chair halted only at the gates of Yanxi Palace.  

“Snow makes the roads slippery, Lady Zhao. Mind your step,” Li Dequan said, bowing low and extending an arm for Fang He to steady herself.  

Since Cui Wei, Wei Zhu, and Chunlai had been taken away, Xinke, Xinnan, and Fule now attended to her closely, sparing Fang He any hardship.

She wore a newly tailored agate-colored butterfly palace robe, layered with an exceptionally thick cloak of the same hue.  

The cloak’s edges and the cuffs of her qipao were embroidered with fine rabbit fur, wrapping her petite frame in a cocoon of warmth.  

Yet, as she stepped down, a shiver ran through her before she could even extend her hand.  

She glanced up at the snow still drifting down, exhaling a faint puff of white breath.  

The snow had been falling for hours, with no sign of stopping.  

Ignoring Li Dequan’s offered arm, she clutched her copper hand-warmer tightly and tread carefully through the snow.  

Li Dequan’s eyelid twitched.  

The flowerpot shoes worn by palace consorts could easily lead to a fall on such a day, and though the Emperor’s mood was unusually daunting today, Li Dequan and the others didn’t believe Lady Zhao would fall from favor so easily.  

If she were to slip, their heads would surely roll.  

But as Fang He began to move, Li Dequan stole a glance at her feet and couldn’t help but quirk his lips.  

Good heavens, the tiny flowerpot soles had been altered into flat, broad shoe bases.  

Fang He had even thought to disinfect them—a detail not to be overlooked in the dead of winter.

Her steps left distinct cloud patterns in the snow, as steady as their own black boots.  

Silently, Li Dequan led her to the rear hall.  

Liang Jiugong stood guard at the door, and none of them entered.  

As Fang He crossed the threshold, she saw Kangxi leaning against an antique shelf in the side hall, warming his hands by the fire.  

At the sound of her arrival, he lifted his gaze, giving her a fleeting glance.

Noting her thick attire and the scant snow dusting her, he beckoned her with a calm gesture.  

“Take off your cloak, shake off the snow, and come warm yourself.”  

Fang He unfastened her cloak, tossing it casually onto a nearby screen, and approached Kangxi with measured steps, her expression as composed as his.

She dipped into a squat, beginning her formal greeting.  

“Your concubine greets Your Majesty…”  

“Are you cold?” Kangxi interrupted, grasping her arm and pulling her to his side before she could finish her courtesy.  

The warm orange glow of the fire banished the lingering chill from her body.  

Fang He smiled faintly.

“It’s bearable.”  

“Cold is cold, not cold is not cold. What’s ‘bearable’?” Kangxi chuckled, his long fingers brushing her cheek, finding it warm.

He tugged her to the cushioned couch behind the shelf and sat her down.  

Fang He didn’t respond, her silence neither confirming nor denying.

“Your Majesty didn’t summon me here to ask about that, did you? If you were truly concerned about me catching a chill, you wouldn’t have called me here alone in this snow.”  

Kangxi’s eyes, devoid of mirth, concealed a simmering anger, yet his expression remained deceptively serene.  

“It’s been a while since we’ve spoken properly. There are things I wish to ask you today. Will you answer me honestly?”  

Fang He’s heart stirred—such preamble before getting to the point?

This emperor’s knack for learning and adapting was impressive.  

She rose, stepping back to face him, her words as polished as jade.  

“Your Majesty deigns to summon me for a conversation—an honor beyond measure. Since I’m here, I will speak freely and hold nothing back.”  

Kangxi tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on her.  

From the moment she entered, the hall’s fragile calm shattered with his low, husky voice.  

“Did you do it?”  

Fang He lowered her eyes, true to her word, holding nothing back.  

“That depends on what Your Majesty asks. If you mean whether I spread the news to the palaces, yes, that was me. But if you’re asking about what happened in Yonghe Palace, I know nothing of it.”  

Kangxi’s eyes never left her.

The moment her words landed, he let out a sardonic laugh.

“As expected.”  

“You knew what they’d do to Uya-shi after you told the palaces about the spies planted by the noble families.”  

“Is there any point in deceiving yourself?”  

Fang He could tell this wasn’t a question.  

She raised her eyes, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.

His expression was blank, yet it was she who laughed.  

“I’m not so spineless as to deny it. I didn’t intervene because I know my limits. If I’d sought revenge myself, I might’ve botched it and lost more than I gained. So, with a better card in hand, I left the task to those more capable.”  

Kangxi’s face grew colder, though his tone remained mild, his words cutting.  

