Chapter 8 Departure

Tsk, indirect kiss

“I won’t go. If the Emperor can’t protect me after a few months away from the palace, then there’s no need to put me in the Qianqing Palace anymore. Just send me to the inner palace as soon as possible.”

She didn't want to go out in the wind. Who knew when he would return? The journey would take even longer, and with the ongoing war, it would probably be the dead of winter by the time he got back.

Just thinking about the pain of the cold wind hitting her face, it's a miracle she's not angry.

Why send her to the harem? Are you just going to let her be schemed against in front of everyone?

Knowing that this would be how it would be when he took her there, Kangxi didn't plan to tell her anything. He simply carried her onto the carriage, and after an hour and a half, they would be out of the capital, so she naturally wouldn't cause any trouble.

But now that she knows, and she seems unwilling to accept it, Kangxi is truly at a loss.

He could only put on a cold face and pretend to be angry, saying coldly, "You have to go whether you want to or not. If you want to leave me, it's impossible in this lifetime."

He then turned and left the Qianqing Palace.

Hearing his slightly affected words and seeing him storm off, Chen Guanxue was at a loss for words. It was clearly his own decision; she disagreed, yet he pretended to be angry and left the Qianqing Palace—why didn't he just slam the door?

She just stood there, without making any unnecessary movements, and soon he came back on his own.

Look at him, he's so capable, but he doesn't even act properly; he can't even hide the worry in his eyes.

Seeing him return, she snorted, then walked past him, her sleeve brushing against his arm, and returned to her East Warm Pavilion without pausing.

Runxi was bold. She turned her head slightly to look at Kangxi, brushed the sleeve that she had just wiped with one hand, and frowned.

Sigh, this is really not the majestic emperor she imagined, but her master is truly amazing!

After Chen Guanxue returned, she had someone bring her soup. Then she listened to a palace maid read a storybook to her, while Runxi followed along with another book, learning to read. The two of them were very happy.

Only Kangxi, who had been abandoned, entered the room after she left and immediately buried his face in the soft quilt on the bed she had been lying on, completely disregarding his image.

Since Chen Guanxue entered the palace, he has not used ambergris, just to preserve all her scent. There is no incense in this room, and the bed sheets and quilts are all brand new.

The soft blanket still carries her scent. Covering myself in it, I can still feel its lingering warmth, as comforting as if I were being embraced by her.

But the thought that she was unwilling to leave the palace made him hesitate.

He couldn't bear to be apart from her for even a day, nor did he want her to be out of his sight for even a day. The carriage for his personal campaign was already prepared; what if something happened if he forcibly took her away?

After covering his head for so long, his mind became a little foggy, so he threw off the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, regaining his usual domineering demeanor.

Even if she doesn't go, she'll be tied up and taken there anyway; what could possibly happen?

After thinking it over, he didn't mention it to Chen Guanxue again, as if she still didn't know.

September 18th was the day before the emperor's personal expedition. On this day, Chen Guanxue asked Runxi to bring a few books with him so that he wouldn't have to look for them the next day.

Kangxi ate dinner with her and stayed for a long time. When she wanted to sleep, he would make some noise, trying to make his presence known.

"Your Majesty should go back and rest. Why are you still staying here with me?" Pregnant women naturally need more sleep, and she felt somewhat helpless seeing that he wouldn't leave and wouldn't let her sleep.

She had never seen him act so shamelessly before. He wouldn't ask her to come along, but he wouldn't let her sleep either, making it seem like he would only leave if she asked him to.

Kangxi didn't speak, but simply picked up the books from the shelf and flipped through them noisily.

Chen Guanxue pressed her temples, a smirk playing on her lips, revealing a smile that was unsettling. She said, "I have to take a carriage ride tomorrow. Since the Emperor is disturbing my sleep so much, I won't go if I can't get up."

As soon as she finished speaking, without waiting for her to confirm, she put the book back herself and left.

"There's never a moment of peace..."

Although she was no longer disturbed, she was so disturbed that she couldn't sleep. The palace maid who was serving her was almost called for the imperial physician when she was stopped and asked to summon Emperor Kangxi.

Kangxi had just been woken up and rushed over in his nightgown and outer robe. Seeing Runxi standing calmly by the bed, he was finally relieved.

He lifted the bed curtains and saw her staring at him with her eyes open. He knew that he had made her lose her sleepiness earlier, so he said somewhat guiltily, "If I had known you would act like this, I would never have dared to bother you."

Chen Guanxue just rolled her eyes at him, moved over, and patted the empty space under the covers.

For a moment, his mind went blank, and he lost control of his limbs and mouth. Then he quickly kicked off his shoes, lay down, and covered himself with the blanket.

Aside from describing Kangxi's sleeping posture as "rule-bound," the only word that comes to mind is "corpse."

His body was stiff, his arms were at his sides, his breathing was shallow, and he didn't dare to look at her.

