Even Yinzhi, standing farther away, was surprised.
This couldn’t be part of the Second Princess’s act, right?
Fang He felt something was off.
Imperial Noble Consort hadn’t been this severe before.
The moment Tong Guowei’s wife and Tongjia Wanying entered the palace, the Imperial Noble Consort’s condition worsened.
Even a fool would see the problem.
If Tongjia Wanying intended to throw herself at Kangxi, she would have already staged some spectacle.
“Could it be that she’s trying to get His Majesty to go to Danningju again…?” Cui Wei whispered.
Fang He was more puzzled.
“But forcing His Majesty to take responsibility publicly? Once inside Danningju, even if something happens, if the Emperor refuses to acknowledge it, how could they force him to take a concubine at the sickbed? Besides, Kangxi isn’t that concerned with face in private.”
Cui Wei asked, “…Should we go back?”
Fang He watched Kangxi stride quickly toward Danningju, biting her lip and gripping her scissors.
“No, we follow and see.”
The melon’s halfway eaten; if they didn’t finish it, she wouldn’t sleep tonight!
Cui Wei had no choice but to follow her master as they retreated.
Yinzi and the others, fearing discovery, slipped away first, causing a bit of noise.
Kangxi, a martial man with keen awareness, immediately noticed the commotion and sharply glanced over.
He didn’t see Yinzi and the others slipping away, but he spotted the two palace maids trimming branches, one figure so familiar it made his temples throb.
Pinching his forehead, he intended to order Liang Jiugong to take the unruly duo to Chunhui Hall, lest Imperial Noble Consort’s condition worsened and others used this as a pretext.
Focused on Fang He, Kangxi and his attendants inadvertently paid less attention to Tong Momo and Tongjia Wanying.
Just as Kangxi turned to speak, Tong Momo suddenly drew a sharp hairpin from her sleeve and lunged at Kangxi with a ferocious expression, shouting in Mongolian,
“Dog Emperor, die!”
Tongjia Wanying’s eyes widened.
She had been beside Tong Momo and immediately grabbed her, shouting loudly.
Tong Momo’s hairpin ruthlessly pierced Tongjia Wanying’s shoulder with such force it pushed her into Kangxi’s arms.
Fang He was so shocked she dropped her scissors into the bushes.
“Crazy! Can you fall like that too?”
Cui Wei: “…”
‘Isn’t the Emperor’s safety at stake here? You haven’t forgotten that?’
Yinzi and the others were alarmed, nearly leaping out to protect the Emperor.
Fortunately, Liang Jiugong acted quickly, kicking Tong Momo away.
Then, with the help of an inconspicuous eunuch, he twisted Tong Momo’s arm, dislocated her jaw, and pinned her to the ground.
Tongjia Wanying, cradling her bleeding shoulder, tears in her eyes, didn’t forget to plead.
“Your Majesty, Tong Momo’s assassination attempt was not ordered by the Tong family. Please grant them a chance to redeem themselves by thoroughly investigating this matter.”
Kangxi gestured to Li Dequan to take Tongjia Wanying away, coldly reaching for a clean handkerchief, which Qi Sanfu promptly handed over.
Kangxi didn’t glance at Tongjia Wanying, nearly fainting, only coldly watching Tong Momo pinned on the ground.
In the past, he might have, as his uncle wished, investigated Tong Momo’s knowledge of Mongolian to meddle in the northern war and neatly tie up the Tong family’s affairs.
In turbulent times, Kangxi was practical—focused on outcomes, not processes.
But first, Imperial Noble Consort betrayed the Emperor, then using Jiujiu and Fang He as pawns, the Tong family’s repeated favors already soured Kangxi’s feelings.
Now that scoundrel was watching the drama, clearly guessing the Tong family, counting on the Imperial Mother’s favor, wouldn’t behave.
Kangxi’s mixed emotions flared into fierce anger, impossible to quell.
Such an unreliable maternal family… must he promote them?
What had the Tong family’s imperial favor truly brought him?
After a long while, Kangxi forced himself to suppress his anger and spoke coldly.
“Kill her. Order Tong Guowei: this is the last warning. If there’s a next time, the entire Tong family will be banished back to Shengjing.”
Tongjia Wanying’s heart sank to the bottom of the valley.
‘Shouldn’t the Emperor have ordered a thorough investigation into Tong Momo’s background?’
‘Father understood the Emperor’s temper better than anyone and never guessed wrong.’
‘Earlier, Father had already sent Tong Momo’s family to Jungar, ensuring Tong Momo would not betray her family, using the assassination as an excuse to implicate Jungar and help the Emperor hold Jungar accountable.’
She could use her rescue efforts and recent closeness to the Emperor to stay in the palace.
Even from the beginning as a concubine, sooner or later the Emperor would calm down and still show respect to the Tong family.