“Do you even realize what you’ve done? I never knew you could be so foolish. They have heirs, powerful clans behind them. Even I must tread carefully around them. As long as Uya-shi remains, no one dares act recklessly, knowing their heads are at stake.  But you—what do you have? Yet you act so recklessly! Was it so hard to wait for me?”  

Kangxi couldn’t fathom what drove Fang He’s urgency.  

He believed in biding one’s time for the perfect strike—haste only invited mistakes.  

“You rely on my favor, yet discard it like an old shoe, scheming with tigers. Do you think they’re any better than Uya-shi?”  

He hadn’t intended to protect Uya-shi or even cared much for her unborn child.

It was merely an excuse to placate Fang He, to avoid startling the snake.  

Uya, Liu Jia, and Ma Jia clan had served in the palace longer than he’d been emperor.  

Even after Fuquan swiftly dealt with a slew of offending servants and replaced them with new bondservants, the core interests of the noble families remained untouched.

Plenty were ready to kick Uya-shi while she was down.  

No one knew if their agents still lingered in the palace or if the new bondservants harbored hidden loyalties.  

Kangxi had kept his hand low to give the secret guards time to trace Uya-shi’s connections and uproot the families’ influence entirely, ensuring the safety of all in the palace.  

The palace wasn’t ruled by its masters but by its servants.

Purging the Inner Court was no simple task; each attempt stirred unrest, giving opportunists a chance to act.  

Thus, learning of Fang He’s actions, his disappointment was nearly impossible to conceal.  

“Since you entered the palace, despite your repeated breaches of protocol, I’ve always favored you. Have I not been good to you?”  

Fang He kept her eyes lowered, listening to his frustrated rebuke.  

In disputes, each side clings to their own truth, and right or wrong depends on the heart’s measure.  

When Kangxi finished, she replied calmly, “Your Majesty knows I’m petty. You always ask me to wait. Why couldn’t you wait until I no longer needed to, before summoning me to the palace?”  

“Concubine De humiliated me. I won’t wait for Your Majesty to let her exit gracefully.  She wanted my life, so I’ll take her entire family’s. She tried to strip me of my right to be a mother—why should I wait for her child to be born safely?”  

Kangxi knew her vengeful nature, but he lacked even the energy to argue.  

Seeing her head still bowed, he stepped forward, lifting her chin.  

To his surprise, though not entirely unexpected, there was no trace of fear on her face despite being confined in Tousuo Hall and summoned to Yanxi Palace in the dead of night for questioning.

Not a single tear.  

This was her true nature, wasn’t it?  

The absurdity in his heart deepened.  

“You…”

‘Have you ever spared even a sliver of your heart for me?’  

But he couldn’t ask it.

He knew this infuriating woman understood everything, just as he knew how little she cared for him.  

She knew how much he valued heirs and the many responsibilities he bore, including protecting her, yet she acted on her whims.  

He paused, pulling her close, his eyes boring into hers.

“Do you regret returning to the palace with me?”

“When I was in Jiangnan, I had no regrets. But now, I do. Perhaps if I’d admitted to deceiving the emperor back then, I wouldn’t have had to enter the palace and endure this suffering. That might’ve been a better fate for me.”  

Fang He followed the pull of Kangxi’s strength, lifting her gaze.

Her tone was soft, yet it cut like a blade.  

“Your Majesty has indeed been good to me, but you’ve never asked if that’s what I wanted.”  

“Sometimes, I even miss the days before I went to Beimeng. Back then, though you were my master, you treated me like an elder sister, planning how I might serve loyally, teaching me hand in hand how to survive in this world…”  

“But you still chose to run without hesitation.” Kangxi’s voice was cold, cutting her off.  

Fang He nodded with a smile.

“Yes, because you taught me how to soar, only to clip my wings. When I had a chance to escape the cage that bound me, why wouldn’t I run? If I’d never met you, perhaps I’d be holding my child now, spending a lifetime cherishing the memory of your kindness…”  

Her smile faded slowly.  

“But now, as your concubine, you want me to be like all the others—gentle, yielding, soft, and submissive, flawless as I was when I knelt at Jingren Palace’s altar.”  

Fang He couldn’t understand why Kangxi, after making her a consort, seemed to become a different man, growing ever more imperious, molding her into the image he desired.  

If he’d been this way from the start, she’d have chosen to live as a savage rather than return to the palace.  

“What others can do, I cannot. They can wield their pregnancies with impunity, but my trust earns me your wariness, your suspicion, your guardedness. This is the ‘kindness’ you show me!”  

