Consort Hui entered the room and saw a mahjong table and four chairs. She wondered to herself why Myung-soo had brought her here.

The layout here is quite strange. There's a carpet on the floor with all sorts of oddly shaped plush toys on it. They look rather cute, but they're just too weird.

Consort Hui pursed her lips slightly, a subtle gesture that Mingxiu, of course, did not notice.

Mingxiu gestured for Consort Hui to sit down, then picked up a mahjong set and began shuffling it with great interest. As she shuffled the tiles, she said to Consort Hui, "Consort Hui, look at this! This is the most popular game in my palace! I and the servants below play it all the time. When we first started playing, we couldn't control ourselves and played all night long, and we woke up with dark circles under our eyes the next day."

Seeing Mingxiu's excited expression, Consort Hui was curious about the magic of this thing, but she wasn't particularly interested. After all, she had always been known for her dignified and elegant demeanor; why would she enjoy such vulgar entertainment?

However, Myung-soo seemed oblivious to Hye-bin's thoughts. She continued enthusiastically explaining the rules and gameplay of mahjong to Hye-bin and invited her to join in.

"Sister, why don't you give it a try? Since you're just sitting here with nothing to do, why not find something to do so you won't be so bored?"

Consort Hui hesitated for a moment, but ultimately agreed. After all, Prince Yinti was still next door, and waiting would indeed be rather boring. She thought, since she was already here, she might as well give it a try; perhaps there would be some unexpected fun. So, under Mingxiu's guidance, she clumsily picked up the mahjong tiles and began to learn how to play.

Since it was the very beginning, Mingxiu didn't explain it in such a complicated way; everyone just played the simplest game of self-draw.

She, Green Bamboo, and the head maid serving Consort Hui made a perfect four-person party.

Although Consort Hui started playing slowly, she gradually mastered the skills and became more and more proficient over time. She discovered that she could actually enjoy the game.

"Two cakes"

Consort Hui, with quick eyes and hands, drew a card.

"Twenty thousand"

"Bang!" That was Mingxiu's excited sound.

"Hu!" Consort Hui shouted excitedly, as if afraid that others wouldn't hear her.

Seeing that Consort Hui was getting the hang of it, Mingxiu smiled and said, "How is it? Is it fun?"

Consort Hui nodded, a smile appearing on her face. She truly hadn't expected this thing called mahjong to be so fun.

After the two of them got used to the game, Mingxiu started to increase the stakes. Playing cards always requires some betting; without betting, the game wouldn't be fun. They could also play the "kongci" game.

Then the afternoon was spent playing mahjong.

"Three Wan" Mingxiu played his card.

Consort Hui, who was with Zhang Sanwan.

"Second Sister" was the head maidservant of Consort Hui.

Four green bamboos.

"Hu! Give me money! Give me money!" Consort Hui exclaimed excitedly.

After promptly paying the money, he continued drawing cards.

Then

"Kujo" Mingxiu.

Hu Huipin pushed the plaque towards Mingxiu and reached out her hand.

"Seven Cakes" Green Bamboo

"Bump" Consort Hui

The head maidservant beside Consort Hu looked excitedly at the three people in front of her; this was the first time she had ever won.

The three people paid.

Consort Hui, who held the title of "Five Thousand".

"Six Cakes" Green Bamboo.

Mingxiu, the "Red Center" player, played his cards very carefully.

The sound of "gang" from the green bamboo.

Mingxiu's expression changed immediately. She slapped her hand, realizing she shouldn't have played that card.

"Haha, Hu, a winning hand on a kong, triple payout everyone!" Green Bamboo laughed as he looked at the tiles he had just drawn.

Mingxiu's face turned green.

"Ten thousand" Mingxiu.

Consort Hu.

Mingxiu's face darkened. She really didn't understand what was going on today. She felt like she was sitting on a cannon platform, constantly firing cannons.

Looking at the three people next to her, especially Consort Hui, with their thick pile of chips, and then at her own empty box, she couldn't understand why Consort Hui, even with new guards protecting her, couldn't possibly handle this all by herself.

Until the very last game.

"Hu," Consort Hui's happy voice rang out.

Mingxiu was furious. She really was the only one getting the benefits.

But what could they do? The group played until dinner time. Consort Hui and Yinti didn't eat there because at dusk, a eunuch from Kangxi's side came to inform them that the Emperor would be coming over that evening.

So only Mingxiu and Yinreng ate dinner together.

After finishing the meal, Mingxiu called Yinreng over and said something.

"Baocheng, do you know why your father punished you today?"

Yinreng nodded. Actually, he already knew he was wrong. Maomao had told him that it was a very private matter and should not be discussed.

Seeing that Yinreng had truly understood, Mingxiu didn't say anything. Children dislike being criticized, and it's enough that they know they're wrong and can correct it.

"Very good, then remember to apologize to the teacher tomorrow, okay?"

Seeing that Yinreng nodded, Mingxiu let him go.

When Kangxi came over that evening, Mingxiu had already finished washing up.

Kangxi walked over, lifted his robe, and sat down on the couch, without asking Mingxiu to get up and pay her respects.

"Is it resolved?"

Hearing Kangxi's words, Mingxiu rolled her eyes: "Don't worry, it's resolved. Both children already know their mistakes, so there's no need to say anything more."

Upon hearing this, Kangxi nodded. When he heard about this during the day, his mind went blank for a moment, with only one thought in mind: someone was trying to corrupt my child.

After learning what had happened, he was furious. He didn't know what the people serving him were thinking; they were completely irresponsible. He replaced everyone except his personal attendants.

“The children didn’t know what was going on, so you’ve already punished them. But you can’t keep bringing this up, or they’ll be so embarrassed when they grow up and find out.” Mingxiu put down her book and climbed into Kangxi’s lap.

"They feel they've lost face, but I feel I've lost face too! For a moment today, I truly felt I'd lost all face. What kind of child would let someone do this to them?" Kangxi said angrily.

"Haha, of course they belong to your family. There's nothing we can do, since the Emperor is their father. So we can only be more tolerant and teach them more." Mingxiu laughed.

Actually, after learning about this, apart from feeling a little embarrassed at first, she really wanted to laugh, but because of the other people around, she couldn't laugh. Unexpectedly, Kangxi's words brought out the laughter that she had managed to suppress.

Kangxi looked at the woman who was laughing so hard she was shaking, and his eyes turned dangerous.

"Since you're laughing so happily, why don't you try out their daytime poses?" After saying that, he ordered a glass of water, as he wanted to wash up.

Mingxiu's smile abruptly stopped: "No, Your Majesty, I'm not laughing anymore. I suddenly don't find it funny at all, really."

Kangxi glanced at her and said, "It's too late." Then she picked up Mingxiu and headed towards the bathroom.

They completely ignored Mingxiu's pleas for mercy.