End of Chapter 16

It's over.

After washing away the smell of blood, Kangxi slept for half a day in his usual office tent. He woke up just before lunchtime and went straight to find Chen Guanxue.

Before entering the tent, he stopped, raised his arm, and sniffed his sleeve to make sure that there was nothing else on him except the scent of ambergris before he went in with peace of mind.

No one saw his movements, but Chen Guanxue smelled his fragrance as soon as he came in and turned her head slightly to look at him.

Last night he probably vented all his anger from the past few days, and pretended not to want her to know, but his abnormal behavior had already given him away.

However, seeing him sit down carefully and not move closer to her, unlike his usual behavior of wanting to stick to her.

She thought about it again and realized that perhaps it wasn't the incense that gave him away, but rather that he didn't want the foul smell he left on him to taint her in the slightest.

That's just how he is; he never hides his evil, especially in front of people he likes, and he even wants them to see all his evil.

If someone shows fear, he doesn't care; it doesn't matter if one more person in the world is afraid of him. If someone shows no fear whatsoever, or even shares his thoughts, then he will think that this person is the most unique, truly worthy of his attention.

She spent a long time trying to figure out his contradictory and strange feelings, but seeing how he hesitated to reach out, she smiled gently and then extended her hand.

The temptation of holding hands with someone you like is immense for Emperor Kangxi, but he twitched his fingers and ultimately did not raise his hand to take hers.

His love is not about dragging people down into the mire.

Seeing that he still refused to touch her, Chen Guanxue moved closer and asked, "Is Your Majesty not going to hold my hand anymore?"

Kangxi saw that her eyes clearly said, "If you don't get involved now, you won't get involved in the future."

This threat had him firmly in control. He quietly wiped the thin layer of sweat from his palms on his clothes and then placed his hand on it.

After touching her still warm and smooth skin, he had no other thoughts. He simply opened his hand, let his fingers pass between hers, and finally interlocked his fingers.

With their palms touching, she could feel the temperature of his hand; it was hotter than usual, clearly indicating that he had just experienced a great emotional fluctuation.

He has never hidden his emotions, but sometimes he would use a smile to cover up his anger. Today, however, he concealed his thoughts. As expected, he was mostly honest with her, and only a very small part of his thoughts were hidden.

The sensation of her fingers scraping against the back of her hand grew stronger and stronger, making it impossible for her to ignore.

His eyes revealed a great deal of satisfaction, but this satisfaction then gave rise to more dissatisfaction, which was only touched upon in this way.

He clearly laid bare his malice before her eyes, yet he didn't want her to see his evil deeds outside of romantic relationships. It was unclear whether this was for her own good or simply another example of his unique set of beliefs.

"Today's lunch is all light, so it's perfect that His Majesty is here to dine together." Nothing he does affects his meal; in fact, he's in a better mood after resolving his business.

Therefore, she asked someone to prepare the food he preferred.

Staying up all night and then trying to catch up on sleep during the day is bad for your health. Luckily, it only happens occasionally.

Thinking about how he might have trouble sleeping in his twenties, she felt she still needed to be careful in some areas and not let him develop the habit of staying up too late, otherwise habitual insomnia in the future would not be good.

They are about the same age now, and she doesn't want to wait until decades later when they are both old and gray, with her eating and sleeping well while he can only eat well and stay awake until midnight.

"good."

The smell of blood on his body had long been washed away, but he still chose to have the scent of ambergris intensified.

He was certain that others could see the abnormality he was exhibiting, and Chen Guanxue could see it too. He also needed to touch the person in his heart at this time, but he didn't dare to take the initiative.

This ambergris was what he wanted her to take the initiative a little.

She loved the ambergris he wore; he knew it from the very first night they slept together.

After taking her hand, he was delighted that she understood the message he had sent and responded with an unexpected gesture.

She took the initiative to extend her hand, and even before he could shake it immediately, she leaned forward and presented her hand to his eyes.

She rarely bends over now because her belly is getting bigger and it's uncomfortable to bend over every time, but she's willing to be uncomfortable for a little while for him.

For Chen Guanxue, who prefers comfort, this is a significant step forward, so he should reciprocate accordingly.

They kept their hands together throughout the meal. Runxi looked at the hands that were constantly fidgeting on the table and tilted her head slightly to look at the top of the tent.

I've seen them being close before, but this time their closeness is just too cloying.

Even after reading countless stories, I still can't understand why two people would rather feed each other than let go and eat on their own faster. This is probably why my master said that her reading of stories is all about technique and lacks emotion.