Kangxi frowned, protesting, “When have I ever doubted you?”  

He only needed time to unravel the troubles, to reflect on his past oversights.  

Fang He’s expression turned mocking.

“I should thank Your Majesty for placing Chunlai by my side, revealing how many secret guards surround me. Were they there to protect me?”  

Kangxi opened his mouth, then stopped.  

He wanted to explain that he’d initially placed the guards to prevent her escape.  

But later, it was truly to ensure her safety—otherwise, he wouldn’t have given Chunlai the right to withhold reports.  

Wearily, he asked, “What have I not given you? Treasures from my private stores flow to Tousuo Hall like a river. Which of them wasn’t to your liking?”  

Fang He lightly patted his chest.

“I’m greedy for wealth because I learned young that no one can be trusted. Only gold and silver ensure a good life, never betraying me.  I uncovered so much about the palaces thanks to those riches. You tell me to wait, but they let me repay grievances and exact vengeance.”  

Kangxi’s face grew sterner as he said, “If not for my favor, believing I wouldn’t kill you, would you dare speak so boldly before me? Can your gold and silver buy your life?”  

Fang He remained unruffled and she replied, “You were deceived by Concubine De for eighteen years, yet you still wish to preserve her glory. I see your mercy clearly now, so of course I dare to be bold. When I passed on the information, I didn’t embellish a single word. Her fate is her own doing. I’ve never harmed anyone unprovoked—why should I fear?”  

Kangxi’s gaze turned icy.

“You promised you wouldn’t disappoint me, yet you…”  

“Because I’m disappointed in you.” Fang He cut him off, her smile carrying words that darkened his face.  

“You ask me to keep you in my heart, but have you done the same for me?”  

Kangxi stared, incredulous.

“You want to be my sole favorite? You…”  

“I’ve never dreamed such an unrealistic dream.” Fang He interrupted again, her laughter trembling her frame.  

“I only wanted you to know that I tried to trust you, to make you my entire world, even knowing I’d be disappointed. But you turned my trust into a jest, making me regret following you back to the capital. Why must women be gentle and virtuous by nature? I refuse. Isn’t it the me who’s different from the others that you love?”  

Her words, laced with smiling ferocity, struck Kangxi’s heart, making it skip chaotically.  

This was a Fang He he’d never seen, leaving him momentarily at a loss.  

The madness and chill in her eyes turned her soft voice into a series of gentle knives, piercing his chest with sharp pain.

Unconsciously, he loosened his hold on her.  

“What?”  

Shock flickered in his eyes.

“I thought… you were different from the other women in the palace.”  

“So you can compare me to them, yet I must accept both the good and the bad, even relish it to show gratitude. Why should I?”  

Fang He stepped back, spreading her hands with an innocent yet chilling indifference.  

“She hides her venomous heart behind a virtuous facade, while I openly embrace being a venomous woman. We are indeed different!”  

“If I’ve disappointed you, it only proves your impulsive choice was wrong. You knew my nature—repaying blood with blood, tooth for tooth—when you brought me into the palace!”  

Kangxi stepped forward, closing the distance, his voice tight.

“You truly think I wouldn’t kill you?”  

Fang He laughed loudly, her hand lightly grazing his darkening face.  

“On that dragon boat, every word I spoke to you was true, but some things I left unsaid.  

I hate being a good person.

The lucky ones might only suffer small losses, always yielding to others.

The unlucky ones… even in death, they’re just vengeful spirits, perhaps scattered before they can seek justice.”  

“Villains are feared in life, and as ghosts, they terrify. If I can’t get the justice I seek, I’d rather become a vengeful spirit, haunting this palace until it knows no peace!”  

The vein at Kangxi’s temple throbbed, his already dark expression icing over, chilling the once-warm room.  

Yet Fang He’s radiant, provocative smile persisted, her eyes glinting with an eerie glow under the candlelight.  

“Angry, Your Majesty? This is the cost of your impulsiveness. Unless you kill me now, I still believe—”  

Kangxi didn’t let her finish.

His face cold, he lunged forward, seizing her throat, his eyes fierce, his voice colder still.  

“You wish to die—”  

“Ugh…” Fang He flinched as if startled, instinctively clutching her stomach.

Her face paled slightly, yet she forced a smile.  

“I… forgot to tell Your Majesty… I’m also… carrying your child.”  

Kangxi’s temple vein pulsed violently.

As if scalded, he released her throat, stumbling back a step.  

He stared at her stomach, then her face, his fierce expression mingling with faint bewilderment.

No words came.  

‘This wretch is pregnant?’