Weakly, she spoke up, “Your Majesty, it really wasn’t—”
“Shut her up. Throw her back to Danningju and let Imperial Noble Consort deal with it.”
“After today, I don’t want to see the Tong family’s Second Princess in the capital again.”
Kangxi’s cold voice cut her off.
Seeing Tongjia Wanying sobbing as she was taken away, the four brothers, whose hearts Fang He’s words had stifled, finally breathed freely.
Officials thought rescuing the Emperor was a great deed, even willing to speculate on the imperial will and calculate merits.
Ha… did they really think the royal family were fools?
Some things, no matter how perfectly executed, a single coincidence was enough to justify killing rather than sparing.
Today they could calculate merit, but who knew if tomorrow they wouldn’t scheme to end the Emperor’s life for personal gain?
That was His Majesty.
Don’t say women falling into his arms—even fortunate accidents—if anyone dared joke about palace security, His Majesty would make them vanish without a trace.
As for Imperial Consort Zhao, Yinzhen’s eyes flickered with ridicule as he looked toward Fang He’s location.
Imperial Consort Zhao was the naive one.
With such a temper, one day she would offend the Emperor and quietly fall out of favor, nothing worth noting.
“Hm?” Yinzhen was momentarily stunned, then looked to his personal eunuch Liu Ji.
“Where is she?”
Liu Ji whispered, “When Tongjia Wanying was injured, Imperial Consort Zhao quickly ducked and ran.”
He didn’t even know how she squatted and twisted away, but in the blink of an eye, she was gone.
Yinzi and the others only cared about Kangxi’s safety and didn’t notice Fang He’s elegant maneuvers, leading Cui Wei to sneak away along a small path.
By now, Fang He had returned the scissors to the two palace maids as agreed and quickly ran back to Yunya Guan.
“Stupid, she deserves it!” Fang He panted, muttering quietly.
If Tongjia Wanying really had fallen into Kangxi’s arms as she said, no matter how much of a farce, considering Kangxi’s regard for the Tong family, he wouldn’t fuss over a young girl.
At most, Kangxi would just have her expelled from the palace, as if nothing happened.
That’s why Fang He dared to enjoy the spectacle, preparing in advance to appear and, as Imperial Consort Zhao, reprimand County Princess Tong for breaking palace rules so Tongjia Wanying would lose face and never enter the palace again.
But the Tong family’s boldness was beyond imagination—it wasn’t finding another path; it was opening the road to hell!
No wonder Fang He was so shocked.
She had thought the Second Princess had some brains.
She hadn’t realized she was so foolish.
She mustn’t let Kangxi find out she came to watch the spectacle!
Otherwise, if Kangxi got furious with his maternal family, she’d gain no merit—only enjoy the chaos… and half the blame would fall on her!
While running, Fang He ordered, “Quick, take that outfit and cut a few slashes in it. Iron it flat and put it in my chamber.”
Cui Wei was confused, but Fang He had no time to explain.
Once the drama ended, Liang Jiugong personally delivered Kangxi’s decree to Tong Guowei.
Kangxi then coldly called toward the bushes.
“Come out!”
Yinzi and Yinzhi’s hearts skipped a beat.
Reluctantly, they stepped out from behind the tree, dragging a pale-faced Yinzhen with them, kneeling and lowering their heads in apology.
“Your Majesty, your servant was wrong!”
Kangxi was momentarily stunned.
Was this a setup to mock him?
He narrowed his eyes and stared at Fang He’s previous spot, voice colder.
“What, waiting for me to invite you out?”
After a moment, the Crown Prince also lowered his head and came out from behind another tree, kneeling beside Yinzi.
“Your Majesty, your servant knows he was wrong…”
Kangxi chuckled in anger, pressing his fingers to his forehead to suppress his urge to explode, then laughed.
“Where are Yinqi, Yinyou, and Yinyi?”
Yinzi whispered, “I just happened to see… see the Tong family’s princess sneaking around, so I came to have a look.”
He couldn’t say he was chasing Imperial Consort Zhao—that would only suggest illicit relations between prince and consort.
Yinzhi whispered, “My fourth brother and I saw elder brother secretly… seriously investigating to help him.”
Yinreng wanted to smear Yinzi but knew His Majesty favored Imperial Consort Zhao and this wasn’t the time to implicate her.
He calmly explained, “I coincidentally wanted to go to the Niangniang Temple to offer incense to Ukuma Momo…”
“Liar, keep lying!” Kangxi sneered, cutting off Yinreng, clearly furious.
“Take all four to Chunhui Hall and cane them twenty times! Let them spin lies on the punishment bench!”
The four: “…”
They were only following to watch the spectacle.
The real spectacle ran away!
While getting beaten, the four brothers, including the enraged Yinzhen over the Tong family’s reckless acts, silently reflected.
Mistakes were fine, but in future, they would be quicker than anyone else to run!