Watching them feed each other bite by bite, it was actually mostly Kangxi feeding Chen Guanxue.

He clearly used his left hand while she used her right, but he still fed her the most, slowly and deliberately, until she was about 70-80% full, while he himself was only about 30% full.

Seeing that Chen Guanxue had stopped eating, he reluctantly let go of her hand and ate his food at his own pace.

After lunch, Chen Guanxue always sits for a while before getting up to walk around. Finally, when she feels a little sleepy, she sits down to drink some warm water before taking her afternoon nap.

After this long series of actions, it had been almost half an hour since lunch was finished, just in time for a nap.

Kangxi originally intended to leave after she fell asleep, but she felt that he must not have slept well, so she pulled him to rest together.

"The Emperor wasn't here last night, so I didn't sleep well. Stay with me a little longer." He really wanted to refuse, but she tugged at his sleeve and gently shook him.

How could he possibly refuse such a charming and irresistible gesture?

Finally, he lay down as well, just like he would at night, holding Chen Guanxue with her back to him, placing his hand on her stomach and gently stroking it, listening to her soft breathing as they fell asleep together.

The dangers that might have posed to Chen Guanxue have been resolved, and Kangxi can now confidently order his men to take action.

However, this time he did not intend to let Galdan go, so he prepared a lot of things and took a little longer to prepare.

With everything prepared, in order to prevent Galdan from escaping again, he even transferred some people from other places.

When people are not strong enough, they always feel uneasy. When they are much stronger than their opponents, they feel not only at ease but also proud. The same applies when fighting a war.

This phenomenon is probably called "fear of insufficient firepower".

As Kangxi watched the newly forged weapons and the troops that had been transferred settled in, his fear turned into eagerness, and he even looked forward to Galdan provoking him so that he could wipe them out.

However, before Galdan provoked him, he received a message from his spies.

“Someone on Galdan’s side is making trouble for him. Tell people to pay attention to what’s happening over there and strike first.”

Galdan was already internally divided, but the superficial peace was maintained by conflicting interests. When it came to the most important interests, betrayal was the quickest, and the decisions they could make were the most ruthless.

If he could resolve the matter without bloodshed, Kangxi would naturally not resort to force just to vent his anger.

However, he couldn't allow these people time to unite after they took action, so he decided to use the same tactic to kill Galdan before their planned time.

He was a master at using others to do his dirty work, and this time was no exception.

He was in a good mood and waited for this day to arrive, but he never expected that those people would be so ruthless that they would try to force Galdan to commit suicide.

Fortunately, his men acted first, and when they were clearly forced to take action, they took the medicine and gave it to Galdan.

Upon receiving the message sent ahead of schedule in the middle of the night, Kangxi estimated that Galdan would soon be finished, so he ordered several princes to lead a few bannermen to prepare for a night raid.

A sneak attack? Galdan would do it, so why wouldn't he?

Moreover, Galdan only came to annoy people in the middle of the night. Galdan's sudden death disrupted their formation, so they sent troops to attack.

If he can kill with one blow, he won't make a second move.

"Take good care of your mistress. When she wakes up, tell her not to worry. I will be back around noon." Kangxi got up in the middle of the night, carefully left, and said this while looking at Runxi's still not fully awake expression.

Runxi nodded, indicating that she had remembered, and after he left, she lay back down on the small bed in the tent.

It's just that Kangxi didn't see her actions; otherwise, one would have to say that like master, like servant. Chen Guanxue was always lazy, and the people who followed her were always like that too.

However, Chen Guanxue taught her well, and Runxi was not so lazy when serving her on ordinary days. She was only lazy when it was her turn to rest.

The sounds of soldiers moving around in the camp were quite loud. Even when everyone was awake, the sounds were not very loud, but after they assembled, the sounds of hooves and footsteps were still very loud.

Upon hearing the voice, Runxi immediately opened her tightly closed eyes and then heard Chen Guanxue's voice.

"He's gone?" She was woken up by the noise and found no one beside her. It didn't sound like a disturbance caused by an attack, so she asked.

Runxi did not light any candles because Chen Guanxue had instructed that no too many candles should be lit at night to avoid glaring her eyes. Therefore, there was only a small, dim candle in the tent, which was barely enough to see the things placed outside the bed curtains.

"His Majesty said he would be back around noon, and told His Highness not to worry."

What could she possibly worry about? He wasn't going to die this year. Instead of worrying about him, she should think about how to fall asleep quickly once things quieted down.

[Author's Note]

We're almost back on the map of the capital! Yay!