Emperor Kangxi was amused by Harigana's witty remark.

"So quirky and clever!"

He pinched the tip of her nose and then kissed her red lips.

Harigana is right. The problem now is not on their side, but on what decision the Empress Dowager will make.

He couldn't do anything proactively; he could only wait for her reaction.

"Hey! Stop pinching my nose all the time, it's all flattened."

She brushed Kangxi's hand aside, stood up, walked to the soft couch, and picked up the sketchbook she hadn't finished reading to continue looking at it.

As for Kangxi, let him play by himself.

She was in a good mood. If Kangxi could bring her positive energy, she would get closer to him; if he brought her negative energy, she would stay away to avoid getting upset.

Kangxi didn't hold back. Seeing her disgusted look, he chuckled and walked over to her, picking up the history book he hadn't finished reading before.

For a moment, the room was quiet, yet unusually cozy.

Tong Mansion.

Tong Guowei sat in the study, lost in thought, his eyes glazed over.

After a long while, he sighed, walked to the hidden compartment, took out all the letters inside, and burned them to ashes with a tinderbox.

The next morning at court, something shocking happened—Tong Guowei submitted a memorial requesting to resign from his official post.

The Tongjia faction was thrown into chaos, but because they were in the imperial court, they dared not say anything.

"Lord Tong, His Majesty requests your presence in the Imperial Study."

After the morning court session, Li Dequan intercepted Tong Guowei at the palace gate as he was about to leave the palace.

Upon hearing Li Dequan's words, the officials beside him immediately turned and left.

"Thank you for leading the way, Eunuch Li!"

Li Dequan was somewhat startled and quickly bowed, saying, "Lord Tong is too kind. This is what this servant should do." He stepped aside and extended his hand, saying, "Please, Lord Tong!"

In the Imperial Study, Emperor Kangxi looked at Tong Guowei's memorial and was somewhat surprised, but it was also understandable.

He had originally prepared for the worst, but he didn't expect that Tong Guowei's choice would be the one that benefited everyone.

"Your Majesty! Lord Tong has arrived!"

Kangxi withdrew his gaze: "Bring them in!"

Now that he can confirm whether Tong Guowei has truly given up or has other plans, he can feel much more at ease.

"This servant greets Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

Tong Guowei knelt on the ground to pay his respects, but Kangxi did not immediately tell him to get up. Instead, he looked at him for a long time.

"Rise! Li Dequan, please take a seat!"

Li Dequan took a chair from the side and placed it in a spot not too far from the desk. He glanced at Kangxi, and after receiving a signal, he withdrew.

He closed the door, took a deep breath, and thought that from today onwards, the Emperor's pressure would be much, much less.

The two people inside were very quiet; there was no arguing or questioning coming from them.

An hour later, the door to the imperial study creaked open, and Tong Guowei walked out calmly.

"Li Dequan!"

Li Dequan hurriedly went inside.

"Your Majesty! Your servant is here!"

Emperor Kangxi waved his hand: "Take Tong Guowei to Chengqian Palace."

"Yes! Your servant obeys!"

Harigana was in the Empress Dowager's palace when he received the news. Although he was somewhat surprised, he didn't have the mind to delve into it.

Kangxi would not hide from her anything he wanted her to know or understand.

What I don't want her to know must be something related to her, or something that I need to keep quiet about; it wouldn't do her any good if she knew.

Anyway, no matter how much trouble those people cause, as long as they don't do it in front of her or hurt her and the children, let them do whatever they want.

What she wanted to win over was Emperor Kangxi. As long as Kangxi was around, no matter how much trouble others caused, it would just be trouble.

"Harigana, how did you manage to be so brave back then?"

It's only because the emperor is protecting you; if it were anyone else, their head would be rolling on the ground by now.

The Empress Dowager was also worried, since Emperor Kangxi valued filial piety the most.

She still feels terrified when she thinks about what happened that day; every word she uttered was an insult.

"Mother, I'm scared too!"

Harigana stuck out his tongue and didn't dare to say anything more.

The Empress Dowager could tell from her expression that she had admitted her mistake, but she would still dare to do the same thing again if the same thing happened next time.

He glared at her, gently patted her forehead, and then lowered his head to continue embroidering.

“Empress, Emperor Xuan Ye said he would take us out in a few days. He has had several horses prepared, saying they will be used when we go to the Mulan Hunting Grounds. He wants us to choose one.”

Harigana ate melon seeds while watching the Empress Dowager embroider something.

The Empress Dowager paused, her heart softening even more.

How could she not know what kind of person Kangxi was?

This statement is largely based on fact. It's likely that the emperor said he would take her to choose a horse, and it was Harigana who brought it up, which is why the emperor took her along.

Otherwise, given Kangxi's personality, he would never have suggested taking her out.

Besides, she had already noticed last time that the emperor was very wary of her.

Ironically, this wariness stems not from power, but from Harigana.

Emperor Kangxi valued Harigana highly and disliked anyone getting too close to her, even if she was a woman.

"good!"

The Empress Dowager didn't say anything else. Some things don't need to be explained too clearly; it's enough to keep them in mind.

When the time comes, she should voluntarily distance herself so that the emperor knows her stance and won't make things difficult for Harigana in the future.

She wouldn't say anything about not going; it's not like she goes out every day. She still really wanted this hard-won opportunity.

"Harigana, thank you, Mother."

After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, she smiled and shook her head helplessly as she looked at the woman reclining unceremoniously on the soft couch.

He called Qigen over and gave her a pot of milk tea, along with three pieces of beef jerky.

Yes, three!

Because she also discovered that Harigana liked to eat meat, she initially indulged him, but later found that whenever Harigana ate meat, he didn't like to eat vegetables during meals.

"Mother! When did you make the dried meat?"

Harigana sat up straight, tore off pieces of jerky and stuffed them into his mouth, his face full of surprise.

"It was just made a few days ago. I didn't make much. Come and have some if you want. It's not possible to take it away."

The Empress Dowager looked at her with doting eyes, and seeing her pouting face, she liked her even more.

"The emperor forbids you to eat these things, so it's against the rules for me to secretly give them to you here."

If the emperor finds out I secretly gave you dried meat, I don't know how angry he'll be. You'd better not let it slip.

Harigana was deflated. During her pregnancy, she ate whatever she wanted, and during that time, she really didn't mind eating vegetables.

However, after the postpartum period, her previous minor ailment returned, and she had no desire to eat vegetables at all.

"They're all bullying me!"

She muttered something under her breath, then took a sip of her milk tea with relish.

The Empress Dowager pretended not to hear and continued with what she was doing, refusing to respond at all.

"Mother, is the Mulan Hunting Ground fun?"

Harigana was quite curious about that place, not for any other reason than because of the little swallows.

She still remembers that arrow that shot.