Tong Guowei, emerging from Niangniang Temple, heard Liang Jiugong relay the decree and immediately felt a weight in his heart.
He knew something had gone wrong.
Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn’t have issued such an order.
But now was not the time to plead before the court.
Guowei understood Kangxi’s temper.
In His Majesty’s rage, the Tong family could only posture with repentance and behave, no longer causing trouble.
Luckily, Imperial Noble Consort’s days were numbered.
For her and Fourth Prince’s sake, the Emperor wouldn’t unleash more wrath on the Tong family.
Any further disturbances could be investigated later.
Guowei dared not take chances, hurrying out to send a letter to his elder brother stationed in Shengjing, seeking ways to recover imperial favor.
Kangxi punished Yinzi and the Crown Prince, assigning them study and house arrest at Jiayin Hall and A Ge Suo palace, then rose and left for Yunya Guan.
Wei Zhu hurried to greet the Emperor’s procession.
“Your servant greets Your Majesty. Mistress is with Nine Princess, still napping, just waking now.”
Kangxi glanced coldly at Wei Zhu and asked, “Did I ask you?”
Wei Zhu’s legs buckled, kneeling outside the hall.
He felt the situation was obvious but was helpless, having been repeatedly ordered to report.
Kangxi entered the hall expressionless, seeing Fang He spinning with Jiujiu inside, lifting her arms to play “flying” with the child.
“Oh, our Jiujiu is smiling! Our little Jiujiu’s smile is the best~”
“Come, smile for your Imperial Mother again. Mommy will take you flying~”
Fang He caught Kangxi standing at the door with her peripheral vision and casually approached him.
Kangxi quickly took both her and the child in, grumbling as he pulled Jiujiu from her arms and asked, “If you hurt Fuer Guochun with your strength, what then?”
Fang He pouted, “I had a big breakfast today and even slept a few more hours with Jiujiu, plenty of strength.”
“I’m careful with Jiujiu. How could I do anything dangerous?”
Kangxi saw Jiujiu was lively, reached out to grab the agate on his hat brim.
Ignoring Fang He, he softened and lowered his head to tease the little one until Jiujiu cooed and yawned, turning her head to look for food.
He handed the child to the wet nurse and ordered, “Everyone, leave.”
Fang He took a deep breath, composed, and served Kangxi tea in a soft, melodious voice.
“Your Majesty, you must be tired. This is Qinggan Pu’er tea, specially prepared by someone using southern methods. Please try it; it tastes good.”
Kangxi obediently sipped and asked with a smile, “Did you eat a lot this morning?”
Fang He carefully sat opposite him on a low stool, appearing relaxed.
“Indeed. Today the Imperial Kitchen made vegetarian roast goose, using the method our ancestor most liked.”
Kangxi suddenly said, “So that’s why you ran so fast?”
“Also river fish porridge, with crunchy pickled cucumbers—very appetizing. I really ate a lot,” Fang He added.
Fang He blinked in confusion and asked, “What running so fast? Oh… you mean just now with Jiujiu? It’s just a small room… oh!”
Before she could finish, Kangxi pushed aside the low table, grabbed her by the waist, lifted her onto his knees like a little turtle, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t turn over.
Fang He hurriedly begged, “I’m sorry, sorry, sorry!”
Kangxi leisurely stroked the cloud-patterned brocade beneath her, searching for the perfect spot to give a playful smack.
“Tell me, what did you do wrong?”
Fang He pouted, “I shouldn’t have kept a surprise from you. I wanted to surprise you but got mad when I saw County Princess Tong was also there, so I ran off.”
Kangxi pinched the lovely cloud brocade lightly.
“What surprise?”
“Well… um… I’m embarrassed to say,” Fang He tried to sit up, holding Kangxi’s hand and lightly shaking it.
Kangxi raised his hand, “Oh? Still embarrassed?”
Fang He quickly explained, “You insisted on inviting the Tong family girl into the palace. I’ve been jealous for a long time and thought maybe the old dress wasn’t good enough. So I made new clothes to reintroduce myself to Your Majesty.”
Kangxi: “….”
Could that phrase be used here?
“How to ‘reintroduce’?” Kangxi helped her up but his hand still moved dangerously on the cloud brocade beneath her.
Fang He bit her lip, closed her eyes, and hugged Kangxi’s neck tightly.
Just like the big lustful wolf and the little palace maid, the fake grotto and the shrubs, irresistible passion and scant clothing, dragons playing with phoenixes and wielding sharp weapons…
Ugh, now she had to coax him without breaking palace rules.
She wondered if five fingers would be enough.
Watching the spectacle was no easy task!
“Well, I want to see my beloved’s surprise,” Kangxi said, his gaze darkening, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he leisurely carried her back into the bedchamber.
He was furious about Tong Guowei and his unruly sons causing such chaos but, being a man of martial arts, he knew it was time to rest and recover.