Chen Guanxue placed her hand on his chest, chuckled softly after he held his breath, and then said, "Extinguish the candle."

Having not been surrounded by the unique fragrance of ambergris for a long time, I really couldn't fall asleep after having insomnia in the middle of the night. As for the fact that his scent was a little faint, it didn't matter much. Having a familiar, warm body beside me was the most important thing.

Just as he was fascinated by her scent, she was just as accustomed to his.

Beneath her palms was a soft nightgown, but beneath that was his warm muscle and the beating of his heart in her chest, faster than she was used to, yet still enough to lull her to sleep quickly.

His eyes, open in the darkness, could see nothing, but he could hear her breathing gradually becoming longer and more even.

Only after confirming that she was asleep did I dare to reach out and hold her hand. I dared not make any other movements, for fear of waking her up, and also for fear that this was all a dream.

The enclosed space was filled with her scent. If I hadn't held my breath, I probably wouldn't have been able to control myself. After taking a deep breath, my chest was filled with her scent, and I felt much more relaxed.

He had never found sleeping to be a difficult thing, but now he couldn't fall asleep.

However, I had to get up early tomorrow, so I let myself immerse myself in the environment where I could hear her breathing before I quickly fell asleep.

When he woke up the next day, his hand was still on hers. Neither the softness in his palm nor the warmth of her skin beside him made him feel uncomfortable.

Liang Jiugong stood outside, not daring to call out to anyone. He paced anxiously for a while before he heard soft voices coming from inside. Then the door opened.

A string of palace maids and eunuchs followed behind him, carrying his clothes and toiletries. Kangxi walked to the room next door, and the palace maid who had just opened the door took the candle back into the room and closed the door.

After following Chen Guanxue for half a month, apart from Runxi, the other palace maids became bolder. However, they would only favor her when making choices in minor details, and they were far from treating her as the most important person like Runxi did.

Emperor Kangxi always got up early to attend court, so Chen Guanxue didn't pay any attention to the noise he made when he got up. After getting used to it, she wouldn't even wake up.

He needed to get up early to eat, and then meet with the officials who were already lined up.

Most importantly, he personally checked the carriage that Chen Guanxue was going to ride in one last time. He had already looked at the contents of the carriage last night, but he needed to see if he could add or remove some leather depending on today's weather.

After reading it, it was getting late. When it was fully light, Chen Guanxue got up, washed up, styled her hair in a girl's bun, put on a red Han-style dress, and then lazily sat and waited for Kangxi to come and find her.

Soon after, the sound of horses' hooves clattering on the paving stones filled the air. The large carriage entered the courtyard, and Kangxi then went inside. As she reached out, he unhesitatingly pulled her into his arms.

Once outside, there were only a few people standing there, all familiar faces I'd seen before.

I still don't want to expose her to the public, so let's leave it at that.

She was placed in a soft, warm carriage, where she lazily slumped against the soft pillows. Kangxi moved to a corner to make room for her.

The carriage looked big, but it was only about the size of a double bed, with some small drawers on top. The space for lying down or sitting was even smaller. Runxi also got into the carriage to serve him, and the space where Chen Guanxue lay down wasn't very big either.

Once the carriage started moving, she realized that the curtains were all fixed in place, with only a small section covered by layers of gauze, allowing her to see the scenery outside without letting any wind in.

Of course, people outside can't see clearly what's inside.

Emperor Kangxi went out for a while. Before leaving, the emperor had to give a speech, whether it was to boost morale or something else. It took a lot of time to finish the speech and he would talk until his throat was dry.

Chen Guanxue asked Runxi to open the small drawer to see if there was any hot water inside. She then put down a small board, poured in a large glass of water, and left it there.

Everything inside the carriage, from the grooves carved out of the small board to the bottom of the cup, is embedded with magnets, so as long as the carriage doesn't shake too much, the water won't spill out.

When Kangxi came in, he saw the water beside her. He picked up the cup but didn't drink from it himself. Instead, he held it to her lips first.

Chen Guanxue didn't even lift her eyelids. When she saw the water being handed to her, she took a small sip, and when the cup was removed, her gaze followed it.

She saw Kangxi's hand and his awkward movements as he brought the quilt to his lips and then drank the whole cup of water from the spot where she was drinking.

He stared intently at her as he drank water, as if his lips were not pressed against the cup, but against the very lips that had just touched it.

He kissed the cup as it left his lips before putting it down.

Runxi picked up the cup and put it in another empty drawer, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust.

There are so many steps involved in drinking water. I just don't understand.

After drinking the water, Kangxi sat down next to Chen Guanxue and pulled her into his arms, looking as if he were about to go to sleep.

It wasn't that he wanted to sleep, but he thought that Chen Guanxue had gone to bed late last night, so he could rest on the way.

While he was making the gestures to lull someone to sleep, he was also picking a strand of hair with his other hand, twirling it around his fingertip, and occasionally placing it on his nose.