Chapter 11 Overnight Stay

Where will the Emperor sleep tonight?

She rarely heard such words from him, and then smiled: "It's not that the Emperor can't do anything to me, it's that he doesn't want to."

If he wanted, he could have hidden her away or done whatever he wanted with her, but he didn't. He wanted her to live happily and freely.

Then he would stay by her side, enduring the occasional glances others might cast at her, and even the brief moments when she looked at others, all because he truly cared for her.

Seeing her smiling and answering him without any hesitation, Kangxi simply smiled.

These are things that everyone knows the truth, but saying them out loud makes people feel a little uncomfortable.

However, she thought of something else and asked, "You can't really tell that the Seventh Prince's feet are well-maintained unless you look closely."

“It’s not that he’s well cared for; it’s that he doesn’t care about his physical condition, so his physical defects aren’t fully exposed. He also has his own ambitions, and his body isn’t a constraint for him.”

As a prince who has no chance of winning the throne and is also a bit older, he could have started enjoying life much earlier.

However, Yinyou was ambitious and unwilling to be a useless person or to confine his own mind. Therefore, he chose to go to the battlefield, a more dangerous but more proving path for himself.

“His Majesty is a good emperor and a good father.” After saying this, Chen Guanxue placed her hand on her stomach, but her tone changed. “However, His Majesty cannot be so strict with my child.”

He himself didn't get much education when he was young. Apart from what the Grand Tutor taught him, he had to squeeze out time to read the rest of the books on his own. Therefore, he was very strict with the princes in their studies.

Children as young as four or five years old start going to the Imperial Study. They have to get up before dawn and read the books they learned the day before 120 times the next morning before they can eat. They practice literature in the morning and martial arts in the afternoon. All the good children are worn down and lose their natural instincts.

Her children weren't meant to fight for the throne or become pillars of the nation; all she wanted was for them to live freely, enjoying a life of wealth, honor, peace, and happiness.

If he wants to achieve great things, she won't stop him; she'll just pave the way for him.

"If you can't bear to speak loudly to me, how could you possibly have the heart to make demands on a child?"

This is a classic case of "love me, love my dog"—anything related to her will elicit extra scrutiny.

However, if this child keeps clinging to her, don't blame him for being a strict father.

Chen Guanxue could only have him in her heart and eyes; even the children could not surpass him.

She heard him speak sweetly, but didn't reveal the deeper meaning in his eyes. When dealing with a sick person, it's naturally best to go along with their wishes; otherwise, she herself would suffer if the illness worsened.

She simply stroked her slightly protruding belly and sighed silently.

Hopefully, he'll be a mentally strong child; otherwise, he'll have suffered countless setbacks growing up.

After sitting outside for a while, Kangxi led her back into the carriage. The journey was still quite long, and they couldn't linger too long on the road. They needed to reach their resting place that night before they could get some rest.

Having slept for so long in the morning, Chen Guanxue had no desire to sleep in the afternoon. Seeing him looking at a small map, she leaned over and rested against his chest to take a look as well.

The drawing is not very detailed; it only shows the route and the shapes of trees or tents that represent markers.

"What are all these pictures on this map?" Accustomed to modern maps, this was the first time she had ever seen such a map, and she couldn't understand it at all.

Kangxi placed the map in his left hand, took her hand with his right hand, and pressed his index finger on the map, teaching her the meaning of each mark: "This is a camp, this is a grove of trees, this is a river, and this is a small hill."

This is a map of the area around Galdan's camp. I taught her to recognize each spot, without feeling that there was anything wrong with it.

He only knew that she was a bit boring, and that she would be incredibly bored if she just sat in the carriage. But looking at the map would give her plenty of ways to pass the time.

After all, there were dozens of such maps on the carriage, enough for her to look at slowly when she was bored.

After recognizing everything on the map, Chen Guanxue felt somewhat disillusioned. Sure enough, modern maps are all about convenience, completely disregarding actual numbers. All you need to know is a landmark, right?

This map is so abstract, it's like a child's drawing. Looking at it, you can almost imagine the stick figures fighting as these tribes separate and reunite.

The serious war seemed somewhat hasty.

Although she felt a little disgusted, Chen Guanxue was very interested in seeing something new. She looked through all the small maps that Kangxi had brought out.

Even after arriving at the designated resting place in the evening, she was still looking at a large stack of maps.

These maps are not very large in area, and many of them show the changes of tribes in a certain place over time. When viewed together, they are like comic strips, which makes them interesting to read.

After taking these maps, Chen Guanxue arranged them into a short story according to time. It's just that Runxi can't write, otherwise she wouldn't have had to do it herself.

When Emperor Kangxi asked her to get off the carriage, she only looked up once before lowering her head again, which angered him. He reached out and carried her down into the tent. Fortunately, the area was covered with cloth, so no one saw her.

"You're going to be a mother soon. Aren't you afraid of hurting your eyes by writing by candlelight in the carriage?" Kangxi put her on a chair, and before she got angry, he put a piece of meat in her mouth and said this.

His words were forceful, but his tone was extremely humble.

After swallowing the meat in his mouth, Chen Guanxue glanced at him and said, "Hurry up and have someone teach Runxi how to write. I won't write by myself. Do you think I want to write? It strains my eyes and hurts my wrists."

When she said her wrist hurt, Kangxi took the chopsticks from her hand and picked up some food to feed her.

Looking at the food being served to her, she smiled. This was much more comfortable than living in the palace. Even her meals were provided by others. If only she didn't have to walk anymore.

However, this wish is unlikely to be fulfilled for the time being, at least not until the child is born.

Walking around more during pregnancy is good for your health. However, looking at the food that was being served to her again, and seeing how serious Kangxi was about to do it, he will probably be more accommodating to her than he was twenty years later, and won't voice any objections to her wanting to stay in bed all day.

Twenty years later, he was still young, but he acted like an old man, not wanting to see her paralyzed at all, and taking her for walks every morning and evening was a must.

Perhaps he needs to exercise on his own?

Thinking about the possibility, she looked Kangxi up and down. Hmm, he still looked like a young man. He wouldn't think about exercising for at least another one or two decades, and she could live a life of eating and lying down.

Thinking of the bright future, she took her chopsticks back halfway through her meal so that Emperor Kangxi could also start eating.

He has a good appetite now and thinks about many things all day long, so he gets hungry easily. He even feeds her while he's hungry.

Seeing that she had taken the chopsticks herself, Kangxi was a little disappointed.

Being able to feed her with one hand is such a wonderful thing. Seeing her eat everything I picked up for her fills me with an extraordinary sense of satisfaction.

However, he was very happy that she cared about her health. He then picked up his chopsticks and ate the food while looking at her, as if looking at her made him feel better.

After they finished eating, they sat for a while, then went out of the tent for a walk.

Kangxi held her hand as they walked together by the campfire and candlelight, their shadows pressed close together, making them look like they had been married for decades rather than having met less than a month ago.

But Chen Guanxue's question ruined the atmosphere: "Where will Your Majesty sleep tonight?"

[Author's Note]

Sleeping in your heart (not really)

I'll be updating at 9 PM starting tomorrow!

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